Lectures

The Museum of the Confederacy has been sponsoring lectures on Confederate and Civil War history since its earliest years.  Dr. Hunter Holmes McGuire, “Stonewall” Jackson’s physician, was one of the first to deliver a lecture to a museum audience.

Currently, the Museum presents two major annual lectures. The Museum of the Confederacy Symposium in February is cosponsored with and hosted by The Library of Virginia. The Elizabeth Roller Bottimore Lecture in September, made possible by an endowment from the Roller Bottimore Foundation, is cosponsored with and hosted by the University of Richmond's History Department.

In addition to those two larger lectures, the Museum has started to offer monthly brown bag lunch talks to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. Held both in Richmond and Appomattox, VA, these talks delve into topics large and small, but generally center around an event that happened during that month 150 years ago.

Past Lectures

Several of these more recent lectures have been filmed and are available to view online. Detailed summaries and partial transcripts of others are available as one of the benefits of membership.

Upcoming Lectures

Click each title for more information.

May 15, 2013- Losing Lee's Right Arm: The Death and Legacy of Stonewall Jackson
This event has officially sold out. Thanks for your interest!
On May 10, 1863, Lieutenant General Thomas Jonathan Jackson died at Guinea Station, Va, after being wounded following the Battle of Chancellorsville. His body laid in state in Richmond on May 11th and 12th before being transported to Lexington for burial on the 15th. On the 150th anniversary of that funeral, famed Jackson biographer Dr. James I. Robertson, Jr. will speak on those historic events and the wider impact of the general’s passing. Seating for this exclusive event at Hanover Tavern is limited. Reservations are required. Click the title above for more information.

The Sesquicentennial Brown Bag Lunch Series in Richmond
These free talks are held monthly at the Museum in Richmond. Bring your lunch and join in on the discussion.

• May 10 | The Death of Stonewall Jackson: The View from the Museum's Collections
• June 21 | Vicksburg
• July 19 | Pickett's Charge
• August 16 | Quantrill’s Sack of Lawrence, Kansas, and the Un-civil War
• September 20 | Confederate Victory at Thermopylae
• October 18 | The Confederacy and Mexico
• November 8 | George Thomas
• December 13 | The Art of Surviving

Richmond Book Talks

• May 3 | Enduring Legacy: Rhetoric and Ritual of the Lost Cause 
• May 11 | Calamity at Chancellorsville: The Wounding and Death of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson

The Civil War Conversation Series in Appomattox
These free talks are held monthly at Baine's Books and Coffee and co-sponsored by the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park.

• May 8 | The Second Battle of Fredericksburg
• June 12 | Brandy Station
• July 10 | Gettysburg
• August 14 | United States Colored Troops
• September 11 | Second Battle of Sabine Pass
• October 9 | Bristoe Station Campaign
• November 13 | George Thomas
• December 11 | Native Americans and the Confederacy

Appomattox Evening Lectures
Come to the Museum of the Confederacy-Appomattox for refreshments and an intriguing lecture. Free for Museum members, $5 for non-members.

• May 23 | Confederate Generals: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
• June 27 | Weapon Changes During the Civil War