Upcoming CCWRT Program
Wednesday, December 9, 2026 at 6:00 p.m.

Meeting Summary: November 2026 – “After Gettysburg: Race to the Potomac – Meade’s Pursuit and Lee’s Retreat”

The November 2026 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable featured a thoroughly engaging and very stimulating presentation by Brad Gottfried. Brad’s presentation dealt with a topic that is still debated (and sometimes hotly) 161 years after the Civil War, that is, George Meade’s pursuit of Robert E. Lee after the Battle of Gettysburg. Brad adroitly began his presentation by discussing the two wagon trains of Lee’s army. He referred to these wagon trains as the Wagon Train of Misery and the Reserve Wagon Train. The former was the train that transported the wounded, and the latter was the train that transported the supplies, provisions, and ammunition. John Imboden was given the task of leading the former, and John Harman was given the task of leading the latter. As Brad noted, Imboden’s wagon train took a more northerly route, while Harman’s took a more southerly route that was a shorter route to the army’s destination for its crossing of the Potomac River.

Brad described the difficulties that each wagon train faced during the retreat. For example, Imboden’s train was 17 miles long, which presented logistical challenges for movement. In addition, the wounded, who were already suffering, suffered greatly due to the jostling as the wagons moved. During the movement, Union cavalry attacked the train, and Confederate cavalry accompanying the train had to drive away the attackers. When the inevitable happened and wounded men died along the way, their bodies were removed from the wagons and often left along the roadside to be buried by Union civilians who lived along the route, which certainly angered these civilians. At one point in the trek, Union civilians actually attacked the train with axes, which they used to hack the wheels of the wagons. When Imboden’s train finally reached the point for the river crossing, they found that the pontoon bridges that had been built there were destroyed. In response, the Union townspeople were forced to take in wounded Confederates and care for them. Brad stated that Harman’s wagon train encountered some of the same problems, such as attacks by Union cavalry including an attack involving George Custer, in which as many as 250 wagons were captured.

Brad moved from his discussion of the wagon trains to a discussion of the armies. As Brad noted, Lee had 5,000 prisoners to deal with, and he attempted to negotiate an exchange with Meade prior to leaving Gettysburg, but Meade declined. Lee paroled 1,500 of the prisoners, but this still left him to move with more than 3,000 prisoners. As for Meade, Brad stated that he was having difficulty obtaining supplies, and this made him concerned about undertaking a long movement of his entire army with the possibility of his men being required to march a great distance without adequate provisions. Moreover, as Brad indicated, many of Meade’s men were without shoes, which would make a long march for them impracticable. Brad said that Lee’s army followed the same route as Harman’s wagon train, but that Meade had his army take a longer route rather than follow directly after Lee’s army. Meade’s reason for doing this, as Brad pointed out, was to avoid the possibility of an ambush by Lee’s army.

In spite of Meade’s prudent caution, he has been criticized for not directly pursuing Lee. As Brad mentioned in Meade’s defense, he had no cavalry with his army, and hence no speedy reconnaissance, because all of Meade’s cavalry was in use pursuing Lee’s army and wagon trains. As a result, Meade had to use the rested VI Corps for reconnaissance. This led to Meade receiving information slowly, which delayed the start of his movement from Gettysburg and gave Lee time to reach his destination and construct strong defenses. Further slowing Meade’s pursuit was heavy rain along the way, although this also slowed Lee’s movement (and further added to the suffering of the wounded in Imboden’s wagon train). By the time Meade caught up to Lee, Lee’s army was in a very strong defensive position, which greatly reduced the possibility of a successful attack by Meade’s army.

Brad stated that during Meade’s pursuit, he was criticized by Abraham Lincoln, who disparaged Meade’s congratulatory message to his army. In that message, Meade praised his men for driving invaders from Union soil, to which Lincoln exclaimed, “Is that all?” This was Lincoln’s way of rebuking Meade for not following that up by destroying Lee’s army. While Meade, as Brad noted, never made his case publicly, he did write his thoughts in letters to his wife. In one such letter that Brad described, Meade said that he had not changed his clothes in ten days, nor had regular food or sleep. The implication is that the men in his army were similarly deprived, which obviously made them seriously compromised for fighting.

After Meade’s army took position opposite Lee’s heavily entrenched army, Meade held a council of war with his corps commanders to discuss the question of whether or not to launch an attack. Meade made clear to the corps commanders that he was leaving this decision to them, and they indicated that they were not in favor of attacking, perhaps in order to avoid blame if the attack failed. Meade was able to use their decision as cover for his army not attacking. By now Lee’s army had rebuilt the pontoon bridges, which they used to cross the Potomac River and escape Meade. Meade, who had become aware of Lincoln’s frustration with the slow pursuit of Lee’s army, sent a message in which he offered to resign, but that offer was not accepted.

Brad’s excellent presentation was followed by some very lively discussion between Brad and some of those in attendance about the issue of whether or not Meade was aggressive enough in pursuing Lee. Good points were made on both sides. Perhaps the best point was made by Brad at the end of his presentation when he showed a quote by author Kent Masterson Brown. The essence of Brown’s quote is that Meade saw Lee’s defensive position, while Lincoln did not, which is followed in the quote by the question of what would have been the reaction if Meade had attacked Lee’s position and Meade’s army had suffered a bloody and crippling repulse?

The Roundtable is very grateful to Brad Gottfried for his thorough, thoughtful, engrossing, and stimulating presentation. This was certainly one of the most memorable, enjoyable, and thought-provoking presentations that the members of the Roundtable have experienced.

