The annual West Coast conference will be held in Tulare, California, November 13–15, 2015. Information about the schedule and hotel, and a registration form, are available at sjvcwrt.com/conference.html
Meeting of October 27, 2015
Tom Roza on “The Battle of Antietam, Part 2: 12 Hours; 23,000 Casualties; 100 Yards”
Burnside’s Bridge at the Battle of Antietam (Wikipedia)
Tom concluded his study of the Maryland Campaign.
Tom’s study of the American Civil War has primarily focused on the people who fought in the war, who they were, what their role was in the Civil War, and what was it about them that made them significant characters in that great conflict. His previous presentations on John Buford, Winfield Scott Hancock, Robert Gould Shaw, Ambrose Powell Hill, US Grant, and most recently Jeb Stuart, covered their lives including their family history, education, military background, roles in the Civil War, and in the case of Hancock, life after the War. Tom has always been more interested in the study of people and relationships; why people do what they do, what were their relationships, and how these relationships helped make these individuals who they were.
While the Battle of Gettysburg has traditionally been labeled as the Highpoint of the Confederacy and the turning point of the Civil War, there is another conflict that in Tom’s years of studying the Civil War was as important, if not more so than Gettysburg; that conflict is the Battle of Antietam.
The Battle of Antietam, or as the Southerners refer to it, The Battle of Sharpsburg, has always been referred to as the Bloodiest Day in American history. That is because in approximately 12 hours of horrific combat, approximately 23,000 casualties were inflicted. But, Antietam was much more than just the bloodiest day in our military history. It was as the Civil War Historian James M. McPherson labeled it, “The Battle That Changed the Course of the Civil War.”
Tom’s research on Antietam has uncovered many critical events and factors proceeding September 17, 1862, that influenced dramatically what occurred on the outskirts of that little Maryland town by a lazy flowing creek.
Quiz for October 27, 2015
Civil War Quiz: What Do You Know About William Tecumseh Sherman That’s Not Associated With the Civil War?
Q#1 – What was William Tecumseh Sherman’s birth date?
Q#2 – What town and state was Sherman born in?
Q#3 – What explanation did Sherman provide for how he was given his middle name of Tecumseh?
Q#4 – What famous American Founding Father was Sherman distantly related to?
Q#5 – Sherman’s father, Charles Robert Sherman, died unexpectedly in 1829. At the time, what legal position did Sherman’s father hold?
Q#6 – When Sherman entered West Point in 1836, what future famous Union Civil War general was his roommate?
Q#7 – After graduating from West Point in 1840, in what conflict did Sherman experience his first military action?
Q#8 – Did Sherman see any combat action in the Mexican–American War of 1846-48?
Q#9 – In 1850, Sherman married Eleanor Boyle (“Ellen”) Ewing. How many children did they have?
Q#10 – In 1853, Sherman resigned his captaincy in the United States Army. What position did he assume in the private sector?
Q#11 – In 1859, what important administrative position in the academic sector was Sherman appointed to?
Q#12 – In June 1865, Sherman received his first post Civil War command. What was that command?
Q#13 – In 1875, Sherman published a two-volume book of his memoirs. What was the title of the memoirs?
Q#14 – In retirement, Sherman was much in demand as a colorful speaker at dinners and banquets. What famous playwright was Sherman fond of quoting?
Q#15 – In 1891, what famous Confederate General served as a pallbearer at Sherman’s funeral and died one month later of pneumonia?
Meeting of September 29, 2015
Tom Roza on “The Battle of Antietam, Part 1: Invasion and the Battle of South Mountain”
Battle of South Mountain (Wikipedia)
Tom’s study of the American Civil War has primarily focused on the people who fought in the war, who they were, what their role was in the Civil War, and what was it about them that made them significant characters in that great conflict. His previous presentations on John Buford, Winfield Scott Hancock, Robert Gould Shaw, Ambrose Powell Hill, US Grant, and most recently Jeb Stuart, covered their lives including their family history, education, military background, roles in the Civil War, and in the case of Hancock, life after the War. Tom has always been more interested in the study of people and relationships; why people do what they do, what were their relationships, and how these relationships helped make these individuals who they were.
While the Battle of Gettysburg has traditionally been labeled as the Highpoint of the Confederacy and the turning point of the Civil War, there is another conflict that in Tom’s years of studying the Civil War was as important, if not more so than Gettysburg; that conflict is the Battle of Antietam.
The Battle of Antietam, or as the Southerners refer to it, The Battle of Sharpsburg has always been referred to as the Bloodiest Day in American history. That is because in approximately 12 hours of horrific combat, approximately 23,000 casualties were inflicted. But, Antietam was much more than just the bloodiest day in our military history. It was as the Civil War Historian James M. McPherson labeled it, “The Battle That Changed the Course of the Civil War.”
