Upcoming CCWRT Program
Wednesday, September 9, 2026 at 6:00 p.m.

Meeting Summary: May 2026 – “General Winfield Scott Hancock, Commander of the U.S. Second Corps”

The May 2026 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable featured a living historian presentation by Brian Burtka, who appeared in character as Winfield Scott Hancock. Brian, who looks like a young General Hancock, gave his presentation in the first person in period uniform with no notes. Brian’s excellent and very informative presentation was like an evening listening to Winfield Scott Hancock speak about his experiences during the Civil War followed by questions from Roundtable members.

Brian, in the persona of Hancock, began by describing Hancock’s pre-Civil War life. Hancock mentioned that his grandfather fought in George Washington’s army in the Revolutionary War and that his father was able to obtain an appointment for Hancock to West Point, where Hancock’s best class all four years was drawing. Hancock also discussed his time in the Mexican-American War, where he served in the army commanded by Winfield Scott, the person after whom he was named. It was during this war that Hancock met two men who became close friends, but who fought for the Confederacy: Lewis Armistead and Henry Heth. Hancock noted that after the war Heth played a role in Hancock meeting his wife. It happened when both men were stationed in St. Louis. They went out one evening with their band to serenade some women, and while they were doing this, one of the women dropped her handkerchief. Heth picked up the handkerchief and gave it to Hancock, and from this encounter first a romance grew and then a marriage.

Hancock related that he spent several years prior to the Civil War stationed in California as a quartermaster officer. He also said that his wife and children were with him during this time, for which he was very appreciative and grateful. Hancock said that he was in California when he heard about the firing on Fort Sumter, and he immediately returned east to serve in the war. Eventually he was given command of a brigade in the Army of the Potomac, and he and his brigade took part in the Peninsula Campaign. Hancock told how George McClellan thought so highly of Hancock’s performance in that campaign that McClellan wrote in a letter to his wife that Hancock’s tactical brilliance was superb. Because of McClellan’s description of Hancock in that way, Hancock received the nickname Hancock the Superb. Hancock said that he and his command fought in all of the major battles of the Army of the Potomac. After the mortal wounding of Israel Richardson at Antietam, Hancock assumed command of the first division of the II Corps. Hancock told how after Chancellorsville, he was given command of the II Corps.

Hancock then spent some time discussing his role in the Battle of Gettysburg, the battle for which he is best known. He discussed how George Meade, who had only recently been given command of the Army of the Potomac, met with Hancock and told him that he wanted Hancock to go to Gettysburg, where reports indicated that military action was taking place. Hancock related that Meade wanted Hancock to evaluate the situation and that Meade chose Hancock to do this because he had a great deal of trust in Hancock. Hancock described how when he arrived at Gettysburg, the elements of the Army of the Potomac that were there were in chaos, and he assessed the situation with O.O. Howard, the highest-ranking officer on the field. Together they stabilized the situation and decided on a location to establish a defensive line, which became the famous Union line at Gettysburg. Hancock then discussed the remainder of the battle: that his II Corps was in the center of the Union line, that on the second day of the battle the II Corps had to absorb and repulse a major Confederate assault precipitated by Daniel Sickles’ misguided movement of the III Corps to a forward position, that on the third day, during the intense cannonade by the Confederates, Hancock saw fear in his men and rode along the entire line of the II Corps to calm them even though he was exposing himself to danger, and that he was wounded in the thigh during Pickett’s Charge, the military action in which Hancock’s good friend Lewis Armistead was mortally wounded.

Hancock related that the wound he received at Gettysburg took a very long time to heal, and it was only through insightful and ingenious treatment by a doctor named Jonathan Reed that the bullet was extracted from the wound, after which the wound closed and healed. Hancock was then able to rejoin the army, but the lingering pain and trauma from the wound forced Hancock to give up field command in November 1864, which was exceedingly difficult for him to do. Hancock noted that after the war he became active in politics and eventually ran for president in 1880 as the Democratic candidate, but he lost the election to James Garfield. During the question-and-answer period, one question to Hancock was if he had any misgivings about running as the Democratic candidate given that the South was closely aligned with this political party. Hancock answered that, in his role as a Reconstruction officer, he felt that the army was being used to advance a political agenda, which led him to work toward reimplementation of civilian government in the southern district that he oversaw. This was unpopular with the Republicans, and it resulted in Hancock gravitating toward the Democratic Party.

The Roundtable is extremely grateful to Brian for his exemplary presentation. Brian’s first-person presentation as Winfield Scott Hancock was very informative and thoroughly engrossing. Thanks to Brian, the members of the Roundtable have much more knowledge and a much better understanding of Winfield Scott Hancock as well as a much greater appreciation for this Union general who played such an important role in the Civil War.

After Brian’s presentation, incoming Roundtable President John Syroney presented outgoing President Charles Patton with a sword as an appreciation gift for all that Charles did during his highly successful presidency. The Roundtable is very grateful to Charles for making 2025-2026 an exceptional year.

The Charger: May 2026 Special Supplement

Outgoing Roundtable President Charles Patton presents his thoughts on three of the meetings from the 2025-2026 season in a President’s Message about the presentations made by Ed Gantt on United States Colored Troops, Professor Brian Mitchell on Louisiana Reconstruction Governor Oscar Dunn, and Brian Burtka on General Winfield Scott Hancock. The May 2026 Special Supplement of The Charger can be accessed by clicking on this link.

Cleveland Civil War Roundtable Website’s Summer Series

The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable typically has its season of meetings from September through May. Meetings are normally not held during the summer months of June, July, and August. In order to fill the summer months of 2026, some articles that were published during the 2025-2026 season in the Roundtable’s newsletter, The Charger, will be posted on the website during the summer months of 2026. Articles, all of which were written by members of the Roundtable, will be posted every week or so during the summer. The first installment of the Roundtable website’s summer series is Edwin Cole Bearss, 1923-2020 by Brian D. Kowell. Brian’s article is a biography of Ed Bearss, who unquestionably was one of the greatest Civil War historians ever. In addition to this, Ed Bearss lived an incredible life, and Brian’s article is an excellent way for Civil War enthusiasts to learn about this illustrious historian and extraordinary person. Brian’s article can be accessed by clicking on this link.

2026 Roundtable Field Trip – Updated Information Document (4/23/2026)

The Roundtable’s 2026 field trip is scheduled for September 17-20, 2026 to the Shenandoah Valley to study the 1862 Valley Campaign. 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 2026 field trip: the First Battle of Kernstown, the Battle of Front Royal, the First Battle of Winchester, the Battle of Cross Keys, and the Battle of Port Republic. 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. This document was recently updated to include the order form for the box lunches. This order form should be completed and returned by September 1, 2026 as indicated in the instructions on the form.

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, you do not have to become a member of the Roundtable. Everyone is welcome to view our Facebook page. 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.