Ron Vaughan on “The Battle of Big Bethel, First Battle of the Civil War”

The Battle of Big Bethel was the first battle of the Civil War. While casualties were relatively small, there were several participants whose names would become well known.

Ron Vaughan has an MA in History and a Secondary Teaching Credential. His MA thesis was entitled “A Comparison of the Military Effectiveness of the US Army and Mexico, in 1846.” He has written two published books: Viva Juarez, A Source Book for the French Intervention in Mexico, and Handbook for the Spanish Civil War, plus many magazine articles in military history related publications, most recently “Joe Shelby’s Odyssey in Mexico” in the “North & South” December 2022 issue. Ron has also been a re-enactor for periods of Roman times, American Civil War, WW I, and WW II. He is the Head Docent at the Tulare City Historical Museum and Secretary and Editor for the San Joaquin Valley Civil War Roundtable.

Kirstein Ta on “Reminiscences of Smithville in Dekalb County, Tennessee: A personal account of the Civil War through a child’s eyes”

William Thomas Foster was only three years old in the fall of 1860 when he witnessed the first signs of an impending civil war. After April 1861, he would see two of his older brothers Eratus D. Foster and Stephen M. Foster join up with Capt. Cantrell’s Company C, 23rd Regiment, Tennessee Confederate Infantry. His third brother John B. Foster would go on to join the 15th Mississippi Regiment.

In William’s personal account of his family’s experiences during the civil war he shares the hardships felt by many families during those tumultuous four years. Even more disconcerting is the stories he shares about his family’s encounters with a group of Confederate guerillas led by a young man by the name of Pomp Kersey.

Pomp Kersey and his gang spent the majority of 1863-1864 terrorizing the town of Smithville, but Pomp particularly liked harassing the Foster family due to the knowledge that William’s father was a known Union sympathizer. Pomp eventually found himself on the wrong end of a gun in July of 1864, but the wrong end of whose gun?

Kirstein Hansen-Ta is a new student of the Civil War. In July 2024 she inherited ten six-inch binders that contained her family history dating as far back as 1630 to present day. As incredible as all this history is, she found none as interesting, or as fascinating as the family’s experience in the Civil War. There were several men on both sides of her family that fought for the Confederacy. This included her second great grandfather, in addition to a number of uncles. She is happy to report that with the exception of one they all returned home.

Amid the hundreds of pages inside these binders Kirstein came across what she considers the most valuable four pages of them all. These four pages are a type-written letter from an uncle describing all three of his older brothers, and their time in the Confederate army. Additionally, he goes on to describe what life was like for the family during the Civil War, as well. What Kirstein realized after reading these stories was that the most intriguing part of the civil war wasn’t necessarily the battles, or the politics, but rather about the people who lived through it.

Wanting to learn more about the Civil War, Kirstein came across the website for the South Bay Civil War Round Table, and she officially became a member in October 2024. She looks forward to learning more about this significant time in our country’s history.

Alan Sissenwein on “William B. Franklin, One of the Union’s Worst Generals”

William B. Franklin is a largely forgotten figure today, but he contributed to three of the worst defeats the Union army suffered. His military career began on a stellar note, graduating first in West Point’s 39-man Class of 1843, but the Civil War was to show he was no combat general. Appointed by George McClellan to command the 6th Corps, Franklin’s worst moment came during the Antietam campaign when he was charged with relieving the besieged Federal garrison at Harpers Ferry. Through his own timidity, Franklin failed in his mission, resulting in the surrender of over 10,000 Union troops. He continued to display poor generalship at the Battle of Fredericksburg, for which he became a political scapegoat. Transferred to Louisiana, Franklin committed an error that worsened Union losses at the Battle of Sabine Crossroads, a Federal defeat that led to the collapse of Nathaniel Banks’ Red River campaign.

Alan Sissenwein has been a member of the South Bay Civil War Round Table since 1997 and currently serves as its vice president. A professional writer, he holds a bachelor’s degree in history from UC Berkeley and a master’s in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He is currently writing the second draft of a book on the Battle of Fredericksburg.

Tonya Graham McQuade on “‘Paddy’s Lament’ and the Irish Brigade”

In the heartbreaking 19th century ballad “Paddy’s Lament,” a young Irishman – “Paddy” or “Patrick” – leaves Ireland, where he faces hunger and poverty, to go to America, where he hopes to make his fortune. Instead, upon his arrival, he is given a gun and told to “go and fight for Lincoln.” He soon finds himself fighting for a man named “Meagher,” who promises his troops that “if they get shot or lose [their] head” in battle, they will be given a pension. After “hard fighting” and losing his leg, all Paddy gets is “a wooden peg,” and he curses America. He wishes he were “home in dear old Dublin,” and he warns others not to come to America, for “there is nothing here but war and the murdering cannon’s roar.”

