On April 17 and 18, the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall will host its annual Civil War symposium.
In its seventh year, the symposium has grown from a local half-day event to attracting more than 200 attendees from across the nation who traveled to Carnegie for the 2025 symposium.
Clearly, the word is out.
In this 165th anniversary of the first year of the Civil War, the 2026 symposium will explore topics around a theme of 1861: Small Battles, Big Outcomes.
Though overlooked in favor of later years and larger battles, the first year of the Civil War witnessed many advances and setbacks, trials and tribulations, personalities and decisions that affected how the remainder of the war came to be fought.
The weekend will feature seven dynamic public historians who will unpack the military, political and social threads of this pivotal year in our nation’s history.
Speakers include National Park Service historians, museum professionals, authors and educators. Five of the speakers are members of Emerging Civil War, a popular digital Civil War platform, including the organization’s co-founder and editor-in-chief, Chris Mackowski.
Beyond the lectures, the weekend will feature an expansive book sale, raffles and Civil War artwork for silent auction, as well as tastings and bottle sales from Arsenal Cider — Pittsburgh’s own Civil War-themed hard cider distillery
Attendees will have the opportunity to tour our national treasure Captain Thomas Espy Post, considered perhaps the most intact surviving example of the more than 7,500 Grand Army of the Republic posts that once dotted the nation.
The neighboring Lincoln Gallery will also feature an engaging Faces of Civil War Nurses temporary exhibit, including life-sized images and stories of 20 Civil War nurses, such as one nurse whose likeness is featured in stained glass at Sacred Heart church in Pittsburgh.
The Civil War symposium has grown to become one of the library’s largest annual events. For history enthusiasts, it offers a weekend of first-class speakers and camaraderie, without the need to drive to Gettysburg or Antietam.
Tickets cost $100 and are available up to April 6 or until sold out.
All proceeds from the symposium benefit the preservation of the Espy Post artifacts and help to support monthly second Saturday Civil War programming at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall.
For more information, visit carnegiecarnegie.org or call 412-276-3456, ext. 19.