Upcoming CCWRT Program
Wednesday, March 11, 2026 at 6:00 p.m.

Change in Speaker for the March 2026 Roundtable Meeting – “From Battlefield to WAC Training Center: Chickamauga beyond the Civil War”

The originally scheduled speaker for the March 2026 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable was Paul Westermeyer. However, Paul had to cancel, and a replacement speaker will give a presentation at the March 2026 meeting. This will be an in-person meeting. The speaker will be Molly W. Sampson, and the title of Molly’s presentation is “From Battlefield to WAC Training Center: Chickamauga beyond the Civil War.” The time and place for the March 2026 meeting will be as originally set, that is, March 11, 2026 at the Holiday Inn Independence beginning at 6:00 p.m. for cocktails and socializing followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the presentation at 7:00 p.m.

Best known as the site of one of the Civil War’s most significant and costly battles, the Chickamauga battlefield did not become a static landscape after 1863. Instead, it evolved into one of the U.S. Army’s most important training and mobilization spaces of the 20th century. This presentation explores how Chickamauga transitioned from a preserved battlefield to an active military training site. Fort Oglethorpe served as a cavalry post, a POW camp, a Civilian Conservation Corps camp, and a major induction and training site during World War II. Particular attention is given to its role in training women for military service, including its function as the largest training center for members of the Women’s Army Corps. After the war, Fort Oglethorpe was decommissioned in 1946, and the South Post was returned to the National Park Service. This program invites the audience to consider how historic battlefields were repeatedly repurposed to meet the U.S. Army’s changing needs. Chickamauga’s layered history demonstrates how landscapes of war remained active participants in America’s military history.

Molly Sampson is a passionate World War II historian and museum leader whose research explores the intersections of gender, social, and military history, with a particular focus on the Women’s Army Corps and its vital contributions during World War II. Sampson has presented her work at prominent conferences, including the RAF Museum Conference, the Society for Military History Annual Meeting, the James A. Barnes Conference, and the National World War II Museum’s Women’s History Symposium. She has also brought her expertise beyond academia, curating the exhibition The Triple Victory of the 6888th and serving as a historical consultant for the documentary Two Wars: No Mail, Low Morale and Tyler Perry’s film The Six Triple Eight. As Executive Director of the Sandusky Area Maritime Association, Sampson leads the Maritime Museum of Sandusky, guiding its mission to preserve and share the region’s rich maritime heritage.

The March 2026 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 March 3, 2026). 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 chicken bruschetta, parmesan-encrusted white fish, and grilled eggplant bruschetta. If a reservation needs to be canceled, it must be canceled no later than March 10, 2026. 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 link.

Meeting Summary: February 2026 – “Citizenship and Politics: How They Evolved during and after the Civil War”

The February 2026 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable featured an exceptional and engaging presentation by historian Dr. Brian K. Mitchell. In his presentation, Dr. Mitchell weaved together his personal family history, the erasure of Black political leaders during and after Reconstruction, and the life and legacy of his ancestor, Oscar James Dunn, the first Black lieutenant governor in U.S. history. Dr. Mitchell talked about his book, Monumental, which traces his family roots back to the Revolutionary War and Louisiana plantations. Dr Mitchell is a descendant of Oscar Dunn.

Discovering a love for history is how Dr. Mitchell opened his presentation by explaining that true historians are driven by passion – by the moment they, “fell in love with history.” His own moment came as a child in New Orleans while living with his great‑grandmother, Hattie Dunn, who kept pictures, scrapbooks, and historical documents instead of a TV or radio. Dr. Mitchell recalls finding an 1872 obituary describing Oscar Dunn as “the embodiment of their hopes…the real Moses” – a revelation that connected directly to his family name.

Dr. Mitchell traces his lineage through three significant ancestors: Mattie Jackson Dunn, his great‑grandmother, born in 1897 in Clinton, Louisiana; Mattie’s father Robert Jackson, a descendant of a Revolutionary War officer and plantation owner; and Mattie’s husband Emmanuel Dunn, whose family line connects to Oscar James Dunn. This privileged but complex family history, which is rooted in slavery, concubinage, and the racial caste system, sets the stage for understanding Oscar Dunn’s world and also Dr Mitchell’s life experiences.

Dr. Mitchell recounts how, as a child, he was punished in school for telling his teacher that his ancestor had been lieutenant governor of his home state. The teacher insisted, “There has never been a negro lieutenant governor of the state of Louisiana.” His great-grandmother told him, “They just forgotten the history.” This becomes a central theme in his book, Monumental, that theme being the deliberate erasure of Black political power and history after Reconstruction and into the present political climate.

