EVENT DETAILS:
Joshua Lindamood — April 6, 1865: Black Thursday
Location – Wisconsin Club (900 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI)
5:30 p.m. – Registration/Social Hour
6:30 p.m. – Dinner
7:30 p.m. – Program
Cost: $35 by reservation, please
(Note: Jackets required for the dining room)
RSVP:
Please contact Paul Eilbes at 262.376.0568 or peilbes@gmail.com to RSVP. We hope to see you there!
ABOUT THE EVENT:
Join us on October 8, 2026, as featured speaker Joshua Lindamood examines the chaotic and decisive events of April 6, 1865—a catastrophic day known as “Black Thursday.” As Robert E. Lee’s retreating Confederate forces stretched along a vulnerable line, Ulysses S. Grant’s Union army struck with overwhelming force at the Battle of Sailor’s Creek. From ferocious close-quarters combat near the Hillsman House to the total breakdown of key defenses, the staggering losses prompted Lee to cry out in anguish, “My God! Has the army dissolved?” Discover the critical decisions made during this brutal afternoon and explore how the fighting along Sailor’s Creek sealed the fate of the Army of Northern Virginia, leading directly to Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House just three days later.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Joshua Lindamood is a historian serving at Sailor’s Creek and Staunton River Battlefield State Parks, and a founding co-director of the Appomattox-Petersburg Preservation Society (A.P.P.S.). With additional experience at the American Civil War Museum and Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, he has dedicated his public history career to preserving Southside Virginia’s historic sites and interpreting the region’s vital Civil War history for visitors worldwide.
