Upcoming CCWRT Program
Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at 6:00 p.m.

April 2025 Roundtable Meeting: “Lincoln’s Lawyers”

The April 2025 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable will take place on April 9, 2025 beginning at 6:00 p.m. This will be an in-person meeting. The speaker will be Judge William F.B. Vodrey, and the title of William’s presentation is “Lincoln’s Lawyers.”

Abraham Lincoln, a talented trial lawyer himself before his 1860 election to the Presidency, named two very different men to advise him as Attorney General of the United States: Edward Bates and James Speed. This presentation will discuss their service in the Lincoln Cabinet and will also examine how these two men differed from each other in their opinions regarding racial equality and how their opinions interfaced with that of Lincoln.

William Vodrey is a past president of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable and a member of the American Battlefield Trust as well as the Blue and Gray Education Society. William has given numerous presentations to the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable and other groups.

The April 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 April 1, 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 chicken marsala, chef’s specialty apricot salmon, and stacked eggplant parmesan. If a reservation needs to be canceled, it must be canceled no later than April 8, 2025. Dinner will be provided to anyone who has a reservation. The cost of dinner is $35 per person. Other details can be found on the Reservations web page 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.

Meeting Summary: March 2025 – “Vicksburg, General Grant & Me”

The March 2025 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable featured a lively and detailed presentation by Steve Pettyjohn about the Vicksburg Campaign. Steve’s presentation was all the more impressive because he stepped forward on short notice when the originally scheduled speaker was unable to come to Cleveland due to travel issues. Steve’s thorough description of the Vicksburg Campaign was made more enjoyable by the humor that he interspersed throughout it. Moreover, the many photographs that Steve showed, which he had taken himself on his multiple trips to the Vicksburg area, were very effective in conveying the difficulties that were faced by the Union army due to both the topography and the strong fortifications built by the Confederates. Some of these photographs showed the difficult elevations that Union attackers had to surmount in order to reach the Confederate defenders, and to do so under fire.

While Steve’s detailed and excellent description of the Vicksburg Campaign was the primary framework of his presentation, he supplemented this with insightful discussion of the reasons for the Union victory in this pivotal military action. As Steve noted, perhaps the major reason for the Union victory was the commander of the Union forces in this campaign, that is, Ulysses S. Grant. Steve pointed out that Grant displayed superb leadership during the campaign by keeping his forces active and by maintaining a rigorous sense of confidence in the face of any difficulties or setbacks. This was most evident in Grant’s persistence and tenacity throughout the campaign.

Another major contribution by Grant in the Vicksburg Campaign was his creative and sometimes unconventional plans. For example, despite the numerous heavy guns in Vicksburg that were directed at the Mississippi River, Grant determined that it was necessary for the Union fleet to sail past those guns in order to bring Grant’s army across the river south of Vicksburg. Although this may have seemed impossible, it was successfully accomplished, and it was this accomplishment that directly led to the fall of Vicksburg. In addition, as Steve discussed, Grant organized some other operations to divert Confederate forces away from his army’s main thrust toward Vicksburg. These included the cavalry raid by Abel Streight, which removed Nathan Bedford Forrest’s force for a significant amount of time, and Benjamin Grierson’s cavalry raid, which occupied the attention of a number of diverse Confederate cavalry forces.

Steve also discussed the surprising difference in military information that was obtained by the Union and Confederate armies. As Steve indicated, the Union army consistently had good information with regard to important factors such as land routes through Mississippi as well as various aspects of the enemy’s army. Steve referred to this as a collection of mysterious information sources and noted that central Mississippi seemed to be an area in which quite a few of the people favored the Union. In contrast, the Confederate army seemed to, as Steve described, stumble around even though it was operating in its own territory.

Three other important factors that Steve pointed out for the Union victory were Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, and the U.S. Navy. Lincoln stood by Grant and kept him in command even when Grant’s detractors lost confidence in him and even though Lincoln was not sanguine about Grant’s plan for the conquest of Vicksburg. As Steve related, after Vicksburg fell, Lincoln acknowledged to Grant that Grant was right and he, himself, was wrong. Meanwhile, Davis had put in place an ineffective command structure for the defense of one of the Confederacy’s most strategically important strongholds. Lastly, the U.S. Navy provided indispensable support, both in terms of transport for Grant’s army and for bombardment of Vicksburg and its defenders.

Steve concluded his presentation by articulating the magnitude of Grant’s victory at Vicksburg. For one, there was the opening of the Mississippi River to transport from the northern states, which allowed easier access to global locations. There was also the capture and removal of an entire Confederate army. At that time, the Confederacy had three major armies, and Grant’s victory resulted in the removal of one of these. The capture of Vicksburg also severed the trans-Mississippi region from the rest of the Confederacy.

The Roundtable thanks Steve for his thorough, insightful, and engaging presentation. Steve’s outstanding presentation provided some excellent preparation for the Roundtable’s field trip to Vicksburg in September 2025.

March 2025 Charger Uploaded

The March 2025 issue of The Charger has been uploaded. It can be accessed by clicking on this link.

Latest History Brief (February 2025) Now Posted

Roundtable historian Dan Ursu’s February 2025 history brief has been posted. Dan’s latest history brief is Lincoln’s Boyhood Education. This history brief was done in recognition of the fact that the February 2025 Roundtable meeting took place on February 12, the birthday of Abraham Lincoln. Dan’s history brief discusses Lincoln’s self-education during his youth and describes how this self-education inculcated in Lincoln the insightfulness and prowess to guide our nation through some of its most difficult times. Dan’s history brief can be accessed by clicking on this link.

2025 Dick Crews Memorial Debate Posted on the Roundtable’s Website

The annual Dick Crews Memorial Debate took place at the January 8, 2025 Roundtable meeting. This year’s topic addressed the question, “Which individual from the Civil War would be the most interesting to sit down and speak with over dinner or a tasty beverage?” Five members of the Roundtable prepared arguments to present their opinion on this question: John Syroney (who chose Dan Sickles), Emily Dickinson (who chose Ulysses S. Grant), Terry McHale (who chose Thomas Francis Meagher), Jake Collens (who chose Robert E. Lee), and Paul Siedel (who chose Patrick Cleburne). William Vodrey again served as moderator. Each of the arguments was insightful and engaging, and each of the debaters made a compelling case. The arguments that each debater presented are now posted on the Roundtable’s website and are well worth reading.

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.