From the Civil War to the White House
The Civil War convulsed the nation for four years, and its effect on the office of the Presidency was felt for years after. With one exception, all presidents who followed Lincoln, from Andrew Johnson in 1865 to William McKinley in 1901, held military rank.
Of the eight men who served as president in these years, seven were soldiers, and five of those saw the elephant of battle. One of those, of course, was Ulysses Grant, the most famous soldier of them all, a general who was so popular that some saw him as a potential candidate to replace Lincoln in 1865. His time came in 1869. And he was followed by a succession of combat soldiers – Hayes, Garfield, Harrison, McKinley.
In this talk, we will recall the wartime careers of these eight U.S. presidents and speculate about the influence of their war experience on their post-war careers that led them to the nation’s highest office. In addition to the five who fought, time will be devoted to two generals who were wartime administrators – Johnson and Arthur – and the one president who avoided war service, Grover Cleveland, our 22nd and 24th president.
And there might be some trivia too!

Ed Pearson
Edward Pearson was born in San Diego to a Naval officer father. He bounced around the U.S., including two years spent at the Naval base at Guantanamo. He went to high school back in San Diego, then came up to LA to go to USC, then to USC Law School. Ed has been an attorney since 1978, practicing the field of Estate and Trust Law. He is currently with the firm of Overton, Lyman & Prince, whose claim is it is the oldest firm in Los Angeles. Ed has always been a student of history generally, U.S. history particularly, and Civil War history even more particularly. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the Pasadena CWRT, holds the office of Vice President, and serves as our "Trivia Master" at each meeting.