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The Great Debate of 2022: Opening Remarks

Apart from Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman, which Civil War officer was the least deserving of being relieved of command?

By William F.B. Vodrey – debate moderator
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2022, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: The subject of the annual Dick Crews Debate at the January 2022 Roundtable meeting was: “Apart from Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman, which Civil War officer was the least deserving of being relieved of command?” Four members made presentations on the topic; the article below was the opening remarks made by the moderator of the debate.

Good evening, everyone, and welcome.

We’re here tonight for the annual Dick Crews Cleveland Civil War Roundtable Debate, named after my longtime predecessor as moderator. He recruited me for a debate on the most important battle of the Civil War not long after I joined the Roundtable, and I’m still grateful to him. (I chose the 1862 Battle of New Orleans.)

The Great Debate of 2022

Apart from Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman, which Civil War officer was the least deserving of being relieved of command?

The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2022, All Rights Reserved

General and flag officers, both Union and Confederate, were often relieved of their duties or commands, subjected to courts-martial and/or boards of inquiry, or otherwise the subjects of adverse disciplinary proceedings for their conduct on, and sometimes off, the battlefield.

The 2022 Dick Crews Debate posed the question: Apart from Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman, which Civil War officer was the least deserving of the discipline he received from superiors? Four debaters presented on the topic of which Civil War officer was least deserving of being relieved of command. Below are the texts of those four arguments, along with moderator William Vodrey’s opening remarks.

McClellan’s “Pieces of Position” at Antietam

By Daniel J. Ursu, Roundtable Historian
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2021-2022, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: This article was the history brief for the December 2021 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable.

Most of my recent history briefs have focused on aspects of the Western Theater of the Civil War. This month, we return to the Eastern Theater with a look at General McClellan’s use of heavy artillery and especially that which he massed on the eastern ridge of Antietam Creek during the Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862. For those who went on the field trip in September of 2018 to Antietam/Harpers Ferry during my year as Roundtable president – or otherwise have visited the site – please recall the Pry House which rests on that ridge. Although Union artillery was positioned at many points along the ridge, the heaviest of the pieces were just to the south of the Pry House on either side of the Boonesboro Pike.

The Battle of Chickamauga: The 21st Ohio at Snodgrass Hill

By Daniel J. Ursu, Roundtable Historian
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2021-2022, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: This article was the history brief for the October 2021 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable.

The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable just returned from our excellent fall field trip planned by President Mark Porter to Chickamauga and Chattanooga. Therefore, I thought that it would be appropriate to focus on some aspect of the field trip for this history brief. During our battlefield visits it became obvious to me that the stand of the 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment at Snodgrass Hill would be ideal. Our guide, Robert Carter, termed it every bit as heroic and consequential as the stand of the 20th Maine on Little Round Top at Gettysburg. Indeed, the length of the line defended by the 21st Ohio was far greater than that of the 20th Maine at the end of its line. Also, the stand of the 21st Ohio was longer in duration, as it began in the early afternoon and ended with the fall of darkness.

Frederick Dent Grant at the Vicksburg Campaign

By Daniel J. Ursu, Roundtable Historian
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2021-2022, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: This article was the history brief for the September 2021 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable.

For those of you who have been following my recent history briefs regarding Grant’s Vicksburg Campaign, you know that we left off at the fall of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863. However, before we move on, there is one often overlooked aspect that I believe is uniquely interesting. During the campaign Grant was accompanied by his oldest son, Frederick Dent Grant. The young Grant sent letters and otherwise wrote about his experiences from his youthful perspective as a 12-year-old.

Vicksburg Falls – Pemberton Surrenders to Grant – July 2 to July 4, 1863

By Daniel J. Ursu, Roundtable Historian
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2020-2021, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: This article is the history brief for July 2021. Because the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the in-person meetings of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable in the 2020-2021 season, this history brief was submitted during the following summer and not as part of a monthly meeting.

We pick up where we left off last month with the second underground mine explosion by the Union on July 1, which destroyed the Confederate’s Third Louisiana Redan in the fortified line defending besieged Vicksburg. This was the second such detonation at this redan. The first was followed by a failed Union assault. After the second blast no assault was attempted pending General Grant’s desire to do so at such time when numerous underground mines could be detonated simultaneously.

Grant Besieges Vicksburg – May 23 to July 1, 1863

By Daniel J. Ursu, Roundtable Historian
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2020-2021, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: This article is the history brief for June 2021. Because the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the in-person meetings of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable in the 2020-2021 season, this history brief was submitted during the following summer and not as part of a monthly meeting.

We pick up from last month’s history brief where we left off in the wake of Grant’s second major assault on the prepared defenses of the Vicksburg fortress. It was marginally more successful than the hasty first attack of the May 19 and was deliberately planned, complete with an early morning prebombardment. The assault succeeded in taking the Railroad Redoubt for several hours but seriously threatened only one other major defensive work, that being the Second Texas Lunette. Overall, the attack was another disappointing setback. Going forward, Grant would more patiently await the demise of the Vicksburg garrison via siege warfare, which inevitably over time would exhaust its food, stores, and munitions. Ultimately, in Grant’s mind, it should force a C.S.A. surrender by their Commanding General Pemberton.

Grant Advances from the Big Black River and Assaults Vicksburg – May 18 to 22, 1863

By Daniel J. Ursu, Roundtable Historian
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2020-2021, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: This article was the history brief for the May 2021 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable.

We left off in February with Union General Grant’s army defeating Pemberton at Champion Hill and in turn the Confederate rear guard bridgehead on the Big Black River, the latter bolstered mainly by a cunningly opportunistic charge led by the inspiringly huge and unforgettable General Lawler. As a result, on the morning of May 18, 1863, Grant issued orders to McClernand’s and McPherson’s corps to advance the seven remaining miles between the Big Black and the rebel fortifications ringing Vicksburg and sent Sherman’s corps to seize the high ground north of the city.

Grant Attacks Pemberton at Champion Hill and Advances to the Big Black River

By Daniel J. Ursu, Roundtable Historian
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2020-2021, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: This article was the history brief for the February 2021 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable.

We left off in January with General Grant’s three corps of about 30,000 soldiers advancing westward toward Vicksburg, Mississippi. Grant had just defeated General Johnston, who was in overall command of rebel troops in the west, at the state capital, Jackson. On May 16, 1863, Grant had McPherson’s corps on or near the railroad line with McClernand’s corps south of McPherson’s. Following close behind was Sherman’s corps after carrying out Grant’s orders to destroy the military and manufacturing value of Jackson – he burned the city so badly to the ground that henceforth it became known as “Chimneyville.”

A Review of Embattled Rebel: Jefferson Davis and the Confederate Civil War by James M. McPherson

By Patrick Bray
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2016, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: This review was originally published in The Charger in January 2016.

James McPherson has done it yet again: published an insightful, fair, and very readable book on the Civil War. This time his subject is the wartime presidency of Jefferson Davis, a man whose reputation over the years has had more ups and downs then a stretch along the Appalachian Trail. In his introduction McPherson acknowledges the challenges of writing about a person who has occasionally been portrayed as a tragic hero, but more often has been a target for scathing criticism.