Upcoming CCWRT Program
Wednesday, May 13, 2026 at 6:00 p.m.

May 2026 Roundtable Meeting: “General Winfield Scott Hancock, Commander of the U.S. Second Corps”

The May 2026 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable will take place on May 13, 2026 beginning at 6:00 p.m. This will be an in-person meeting. The speaker will be Brian Burtka, and the title of Brian’s presentation is “General Winfield Scott Hancock, Commander of the U.S. Second Corps.”

Winfield Scott Hancock was a household name in the nineteenth century. Today, this presidential candidate is barely remembered outside of Gettysburg discussions. Born in 1824 just outside Philadelphia, Hancock was a career officer in the U.S. Army. During the Civil War, Hancock rose through the ranks and became one of the best Corps commanders in the Union Army. He is known as “Hancock the Superb.” After the Civil War, Hancock continued his military career. In 1880, the Democratic Party nominated Hancock for President. He lost in one of the closest popular votes in U.S. history. Hancock died in 1886 on active duty in New York City. This first-person portrayal brings his story to life and shows why Hancock was a household name.

Brian Burtka, S.J., is a high school teacher at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland. A native of Detroit, he completed his M.A. in Public History from Loyola University Chicago in the spring of 2024. During this time, he interned at Manassas National Battlefield Park. Brian began reenacting in 2013 and has portrayed multiple impressions and people over the years. Brian’s interest in Winfield Scott Hancock began during his first trip to Gettysburg. Brian began portraying Hancock in 2023 and portrays him at reenactments across the Midwest. Brian can be found at many local events in Ohio, and he is frequently found with his political rival at the James A. Garfield Civil War Roundtable. For more information about Winfield Scott Hancock, please see Hancock the Superb, which is the digital biography that Brian created during Hancock’s bicentennial in 2024.

The May 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 May 5, 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 portobello chicken, penne chicken broccolini, and grilled eggplant bruschetta. If a reservation needs to be canceled, it must be canceled no later than May 12, 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: April 2026 – “Civil War Medicine”

The April 2026 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable featured an exceptional presentation by Dr. Fred Marquinez. Fred’s presentation focused on medical treatment of soldiers during the Civil War. His presentation was extremely informative, very thorough, and truly engrossing. Fred covered a wide range of topics related to Civil War medicine and did so in a detailed and engaging way.

Fred noted that the Civil War occurred at a time of transition in medical thinking from an ancient point of view to a more modern perspective. The ancient way of medical thinking held that diseases resulted from an imbalance in the body’s four humors (or fluids), specifically blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile, and that treating diseases involved restoring the proper balance of these humors. This perspective is what led to treatments such as bloodletting to drain some of a humor (blood) and thereby bring the humors back into balance.

Humoral theory was eventually replaced by germ theory, which was beginning to be established in Europe at the time of the Civil War due to pioneering research there, but germ theory was not yet widely accepted in the U.S. at the time of the Civil War. This resulted in antiquated medical treatments for soldiers. To highlight the deficiencies at that time in the medical field in the U.S., Fred pointed out that medical school in the U.S. was only a two-year program, and the only qualifications for acceptance into medical school were to be male and to be able to pay the tuition. Moreover, medical school education did not include any clinical experience, but consisted solely of classroom work.

Fred explained that at the beginning of the Civil War, the procedures that were in place for handling the wounded were appalling. Wounded soldiers either had to remove themselves from the battlefield, or, at best, they might be removed by being carried by comrades. Fred stated that after both the First and Second Battles of Bull Run, some wounded soldiers remained on the battlefield for as long as a week. Fred went on to discuss that two men were chiefly responsible for implementing innovative and improved procedures for treating the wounded. These two men were William Hammond, the surgeon general of the Union Army, and Jonathan Letterman, the surgeon general of the Army of the Potomac.

As Fred described, Letterman devised a protocol for handling the wounded that provided rapid removal from the battlefield, initial medical treatment soon thereafter, and long-term treatment until recovery. Letterman’s system included designated stretcher-bearers to quickly remove the wounded. Another Letterman innovation was field dressing stations that were close to the battlefield, which facilitated more prompt initial treatment, in particular, stopping the flow of blood. Lettermen also instituted an ambulance corps to bring the wounded from the dressing stations to field hospitals, which were also relatively close to the battlefield. At the field hospitals, the wounded received more extensive treatment, such as surgery, if needed. Then, once stabilized, the wounded were transported by hospital train, another Letterman innovation, to larger general hospitals located in cities for long-term recovery. As an extension of this, hospital ships were also used. Letterman’s implementation of rapid removal from the battlefield soon became evident when at the Battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg the wounded were removed within a day.

