Announcements

2025 Battlefield Tour - Shiloh/Corinth See our Battlefield Tour page for more information.
2026 Battlefield Tour - Charleston/Savannah. More info to come.

Grapeshot

People should check whether the event will be broadcast on Zoom.

Jan. 3rd, 2025: Northern Illinois CWRT: Gordon Ramsey on "Civil War Music"
Jan. 6th, Rock Valley CWRT: Jon McGinty on "Fort Jefferson and the Dry Tortugas"
Jan. 10th, Chicago CWRT: Bjorn Skaptason on "Shiloh"
Jan. 12th, Northern Indiana CWRT: Tom Vojinski on "9th Indiana Infantry"
Jan. 14th, Southwest Michigan CWRT: Brian Rhinehart on "I Have a Civil War Ancestor.... Now What?"
Jan. 14th, McHenry County CWRT: Chuck Rebesco on "Sam Carroll's Gibraltar Brigade"
Jan. 21st, Lincoln-Davis CWRT: William Griffing on "Spared and Shared"
Jan. 23rd, South Suburban CWRT: Charlie Banks on "Jedediah Hotchkiss"
Jan. 25th, Chicago CWRT Executive Committee Meeting, at "Camp Girardi"
Feb. 3rd, Rock Valley CWRT: Kelly Mezurek on "The 27th USCT"
Feb. 7th, Northern Illinois CWRT: Father Bob Miller on "Civilian Life in Vicksburg"
Feb. 11th, McHenry County CWRT: Dan Masters on "Hell by the Acre: Stones River Campaign"
Feb. 11th, Southwest Michigan CWRT: Ted Chamberlain on "Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain"
Feb. 14th, Chicago CWRT: Hampton Newsome on "Gettysburg's Southern Front"
Feb. 16th, Northern Indiana CWRT: Chuck Rebesco on "The Gallant 14th"
Feb. 18th, Lincoln-Davis CWRT: Bill Mitchell on "Lincoln's Leadership"
Feb. 27th, South Suburban CWRT: Dennis Doyle on "Cold Harbor--1864"
Mar. 3rd, Rock Valley CWRT: Dan Wykes on "The Underground Railroad in the Rock River Valley"
Mar. 7th, Northern Illinois CWRT: Jan Rasmussen on "The Dakota War"
Mar. 9th, Northern Indiana CWRT: Jon Sebastian on "Indiana Regiments in the 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign"
Mar. 11th, McHenry County CWRT: Charlie Banks on "Confederate Railroads (Part II)"
Mar. 11th, Southwest Michigan CWRT: TBA
Mar. 14th, Chicago CWRT: Gerry Prokopowicz on TBA
Mar. 18th, Lincoln-Davis CWRT: Scott Dominiak on "Lincoln's Spiritual Journey"
Mar. 27th, South Suburban CWRT: Andy Partak and Tim Marcus on "Camp Goodell"
Apr. 4th, Northern Illinois CWRT: Brian Conroy on "The 4th Illinois Cavalry"
Apr. 7th, Rock Valley CWRT: Gail Stephens on "The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln"
Apr. 8th, McHenry County CWRT: Bob Grenier on "Hidden History Along Florida's Civil War Heritage Trail"
Apr. 8th, Southwest Michigan CWRT: TBA
Apr. 9th (Wednesday), Chicago CWRT: Phil Spaugy on "The 19th Indiana and the Iron Brigade"
Apr. 13th, Northern Indiana CWRT: Bob Grenier on "Hidden History Along Florida's Civil War Trails"
Apr. 15th, Lincoln-Davis CWRT: Rick Hatcher on TBA
Apr. 24th, South Suburban CWRT: Phil Angelo on "The Lost Cause and Confederate Defeat"
May 2nd, Northern Illinois CWRT: David Powell on TBA
May 9th, Chicago CWRT: Steve Phan on "Asian and Pacific Islanders During the Civil War"
May 13th, McHenry County CWRT: Dennis Doyle on "Illinois Regiments at Gettysburg"
May 13th, Southwest Michigan CWRT: TBA
May 20th, Lincoln-Davis CWRT: John Horn on "The Wilson-Kautz Raid"
May 22nd, South Suburban CWRT: Charlie Rebesco, topic TBA
June 2nd, Rock Valley CWRT: Bob Presman on "Was Lincoln a White Supremecist?"
June 6th, Northern Illinois CWRT: Bob Presman on "Could the Suoth Have Won the Civil War?"
June 10th, McHenry County CWRT: Bob Presman on "Could the South Have Won the Civil War?"
June 13th, Chicago CWRT: Dave Powell (Nevins-Freeman Award) on "Lost Opportunities in the Atlanta Campaign"
June 17th, Lincoln-Davis CWRT: Dave Powell on "Atlanta to Tullahoma"
July 7th, Rock Valley CWRT: Dorothy Page Turner on "Songs and Stories of the Underground Railroad"
July 8th, McHenry County CWRT: Mary Rose Filip on "Rockford's Camp Fuller and the 74th Illinois"
July 15th, Lincoln-Davis CWRT: Alex Rossini on "Calamity at Fredericksburg"
Aug. 4th, Rock Valley CWRT: Amanda Becker on "Turn the Other Cheek: Jefferson Davis' Invitation to Speak at the Winnebago County Fair"
Aug. 12th, McHenry County CWRT: Steve Alban on "The Real Story of Foreign Affairs in the Civil War"
Aug. 19th, Lincoln-Davis CWRT: Scott Nodnek on "Immigrant Soldiers in the Civil War"
Sept. 1st, Rock Valley CWRT: Steve Leonard on "The Battle of Wilson's Creek"
Sept. 9th, McHenry County CWRT: TBA
Sept. 12th, Chicago CWRT:James Pula on "Dan Butterfield"
Oct. 6th, Rock Valley CWRT: TBA
Oct. 8th, McHenry County CWRT: TBA
Oct. 10th, Chicago CWRT: Kim Harris as "Libby Custer"
Nov. 3rd, Rock Valley CWRT: TBA
Nov. 11th, McHenry County CWRT: TBA
Nov. 14th, Chicago CWRT: TBA
Dec. 1st, Rock Valley CWRT: Tentatively "The Legacy of the Civil War"
Dec. 9th, McHenry County CWRT: Dave Mowery on "Cincinnati in the Civil War" (zoon onlu)
Dec. 12th, Chicago CWRT: TBA
Jan. 9th, 2026, Chicago CWRT: TBA
Feb. 13th, Chicago CWRT: Keith Bohannon on TBA
Mar. 13th, Chicago CWRT: TBA
Apr. 10th, Chicago CWRT: TBA
May 8th, Chicago CWRT: Chris Mackowski on TBA
June 12th, Chicago CWRT: TBA

Speakers Bureau
Looking for a good presentation on the Civil War for your library, school, historical society, or civic group? The Coalition of CWRTs of Northern Illinois has put together a Speakers Bureau to help you find one.

Best of all, most presentations are FREE!! Click here for a Speaker Registry printable list, with details and contact information.

House Divided Series
Bjorn Skaptason at the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop reminds us of their series of Civil War talks. For more information on these and upcoming events, visit Abraham Lincoln Bookshop.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Please Contact Us