Book Talk with Alexander Rossino - "Calamity at Frederick: Robert E. Lee, Special Orders No. 191, and Confederate Misfortune on the Road to Antietam"
2024-03-14 18:30 - 19:30 (America/New_York) | American Civil War Museum – Appomattox, 159 Horseshoe Rd, Appomattox, Virginia, 24522, United States
This is an IN-PERSON event at ACWM-Appomattox

The loss of Robert E. Lee’s Special Orders No. 191 is one of the Civil War’s enduring mysteries. In this meticulous study, Alexander Rossino presents a bold new interpretation of the evidence surrounding the orders’ creation, distribution, and loss outside Frederick, Maryland, in September 1862. Rossino makes extensive use of primary sources to explore these subjects and other important questions related to the orders, including why General Lee thought his army could operate north of the Potomac until winter; why Lee found it necessary to seize the Federal garrison at Harpers Ferry; what Lee hoped to accomplish after capturing Harpers Ferry; where Corporal Barton Mitchell of the 27th Indiana found the Lost Orders; and if D. H. Hill or someone else was to blame for losing the orders. The result is a well-documented reassessment that sheds new light while challenging long-held assumptions.

Calamity at Frederick is the Confederate companion to “The Tale Untwisted” by Gene M. Thorp and Alexander Rossino, which tells the story from the Union perspective.

Alexander B. Rossino is an award-winning historian and the author of Hitler Strikes Poland: Blitzkrieg, Ideology, and Atrocity. He worked for a decade at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum while penning a number of scholarly articles and book reviews. His lifelong fascination with the Civil War was rekindled in 2013 when he moved to western Maryland, where he currently resides at the foot of South Mountain. Alex is also the author of the deeply researched and beautifully written Six Days in September, a novel about Lee’s Army in Maryland during the 1862 campaign. He is currently researching and writing a companion book from the Union perspective.

The loss of Robert E. Lee’s Special Orders No. 191 is one of the Civil War’s enduring mysteries. In this meticulous study, Alexander Rossino presents a bold new interpretation of the evidence surrounding the orders’ creation, distribution, and loss outside Frederick, Maryland, in September 1862. Rossino makes extensive use of primary sources to explore these subjects and other important questions related to the orders, including why General Lee thought his army could operate north of the Potomac until winter; why Lee found it necessary to seize the Federal garrison at Harpers Ferry; what Lee hoped to accomplish after capturing Harpers Ferry; where Corporal Barton Mitchell of the 27th Indiana found the Lost Orders; and if D. H. Hill or someone else was to blame for losing the orders. The result is a well-documented reassessment that sheds new light while challenging long-held assumptions.

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"Benjamin Franklin Butler: A Noisy, Fearless Life" with Dr. Elizabeth Leonard
2024-03-21 18:30 - 19:30 | ACWM – Historic Tredegar, 480 Tredegar St., Richmond, Virginia, 23219, United States
This is an IN-PERSON event at ACWM-Tredegar

In a captivating lecture by Dr. Elizabeth Leonard, discover the life and legacy of Benjamin Franklin Butler, a pivotal figure in the Civil War and Reconstruction periods. Explore Butler’s remarkable career trajectory, worker rights advocacy, and pivotal role as one of Abraham Lincoln’s foremost civilian generals. Delve into his contributions to wartime policy and emancipation efforts and his changing perceptions of race and slavery. Join us as we unravel the complexities of Butler’s life and discuss his enduring impact on American history.

Elizabeth D. Leonard is Colby College’s Gibson Professor of History, Emerita. She earned her Ph.D. in U.S. history from the University of California, Riverside, in 1992 and is the author of several articles and seven books on the Civil War-era including: Yankee Women: Gender Battles in the Civil War; All the Daring of the Soldier: Women of the Civil War Armies; and Lincoln’s Forgotten Ally: Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt of Kentucky, which was named co-winner of the Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize in 2012. Her most recent book, Benjamin Franklin Butler: A Noisy, Fearless Life, which was also named a finalist for the 2023 Lincoln Prize, won the John L. Nau III Center for Civil War Studies 2023 book prize.

