Remembrance
The Butler County Civil War Roundtable began 14 years ago through the efforts of one re-enactor.
At that time, Bill May of Butler was known for his one-man show, “A Visit from a Civil War Soldier,” in which he portrayed his great-grandfather Christian Hinchberger, who served in the Union Army.
Linda Dunne of Meridian had seen May's performance and suggested he head up a roundtable to provide local enthusiasts with an opportunity to gather and learn more about the Civil War.
The group meets at 7 p.m. the second Wednesday of each month, except during the summer, at the YWCA.
Also a Civil War enthusiast, Dunne had read about such groups in history magazines.
“I thought there probably would be interest in this area,” Dunne said. “He gave it some thought and that's how it started.”
About 25 people showed up for the first meeting and since then, membership has increased to about 70 men, women and children, May said.“You don't have to be a Civil War aficionado to come to our group,” he said. “Most of our members have an interest in the war but are not what you'd consider experts. They just enjoy the subject area.”May attributes his fascination with the Civil War to Hinchberger, who served in Company H, 78th Regiment. Though May never met Hinchberger, who died in 1934, the Union soldier was very much a part of family lore.“My family was interested in history,” May said. “My parents took us to many Civil War battlefields, including the places where my great-grandfather fought.”The roundtable movement began in Chicago about 60 years ago, and literally involved friends discussing the Civil War around the dinner table, May said.Though they operate independently of one another, roundtable organizations exist nationwide.In Butler County, Dunne opens each meeting with trivia questions before transitioning to the guest speaker, who typically talks for about an hour.“There are so many things we can learn from history,” Dunne said. “(The Civil War) tore our country apart over issues that hopefully can be avoided in the future. I don't think we would ever have something like slavery again in this country, and we may not have another civil war, but certainly there's turmoil in our government.”In addition to exploring topics he and other members find interesting, May peruses the newsletters and websites of other Civil War roundtables for ideas on speakers and programs.One of the most memorable speakers the group has hosted is actor Patrick Falci, who portrayed General A.P. Hill in the 2004 movie “Gettysburg.”Other programs include actors portraying George Armstrong Custer and Confederate General Robert E. Lee and a speaker who is a direct descendant of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman.
Financial support for the speakers comes from membership fees and donations, May said.In addition to the roundtable, May also is interested in the preservation of Civil War battlefields. Since the early 1990s, May has donated about $30,000 from performances of his one-man show to several preservation societies.The bulk of the funds were donated to two Virginia battlefields, Cedar Creek in Shenandoah and Brandy Station in Culpeper, Va.“So many of them took place between Richmond and Washington, D.C., which has suffered from suburban sprawl for decades,” May said. “That puts a lot of pressure on the disintegration and loss of battlefield lands.”Preservation is vital in remembering that portion of our nation's history, May said.“It's important that people can still go there and get a feel for what happened, why it happened and what the men did there,” he said.When not planning roundtable meetings, May is a computer teacher at Lakeview High School in Stoneboro, Mercer County.
