HAMPTON TWP, ALLEGHENY CO. — Even after 25 years, the Greater Pittsburgh Civil War Round Table is still able to find new topics to discuss every month, most recently tackling “The department of the Monongahela during the Gettysburg campaign.”

According to Allison Caveglia Barash, co-founder and now secretary of the round table, this is because historians and researchers can get pretty niche when speaking about the Civil War, allowing people to delve deep into specific topics.

“There's so many subplots in the Civil War,” Caveglia Barash said. “It is absolutely endless, and there are so many niche areas. Civil War dogs and mascots, medicine, various battles. Some of the men are interested in battles, Jews in the Civil War, women in the Civil War.”

The Greater Pittsburgh Civil War Round Table meets on the third Monday of each month at the Hampton Community Center, where attendees can hear about a specific topic, and also meet other enthusiasts and participate in some other activities like “Jeopardy.”

Anyone can attend these monthly sessions, said Rick Swack, a member of the Greater Pittsburgh Civil War Round Table who helps promote the organization, but the group also plans trips to places like Gettysburg to physically view Civil War history. As Swack explained, the group is made up of “Civil War nerds” who enjoy spending at least one evening a month delving into a niche topic about a war that ended 160 years ago.

“We’re all Civil War enthusiasts,” Swack said. “The main point is education and having these presentations.”

Caveglia Barash said Civil War Round Tables exist around the nation, and they generally operate the same way as the Greater Pittsburgh chapter. They focus on bringing historians and Civil War experts in to share information with other history appreciators, oftentimes on specific topics that offer a clear look into 1660s life.

Caveglia Barash said she was aware of other round tables in 1999, but wanted to bring one to the area north of Pittsburgh, where there seemed to be interest. She co-founded the group in 2000 with her friend, fellow Civil War enthusiast Ulli Baumann, and hosted its first meeting in February 2000 at the Northland Public Library. More than 50 people showed up to that inaugural meeting, and it continued to grow from there.

“I counted 73 last night. Pre-pandemic, 60 would have been low,” Caveglia Barash said on Tuesday, Nov. 18. “I think it seems like we get two or three new people every time.”

Caveglia Barash credits the success of the Greater Pittsburgh round table to the area where its meetings take place. Not only did Pittsburgh play a role in the Civil War, but many cities in Pennsylvania are significant in Civil War history, so there is a wealth of knowledge within a few hours drive of the Hampton Community Center.

“There is no shortage of really good people to speak on various aspects of the Civil War,” Caveglia Barash said. “We have some local experts and we're close enough to Gettysburg that we can get people from there.”

The presenter at the Nov. 17 meeting was Rich Condon, a public historian from Pittsburgh who now lives in Gettysburg, according to the American Battlefield Trust website. He has written for Civil War Times Magazine, The Civil War Monitor, American Battlefield Trust, as well as Emerging Civil War, and operates the Civil War Pittsburgh blog.

On Nov. 17, Condon spoke about Pittsburgh’s role in the Civil War, and referenced news articles of the time, a book, “Pittsburgh during the American Civil War,” as well as other historical artifacts, to discuss how the city operated during the war. He also explained that the city’s industrial ability made it pivotal to the supply and staff of the military.

Condon’s presentation covered just a sliver of Civil War history, in an area he said may have been a little familiar to the audience in attendance. Swack and Caveglia Barash each said that some people just attend sessions that appeal to them personally, while others attend the round table every month.

A unique aspect of the Greater Pittsburgh group is also Caveglia Barash’s inclusion of a song each month, which she said usually kicks off each month’s meeting. She commented that this kind of interactive lesson helps people ingrain themselves in the era by actually singing a song that people would have sung at the time.

“It's part of the education because music was very important to people on the homefront,” Caveglia Barash said. “I do a different song every month.”

Swack encouraged anyone with an interest in Civil War history to visit the round table at least once.

“Anyone can come and check it out,” Swack said. “Membership is $25 per year, but you can come to a few presentations to see if it’s something you want to do first.”

The Greater Pittsburgh organization is also notable for being founded by women, which is somewhat rare in the area of Civil War round tables, Caveglia Barash said. She explained that her interest in the Civil War stemmed from her parents, who were also enthusiastic about that period of history, Abraham Lincoln in particular.

“Both of them had an interest in history, but they revered Lincoln, that was always a big thing in our house,” Caveglia Barash said. “They were definitely interested but I know I was about 5, that's when I would ask for in the children's room in the library, was books about Abraham Lincoln.”

Hailing from Long Island, NY, Caveglia Barash said her parents also took her to historic sites, like Gettysburg, which added to her fascination with Civil War era history.

Caveglia Barash remembers asking librarians for books about Lincoln and the Civil War starting when she was around 5 years old, and eventually found herself struck by photography of the age.

Seeing photos of people living through the Civil War demonstrated that history is not just written — it’s documented lived experience.

“I am interested in the people,” Caveglia Barash said. “I would look at their faces, I wonder who these people were and what they were thinking.”

But aside from all the presenters the Greater Pittsburgh Civil War Round Table has brought to the area and all the trips its members have taken over the years, Caveglia Barash said she thinks it has survived for 25 years because of the regulars. She said each month’s meeting has become like a reunion among friends, because they feature social time, as well as raffles and food, which helps people connect with one another.

Building relationships between people who appreciate Civil War era history has become an important aspect to the round table, Caveglia Barash said.

“We want it to be a social thing where people can come and have a cup of coffee and talk to each other,” she said.

For more information about the Greater Pittsburgh Civil War Round Table, visit its Facebook page. Meetings take place at 7 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month except for January at the Hampton Community Center, 3200 Lochner Way, Allison Park.