A Portrayal of General Ulysses S. Grant
In November, Roundtable members will be treated to a fine, informative, and entertaining presentation by Dr. Curt Fields as he portrays General Ulysses S. Grant. Dr. Fields, a physician from Collierville, Tennessee, has cultivated the persona of General Grant to the extent that he is considered now the preeminent living historian portraying Grant.
Dr. Fields is the National Park Service representative for General U. S. Grant. He has portrayed the commanding general of the Union Army in films, posters, and re-enactments. Dr. Fields has a bachelor and a master’s degree in Education from the University of Memphis, Tennessee. He later earned a second master’s degree in Secondary Education and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration and Curriculum from Michigan State University, among his other academic achievements.
He was selected to portray General Grant at the 150th anniversary of Lee’s surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, in 2015. He was featured as General Grant, and as a Grant authority, in the Discovery Channel three-part documentary series “How Booze Built America.”
Dr. Fields, the same height and body style as General Grant, represents a true-to-life image of the man as he would have looked. He researches extensively in order to share an accurate portrayal. His presentations are in first person, quoting from General Grant’s memoirs, articles, and letters, statements he made in interviews, and first-person accounts of people who knew the General or were with him and witnessed him during events.
In international demand, Dr. Fields has been featured not only by the National Park Service, but also, the Grant Presidential Library and a myriad of documentarians and filmmakers. Dr. Fields is simply the best in the field. Recently honored by both the US Army and Navy for his work on Grant’s life and legacy, the Kentucky Civil War Roundtable is fortunate to have him accept our invitation.
Come out on Monday, November 25, 2024, and bring your friends, for an evening you will never forget! See you there!
Thanks for your contributions and participation in the Roundtable. We explained the need and the membership stepped forward. Finances are pointing to a strong rebound towards breakeven. With the retention of current membership, the addition of new members and the introduction of the new tiered membership dues structure, the budget is on an uptick. These factors have allowed us to move closer to balancing the budget for the new fiscal year. To date as a club, we have added over $5,400 to our budget. This allows the Roundtable to keep a top-notch organization with a prominent level of speakers and presentations. We still need all members to send annual dues with consideration to the added levels of membership. With an expense budget of over $34,000 a year, it takes all of us to keep this group fiscally stable.
Let us also remember and thank the memory of Richard Marshall, who left the $10,000 bequest to his and YOUR organization. These things all matter to the longevity of the Roundtable. As we move toward the end of the year keep in mind if you are of the age for required minimum distributions (RMD) your Roundtable. A gift towards our organization is potentially tax-deductible if you itemize deductions on your tax return. Your Board will continue to look for ways to maximize profitability and to review the costs going forward.
If there are any questions about expense items or how your donations are being distributed, please feel free to reach out to me or any member of your Board. We are all here to support your efforts for the Roundtable. This Roundtable has a long record of club participation and education covering this period of American history. Thanks for hearing the need and supporting this great organization. We all contribute through participation and paying dues in ongoing efforts of the Kentucky Civil War Roundtable.
Hello Members! There’s so much to read about in this Newsletter. I hope you enjoy the additional articles for your reading pleasure. The only bit of administrative news is that I’m still needing to hear from Members about what Membership level they wish to be billed for next year. My goal would be to hear from all Members before the November meeting so that I can prepare your invoices and get them to you. Just a reminder that your dues need to be paid by December 31st, 2024.See you at the Meeting.
Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 2, 2024. The KCWRT’s own Charles Bogart will lead a tour of the Frankfort Cemetery a/k/a Kentucky’s Westminster Abbey. And that will be followed by a tour of the Kentucky Military History Museum. Due to limited size, this event is only available to members of the KCWRT. We will assemble at the office of the Frankfort Cemetery at 9 am. The cemetery is located at 215 East Main Street.
