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Civil Conversation: Decade of Disunion

The National Civil War Museum 1 Lincoln Circle at Reservoir Park, Harrisburg, PA, United States

On Thursday, September 12, 2024, 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm, our newest Civil Conversation explores "Decade of Disunion." This discussion between NCWM CEO, Jeffrey Nichols, and author Robert W. Merry is free via ZOOM. Join us here via ZOOM: Civil War Book Talk with Robert W. Merry About the Book: Exploring a critical lesson about our nation that is as timely today as ever, Decade of Disunion shows how the country came apart during the enveloping slavery crisis of the 1850s. The Mexican War brought vast new territories to the United States, which precipitated a growing crisis over slavery. The new territories seemed unsuitable for the type of agriculture that depended on slave labor, but they lay south of the line where slavery was permitted by the 1820 Missouri Compromise. The subject of expanding slavery to the new territories became a flash point between North and South. First came the 1850 compromise legislation, which strengthened the fugitive slave law and outraged the North. Then in 1854, Congress repealed the Missouri Compromise altogether, unleashing a violent conflict in “Bleeding Kansas” over whether that territory would become free or slave. The 1857 Dred Scott decision—abrogating any rights of African Americans, enslaved or free—further […]

Free

An Evening with David S. Brown at the Midtown Scholar Bookstore

the Midtown Bookstore 1302 North 3rd St., Harrisburg, PA, United States

We are excited to announce our continued partnership with Midtown Scholar Bookstore for the upcoming book launch and interview featuring author David S. Brown. NCWM CEO Jeffrey Nichols will sit down with David S. Brown to discuss his latest book, Hell of a Storm: The Battle for Kansas, the End of Compromise, and the Coming of the Civil War. In this compelling new work, Brown delves into the pivotal events of 1854, when the Kansas-Nebraska Act unexpectedly triggered one of the most significant political miscalculations in American history. This act deepened the divide between North and South, gave rise to the Republican Party, and set the stage for the Civil War. The event will begin at 7:00 pm, followed by a Q&A session and a book signing. About David S. Brown  David S. Brown is a history professor at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania and the author of seven books. His notable works include The First Populist: The Defiant Life of Andrew Jackson, The Last American Aristocrat: The Brilliant Life and Improbable Education of Henry Adams, Paradise Lost: A Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Richard Hofstadter: An Intellectual Biograph https://www.midtownscholar.com/calendar/2024/9/17/an-evening-with-david-s-brown-a-hell-of-a-storm  

Cocktails & Cannonballs – 2024

The National Civil War Museum 1 Lincoln Circle at Reservoir Park, Harrisburg, PA, United States

Our largest fundraiser of the year is just around the corner - Join us on Friday, September 20, 2024, 6:00 pm - 8:30 p.m. Enjoy a rare evening at the National Civil War Museum! The National Civil War Museum is thrilled to announce the return of our highly anticipated fundraising event, Cocktails and Cannonballs. Please mark your calendars for Friday, September 20, 2024, from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM, and join us for an evening of history, libations, and lively conversation at one of the nation’s premier Civil War museums. Building on the success of last year’s event, Cocktails and Cannonballs offers a unique blend of entertainment and education. Attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy specially crafted cocktails while exploring the museum’s extensive collection of Civil War artifacts. The evening will feature live music, exclusive access to exhibits, and a variety of delicious hors d'oeuvres. This event is not just about enjoying a great evening—it’s about supporting the museum’s mission to preserve and interpret the history of the American Civil War for future generations. Proceeds from the event will directly benefit the museum’s educational programs and preservation efforts. Event Details: Date: Friday, September 20, 2024 Time: 6:00 PM – […]

Civil War Saturday

The National Civil War Museum 1 Lincoln Circle at Reservoir Park, Harrisburg, PA, United States

The National Civil War Museum is proud to announce its highly anticipated event, Civil War Saturday, which promises to take visitors on a journey through the turbulent era of the American Civil War. This event will take place on Saturday, September 21, 2023, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM at The National Civil War Museum, located at 1 Lincoln Circle, Harrisburg, PA. Civil War Saturday is an educational and engaging experience for visitors of all ages. It offers a unique opportunity to step back and gain a deeper understanding of one of the most pivotal periods in American history. With a wide range of activities and exhibits, attendees can explore the complexities of the Civil War era from various perspectives. Admission to Civil War Saturday is as follows: Adults: $10.00 Children under 18: Free Members of The National Civil War Museum receive free admission,

