Civil War Roundtable Features Washington, DC Tour Guide Peter MacNeill
The Southern Maryland Civil War Roundtable (SMCWR) will host a presentation by licensed Washington, D.C. tour guide Peter MacNeill on Civil War forts in the Washington, D.C. area. The forts varied from rudimentary structures to magnificent engineering marvels and all were constructed to help keep the enemy out of Washington. MacNeill will lecture on location and composition of forts, and their strategic purpose. While most of these forts are gone, some, like Fort DeRussy, Fort Foote, Fort Marcy, Fort Stevens, Fort Ward and Fort Washington are partially or wholly intact. The presentation will be at 7 p.m., April 9 at CSMs Center for Business and Industry (BI), Chaney Enterprises Conference Room BI-113, 8730 Mitchell Road, La Plata.
MacNeills fascination for American military history began while watching John Wayne and Errol Flynn movies with his father on Saturday mornings in the 1950s. Since moving to the Washington, D.C. region in 1971, MacNeill has passed the National Park Service Gettysburg battlefield tour guide exam and in 1992 began a career as a licensed Washington, D.C. tour guide specializing in veteran's military reunion tours and Civil War battlefield tours. MacNeill estimates that he has visited Antietam and Gettysburg battlefields thousands of times.
Information and registration details for an April 27 tour of a number of Civil War forts led by MacNeill will be available at the SMCWR meeting on April 9.
The SMCWR hosts monthly meetings, the second Tuesday of every month from September through May. Meetings are free and open to the public, but membership to the roundtable is highly encouraged. Annual membership is $30. For information, contact SMCWR President Dr. Brad Gottfried at bgottfried@csmd.edu or 301-934-7625.
For information on the SMCWR, visit http://www.somdcwrt.org/.
Calendar
Presentation on Civil War Forts around Washington, D.C. 7 p.m., April 9. College of Southern Maryland, La Plata Campus, Center for Business and Industry (BI), Chaney Enterprises Conference Room BI-113, 8730 Mitchell Road, La Plata. The Southern Maryland Civil War Roundtable will host a presentation by licensed Washington, D.C. tour guide Peter MacNeill on Civil War forts around the Washington, D.C. area. The forts varied from rudimentary structures to magnificent engineering marvels and all were constructed to help keep the enemy out of Washington. MacNeill will explore location and composition of forts, and their strategic purpose. While most of these forts are gone, some, like Fort DeRussy, Fort Foote, Fort Marcy, Fort Stevens, Fort Ward and Fort Washington, are partially or wholly intact. Information and registration for an April 27, all-day tour of a number of the remaining forts will be available at the meeting. Membership to the roundtable is open to all, with annual dues of $30. For information, contact Dr. Brad Gottfried, Southern Maryland Civil War Roundtable president, at bgottfried@csmd.edu or 301-934-7625.