Scottsdale Civil War Roundtable November Meeting

On Tuesday, November 18, 2025, the Scottsdale Civil War Roundtable will host author, Civil War historian, blogger, vlogger, and podcaster, John Banks.

John Banks’s presentation is entitled “Civil War Road Trip of a Lifetime.” Over more than a year, John Banks crisscrossed the country exploring battlefields, historic houses, forts and more. He rode on the back of an ATV with his “psychotic connection” in Mississippi, went under the spell of an amateur hypnotist at a U.S. Army fort in Tennessee, admired a sunset from the grounds of the notorious Andersonville prison camp in Georgia, prayed during a tense boat ride in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina and briefly interviewed Louie the wild boar in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Join him on a road trip like no other.

John Banks is author of A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime, Connecticut Yankees at Antietam and Hidden History of Connecticut Union Soldiers. His work has been featured in such notable publications as The New York Times, Civil War Times, Civil War Monitor, Civil War News, America's Civil War and Military Images. Banks and his friend Tom McMillan, a historian, author and former journalist, co-host "The Antietam And Beyond Podcast" (which you can find in the iPhone App store and on Google Play). Banks is a mountaineer from West Virginia University (B.A. in journalism), a longtime journalist (The Dallas Morning News, ESPN, The History Channel), and is presently secretary-treasurer of The Center for Civil War Photography.

The lecture will begin at 6:00 p.m. in the Copper Auditorium located on the lower level of the Civic Center branch of the Scottsdale Public Library, 3839 N. Drinkwater Blvd., Scottsdale. The doors will open at 5:00 p.m. and provide an opportunity to meet the speaker, browse our book sale, and view Civil War videos. Parking is free at the adjacent sub-level covered parking garage accessible off northbound Drinkwater Blvd.

The public is welcome, free of charge, to attend the monthly meeting of the Scottsdale Civil War Roundtable. To view our upcoming schedule for Fall 2025 and Spring 2026, visit our website: www.scottsdalecwrt.org. The Roundtable has meetings and speakers yearly from September through May.