Civil War Museum
Workshops
In-Person Workshops
Civil War Engineers
The Role of Civil War Engineers
Saturday, May 31 | 1:00pm – 2:30pm | $20 ($25 for non-members) | Instructor: Brian Conroy | Register Here
Engineers were a vital part of the military during the Civil War, helping to move the army and repair infrastructure vital to the war effort. This workshop class will discuss the roles that engineers played, the equipment that they possessed, the tools that would have been used, what they would have built, and a small project at the end to illustrate what a Civil War engineer’s role was.
Greenridge Cemetery
Greenridge Cemetery, Camp Harvey, and the First Wisconsin Cavalry
Thursday, July 10 | 5:00pm – 7:30pm | $20 ($25 for non-members) | Instructors: Doug Dammann, Emily Mentzel, and Scott Smith | Register Here
The First Wisconsin Cavalry arrived in Kenosha via train on November 24, 1861. The troopers spent the next 3 ½ months living and training in a hastily constructed camp near Lake Michigan called Camp Harvey.
This workshop will begin at the Civil War Museum and introduce attendees to the soldiers of the First Wisconsin Cavalry and their experiences in camp. The group will then drive a short distance and tour Greenridge Cemetery, the present day site of Camp Harvey. At the cemetery, the group will hear the biographies of several of the 197 Civil War veterans buried on-site, including five members of the First Wisconsin Cavalry.
Teacher Seminar
Civil War Museum Teacher Seminar
Friday, August 1 | 8am – 4pm | $50 per person | Register Here
Includes Continental breakfast, catered lunch, and Professional Development Credits (IL teachers only)
Calling Middle School, High School, and emerging teachers alike! Are you planning on teaching about the Civil War this upcoming school year? Have you ever wondered how a museum field trip can benefit your students?
Join the Kenosha Civil War Museum Education Staff and local educators for a Civil War Museum Teacher Seminar that dives into creative and immersive ways to utilize history education resources from your community to your classroom. We’ll start the day with a continental breakfast and an inside look at all the Civil War Museum has to offer for the perfect field trip! Enjoy a chance to network with fellow educators over a catered lunch, and spend the afternoon listening in on creative ways to engage middle and high school students, discussions led by local educators. It’ll be a great day learning all about what the Civil War Museum has to offer you and your students!
Program Coordinators:
Doug Dammann, Civil War Museum Site Coordinator
Dr. Benjamin R. Wellenreiter, Associate Professor of Middle Level Education at Illinois State University and Executive Director for the Illinois Council for the Social Studies
Chuck Taft, Executive Director, Wisconsin Council for the Social Studies and Middle School American Studies Teacher at the University School of Milwaukee
Tyson Mengle, History Teacher at Harborside Academy
Registration closes July 25th.
Civil War Media Club
Civil War Media Club: On Great Fields: The Life and Unlikely Heroism of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
Tuesday, August 19 | 6:30pm – 8:00pm | Instructor: Doug Dammann | $8 ($10 for non-members) | Register Here
Before 1862, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain had rarely left his home state of Maine, where he was a minister and mild-mannered professor of speech and rhetoric at Bowdoin College. His colleagues were shocked when he volunteered for the Union army, but he was undeterred and later became known as one of the North’s greatest heroes.
Award-winning historian Ronald C. White’s cradle-to-grave biography of General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain examines Chamberlain from his upbringing in rural Maine to his tenacious, empathetic military leadership and his influential postwar public service, exploring a question that still plagues so many veterans: How do you make a civilian life of meaning after having experienced the extreme highs and lows of war?
Media Club attendees are encouraged to read the book before the meeting and come prepared to share their views and opinions on it in an open forum.
Petersburg: Life in the Trenches
Petersburg: Life in the Trenches
Saturday, September 27 | 1pm – 3pm | Instructor: Steve Acker | $20 ($20 for non-members) | Register Here
The Petersburg campaign lasted from June of 1864 to April of 1865. Battles involving tens of thousands of soldiers were an almost monthly occurrence during this time: June 18, The Crater, Reams Station, Hatcher’s Run, Fort Stedman and more, each battle fought was followed by days and weeks of soldiers ducking artillery, avoiding the sharpshooter’s bullet, and just trying to survive trench life. Life in the Trenches of Petersburg is a program designed to put a face and a human story to the Petersburg Campaign. Using first person accounts from both sides plus photos from the Library of Congress collection, this program will help us learn the human story of that 292 day period of the Civil War in Virginia.