Hammond, as surgeon general of the Union Army, mandated extensive record-keeping of the treatment of wounded soldiers. This facilitated the collection of large amounts of information regarding outcomes, which gave rise to informed revisions of procedures to effect better results in the future. Hammond also mandated an improved layout for larger hospitals, such as pavilion hospitals, which had high ceilings for greater openness, better air flow, and more light. This provided a better environment for long-term recovery.

Fred noted that by far the vast majority of Civil War wounds resulted from bullets rather than swords or artillery. Fred explained that Civil War bullets caused extensive tissue damage when they entered a human body. As Fred discussed, head and abdominal bullet wounds were almost always fatal, but he presented the stories of a few Civil War soldiers who made incredible recoveries from severe head or abdominal wounds that were pronounced mortal by the surgeons. Bullet wounds to an arm or a leg typically resulted in extensive bone damage, because when the bullets impacted a bone, the bone was often shattered beyond the capacity for repair. This is why amputations were so widespread in the Civil War, because no other treatment was possible for survival of the wounded soldier. Fred described the advancements in surgery that made survival of an amputation more likely, such as ligature of major blood vessels, and he also described the advancements in prostheses for amputees.

Fred discussed that the most serious problem impacting survival after amputation was disease, such as gangrene. As Fred noted, Stonewall Jackson did not die from his wound and subsequent amputation, but from pneumonia. This led Fred into an overall discussion of diseases among Civil War soldiers, which, as Fred pointed out, caused more deaths than combat. Some of the diseases contracted by Civil War soldiers were typhoid fever, smallpox, dysentery, and malaria. Treatment of diseases was inadequate, primarily because of the lack of knowledge about the causative agents, that is, germs. Without antibiotics, disease medicines were mostly ineffective and included such things as opiates, turpentine, bromine, and calomel. Calomel (mercurous chloride) was widely used, but had very deleterious side effects, such as facial bone erosion. In this regard, Fred discussed a remarkable facial reconstruction of a soldier who had been treated with calomel.

Fred ended his detailed discussion of Civil War medicine with the astounding experiences of a Union soldier named Henry Barnum. Barnum was shot through the pelvis at the Battle of Malvern Hill, and his wound was considered fatal. Left on the battlefield, Barnum was taken prisoner, spent a few days in a Confederate field hospital, and then was sent to Libby Prison in Richmond. After being exchanged, Barnum returned home and recovered, but his still open wound was examined by doctors, who cleaned the wound and covered it with a fabric tent to keep the wound open and draining. Fred showed a famous photograph of a wide-awake and standing Barnum with a rod inserted completely through his pelvis from the entrance wound to the exit wound. Astonishingly, the wound did not become infected. Even more astonishingly, Barnum returned to active service and was twice wounded during subsequent battles. He survived the war and had a post-war career, including some time in elected office.

Fred concluded his excellent presentation by indicating that current medical practices in the military can be viewed as Civil War medical procedures onto which have been overlaid technological advancements that have occurred since then, such as medical evacuation (but with contemporary vehicles), rapid treatment of the wounded (but with better medicines and treatments), hospital trains and ships (but with modern trains and vessels), and prostheses (but with modern designs and materials). The Roundtable is extremely grateful to Fred for his outstanding, exceptionally thorough, and very engrossing presentation.

April 2026 Charger Uploaded

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

2026-2027 Program Schedule Now Posted

Incoming Roundtable President John Syroney has put together an excellent program for the 2026-2027 season of meetings. John’s program features a nice array of speakers and topics. The 2026-2027 program schedule, including the names of the speakers, the titles of their presentations, and detailed information about the speakers and the presentations, can be accessed by clicking on this link. Roundtable members should look forward to a terrific season of meetings after the summer break.

Latest History Brief (March 2026) Posted

Roundtable Historian Dan Ursu’s March 2026 history brief has been posted. Dan’s latest history brief is Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign, Part 4, Chattahoochee River to the Battle of Peachtree Creek. 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.