Benjamin Franklin Butler was one of the most important and controversial military and political leaders of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. Remembered most often for his uncompromising administration of the Federal occupation of New Orleans during the war, Butler reemerges in this lively narrative as a man whose journey took him from childhood destitution to wealth and profound influence in state and national halls of power. Prize-winning biographer Elizabeth D. Leonard chronicles Butler’s successful career in the law defending the rights of the Lowell Mill girls and other workers, his achievements as one of Abraham Lincoln’s premier civilian generals, and his role in developing wartime policy in support of slavery’s fugitives as the nation advanced toward emancipation. Leonard also highlights Butler’s personal and political evolution, revealing how his limited understanding of racism and the horrors of slavery transformed over time, leading him into a postwar role as one of the nation’s foremost advocates for Black freedom and civil rights, and one of its notable opponents of white supremacy and neo-Confederate resurgence. Leonard’s nuanced portrait will help readers assess such claims, peeling away generations of previous assumptions and characterizations to provide a definitive life of a consequential man.

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Join us for our Spring Lecture Series as we delve into the causes, course, and consequences of the Civil War, from abolition through Reconstruction, as part of our extensive initiative “The Civil War & Remaking America” and prepare to open our newest exhibition, The Impending Crisis in Spring 2024!

Civil War & Emancipation Day
2024-04-06 10:00 - 17:00 | ACWM – Historic Tredegar, 480 Tredegar St., Richmond, Virginia, 23219, United States
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ABOUT THIS SPECIAL EVENT

Civil War & Emancipation Day (or CWED) is a commemorative day marking the history & impact of the Civil War and the end of slavery in Richmond. Join us for a day of family-friendly storytelling, music, crafts, and a visit from Abe Lincoln as we use the arts to explore the Civil War, slavery, and emancipation. All events are included with Museum admission.

Civil War & Emancipation Day consists of programs and activities that explore the Civil War, slavery, and emancipation. This annual, collaborative community-wide effort commemorates the anniversaries of key 1865 events:

THE CONFEDERATE EVACUATION OF RICHMOND (APRIL 2)

THE EMANCIPATION OF ENSLAVED RICHMONDERS & THE ARRIVAL OF US TROOPS (APRIL 3)

ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S TOUR OF THE CITY (APRIL 4)

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Registration Encouraged, Not Required.

All events are included with Museum admission.

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President Lincoln Speaks

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Program with Fritz KleinKlein’s portrayal of Lincoln brings this American icon to life, blending his humor and humanity in thoroughly researched and historically accurate programs.

Come dressed as Lincoln for our Lincoln-Look-A-Like Contest!

My Day with Abe Lincoln

Available to purchase in our store!

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM

Children’s program with Dr. Jonathan White. Did you know that Abraham Lincoln struggled with spelling for his entire life? Or that kids teased him on his first day of school because he wore a sunbonnet? Join author and historian Jonathan W. White as he shares stories of Abraham Lincoln from his new book, My Day with Abe Lincoln. The program is geared toward children, but adults will enjoy it!

Performance by 8th Green Machine Regimental Band

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Musical performance by 8th Green Machine Regimental Band Using authentic 19th-century instruments and mouthpieces, the band plays popular patriotic airs, operatic selections, and dance tunes from the period. In between selections, learn about bands of the period, the music, and the instruments in this engaging and informative hour-long program.

President Lincoln Speaks

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Program with Fritz KleinKlein’s portrayal of Lincoln brings this American icon to life, blending his humor and humanity in thoroughly researched and historically accurate programs.

Come dressed as Lincoln for our Lincoln-Look-A-Like Contest!

Participating Organizations

Mike Gorman, Historian & Park Ranger, Richmond National Battlefield Park

April 6, 2024, 1PM, 1700 Dock Street

To understand what happened when Abraham Lincoln visited Richmond on April 4-5, 1865, the best way is to retrace his footsteps. Richmond historian and Park Ranger Mike Gorman will highlight the incredible events of this “strange presidential entry” featuring newly uncovered research that helps explain what happened, as well as the memory and legacy of the event. Join us as we literally walk in the footsteps of Lincoln through Richmond.

Tour begins at 1 PM at the floodwall at 17th and Dock Streets (GPS address: 1700 Dock Street). There are multiple parking lots and street parking available nearby. Expect to walk approximately 2 miles, half of which is uphill. The tour will last approximately 2 hours.

