Everyone is welcome at our monthly meetings.

Attend the dinner and presentation, or just the presentation.

Recordings of many of the meetings are available for a small charge, click here for a printable list of Recorded Meetings

We meet September through June, generally on the second Friday evening of each month. See list of meeting dates and speakers below for our 2014-2015 program year.

Our meetings take place at the Mart Plaza Holiday Inn, 350 N. Orleans Street, Chicago, IL 60654. Validated hotel parking is $14.
Click here for a map and directions to the Holiday Inn

5:30 pm Cash Bar, 6:30 pm Dinner, 7:30 pm Presentation

Dinner/Presentation is $49 per person – There is always a choice of entrée. (Entrée options are listed below.) Make checks payable to "The Civil War Round Table".
Presentation only is $10 per person. Payable at the door, cash or check. Be there by 7:15.
Please make your reservation in advance by contacting us at (630)460-1865 or DinnerReservations@ChicagoCWRT.org.

Note:
Dinner reservations should be received by Wednesday evening prior to the meeting. When you make your dinner reservation, please be sure to indicate your entrée choice.
Presentation only reservations are appreciated but not required to attend.

February 13, 2015

Leslie Goddard on:
“Gone With the Wind and the Construction of Civil War Memory“

Seventy-five years after its blockbuster premiere in 1939, Gone with the Wind continues to inspire both passionate devotion and academic criticism. One historian has called it “almost certainly the single most powerful influence on American perceptions of the Civil War.” In this illustrated slide lecture about the history of the movie, we’ll consider both the accuracy of its portrayal of the American Civil War and its lasting influence in shaping popular understanding of Civil War history. What accounts for this film’s widespread – and enduring – popularity among viewers? Does Gone with the Wind still matter in scholarly and popular conversations about the Civil War?

Leslie Goddard holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University specializing in U.S. history and American studies, as well as a master’s degree in theater. A former museum director, she is the author of two books on Chicago history and currently serves on the executive board of the Chicago Civil War Round Table. She speaks frequently on topics in history with particular expertise in the areas of Civil War history, women’s history, and Chicago history. Her nationally recognized programs have been presented for hundreds of museums, libraries, senior centers, clubs, and other organizations

Entrée choices are:
Chicken Piccata
Baked Orange Roughy
Vegetarian or Fruit Plates

For our 2014-15 program year, we proudly welcome these outstanding speakers:

Sept. 12th
Frank Varney on General Grant and the Rewriting of History

Oct. 10th
Mark Bradley on Joe Hooker, O. O. Howard, and the Atlanta Campaign of 1864

Nov. 14th
Steve Towne on How Army Intelligence Foiled Confederate Plots in Chicago

Dec. 12th
Jim Ogden Nevins-Freeman Address

Jan. 9th, 2015
John Horn on George Barnard and the 12th Virginia Infantry

Feb. 13th
Leslie Goddard on Gone With the Wind and the Construction of Civil War Memory

Mar. 13th
Tom Huntington on Searching for George Gordon Meade

Apr. 14th
Michael Burlingame on The Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln

May 8th
Eric Leonard on Cartel, Code, and Consequences at Andersonville

June 12th
Gary Adelman 4D Civil War Photography Extravaganza

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