Upcoming CCWRT Program Via Zoom
Wednesday, May 12, 2021 at 7:00 pm

May 2021 Roundtable Meeting

The May meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable will take place on May 12, 2021. This meeting will be both in person and remote. Details about attendance at the meeting will be posted later.

The speaker will be Terry Winschel, and the title of Terry’s presentation is “Shut Up as in a Trap: Citizens Under Siege at Vicksburg.” Terry’s presentation focuses on the plight of the civilians in Vicksburg during the Union siege of the city. Most works on the Vicksburg campaign focus almost exclusively on the military operations centered on the fortress city and fail to address a key element in the equation – namely the civilian population of Vicksburg who experienced war in all its horrors during the long 47 days of siege. Who were these people and what is their story? In his presentation Terry recounts the hardships of these men, women, and children who experienced the most terrifying ordeal of their lives in a struggle to survive. Tapping on period letters, diaries, and memoirs, Terry weaves a moving account of life in the beleaguered city. His program paints a vivid portrait of life underground where citizens sought shelter from the storm of lead and iron that rained upon their city and details the suffering and death of Vicksburg’s gallant residents. His words are brought to life by slides featuring scores of faces of the citizens of Vicksburg who stood firm in the midst of conflict. Their lives directly impacted by the cruelty of war more so than people in any other American city, North or South, the people of Vicksburg have left a legacy of courage and fortitude that will inspire all who hear their story.

Terry, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and also holds M.S.S. (Master of Social Science) and Ed.S. (Education Specialist) degrees from Mississippi College. Terry retired in 2012 following a 35-year career with the National Park Service, most of which time he served as Historian at Vicksburg National Military Park. In 2016 Terry returned to work in a part-time capacity with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as Historian at the Engineer Research and Development Center. Terry has written 100 articles on the Civil War and is author of several books including Triumph & Defeat: The Vicksburg Campaign, Volume I and Volume II, The Civil War Diary of a Common Soldier: William Wiley of the 77th Illinois Infantry, and Vicksburg: Fall of the Confederate Gibraltar and co-authored (with William Shea) Vicksburg is the Key: The Struggle for the Mississippi River.

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Click on any of the book links 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.

Latest History Brief by Roundtable Historian Dan Ursu

Roundtable historian Dan Ursu’s latest history brief is Grant Attacks Pemberton at Champion Hill and Advances to the Big Black River. This history brief continues Dan’s chronicle of Ulysses Grant’s Vicksburg campaign.

Petersburg Field Trip

At this point, the Petersburg field trip is still scheduled for April 30-May 1. We have confirmed arrangements with Pamplin Park to use their facilities for lunch on both days and dinner on Saturday evening which will include an evening at the Museum of the Civil War Soldier. We have had to change guides and have engaged the services of the Executive Director at Pamplin Park, Mr. Tim Talbott.

We are planning on the car caravan approach to the trip instead of using a bus. Members and their guests will be welcome for the trip, but I want to let you know that Pamplin Park may have a limit on how many can attend their events. If that occurs, attendance will be based on a first come basis (i.e., when did you send the attendance fee?). At this point the fee is $150 per person. The hotel costs and dinner on Friday night will be your responsibility.

Please contact Steve Pettyjohn at stevepcwrt@yahoo.com if you have questions.

Field Trip Itinerary: On to Petersburg with the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable

April 30, 2021

Meet at 9:00 a.m. at Grant’s Headquarters City Point (Hopewell, VA) Set the scene.

• USCT actions at Baylor’s Farm, June 15, 1864
• XVIII Corps attacks on June 15, 1864 (Battery 5-Dictator, Battery 8-USCT actions, Battery 9-USCT action)
• Box lunch at Battery 9
• June 18 Union assaults and March 25, 1865 Confederate attack at Fort Stedman and support from Fort Haskell
• Fort Morton
• The Battle of the Crater (July 30, 1864)
• Battle of Weldon Railroad (August 18-21, 1864)
• Poplar Grove National Cemetery
• Fort Fisher

May 1, 2021

Meet at 9:00 am at Pamplin Historical Park parking lot. Review and preview.

• Battle of White Oak Road (March 31, 1865)
• Battle of Five Forks (April 1, 1865)
• VI Corps Breakthrough (April 2, 1865)
• Box lunch at Pamplin Historical Park
• A.P. Hill Death Site (April 2, 1865)
• Banks House-Grant’s HQ on April 2
• Fort Gregg (April 2, 1865)
• Edge Hill-Lee’s HQ on April 2
• Appomattox River crossing and evacuation of Petersburg

Dinner at Pamplin Park and a Night at the Museum of the Civil War Soldier

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 Lily Korte has been posting on Twitter and Facebook, you don’t have to join or anything like that. Just google either “Cleveland Civil War Roundtable” and either “Facebook” or “Twitter” and you can see our posts.

New Recruits in the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable

New members in the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable are encouraged to introduce themselves to the group by emailing a photograph and a short biography to the Roundtable (clecwrt@gmail.com). If you don’t want to send a picture or bio, just let us know and give us approval to post your name on the website as a new member.