The Valentine

“Sculpting History” Tour & Conversation

Date & time: April 7 | 2-3pm

Location: the Valentine Museum – 1015 East Clay Street

For Civil War & Emancipation Day, join Curator of General Collections, Christina Vida, for an intimate conversation in the Valentine’s newest exhibition Sculpting History at the Valentine Studio: Art, Power and the “Lost Cause” American Myth. Through artworks sculpted by Edward Valentine as well as documents, images, quotes and big questions, we will explore how the Lost Cause myth reframed the reality of the Civil War and impacted communities from the 19th century to today. Discuss stories behind the “Lost Cause”, consider its legacy, and uncover examples of brave individuals who resisted the myth.

This program is free and registration is required.

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Photos from Civil War & Emancipation Day 2023

Loose Cannons X
2024-04-06 18:00 - 22:00 | The Foundry – 500 Tredegar St, Richmond, 23219
The Tredegar Society is excited to host the 10th Anniversary of their annual fundraising event, ‘Loose Cannons’! This year the event will take place in the beautiful Foundry event space, located onsite at the American Civil War Museum, and all proceeds will benefit the Museum.

(This event is for ages 21+, Dress Code: Smart Casual)

The Tredegar Society of the American Civil War Museum (ACWM) is a group of young professionals dedicated to supporting the Museum by introducing Civil War history to younger audiences. We invite you to spend an evening with us, learning more about our organization and upcoming events at the ACWM.

Enjoy food trucks such as Cluck and Roll and Bikini Panini, music by Richmond’s premier soul band Soul Providers, and libations provided by J. Emerson, Inc., Center of the Universe Brewing Company, and A. Smith Bowman Distillery ($20 add-on to your ticket). Your support of this event enables the Tredegar Society to grow its membership and continue its valued service to The American Civil War Museum.

Special Guest – Abraham Lincoln

Based on thorough research, Fritz Klein’s portrayal of Lincoln brings this iconic figure to life with humor and humanity.

$20 wristband add-on for access to A. Smith Bowman bourbon bar

Online ticket sales end 4/5/24 at 4:00 PM EST.Tickets will be available for purchase at the door.

All sales are final. Tickets and registrations are non-refundable unless the American Civil War Museum cancels an event.

Register on Eventbrite

Sponsors

American Battlefield TrustMcGuire WoodsPlus CommunicationsCSC LeasingLink Public AffairsThe Monument GroupSIMA Financial GroupShenandoah Valley Battlefield FoundationModern ClubmanThe Vectre CorporationWilliams MullenWoods Rogers Vandeventer BlackBattlefields & Bourbon PodcastA. Smith Bowman DistilleryCenter of the Universe BrewingJ. Emerson, Inc.Shaken Not SpurredCluck N’ RollBikini Panini

"Forgotten Friday: The April 7, 1865, Actions in Cumberland County, VA" with Patrick Schroeder
2024-04-11 18:30 - 19:30 | American Civil War Museum – Appomattox, 159 Horseshoe Rd, Appomattox, Virginia, 24522, United States
THIS IS AN IN-PERSON EVENT AT ACWM-Appomattox

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Historians often overlook the multiple engagements that occurred in Cumberland County near Sailor’s Creek (April 6) and at Appomattox (April 9). These battles resulted in the death, wounding, or capture of three generals, the near capture of General Robert E. Lee, and a “Lee to the rear” incident. The battles near Cumberland Church were both fascinating and horrific, resulting in hundreds of casualties. Join Patrick Schroeder, Historian of Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, to discover more about these often-forgotten events.Civil War Author/Historian Patrick A. Schroeder is the full-time Appomattox Court House National Historical Park Historian. He graduated Cum Laude with a B.S. in Historical Park Administration from Shepherd College, Shepherdstown, WV., and has an M.A. in Civil War History from Virginia Tech. His book “Thirty Myths About Lee’s Surrender” is currently in its twelfth printing.

ALL SALES ARE FINAL. TICKETS AND REGISTRATIONS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE UNLESS THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR MUSEUM CANCELS AN EVENT.

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Commemoration of the Surrender & Freedom Day
2024-04-13 10:00 - 17:00 | American Civil War Museum – Appomattox, 159 Horseshoe Rd, Appomattox, Virginia, 24522, United States
The American Civil War Museum is hosting a series of activities and programs as part of the regional celebration of the Commemoration of the Surrender & Freedom. Visitors can look forward to a fun-filled day with cannon firings, interactive sessions with living historians, demonstrations by the Pallas Athena Ladies Aid Society, and informative sessions about the lives of soldiers, civilians on the homefront, and enslaved and free African Americans during the Civil War. We hope you will join us on April 13th at ACWM – Appomattox!Registration is for capacity purposes.

