Civil War Roundtables (also referred to as Round Tables or CWRTs) are independent organizations that share a common objective in promoting and expanding interest in the study of the military, political and sociological history of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. The oldest such group in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

is The Civil War Round Table of Chicago, which was founded in 1941 and is based in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. The second and perhaps third oldest are the Civil War Round Table of Milwaukee (founded in 1947) and the Civil War Round Table of Atlanta (founded in 1949). The Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia
www.cwrtdc.org
was founded in 1951 by Bruce Catton and others. There are hundreds of such organizations throughout the U.S., with some in other countries as well. There is no national organization that coordinates and publicizes the activities of the individual roundtables, although the CWRT Congress
www.cwrtcongress.org
has been active in supporting them. Most roundtables follow a similar format of holding periodic meetings (some include a dinner on site or at a nearby restaurant) to make announcements about local Civil War history-related events, and to host a presentation by a guest speaker (usually a scholar, professor, author, artist, park ranger, battlefield preservationist, reenactor, or other expert). The meetings might also feature raffles, book signings, door prizes, auctions, fund raisers, and similar activities. Some CWRTs sponsor battlefield preservation events, battle walks, excursions, tours, and other "sanctioned" events. Many roundtables charge an annual membership fee to help defray expenses, and others cover costs by charging for individual dinner meetings or presentations. Several smaller CWRT groups do not charge any set fees, but instead "pass the hat." Many are IRS 501(c)(3) entities and accept donations or contributions that are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Since 2004, Matthew Borowick has been writing a column in the ''Civil War News'' about round tables. The column provides "best practices" information about the formation, management and administration of round tables. He published ''The Civil War Round Table Handbook'', a compilation of those columns, available on Amazon. Mr. Borowick as well as Walter Rueckel and Mike Powell of the Brunswick CWRT, John Bamberl of the Scottsdale CWRT, and Michael Movius of the Puget Sound CWRT, among others, have hosted conferences at various locations in the U.S. attended by representatives from various roundtables based throughout the U.S. and Canada to discuss methods to enhance the operations of roundtables and increase collaboration among CWRTs and related groups.

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