Our Next Presentation

The Civil Warriors CWRT of the San Fernando Valley/Los Angeles will hold its next meeting of 2026 on Wednesday, April 8, at 7PM Pacific Time via Zoom. We are pleased to host a presentation by Dr. Dave Schrader, who will be returning to speak to the Warriors about:

"The News! The News! Reporting in the Civil War"

Both North and South had embedded reporters with the troops and at the battles, eager to wire back stories to a public hungry for news.  This talk focuses on the Northern reporters, their logistics problems of finding out where to go and what to cover, their fights with Stanton and generals on censorship and use of the telegraph, as well as their tricks for getting scoops.  These “stories behind the stories” will provide you with a better appreciation for the fun, hardships and risks of the news business in the Civil War.

Dr. Dave Schrader has been giving CWRT talks to southern California audiences since 2013. He is particularly fascinated by what Paul Harvey would call “the rest of the story” – for example, the activities of support organizations such as the Signal Corps, the Commissary Corps or the Quartermaster Corps, who often played major but behind-the-scene roles helping generals and presidents achieve their goals.  Or people like Lincoln’s Secretaries or his Ambassadors that played a pivotal role in supporting the President and his policies. Or the Fire-Eaters who drummed up support for secession in the south while the Abolitionists were busy motivating people in the North.  Many of his talks are interactive so be prepared for audience participation!

Miller is a writer, filmmaker, and photographer based in Los Angeles. He is best known for writing and producing the popular independent documentary “When Stand Up Stood Out,” about the “gold rush” of the 70s and 80s Boston Comedy scene, and for writing and editing the documentary “Bettie Page Reveals All,” which won “Best Feature Documentary” at thDouglas Miller is ale President of The Center for Military 

We will be meeting via the Zoom meeting app. We will be sending out the on-line connection information shortly before our meeting day (4/8/26). Please plan on beginning your hookup a few minutes before the 7PM Pacific meeting time. If you are a first-time visitor to the Civil Warriors, please contact us at cwrtsfv@gmail for information regarding the hookup. Guests, new members and returning members are always welcome to join us for this and future meetings! If you can’t make this meeting, please consider one of our exciting upcoming meetings noted on our Future Presentations section.

Future Presentations