Until 1856, there was no recognized public cemetery for Frankfort. Some churches outside Frankfort had their own cemetery. The nearest thing to a public cemetery was the one around the hilltop on Leestown Pike, now known as Bellevue Cemetery. Several prominent and distinguished Kentuckians were buried there prior to 1845. These included governors, members of governors’ families, and such historical characters as Judge Solomon Sharp. Remains of at least some of these citizens were later removed to the Frankfort Cemetery.
Judge Mason Brown is given credit for initiating the idea of a corporation to own and operate a public cemetery. He conceived the idea after visiting the first incorporated cemetery in the U.S. at Auburn, Massachusetts.
Frankfort Cemetery was approved by Governor William Owsley on February 27, 1845. It is the second incorporated cemetery in the U.S. The Frankfort Cemetery has had two expansions and now consists of 100 acres.
Situated as it is on the highest point in the cemetery, the Military Monument is the commanding feature of the entire tract. To the many tourists and other visitors to Frankfort the most popular spot is the grave of Daniel Boone and his wife, Rebecca. Their remains were brought here in 1845 from their original burial in Missouri. They now lie on the heights overlooking Frankfort and the Kentucky River. The place is marked by an impressive monument.
The books were opened for sale of lots in January 1846. The years in which the Cemetery was being established coincided with the War with Mexico. There were 2000 Kentuckians in Zachary Taylor’s army which fought General Santa Anna at Buena Vista in February 1847. Many Kentuckians were killed or wounded. Among the dead was Henry Clay, Jr., a favorite son of the great Kentucky politician.
On January 12, 1848, the General Assembly approved a resolution to erect a “Monument to the memory of the gallant heroes who fell on the field of Buena Vista, and whose remains are interred in the State’s portion of the cemetery at the Seat of Government”.
Here lie the remains of hundreds of the leaders who made Kentucky what it is. There are soldiers, statesmen, governors, senators, sculptors, poets, painters and politicians. Noble monuments record their deeds and extol their characters. They are people who need to be remembered for their places in history. It is the monuments that have earned for the cemetery the sobriquet of “Kentucky’s Westminster Abbey”.
The Confederate Lot | Section G
Confederate Dead
1861-1865
They sleep – what need to question now,
If they were right or wrong;
They know ere this whose cause was
Just in the God the Father’s sight.
They wield no warlike weapons now
Return no foeman’s thrust
Who but a coward would revile
An honored soldier’s dust.
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Greater love hath no man than this
That a man lay down his
Life for his friends.
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To every man upon this earth death comes soon or late,
and how can man die better than facing fearful odds
for the ashes of his father, and the temple of his God.
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This marble minstrels voiceful tone
In deathless songs shall tell
When many a vanished age hath flown
The story, how ye fell:
Nor wreak, nor change, nor winter blight
Nor time’s remorseless doom
Shall dim one ray of holy light
That gilds your glorious tomb
Inscription on Confederate monument
Phillip Norbourne Barbour (1813-1846)
Born in Henderson, Kentucky; graduated with merit from West Point in 1829; Captain by brevet for valor in the Florida War; served with gallantry and distinction at Palo Alto; Major by brevet for distinguished gallantry and skill at Resaca de la Palma. He fell at the head of his command, covered with honor and glory at the storming of Monterey, September 21, 1846. Kentucky has erected this monument to her brave and noble son.
Lieutenant Presley N. O’Bannon USMC (1776-1850)
First American to raise American flag on foreign soil at the battle of Derne on the shores of Tripoli, April 27, 1805. O’Bannon led attack that overcame Barbary Coast pirates who were holding 180 American seamen for ransom. O’Bannon came to Logan County in 1807; served in state legislature 1812, 1817, 1820-21 and Senate 1824-1826; died in 1850. Remains moved to Frankfort 1920.
The Confederate Circle in the cemetery is presided over by a statue of James C. Crockett. He lost a leg in the defense of the South. On his return to Frankfort, he was elected County Clerk and held the office nearly twenty years. Around the circle are 68 markers for Confederate dead, many of whom died of disease in Frankfort during the Civil War.