Second Friday Lecture Series
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.
Civil War Railroads and Their Tactics
Friday, December 12 | 12pm – 1pm | Presented by: Charlie Banks
One of the aspects that makes the American Civil War one of the first modern wars was the use of railroads. Railroads were vital lifelines for armies because they were the fastest and most efficient way to transport soldiers and supplies. Because of this, major campaigns such as Chattanooga, Atlanta, Richmond, Petersburg, and Corinth were fought within 20 miles of a rail line or major rail hub. Mr. Banks’ presentation will show how railroads brought about changes to military logistics and tactics that carried on to the major conflicts that followed the Civil War.
Charles (Charlie) Banks is a member of the Northern Illinois Civil War Round Table and a founding member of the McHenry County Civil War Round Table. He has a deep interest in the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and its subsidiaries. Besides his interests in the Civil War, he also enjoys antiquing with his wife, Mary, and building his model railroad.
Lee Beseiged
Friday, January 9 | 12pm – 1pm | Presented by: Mr. John Horn
The nine-month siege of Petersburg was the longest continuous operation of the Civil War. Large-scale Union “offensives”—grand maneuvers that triggered some of the large-scale battles—broke the monotony of siege warfare. John Horn’s program and book, Lee Beseiged, provide explanations for the context and consequences of every decision and are grounded in hundreds of primary sources and supported by 40 original maps. His new book is the first to put Grant’s second effort into its proper perspective—not only in the context of Petersburg’s siege and the Civil War, but in the context of warfare’s history.
Chicago native John Horn majored in English and Latin at New College (Sarasota, Florida) and has practiced law around Chicago since graduating Columbia Law School in New York in 1976. In addition to many articles, he has written three other books about Petersburg, Virginia’s soldiers, and the siege of that city, and co-edited another.
Irish Americans During the American Civil War
Friday, February 13 | 12pm – 1pm | Presented by: Mr. Dennis Doyle
Starting during the Irish Famine of the 1840’s, millions of Irish citizens immigrated to the United States to escape British Unionist political rule and economic poverty.
Despite their lack of wealth and education, low social status, and discrimination, Irish-Americans distinguished themselves in their new home and during the American Civil War.
As many as 145,000 volunteered to serve in the Federal Army and over 40,000 would serve the Confederacy during the Civil War. These soldiers served on many battlefields and suffered heavy casualties. Seventy Irish-American Union soldiers received the Medal of Honor. Some of the outstanding Irish-American generals were notably Phil Sheridan for the North and Cleburne for the South.
Doyle’s program will focus on the motivation of Irish-Americans to serve during the Civil War and whether their hopes for a better position and social status was realized in post Civil War America. He will also explore how some Irish immigrants hoped to participate in a post-war uprising to liberate Ireland from British rule, which was not realized until 1922 when a Democratic Ireland was created.
A native of Chicago, Professor Doyle grew up in Joliet, where he resides. He has a master’s degree in history from American University in Washington, D.C.; a master’s degree in sociology from DePaul University in Chicago; and a bachelor’s degree in history from Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Doyle recently retired from teaching history and sociology at Joliet Junior College in Joliet, Illinois He is the current president of the 300-member Civil War Round Table of Chicago.
From Camp Douglas to Vicksburg: The Civil War Letters of William J. Kennedy, 55th Illinois Infantry, 1861-1863
Friday, March 13 | 12pm – 1pm | Presented by: Rachel Mellon
During her program, Rachael Mellen will discuss the new book that she and Dave Powell edited which is titled From Camp Douglas to Vicksburg: The Civil War Letters of William J. Kennedy, 55th Illinois Infantry, 1861-1863. In August 1861 William Kennedy was a harness-maker living in LaSalle, Illinois. Married with four young children, he volunteered to recruit a company in response to Lincoln’s call for more troops. During the next two years, he saw action at Shiloh, Corinth, Chickasaw Bayou, and finally the Siege of Vicksburg. Observant, patriotic and sometimes cynical, Kennedy’s letters give us an intriguing picture of how people of the North really experienced the war.
Mellen and Powell used their expertise to sift through genealogical records, histories of the war, and other regimental accounts to flesh out the people, places, and events that can now be shared with everyone. These documents have brought William Kennedy and his family back to life for their 21st-century relatives and a wider audience.
Rachael is a teacher, writer, genealogist, and historian. Educated at the University of London (UK), she earned a Master’s in Humanities from California State University Dominguez Hills. She lives in Peru, Illinois, and is thrilled to share the story of William Kennedy with you.
Public Programs
Public programs are free to attend and pre-registration is not required unless otherwise noted.
Pearl Harbor Day
Author Talk: The Road Was Full of Thorns: Running Toward Freedom in the American Civil War with Tom Zoellner
Friday, February 20 | 12pm – 1pm | Free, registration appreciated | Registration Coming Soon
Join author and historian Tom Zoellner for an engaging and informative discussion on his latest book, The Road Was Full of Thorns: Running Toward Freedom in the American Civil War. Copies of Tom’s book can be purchased from the Civil War Museum gift shop and can be signed after the program.
In the opening days of the Civil War, three enslaved men approached the gates of Fort Monroe, a U.S. military installation in Virginia. In a snap decision, the fort’s commander “confiscated” them as a contraband of war.
From then on, wherever the U.S. Army traveled, torrents of runaways rushed to secure their own freedom, a mass movement of 800,000 people – a fifth of the enslaved population of the South – that set the institution of slavery on a path to destruction.
