UPCOMING PROGRAM
More information to be provided soon!

"South Carolinians at Stones River"

Monday, March 9, 2026

Presenter: Dan Masters

Gather at 6 p.m., Program begins at 6:30 p.m.

Duckett Hall Auditorium, The Citadel
Sponsored by The Citadel's Department of History

4^th Annual Fort Sumter
Civil War Round Table Banquet

For an evening of history, comaraderie and delicious food, please join us from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, May 11 at Mark Clark Hall, The Citadel, for the 4^th Annual Fort Sumter Civil War Round Table Banquet.

Sign-up here.

Dennis B. Conklin II
Program Speaker

Fall Field Trip to be held Oct. 16 & 17 in Wilmington, N.C.
More information to be provided soon!

Chris E. Fonvielle, Jr., author of The Wilmington Campaign, Last Rays of Departing Hope (1997), will
conduct the fall tour. Shown above is a painting of the second Battle of Fort Fisher (Jan. 13 - 16, 1865),
a Union victory and part of of the Wilmington Campaign (Dec. 7, 1864 - Feb. 22, 1865).

PREVIOUS PROGRAM

"The Elections of 1860 and 1864"

Monday, Feb. 9, 2026

Presenter: Phillip Whiteman

Duckett Hall Auditorium, The Citadel
Sponsored by The Citadel's Department of History

Abraham Lincoln
First Official Portrait, 1861

Program: Phillip Whiteman presented an outstanding program at our previous round table on February 9. He explained the presidential elections of 1860 and 1864 in which Abraham Lincoln was elected and then reelected. He discussed the five other presidential candidates and their running mates who ran against him. He also discussed other leaders who might have served as presidential candidates if it had not been for some backroom politics.

Whiteman talked about some of the other issues, in addition to slavery, that led up to the Civil War. He also addressed the argument over whether or not Lincoln was the best man to lead the nation in 1864, and discusssed some of the other candidates the Republic Party considered.

Phillip Whiteman

Fort Sumter Civil War Round Table, Duckett Hall, The Citadel, Feb. 9, 2026

Presenter: Phillip Whiteman, a native of Atlanta, Ga., moved to Summerville, S.C. three years ago. He received a degree in history from the University of Alabama, and has been involved with Civil War living history for the past 30 years. Whiteman has provided educational presentations at historical society meetings, civil group meetings and Civil War Round Tables.

Between 2016 and 2022, he taught senior adult education classes on Civil War civilians. For 29 years, Whiteman was a volunteer at Kennesaw National Battlefield Park, which included serving on its cannon crew, and in infantry and civilian programs. He also worked part-time digitalizing and cataloguing historical documents for the park's library.

He and his wife, Janine, started the PNJW Collections Civilian Exhibit in 1997. This collection of Civil War era clothing and artifacts was used to crate a traveling exhibit, shown at national parks and historic sites. It was mostly seen at Old Santee Canal Park during this past Christmas season.

Fort Sumter Civil War Round Table Recognizes Its
Three Founding Members

Cliff Roberts (left), newly-elected president of the Fort Sumter Civil War Round Table, on February 9 recognizes
the three founding members of the FSCWRT who recently completed six years on the board -- (left to right) Jim
Morgan, immediate past president (2025); Rick Hatcher; and Dr. Kyle Sinisi (president, 2024).

Fort Sumter Civil War Round Table Achieves Goal!
Organization Raises Enough Money to
Replace "UNION IS DISSOLVED!" Marker

The Fort Sumter Civil War Round Table (FSCWRT) has raised $3,000 through donations to replace the S.C. Historical Marker, "UNION IS DISSOLVED," that vandals knocked down and stole in March from its location at 134 Meeting Street in Charleston. The FSCWRT will be credited on the new marker for its successful effort when the City of Charleston installs the new marker in January.

Why This Matters:

South Carolina delegates signed the Ordiance of Secession on Dec. 20, 1860 at Institute Hall adjacent to St. Michael's Church where the S.C. Historical Marker was previously located and where it will be positioned again. This privotal act marked the beginning of the South's secession from the Union and the start of a series of events that led to the Civil War.

The Ordinance of Secession is one of the most significant documents in American history. It is the moment South Carolina officially declared its intent to leave the Union, igniting a chain of events that culminated in the Civil War. Maintaining the marker at the very site where this decision was made ensures that future generations will understand not only the gravity of ths moment but the lasting impact it had on our nation.

Click here to view photos of
past presentations.

Support Friends of the National Parks

As some of you may know, several of the Fort Sumter Civil War Round Table members also are associated with what, until recently, was called Fort Sumter-Fort Moultrie Historical Trust. Not long ago, the Trust "rebranded,", i.e., changed its name to better represent what it does. The Trust is now Friends of Charleston National Parks. Its mission is to help the National Park Service protect and preserve Fort Sumter, Fort Moultrie, the Charles Pinckney National Historic Site (Snee Farm Plantation), and the U.S. Coast Guard Historic District on Sullivan's Island (the lighthouse and the old life-saving station that are next to each other). With that in mind, Round Table board members are passing along this information knowing that those who are interested in one aspect of history often are interested in others. We encourage anyone who wishes to do so to support Friends of Charleston National Parks.

For more information, visit: https://friendofscnp.org

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