Tom’s research on Antietam has uncovered many critical events and factors proceeding September 17, 1862, that influenced dramatically what occurred on the outskirts of that little Maryland town by a lazy flowing creek. This is the first of a two-part presentation, to be concluded next month.
Quiz for September 29, 2015
Civil War Quiz: What Happened During the Month of September, 1861–1865?
Q#1 – In September 1861, President Lincoln revoked an unauthorized military proclamation of emancipation in Missouri and relieved the Union commander who issued it. What was the name of that Union commander?
Q#2 – What was the date of the Battle of Antietam?
Q#3 – What action did President Lincoln take on September 22, 1862?
Q#4 – The Battle of Chickamauga was fought on September 19/20, 1863. What were the names of the Confederate and Union commanders?
Q#5 – What significant Union victory occurred on September 2, 1864?
Q#6 – What major military action occurred on September 12 that was part of Lee’s first invasion of the North?
Q#7 – After many failed attempts to capture it, what Confederate fort located in South Carolina was finally captured by Union troops on September 7, 1863?
Q#8 – What was the name of the battle that was fought on September 18-20, 1861, in Missouri that was won by the Confederates and threatened keeping Missouri in the Union?
Q#9 – On September 4, 1861, a large Confederate Army moved into Kentucky, occupied Columbus, and began occupying high ground overlooking the Mississippi River. What was the name of the Confederate commander?
Q#10 – Following Union general Pope’s disastrous defeat at the Battle of Second Bull Run, what action did President Lincoln take on September 2, 1862?
Q#11 – What major legal action did President Lincoln take on September 24, 1862, that now affected all the states in the North?
Q#12 – On September 8, 1863, the Second Battle of Sabine Pass was fought when a Union flotilla of four gunboats and seven troop transports steamed into Sabine Pass and up the Sabine River. What was the reason for this military engagement?
Q#13 – What was the name of the battle fought on September 21-22, 1864, when Union general Philip Sheridan defeated the Confederate Army led by General Jubal Early, which opened up the Shenandoah Valley to a Union “scorched earth” invasion that became known as the “Burning” or “Red October”?
Q#14 – During March 19-21, 1865, what battle was fought in North Carolina?
Q#15 – What was the name of the battle fought on September 14, 1862, initiated by Union general George McClellan after he found Lee’s General Order 191?
Meeting of August 22, 2015
Jim Rhetta on “Newspapers and Open Source Intelligence in the Civil War”
Jim Rhetta
The Civil War is called the “first modern war” due to the first use of many new and modern technologies. Often overlooked is the fact that it was also the first war that newspapers covered capable of reporting events in less than 12 hours. With the majority of the population literate, this capability produced a new and significant impact on both war efforts that politicians on both sides had not experienced before and were unprepared for. In addition, newspapers frequently printed information of high and timely military value, an action that never occurred before, which enraged generals on both sides. This information is now known as Open Source Intelligence, can be of high value, and is commonly used by all participants in current global conflicts.
Quiz for August 22, 2015
Civil War Quiz: Naval Battles of the American Civil War
Q#1 – On what date were the first shots of naval warfare in the Civil War fired and where were they fired?
Q#2 – On what date were the final shots of the naval warfare in the Civil War fired and where were they fired?
Q#3 – Other than performing blockade duty or trying to sink each other’s naval ships, what were the two primary objectives of each side’s naval forces?
Q#4 – What was a secondary use of each side’s naval forces during the Civil War?
Q#5 – What significant event occurred during the naval Battle of Aquia Creek, which took place from May 29, 1861 to June 1, 1861?
Q#6 – What was the first battle involving Union ironclads in the Civil War (Hint: It was not the naval Battle of Hampton Roads between the Monitor and Merrimac)?
Q#7 – What significant event occurred during the naval battle at Fort Pillow, Tennessee (aka Plum Point Bend) between ships of the Confederate River Defense Fleet and the Union Mississippi River Squadron?
Q#8 – The naval Battle of Arkansas Post (aka, Battle of Fort Hindman) fought January 9–11, 1863, near the mouth of the Arkansas River at Arkansas Post, Arkansas, resulted in what significant adverse consequence for the Confederacy?
Q#9 – What was the outcome of the Second Naval Battle of Sabine Pass which took place on September 8, 1863?
Q#10 – What significant naval event occurred on February 17, 1864, in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina?
Q#11 – What was the name of the naval battle where the Confederate CSS Alabama ship was sunk and what was the date of the battle?
Q#12 – What is the significance of the Second Battle of Fort Fisher fought on January 13–15, 1865, involving an assault by the Union Army, Navy, and Marine Corps against Fort Fisher, outside Wilmington, North Carolina?
