BROCKPORT – The Western Monroe Historical Society will host Rudely Stamp’d on March 22nd at 7:00 PM at the Morgan-Manning House in Brockport, NY for one show of their play “Now We Stand by Each Other Always.”
The play features a conversation between Union Civil War generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman, which took place at City Point, VA, in March 1865 – near the end of the Civil War. The famous cigar-chomping pair consider how best to close out the war as Sherman regales his chief with his exploits in Georgia.
The play is free and open to the public. Donations to the historical society are encouraged. For more information contact Prof. Derek Maxfield at ddmaxfield@genesee.edu or the Morgan-Manning House business office at (585) 637-3645.
Rudely Stamp’d has come a long way in 2018! Our first conversation – “Now We Stand by Each Other Always” – went from the drawing board to the stage, with three great performances since September. Even before the dawning of 2019, we have six bookings with others pending.
We also have some wonderful news to share with the world: we have added two new acts! The first is set in June 1863; Grant and Sherman meet during the siege of Vicksburg to discuss military affairs just weeks before the surrender of the Gibraltar of the West. The second takes place in March 1864 in Cincinnati, Ohio; Grant has recently been promoted to Lt. General and is now commander-in-chief of all Union armies. The generals meet to map out the Atlanta and Overland Campaigns. These new acts, which will be ready for Spring 2019, will be available as part of a three act play (Act I: Vicksburg, Act II: Cincinnati and Act III: City Point) or each act is available on its own. We expect significant interest in this new development, so book early!
Derek Maxfield as Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
For anyone interested in attending a performance, here are a few of our 2019 dates which are open to the public:
January 12 at the Seymour Public Library, Brockport, NY
March 22nd at the Morgan-Manning House, Brockport, NY
May 29th at the West Seneca Historical Society, West Seneca, NY
August (date TBA) at the Holland Land Office, Batavia, NY
For more information about performances or to book a show, contact Derek Maxfield at ddmaxfield@genesee.edu.
Fresh off successful engagements in Clarendon and Hornell, NY, Generals Grant and Sherman now will literally take the show on the road, making it available to schools, libraries, round tables, historical societies and more.
“Now we stand by each other always” is a two man play featuring a conversation between Union Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman at City Point, Virginia in March 1865. The first performance of the play was Sept. 15th at the Clarendon Historical Society as part of the 2018 Orleans County Heritage Festival. This event was somewhat unique in that it was entirely outdoors and featured a campfire, tents and accoutrements, staff officers and – of course – fine cigars.
The play is available to groups of all kinds at reasonable rates. It can be accommodated for indoors or out, and groups large or small. The program runs about one hour, including a brief question and answer session with the generals at the conclusion of the performance.
To book a performance or for more information, contact Derek Maxfield at ddmaxfield@genesee.edu or call 585-293-7189.
Derek Maxfield as Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Tracy Ford as Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman
CLARENDON – The stage is set, the lines rehearsed, and the general are ready!
The first performance of “Now we stand by each other always” is finally here. It will take place at the Clarendon Historical Society in Clarendon, NY, 16426 Fourth Section Road, Holley, NY at the intersection of Route 31A and Church Street in Clarendon at 2:00 PM on Sept. 8th, 2018, rain or shine. The performance is free and open to the public. An outdoor program, folks should dress accordingly and lawn chairs are suggested.
Set in March 1865, the two man show features a conversation between the Union’s two leading generals as they plot the demise of Confederate armies at Grant’s headquarters in City Point, VA.
“Now we stand by each other always” is written and directed by Genesee Community College professor of history Derek Maxfield and is performed by him as Grant and colleague Tracy Ford, Professor of English, as Gen. William T. Sherman. The play will be offered to schools and other organizations, with many dates already booked. For more information, or to book a performance, contact Maxfield at ddmaxfield@genesee.edu or call 585-343-0055 ext. 6288.
Gen. Grant and Gen. Sherman at City Point, Virginia
CITY POINT, VIRGINIA – Generals U.S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman, as portrayed by GCC professors Derek Maxfield and Tracy Ford, fresh off the brutal spring campaign, set off on a fresh campaign to visit historic sites tied to Grant and/or Sherman on a tour that would take them to Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Gen. Sherman at the Sherman House in Lancaster, Ohio
Beginning at the Sherman House in Lancaster, OH, Sherman visited the site where he was born and reminisced with staff about his life prior to fame. A poignant story, marked by the loss of his father at age nine, Sherman would be adopted by Thomas Ewing – a friend of his father Charles Sherman, and he would move up the hill to the Ewing mansion. A one-time Senator and Secretary of the Treasury, Ewing would arrange for Sherman’s appointment to West Point that would set him on the path to glory.