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Saturday, April 13, 2024

Ongoing Activities Throughout the Day

Hearth and Home

Experience rural life in 19th century Virginia as the Pallas Athena Ladies Aid Society demonstrates hearth cooking, textile production, and making-do with wartime substitutions.

Civil War Medicine

Delve into the gritty world of a Civil War surgeon as our education staff demonstrate field surgery.

Feeding an Army: Civil War Commissary

Learn about Civil War cookery with The Proud Hound Commissary! Proprietor John Saporito will demonstrate cooking out of an authentic 19th-century wagon.

Event Schedule

Blast from the Past: A Civil War Cannon Firing Demonstration

10:30 AM – 11:00 AM

Discover the importance of artillery during the American Civil War. Learn about ammunition and witness a drill that concludes with a bang!

The African American Experience with the 5th U.S.C.T. Company G Presenters

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

In an hour-long performance, experience the trials, tribulations, and victories of the African American experience from 1804-1870. Ona Lewis brings to life Sojourner Truth’s journey, and Bertram Floyd and Frederick Smith depict the lives of African American men and US Colored Troops through the use of story, poetry, and song.

Reenactor Skirmish – 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM

Witness a skirmish between the 24th Virginia and the 99th New York Infantry.

Reconsidering Longstreet: Gettysburg, Appomattox, New Orleans

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

General James Longstreet is remembered by many as a prominent Confederate general during the American Civil War. He was also reviled by generations of white Southerners as an apostate—both for criticizing the generalship of Robert E. Lee and for becoming Republican during Reconstruction. Join us as Dr. Elizabeth Varon explores Longstreet’s influential postwar political career and connects it to the perennial debates over his wartime record.

This event is included with museum admission

The African American Experience with the 5th U.S.C.T. Company G Presenters

3:30 PM – 4:30 PM

In an hour-long performance, experience the trials, tribulations, and victories of the African American experience from 1804-1870. Ona Lewis brings to life Sojourner Truth’s journey, and Bertram Floyd and Frederick Smith depict the lives of African American men and US Colored Troops through the use of story, poetry, and song.

Blast from the Past: A Civil War Cannon Firing Demonstration

4:30 PM – 5:00 PM

Discover the importance of artillery during the American Civil War. Learn about ammunition and witness a drill that concludes with a bang!

Tredegar History Tour
2024-04-13 11:00 - 11:45, 2024-04-20 11:00 - 11:45, 2024-04-21 11:00 - 11:45, 2024-04-27 11:00 - 11:45, 2024-04-28 11:00 - 11:45, 2024-05-04 11:00 - 11:45, 2024-05-05 11:00 - 11:45, 2024-05-11 11:00 - 11:45 and 5 more dates | ACWM – Historic Tredegar, 480 Tredegar St., Richmond, Virginia, 23219, United States
Find yourself in the fascinating history of the former Tredegar Iron Works with our “Tredegar History Tour”! Located in the heart of downtown Richmond, our museum is situated on the very site where the iron foundry once stood.

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND (Saturday, Sunday & Monday) at 11:00 AM or 3:00 PM to explore one of Richmond’s famous historical sites and learn about the cannon-making process in a special site tour. We’re also doing musket firing demonstrations at 1pm each day this weekend! (included with Museum admission). You don’t want to miss it!

"Myths About Lee's Surrender" with Patrick Schroeder
2024-04-14 14:00 - 15:00 | ACWM Appomattox, 159 Horseshoe Rd, Appomattox, VA, 24522, United States
This event is in-person at acwm-appomattox

Join us on April 14th at ACWM-Appomattox for an enlightening lecture by Appomattox Court House National Historical Park historian and author Patrick Schroeder. In this lecture, he will separate fact from fiction and reveal what really happened at Appomattox during the surrender. This talk is based on his books “Thirty Myths About Lee’s Surrender” and “More Myths About Lee’s Surrender”.

Discover the truth about where Lee was heading with his army, the losses at Sailor’s Creek, the origins of the apple tree story, where the surrender actually took place, who accompanied Lee to the McLean House, who was present at the surrender meeting, Grant’s uniform, George Armstrong Custer’s role at Appomattox, surrenders after Appomattox, the Confederate soldiers’ return home, Lee’s activities after the surrender, the buildings of Appomattox Court House, the wax figures, and all about Wilmer McLean and his house used for the surrender meeting.

