Founded in 1957, our Round Table is one of the oldest in the nation. We couldn't ask for a better location: four major battles of the Civil War were fought within 20 miles of Fredericksburg. Our group of about 100 members meets once each month for a catered dinner followed by the presentation of a Civil War topic by a guest speaker - frequently a nationally-known author.

What We Do

We meet the fourth Wednesday of every month (except November, December, July and August) at the University of Mary Washington Jepson Alumni Executive Center at 1119 Hanover Street in Fredericksburg.

The bar opens at 5:45pm. Social begins at 6pm. Dinner is at 6:45pm. The program starts around 7:30pm. We usually conclude by 9pm.

Reservations are required. Please call (540) 361-2105 and leave a message regarding how many seats you require.

Men are expected to wear a coat and tie, with equivalent attire for ladies.

The cost is $30.00 for members, $35.00 for others, payable by cash or check at the door.

May 23, 2012

Topic: Come Retribution: The Confederate Secret Service in the Closing Days of the Civil War

Speaker: David W. Gaddy

Our speaker, described accurately as “the preeminent expert pertaining to Civil War era espionage,” is the last surviving co-author of the 1988 breakthrough historical work, Come Retribution: The Confederate Secret Service and the Assassination of Lincoln. This work is the seminal study of the Confederacy’s intelligence, espionage, and direct action special operations activities in the last phase of the Civil War. In fact, he authored Gray Cloaks and Daggers which first made public the existence of the Confederacy’s Secret Service Bureau and the Confederate Secret Line and Signal Corps -- thirteen years prior to the publishing of Come Retribution!

A graduate of Mars Hill College and the University of North Carolina (BA in U.S. History and German), he also received a MS degree in International Affairs from The George Washington University. A graduate of the Armed Forces Staff College and the National War College, his 41 years of federal service culminated as a Senior Cryptologic Executive with the National Security Agency.