Join us at 6:30 PM, October 28, at Jack’s Restaurant & Bar, located at the Northwest corner of the Westgate Shopping Mall in San Jose, near Campbell (1502 Saratoga Ave, San Jose, CA 95129) and via ZOOM. This month’s topic is
Mark Costin on “The Civil War Campaigns Against the Apache and the Navaho”
At the conclusion of the Civil War New Mexico campaign, the victorious Union appointed James Henry Carleton as commander of the Department of New Mexico. Carleton considered the local Native American tribes, the Apache and Navajo, grave threats and pursued a relentless campaign against them. This talk describes these little-known campaigns, which had severe consequences for the Native Americans in the West.
Mark Costin is an engineer living in Sunnyvale, California, recently retired from working on functional safety for automated and autonomous vehicles. A longtime history enthusiast, Mark now has more time to devote to his hobby. He holds a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from Case Western Reserve University, an M.Eng. from McMaster University, and a B.Eng. from McGill University.
Join us at 6:30 PM, November 25, at Jack’s Restaurant & Bar, located at the Northwest corner of the Westgate Shopping Mall in San Jose, near Campbell (1502 Saratoga Ave, San Jose, CA 95129) and via ZOOM. This month’s topic is
David Hsueh on “Requiem for Innocence: Destruction of Nature and Animals in the Civil War”
Is This Death? by Alexander Gardner, Antietam Battlefield
Five days after the bloodiest single day in American history at Antietam, Union XII Corps acting commander Brig. Gen. Alpheus Williams rode across the devastated battlefield. The ground was still littered with corpses, and the stench of decay hung in the air. That evening, in a letter home to his daughter, Williams struggled to describe the scenes he had witnessed. One image, however, refused to leave him:
“The number of dead horses was high. They lay, like the men, in all attitudes. One beautiful milk-white animal had died in so graceful a position that I wished for its photograph. Its legs were doubled under, and its arched neck gracefully turned to one side, as if looking back to the ball hole in its side. Until you got to it, it was hard to believe the horse was dead.”
Unbeknownst to Williams, three days earlier, on September 19, the photographer Alexander Gardner had encountered the very same animal. He captured it in a haunting image later published in his Photographic Sketch Book of the War, titled “Confederate Colonel and Horse, Both Killed at the Battle of Antietam.” Williams’ words and Gardner’s lens together preserved the same tragic scene: an animal of striking beauty transformed into a casualty of war. Once overlooked, the photograph has, in recent decades, gained recognition as a powerful emblem of Antietam and of the Civil War itself, embodying not only the vast human slaughter but also the silent suffering of the animals drawn into the conflict.
This talk explores the wider devastation of the natural world during the Civil War: the destruction of landscapes, the slaughter of horses on the battlefield, and the displacement of other wildlife. It portrays the conflict not only as a human tragedy but also as an ecological catastrophe—a wound inflicted upon both creation and the divine. Its aim is to illuminate a different dimension of wartime destruction: the suffering borne by those who could not speak for themselves.
David Hsueh is a fourth-year political science student at the University of California, Berkeley. An avid history enthusiast since kindergarten, his first introduction to the American Civil War came through reading about President Lincoln. His true passion for the war began after his first viewing of the movie Gettysburg and his subsequent visits to the Gettysburg and Antietam battlefields seven years ago, at age 11. His main interests in the Civil War center on leadership decisions at the brigade-to-army level and on human-interest stories—both of generals and of the common soldier. A cinephile and film lover, he drew inspiration for the themes and topic of this talk from Andrei Tarkovsky’s Andrei Rublev and Robert Bresson’s Au Hasard Balthazar.
Join us at 6:30 PM, February 24, at Jack’s Restaurant & Bar, located at the Northwest corner of the Westgate Shopping Mall in San Jose, near Campbell (1502 Saratoga Ave, San Jose, CA 95129) and via ZOOM. This month’s topic is
Kirstein Ta on “Ars Moriendi – The Good Death”
Dying far from home and loved ones was a harsh reality that soldiers had to face. Many turned to comrades, religious leaders, nurses, or doctors to help them facilitate “a good death”—a death reflective of character and legacy, based on faith, repentance, and acceptance of God’s will.
