Upcoming CCWRT Program
Wednesday, May 14, 2025 at 6:00 p.m.

May 2025 Roundtable Meeting: “After Lee’s Surrender: A Country in Turmoil”

The May 2025 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable will take place on May 14, 2025 beginning at 6:00 p.m. This will be an in-person meeting. The speaker will be Dr. Curt Fields, and the title of Dr. Field’s presentation is “After Lee’s Surrender: A Country in Turmoil.” Dr. Fields will be appearing in character as Ulysses S. Grant.

The weeks following Lee’s surrender at Appomattox were turbulent and fast-moving with one significant event after another. The roles of General Grant in those events were pivotal both for him and the country. What General Grant did and why in response to those events helps to explain his foresight and the long-term effects of all that happened in the weeks following Appomattox.

Dr. Curt Fields is the preeminent U.S. Grant living historian. Dr. Fields has portrayed General and President Grant in 22 states as he travels the nation presenting his portrayal of General and President Ulysses S. Grant. As a living historian, Dr. Fields portrayed General Grant at the 150th and 160th observations of Fort Donelson, Shiloh, and Vicksburg, he was the Grant for the 150th observation of Lee’s surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House, VA, and he is scheduled to be the Grant for the 160th observation of Appomattox.

Dr. Fields portrays General Grant in the Visitor Center film that is shown at Appomattox Court House National Historic Park. He was featured as General Grant, and as a Grant authority, in the Discovery Channel three-part documentary series “How Booze Built America” (with Mike Rowe). Dr. Fields portrays General Grant, giving his life story, on the Civil War Trust website, and he was selected as the official Grant for the U.S. Grant Boyhood Home Association in Georgetown, OH, and for the opening and dedication of the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library at Mississippi State University. He portrayed General Grant at West Point (at the request of the U.S. Military Academy) in January of 2019 to kick off their ‘semester of Grant’ celebration prior to erecting a statue of Grant on the plain, and he portrays President Grant in the film shown at Grant’s Tomb in New York City.

Dr. Fields was the recipient of the 2015 Grady McWhiney Award of Merit for significant contributions to the scholarship and preservation of Civil War History. He was honored to have been elected to lifetime Membership in the American Civil War Round Table – Queensland, Australia, and is an occasional contributor to their newsletter, The Bugle. He is also a frequent contributor to Civil War News. He served as a Memphis, TN, Police Officer, was an MPD hostage negotiator, and received the Life-Saving medal from the city of Memphis for actions in the line of duty.

The May 2025 meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn Independence (6001 Rockside Road, Independence, Ohio 44131). Reservations should be made by sending an email to the Roundtable’s reservation email account (ccwrtreserve@gmail.com). Reservations must be made no later than eight days before the meeting (i.e., no later than May 6, 2025). When making a reservation, please include your name and the number and names of any guests. Please also indicate the meal choice for you (and any guests). The three meal options are Texas-style beef brisket, penne chicken broccolini, and grilled eggplant bruschetta. If a reservation needs to be canceled, it must be canceled no later than May 13, 2025. Dinner will be provided to anyone who has a reservation. The cost of dinner is $35 per person. It is not necessary to purchase dinner in order to attend the meeting, but reservations are requested from everyone in order to have sufficient chairs set up in the meeting room. Those who plan to attend the meeting without purchasing dinner should indicate “no dinner” when they make a reservation. Other details can be found on the Reservations web page by clicking on this reservations link.

Dr. Fields, appearing in character as Ulysses Grant, will give other presentations in addition to his presentation at the Roundtable meeting on May 14, 2025. Dr. Fields’ other presentations are “General Grant’s Appomattox Campaign” and “An Evening with U.S. Grant.” Details about Dr. Fields’ presentations, including the dates, times, and locations, can be found in a downloadable PDF by clicking on this PDF link. The PDF also contains information about making a reservation for each of the presentations. Seats are limited, so everyone who plans to attend is asked to please make a reservation.

Meeting Summary: April 2025 – “Lincoln’s Lawyers”

The April 2025 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable featured a superb and detailed presentation by William Vodrey about Edward Bates and James Speed, the two men who served as attorney general during Abraham Lincoln’s presidency. William’s engrossing and well-organized presentation, which was delivered with his characteristic adroitness and thoroughness, pointed out how Bates and Speed differed in their ideologies. William also made clear how these two men contributed to the Lincoln administration at a time when the position of attorney general was much more limited in scope than it is now.

