Acclaimed Civil War reenactor and historian Curt Fields, Ph.D., will present “This Cruel War is Over: What Now?” at a special meeting of the Civil War Round Table at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 22, at the First Congregational Church in Marietta. The public is welcome and there is no cost to attend. (Photo Provided)

MARIETTA — A special meeting of the Civil War Round Table of the Mid-Ohio Valley will be 7 p.m. Thursday, May 22, at First Congregational Church, 318 Front St., Marietta.

The presentation will feature Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, portrayed by nationally acclaimed Civil War reenactor and historian Curt Fields, Ph.D., presenting “This Cruel War is Over: Now What?”

The public is welcome and there is no cost to attend. Small donations will be accepted to defray a portion of the cost of this event. This presentation is made possible by a matching grant from the Ohio Arts Council.

Utilizing sources that include Grant’s personal memoirs and letters, statements expressed in interviews and articles, and other first-person accounts, Fields will recall the unprecedented circumstances faced by national leaders in the weeks and months that followed the surrender of General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox. These challenges included the pursuit and surrender of the remaining Confederate armies in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Mississippi and Tennessee; the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln; the repatriation of citizens and soldiers in the 13 Confederate States; and the struggle to ensure equal rights and citizenship for millions of freedmen, or the formerly enslaved.

Fields has portrayed U.S. President and Lieutenant General U.S. Grant for countless round tables and historical organizations in 22 states and, as an education consultant to the National Park Service, has performed at commemorative observations of the Battles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Appomattox, and at annual events at the U.S. Grant Boyhood Home in Georgetown, Ohio, and the Grant National Monument in New York City.

He currently portrays Grant in films featured in visitors centers at Appomattox Court House National Historic Park, the Grant National Monument, and on the American Battlefield Trust website. He has presented at dedication ceremonies at the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library at Mississippi State University and at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

He is a former Memphis police officer, secondary school educator and administrator, and college instructor. He earned bachelor and masters degrees in education at the University of Memphis, and M.A. and Ph.D. credentials in education administration and curriculum at Michigan State University.

The round table and Ohio Arts Council are committed to engaging diverse audiences and providing accessibility for those with disabilities. The meeting venue is handicapped accessible. Accommodation for other disabilities will be considered upon request.

Please contact cwrtmor@gmail.com or 740 525 7470 for more information.