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U.S. Federal Coinage During the Civil War

By Patty Zinn
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2022-2023, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in The Charger as three parts in December 2022, February 2023, and April 2023.

It is interesting to note that both the Federal Government and the Confederate States minted coins during the Civil War. Most know more about Civil War Tokens than actual coinage produced by the Confederate States. In this article, I would like to talk about some of the unique, short-lived United States coin issues as well as Civil War Tokens. To begin, I would like to present an overview of the Federal Government coin issues, with a focus on the smallest of United States silver coins, called the Trime.

A Bit of Robert E. Lee in That State Up North

By David A. Carrino
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2022-2023, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in The Charger as two parts in December 2022 and January 2023.

On display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio are a number of outfits that were worn by iconic figures of rock and roll. Among these are the yellow military-style outfit that John Lennon wore on the album cover for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, matching frilly-bottomed shapely dresses worn by the Supremes, a sleeveless jumpsuit with a plunging neckline that was worn on tour by Mick Jagger, Elvis Presley’s suit from his 1968 television special, a loose-fitting and suitably neon-colored outfit worn by Jimi Hendrix, Michael Jackson’s Thriller jacket, a bright red outfit with broad pointed shoulders and a flashy blue and white lightning bolt that was worn by David Bowie, and, more recently, some outfits that were worn by Beyonce. It is a mark of prestige that Cleveland is the home of clothing that was worn by so many iconic figures of rock and roll. But a city in Michigan (or “that state up north” as it is known to Ohioans) is the location of an article of clothing that is the Civil War equivalent of the rock and roll outfits in Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This is because this article of clothing once belonged to the person who is unquestionably the most prominent military figure of the Confederacy.

Some Vanished Villages of Cuyahoga County and Their Civil War Heritage

By Paul Siedel
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2023, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in The Charger in January 2023.

As one looks at a map of Cuyahoga County today, it’s hard to imagine how the county was originally laid out. Cuyahoga County, like all others in northeast Ohio, was laid out on the township plan. There were 19 original townships in the county, and all except two still exist in one form or another. They and the villages that sprung up within them served as recruiting stations and state militia headquarters during the Civil War. Most of these villages and towns have been swallowed up by the mile after mile of urban sprawl that today constitutes greater Cleveland. But with careful examination it is possible to identify several of them. These villages usually sprung up around mills, crossroads, or railroad junctions.

The Battle of Bentonville and Second Surrender of a Confederate Army in the East

By Dennis Keating
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2023, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in The Charger in March 2023.

By the beginning of 1865, the Confederacy’s impending doom was becoming apparent with William Tecumseh Sherman’s forces approaching North Carolina at the beginning of March after its path through Georgia and then South Carolina and Robert E. Lee’s army trapped in the defense of Petersburg and Richmond. On February 22, 1865, Confederate President Davis recalled Joseph Johnston to lead a desperate attempt to stop Sherman before he united with Ulysses Grant’s Army of the Potomac.

Civil War Spy Balloons

By Brian D. Kowell
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2023, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in The Charger in April 2023.

Look up in the sky. What do you see? A bird? A plane? A spy balloon? Recently a Chinese spy balloon was seen crossing our skies, only to be later shot down by an F-22 fighter jet. Using balloons to spy are not unique to the Chinese. Their use dates back to the 18th century.

Famous Women Spies of the Civil War

By Daniel J. Ursu, Roundtable Historian
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2022-2023, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: This article was the history brief for the May 2023 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable.

General Longstreet, a corps commander in the Army of Northern Virginia, was well known for having dependable intelligence from Southern spies, for example, in the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg from perhaps his most famous spy, Henry Thomas Harrison, or simply “Harrison” as known in Civil War folklore. Harrison’s work helped crystallize the Confederates’ understanding of Union corps positions and shaped General Lee’s strategic thinking at the Battle of Gettysburg. This led Lee to have his own forces converge in the vicinity of the town of Gettysburg. Longstreet’s use of spies at that battle is arguably even more important, since Jeb Stuart’s cavalry had failed General Lee on his knowledge of Union troop positions. That said, because the May 2023 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable featured a presentation that focused on the exploits of women during the Civil War, that meeting was an appropriate time to recall the work of women spies in both the North and South, who were plying their spy craft with sometimes dramatic results. This history brief examines three such famous women.

The Battle of Richmond, Kentucky: The Most Lopsided Victory of the Civil War

By Daniel J. Ursu, Roundtable Historian
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2022-2023, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: This article was the history brief for the April 2023 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable.

If you were asked, “What was the most important victory of the Civil War?” most of us would respond the Battle of Gettysburg. If you were asked, “What was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War?” most of us would respond the Battle of Antietam. If you were asked, “What was the most famous naval battle of the Civil War?” most of us would respond the Monitor vs. the Virginia. However, if you were asked, “What was the most lopsided battle of the Civil War?” one might need a few minutes to think it over. To explore a quicker answer to the question, let us go to Kentucky in the scorching hot, dry summer of August 1862.

Loss of an Illustrious Member of the Roundtable

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Dick Crews, one of the most prominent members of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable. Dick served as president of the Roundtable in 1998-1999, and he was the longtime moderator of the annual debate that now bears his name. But Dick was much more than that. For many years, Dick was a guiding force for the Roundtable, and everyone who joined the Roundtable prior to Dick moving away from Cleveland can rightly credit Dick as being the person who welcomed them into the group. Dick’s amiable encouragement was the impetus for numerous new members to become fully invested in the Roundtable, to become actively involved in our organization, and to willingly contribute to the Roundtable’s success through their efforts.

The Best Political General of the Civil War: Benjamin Butler – Actions that Altered the Course of the War

Who was the best political general of the Civil War?
Benjamin Butler

By Paul Burkholder
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2023, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: The subject of the annual Dick Crews Memorial Debate at the February 2023 Roundtable meeting was: “Who was the best political general of the Civil War?” Four members made presentations on the topic; the article below was one of those four presentations.

Who was the greatest political general of the Civil War? If measured by their contribution to ultimate victory, there’s just one, indisputable answer to that question: Benjamin Butler.

The Best Political General of the Civil War: John C. Breckinridge – A Great Military Leader

Who was the best political general of the Civil War?
John C. Breckinridge

By Kent Fonner
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2023, All Rights Reserved

“. . . Breckinridge demonstrated that a man did not need to go to West Point to be an excellent general . . .”

–Civil War Historian Albert Castel

Facts

John C. Breckinridge (1821-1875) in 15 years (1850-1865) served as a Kentucky legislator, congressmen, U.S. senator, vice president of the United States under President James Buchanan, presidential candidate in 1860, brigadier general and then major general CSA, and secretary of war CSA, all before he was 45 years old. Well educated with a degree from Center College, a semester of graduate work at Princeton, law study under Governor Owsley of Kentucky, and an LL.D. from Transylvania University, he had no formal military education. But as a major in the 3rd KY Volunteers in 1847 in Mexico, he did have some military experience before the Civil War.

Who was the best political general of the Civil War?Benjamin Butler

Who was the best political general of the Civil War?John C. Breckinridge

Who was the best political general of the Civil War?
Benjamin Butler

Who was the best political general of the Civil War?
John C. Breckinridge