In April 1865, the capital of the Confederacy fell to Union forces. The McHenry County (Illinois) Civil War Round Table discussion group will be talking about it from 10 am to 11:30 am at the Crystal Lake, Illinois.
It will also be on Zoom. So if you're in the area, stop on in. Everybody's welcome and all you need is an interest in the Civil War.
And, we actually do stay on topic most of the time.
Panera Brad is located on Northwest Highway (US-14) by Main Street.
Come On Down. --Old Secesh
When Wesley Willows shut down their facilities during the pandemic, Don Barrett and Ed Kuehl kept the meetings going on by presenting them online via Zoom.
Gob Pressman was elected president in 2021, and with the help of other officers, went to work reorganizing the Round Table and putting it on solid financial footing. "We formed a committee to rewrite the bylaws, based on those of other round tables," said Pressman.
"Prior to the pandemic, attendees paid Wesley Willows for the meal, but paid only $1 for expenses. Jerry Paris volunteered to be treasurer and we raised dues to $25 a year, opened a bank account, and started paying for our Zoom subscription."
Zoom meetings were a mixed blessing. "It allowed us to use speakers from all over the country, since we didn't have to pay travel expenses, so the pool of presenters became very large. It also kept us in contact with each other, but we missed the face-to-face interaction, the camaraderie of in-person meetings.
By 2022, things were starting to reopen, and Wesley Willows said they would allow us to meet there again, but without meals."
--Old Secesh
Bob Ash, Dick Wolff, Mary Webber, Ray Schoenfeld, Ed Rounds and others were instrumental in maintaining and growing the organization. Meeting locations changed a bit, but eventually they moved to the new facilities at Wesley Willows, where an optional lunch preceded each meeting presentation.
By the time COVID -19 closed down all such public gatherings in 2020, the average attendance was over 50.
"I've been a member of the Rock River Valley Round Table for about 15 years, retired Rockford radio and TV journalist Bob Pressman says. "At my first meeting, I was impressed with the number of people and surprised by how many I already knew-- none of whom had ever mentioned [the group] to me."
Pressman, like others in the group, has presented several programs, including ones on Reconstruction and myths and facts about the Civil War.
--Old Secesh
In November 1998, Ed Hunt and Tony Tobak offered a class on Civil War battles through the Center for Learning in Retirement at Rock Valley College. At the conclusion, several members expressed an interest in continuing meetings on the subject. Eventually, about ten people agreed to meet monthly at the Wesley Willows retirement community, where several of them already lived.
Early meetings were informal, and topics or presentations were provided by members of the group. They called themselves the "Rock River Irregulars" or "Rockiregs" for short. As time went on, more people joined the monthly meetings and the name was changed to the Rock River Valley Civil War Round Table (RRVCWRT).
A formal organization developed, complete with bylaws and officers, modeled after similar groups in the area. By 2006, monthly attendance averaged around 30.
--Old Secesh
The Civil War.com site lists seven CWRTs in Illinois:
Champaign County CWRT
Chicago CWRT
Decatur CWRT
Joliet Area CWRT
McHenry County CWRT
Northern Illinois CWRT
Salt Creek CWRT
There is also a Rock River Valley CWRT
--Old Secesh
There is no national organization which oversees Civil War Round Tables. However, the Civil War Round Table Congress serves as an advisory service.
It maintains a website and and convenes meetings to share ideas and promote best practices. It was created partly in response to a trend among CWRTs to disband during the pandemic.
The organization is "dedicated to the sustainability and long-term benefits of CWRTs.
--Old Secesh
Although operations at meetings differ, most Civil War Round Tables (CWRT) follow a similar format at their monthly meetings. Some meet at a restaurant where a meal preceded the program. Announcements or publicity for related events are usually followed by a formal presentation from an author, professor, historian, re-enactor, member or others on a topic related to the Civil War.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many CWRTs have hybrid programs where the live meeting is shared online on Zoom.
This is how my McHenry County Civil War Round Table operates as well. Plus, once a month we have a discussion meeting at Panera Bread in Crystal Lake, Illinois. And, we usually stick to our topic somewhat.
--Old Secesh
From the Cabin Fever Issue of Northwest Quarterly 2024 "Civil War Round Tables" by Jon McGinty.
I currently belong to the McHenry County Civil War Round Table and at one time, back in the 1970s and 80s to The Civil War Round Table of Chicago, which is regarded as the very first CWRT.
Civil War Round Tables are independent groups of people who meet regularly to share a common interest in the military, political and sociological history of that war.
The first Civil War Round Table (CWRT) was started in Chicago in 1940 by Ralph Newman, owner of the Abraham Lincoln Bookstore in that town. He assembled a small group of authors and amateur historians to discuss topics about the Civil War.
