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Attention One and All

The Hagerstown Civil War Round Table is a group of men and women who are interested in the study of the American Civil War. All persons interested in good company, good food, field trips, learning about the American Civil War, and sharing your knowledge with others, enlist now in the Hagerstown Civil War Round Table. Yanks and Rebs welcomed with equal pleasure. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

No prior knowledge of the Civil War is necessary. Come and learn!

January Speaker

Gene Schmiel is a retired U.S. Department of State Foreign Service Officer who also was an Assistant Professor of History at St. Francis University in Pennsylvania. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, he holds a Ph.D. degree in History from Ohio State University. Gene has written over 30 books about the Civil War. His first, Citizen-General: Jacob Dolson Cox and the Civil War Era, was published in 2014 by Ohio University Press. A companion book, My Dearest Lilla: Civil War Letters Home by General Jacob D. Cox, was published in late 2023 by University of Tennessee Press. Gene lives with his wife Kathryn in Gainesville, Virginia on the border of the Bull Run / Manassas battlefields, where he is a volunteer and docent.

For further information, contact

Hagerstown Civil War Round Table, Inc.

P. O. Box 637

Funkstown, MD 21734-0637

Our Email Address is: hagerstowncwrt1956@gmail.com

Please click on one of the tabs in the menu bar above to learn more about our group.

Who We Are

The Hagerstown Civil War Round Table was founded in 1956 and has held eight meetings a year ever since. Currently the Round Table has close to 100 members from several states. We study battles, leaders, issues, personalities, politics, logistics, strategy, tactics, blunders and all of the facets that made up the Civil War.

We demonstrate an interest in public service through support of battlefield preservation, the presentation of needed books to the Washington County Free Library's Western Maryland Room, and donations to funds for historic preservation. Each May we present The E. Russell Hicks/Louis Tuckerman Merit Scholarship to an outstanding student of American History from among the high school seniors in Washington County.

Periodically, the Round Table sponsors a field trip to a Civil War battlefield or site. The field trips are led by a person, usually from the National Park Service, who is an expert in the area of the trip.

Meeting Times and Place

The Hagerstown Civil War Round Table meets from September through May at the Homewood Suites located at 1650 Pullman Lane (near Wesel Blvd), in Hagerstown, MD. The meetings start at 6:30 pm with optional dinner (cost $30) followed by a presentation at 7:30 pm by a nationally or regionally recognized authority in a field of Civil War history, and may be from the National Park Service, a college or university, or from another round table. Dues are currently $30 per year which entitles you to a name tag and a year's subscription to The Bugle Call.

A membership application can be found on the tab above.

Meeting dates are :

22 January 2026: Gene Schmiel "Searching for Irvin McDowell: The Civil War's Forgotten General:

26 February 2026: Tom McMillian, “Armistead and Hancock: The Story behind the Legend”

26 March 2026: Drew Gruber, “The Battle of Williamsburg”

23 April 2026: Brad Gottfried, “Race to the Potomac: Lee and Meade after Gettysburg”

26 May 2026: Jim Broomall, "Reconsidering Antietam Photographs"

Our cancellation policy is that of the Washington County Public Schools. If the schools are closed, we will not meet. If the schools open late, we will meet.