Join author, historian, and guide, Wayne Motts as he explores the life of Confederate General Lewis Armistead of Pickett’s Charge fame. The son of a regular army general, Armistead had a long and distinguished career as soldier in the United States Army. A veteran of three wars, he joined the Confederacy in 1861 as colonel of the 57th Virginia Infantry Regiment and later as a brigade commander under Robert E. Lee. While Armistead is best known for his portrayal in…

Our next speaker is Gordon Ramsey – no, not the guy who demolishes restaurants. Rather, he is Dr. Gordon Ramsey, a professor emeritus of physics at Loyola University Chicago. His professional research focuses on theoretical studies of spin-polarized particles. Yeah, I have no idea what that is, either. But he also specializes in Civil War balloons. And we all know what they were. He will provide an overview of how and why balloons were used in the Civil War on…

We have all heard of (and maybe read) Douglas Southall Freeman’s Lee’s Lieutenants and Stephen Sear’s Lincoln’s Lieutenants. Ed Longacre, the author of numerous award-winning biographies, will speak on another group of subordinates of a well-known leader, “J. E. B. Stuart and His Lieutenants” at our next meeting on May 26 at 7:00 p.m. Members, watch your emails for the Zoom login information. Guests who wish to watch this program please send an email to stlcwrt@gmail.com to receive the Zoom…

The St. Louis Civil War Roundtable will resume its regular meetings in September. Watch this space for details. Our next Little Roundtable, a discussion group that meets at Miss Sheri’s Cafeteria, 5406 Southfield Center (near the intersection of South Lindbergh and Baptist Church Road), will hold its monthly meeting on Thursday, September 2, at 11:15 a.m. The meeting lasts for an hour or two or until we get tired of talking. On September 25 there will be a reenactment of…

The Civil War Career of James Burklow, Private in Battery K of the First Illinois Volunteer Light Artillery by Lance GeigerOn September 22, Lance Geiger returns to give a program entitled "The Civil War Career of James Burklow, Private in Battery K of the First Illinois Volunteer Light Artillery." Burklow’s unit was equipped with the quirky little two-pounder Woodruff cannon. He saw a good deal of action during the war and was a participant in the spectacular raid through Mississippi…

The Reconstruction Era was in some ways the first sustained civil rights movement in United States history. As the nation tried to wrestle with difficult questions about establishing peace and national unity after the end of the American Civil War, many political leaders believed that expanding civil rights through constitutional amendments and legislation was necessary to maintaining the Union. In this presentation, Park Ranger Nick Sacco (Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site) will examine various laws that helped redefine citizenship,…