The eccentric pair next invaded Tennessee where they visited the Shiloh battlefield. Scene of carnage in April 1862, Shiloh was the first big battle of the Civil War. Over 23,000 men would fall here – blue and gray. Despite a ferocious fight on the first day that nearly drove the Union army into the Tennessee River, Grant engineered a come back on the second day with Sherman’s help to claim a blood victory.
Gen. Grant, out of uniform, at the monument making the spot of a famous meeting with Gen. Sherman after day one of the Battle of Shioh
In Chattanooga Grant and Sherman scaled Lookout Mountain to gaze down on the city and Tennesee River from a dizzying height. Surveying the landscape below, the pair recalled the situation in the fall of 1863 when the Union army was penned up in the city virtually cut-off from supplies and reinforcements with the Confederate army occupying all of the high ground in site with artillery facing down upon the town.
After arriving, Grant engineered an unlikely victory with Sherman’s help after first re securing a supply line. Despite the strong Confederate position on Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, Grant looked on from an observation outpost on Orchard Knob as Union forces under Gen. Hooker, on the right, and Gen. Sherman, on the left, held the rebels on Missionary Ridge in a vice while forces under Gen. Thomas scaled the ridge and pierced the Confederate center, sending Gen. Bragg’s army into a head-long retreat into Georgia.
The view from atop Lookout Mountain
For his many contributions during the war, Gen. Grant was promoted to Lieutenant General in early 1864. After adding new rank insignia to his weathered uniform – featuring three stars – Grant headquartered with the Army of the Potomac in the spring and traveled with the army during the Overland Campaign. After driving Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee back to the gates of Richmond, Grant swung his army around to the south – crossing the mighty James River – and laid siege to the city of Petersburg. Grant would make his headquarters at the junction of the James and Appomattox Rivers at City Point.
A visit to City Point was a must for the fatigued professor-generals, for here was the site where the conversation between Grant and Sherman actually took place in March 1865. It is that momentous conversation that the generals are reproducing for audiences beginning in the fall of 2018.
Inside Grant’s cabin at City Point
At City Point the pair were received with reverence and respect by National Park Service staff (well, respect anyway). Ordinarily not open to visitors, Grant and Sherman were allowed to enter Grant’s headquarters cabin at City Point, where he would make his home for nearly a year. From here Grant would plan for the end of the war. Here Grant would receive Sherman, and more importantly President Lincoln, in pursuit of that plan.
Although they never fought there, Grant and Sherman would return northward to visit the battlefields at Spotsylvania Court House, Fredericksburg, and finally Gettysburg.
The first public opportunity to see Grant and Sherman in action is Saturday, Sept. 8th at 2:00 PM at the Clarendon Historical Society. Written and directed by Derek Maxfield, Assoc. Professor of History, “Now we stand by each other always” will be performed by he and Tracy Ford, Assoc. Professor of English. The pair have plans to take the show on the road thereafter, with bookings already set for Hornell and Batavia.
Derek Maxfield as Gen. Grant and Tracy Ford as Gen. William T. Sherman
The generals have arrived.
After much planning, we are proud to announce the first Rude performance: “Now we stand by each other always:” A conversation between Gens. Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman will debut Saturday, September 8th at 2:00 PM at the Clarendon Historical Society in Clarendon, NY.
Part of the Orleans County Heritage Festival, which runs Sept. 7th to 16th, the performance will be free and open to the public. More details to come.
With the imminent demise of our Kickstarter attempt, Rudely Stamp’d will move in new directions in 2018. At the center of our endeavor is the idea of hosting conversations between historical personas, as we planned for our Adams-Jefferson program.
The idea of pairings of historical figures presents all kinds of fascinating possibilities: Jefferson-Madison, Lincoln-Douglas, Adams-Rush, Jackson-Clay, etc. To begin with, we will focus on a Grant-Sherman program and build from there.
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Gen. William T. Sherman were famous Civil War commanders and friends. In March 1865 Sherman’s army reached Goldsboro, NC ending it’s campaign through the Carolinas. Grant was headquartered at City Point, VA, with the Army of the Potomac as it besieged Petersburg and Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army. The Spring campaign was about to begin and both Grant and Sherman could foresee the end of the war. Sherman paid a visit to Grant which would result in the famous conference aboard the River Queen with President Lincoln.
When Sherman first arrived at City Point, the two generals – who had not seen each other for over a year – warmly greeted each other and Sherman regaled Grant and his staff with his tales of adventure. He recounted the march to the sea and spun a “story, told as only he could tell it,” according to Horace Porter, one of Grant’s aides, as a “grand epic related with Homeric power.”
In 2018 Rudely Stamp’d will begin it’s series of conversations with this entertaining encounter between the Union’s greatest heroes. Stay tuned.
