October 2025 Roundtable Meeting: "Hell by the Acre" The October 2025 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable will take place on October 8, 2025 beginning at 6:00 p.m. This will be an in-person meeting. The speaker will be Dan Masters, and the title of Dan's presentation is "Hell by the Acre." Details, including information about making a reservation and the dinner choices for the meeting, can be found on the home page of the Roundtable's website (www.clevelandcivilwarroundtable.com). The Battle of Stones River (Murfreesboro) took place from December 31, 1862 to January 1, 1863. The battle was a victory for the Union, but it was a very costly victory. The battle had more casualties than Shiloh and Antietam, but is lesser known. The victory in this battle was important for the Union, because it came soon after two serious defeats, one at Fredericksburg and one at Chickasaw Bayou. Dan Masters' presentation about the Stones River Campaign is based on his new book Hell by the Acre, which is a narrative history of the Stones River Campaign in 1862-1863 in the Western Theater. Dan Masters is a descendant of five Union veterans of the Civil War and has been deeply involved in the study of that conflict since the late 1990s. He has written ten books, numerous articles, and more than 800 blog posts about the Civil War, much of his work focusing on the Western Theater. His third book, Sherman's Praetorian Guard, won a local history publication award in 2018. In 2022 he released the first in a three-volume trilogy titled Echoes of Battle: Annals of Ohio's Soldiers in the Civil War, the second volume of which was released in February 2024. In addition to regularly writing on his blog, Dan Masters' Civil War Chronicles, he also recently published Hell by the Acre: A Narrative History of the Stones River Campaign. (fb)

Meeting Summary: September 2025 – "Black Americans in Mourning" The September 2025 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable featured an excellent and very touching presentation by Dr. Leonne Hudson. Dr. Hudson's presentation, which was titled "Black Americans in Mourning," focused on the emotions that were felt by Blacks after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. As Dr. Hudson discussed in his presentation (and as he documents in his book Black Americans in Mourning: Reactions to the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln), the whole nation mourned Lincoln's death, but the feelings of grief among Blacks were much more intense because for Blacks, Lincoln was their deliverer, their protector, and their benefactor. Dr. Hudson indicated that Black newspapers of that time were his most useful source of information regarding expressions of feelings by individual Blacks, and Dr. Hudson gave some specific examples of this, all of which were filled with sad and heartfelt emotions. An especially engaging part of Dr. Hudson's presentation involved a discussion of reactions by some specific Black individuals to Lincoln's assassination. For example, Charlotte Scott, a former slave, donated $5.00 (a large sum for her) to her employer for the construction of a monument to Lincoln. This led to many donations, all from Blacks, and this resulted in the Emancipation Memorial in Washington, D.C. An inspiring anecdote involved William de Fleurville, a Haitian immigrant and barber who befriended Lincoln in Springfield and became very close to him. When Lincoln's funeral train came to Springfield at the end of its journey, de Fleurville was offered the chance to march near the front of the funeral procession. However, he declined and insisted that he march at the end with the rest of the Blacks. Dr. Hudson's presentation was an outstanding opening to the Roundtable's 2025-2026 season. His presentation dealt with a topic that is not widely studied or discussed. But thanks to Dr. Hudson, the attendees at the meeting not only were introduced to this topic, but were given a thorough exposure to it via a truly engrossing presentation. The Roundtable is very grateful to Dr. Hudson for his exceptional and very informative presentation. A more detailed summary of the September 2025 meeting can be found on the home page of the Roundtable's website (www.clevelandcivilwarroundtable.com). (fb)