Announcements

2026 Battlefield Tour - Charleston. April 29-May 2, 2026. See our Battlefield Tour page for more information.

Grapeshot

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

Mar. 2nd, Rock Valley CWRT: John L. Hopkins on "The Gettysburg Reunion of 1913"
Mar. 4th, Kankakee Valley CWRT: Rob Girardi on "General John A. Logan"
Mar. 6th, Northern Illinois CWRT: Civil War Trivia Game
Mar. 8th, Northwest Indiana CWRT: Bruce Allardice on "Aloha Oe! Hawaii and the Civil War"
Mar. 10th, Southwest Michigan CWRT: Michael Stroud on "Co. K of the 1st Michigan Sharpshooters"
Mar. 13th, Chicago CWRT: Clifford Roberts on "Castle Pinckney and the Siege of Charleston"
Mar. 17th, Lincoln-Davis CWRT: James Pula on "Dan Butterfield"
Mar. 19th, McHenry County CWRT: Charlie Banks on "The Battle of South Mountain"
Mar. 21st, Salt Creek CWRT: Ed Urban on "The Murder of General Earl Van Dorn"
Mar. 26th, South Suburban CWRT: Bruce Allardice on "Damn the Torpedoes! Hi-Tech Rebs and their Infernal Machines"
Apr. 1st, Kankakee Valley CWRT: Gordon Ramsey on "Hot Air Balloons at the Beginning of the Civil War"
Apr. 3rd, Northern Illinois CWRT: Laurie Schiller on "U.S. Cavalry"
Apr. 6th, Rock Valley CWRT: Laura Keyes on "Mary Lincoln's Photo Album"
Apr. 10th, Chicago CWRT: Wayne Motts, Nevins-Freeman Address, TBA
Apr. 13th, Gail Borden Library in Elgin: Armchair General Discussion Group
Apr. 14th, Southwest Michigan CWRT: Ben Bever on "If This Desirable Station Could Talk"
Apr. 14th, McHenry County CWRT: Bob Grenier on "General Edmund Kirby Smith"
Apr. 21st, Lincoln-Davis CWRT: Bbo Grenier on "The Swamp Fox of the Confederacy"
Apr. 23rd, South Suburban CWRT: Eric Benjaminson on "82nd Illinois Infantry at Gettsyburg"
Apr. 25th, Salt Creek CWRT: Charlie Banks on "General Nathaniel P. Banks"
May 1st, Northern Illinois CWRT: Pat McCormick on "General John Logan"
May 4th, Rock Valley CWRT: Steve Alban on "Frank Vitzelly"
May 8th, Chicago CWRT: Chris Mackowski on "The Battle of Spotsylvania"
May 11th, Gail Borden Library in Elgin: Armchair General Discussion Group
May 12th, Southwest Michigan CWRT: Mark Laubacher on "Dr. George B. Todd"
May 12th, McHenry County CWRT: Kathy Springhorn on "Kinston Hangings: Civil War North Carolina 1864"
May 15th, Salt Creek CWRT: Brian Seiter on "Wilson's Creek"
May 17th, Kankakee Valley CWRT: Christina Smith on "Food of the Civil War Era"
May 19th, Lincoln-Davis CWRT: Bruce Allardice on "Aloha Oe! Hawaii and the American Civil War"
May 22nd, South Suburban CWRT: Dennis Doyle on "Battle of North Anna"
June 1st, Rock Valley CWRT: Bob Presman on "How Movies and Televesion Shape Our Perception of the Civil War"
June 3rd, Kankakee Valley CWRT: Annual Dinner
June 5th, Northern Illinois CWRT: TBA
June 9th, McHenry County CWRT: Steve Alban on "The Confederacy's Secret Weapon"
June 12th, Chicago CWRT: Alex Rossino on "The Maryland Campaign of 1862"
June 19th, Salt Creek CWRT: Annual Banquet: Mark Pohlad on "Abraham Lincoln and Chicago"
July 13th, Gail Borden Library in Elgin: Armchair General Discussion Group
July 14th, McHenry County CWRT: Bruce Allardice on "Aloha Oe! Hawaii and the American Civil War"
Aug. 11th, McHenry County CWRT: TBA
Sept. 8th, McHenry County CWRT: TBA
Sept. 11th, Chicago CWRT: James Marten on "The Sixth Wisconsin"
Oct. 9th, Chicago CWRT: Ron White on "Joshua Chamberlain"
Oct. 13th, McHenry County CWRT: TBA
Nov. 13th, Chicago CWRT: Bob Miller,topic TBA
Nov. 10th, McHenry County CWRT: TBA
Dec. 8th, McHenry County CWRT: TBA
Dec. 11th, Chicago CWRT: Stuart Dempsey, topic TBA
Jan. 8th, 2027, Chicago CWRT: Dan Masters, topic TBA
Feb. 12th, Chicago CWRT: Rob Girardi, topic TBA
March 12th, Chicago CWRT: Doug Dammann, Nevins-Freeman Address
April 9th, Chicago CWRT: Dave Powell, topic TBA
May 14th, Chicago CWRT: Caroline Janney, topic TBA
June 11th, Chicago CWRT: Kevin Donovan, topic 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