Ernie discussed the little known history of the series of forts and batteries that defended the Golden Gates entrance from Confederate raiding sea vessels. In order to protect the precious gold and silver coming out of the California and Nevada mountains, which financed the Union war effort, the army expended substantial resources to install fortifications. Continue reading
Arthur Henrick
Arthur’s talk described what Union soldiers were paid in 1861 (Gold/Silver) and the first issue of the new paper currency in early 1862 and the result of the mass issue of these “United States Notes” (commonly called “Greenbacks”) and the beginning of “Fiat” money. Confederate quartermasters paid their troops irregularly and inflation made their pay a fraction of the value that Union soldiers received. Arthur has a number of sources to cite. Readings from the Union prospective, the 1863 book “Light and Dark of the Rebellion” by Rev. Charles Edward Sester will cover the chapter “The Life of an Army Paymaster for a Day.” Another book is the 1887 “Corporal Si Klegg and his Pard” by Lt. Colonel Hinman and the chapter “An Interview with a Paymaster.” Data and facts from 1869 book by Hon. E. G. Spaulding, Chairman of the Sub-Committee of Ways and Means when the Greenback Law was passed in February 25th, 1862. As with 19th Century books, the full title is “History of the Legal Tender Paper Money issued during the GREAT REBELLION. Being a Loan without Interest and a national Currency.” Gold, silver, copper coins and Postage and Fractional Currency will be present for inspection of those who attend. Continue reading
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Lee Meredith
As we have studied the Civil War we have become aware of the major impact railroads had on the outcome of the war. Not even in existence 32 years before Bull Run, there were over 29,000 miles of track when the war started. The armies of McClellan, Lee, Grant, Sherman, and others could not have undertaken the massive movement of men and material without them. You can argue for Napoleon’s massive armies, however Napoleon fought on the relatively flat, cultivated open country of western Europe and Russia and not the mountainous, forested and wet lands of the eastern United States. Continue reading
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (Wikipedia)
René presented a detailed accounting of the life of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, from his birth, to his early academic career, to his service in the American Civil War, and finally his life in politics and as a university president.
Bob’s presentation detailed the Holly Springs Raid and reviewed Grant’s greatest challenge. Grant’s strategy for the capture of Vicksburg and the final phase of the Anaconda Plan was introduced. The first campaign for the capture of Vicksburg and the ramifications of that effort was presented. What was Grant’s reaction to the incompetent response to the attack by Van Dorn and his cavalry and the capture of Holly Springs. Why of all of the events in Grant’s life would the Holly Springs Raid be worse than others? Continue reading
At this year’s picnic meeting in Los Gatos, Gary Yee described several of the more famous and infamous prison escapes performed by both Union and Confederate POWs. The presentation also included descriptions of the types of facilities used for prisons on both sides, along with how they were managed (or in most cases mis-managed). Gary described in detail the elaborate efforts POWs performed in escaping from their captivity. This most likely was Gary’s last SBCWRT presentation since he is moving to Colorado. Continue reading
Tom McMahon’s maternal Irish grandfather was born the year the Civil War ended. Tom often wonders what life would have been for him if the military draft had reached his great grandfather in San Francisco. Tom’s dad, born in 1881 in Virginia City, Nevada, maintained locomotives for the Western Pacific Railroad. Tom is having a ball, searching and discovering.
Meeting description provided by Gary Yee:
Prof. Hilde’s book is being released by the Univ. of Virginia this coming February. There’s already another book on CW nurses, but the author whose name escapes me covers mostly the North. There’s a lot of presumption that the South did the same. That’s where Libra differs. Continue reading
Adam Arenson
The Civil War revealed what united as well as what divided Americans in the nineteenth century—not only in its deadly military conflict, but also in the broader battle of ideas, dueling moral systems, and competing national visions that preceded and followed. This cultural civil war was the clash among North, South, and West, as their leaders sought to shape Manifest Destiny and slavery politics.
No site embodied this struggle more completely than St. Louis, the largest city along the border of slavery and freedom. This sweeping history reveals a city at the heart of the cultural civil war. St. Louisans heralded a new future, erasing old patterns as the United States stretched across the continent. They tried to reorient the nation’s political landscape, with westerners in the vanguard and St. Louis as the cultural, commercial, and national capital. Continue reading