Civil War Chaplains
Rev. Nancy Jill Hale
In For Honorable Living and Hopeful Dying, we begin by looking at the evolution of military chaplaincy from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War, when chaplains were officially recognized by the U.S. government and the army. Then we explore the duties, expectations, and challenges faced by chaplains, and end with stories of several chaplains who were with their regiments during the Battle of Gettysburg. Much of the information is presented in the chaplains’ own words as gleaned from regimental histories, diaries, and letters.
Rev. Dr. Nancy Hale is a United Methodist pastor serving two churches near Bellefonte, PA. She is also a Union chaplain reenactor and has led CW Divine Services at Gettysburg and other locations. Her novel, Faith and Duty, is the account of a fictional chaplain’s struggle to reconcile his faith with his sense of duty to the men in his regiment and his nation. She is currently working on a book about Union chaplains who were at the battle of Gettysburg. For the past three years, Nancy has sounded Taps at the National Cemetery in Gettysburg as part of the 100 Nights of Taps program, and she claims five Civil War veterans in her family tree, three of whom fought at Gettysburg.
Our meetings are the Fourth Thursday of each month.
We meet at Gettysburg United Methodist Church, 30 West High Street, Gettysburg, PA. The doors open at 6:30 pm. Meeting starts at 7:00 pm.
The meeting will also be live-streamed. Please see below for information.
Monthly Meeting Minutes
You can now use your credit card or PayPal to securely pay for your Membership Dues. Please see the Membership page for the link.
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Join or Renew Your Membership |
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OFFICERS |
Bruce Davis, President 402.686.6969
Peter Miele, Vice President petemiele@gmail.com
Veronica Brestensky, Recording Secretary 412.719.3577
Linda Seamon, Membership Secretary 717.359.7339
David Diner, Treasurer 717.420.5730
Roger Heller, Program Director 717.398.2072
Linda Joswick, Webmaster 717.253.5477
Lynn Heller, Facebook Administrator 717.398.2072 |
BOARD MEMBERS |
Gary "Rip" Engle (5/25), Lynn Heller (5/24), Roger Heller (5/25), Michele Hessler (5/23), Abbie Hoffman (5/23), Leon Reed 5/24)
Board Member Ex Officio: Therese Orr |
Next Board Meeting:
Board
Meetings are are virtual meetings until it is safe to meet again. Minutes will be posted.
Board Meeting Minutes |
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COMMITTEES |
Plaque Committee:
Reviews and places plaques on buildings that existed during the Battle in Adams County. For information or an application, contact Deb Novotny.
Book Award Committee:
Review books for the Gettysburg Civil War Roundtable Book Award.
Field Trip Committee:
Plan future trips for the members of the Civil War Roundtable.
If you are interested in more information, or joining, one the committees, please contact any Officer or Board Member. |
EVENT INFORMATION |
Members Only Tour
Saturday, May 6, 2023
9:30 am
A Tour of McAllister's Mill
By Kendra Debany
Reynolds Woods Witness Tree Pen Set for Sale
In 1987, the CWRT of Gettysburg bought a slab of the Witness Tree that fell in the Reynolds Woods. They used it to create wood bases for a pen set. Recently these wood bases were rediscovered and the CWRT has made the pen sets available again for purchase. For more information, or to place an order, please see our Witness Tree Pen Set Flyer.
You do not need to be a member of FaceBook to view the videos. |
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Welcome to the web site of the Civil War Round Table of Gettysburg! Since first organized in 1957, we’ve met on the 4th Thursday of every month, until recently in the cozy confines of the Grand Army of the Republic Hall on Middle Street. As the gatherings there were shoulder-to-shoulder, hardly practicable for the age of covid, we’ve made a temporary move to the Gettysburg United Methodist Church, 30 West High Street — which has a certain symmetry, as the GAR building was itself the Civil War-era Methodist Church. Our current space has a lot of advantages, including room for social distancing, free parking in the back, an air filtration system, and excellent livestream capability. The latter is particularly important in the new normal. Starting with the covid shutdowns in March of 2020, we spent the next 14 months with ZOOM only presentations and were surprised at how many people tuned in from across the country. Even as we’ve returned to in person gatherings, we continue to livestream, archiving the presentations for on demand viewing. Elsewhere on this page, you’ll find a link to our past programs, as well as instructions for tuning into our real time gatherings. Our expanding membership includes Civil War enthusiasts from coast to coast; we’d love to include you in our number and hope you’ll check out the membership information elsewhere on this site. Of course, we invite you drop in on one of our meetings. Visitors are always welcome! As you’ll see listed on this site, we’ve got an outstanding roster of speakers lined up for 2022. You might also “Like” our Facebook page, where we post regular updates and photos. Finally, as you have any questions about our group, I invite you to contact me personally: brdgettysburg@gmail.com.
Bruce Davis
President
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SPEAKERS |

March 23
Tom McMillan
The Hancock- Armistead Relationship 
April 27
James Hessler
George Armstrong Custer:
From Gettysburg to Little Big Horn

Saturday May 6
9:30-noon
Kendra Debany
A Tour of McAllister’s Mill 
May 25
Ron Kirkwood
The Spangler Farm During the Battle of Gettysburg Part 2. 
June 22 (rain date June 29)
Peter Miele
The Attack of Scales’ Brigade at the Seminary 
July 27 (rain date July 31)
Larry Korcyzk
The Wheatfield 
August 24 (rain date Aug 31)
Dr. Carol Reardon
A tour of the Spangler Farm 
September 28
Bradley Gottfried
Comparing Antietam and Gettysburg 
October 26
Dennis Doyle
Illinois Regiments at Gettysburg 
November 16
Janet McCabe
The Story of Rufus Weaver

December 7
Holiday Banquet at The Dobbin House
Jill Titus
Gettysburg in 1963
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News Briefs
Civil War Trust Organization
Preservation
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