Welcome to
the Most important Round Table, in the Most important small town,
at the Most important Battlefield,
in the Most important Country
in the World.
Joe Mieczkowski, Past President
Thurs., Oct. 22nd The Old Capital Prison
Presented by Keith Kehlbeck
Link to Thursday, September 24th Meeting with Dr. Potter Civil War Roundtable Meeting - 9.24.26.mp4 - Google Drive
Old Capital Prison
With habeas corpus suspended during the Civil War, Old Capitol was the Guantanamo of its day. In addition to Confederate soldiers, men and women (such as famous spy Belle Boyd), and other citizens languished in a prison that had been converted from a boarding house where the Congress met after the British burned the Capitol in the War of 1812. Ironically, Old Capitol was located where the U.S. Supreme Court now stands.
Keith Kehlbeck is a writer, historian, and marketing consultant with clients in the hospitality, nonprofit, and publishing sectors. At the age of 10, his family took a trip to Washington, D.C. (with a side Gray Line tour of Gettysburg!) sparking what would become a life-long interest in the Civil War. There was no turning back. Since that trip, Keith’s passion for studying the Civil War led him to write Gone to God: A Civil War Family’s Ultimate Sacrifice, a nonfiction history told with diaries and letters written by soldiers and their family members, published in 2013. His most recent book, Aim High: The Life and Times of John Arena, a biography of a famous restaurateur, came out in 2023. He currently is working on two books: Voices of a Civil War Regiment: The Fourth Virginia Cavalry in War and Peace, and a modern assessment of Old Capitol Prison, the “Bastille of the North.” The latter will be the topic of his talk.
Keith obtained his Bachelor’s degree studying history at Wabash College in Indiana, graduating summa cum laude.
During his career, he has worked as Executive Director for Select Registry, Distinguished Restaurants of North America (the preeminent association of high-end bed and breakfasts and boutique small inns and hotels), Distinguished Restaurants of North America (DiRoNA), and Southwest Michigan First, a cutting-edge economic development firm. He also has worked on contract with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and various other clients, and was a partner with Insights IQ Group, a boutique consulting firm specializing in strategy, message optimization, and marketing research services.
He and his wife, Ali, have a home on the water in the Northern Neck of Virginia.
Meetings are held between September and May, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Adams County Historical Society.
During the Summer we meet on the battlefield.Please check our further meeting page for our summer excursions. These are not live streamed.
You can view September's Meeting at the link below:
Civil War Roundtable Meeting - 9.24.26.mp4 - Google Drive
For questions concerning the Gettysburg Civil War Roundtable please feel free to email GettysburgCWRoundtable@gmail.com, and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.