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Civil War Author/Historian Patrick A. Schroeder is the full-time Historian of Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. He graduated Cum Laude with a B.S. in Historical Park Administration from Shepherd College, Shepherdstown, WV., and has an M.A. in Civil War History from Virginia Tech. His book “Thirty Myths About Lee’sSurrender,” is currently in its twelfth printing.

It is a very popular book covering the thirty most common myths about the last campaign and the surrender at Appomattox Court House. Under each myth is text about what actually occurred. Find out the facts about where Lee was heading with his army, losses at Sailor’s Creek, the origins of the apple tree story, where the surrender actually took place, who accompanied Lee to the McLean House, who was present at the surrender meeting, Grant’s uniform, George Armstrong Custer’s role at Appomattox, surrenders after Appomattox, the Confederate soldiers’ return home, Lee’s activities after the surrender, the buildings of Appomattox Court House, the wax figures, and all about Wilmer McLean and his house used for the surrender meeting.

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Thank you for supporting our mission by purchasing through our online store. Your contribution enables us to continue providing engaging events and experiences.

Sequel to “Thirty Myths About Lee’s Surrender” by Patrick A. Schroeder

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Thank you for supporting our mission by purchasing through our online store. Your contribution enables us to continue providing engaging events and experiences.

Book Talk with John Hopkins – "The World Will Never See the Like: The Gettysburg Reunion of 1913"
2024-04-18 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual
Virtual Book Talk

The 1913 Gettysburg Reunion is a story of 53,000 old comrades and former foes reunited and of the tension, even half a century later, between competing narratives of reconciliation and remembrance. Discover the first full story of this extraordinary event’s genesis and planning, the obstacles overcome to make it a reality, its place in the larger narrative of sectional reunion and reconciliation, and the individual stories of the veterans who attended.

John L. Hopkins is a communication and public relations professional with over three decades of experience in strategic communication planning, issues management, media relations, crisis communication, news and feature writing, and team building in higher education, nonprofit, and agency settings. He was born and raised in New York City, earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Williams College, and was transplanted to the Midwest in the mid-90s. John and his wife, Apple, have three grown daughters. This is his first book.

Hopkins fills his marvelous account with detail from the letters, diaries, and published accounts of Union and Confederate veterans, the extensive archival records of the reunion’s organizers, and the daily stories filed by the scores of reporters who covered it. The World Will Never See the Like offers the first full story of this extraordinary event’s genesis and planning, the obstacles overcome to make it a reality, its place in the larger narrative of sectional reunion and reconciliation, and the individual stories of the veterans who attended. Every reader interested in Gettysburg will find this a welcome addition to their library.

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"Frederick Douglass and the Problem of American Democracy" with David Blight￼
2024-04-25 18:30 - 19:30 | ACWM – Historic Tredegar, 480 Tredegar St., Richmond, Virginia, 23219, United States
This is an IN-PERSON event at ACWM-Tredegar

ACWM members, we would like to invite you to an exclusive reception at 5:30 pm.

Join us as David Blight sheds light on the extraordinary life of Frederick Douglass, offering a fresh perspective on his enduring impact on American society. Douglass’s journey is one of courage and resilience, as he escaped slavery and became a major literary figure and advocate for political abolitionism. David Blight’s groundbreaking biography unveils the untold story of Douglass’s complex personal life and intellectual prowess, cementing his legacy as a towering figure in American history. Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity to explore the life and legacy of one of America’s greatest icons, as told by one of today’s foremost historians.

David W. Blight is Sterling Professor of History and Director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University. He is the author or editor of a dozen books, including Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom; American: The Civil War in the Civil Rights Era; Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory; and annotated editions of Douglass’s first two autobiographies. He has worked on Douglass for much of his professional life and has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Bancroft Prize, the Abraham Lincoln Prize, and the Frederick Douglass Prize, among others. Blight has always been a teacher first. At the beginning of his career, he spent seven years as a high school history teacher in his hometown of Flint, Michigan. Blight maintains a website, including information about public lectures, books, articles, and interviews at www.davidwblight.com/

In this “cinematic and deeply engaging” (The New York Times Book Review) biography, David Blight has drawn on new information held in a private collection that few other historian have consulted, as well as recently discovered issues of Douglass’s newspapers. “Absorbing and even moving…a brilliant book that speaks to our own time as well as Douglass’s” (The Wall Street Journal), Blight’s biography tells the fascinating story of Douglass’s two marriages and his complex extended family. “David Blight has written the definitive biography of Frederick Douglass…a powerful portrait of one of the most important American voices of the nineteenth century” (The Boston Globe).

