Twin Cities Civil War Round Table Visit

Visiting the Fredericksburg National Military Park

We were very pleased to host our sister city organization, the Twin City Civil War Round Table (TCCWRT) in June 2026.  Members of their group included John-Erich Mantius (President of TCCWRT), James Mewborn, Carol Van Ornum, Sandra Mantius, Michael Eckman, Dennis Garoutte and Curtis Ness (President of the Cannon Falls CWRT).

The initial meeting of both groups was held at the Alpine Chef on June 16 where we enjoyed traditional German meals and drinks.  Afterwards, an information sharing session allowed us to share ideas and become more familiar with all members.

A highlight for the TCCWRT group was an opportunity to visit the battlefields of the Fredericksburg area.  On June 17 they had a tour of the Fredericksburg Battlefield and visited the James Monroe Museum.  That evening they were our guests at our regularly scheduled monthly meeting where Christopher Grasso discussed his book “Teacher, Preacher, Soldier, Spy: The Civil War of John R. Kelso.”  John-Erich Mantius provided our members with an excellent overview of the TCCWRT.  On June 18, the TCCWRT group visited the Spotsylvania Battlefield and the Fredericksburg Museum.  Finally, before departing on June 19, the group was able to visit Chatham Mansion.

The visit by Twin Cities Civil War Round Table was extremely beneficial for their organization as well as ours.  We were able to share information on a wide variety of topics including organization, recruiting members, retention of members, and speakers.  We look forward to future exchanges.