Upcoming CCWRT Program
Wednesday, September 10, 2025 at 6:00 p.m.
September 2025 Roundtable Meeting: “Black Americans in Mourning”
The September 2025 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable (the first meeting of the 2025-2026 season) will take place on September 10, 2025 beginning at 6:00 p.m. This will be an in-person meeting. The speaker will be Dr. Leonne M. Hudson, and the title of Dr. Hudson’s presentation is “Black Americans in Mourning.”
When John Wilkes Booth killed Abraham Lincoln, he took the nation from heady jubilation brought on by the surrender of Robert E. Lee’s army to deep sorrow caused by the shocking loss of the person who had steadfastly led the country through the Civil War. This sorrow was arguably most profound among Black Americans, because for them Lincoln was their greatest benefactor and the best avenue for them to fully gain civil rights. But the sorrow among Black Americans was due to more than just the future implications arising from the loss of Lincoln. Black Americans also mourned Lincoln’s death because of all that he had done for them. This made Lincoln’s death a deeply personal loss for them, in the same way that a child mourns the death of a parent. This presentation is based on Dr. Hudson’s book Black Americans in Mourning: Reactions to the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
Dr. Leonne Hudson is Professor Emeritus of History at Kent State University. Dr. Hudson received a Ph.D. from Kent State University in 1990, and his specialty is 19th Century U.S. history. His research interests are focused on the period encompassing the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. Dr. Hudson has authored a number of books in this area, including Black Americans in Mourning, and he has been a speaker at the Lincoln Forum.
The September 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 2, 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, pasta primavera with grilled chicken, and grilled eggplant bruschetta. If a reservation needs to be canceled, it must be canceled no later than September 9, 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.
Revised 2025-2026 Program Schedule Posted (July 9, 2025)
After a revision to the 2025-2026 program schedule (specifically involving the March 2026 meeting), the schedule for the Roundtable’s 2025-2026 program has been finalized. 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.
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.