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A Review of Robert E. Lee: A Life by Allen C. Guelzo

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

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in The Charger in April 2022.

In deference to the recent controversy concerning Robert E. Lee and his monuments, I decided to purchase a recent book by Allen Guelzo, a senior research scholar at the Council of Humanities at Princeton University. The title of the book is Robert E. Lee: A Life. Although I have read several biographies of Lee, in the past they tended to overlook many of the questions one may have, especially those questions concerning his decision to side with the Confederacy in 1861. The author does a tremendous amount of research concerning Lee’s boyhood, his appointment to West Point, his military career, his frustration with the U.S. Army, his stellar performance in the Mexican-American War, and finally his assault on John Brown at Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859.

The Highest Ranking Black Officer in the Civil War

By Brian D. Kowell
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2022, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in The Charger in May 2022.

Although regiments of the United States Colored Troops (USCT) were staffed mostly by white officers, 120 African Americans were commissioned in the Union army during the Civil War. The highest ranking of those Black officers was Alexander Thomas Augusta, who left the U.S. Army in 1866 with the rank of brevet lieutenant colonel.

The Near Capture of Ulysses Grant by Confederate General Jackson

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

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in The Charger in January 2022.

Perhaps the two most intriguing words in history are “What if?” This is true whether the word “history” is used in the context of the past, itself, or in the context of the study of the past. In the latter context, “What if?” leads to interesting, enjoyable, thought-provoking, and sometimes intense discussions. When people who are interested in history concoct alternative histories based on some event happening differently (i.e., a what-if), the discussions that follow are one of the things that contribute to people’s interest in history. In the former context of the word “history,” a real-life what-if strategically placed into the past (if such a thing were possible) could, as George Bailey learned, produce a substantially different present than the one in which we now live, and this is a significant reason for those interesting, enjoyable, thought-provoking, and sometimes intense discussions when “What if?” is inserted into the study of the past.

David vs. Goliath at Hampton Roads: The CSS Squib vs. the USS Minnesota

By Brian D. Kowell
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2021, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in The Charger in October/November 2021.

On March 8, 1862, the CSS Virginia (formerly the USS Merrimack) sank two Federal warships in Hampton Roads, Virginia. A third ship to be targeted was the USS Minnesota, which had run aground while steaming toward the enemy. After unsuccessfully bombarding the Minnesota, the ebbing tide and falling darkness forced the Virginia to return to her dock in the Elizabeth River. On the 9th, when she steamed out to finish off the Minnesota, the Virginia was confronted by the USS Monitor, and in their epic battle of ironclads, the Minnesota was saved.

Jackson in the Shenandoah River Valley – March 10 to May 22, 1862

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 April 2022 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable.

As mentioned in last month’s history brief, to whet the appetite of members for vice president Lily Korte’s September 2022 Cleveland Civil War Roundtable annual field trip to cover General Phil Sheridan’s 1864 campaign in the Shenandoah Valley, the next several history briefs will focus on General Stonewall Jackson’s Valley Campaign of 1862. The accompanying map will be helpful in following this narrative.

List of Roundtable Field Trips

The following is a list of past Cleveland Civil War Roundtable field trips indicating the year and location of the field trip.

Chickamauga and Chattanooga Field Trip – September 2021

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

Day 1 – The Tullahoma Campaign and Chickamauga

The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable held its annual field trip from September 24-25, 2021, visiting the Chickamauga and Chattanooga battlefields. Under the leadership of Roundtable president Mark Porter, we had another outstanding field trip. We were able to spend Friday on the Chickamauga battlefield with guide Robert Carter, who walked us through one of the most complex and confusing Civil War battlefields. He provided a series of very helpful maps to help us with understanding the various moves during the battle. Our dinner speaker that evening was Professor Andrew Bledsoe of Lee University, Cleveland, Tennessee. Dr. Bledsoe used an excellent set of maps to describe the Tullahoma Campaign and the opening moves of the Chickamauga Campaign. On Saturday we visited Lookout Mountain, Orchard Knob, and several sites on Missionary Ridge with legendary National Park Service guide James Ogden. His comments were supplemented by even more maps, as this more straightforward battle still had its complexities.

The Shenandoah River Valley during the Civil War

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 March 2022 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable.

“Almost Heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River.” Many of you recognize these words as lyrics from the famous John Denver song, “Country Roads.” Some of you also might recall that on the annual field trip to Antietam and Harpers Ferry in 2018 during my presidential year, one of our guides, Jim Prentice, was quite certain that Mr. Denver wrote this song while sitting on a river bench in Harpers Ferry – the spot where these geographic features come together at the extreme northern end of the Shenandoah River Valley. I bring this up since our vice president, Lily Korte, is planning her field trip to the Shenandoah River Valley to cover Ohioan Union General Philip Sheridan’s 1864 Valley Campaign. After discussion with Lily, I decided to whet our members’ appetites for the September excursion by highlighting the Shenandoah River Valley during the Civil War. This history brief reviews the Valley, itself, and some of its most important features. The various places that are described in this history brief can be located on the map below.

The Removal of Joseph Hooker: The Most Unfairly Maligned Union Officer

Apart from Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman, Joseph Hooker was the least deserving of being relieved of command.

By John C. Fazio
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 one of those four presentations .

I am here to speak of General Joseph Hooker. More specifically, I am here to rehabilitate him, or to try to, because he has gotten an undeserved bad rap for 156 years, the most unfairly and unjustifiably maligned officer in the Union army.

The Removal of Fitz John Porter: “An Undeserved Stigma”

Apart from Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman, Fitz John Porter was the least deserving of being relieved of command.

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

I am honored to participate in this debate with such distinguished debaters. I have zero debate experience myself. Well, that’s not quite true. I have far too often debated with my cat and my wife, who are both accomplished debaters. I’ve managed to win a couple debates with Oliver, my cat. With my wife, Donna, well, she’s undefeated. I did persuade her to accompany me tonight so she could critique me later. I wish to thank her for her attendance. Donna!

Fortunately for me, as the facts and the truth are on General Fitz John Porter’s side, it’s unnecessary that I be an accomplished debater.