Upcoming CCWRT Program
Wednesday, October 8, 2025 at 6:00 p.m.
October 2025 Roundtable Meeting: “Hell by the Acre”
The October 2025 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable will take place on October 8, 2025 beginning at 6:00 p.m. This will be an in-person meeting. The speaker will be Dan Masters, and the title of Dan’s presentation is “Hell by the Acre.”
The Battle of Stones River (Murfreesboro) took place from December 31, 1862 to January 1, 1863. The battle was a victory for the Union, but it was a very costly victory. The battle had more casualties than Shiloh and Antietam, but is lesser known. The victory in this battle was important for the Union, because it came soon after two serious defeats, one at Fredericksburg and one at Chickasaw Bayou. Dan Masters’ presentation about the Stones River Campaign is based on his new book Hell by the Acre, which is a narrative history of the Stones River Campaign in 1862-1863 in the Western Theater.
Dan Masters is a descendant of five Union veterans of the Civil War and has been deeply involved in the study of that conflict since the late 1990s. He has written ten books, numerous articles, and more than 800 blog posts about the Civil War, much of his work focusing on the Western Theater. His third book, Sherman’s Praetorian Guard, won a local history publication award in 2018. In 2022 he released the first in a three-volume trilogy titled Echoes of Battle: Annals of Ohio’s Soldiers in the Civil War, the second volume of which was released in February 2024. In addition to regularly writing on his blog, Dan Masters’ Civil War Chronicles, he also recently published Hell by the Acre: A Narrative History of the Stones River Campaign.
The October 2025 meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn Independence (6001 Rockside Road, Independence, Ohio 44131). Reservations should be made by sending an email to the Roundtable’s reservation email account (ccwrtreserve@gmail.com). Reservations must be made no later than eight days before the meeting (i.e., no later than September 30, 2025). When making a reservation, please include your name and the number and names of any guests. Please also indicate the meal choice for you (and any guests). The three meal options are pretzel chicken, penne chicken broccolini, and stacked eggplant parmesan. If a reservation needs to be canceled, it must be canceled no later than October 7, 2025. Dinner will be provided to anyone who has a reservation. The cost of dinner is $35 per person. It is not necessary to purchase dinner in order to attend the meeting, but reservations are requested from everyone in order to have sufficient chairs set up in the meeting room. Those who plan to attend the meeting without purchasing dinner should indicate “no dinner” when they make a reservation. Other details can be found on the Reservations web page by clicking on this link.
Click on the book links above to purchase from Amazon. Part of the proceeds from any book purchased from Amazon through the CCWRT website is returned to the CCWRT to support its education and preservation programs.
Meeting Summary: September 2025 – “Black Americans in Mourning”
The September 2025 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable featured an excellent and very touching presentation by Dr. Leonne Hudson. Dr. Hudson’s presentation, which was titled “Black Americans in Mourning,” focused on the emotions that were felt by Blacks after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. As Dr. Hudson discussed in his presentation (and as he documents in his book Black Americans in Mourning: Reactions to the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln), the whole nation mourned Lincoln’s death, but the feelings of grief among Blacks were much more intense because for Blacks, Lincoln was their deliverer, their protector, and their benefactor.
This depth of mourning was greater for Blacks not only because of the gratitude they felt toward Lincoln for the many things that he had done on their behalf, but also because of what Lincoln would have done for them as the country assimilated freed slaves into citizenship. Dr. Hudson pointed out that, ironically and tragically, this eventual assimilation was suggested in a speech by Lincoln that was heard by John Wilkes Booth, and Booth was so incensed by this that it spurred him to assassinate Lincoln.
Dr. Hudson indicated that Black newspapers of that time were his most useful source of information regarding expressions of feelings by individual Blacks, and Dr. Hudson gave some specific examples of this, all of which were filled with sad and heartfelt emotions. Dr. Hudson also stated that men and women had an interesting difference in the way these feelings of sadness were expressed. Women typically expressed their feelings in the first person (for example, I am sad), while men typically expressed their feelings in the third person (for example, the nation is sad or the army is sad).
