09/24/2026
Concluding the American President series, Ulysses S. Grant visits the Wolcott Keeper’s
House located at 9999 E. Bayshore Road, Danbury Township, Ohio, as part of the Ottawa
County Historical Society’s annual Fall Festival/Civil War Encampment on Saturday,
October 10, 2026. Curt Fields as Grant will speak at 1:30 pm sharing the successes and
failures of Grant’s two terms as president (1869-1877).
Curt Fields has been a lifelong student of the American Civil War. His portrayal of Ulysses S.
Grant is driven by his deep respect and admiration for the General. Fields is the same
height and body style as Grant and presents a convincing, true-to-life image of the man. He
studies Grant relentlessly in order to deliver an accurate and realistic persona. His
presentations are in first person, quoting from memoirs, articles and letters the General
wrote, statements he made in interviews, and first-person accounts of people who knew the
General or were with him and witnessed him during events.
Fields has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in education from the University of Memphis
in Tennessee. He earned a second master’s in secondary education and a Ph.D. in
educational administration and curriculum from Michigan State University. He spent eight
years at the junior and senior high school levels teaching before serving 25 years as a high
school administrator. He teaches as an adjunct sociology professor at the University of
Memphis and in education for Belhaven University, Memphis. He is now an educational
consultant and a living historian.
He is a frequent contributor to the monthly newsletter “The Civil War Courier,” and a
member of numerous historical societies. In 2015, Fields was selected to portray Grant as
part of the 150th anniversary of Lee’s surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House,
Virginia. He was featured as Grant and as a Grant authority in the Discovery Channel 3-part
documentary series, “How Booze Built America.”
Following his presentation, there will be an inspection of the troops, the 14th Ohio Volunteer
Infantry. Music will be provided by the 73rd OVI Regiment Band. As part of the Emerging
Civil War Series, Curt Fields book, Unconditional Surrender: Ulysses S. Grant in the Civil War,
will be available for sale.
This event is partially funded with a grant by Shores & Islands Ohio.