As William discussed, Bates was born in Virginia in 1793 and served in the War of 1812, after which he moved to St. Louis, Missouri where he became a lawyer. In 1826, Bates was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and, like Lincoln, served for only one term. William explained that Bates became a member of the Whig Party, but when that political party dissolved, Bates associated himself for a short time with the Know-Nothing Party and then switched to the Republican Party. He was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 1860, for which he was thought to be a viable candidate for the general election due to his more conservative views on emancipation than the views of his chief rivals, Abraham Lincoln and William Seward. However, Bates lost out to Lincoln, who won the presidency.

Lincoln appointed Bates attorney general, and, as William noted, Bates presided over a much smaller operation than U.S. attorneys general do today. One important decision that Bates rendered involved Black citizenship, in which he ruled in favor of it. This decision, which contradicted the Dred Scott decision, is perhaps surprising, since Bates was not an ardent supporter of emancipation. Bates resigned in 1864 and was replaced by James Speed.

Speed, who served as attorney general for the remainder of Lincoln’s presidency, was the focus of the second part of William’s presentation. Born in Kentucky in 1812, Speed became a lawyer and was the brother of Joshua Speed, who, as William indicated, was a close friend of Lincoln’s in Springfield, Illinois. Lincoln met James Speed when he visited Joshua at the family home in Kentucky. Abraham Lincoln and James Speed quickly struck a friendship and also a budding intellectual relationship. This may have resulted because James opposed slavery and supported emancipation, views that were beginning to develop within Lincoln.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, James Speed worked to keep Kentucky in the Union. This, as William described, fit well with Lincoln’s own intense and well-known desire regarding Kentucky. After Bates’ resignation, Lincoln appointed Speed attorney general. William noted that this meant that both of Lincoln’s attorneys general were from border states. During his time as attorney general, Speed’s views began to move toward those of the Radical Republicans. After Lincoln’s assassination, Speed remained attorney general under Andrew Johnson. However, Speed, as William discussed, became disillusioned by Johnson’s policies and resigned in 1866.

William mentioned that his presentation at the April 2025 Roundtable meeting was one in a series of presentations that he has given about members of Lincoln’s cabinet. These include Edwin Stanton, Gideon Welles, and Salmon Chase. William also gave a presentation about William Seward, a transcript of which is on the Roundtable’s website. William can now add Edward Bates and James Speed to his list of Lincoln cabinet members who have been the topic of a presentation. The Roundtable is extremely grateful to William for his exceptional, highly informative, and engaging presentation.

April 2025 Charger Uploaded

The April 2025 issue of The Charger has been uploaded. It can be accessed by clicking on this link.

Latest History Brief (March 2025) Now Posted

Roundtable historian Dan Ursu’s March 2025 history brief has been posted. Dan’s latest history brief is John Rawlins, U.S. Grant’s Chief of Staff. This history brief discusses the life of John Rawlins, who, like Ulysses Grant, was from Galena, Illinois. The history brief also discusses the crucial importance of John Rawlins to Ulysses Grant’s accomplishments during the Civil War. Dan’s history brief can be accessed by clicking on this link.

Roundtable 2025 Field Trip – Save the Dates

The Roundtable’s 2025 field trip is scheduled for September 25-28, 2025 to Vicksburg, Mississippi. 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 2025 field trip: Battle of Port Gibson, Battle of Champion Hill, Battle of Big Black River, Stockade Redan Attack, USS Cairo Museum, Vicksburg National Cemetery, Surrender Interview Site, Great Redoubt, and Second Texas Lunette as well as many more. 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. (Note: This link connects to the most recent version of the PDF for the field trip, which was updated on April 9, 2025.)

2025 Dick Crews Memorial Debate Posted on the Roundtable’s Website

The annual Dick Crews Memorial Debate took place at the January 8, 2025 Roundtable meeting. This year’s topic addressed the question, “Which individual from the Civil War would be the most interesting to sit down and speak with over dinner or a tasty beverage?” Five members of the Roundtable prepared arguments to present their opinion on this question: John Syroney (who chose Dan Sickles), Emily Dickinson (who chose Ulysses S. Grant), Terry McHale (who chose Thomas Francis Meagher), Jake Collens (who chose Robert E. Lee), and Paul Siedel (who chose Patrick Cleburne). William Vodrey again served as moderator. Each of the arguments was insightful and engaging, and each of the debaters made a compelling case. The arguments that each debater presented are now posted on the Roundtable’s website and are well worth reading.

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 or Twitter account, you do not have to become a member of the Roundtable. Everyone is welcome to view our Facebook page and Twitter account. 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.