Dr. Hudson noted that for the funeral processions at the various locations where Lincoln’s body was publicly viewed, Blacks were placed at the end, except for New York City, where some Blacks were at the front while others were at the end. Dr. Hudson also mentioned that the public viewings were held indoors except for one location, that location being Cleveland. Another aspect of the public viewings that Dr. Hudson pointed out is that the funeral train made stops only in cities in the North. As such, the Black people who most benefited from Lincoln’s policies toward ending slavery, namely Blacks in the South, did not have an opportunity to pay their respects to him.
An especially engaging part of Dr. Hudson’s presentation involved a discussion of reactions by some specific Black individuals to Lincoln’s assassination. For example, Charlotte Scott, a former slave, donated $5.00 (a large sum for her) to her employer for the construction of a monument to Lincoln. This led to many donations, all from Blacks, and this resulted in the Emancipation Memorial in Washington, D.C. An inspiring anecdote involved William de Fleurville, a Haitian immigrant and barber who befriended Lincoln in Springfield and became very close to him. When Lincoln’s funeral train came to Springfield at the end of its journey, de Fleurville was offered the chance to march near the front of the funeral procession. However, he declined and insisted that he march at the end with the rest of the Blacks.
Dr. Hudson’s presentation was an outstanding opening to the Roundtable’s 2025-2026 season. His presentation dealt with a topic that is not widely studied or discussed. But thanks to Dr. Hudson, the attendees at the meeting not only were introduced to this topic, but were given a thorough exposure to it via a truly engrossing presentation. The Roundtable is very grateful to Dr. Hudson for his exceptional and very informative presentation.
Click on the book link above to purchase from Amazon. Part of the proceeds from any book purchased from Amazon through the CCWRT website is returned to the CCWRT to support its education and preservation programs.
September 2025 Charger Uploaded
The September 2025 issue of The Charger has been uploaded onto the Roundtable’s website. The September 2025 issue can be accessed by clicking on this link.
Roundtable 2025 Field Trip – Save the Dates
The Roundtable’s 2025 field trip is scheduled for September 25-28, 2025 to Vicksburg, Mississippi. A block of rooms has been reserved, and the itinerary has some very enticing activities on it. As of now, the following activities have been scheduled for the 2025 field trip: Battle of Port Gibson, Battle of Champion Hill, Battle of Big Black River, Stockade Redan Attack, USS Cairo Museum, Vicksburg National Cemetery, Surrender Interview Site, Great Redoubt, and Second Texas Lunette as well as many more. Check back for updates. A downloadable PDF containing information about the hotel, the tentative itinerary, and information about signing up for the field trip can be found by clicking on this link. (Note: This link connects to the most recent version of the PDF for the field trip, which was updated on April 9, 2025.)
Membership Roster and Contact Information
We have worked very hard to improve our membership database and contact information this year, but we know we probably have more work to do. Please be sure to keep us advised of changes in contact information by sending us the information at clecwrt@gmail.com. We monitor that email account on a regular basis, so this would be a big help in making sure we can keep you informed of group activities. If you want to see what has been posted on our Facebook page or Twitter account, you do not have to become a member of the Roundtable. Everyone is welcome to view our Facebook page and Twitter account. These can also be accessed by googling “Cleveland Civil War Roundtable” and either “Facebook” or “Twitter” and clicking on the appropriate link in the search results.
Cleveland Civil War Roundtable Monthly Meetings
Meeting Time: Monthly meetings of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable are typically held on the second Wednesday of the month from September through May. Meetings ordinarily begin with a social hour at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the program at 7:00 p.m. Meetings usually end by around 9:00 p.m. All of our meetings are currently held in person, and barring any future health-related restrictions, we anticipate that all meetings will be held in person.
Meeting Location: In-person meetings are held at the Holiday Inn Independence, 6001 Rockside Road, Independence, Ohio 44131.
Reservations: For in-person meetings, you must make a dinner reservation for any meeting you plan to attend. Reservations must be made no later than eight days prior to the meeting (so we can give a head count to the caterer). For information on making a dinner reservation, click on this link. It is not necessary to purchase dinner in order to attend a meeting. Anyone is welcome to attend the presentation without purchasing dinner. We ask that people who are not purchasing dinner make a reservation so that enough chairs will be set up in the meeting room. Simply make a reservation at the reservation email address (ccwrtreserve@gmail.com) and indicate “no dinner” in the reservation. If dinner is not purchased, there is no charge to attend a meeting.