Tour Antietam with the Staff of the NCWM- Saturday, October 12, 2024

The National Civil War Museum 1 Lincoln Circle at Reservoir Park, Harrisburg, PA, United States

Join the staff of The National Civil War Museum on a unique tour of the Antietam Battlefield. This tour includes a guided tour of the battlefield and will feature artifacts and items from our collection that help to tell the story of the soldiers who fought in the struggle. Tour participants can hold historical treasures used or associated with the Union and Confederate Army engaged at Antietam. The cost includes transportation, lunch, and a guided tour with artifacts from The National Civil War Museum collection. Cost:  NCWM Members $175.00 Non-members $200.00 Schedule for the Day 7:15 am Registration at NCWM 7:30 am Bus departs from NCWM. 9:45 am Registration for attendees meeting the bus at the Antietam Battlefield Visitors Center. 10:00 am – 12:00 pm Battlefield tour with Licensed Battlefield Guide and NCWM Artifacts 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Box lunches provided by Battleview Market & Deli at Antietam Creek Winery pavilion. Each guest will receive a complimentary glass of wine or soft drink with lunch. Additional wine may be purchased at this time. 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Complete our battlefield tour. 3:00 pm Bus departs Antietam NMP VC and returns to Harrisburg. Anticipated Arrival back to the NCWM at […]

Reckoning with the Devil: Nathan Bedford Forrest in Myth and Memory

The National Civil War Museum 1 Lincoln Circle at Reservoir Park, Harrisburg, PA, United States

Our Civil Conversation features Court Carney and NCWM CEO Jeffrey Nichols discussing Mr. Carney's new release Reckoning with the Devil: Nathan Bedford Forrest in Myth and Memory, free via ZOOM. Join us on Thursday, October 17, 2024, 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm by using this link to register:

Free

Lessons in History ~ Wide Awake: The Movement That Elected Lincoln and Ignited the Civil War 

The National Civil War Museum 1 Lincoln Circle at Reservoir Park, Harrisburg, PA, United States

We are honored to host a Civil War Book Talk featuring Smithsonian historian, Dr. Jon Grinspan, as he discusses his book Wide Awake: The Forgotten Force That Elected Lincoln and Spurred the Civil War. A book signing will follow his lecture.  Make your plans now for Friday, November 15, 2024, at 5:30 pm to join us for this free, in-person event. About the book: Wide Awake: The Movement That Elected Lincoln and Ignited the Civil War  At the start of the 1860 presidential campaign, a handful of fired-up young Northerners appeared as bodyguards to defend anti-slavery stump speakers from frequent attacks. The group called themselves the Wide Awakes. Soon, hundreds of thousands of young White and Black men, and several women, were organizing boisterous, uniformed, torch-bearing brigades of their own. These Wide Awakes--mostly working-class Americans in their twenties--became one of the largest, most spectacular, and most influential political movements in our history. To some, it demonstrated the power of a rising majority to push back against slavery. To others, it looked like a paramilitary force training to invade the South. Within a year, the nation would be at war with itself, and many on both sides would point to the […]

Savings and Trust – A Civil Conversation

ZOOM

Our Civil Conversation featuring Dr. Justene Hill Edwards is a must-see! Dr. Edwards and Jeffrey Nichols explore the rise and fall of the Freedman's Bank and how it shaped economic inequality in America. Join us on November 20, 2024 at 7:00 pm. Follow the link to register- It's Free! A Civil Conversation with Dr. Justene Hill Edwards About the book: In the years immediately after the Civil War, tens of thousands of former slaves deposited millions of dollars into the Freedman’s Bank. African Americans envisioned this new bank as a launching pad for economic growth and self-determination. But only nine years after it opened, their trust was betrayed and the Freedman’s Bank collapsed. Fully informed by new archival findings, historian Justene Hill Edwards unearths a major turning point in American history in this comprehensive account of the Freedman’s Bank and its depositors. She illuminates the hope with which the bank was first envisioned and demonstrates the significant setback that the sabotage of the bank caused in the fight for economic autonomy. Hill Edwards argues for a new interpretation of its tragic failure: the bank’s white financiers drove the bank into the ground, not Fredrick Douglass, its final president, or its Black depositors […]

Free

KIDNAPPED AT SEA: The Civil War Voyage of David Henry White- Lessons in History Presentation

The National Civil War Museum 1 Lincoln Circle at Reservoir Park, Harrisburg, PA, United States

