Considerations for Joining a Civil War Round Table

Emerging Civil War welcomes Cheryl McAuley

How do you go about finding a new Civil War Round Table after a move? Or do you?

We recently moved from Huntsville, Alabama where we had been members of the Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table since 2008. We now reside in a quiet neighborhood in Fayetteville, Pennsylvania, 17 miles west of Gettysburg and seven miles east of Chambersburg.

With the approach of the 2026-2027 CWRT season, we are considering Round Table(s) to visit and perhaps join. There is a plethora of CWRTs within an hour’s drive of our new home. I thought it might be fun to make a comparison of the Round Tables closest to us. Which would you choose?

Here are eight CWRTs for us to research:
• Cumberland Valley CWRT – meets at the Franklin Fire Company in Chambersburg
• CWRT Gettysburg is 17 miles away – meets at the Adams County Historical Society
• Shippensburg Area CWRT is 21 miles away – meets at Christ United Methodist Church
• Hagerstown CWRT is 28 miles away – meets at Homewood Suites
• Harpers Ferry CWRT is 45 miles – meets at Camp Hill-Wesley UMC
• York CWRT is 50 miles – meets at York County History Center
• Hershey CWRT is 65 miles – meets at Vietnam Veterans of America, Harrisburg
• Frederick CWRT is 67 miles – meets at National Museum of Civil War Medicine

Of these, some CWRTs offer a Zoom option. Some have newsletters and/or Facebook pages and optional websites to communicate information. The meeting venues vary. All have a welcoming message for potential visitors. The speaker line-ups are robust and there are occasional field trips. They meet from September through May. The dues range from $15 to $30 per year. Some of the venues have an optional meal before the meeting.

CWRTs typically don’t meet on Fridays. For those who may not wish to drive after dark, a wonderful option remains, courtesy of the Civil War Round Table Congress. A Zoom meeting is offered at 7 PM Eastern time, and while it’s a free program, donations are welcomed. Simply register for the topic and meeting of your choice at http://www.cwrtcongress.org/events/fridays.html. The Q&A after the presentation is facilitated by Mike Movius, CWRT President. (For CWRTs who need a speaker, this is a great option too – simply go to the CWRTC YouTube Channel archives and find a presentation to share!)

There is another useful CWRTC resource available that may be helpful to those searching for a CWRT in their area. The comprehensive list of Proven Practices that could provide insight into what to look for in a CWRT is noted thus: http://www.cwrtcongress.org/resources/proven.html

These questions can be helpful in the visitor’s evaluation process. Visitors are prospective members!

Questions to research about a potential CWRT may include:
• Who are the guest speakers? Is there a speaker schedule published for the year?
• Are there by-laws for the CWRT and is it a 501(c)(3)? Dues can be tax deductible.
• How are the dues utilized – for speaker honoraria, awards, or preservation?
• What kind of interaction is there between Board members and Round Table members?
• Are there Board vacancies that have gone unfilled?
• Is there a preservation effort promoted by the CWRT? Does it partner with another non-profit that studies history?
• Is there a newsletter?
• How does it feel to be a visitor to the group? Are you welcomed or ignored?

For the McAuleys, the answer for now, is to visit various CWRTs when we can. Before we left Alabama, we paid our dues to the TVCWRT for 3 years in advance. We watch the meetings remotely and still receive the monthly newsletter. We served this organization and invested voluminous volunteer hours helping in any way we could.

Cheryl McAuley is a Board member of the CWRT Congress. She has developed a unique presentation featuring the contributions of Dr. Thaddeus Lowe’s Balloon Corps to implement airborne reconnaissance activities into the Union Army of the Potomac.

Invite her to share her presentation with your Round Table!