Rappahannock Valley Civil War Round Table Meeting on September 8, 2025
Please join us on Monday, September 8th at Brock’s Riverside Grill, where our speaker will be Greg Elder with his topic, “Antietam and Chancellorsville: Contrasts of Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield“, which will be based upon his in-depth and detailed research on this topic. Starting with a quick overview of this subject, he will then compare and contrast the differences between these two battles and how it positively transformed the battlefield effectiveness of the Union Army.
The synopsis of his presentation will be as follows:
The transformation of the Union’s Army of the Potomac from the Battle of Antietam in September 1862 to its fight at Chancellorsville in April 1863 was nothing less than profound in the history of the Civil War. More so, the transformation of its intelligence capabilities resonates as one the most remarkable in military history and includes the formation of the first ever modern all-source intelligence organization. The presentation will address this revolution and how it enabled the Union to win the war.
Greg Elder is the chief historian at the Defense Intelligence Agency and a graduate lecturer in intelligence at the Johns Hopkins University.
During his 25-year career with the Intelligence Community, Elder served roles as a President’s Daily Briefing briefer, deputy defense intelligence officer, senior intelligence officer, analyst, and interrogator. He also completed rotations as a course director and instructor in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and an instructor of tradecraft at the Academy for Defense Intelligence; in his role as course director, he was recognized in both 2023 and 2024 with the National Intelligence Professionals Award for Teaching. As the chief historian, Elder initiated and oversees a nine-battlefield staff ride program focusing on leadership and intelligence and developed a 20-part lecture series on intelligence in the Civil War.
Elder is a routine guest on podcasts such as Addressing Gettysburg and Ed Helms’ SNAFU, which won the 2023 Signal Award for best history podcast series. He is the recipient of two gold and one silver Telly Awards for excellence in broadcasting and has consulted on projects such as Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale.
Elder holds Master of Arts degrees from Northeastern University and the United States Naval War College and completed graduate studies at National Intelligence University, Norwich University, and the University of Maryland. He holds more than thirty professional certifications.
Regarding books, Elder will have none for sale.
Times will be as before – social time at 6 PM, dinner at 6:45 PM, meeting at 7:30 PM.
We are now able to accommodate non-dinner attendees/spectators.
Please make dinner reservations through John Sapanara via email [email protected] or by phone 540–479–1299. He will contact you with confirmation.
Please reserve a place by the Thursday before the Monday dinner meeting date.
If you wish to be placed on the “permanent reservation” list, please advise John. Members on this list do not need to make reservations every month – their attendance is assumed unless they cancel beforehand.
Member dinner price is $35. This price also applies to non-member attendees who join at the meeting, or to guests invited by members. Non-member dinner price is $40.