Purchase Book

Thank you for supporting our mission by purchasing through our online store. Your contribution enables us to continue providing engaging events and experiences.

All sales are final. Tickets and registrations are non-refundable unless the American Civil War Museum cancels an event.

ACWM members, we would like to invite you to an exclusive reception at 5:30 pm.

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Join us for our Spring Lecture Series as we delve into the causes, course, and consequences of the Civil War, from abolition through Reconstruction, as part of our extensive initiative “The Civil War & Remaking America” and prepare to open our newest exhibition, The Impending Crisis in Spring 2024!

'The Impending Crisis' Exhibition Opening
2024-04-27 10:00 - 17:00 | ACWM – Historic Tredegar, 480 Tredegar St., Richmond, Virginia, 23219, United States
The American Civil War Museum will launch a major exhibition at ACWM-Tredegar in Richmond, Virginia, on April 27th, 2024. Titled The Impending Crisis, this exhibit will delve into the events, individuals, and topics that led to the division of the United States on the verge of civil war.

The Impending Crisis exhibit takes visitors on a journey through differing national viewpoints on faith, politics, and patriotism in the years leading up to the Civil War. While touring the exhibit, visitors meet both well-known and lesser-known people, hearing their words, seeing the families and communities they built, and the extreme hardships they suffered. Visitors gain a better understanding of what was truly at stake during this pivotal time in the nation’s history, and how the actions to engage in a civil war remade America.

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with generous support from

"The Unvanquished" with Patrick O'Donnell
2024-05-09 18:00 - 19:00 | American Civil War Museum – Appomattox, 159 Horseshoe Rd, Appomattox, Virginia, 24522, United States
The Unvanquished: The Untold Story of Lincoln’s Special Forces, the Manhunt for Mosby’s Rangers, and the Shadow War That Forged America’s Special Operations

The Civil War is famously known for the huge battles that defined it such as Gettysburg, Antietam, and Shiloh. However, bestselling author Patrick K. O’Donnell reveals in his book The Unvanquished that there was a crucial shadow war that took place amid and away from the major battlefields, which was in many ways just as consequential to the conflict’s outcome. At the center of this groundbreaking narrative is the remarkable story of Lincoln’s special forces – the Jessie Scouts – told in its entirety for the first time.

Patrick K. O’Donnell is a bestselling, critically acclaimed military historian and an expert on elite units. The author of thirteen books, including The Indispensables, The Unknowns, and Washington’s Immortals, he is the recipient of numerous national awards. O’Donnell served as a combat historian in a Marine rifle platoon during the Battle of Fallujah and is a professional speaker on America’s conflicts, espionage, special operations, and counterinsurgency. He has provided historical consulting for DreamWorks’ award-winning miniseries Band of Brothers and for documentaries produced by the BBC, the History Channel, and Discovery.

ALL SALES ARE FINAL. TICKETS AND REGISTRATIONS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE UNLESS THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR MUSEUM CANCELS AN EVENT.

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Book Talk with Jim Downs - "Maladies of Empire: How Colonialism, Slavery, and War Transformed Medicine"
2024-05-16 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual
Virtual Book Talk

Join us as historian Jim Downs reveals that the study of infectious disease depended crucially on the unrecognized contributions of non-consenting subjects―conscripted soldiers, enslaved people, and subjects of the empire.

Plantations, slave ships, and battlefields were the laboratories in which physicians came to understand the spread of disease. Military doctors learned about the importance of air quality by monitoring Africans confined to the bottom of slave ships. The field hospitals of the Crimean War and the US Civil War were carefully observed experiments in disease transmission.

Jim Downs is the Gilder Lehrman-National Endowment for the Humanities Professor of Civil War Era Studies and History. He is the author, co-author, and editor of multiple books and anthologies, including Maladies of Empire: How Colonialism, Slavery, and War Transformed Medicine (Harvard UP, 2021), which has been translated into Chinese, French, Korean, Japanese, and Russian.

