Upcoming CCWRT Program
Wednesday, September 10, 2025 at 6:00 p.m.

2025-2026 Program Schedule Posted

The schedule for the Roundtable’s 2025-2026 program has been posted. The 2025-2026 program that was put together by Roundtable President Charles Patton contains a nice variety of Civil War-related topics that will be presented by excellent speakers. Roundtable members will certainly find these presentations well worth attending. The 2025-2026 program schedule can be accessed by clicking on this link.

Summary of the Roundtable’s 2024 Field Trip to Gettysburg

As a parting memento to the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable, outgoing Roundtable President Gene Claridge wrote a summary of the outstanding 2024 field trip to Gettysburg. Gene’s summary, including photographs, superbly details the many historic sites that were visited. Those who were unable to attend the field trip are encouraged to read Gene’s summary and learn about that terrific excursion. Those who participated in the field trip are encouraged to read Gene’s summary and relive their memorable experiences. Gene’s summary of the field trip can be accessed by clicking on this link.

Meeting Summary: May 2025 – “After Lee’s Surrender: A Country in Turmoil”

The May 2025 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable featured an extraordinary presentation by Dr. Curt Fields, who appeared in character as General Ulysses S. Grant. Dr. Fields is the preeminent U.S. Grant living historian, and he showed why at the May 2025 meeting. Dr. Fields, as General Ulysses Grant, described the events associated with the surrender of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and the end of the Civil War. Rather than discussing military tactics, General Grant described the events on a personal level, which made for a much more engrossing presentation.

Dr. Fields, as Grant, explained that after Lee’s army was forced out of Petersburg, three Union armies pursued it. The Army of the James and the Army of the Shenandoah raced westward past Lee’s army and blocked the advance of the Army of Northern Virginia in that direction. Meanwhile, the Army of the Potomac pursued Lee’s army from the east. Grant asserted that this pursuit was unprecedented in that there were no stragglers in the Union army, because none of the Union soldiers wanted to be absent at what they realized was soon to be the end of the war. Grant also indicated that the government wanted to end the war because of the vast amount of spending necessary to support the war effort, but he stated emphatically that for him, as a soldier, one of the strongest desires for ending the war was to stop the killing.

The bidirectional pursuit of Lee’s army led to the Army of Northern Virginia being caught in a vice between a much larger Union force. In spite of this, Grant, as he related, knew that he was still facing a dangerous foe, because the Confederates who had remained with Lee’s army were the true stalwarts and the hardest fighters, so Grant knew that there might still be a tough fight in store for the Union forces. Grant told the attendees at the meeting that after being trapped at Appomattox Courthouse, Lee’s army made one last attempt to break out with an attack led by John B. Gordon. Following this unsuccessful attempt, Lee, whose depleted army was facing a Union force three times its size, decided that all that was left to do was to meet with Grant, and Lee sent a message to his adversary.

As Grant described, the circumstances were such that it was very difficult for the army commanders to send messages to each other. In fact, Grant related that a few men on each side were killed or wounded in the process of messages being delivered through the lines. Eventually Grant received Lee’s message requesting a meeting, and Grant magnanimously allowed Lee to choose the location for the meeting, which is very unusual for the victorious commander to do. Grant also dispelled the widely held notion that his grimy appearance at the meeting was a veiled insult to Lee. As Grant discussed, due to the intense pace of the pursuit, he had not bathed for over a week, that is, since the time that Lee’s army had been driven out of Petersburg.

Grant related to the audience that Lincoln’s desire for the treatment of the Confederates was to “let ’em up easy,” and Grant kept this in mind during his meeting with Lee, which lasted 78 minutes. Lincoln simply wanted the men in the Army of Northern Virginia to lay down their arms and go home, and this is precisely what Grant stipulated in his surrender terms to Lee. Grant told the attendees at the Roundtable meeting that he demanded only that the Confederates lay down their arms, promise not to take up arms against the United States, and return to their homes, and if they did this, they would not be disturbed. Grant also said that the Confederate soldiers were issued paroles, so if they encountered Union patrols on their way home, they could verify that they had surrendered and that they were permitted to return to their homes. Moreover, the paroles allowed the Confederates to use train or riverboat transportation for their journey.

Dr. Fields was masterful in his portrayal of Ulysses Grant. His telling of the events that culminated in the surrender of Lee’s army gave those in attendance at the Roundtable meeting a unique opportunity to experience those events from the perspective of Ulysses Grant. The Roundtable is extremely grateful to Dr. Fields for his superb presentation. His presentation and his portrayal of Ulysses Grant were an excellent way for the Roundtable to conclude the 2024-2025 season.

Election of officers for 2025-2026

Also taking place at the May 2025 meeting was the election of officers for 2025-2026. The newly elected officers are President Charles Patton, Vice President John Syroney, Treasurer Gary Taylor, and Secretary Rich Gilmore. The success of the Roundtable depends on the willingness of some of its members to become officers and on the dedication of those who serve as officers. The members of the Roundtable are indebted to Charles, John, Gary, and Rich for agreeing to serve as officers. The May 2025 meeting also marked the end of the tenure of President Gene Claridge. Charles presented Gene with a sword in gratitude for Gene’s exemplary service to the Roundtable. The Roundtable thanks Gene for his consummate service as Roundtable president.

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.