Q#13 – Which naval battle is considered the greatest Union naval victory of the war?
Q#14 – What international diplomatic flap on October 7, 1864, was labeled the “Bahia Incident”?
Q#15 – The Union naval blockade of Southern ports and harbors were part of what overall Northern plan for defeating the Confederacy?
Meeting of July 28, 2015
Ted Savas on “Lincoln and Davis at War”
Lincoln and Davis (Wikipedia)
Ted discussed how the presidents of the Union and the Confederacy approached the war in terms of weaponry and objectives, offering fresh and often humorous insights on Lincoln and Davis, their chief subordinates, the choices they made, and the challenges they faced as they fought the Civil War.
Theodore P. Savas graduated from The University of Iowa College of Law in 1986 (With Distinction). He practiced law in Silicon Valley for twelve years before moving to El Dorado Hills. He co-founded Savas Woodbury Publishers (subsequently Savas Publishing) in 1990 with David Woodbury, and is the owner and managing director of Savas Beatie LLC, one of the largest independent Civil War publishers in the world. He has been teaching legal, history, and business college classes since 1992, and is the author or editor of fourteen books (published in six languages) including A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution, Hunt and Kill: U-505 and the U-Boat War in the Atlantic, and Silent Hunters: German U-boat Commanders of World War II. While in San Jose he founded the South Bay Civil War Round Table in 1989; its first meeting of four people was held in his living room.
Quiz for July 28, 2015
Civil War Quiz: What Do You Know About Pickett’s Charge?
Q#1 – What were the names of the three Confederate Division commanders in Pickett’s Charge?
Q#2 – On Cemetery Ridge, which Union Corp was the target of the Confederate assault and who was the Corps Commander?
Q#3 – Which Union division was directly in the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge?
Q#4 – What other military action did Lee plan to initiate concurrent with the infantry attack on Cemetery Ridge?
Q#5 – Approximately how many Confederate cannons were used to bombard the Union Line on Cemetery Ridge prior to Pickett’s Charge?
Q#6 – What are the three main reasons given for the ineffectiveness of the Confederate bombardment of the Union Line on Cemetery Ridge prior to Pickett’s Charge?
Q#7 – What was the name of the general in charge on the Union artillery?
Q#8 – What was the reason there was little or no close artillery support provided by E. Porter Alexander’s artillery once the Confederate infantry actually began to move toward the Union lines?
Q#9 – What is the current most accurate estimate of the number of Confederate infantry troops that actually made Pickett’s Charge?
Q#10 – Of the 3 main divisions involved in Pickett’s charge, how many Confederate brigades were involved?
Q#11 – As the Confederate infantry lines approached Cemetery Ridge, what were the Union troops on Cemetery Ridge heard to be shouting at them?
Q#12 – Which Union regiment attacked Confederate General Brockenbrough’s brigade on the left flank of Pickett’s Charge causing the Southerners to retreat back to Seminary Ridge?
Q#13 – What was the name of the Union brigade that delivered devastating musket fire into the right flank of Pickett’s division as it attacked up the slope of Cemetery Ridge?
Q#14 –What was the name of the Union brigade that defended the Union center where a low stone wall took an 80-yard right-angle turn that became known afterward as “The Angle?”
Q#15 – What were the approximate number of Union casualties resulting from Pickett’s Charge? What were the Confederates?
Meeting of June 30, 2015
Bill Noyes on “Lincoln’s Photographic Journey”
Bill has provided the following description:
Any time is a great time to consider Abe Lincoln and his story. Thus I thought as I rediscovered the book, “Lincoln: his Life in Photographs” by Stefan Lorant, done in 1941. I’d buried it away in one of my sheds many years before and after a quick read I could see what an opportunity it presented to view Old Abe’s journey from the back woods to greatest American in the District of Columbia. Soon I was putting together a digital slide show for presentation to the Round Table from the pages of Lincoln’s images which had taken him 19 years to assemble.
Lincoln was born well before photography and grew to mid age without expecting to see images of himself or most people he might meet, other than in fleeting representations in a mirror. Expensive painted miniature portraits were in vogue in the best of families, and also oil portraits and chalk drawings or engravings but average people didn’t spend hard money on such unchanging luxuries. Then things changed in 1840 when the daguerreotype came to America, but Abe was slow to take to the process.
In 50 pictures we’ll trace Lincoln’s life and accomplishments photographically as he adjusted to and learned to use the new medium. Mythic tales and questionable facts must yield to the new documentary evidence we have all come to know and expect in this digital age. Please bring your vast knowledge and ready experience concerning President Lincoln to share as each photo might warrant. We’ll see old familiar images and unusual or forgotten ones, any of which may spark unexpected comments and shared insights about Mr. Lincoln and his times.
