LOS ANGELES TIMES “TOP TEN BOOKS TO READ IN 2025” Join us on May 29, 2025, 7:00 pm -8:00 pm for a ZOOM Civil Conversation with the author, Michael Vorenberg. Click here to register: Civil Conversation with Dr. Michael Vorenberg - Lincoln's Peace About the book: One historian’s journey to find the end of the Civil War—and, along the way, to expand our understanding of the nature of war itself and how societies struggle to draw the line between war and peace. We set out on the James River, March 25, 1865, aboard the paddle steamboat River Queen. President Lincoln is on his way to General Grant’s headquarters at City Point, Virginia, and he’s decided he won’t return to Washington until he’s witnessed, or perhaps even orchestrated, the end of the Civil War. Now, it turns out, more than a century and a half later, historians are still searching for that end. About the author: MICHAEL VORENBERG is a professor of history at Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island. He is the author of Final Freedom: The Civil War, the Abolition of Slavery, and the Thirteenth Amendment, which was a finalist for the Lincoln Prize and a key source for Steven Spielberg’s […]

Rebels at the Gates - The Confederacy's Final Gamble and the Battle to Save Washington by Robert P. Watson Join us on Friday, June 13, 2025, 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm for an In-person presentation by author Robert P. Watson, followed by a book-signing. About the book: Rebels at the Gate chronicles an intriguing series of events that nearly changed American history. In the last full year of the Civil War, Washington, DC came within hours of being invaded and Lincoln within inches of being shot. During the summer of 1864, General Ulysses Grant was laying siege to Petersburg (near Richmond), deploying every available Union soldier in an effort to end the bloody war once and for all. His counterpart, General Robert E. Lee and his famed Army of Northern Virginia, were trapped inside Richmond, and recognized that the Confederate capital would fall. Lee knew Grant, and understood that he would never stop attacking until he had Richmond. It was then that the southern commander hatched a desperate and bold plan to save the Confederacy and perhaps bring the war to an end… but on the Confederacy’s terms. Historian Robert Watson provides the definitive account of this largely forgotten attack on […]

Fan favorite, James Hessler, joins us on August 23, 2025, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm for a book talk, The First Day at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863, followed by a book signing. About the book: The summer of 1863 started off disastrously for the Army of the Potomac in the Eastern Theater. In early May, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia defeated and humiliated Major General Joseph Hooker’s army at the Battle of Chancellorsville. While both armies reorganized in the wake of Chancellorsville’s massive losses, Lee then maintained the initiative and launched an invasion of Pennsylvania. Throughout June, Lee’s army advanced deeper into Pennsylvania and Northern efforts to stop his progress were ineffective until Major General George Meade replaced Hooker as commander of the Army of the Potomac. On July 1, 1863, Meade and Lee’s large armies collided outside of the crossroads town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The stakes were never higher for either army as the newly promoted Meade defended Northern soil, while General Lee risked everything by taking the war into enemy territory. The 2025 Lessons in History program is free to the public. Regular museum admission applies for entrance to the museum galleries. About the author: James Hessler […]

A Special Program with Wayne E. Motts: Brigadier General George Sears Greene: Soldier, Engineer, Visionary. Join us on March 14, 2026 | 11:00 AM. The Camp Curtin Historical Society/Civil War Round Table and The National Civil War Museum proudly present a special program featuring Wayne E. Motts, CEO of The National Civil War Museum. This program is Free and open to the public. Regular Museum admission applies for entrance to the NCWM Galleries. Mr. Motts will deliver an in-depth presentation on the life and legacy of Brigadier General George Sears Greene—one of the Civil War’s most remarkable, yet often overlooked, leaders. A Rare Artifact on Display As a special highlight of the program, Brigadier General Greene’s original uniform, preserved in the collection of The National Civil War Museum, will be on display during the event. Following the presentation, the Camp Curtin Historical Society will unveil a newly installed wayside marker at Reservoir Park, enhancing interpretation of the park’s important role in Harrisburg’s Civil War history. About George Sears Greene Though best known for his brigade’s steadfast defense of Culp’s Hill at the Battle of Gettysburg, Greene’s contributions extended far beyond the battlefield. Before and after the war, he enjoyed a distinguished […]