In an engrossing work of narrative history, critically acclaimed historian Tom Zoellner introduces an unforgettable cast of characters whose stories will transform our popular understanding of how slavery ended. The Road Was Full of Thorns shows what emancipation looked and felt like for the people who made the desperate flight across dangerous territory: the taste of mud in the mouth, the terror of the slave patrols, and the fateful crossing into Union lines. Zoellner also reveals how the last powerful Americans changed the politics of war – forcing President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation and opening the door to universal Black citizenship.
About the Author:
“Zoellner is a beautiful writer, a superb reporter and a deep thinker.” – The New York Times Book Review
Tom Zoellner is the author of eight nonfiction books, including The Heartless Stone, Uranium, The National Road, and Island on Fire, which won the 2020 National Book Critics Circle Award and was a finalist for the Bancroft Prize.
His work has appeared in The Atlantic, Harper’s, The American Scholar, The Oxford American, Time, Foreign Policy, Men’s Health, Slate, Scientific American, Audubon, Sierra, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Texas Observer, The American Scholar, The Wall Street Journal and many other publications.
Tom is a former staff writer for The Arizona Republic and the San Francisco Chronicle, and the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Lannan Foundation. He serves as an editor-at-large at The Los Angeles Review of Books
Historic Military Gaming
Saturday, February 21 | 10am – 4pm
Sunday, February 22 | 12pm – 3pm
The Historical Miniatures Gaming Society – Midwest of the Chicago area will be running a history gaming weekend at the Kenosha Civil War Museum. We will feature an “open house” format where the public may check out the tables featuring hundreds of miniatures depicting battles from history. Of course we will have battles from the American Civil War but also will pay tribute to the 250th Anniversary of the Founding by offering a few battles from the American Revolutionary War. Dr. Steve Fratt, past president of HMGS-MW will bring “Shot Heard Round the World” depicting the Battles of Lexington and Concord and also present “The Whites of Their Eyes”…the Battle of Bunker Hill.
This event is designed to introduce the public to historical gaming as a wonderful pastime that helps the players understand the how and why decisions were made in important battles and campaigns. Game Masters will explain how their games work, how to create the battlefields and where to buy historical figures. So come by, see what it is all about and take some time to play a few turns commanding your troops in the field.
Military Miniature Gaming: An Informal and Personal History
Saturday, February 21 | 1pm
During Historic Military Gaming Event
Military miniatures have been in use by professional soldiers and civilians for many centuries. People have enjoyed owning them, painting and collecting them, and using them in a wide variety of games. This presentation will touch on the early beginnings of miniatures, their connection to military history and their use for gaming purposes. From early appearances in Egypt and China to inexpensive Kriegspiel (wargaming), these miniatures have served to attract and enthuse young and old alike with their colorful pageantry, while infusing a touch of history into the process.
Museum Book Club: James by Percival Everett
Thursday, February 26 | 12pm – 1pm | Discussion led by: Emily Mentzel | Free, registration appreciated | Registration Coming Soon
Tackle your 2026 reading goals at the Civil War Museum and register for Museum Book Club! The Civil War Museum is hosting an America 250th themed book club, reading works of fiction and non-fiction that touch on the American Revolution, the Civil War and enslavement, and the modern legacy of enslavement with us today.
Participants are encouraged to read the work before they attend the book club meeting in order to participate and engage in lively and thought-provoking discussions. Participants can purchase books from Kenosha’s Blue House Books. Be sure to “enter” or mention the promo code CWM2026 to get 10% off your purchase for the book we are reading!
James by Percival Everett
When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, who recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down by the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond. Fans of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn will enjoy reading this thought-provoking take on a well-known story.
2026 Reading Schedule Coming Soon
History in Bloom
Sunday, March 8 | 12:30pm – 4:00pm | Performance by: Leslie Goddard, PhD | Free, registration required | Registration Coming Soon
Celebrate the remarkable history of women and the legacies they pave today at this free, community event at the Kenosha Civil War Museum! Immerse yourself in the Victorian Language of Flowers as you build your own mini-bouquet (courtesy of Howland Flowers) to take home and learn the Language of the Fan in the Resource Center. Peruse a mini vendor market highlighting local, women-owned businesses and treat yourself to an antipasto grazing station (courtesy of Bell’Assai Bistro).
At 2:00pm, attendees can attend a first-person performance of Abigail Adams by actress and historian, Leslie Goddard.
This event is family-friendly and is open to all. Crafts, flower bouquets, and snacks will be as supplies last.
Thank you to the Kenosha Community Foundation for helping this event come to life, and to our partners: Howland Flowers and Bell’Assai Bistro.
Special Exhibition Programs
Special Exhibition programs are free to attend and pre-registration is not required unless otherwise noted.
Beyond Board Games: Historic Military Gaming
Saturday, February 22 | 10am – 4pm
Sunday, February 23 | 12pm – 4pm
Historic Miniature Gaming and the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society are coming to The Civil War Museum!
On both Saturday, February 22 and Sunday, February 23, visit the museum and explore the fascinating hobby of building, painting and sculpting terrain for gaming with historic miniatures.
Anyone interested in getting an “A+” in history should get to know the hobby and the folks at the Historic Miniature Gaming Society!
At this event, you’ll see Civil War miniature battle games that are both easy to learn and vastly rewarding.
Take command and witness how this hobby of “chess on a grand scale” uses strategy and tactics to challenge the imagination.
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