Founded in 1957, our Round Table is one of the oldest in the nation. We couldn't ask for a better location: four major battles of the Civil War were fought within 20 miles of Fredericksburg. Our group of about 100 members meets once each month for a catered dinner followed by the presentation of a Civil War topic by a guest speaker - frequently a nationally-known author.

What We Do

We meet the fourth Wednesday of every month (except December, July and August) at the University of Mary Washington Jepson Alumni Executive Center at 1119 Hanover Street in Fredericksburg.

The bar opens at 5:45pm. Social begins at 6pm. Dinner is at 6:45pm. The program starts around 7:30pm. We usually conclude by 9pm.

Reservations are required. Please call (540) 361-2105 and leave a message regarding how many seats you require.

Men are expected to wear a coat and tie, with equivalent attire for ladies.

The cost is $30.00, payable by cash or check at the door.

September 22, 2010

Topic:  Fort Sumter

When he became president on March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln hoped that a policy of patience and firmness would give him time to convince the seceding states to return to the Union.  He had been president for less than 24 hours, however, when he read a message from Major Robert Anderson, commanding Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, that proved he would have to act much sooner.  Faced with a crisis on which the future of the Union depended, Lincoln adapted quickly and decisively. Though he made mistakes, in the end, his decisions were crucial in charting the course of the ensuing war.

Speaker:

Craig L. Symonds is Professor Emeritus of American History at the United States Naval Academy where he taught for 30 years and served as History Department Chair. The first person to win both the Academy's Excellence in Teaching Award and its Excellence in Research Award, he is the author of 12 books, including prize-winning biographies of Joseph E. Johnston, Patrick Cleburne and Franklin Buchanan as well as The American Heritage History of the Battle of Gettysburg. Besides the Civil War at Sea, his two most recent books are Decision at Sea: Five Naval Battles That Shaped American History (Oxford University Press, 2005), which won the Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Prize in 2006, and Lincoln and his Admirals: Abraham Lincoln, The U. S. Navy, and the Civil War (Oxford University Press, 2008), which won the Barondess Prize, the Laney Prize, the John Lyman Book Award and the Lincoln Prize for 2009. He lives with his wife Marylou in Annapolis, Maryland.