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Kalamazoo Civil War Round Table
Dedicated to preserving the History and Stories of The American Civil War
The next KCWRT Meeting....April 17th at 7:00pm
This month’s speaker is Benjamin L. Cwayna
Benjamin is an attorney in private practice and well-known leader in the Civil War reenacting and living history community. Benjamin commanded the 12th South Carolina/4th Michigan Volunteer Infantry, Inc., a nationally known reenacting organization, for many years. He has appeared on the “Addressing Gettysburg Podcast” with Matt Callery and has devoted his life to preserving the memory of the Civil War through living history demonstrations, presentations, and leading tours on numerous battlefields. A graduate of Michigan State University and Michigan State University College of Law, Benjamin and his son, Grant, reside in Grand Ledge, Michigan, where he is an active member of the community; serving on the Grand Ledge Public Schools Board of Education, a member of the Grand Ledge Rotary Club, and numerous other civic organizations.
April 9th
1865 - At Appomattox Court House, Virginia, General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate Army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant in the parlor of Wilmer McClean's home. Grant allowed Rebel officers to keep their sidearms and permitted soldiers to keep their horses and mules. Though there were still Confederate armies in the field, the war was officially over. The four years of fighting had killed 360,000 Union troops and 260,000 Confederate troops.
U.S. Civil War Quote:
"It would be superfluous in me to point out to your Lordship that this is war."
- Charles Francis Adams (United States Foreign Minister to Great Britain) in a letter to British Foreign Secretary Lord Russell concerning two ironclads being sent to help the Confederates.
KCWRT Activities
Albert Castel Book Award
Historical Preservation Efforts
Albert Castel Book Award
To stimulate new scholarship on the Civil War, every other year KCWRT presents the Albert Castel Book Award to the author of the best recent book on the Civil War in the Western Theater.
WMU History Day 2023
Historical Preservation Efforts
Albert Castel Book Award
To help promote local interest in the Civil War, KCWRT awards an annual prize for the best Civil War-related entry in the Kalamazoo District Michigan History Day Competition.
Historical Preservation Efforts
Historical Preservation Efforts
Historical Preservation Efforts
KCWRT has conducted fund raisers to support numerous preservation efforts over the years. Generally, this is in the form of a donation to a preservation fund organized to save a specific Civil War site from development.