Monthly Archives: February 2015

Meeting of April 28, 2015

Tom Roza on “Jeb Stuart, Southern Knight, and the Battle of Yellow Tavern”

James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart earned his fame as a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. Stuart was a cavalry commander who excelled and mastered reconnaissance as well as effectively utilizing his cavalry in support of both offensive and defensive operations.

Jeb Stuart exhibited bravado unmatched by any other military person either in the Confederate or Union armies with his red-lined gray cape, yellow sash, and hat cocked to the side with an ostrich plume, and red flower in his lapel. His skills as a cavalryman earned the respect and trust of Robert E. Lee and inspired his fellow Confederate troops and Southern citizenry.

This is Tom Roza’s fifth presentation to the South Bay Civil War Round Table and his second featuring an individual who served in the Confederate armed forces (the first was A.P. Hill). This presentation on Jeb Stuart focuses primarily on his last military engagement, the Battle of Yellow Tavern, which took place on May 11, 1864, in the northern outskirts of Richmond, VA. The presentation will include important details that influenced the actual battle, how the battle was fought, and what happened to Jeb Stuart.

Meeting Minutes April 2015

Quiz for April 28, 2015

Civil War Quiz – Politicians During the Civil War

Q#1 – Who was President Abraham Lincoln’s first Secretary of War?

Q#2 – Who was President Jefferson Davis’s first Secretary of War?

Q#3 – What was the name of the only Confederate Vice President?

Q#4 – What was the name of the President Abraham Lincoln’s first Vice President?

Q#5 – What was the name of the Governor of South Carolina when that state seceded from the Union in December 1861?

Q#6 – When George McClellan ran for President in 1864, who was his Vice Presidential running mate?

Q#7 – For the Presidential election of 1864, there was a splinter political party given the name the Radical Republicans. What was the name of their Presidential candidate who withdrew before the actual election?

Q#8 – What were the names of the two Confederate Commissioners that were taken prisoner by Union naval personnel off the British ship Trent while traveling in England in 1861?

Q#9 – Who was the first Speaker of the Confederate House of Representatives?

Q#10 – Who was the Speaker of the US House of Representatives at the start of the Civil War in April, 1861?

Q#11 – During President Lincoln’s time in office, who held the cabinet position of Secretary of Commerce?

Q#12 – What was the name of the Governor of Maryland in 1861 who opposed abolitionists and supported slave owners, but also sought to prevent Maryland from seceding and joining the Confederacy?

Q#13 – Who was the Confederate States’ first Attorney General, who later was named its Secretary of War?

Q#14 – What was the name of the US Congressman who during his term in office introduced the first bill for a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery that eventually led to the adoption of the 13th amendment to the US Constitution?

Q#15 – What was the name of the Governor of Massachusetts who authorized the creation of the first Negro military unit in the Union Army, the 54th Massachusetts Regiment?