The Civil War Round Table of Fredericksburg, Inc. (CWRTF) was organized and activated in January, 1957. The purpose of the organization was to study and further stimulate interest in the military history of the Civil War period (1861-1865.) Some of the Charter members were Spencer Berry, Ralph Happel, Wally Mann, Charles McDaniel and Ed Thornton.

The first officers of the Round Table were:

Spencer Berry - President
Lester Redgrave - Vice President
Robert Park - Secretary
Jack Johnson -Treasurer

The CWRTF was an immediate success. By the end of March in the first year, the Roundtable had enrolled over 100 members. The success of the club grew in 1958 when the CWRTF was the host to the First National Convention of Civil War Round Tables. This meeting, held on May 9-10 at the General Washington Hotel and Mary Washington College, had several noted speakers such as Dr. James Cronshore, Dr. Edwin Hemphill and Clifford Dowdy.

Since 1957, the CWRTF has had more than 600 guest speakers, covering every historical subject of the Civil War period. We take pride in the fact that we have been in continuous operation for these 65 years.