Poe and the Peculiar
Poe and the Peculiar
Wednesday, October 15 | 7:00pm – 8:30pm | Performance by: Joshua Rex | $24 ($30 for non-members) | Register Here
Enter into the world of the strange and odd of Edgar Allan Poe’s Victorian Era. Indulge in a Poe-themed beverage as you get an up-close look at some of the most peculiar objects in the museum’s collection. Guests will then join historian and author Joshua Rex in the museum gallery for a captivating performance of Poe’s work. Must be 21+ to attend.
The Civil War Museum After Dark Tours
The Civil War Museum After Dark: Wide Awakes
Wednesday, October 30 | 7:00pm – 8:00pm | Presenter: Doug Dammann | $16 ($20 for non-members) | Register Here
Who were the Wide Awakes and why did they participate in nighttime torch-lit parades wearing special costumes? Why did the wounds of some soldiers glow after the Battle of Shiloh? Did Mary Todd Lincoln attend seances at the White House?
Curator Doug Dammann will lead a lantern-lit tour of the Civil War Museum’s Fiery Trial gallery that explores these and other strange and odd stories of the Civil War.
Walking Tour of the Grounds of the Milwaukee Soldier’s Home
Saturday, May 6 | 10:00am – 12:00pm | $12 ($15 non-members) Register Here
Participants must provide their own transportation to the site.
The Civil War Museum, in collaboration with volunteers from the Milwaukee Preservation Alliance, is excited to offer a walking tour of the buildings and grounds of the newly rehabbed Milwaukee Soldiers Home. Highlights of the tour include the interior of Old Main and the building’s history exhibit as well as exterior stops at the Home’s historic Theater, Church, Library, and Cemetery. Our guides will also concentrate on the personal stories of the Civil War veterans who made the Soldier’s Home their home after the war.
The group will meet at the grounds at 10am to begin the walking tour. Parking is available.
A portion of the proceeds from the tour will be donated to the Milwaukee Preservation Alliance.
Virtual Workshops
Hayes and Garfield: The War Years
Tuesday, February 4 | 6:00pm-7:30pm | Presenters: Joshua Dubbert and C.W. Goodyear | $12 ($15 non-members) | Register Here
Join the Civil War Museum online for an in-depth discussion led by Joshua Dubbert and C.W. Goodyear about Rutherford B. Hayes and James A. Garfield and their lives during the Civil War Years.
Joshua Dubbert is the Historian at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museums. His research focuses on Victorian America, particularly its culture, art, architecture, and the era’s presidents. He enjoys giving public programs and tours of the Hayes Home, and sharing the fascinating history of Hayes, his presidency, his family, and his era, with the public.
C.W. Goodyear is an author and historian based in Washington, D.C. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and grew up abroad before graduating from Yale University. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, and his latest book, President Garfield: From Radical to Unifier, is a critically acclaimed biography of America’s 20th president.
Six of the eight presidents to serve after the Civil War fought in the war itself, including Rutherford B. Hayes and James A. Garfield. The two men had many other things in common—both were Ohioans, Republicans, and U.S. Congressmen. Their mettle was tested in battle and their politics were shaped by their leadership roles during the great conflict. This program examines Hayes and Garfield’s individual war experiences, presented by Joshua Dubbert, historian at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, and C.W. Goodyear, author of the recent acclaimed biography President Garfield: From Radical to Unifier.
Participants will be sent a link the day-of to access this live virtual workshop at their home computers.
Cancellations and Refunds
A full refund will be issued if the Kenosha Public Museum, Dinosaur Discovery Museum, or Civil War Museum cancels a workshop or camp.
All refunds requested within 72 hours of the program are subject to a $10 processing fee.
No refunds are offered on or after the day a workshop or camp begins.
Class cancellations can happen if enrollment minimums are not met two days prior to the event. You will be contacted via phone or email if your event is canceled.
If unforeseen circumstances (i.e. weather, power outages, instructor illness) occur within 72 hours of the workshop or camp and the program must be canceled, the museum will do its best to reschedule or provide a voucher to take a program of a similar or same cost.
