Abraham Lincoln the focus of May 12 Southern Museum panel discussion

The General locomotive as seen on Nov. 27, 2011, at the Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History in Kennesaw, Ga. (Photo by Todd DeFeo)

The 16th president of the United States will be the subject of an upcoming panel discussion at the Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History in downtown Kennesaw.

The discussion — “Abraham Lincoln: Sinner or Saint?” — is set for 5:30 p.m. on May 12 at the Southern Museum. The event is sponsored by the Kennesaw Historical Society.

Dr. Richard Banz, the Southern Museum’s executive director; Martin O’Toole, a past president of the Cobb County Bar Association, past Judge Advocate General of the Georgia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and past commander of the Leonidas Polk Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans; and Glenn Price, a history teacher at South Cobb High School and former U.S. Navy officer, will serve as panelists. Robert C. Jones, a Kennesaw resident, historian and author, will moderate the event.

“A century-and-a-half after he was struck down by an assassin’s bullet just days after Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Abraham Lincoln remains arguably the country’s most compelling figure,” Banz said. “It’s interesting to examine how northern and southern historians differ in their views of our 16th president. And, that is just one of the many angles we are planning to explore with this panel.”

For more information, visit southernmuseum.org.