So, how accurately does this song represent the Irish experience in the Civil War?

In the ten years following Ireland’s Great Famine (1845-1850), approximately 1.5 million Irish emigrated to the U.S. Most settled in large cities such as New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, where they often faced significant prejudice due to their poverty, Catholic beliefs, cultural practices, and language. Many of those new Irish immigrants, however, chose to fight in America’s Civil War – approximately 180,000 in the Union army and 20,000 in the Confederate army. An estimated 30,000 Irishmen died in the conflict. Those who fought under the “General Meagher” referenced in “Paddy’s Lament” primarily did so as part of the Irish Brigade.

Three all-Irish volunteer infantries formed the core of what would become the Irish Brigade: the 63rd, 69th, and 88th New York Infantry Regiments. They were later joined by the 116th Pennsylvania and the Irish-dominated 28th Massachusetts. Most were recent immigrants; many, not yet citizens. Some, as described in “Paddy’s Lament,” were fresh off the boat. In the first two years of the war, the Irish Brigade had the highest casualty rate of any comparable unit in the Army of the Potomac.

In this month during which we celebrate St. Patrick, come listen to the song “Paddy’s Lament” and learn more about the history of the Irish Brigade and how accurately this ballad represents their experience in the Civil War.

Tonya Graham McQuade is the author of A State Divided: The Civil War Letters of James Calaway Hale and Benjamin Petree of Andrew County, Missouri, 1862-65, and is a contributing writer to the Emerging Civil War website. She has a love for both history and historical fiction, as well as a passion for writing, music, travel, and genealogical research.

In the summer of 2023, Tonya visited Ireland and Scotland with her husband Mike. Her first night in Dublin, she heard a live performance of the ballad “Paddy’s Lament,” and the song planted itself in her brain. She continued to think about the song’s haunting lyrics as she visited Dublin’s EPIC Immigration Museum, viewed the nearby Famine Memorial, and climbed aboard the replica Jeanie Johnson famine ship. Once she returned to San Jose, she began researching the song’s history, listening to its various versions, and studying the Irish experience in the Civil War, particularly as part of the Irish Brigade. She eventually wrote two related articles for the Emerging Civil War website. This presentation expands on those articles.

A long-time English teacher at Los Gatos High School, Tonya lives in San Jose, California. She is an active member of Emerging Civil War, South Bay Civil War Round Table, South Bay Writers/California Writers Club, National League of American Pen Women, and Poetry Center San Jose. You can learn more about Tonya on her website at tonyagrahammcquade.com, as well as find photos related to the book and to her research trips to Missouri. You can also find links to her Chasing History and Emerging Civil War blog posts, her poetry and photography, and her social media sites.

Tom Roza on “John Buford—A Forerunner of Mechanized Warfare Tactics”

John Buford possessed an amazing ability to grasp the importance of a situation. Buford displayed a keen ability to recognize where the good ground was, and knew what his role was. These were all critical components that eventually enabled Buford to become a critical element in the Union victory at Gettysburg. John Buford left an enduring imprint on 19th century mounted operations, a precursor of the mobile mechanized warfare of today. And once he achieved high rank, Buford almost single-handedly overturned the practice, prevalent in virtually every theater of operations, to cast the mounted forces of the Union in the mold of European heavy cavalry.

Tom Roza has been a student of the American Civil War since December 1960 when he received as a Christmas present The Golden Book of the Civil War, adapted for young readers from the book entitled the American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War. Tom’s main interest in the Civil War has focused on what type of people fought in the war and its human aspects as opposed to the actual battles, politics, and weaponry. As a result, Tom has made presentations on Winfield Scott Hancock, Jeb Stuart at Yellow Tavern, AP Hill, Robert Gould Shaw, the Draft Riots of New York City, among others. Tom has also written two historical novels on the Civil War and Reconstruction: Windows to the Past: A Virginian’s Experience in the Civil War and Lost Cause-Justice Found, both available on Amazon.com. Tom is currently in the process of writing his third historical novel that is entitled Triumph Conquers Tragedy, a post-Civil War story that takes place in 1870s Colorado Territory.