Monthly Archives: January 2019

Quiz for February 26, 2019

Civil War Quiz: What Do You Know About the Causes for the Civil War Other Than Slavery?

Q#1 – Historically, why did southern slave-holding states have little perceived need for industrialized mechanization?

Q#2 – Why were the Northern states generally opposed to the South’s right to sell cotton and purchase manufactured goods from any nation?

Q#3 – When the Southerners Democrats controlled Congress in the 1830s, 1840s, and 1850s, what legislative actions did they take to favor the Southern economy?

Q#4 – In the 1850s, what legislative actions did the Republican-controlled Congress take to protect Northern industrial interests?

Q#5 – What was the constitutional rationale the South argued to support a state’s right to secede?

Q#6 – What was the Northern response to the Southern rationale that each state had the right to leave the Union?

Q#7 – In the early 19th century, famous spokesmen such as Andrew Jackson and Daniel Webster were advocating what philosophy regarding the country?

Q#8 – As the 19th Century evolved and time passed, what philosophy regarding the country did Southerners hold?

Q#9 – What was the main reason most of America’s premier entrepreneurs such as Cornelius Vanderbilt and Samuel Colt based themselves in the North?

Q#10 – What action in 1832, where military action was threatened by the Federal government against South Carolina, helped to plant the initial seeds of secession?

Q#11 – What important factor was changing the political balance of power that increasingly was adversely affecting the South?

Q#12 – Why was the “American System” (which was an economic plan) advocated by Henry Clay in Congress and supported by many nationalist supporters, whose purpose was to develop American industry and international commerce, opposed by the South?

Q#13 – What was a mitigating social factor that pushed upper-class white Southerners to support secession from the Union and eventually Civil War?

Q#14 – What economic event occurred in 1857 that strengthened the Republican Party and heightened sectional tensions?

Q#15 – Thomas Prentice Kettell, former editor of the Democratic Review, in the late 1850s gathered an array of statistics published in his book on Southern Wealth and Northern Profits. What premise did Kettell’s book advance that convinced many Southerners their only option for economic fairness was secession?

Meeting of January 29, 2019

Jim Tortorici on “Federal Ironclads and Their Technology”

During the Civil War, the CSS Virginia, a captured and rebuilt Union steam frigate formerly known as the USS Merrimac,engaged the USS Monitor in the first battle between iron-fortified naval vessels in history. The ironclad warships proved their value in battle. No longer would wooden ships be viable in war. The battle had changed the course of naval warfare.

USS Cairo

The Union built a formidable force of river ironclads, beginning with several converted riverboats and then contracted engineer James Eads of St. Louis, Missouri, to build the City-class ironclads. These excellent ships were built with twin engines and a central paddle wheel, all protected by an armored casement. They had a shallow draft, allowing them to journey up smaller tributaries, and were very well suited for river operations. They were not as heavily armored as the ocean-going monitors of the Union, but they were adequate for their intended use. More Western Flotilla Union ironclads were sunk by torpedoes (mines) than by enemy fire, and the most damaging fire for the Union ironclads was from shore installations, not Confederate vessels.

Jim’s presentation will cover the armor, engine, and guns of the federal ironclads, focusing on the USS Cairo.

Jim Tortorici was born in 1946 in Chicago, IL. He spent much of his youth in Chicago and Westchester, IL, Ogden, UT, and moved to San Jose, CA, in 1960. He attended Campbell and Blackford High Schools graduating in 1964. In 1969, Jim graduated from San Jose State University with a BS in Industrial Arts specializing in Business and Industry. Jim received his MA in Industrial Technology in 1976 from San Jose State University.

Upon graduation from San Jose State University in 1969, Jim served on active duty for three years in the US Marine Corps and then entered the Reserves retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1995. Upon release from active duty, Jim was hired as a Design Draftsman in 1972 at Ford Motor Co in Milpitas, CA. In 1974 Jim was hired by IBM in San Jose retiring as an Advisory Engineer in 2001.

Jim has been married for 50 years to his wife Barbara. They have three children, eight grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

Jim’s interest in ship modeling began in his youth building plastic and wood models. This interest broadened to flying scale model aircraft and scale model railroad trains as an adult. Later Jim began specializing in ship models with his affiliation with the South Bay Model Shipwrights Club. Some of his more detailed projects include the HMS Victory, HMS Halifax, the 1678 Grosse Jacht, the USS Monitor, and currently the USS Cairo.

Quiz for January 29, 2019

What Do You Know About Civil War Prisons and Prisoners?

Q#1 – In July 1862, Union & Confederate armies agreed to formalize the prisoner exchange system. What was the title of the agreement that was named for the two officers who developed it?

Q#2 – The formal prisoner exchange system established a scale of equivalents for the exchange of military officers and enlisted men. What was the scale for a navy captain or an army colonel versus army privates or ordinary seamen?

Q#3 – Did the formal exchange agreement include non-combatants?

Q#4 – What were the specifications that captives had to agree to before they were paroled or exchanged?

Q#5 – Why did the prisoner exchange system collapse in 1863?

Q#6 – Starting in 1863, how many Union soldiers were sent to Confederate prison camps? How many Confederate soldiers were sent to Union prison camps?

Q#7 – Starting in 1863, approximately how many Union soldiers died in Confederate prison camps? How many Confederate soldiers died in Union prison camps?

Q#8 – Which Union prison was sometimes described as “The North’s Andersonville”?

Q#9 – What was the official name assigned by the Confederacy to the prison located at Andersonville, Georgia?

Q#10 – Approximately how many Union prisoners were imprisoned at the Andersonville Prison?

Q#11 – Nearly 13,000 Union prisoners died at Andersonville. What were the three chief causes for the deaths?

Q#12 – What was the name of the Confederate prison where a majority of Union officer prisoners were incarcerated? Where was it located?

Q#13 – What was the name of the Confederate general who escaped from the Ohio Penitentiary in 1863?

Q#14 – What was the nickname Confederate prisoners gave to the prison located at Elmira, NY?

Q#15 – What was the name of the first Federal military installation seized forcefully by a Southern state government that eventually was used as a Confederate prison?