He has published articles and essays in The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Slate, Vice, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and The L.A. Review of Books, among others. Downs has published book chapters in several edited volumes, most recently in Remembering the Memphis Massacre: An American Story (UGA Press, 2020). Downs is the Editor of Civil War History. He was awarded the Sheila Biddle Ford Foundation Fellowship at the Hutchins Center for African and African American History at Harvard University in 2022-23. Downs earned his P.h.D. in History at Columbia University, his MA in American Studies also at Columbia University, and his BA in American Literature at the University of Pennsylvania. The Organization of American Historians named him a Distinguished Lecturer in 2014-17, which was then renewed in 2017 and again in 2020.

Reexamining the foundations of modern medicine, Jim Downs shows that the study of infectious disease depended crucially on the unrecognized contributions of nonconsenting subjects―conscripted soldiers, enslaved people, and subjects of empire. Plantations, slave ships, and battlefields were the laboratories in which physicians came to understand the spread of disease.

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Thank you for supporting our mission by purchasing through our online store. Your contribution enables us to continue providing engaging events and experiences.

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Tredegar site tour 11am & 3pm with musket firing demonstration at 1pm! Plan your Memorial Day visit!
2024-05-27 11:00 - 12:00
Find yourself in history on a guided tour of the former Tredegar Ironworks! Tours are at 11am and 3pm with musket firing demonstrations at 1pm.

“The Grand Old Man of the Army: General Winfield Scott’s Unionism and the Secession Crisis” with Dr. Barton A. Myers￼
2024-05-30 18:30 - 19:30 | ACWM – Historic Tredegar, 480 Tredegar St., Richmond, Virginia, 23219, United States
General Winfield Scott, the General in Chief of the U.S. Army, is an important but often overlooked figure of the late antebellum period. He played a crucial role in the American government for two decades before the Civil War. This raises questions about how his stance on slavery, abolition, and unionism influenced his decisions between 1860 and 1861. To explore his personal loyalty, we will analyze his relationships with notable figures like James Buchanan, John B. Floyd, Abraham Lincoln, and Robert E. Lee, among others, during the sectional crisis. Join us for a discussion with Dr. Barton A. Myers of Washington and Lee University.

Barton A. Myers is Professor of History at Washington and Lee University and the author of the awarding winning Executing Daniel Bright: Race, Loyalty, and Guerrilla Violence in a Coastal Carolina Community, 1861-1865 (LSU Press, 2009), Rebels Against the Confederacy: North Carolina’s Unionists (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2014), and co-editor with Brian D. McKnight of The Guerrilla Hunters: Irregular Conflicts during the Civil War (LSU Press, 2017). Dr. Myers is a recipient of prestigious grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History, the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Marine Corps Historical Center, the Filson Historical Society, the Virginia Historical Society, and the Jack Miller Center for Teaching America’s Founding Principles and History. He speaks widely to Civil War groups and roundtables around the United States. Dr. Myers’ work has been featured in the national media, including Time, Los Angeles Times, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Smerconish.com, Sirius XM’s “The Michael Smerconish Program”, CSPAN’s “American History TV”, National Public Radio’s Virginia Insight, and the Civil War Monitor. He was featured in the acclaimed HISTORY Channel documentary series GRANT, produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and historian Ron Chernow, as well as the HISTORY Channel miniseries event ABRAHAM LINCOLN, featuring President Barack Obama and produced by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. Most recently, he served as an expert in the HISTORY series “DARK MARVELS” on the world history of diabolical military technology.

All sales are final. Tickets and registrations are non-refundable unless the American Civil War Museum cancels an event.

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Join us for our Spring Lecture Series as we delve into the causes, course, and consequences of the Civil War, from abolition through Reconstruction, as part of our extensive initiative “The Civil War & Remaking America” and prepare to open our newest exhibition, The Impending Crisis in Spring 2024!

Tredegar History Tour 11am & 3pm + Musket Firing Demonstrations at 1pm! Every Saturday & Sunday all summer!
2024-06-01 11:00 - 12:00
Find yourself in history on a guided tour of the former Tredegar Iron Works site & musket firing demonstrations by our historic interpretation team all included with museum admission! Plan your visit today!

Guided tour of our new exhibit 'The Impending Crisis' every Friday in June at 11am!
2024-06-07 11:00 - 11:45
Don’t miss the opportunity for a guided tour of our latest exhibit!

Tredegar History Tour every Saturday & Sunday this summer at 11am and 3pm. Musket firing demonstrations at 1pm each day!
2024-06-08 11:00 - 17:00