“Civil War soldiers were, in fact, better prepared to die than to kill, for they lived in a culture that offered many lessons in how life should end. But these lessons had to be adapted to the dramatically changed circumstances of the war. Soldiers and their families struggled in a variety of ways to mitigate the cruel realities and to construct a good death amid chaos.” —Drew Gilpin Faust
Kirstein Hansen-Ta is a new student of the Civil War. In July 2024, she inherited ten six-inch binders containing her family history, dating as far back as 1630 to the present day. As incredible as all this history is, she found none as fascinating as her family’s experiences during the Civil War. Several men on both sides of her family fought for the Confederacy, including her second great-grandfather and a number of uncles. She is happy to report that, with the exception of one, they all returned home.
Among the hundreds of pages in these binders, Kirstein came across what she considers the most valuable: four typewritten pages of a letter from an uncle describing all three of his older brothers and their time in the Confederate army. Additionally, he describes what life was like for the family during the Civil War. After reading these stories, Kirstein realized that the most intriguing part of the Civil War wasn’t necessarily the battles or the politics, but rather the people who lived through it.
Wanting to learn more about the Civil War, Kirstein discovered the website for the South Bay Civil War Round Table and officially became a member in October 2024. She looks forward to learning more about this significant time in our country’s history.
Setting the stage with a short recall of the violent guerilla warfare that sets pre Civil War Kansas bleeding and on Fire,1855-9 over the issue of slavery we examine the stark contrast of the type of conflict carried out in Virginia by Lee ,a West Point model of proper military engagement as contrasted to the bushwhack raids and battles west of the Mississippi which were out of control of Jefferson Davis in his struggle with his generals. One of my main interests will be to high light the contingent of Union troops who were stationed in Alabama throughout the entire war ,cavalry that became the personal guard of General Sherman in his March to the Sea and the destruction of a 200 year economic plantation way of life for the people of the South. It looks like only a short mention of the March to the Sea can be taken up , so this might be for another time.,
Tom McMahon, San Francisco born in 1928, Roman Catholic priest for 26 years, pastor of Old 1897 historic church in New Almaden, married to Elaine (deceased 2021, two sons, five grandchildren), member of local San Jose South Bay Civil War Roundtable for 16 years, retired mental health therapist, amateur historian, founder of History Club at Almaden Senior Center, writer-researcher, and one who enjoys life and people.
Bob Burch on “California in the Civil War: Other California Units”
This is the fifth of a twelve-part series on California and the American Civil War. This presentation will explore the history of those units that served in the Eastern Theater during the American Civil War that enlisted a good portion of their recruits from California or had that state’s name in their unit designation. Nearly ten percent of Californians who volunteered during the war did so into units from other states. They did so for a variety of reasons including the desire to represent their state during the war to preserve the Union. Consequently these “other California units” represented their state continuously from the Battle of First Bull Run until General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox four years later.
Eventually Californians served in five other states’ volunteer regiments. On the West Coast these units were the 1st Washington Territory Infantry and 1st Oregon Cavalry Regiments. On the East Coast these were the 32nd New York Infantry Regiment (aka “California Regiment”), Baker’s Brigade (aka “California Brigade”) of four regiments, and the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment’s “California Hundred” and “California Battalion”.
Along the way we will meet several forgotten Californians who served their country well. Colonel Roderick Matheson from Healdsburg who fought at First Bull Run and later died from wounds received at the Battle of Crampton’s Gap. Colonel Francis Pinto of San Francisco who commanded regiments during the Peninsula, 2nd Manassas, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville Campaigns. Major Archibald McKendry who commanded the California Battalion and eventually the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment when only a captain. Captain James Sewell Reed of the California Hundred who died while leading his unit against Mosby’s partisans and Captain Hugh Armstrong who replaced him and led that company from Battle of Fort Stevens until Appomattox. And Captain Henry Crocker of San Francisco who participated in nine battle and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for valor at the Battle of Cedar Creek.
Except for the “CAL 100” Cavalry, these units have disappeared from history despite the presence of the California Regiment’s monument on Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg and mention in many original source documents from newspapers to the Official Records. This presentation will attempt to remember and honor their contribution to the Union cause.
Bob Burch is a native Californian, born and raised in Santa Clara County. He is also a lifetime student of the Civil War. He had the opportunity to visit many Civil War sites from Florida to Pennsylvania to New Mexico during his 30 year military career. Like many California CWRT members, he desires to understand his home state’s role in the war. He started collecting material for this presentation ten years ago and initiated a serious study 15 months ago. This series documents his research in great detail. Time allows only a few key points from each slide to be presented. Numerous period photographs and magazine drawings are included for visual effect with the intent of comprehending California’s role in the Civil War.
