Everyone is welcome at our monthly meetings

NOTICE: Due to the covid-related meeting restrictions, the CWRT's 2020-21 meeings will be "zoom" unless otherwise noted. CWRT members will be sent zoom access instructions via email. Members can also visit the CWRT's Facebook page, or email editor@ChicagoCWRT.org, for zoom access information.


May 14th
Michael Hardy on "General Lee's Immortals: The Lane-Branch Brigade"

Over the course of four years of exemplary service, the North Carolina brigade commanded first by Lawrence O'Bryan Branch, and then by James H. Lane, fought on the most storied fields of the war. Some of the most well-known Civil War engagement, like Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg, saw the Branch-Lane Brigade in the forefront of battle. The brigade's career includes spectacular battle honors and dazzling successes, such as saving the entire Army of Northern Virginia twice at Spotsylvania Court House. Yet, there were also devastating losses and costly mistakes, most notably, the mortal wounding of the legendary Stonewall Jackson at Chancellorsville. The story of this brigade is one marked by glory and tragedy, from the first days of the war to the lingering effects long after Appomattox. General Lee's Immortals: The Battles and Campaigns of the Branch-Lane brigade tells this remarkable story.

Michael C. Hardy has a passion for history. Over the past three decades, he has written about people, places, and events which are frequently overlooked in the grand, sweeping narratives. He is the author of twenty-four books. His articles have appeared in numerous national magazines, and Michael has been featured on Civil War Talk Radio and in the recent "Blood and Fury: America's Civil War" on the American Heroes Channel. In 2010, Michael was named the North Carolina Historian of the Year by the North Carolina Society of Historians, and in 2018, General Lee's Immortals, his history of the Branch-Lane brigade, was honored with the James I. Robertson, Jr., Literary Prize. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama, and, since 1995, has called western North Carolina home.

For our 2020-2021 program year, we proudly welcome these outstanding speakers:

Sept. 11th, 2020: Fergus Bordewich on Congress at War
Oct. 9th: Stuart Sanders on Perryville
Nov. 13th: John R. Scales on General Nathan Bedford Forrest
Dec. 10th: Dave Powell on Union Command Failure in the Shenandoah
Jan. 8th: Jennifer Murray on General George Meade
Feb. 12th: Leslie Goddard presents Clara Barton
Mar. 12th: Greg Biggs, The Nevin-Freeman Address
Apr. 9th: Ron Kirkwood on Too Much for Human Endurance: The Spangler Farm Hospitals
May 14th: Michael Hardy on General Lee's Immortals
June 11th: Wil Greene on Petersburg

Our in-person meetings are held at: