Harrisburg, PA - The Harrisburg Area Riverboat Society, which owns and operates the Pride of the Susquehanna Riverboat from its docks on Harrisburg City Island, today announced a series of dinner cruises which will each feature a lecture about the American Civil War.

The first is set for June 22 from 6 PM to 8 PM. Scott Mingus, Sr. will make a presentation titled, "Prelude to Gettysburg: The Planned Confederate Invasion of Our Area that Ended with the Battle of Gettysburg."

He speaks following dinner and attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions. Future Civil War Lecture Dinner Cruises will be held July 27 and August 24, each also from 6 PM to 8 PM. They will feature Wayne Motts, Executive Director of the National Civil War Museum, and Cooper Wingert, respectively.

Riverboat Society Board Chair Jeff Tinsman said: "With the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg this summer, there is very high interest in the local battle and related skirmishes, all of which significantly altered the course of our nation's bloody four-year Civil War. We highlight our area's Civil War history with these three Civil War lecture dinner cruises."

Mingus, of York, PA, is a scientist and executive in the global paper industry, holding patents related to self-adhesive postage stamps and bar code labels.

He has ten Civil War books currently in print, including "Flames Beyond Gettysburg," which was a finalist for the 2011 U.S. Army Heritage Foundation's Distinguished Writing Awards. His great-great-grandfather was a drummer boy in the Ohio Volunteer Infantry's 51st Regiment and other ancestors fought at Gettysburg and Antietam. Mingus will have some of his books available at the June 22 dinner cruise to sign and sell.

Andrew Ponti, Riverboat Society Executive Director, said: "These cruises are very unique. You get a hearty dinner in the climate-controlled salon of the riverboat, while cruising the Susquehanna River, and get to hear fascinating local and national history most have never heard."

Tickets are $42 per person and available in advance at (717)234-6500 or at HarrisburgRiverboat.com. Reservations are needed at least 72 hours in advance.

The riverboat, now in its 25th Anniversary Season, is a non-profit, tax-exempt entity providing public and specialty cruises, events and activities along the Susquehanna River and is the only paddlewheel-driven public excursion vessel on the Susquehanna River.