November 2026 Charger Uploaded

The November 2026 issue of The Charger has been uploaded. It can be accessed by clicking on this link.
The November 2026 Charger also has a supplement, which contains John Syroney’s President’s Message. John’s message is a moving tribute to the Dawes brothers and discusses how these Civil War service members personify the spirit of “The Battle Cry of Freedom.” The November 2026 Charger Supplement can be accessed by clicking on this link.

Report of the 2026 Roundtable Field Trip Posted

Roundtable President John Syroney wrote an excellent report about the Roundtable’s superb 2026 field trip to the Shenandoah Valley. John’s report has been posted on the Roundtable’s website. The participants on the field trip are extremely grateful to John for organizing a terrific field trip, and the participants are also grateful to Gary Ecelbarger, who was the guide for the field trip and was outstanding. John’s field trip report can be accessed by clicking on this link.

Cleveland Civil War Roundtable Named 2026 Civil War Round Table of the Year

Emerging Civil War (ECW) is an organization that provides a national platform for sharing original scholarship related to the American Civil War. ECW is the collaborative effort of more than 35 historians who are committed to sharing the story of the Civil War in a way that is accessible for the general public. ECW’s initiatives include its award-winning series of books published by Savas Beatie, LLC; an annual symposium; a speakers’ bureau; and a daily blog (www.emergingcivilwar.com). ECW announced on January 30, 2026 that it was sponsoring a Civil War Round Table of the Year Award for 2026 and that all Civil War roundtables were invited to submit nominations for that award. In its announcement, ECW stated that the award is to cover the previous calendar year, and ECW listed several criteria for the award. These criteria included meetings, membership, external education initiatives, external preservation initiatives, and ECW participation. The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable, with input from several members of the Executive Committee, wrote a nomination for the award and submitted it for consideration. (Our Roundtable’s nomination is available on our website by clicking on this link.)

After reviewing the nominations, ECW selected the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable as the 2026 Civil War Round Table of the Year. In its announcement of this decision, ECW noted that while many Civil War roundtables in the country are decreasing in membership, our Roundtable has had a robust increase in membership of 25% per year in recent years, and we routinely have between 70 and 120 attendees at our monthly meetings. ECW also indicated that our Roundtable has an annual field trip to a Civil War site and invites members of other Civil War roundtables to participate, which is an effective way to foster camaraderie between different roundtables.

ECW also noted that in 2025 our Roundtable organized a week-long program that featured living historian Dr. Curt Fields, the nation’s preeminent portrayer of Ulysses S. Grant. This program included several presentations by Dr. Fields at schools and at evening venues, and it involved over 1,300 students and over 450 community members through Dr. Fields’ lectures. Also discussed in ECW’s announcement of the award is the participation of our Roundtable in the annual National History Day competition, where members help students by acting as judges for the students’ projects. In addition, our Roundtable sponsors our own awards to National History Day students for exemplary projects related to the Civil War. ECW said that activities such as these demonstrate that our Roundtable extends beyond our meetings to community programs that expand knowledge of the Civil War across the city.

ECW concluded its announcement by stating that our Roundtable has shown that it is possible nowadays for Civil War roundtables not just to survive, but to thrive via engaging meetings, community outreach, and an astute and wide-ranging perspective.

We are extremely grateful to ECW for giving this award to our organization and thrilled that our Roundtable has been so recognized. Being named the 2026 Civil War Round Table of the Year is a tremendous honor and a powerful affirmation of the purpose and dedication that define our organization. Our collective efforts have long reflected a standard of excellence, and it is gratifying that what we do as an organization has been nationally recognized.

What makes this moment especially profound is that it represents far more than a single submission. This award reflects years of sustained commitment to strong programming, meaningful engagement, and the preservation and thoughtful interpretation of Civil War history. This distinction meaningfully elevates our Roundtable within the broader Civil War community, and it is something we should carry with pride, not only as acknowledgment of past efforts, but also as inspiration for the future.

Congratulations to every member of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable. Each of you has played a part in shaping an organization that is respected, valued, and now nationally recognized for its contributions. This is a collective accomplishment and a testament to the passion, care, and devotion that characterize our organization. To every member of our Roundtable as we begin the 2026-2027 meetings, welcome to the Civil War Round Table of the Year.

Program Schedules of Other Cleveland-Area Civil War Roundtables Posted on This Website

In addition to the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable, two other Civil War roundtables in the Cleveland area are the Northeast Ohio Civil War Roundtable and the Quincy Gillmore Civil War Roundtable. Both of these roundtables, like the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable, have a lecture series with monthly meetings that feature a presentation about a Civil War-related (or sometimes other historical) topic. To make visitors to our website aware of these presentations, the program schedules of the Northeast Ohio Civil War Roundtable and the Quincy Gillmore Civil War Roundtable have been posted on this website. Both of these program schedules have a nice mix of interesting topics and speakers, and all of the presentations are worth attending. Below are links to the web pages for each of these program schedules. Each web page contains the program schedule and also information about attending the meetings as well as a link to a downloadable PDF of the program schedule.

The Northeast Ohio Civil War Roundtable’s program schedule can be accessed by clicking on this link.

The Quincy Gillmore Civil War Roundtable’s program schedule can be accessed by clicking on this link.

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, you do not have to become a member of the Roundtable. Everyone is welcome to view our Facebook page. These can also be accessed by googling “Cleveland Civil War Roundtable” and “Facebook” and then clicking on the appropriate link in the search results.