Join us for the Lessons in History Speaker Series on December 7, 2024, 1:00 - 2:00 pm, as Andrew Sillen presents the Blockbuster book Kidnapped at Sea. About the book: KIDNAPPED AT SEA: The Civil War Voyage of David Henry White: On the anniversary of his kidnapping, the recovered story of David Henry White – a free Black teenager who was enslaved on a Confederate warship for over 600 days before dying in the 1864 Battle of Cherbourg and whose life has been misrepresented and unjustly appropriated for 150 years. For over 150 years, historians have recycled the fable that David Henry White – a free Black teenage sailor from Delaware who was kidnapped by the Confederate raider Alabama on October 9, 1862 – remained on the ship for 600 days of his own volition, working for reduced wages and embracing the master-servant relationship under the controversial and racist figure of Captain Raphael Semmes. This version of White’s life, primarily based on Semmes’s self-serving post-war Memoirs of Service Afloat During the War Between the States, strips White of his humanity and advances a false Lost Cause narrative. It is also absolutely false, according to a new blockbuster histo ry: Kidnapped […]

Free

LINCOLN VS. DAVIS The War of the Presidents – Via Zoom

ZOOM

We are offering an in-person event via ZOOM, on December 12, 2024 at 7:00 pm - A Civil Conversation with author Nigel Hamilton and NCWM CEO Jeff Nichols discussing LINCOLN VS. DAVIS The War of the Presidents By Nigel Hamilton. Click the link to register- It's Free A Civil Conversation with Dr. Nigel Hamilton - Lincoln Vs. Davis From renowned biographer­­­ Nigel Hamilton, author of the epic FDR at War trilogy and the bestselling JFK: Reckless Youth, comes the greatest untold story of the Civil War: how two American presidents faced off as the fate of the nation hung in the balance — and how Abraham Lincoln came to embrace emancipation as the last, best chance to save the Union. Of all the books written on Abraham Lincoln, there has been one surprising gap: the drama of how the “railsplitter” from Illinois grew into his critical role as U.S. commander-in-chief, and managed to outwit his formidable opponent, Jefferson Davis, in what remains history's only military faceoff between rival American presidents. Davis was a trained soldier and war hero; Lincoln a country lawyer who had only briefly served in the militia. Confronted with the most violent and challenging war ever seen on American soil, Lincoln […]

Civil War Dance Classes – Free

The National Civil War Museum 1 Lincoln Circle at Reservoir Park, Harrisburg, PA, United States

Civil War Dance Classes - Free Sunday ~ January 12, February 23, March 23, 2025, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Get ready for the Civil War Preservation Ball, in March 2023. This is great family fun!  Attend one or all of the classes and learn the popular formation dances of the 1860s. Partners are encouraged but not required to wear modern, comfortable, clothing since this is a physical workout. Register here: contact@civilwardance.org Please include the dates you plan to attend and the names of the attendees. Enrollees will be sent a Civil War Dance Manual. Conducted by the Victorian Dance Ensemble, the performing troupe of the Civil War Dance Foundation: * 2011 Civil War Trust’s Reenactment Unit of the Year * 2016 President’s Volunteer Service Gold Award Regular museum admission applies for entrance to the museum galleries. Images courtesy of VDE and the Barefoot Historian

Dr. Bennett Parten – Somewhere Toward Freedom: Sherman’s March and the Story of America’s Largest Emancipation at the NCWM

The National Civil War Museum 1 Lincoln Circle at Reservoir Park, Harrisburg, PA, United States

An In-person Event! The National Civil War Museum welcomes Dr. Bennett Parten for a free Civil War book talk, Monday, January 27, 2025, 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm. A groundbreaking account of Sherman’s March to the Sea—the critical Civil War campaign that destroyed the Confederacy—told for the first time from the perspective of the tens of thousands of enslaved people who fled to the Union lines and transformed Sherman’s march into the biggest liberation event in American history. In the fall of 1864, Gen. William T. Sherman led his army through Atlanta, Georgia, burning buildings of military significance—and ultimately most of the city—along the way. From Atlanta, they marched across the state to the most important city at the time: Savannah. Mired in the deep of the South with no reliable supply lines, Sherman’s army had to live off the land and the provisions on the plantations they seized along the way. As the army marched to the east, plantation owners fled, but even before they did so, slaves self-emancipated to Union lines. By the time the army seized Savannah in December, as many as 20,000 enslaved people had attached themselves to Sherman’s army. They endured hardships, marching as much […]