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Thu Oct 22 2026 at 07:00 pm to 08:30 pm UTC-04:00

October Meeting - The Old Capital Prison with Keith Kehlbeck

  • Gettysburg History · Gettysburg
Civil War Roundtable of Gettysburg Publisher / Host Civil War Roundtable of Gettysburg
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October Meeting - The Old Capital Prison with Keith Kehlbeck
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Thursday, October 22nd at 7:00pm
The Old Capital Prison with Keith Kehlbeck
With habeas corpus suspended during the Civil War, Old Capitol was the Guantanamo of its day. In addition to Confederate soldiers, men and women (such as famous spy Belle Boyd), and other citizens languished in a prison that had been converted from a boarding house where the Congress met after the British burned the Capitol in the War of 1812. Ironically, Old Capitol was located where the U.S. Supreme Court now stands.
Keith Kehlbeck is a writer, historian, and marketing consultant with clients in the hospitality, nonprofit, and publishing sectors. At the age of 10, his family took a trip to Washington, D.C. (with a side Gray Line tour of Gettysburg!) sparking what would become a life-long interest in the Civil War. There was no turning back. Since that trip, Keith’s passion for studying the Civil War led him to write Gone to God: A Civil War Family’s Ultimate Sacrifice, a nonfiction history told with diaries and letters written by soldiers and their family members, published in 2013. His most recent book, Aim High: The Life and Times of John Arena, a biography of a famous restaurateur, came out in 2023. He currently is working on two books: Voices of a Civil War Regiment: The Fourth Virginia Cavalry in War and Peace, and a modern assessment of Old Capitol Prison, the “Bastille of the North.” The latter will be the topic of his talk.
Keith obtained his Bachelor’s degree studying history at Wabash College in Indiana, graduating summa cum laude.
During his career, he has worked as Executive Director for Select Registry, Distinguished Restaurants of North America (the preeminent association of high-end bed and breakfasts and boutique small inns and hotels), Distinguished Restaurants of North America (DiRoNA), and Southwest Michigan First, a cutting-edge economic development firm. He also has worked on contract with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and various other clients, and was a partner with Insights IQ Group, a boutique consulting firm specializing in strategy, message optimization, and marketing research services.
He and his wife, Ali, have a home on the water in the Northern Neck of Virginia.
Visitors are always welcome!
Meetings begins at 7:00 p.m. at the Beyond the Battle Museum, 625 Biglerville Road, Gettysburg.
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Gettysburg History, 625 Biglerville Rd, Gettysburg, PA 17325-8002, United States

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