In his presentation, Dr. Mitchell included a discussion of the life of Oscar Dunn. Dunn was born enslaved in 1822 in New Orleans, and he was freed at the age of nine when his mother’s partner, James Dunn, purchased and emancipated the family. Dunn was educated in a Lancastrian school and trained as a plasterer, and he became a skilled musician and classical guitarist. Because Dunn could read and write, he saw a quick rise in Louisiana politics. In addition, he supported The Friends of Universal Suffrage and the right to vote for all citizens, and he became deeply involved in Black civic life through freemasonry and the AME Church in New Orleans.

After Dunn’s appointment to the New Orleans Board of Aldermen and then as an Assistant Recorder (a judicial appointment), he became the first Black judge in the Deep South. Dunn was elected lieutenant governor in 1868, becoming the first Black to hold that office in U.S. history, and he was even a national figure who was considered for the vice presidency of the United States. He championed civil rights legislation and public school integration (placing his own daughters in integrated schools), and he supported public funding for orphanages and schools for freedmen’s children, spending his personal fortune to support them. During his time in office, Dunn clashed with Governor Henry Clay Warmoth, a white Republican whose commitment to Black rights was inconsistent with the Civil Rights Act after the Civil War. Dunn supported strong civil rights protections, but Warmoth vetoed them as being “too fast, too soon.” Their political feud split the Louisiana Republican Party and contributed to violent unrest.

Dunn died mysteriously in 1871. After attending a banquet, he suddenly fell ill and died within two days. Many contemporaries believed he was poisoned, and his funeral drew an estimated 50,000 people, the largest in New Orleans history at the time. Despite legislative plans for a monument and tomb, nothing was ever built, and this is another symbol of Dunn’s erasure from history.

Dr. Mitchell also discussed Reconstruction violence and the spread of Lost Cause mythology. This period in history included violent backlash against Black political power during Reconstruction. Dr. Mitchell explained the terror that existed after the Civil War when ex-Confederate soldiers were involved with the murders of recently freed men and carpetbaggers. Dr. Mitchell also explained how Lost Cause ideology spread throughout the South, including monuments like the Liberty Place Monument, which celebrated white supremacy and stood in New Orleans on the riverbank until the 1980s. In addition, the Cruikshank Supreme Court decision (1876) gutted federal enforcement of civil rights in the South, enabling widespread racial violence. Dr. Mitchell argued that this ruling opened the door to Jim Crow laws and Federal court rulings to weaken civil rights legislation.

Dr. Mitchell concluded by discussing the recent rediscovery of Oscar Dunn. While the memory of Dunn faded for over a century, recently he has been honored in a number of ways. For example, a park overlooking Jackson Square in New Orleans was renamed for him in 2025, a bust of Dunn was placed in the Louisiana State Capitol, and a national Masonic statue is planned. Dr. Mitchell’s own scholarship, including a graphic history book, has helped revive Dunn’s legacy. Dr. Mitchell emphasized the importance of accurate historical memory, the dangers of political erasure, the relevance of Reconstruction to modern political polarization, and the need to teach history honestly to prevent repeating past injustices. During the question-and-answer period, there was a very interesting and informative discussion regarding Griff of color, Octoroons, and the information that is placed on birth certificates in New Orleans.

The Roundtable is extremely grateful to Dr. Mitchell for his outstanding, engrossing, and informative presentation.

February 2026 Charger Uploaded

The February 2026 issue of The Charger has been uploaded onto the Roundtable’s website. The February 2026 issue can be accessed by clicking on this link.

2026 Dick Crews Memorial Debate Posted on the Roundtable’s Website

The annual Dick Crews Memorial Debate took place at the January 2026 Roundtable meeting. This year’s topic addressed the question, “Other than Ohio, what was the most important state, North or South, during the Civil War era?” Four members of the Roundtable prepared arguments to present their opinion on this question: Ryan Bailey (who chose South Carolina), Jack Prause (who chose Virginia), Don Iannone (who chose New York), and David Parchem (who chose Illinois). 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. The 2026 debate can be accessed by clicking on this link.

Latest History Brief (December 2025) Posted

Roundtable Historian Dan Ursu’s December 2025 history brief has been posted. Dan’s latest history brief is Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign, Part 2, Resaca to Allatoona Pass. Dan’s history brief continues his discussion of William Tecumseh Sherman’s pivotal Atlanta Campaign, and it can be accessed by clicking on this link.

Roundtable 2026 Field Trip – Save the Dates

The Roundtable’s 2026 field trip is scheduled for September 17-20, 2026 to the Shenandoah Valley to study the 1862 Valley Campaign. 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 2026 field trip: the First Battle of Kernstown, the Battle of Front Royal, the First Battle of Winchester, the Battle of Cross Keys, and the Battle of Port Republic. 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.

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.