Author: cleveland

The Fox and the Hedgehog: The Hampton Roads Conference

By Mel Maurer
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2008, All Rights Reserved

Just east of Petersburg, Virginia – near the rim of “The Crater” on Sunday, January 29, 1865 – a white flag appeared on the Confederate side of the lines. A delegation of commissioners from Jefferson Davis (Alexander Stephens, vice president of the Confederacy, John A. Campbell, a former U. S. Supreme Court Justice – now assistant secretary of war, and Robert Hunter, president pro tem of the Senate) had arrived to be taken to a meeting with Union representatives to discuss “issues and options for peace.” Hopeful rumors the war was ending soon circulated on both sides of the lines. The ensuing meeting on February 3rd aboard the steamer River Queen became known as the Hampton Roads Conference.

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Abraham Lincoln and the Case of the Altered Almanac

By Mel Maurer
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2006, All Rights Reserved

Abraham Lincoln an unscrupulous lawyer? That was one of the charges made against him in his senatorial race against Steven Douglas and later again in his run for the presidency. Lincoln, so it was claimed, had altered the almanac used so successfully in his most famous trial – a murder trial in 1858. It was a serious charge against anyone but especially against a man well-known for his integrity.

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“The Prince of Rails”: Robert Todd Lincoln

By Mel Maurer
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2004, All Rights Reserved

Robert Todd Lincoln – “Bob” to his family and friends – was dubbed the “Prince of Rails” during his “Railsplitter” father’s 1860 campaign for president, after a visit to this country by England’s Prince of Wales. Robert was a prince who would never ascend to the throne.

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Abraham Lincoln: There’s Nothing Trivial About Him

By Mel Maurer
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2003, All Rights Reserved

This April (2003) marks the 138th anniversary of the assassination of our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln. Here are some random facts and figures in the life of this great American guaranteed to tell you something about him you didn’t know before.

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I Escaped with John Wilkes Booth

By Mel Maurer
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2007, All Rights Reserved

I escaped with John Wilkes Booth – a bit of an exaggeration since he escaped from Washington, DC – after assassinating President Lincoln – in 1865 and I did it in 2006, along with my son Rick and grandson Eric, as we took the “John Wilkes Booth Escape Route Tour” sponsored by the Surratt Society in Clinton, Maryland. Booth escaped on a rented horse – we escaped on a leased Greyhound.

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Lincoln at Gettysburg

By Mel Maurer
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2006, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: The article below is the transcript of a speech given by the author to the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable on the occasion of its 50th anniversary in November 2006.

I’m honored to speak tonight on this our 50th – or what Lincoln might call our two score and ten – anniversary. I appreciate the work of our founders and all those, like you, who have made our Roundtable so great.

My topic tonight is Abraham Lincoln and the “few appropriate remarks” he was asked to give at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania – to dedicate a cemetery November 19, 1863. I hope to give you some insights into our 16th president, dispel some myths about his Gettysburg talk and to touch on its historical importance.

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Notes On the 2012 Lincoln Forum

By Mel Maurer
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2013, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: The Lincoln Forum (www.thelincolnforum.org) is an organization that “endeavors to enhance the understanding and preserve the memory of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.” Founded in 1995, the Forum meets each year in Gettysburg, PA, on the anniversary of Lincoln’s address at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery. Several members of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable are also members of the Lincoln Forum and attend its meeting each year. CCWRT past president and Lincoln Forum member Mel Maurer once again agreed to our request to provide a recap of this year’s event. (Read Mel’s reports on the 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 Forums.)

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The Lincoln Forum – 2010

By Mel Maurer
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2011, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: The Lincoln Forum (www.thelincolnforum.org) is an organization that “endeavors to enhance the understanding and preserve the memory of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.” Founded in 1995, the Forum meets each year in Gettysburg, PA, on the anniversary of Lincoln’s address at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery. Several members of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable are also members of the Lincoln Forum and attend its meeting each year. CCWRT past president and Lincoln Forum member Mel Maurer once again agreed to our request to provide a recap of this year’s event. (Read Mel’s reports on the 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2012 Forums.)

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The Lincoln Forum – 2009

By Mel Maurer
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2010, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: The Lincoln Forum (www.thelincolnforum.org) is an organization that “endeavors to enhance the understanding and preserve the memory of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.” Founded in 1995, the Forum meets each year in Gettysburg, PA, on the anniversary of Lincoln’s address at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery. Several members of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable are also members of the Lincoln Forum and attend its meeting each year. CCWRT past president and Lincoln Forum member Mel Maurer once again agreed to our request to provide a recap of this year’s event. (Read Mel’s reports on the 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012 Forums.)

Continue reading “The Lincoln Forum – 2009”

The Lincoln Forum – 2008

By Mel Maurer
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2008, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: The Lincoln Forum (www.thelincolnforum.org) is an organization that “endeavors to enhance the understanding and preserve the memory of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.” Founded in 1995, the Forum meets each year in Gettysburg, PA, on the anniversary of Lincoln’s address at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery. Several members of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable are also members of the Lincoln Forum and attend its meeting each year. CCWRT past president and Lincoln Forum member Mel Maurer once again agreed to our request to provide a recap of this year’s event. (Read Mel’s reports on the 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2012 Forums.)

Continue reading “The Lincoln Forum – 2008”