06/05/2026
Meeting Summary: May 2026 – "General Winfield Scott Hancock, Commander of the U.S. Second Corps"
The May 2026 meeting of the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable featured a living historian presentation by Brian Burtka, who appeared in character as Winfield Scott Hancock. Brian, who looks like a young General Hancock, gave his presentation in the first person in period uniform with no notes. Brian's excellent and very informative presentation was like an evening listening to Winfield Scott Hancock speak about his experiences during the Civil War followed by questions from Roundtable members.
Brian, in the persona of Hancock, began by describing Hancock's pre-Civil War life. Hancock discussed that among these experiences, he served in the Mexican-American War in the army commanded by Winfield Scott, the person after whom he was named. It was during this war that Hancock met two men who became close friends, but who fought for the Confederacy: Lewis Armistead and Henry Heth. Hancock noted that after the war Heth played a role in Hancock meeting his wife.
Hancock related that he spent several years prior to the Civil War stationed in California and that he was in California when he heard about the firing on Fort Sumter, after which he immediately returned east to serve in the war. Given command of a brigade in the Army of the Potomac, Hancock and his brigade took part in the Peninsula Campaign, where he performed so well that George McClellan said in a letter that Hancock was superb, which led to the nickname Hancock the Superb.
Hancock then spent some time discussing his role in the Battle of Gettysburg, the battle for which he is best known. He discussed how George Meade, who had only recently been given command of the Army of the Potomac, met with Hancock and told him that he wanted Hancock to go to Gettysburg, where reports indicated that military action was taking place. Hancock related that Meade wanted Hancock to evaluate the situation and that Meade chose Hancock to do this because he had a great deal of trust in Hancock. Together they stabilized the situation and decided on a location to establish a defensive line, which became the famous Union line at Gettysburg.
Hancock discussed other facets of that battle and said that he was wounded during Pickett's Charge, the military action in which Hancock's good friend Lewis Armistead was mortally wounded. Hancock related that the wound he received at Gettysburg took a very long time to heal, and the lingering pain and trauma from the wound forced Hancock to give up field command in November 1864, which was exceedingly difficult for him to do. Hancock noted that after the war he became active in politics and eventually ran for president in 1880 as the Democratic candidate, but he lost the election to James Garfield.
The Roundtable is extremely grateful to Brian for his exemplary presentation. Brian's first-person presentation as Winfield Scott Hancock was very informative and thoroughly engrossing. Thanks to Brian, the members of the Roundtable have much more knowledge and a much better understanding of Winfield Scott Hancock as well as a much greater appreciation for this Union general who played such an important role in the Civil War. A more detailed summary of Brian's presentation is on the home page of the Roundtable's website (https://www.clevelandcivilwarroundtable.com/).
After Brian's presentation, incoming Roundtable President John Syroney presented outgoing President Charles Patton with a sword as an appreciation gift for all that Charles did during his highly successful presidency. The Roundtable is very grateful to Charles for making 2025-2026 an exceptional year.
