WELCOME TO
THE CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE
OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia was established in 1951 with Bruce Catton and Virgil Carrington "Pat" Jones among its founding members. Its purpose is to stimulate and expand interest in the military, political, diplomatic, economic, and socio-cultural history of the United States and particularly the Civil War. It is also committed to preserving historical sites and landmarks through initiatives such as, among others, its annual Edwin C. Bearss Award. Among its achievements, the Round Table spawned the National Civil War Centennial Commission.
The Round Table meets monthly from September to June at Fort Myer in Arlington, Virginia or via Zoom. At its in-person/hybrid Zoom meetings, the Round Table caters dinner followed by a presentation by a noted author or scholar on a topic related to the U.S. Civil War. Recent speakers include: Fergus Bordewich, Gary Gallagher, Jon Meacham, Frank Smith, Allen Guelzo, Michael Burlingame, Don Miller, Daud Watts, and Gail Stephens, to name only a few.
The Round Table also sponsors visits to battlefield sites, tours of museums, and other events. Recent tours have featured the American Civil War Museum in Richmond, The National Museum of the U.S. Army in Fairfax, the Lost Avenue, Appomattox, Ball's Bluff Battlefield, Chancellorsville, Vicksburg, and many more.
Activities To Be Expanded for Virtual Attendees. As a result of the recent pandemic, the Round Table discontinued its in-person meetings and instead hosted its speakers via Zoom. This change allowed attendees from all of the world share with us their passion for the study of Civil War history and enjoy fellowship and
camaraderie with other history enthusiasts. Because our Round Table in
the past has been comprised primarily of members who live in the DC area, however, we often reported about current and upcoming events and activities occurring locally. Now that we have members joining from outside the DC area, however, we would like to use Zoom technology to offer those attendees an opportunity to share information about Civil War events, sites, artifacts,
and stories related to where they live. One
idea suggested recently is to have members or historians on site at the Battle
of Stones River share with us photographs and other media they have about that
battle. Another is to have one of our members
located in Missouri give us a virtual walking tour of the bridge that Archer Alexander (of Emancipation Memorial statue fame) reported to Union troops would be sabotaged by the Confederate troops. Conversely,
we hope to have members who reside in the DC area give virtual walking tours of
locations in the Capital City and nearby battlefields for attendees who are unlikely to visit our area.
If you would like to make a presentation (either in-person or via Zoom) to our Round Table about an event, tour, experience, or story, please click HERE for more information (https://cwrtdc-meetings.blogspot.com/p/make-presentation.html)
All Are Welcome. All are welcome to attend the Zoom presentations, and we urge you to become a member, using the menu located to the right of our page HERE (https://cwrtdc-meetings.blogspot.com/). All are also welcome to join us in-person for our dinners and the speaker presentations, including members and non-members (and whether Civil War history buffs or newly interested in studying this conflict). Reservations are required for dinner and a fee is charged. Or feel free to attend in-person or via Zoom only to listen to the speakers' presentations. For more information about our meetings and for directions, click on the "MEETINGS / TOURS" tab above.
Please click on one of the tabs in the menu bar above to learn about our group and for more information about our dinners, speakers, events, tours, history, and membership. Or contact us at admin@cwrtdc.org with any questions.
Schedule of Speakers/Tours 2025-2026
Meetings in Red = In-Person and via Zoom
Meetings in Black = Via Zoom Only
Tours/Events = Blue
To Be Scheduled = Green
DATE SPEAKER TENTATIVE TOPIC
Aug. 23, 25 John Sower Bladensburg Monument
Sept 10, 25 B. Cheeseboro DC Outside the W. House
Oct. 30, 25 Speaker Panel Civil War Foggy Bottom
Nov. 12, 25 Jeff Boutwell CW Boutwell
Dec. 10, 25 R. Grandchamp 1st RI at Middleburg
Jan. 14, 26 John Banks CW Trip of a Lifetime
Feb. XX, 26 TBD Joint LGDC/CWRTDC
Mar. 25, 26 Lesley Gordon CW Dread & Cowardice
Apr. 08, 26 J. S. Anderson Great Locomotive Chase
May 13, 26 Jim Johnston Rowser's Ford
June 10, 26 Howell Raines The Silent Cavalry
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For a list of previous speakers, click HERE
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