Inland Empire

Civil War Round Table

A 501(c)3 registered non-profit organization.

EIN: 36-5074542. Donations are tax-deductible

Winner of the First International CWRT Congress PHOENIX AWARD

New Member Form - Click Here

Renew Your Membership - Click Here

Inland Empire Civil War Round Table Patron Recognition

We sincerely thank our Dedicated Patron Donors. The continued support of individuals who have contributed $50 or more is invaluable to the Inland Empire Civil War Round Table and the advancement of our educational and preservation efforts.

2025 Patrons

Heather St. Clair - Loma Linda James Shuttleworth - Rowland Heights

Elizabeth Courtney - San Dimas Frank Sheridan - Redlands

Mike Hoover * - Grand Terrace Jim & Emily Bueermann * - Redlands

2026 Patrons

Heather St. Clair* - Loma Linda Mike Hoover* - Grand Terrace

Janet Whaley* - Pasadena Stephen Smith* - Grand Terrace

Paul Gomez* - Rancho Cucamonga Don McCue* - Redlands

North Jersey Civil War Round Table* - New Jersey

Donald Forden & Donna Kisk* - Laguna Woods

Brian Cieslak* - Riverside

* Donation given for the acquisition of historical artifacts for the Lincoln Memorial Shrine in Redlands, CA

To become a Inland Empire Civil War Round Table Patron click here.

On Monday, Feb. 16th, at 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time, Author Tonya McQuade will present a talk on

A State Divided: Digging into Missouri's Civil War History through Personal Letters

Here is the Zoom link. The Zoom room opens at 6:15. The presentation begins at 6:30 sharp; be on time.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82401765000?pwd=voo7uu3PxunnYM6epfBcEyVqx5S0MT.1

Meeting ID: 824 0176 5000

Passcode: Lincoln

About the program.

Did you know that many people actually believe the Civil War started in Missouri? Missouri was a state torn apart by political disagreements and violence even before the firing on Fort Sumter in April 1861. While the Missouri Compromise of 1820 helped to postpone the Civil War for four decades, the Platte Purchase, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Dred Scott case, and the “Bleeding Kansas” border wars – all of which played out here – added fuel to the fire. Some of the war’s first blood spilled on Missouri’s soil, and 42% of the battles occurred here during the first year of the war. Missouri even found itself with two competing governments: one supporting the Union; the other, the Confederacy.

In this talk, author Tonya Graham McQuade – whose family roots go deep in Missouri – will discuss Missouri’s interesting Civil War history and share excerpts from her book, A State Divided: The Civil War Letters of James Calaway Hale and Benjamin Petree of Andrew County, Missouri, 1862-1865. The book (which is available for purchase on Amazon.com) includes fifty previously unpublished Civil War letters written by two of her ancestors and explains the context in which these two Missouri soldiers and their families found themselves living, both before and during the Civil War, as they watched discord, destruction, and bloodshed erupt all around them.

Originally from Tennessee and Indiana, Hale and Petree each had relatives who fought and died on both sides of the war. Their letters provide vivid details and unique perspectives into their lives and experiences during the war. Tonya will explain how this book came about, read some excerpts from the letters, and show some related maps, family trees, and photos.

About the author.

Tonya Graham McQuade is a contributing writer to the Emerging Civil War website. She loves both history and historical fiction and is passionate about writing, which she plans to continue pursuing now that she has retired after 33 years of teaching English at Los Gatos High School.

Tonya is the great-great-great-granddaughter of James Callaway Hale, who wrote forty of the letters in her book. Hale’s daughter Mary Ann married the brother of Benjamin Petree, who wrote the other ten letters. In A State Divided, Tonya tells the story of these two Missouri soldiers as they march and drill with their regiments, avoid several close calls with guerrillas and enemy troops, witness the buildup to the Vicksburg Campaign, get an in-depth look at wartime St. Louis, overcome illness, trek with Sherman through the Carolinas, ponder the devastation they encounter, celebrate victory in Washington, D.C., and spend a lot of time sitting around, longing to be home, writing letters to their families.

Tonya lives in San Jose, California. She is an active member of Emerging Civil War, South Bay Civil War Round Table, South Bay Writers/California Writers Club, National League of American Pen Women, and Poetry Center San Jose. You can learn more about Tonya on her website at tonyagrahammcquade.com, as well as find photos related to her book and to her research trips to Missouri. You can also find links to her Chasing History and Emerging Civil War blog posts, her poetry and photography, and her social media sites.

Our Next Presentation on February 26th at 7:15 PM Eastern Time.
The African Americans in the Civil War Era Round Table presents.

A Tribute to Glory

The USCT reenactors who were cast as members of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment gather on Zoom to recall their experiences filming the epic movie Glory.

Topic: AACWERT Presentation - Tribute to Glory

Time: Feb 26, 2026 07:15 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86938586766?pwd=QV1zllkLa98fLJ4PO9WChwaTWzFVba.1

Meeting ID: 869 3858 6766

Passcode: 431150

On Monday, Jan. 26th, Author & Historian Jeffrey Boutwell, Ph.D., presented "BOUTWELL: Radical Republican and Champion of Democracy."

You can view the recorded program by clicking on the link below.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JTlrRsQLOTaZU8b3BwyAoFI4sgkH1L4A/view

Jeffrey Boutwell, Ph.D.

During his seven-decade career in public life, George Sewall Boutwell sought to "redeem America's promise" of racial equality, economic equity, and the principled use of American power abroad. From 1840 to 1905, Boutwell was at the center of efforts to abolish slavery, establish the Republican Party, assist President Lincoln in funding the Union war effort, facilitate Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, impeach President Andrew Johnson, and frame and enact the Fourteenth and Fifteenth civil rights amendments.

Jeffrey Boutwell is a writer, historian, and public policy specialist whose forty-year career spanned journalism, government, and international scientific cooperation. He has written widely on issues relating to nuclear weapons arms control, European politics, and Middle East security issues. He has a Ph.D. in political science from MIT, a B.A. in history from Yale University, and he worked for many years at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Cambridge, Mass. He is the author most recently of BOUTWELL: Radical Republican and Champion of Democracy (W.W. Norton, 2025), a biography of family member George Boutwell, political ally of Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant during the Civil War and Reconstruction eras who helped frame the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution and promoted equality of rights for all Americans. Jeffrey grew up in Concord, Mass., and now lives in Columbia, Maryland with his wife, Buthaina Shukri.