Upcoming CCWRT Program
Wednesday, September 9, 2026 at 6:00 p.m.
Civil War Poetry – An Essay by a Roundtable Member on the Emerging Civil War Website
An essay by Don Iannone, a member of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable, has been published on the website of Emerging Civil War. The title of Don’s essay is Poetry as Civil War Dispatch: Verse, News, and Grief in a Nation at War. Don’s superb essay discusses how poetry written during the Civil War served many purposes. As Don details in his essay, poetry expressed grief, anger, and patriotism. It explained and tried to justify the causes embraced by each side. It gave African Americans a way to give voice to their feelings on emancipation and racial cruelty as well as a way to articulate their aspirations. Don’s excellent, thoughtful, and thought-provoking essay can be accessed by clicking on this link.
Cleveland Civil War Roundtable Website’s Summer Series: Fifth Installment (June 28, 2026)
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 fifth installment of the Roundtable website’s summer series is Armistead, Ashby, and “The Star-Spangled Banner” by Brian D. Kowell. Brian’s article describes some fascinating connections between Confederate General Lewis Armistead, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and the flag that inspired that anthem. The anecdote at the end of Brian’s article about what Lewis Armistead and Turner Ashby did with “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the country was moving toward civil war is appropriate to keep in mind when the 250th anniversary of our nation’s birth is celebrated at the end of this week. Brian’s article can be accessed by clicking on this link.
Previous installments in the 2026 summer series are as follows.
Edwin Cole Bearss, 1923-2020
Lines Drawn in War: Cartographers, Cameras, and the Civil War Landscape
Brothers in Arms: Edgar and William Abbott at Stones River – In Their Own Words
A Civil War-Era Invention That Literally Was a Game-Changer
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.
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.