Current estimates say that there are roughly 300 such groups worldwide, with most of them in the United States,
There are 17 of them in Illinois.
--Old Secesh
Continuing with Illinois camps:
E. F. Dutton Camp 49, Sycamore
Colonel John C. Bryner Camp 67, Peoria
Colonel Friedrich K. Hecker Camp 443, Belleville
U.S. Grant Camp 1863, Schaumburg
Old Glory Camp 6165, Chicago
Hard to believe there are so few camps in Illinois. At one time there were eight Sons of Confederate Veterans camps in Illinois.
--Old Secesh
This all started when I posted about the Sycamore Camp of Sons of Union veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) working on the DeKalb County Civil War Memorial in Sycamore.
There are eleven SUVCW camps in Illinois according to the department website:
** General George A. Custer Camp 1, Wilmette
** General Philip H. Sheridan Camp 2, Aurora
** General John A. McClernand Camp 4,Springfield
** Captain Frank Reed Camp 24, Tuscola
** John A. Logan Camp 26, Rockford
** Private Henry M. Hardenbergh Camp 39, Tinley Park
--Old Secesh
Since I mentioned the Sons of Union Veterans in the last post, here is some more information about them.
From Wikipedia.
The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUV) grew out of the largest organization of Union veterans established after the war, The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). Much the same as the Sons of Confederate Veterans grew out of the United Confederate Veterans organization.
It would be necessary to find the next generations to carry on the group's good name as they died out. This is why the American Legion has its Sons of the American Legion.
The SUV was established in 1881 and was founded by Major Augustus P. Davis for the preservation of the principles of the GAR. Local groups are organized into camps which then are grouped into departments
Membership on 2022 was 6,574 with headquarters in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Commander-in-Chief in 2022 was Peter J. Hritso.
--Old Secesh
Toward the base of the monument, a pair of soldiers stand watch, each with a rifle in his hands.
Three sides of the marble monument bear the names of major battles and campaigns of the Civil War that DeKalb men fought in, including Fredericksburg, Malvern Hill and Antietam (even though Antietam was misspelled). The side that faces Illinois Highway 64, Main Street, is engraved with an excerpt from President Abraham Lincoln's address at Gettysburg.
More than 6,000 people were in attendance for the monument's dedication in 1896 which included an address by local commanders and a parade of veterans.
The pair of patina-green statues at the base of it were once thought to be bronze, but were found to be copper during a 2008 restoration project. They've also been the subject of routine vandalism, as their weapons have been stolen and replaced several times.
Sycamore's local Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War chapter raised $10,000 to repair them in 2015 before the memorial was rededicated for the 150th anniversary of the Civil War's end.
--Old Secesh
From the March 2024 Northwest Quarterly magazine.
DEKALB COUNTY CIVIL WAR MONUMENT
133 West State St.,
Sycamore, Illinois
An estimated 2,391 DeKalb County residents enlisted in 14 military units during the Civil War. Their sacrifices were formally recognized three decades after the war ended when a monument was dedicated to honor all of the county's residents. (Sad that this is the reason those Confederate monuments in front of courthouses were dedicated.)
The 50-foot monument, dedicated in1897, now stands in front of the DeKalb County Courthouse. At the top of the stone obelisk stands a Union soldier with a long coat and cap. He holds a sword in one hand and bears a flag in the other.
--Old Secesh
There has been much discussion as to whether interest in the Civil War is waning or has it changed in its nature (or both).
But, I know that interest in the Civil War has not dropped so precipitously that it has forced the cancellation of two magazines. If circulation was the issue, the answer would have been to trim from two magazines to one.
*********************
Of course, part of the problem was with the owners who it would seem are of the GRB/Hedge Fund ilk. Only seeing profit as the goal. Plus, these days everyone wants digital instead of hard copy. Also, the young today are not into history. They are not even into joining anything.
Here's hoping someone starts printing these magazines again. Especially Civil War Times.
--Old Secesh
From February 24, 2024.
One of the best Civil War blogs out there, Emerging Civil War, had this to say about the loss of those two wonderful magazines.
There is much sadness in the Civil War community over the news that "Civil War Times" and "America's Civil War" magazines have been shuttered (along with seven other history-focused magazines owned by the same company.
As "The Civil War Times Illustrated (since shortened to just "Civil War Times"), the flagship magazine of Civil War buffs traced its history all the way back to 1962. It was a product of the Centennial, when interest in the war was huge. Many of us have grown up with the magazine. (Certainly I am one of those but couldn't afford it in 1962 because I was just 11.)
I have most of the issues dating back to then as I have some reprints and many of the originals. With the exception of several years I have had a subscription for most of the years.
--Old Secesh
