Inland Empire

Civil War Round Table

A 501(c)3 registered non-profit organization.

EIN: 36-5074542. Donations are tax-deductible

Winner of the First International CWRT Congress PHOENIX AWARD

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Inland Empire Civil War Round Table Patron Recognition

We sincerely thank our Dedicated Patron Donors. The continued support of individuals who have contributed $50 or more is invaluable to the Inland Empire Civil War Round Table and the advancement of our educational and preservation efforts.

2025 Patrons

Heather St. Clair - Loma Linda James Shuttleworth - Rowland Heights

Elizabeth Courtney - San Dimas Frank Sheridan - Redlands

Mike Hoover * - Grand Terrace

Jim & Emily Bueermann * - Redlands

2026 Patrons

Heather St. Clair* - Loma Linda Mike Hoover* - Grand Terrace

Janet Whaley* - Pasadena Stephen Smith* - Grand Terrace

Paul Gomez* - Rancho Cucamonga Don McCue* - Redlands

North Jersey Civil War Round Table* - New Jersey

Donald Forden & Donna Kisk* - Laguna Woods

Brian Cieslak* - Riverside Richard Foy* - Laguna Woods

David Holtz* - Northridge Kevin Phillips* - Riverside

Richard Jankowski Jr.* - Voorhees, NJ.

Steve Madden* - Redlands, CA

* Donation given for the acquisition of historical artifacts for the Lincoln Memorial Shrine in Redlands, CA

To become a Inland Empire Civil War Round Table Patron click here.

On Monday, May 18th, 6:30 p.m. Pacific time on Zoom.

Kevin Donovan will present a talk on

The Trial of Fitz John Porter: Fair or Fixed?

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85871856245?pwd=DjyXFvZBLo0tO7sSG4MbJ9cmNqkDLo.1

Meeting ID: 858 7185 6245

Passcode: Lincoln

A military hero one day, the next he was on trial for his life.

Fitz John Porter is probably not a name familiar even to those with more than a passing knowledge of the American Civil War. But before his abrupt removal from the stage of the conflict early in the war, Porter was one of the most important combat commanders the Union relied upon to crush the rebellion. Major General Porter had twice defeated the vaunted Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. He was the most trusted confidante of the Union Army’s top commander, George McClellan. But therein lay the problem, according to Porter’s friends. General John Pope, a bitter rival of McClellan, egged on by Porter’s enemies in the Lincoln Administration – whose policies on emancipation and “hard war” (war on disloyal civilians) both McClellan and Porter opposed – charged Porter with misconduct in the face of the enemy amounting to treason. The result was court-martial, conviction, and disgrace.

Kevin C. Donovan, Esq., is a Contributing Member (and Book Review Editor) of Emerging Civil War, https://emergingcivilwar.com, He is Vice President of the Roanoke (VA) Civil War Round Table, and is a volunteer Associate Editor of North & South Magazine.

His works have been published in: Emerging Civil War; America's Civil War; Columbiad: A Quarterly Journal of the War Between the States; Litigation, The Journal of the Section of Litigation (of the American Bar Association); the Magazine of Albemarle Charlottesville History; and North & South.

Kevin and his spouse Martha (UVa Law 1985) now reside in Roanoke, VA with their cat, Thurston Howell III.

On Monday, April 20th, Author Neil Chatelain, presented a talk on

Confederate Privateering in San Francisco

Here is the link to the recorded presentation.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K2OMF7UfmNEdYZLOwXCnzwuNFRZ6uE8w/view?usp=sharing

Though San Francisco is not generally thought of when it comes to Confederate activity, there was a flurry of such activity in early 1863. A team of Confederate sympathizers planned to outfit their own privateer in California waters to disrupt and possibly capture steamers along the Panamá route, the transportation network carrying western gold to New York. One of their leaders journeyed to the Confederacy to procure a letter of marque. With that in hand, the secessionists, including a British subject, purchased a small schooner named J.M. Chapman and prepared to take it to sea. The Chapman incident highlights the complexities of San Francisco in the Civil War, exploring secessionist activity in the city, demonstrating integrated intelligence networks that tracked them, highlighting the legal complexities of putting British subjects and American citizens on trial for privateering, and explaining what protective mitigations were implemented by the U.S. Army and Navy to safeguard San Francisco, the Pacific coastline, and the critical shipments of gold.

Neil P. Chatelain is an associate professor of history at Lone Star College – North Harris. A former surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy, Neil is also vice president of the historical nonprofit Emerging Civil War. Neil researches naval activity of the United States Civil War. His book Treasure and Empire in the Civil War: The Panamá Route, the West and the Campaigns to Control America’s Mineral Wealth won the 2025 A.M. Pate Jr. Award in Civil War History.

If you missed Monday, March 16th program with Author Greg Biggs, talk on

Nashville: Siren's Song of the Western Theater

You can view the recorded program by clicking on the link below.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cfcnXz9dzMhaRbfBE5mtey_igcLWSlt-/view?usp=sharing

In December, 1864, the Confederate Army of Tennessee laid siege to the massive Union fortifications and garrison of Nashville. In a two-day fight, that army was all but destroyed. Their arrival at the city’s door was the culmination of Confederate strategy that began when the city was captured by Union forces in February, 1862. Nashville, thereafter, became the “Siren’s song” for Confederate strategy in the west luring Confederate offensives no less than five times from 1862 through 1864. This program details the city’s importance and each of the five attempts to retake Nashville for the Confederacy.

Greg Biggs

Greg Biggs has studied military history for over 50 years. He is a former Associate Editor of Blue & Gray magazine, which has published several of his articles. He has also been published in Civil War Regiments, North-South Trader and Citizens’ Companion and in Sons of Confederate Veterans programs in Tennessee. He is also an authority on Civil War flags and consults with museums, auction firms, and private collectors and has contributed to books on Georgia and Tennessee Civil War flags. Greg also has done research on flags and military events for several noted Civil War authors including Eric Wittenberg, Dave Powell, Tim Smith, Gordon Rhea, Dan Masters, Art Bergeron and others. Greg is a Civil War tour guide for campaigns of the Western Theater for the U.S. Army and Civil War groups and is President of the Clarksville Civil War Roundtable as well as Program Chair of the Nashville Civil War Roundtable. He lives in Clarksville, TN with his wife Karel, a recently retired middle school teacher, and their three cats named for Civil War cavalry officers – Minty, Rucker and Ashby.