Public Programs

The Second Friday Lecture Series is a monthly Civil War lecture program organized by the Civil War Museum of Kenosha, Wisconsin. All programs are held for an in-person audience at the museum. The lectures are recorded and posted to the museum’s YouTube channel.

The Second Friday Lectures begin at 12:00pm and there is no cost to attend. The Civil War Museum graciously thanks the Milwaukee Civil War Round Table and Iron Brigade Association for sponsoring this series of lectures.

William B. Britton and His Adventurous Life with the 8th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry (The Eagle Regiment)

Friday, January 10  |  12pm – 1 pm  |  Speaker: Mr. Dick Zimmermann

Enrolling as a captain in a Janesville, Wisconsin volunteer infantry company, William Britton saw many of the Civil War’s most dramatic Western Theater campaigns and battles from 1861-1865. The presentation will highlight his exploits at Island #10, Corinth, Vicksburg, Red River Campaign, Missouri Campaign against Sterling Price, and the Battle of Nashville. Research for this program came from an entire series of articles Britton wrote for the Janesville Daily Gazette.  These articles present his uncensored views on the conflict in the West as he comments extensively on guerrilla warfare, slavery, combat itself, and war protesters.

“What Did Lincoln Know About Science, and Did It Matter?”

Friday, February 14  |  12pm – 1pm  |  Presented by Dr. James M. Cornelius

James M. Cornelius, Ph.D., the curator of the Lincoln Presidential Library from 2007-2018, has been working on this topic for more than a decade and given two preliminary public talks on the subject.  It begins from the well-known surprise that Abraham Lincoln was our only president who held a scientific patent, then takes up the mental world of his era concerning such largely uncovered topics (at least in Lincoln circles) as ‘race science,’ phrenology, genetic inheritance, astronomy, geography, weaponry, folk vs. “real” medicine, natural history and discovery, even linguistics.  Some of these fields may have influenced his presidential or other political actions.  Parts of the talk may be unpalatable to polite conversation about him, and that is why the topic needs addressing.  

Cornelius, a native of Minneapolis, is married to Anne.  They were classmates at Lawrence University in Appleton and have two grown daughters. He is the secretary for and editor of the Abraham Lincoln Association’s newsletter For the People (Springfield, Ill.), former editor (2018-2023) of the Journal of the ALA, and the author or editor of half-a-dozen books on Lincoln and his times.

Wildfire, Miss Clampitt, and the Wonder Girl from the West: Early Women Sculptors of Abraham Lincoln

Friday, March 14  |  12pm – 1pm  |  Presented by Mr. Dave Wiegers 

In the middle of the 19th century, women were not generally a force in American sculpture. Art, and especially sculpture, were a male-centric occupation. Three women sculpted images of Abraham Lincoln in the 1860s and 1870s, and each has an interesting story. Two of these women sculptors, Vinnie Ream (Hoxie) and Sarah Fisher Ames, would produce images of Lincoln that would be displayed in the United States Capitol building. A third, Edmonia Lewis, broke many barriers of race and gender to become a well-known sculptor. Each of these women has a unique story and, other than Ream, they have not had their stories widely told.