12. John Buchanan Floyd (1806-1863) a Confederate Brigadier General: He was the infamous Secretary of War under President Buchanan who gave arms to the increasingly hostile South on the eve of war, weakening the North. He resigned in 1860 and later became a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army in Virginia. He was posted to Fort Donelson with General Gideon Johnson Pillow, but the two escaped at night during the Battle of Fort Donelson. Floyd was relieved of his command by Confederate President Davis in 1861 and returned to the Virginia Militia where he died.

11. Gideon Johnson Pillow (1806-1878) a Confederate Brigadier General: He was a law partner of President James K. Polk in the late 1820s. He argued with his superiors—General Scott—in the Mexican War. He became a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army and was in charge of Fort Donelson along with General John Buchanan Floyd. During the Battle of Fort Donelson, Pillow escaped and continued his poor command until captured in 1865. He was pardoned in August of 1865 and became a lawyer again.

10. Edward Ferrero (1831-1899) a Federal Brevet Major General: He was from Spain and was a dance instructor at West Point before the war. He served in the Western Theatre at the Siege of Vicksburg. At the Battle of the Crater in 1864 he stayed behind the lines drinking liquor with General Ledlie. He went through a court of inquiry, but was promoted to brevet Major General in December of 1864.

9. James Hewett Ledlie (1832-1882), a Federal Brigadier General: He was a railroad engineer and joined the New York Infantry after the war began. He gave unexceptional service and General Grant did not like him. At the Battle of the Crater in 1864 he stayed behind the lines drinking liquor with General Ferrero. The Battle did not go well for the Federal Army and after a court of inquiry, he resigned in January of 1865.

8. Jeremiah Clemens (1814-1865) a Republic of Alabama/Confederate Major General: He was a distant relative of famed writer Samuel Clemens—Mark Twain—and was a newspaper editor in Alabama. He was also a Senator from Alabama from 1849 to 1853. He was at Alabama’s secession convention but was a Unionist Whig. Confederate President Davis refused to give him a commission given his unionist history and Clemens resigned from the Army of the Republic of Alabama which had become a part of the Confederate Army and spoke against the Confederacy.

7. Daniel Marsh Frost (1823-1900) a Federal Brigadier General: Originally from New York and a hero from the Mexican War, General Frost joined the Confederate Army in Missouri. When his wife and children were forced to flee to the Dominion of Canada in 1863, Frost also went there to see them, but did not gain permission to do so and became a deserter—the only general to do so—and remained there until after the war when he returned to Missouri.

6. Edwin Walker Price (1834-1908) a Confederate Brigadier General: He had a good record in 1861, but in the winter of 1861-62, while on recruiting duty in Missouri, he was captured, some say on purpose, and was later exchanged, but resigned and returned to Missouri where he denounced the Confederacy and gave allegiance to the Union and received a pardon from President Lincoln. With this, he was alienated from his father, Confederate General Sterling Price, but after the war, the two reconciled.

5. Justus McKinstry (1814-1897) a Federal Brigadier General: He was a Quartermaster in the West at St. Louis. He was accused of being dishonest and was placed under investigation and in January of 1863 he became the only general in the war to receive a dishonorable discharge. He worked with contractors and helped contractors receive generous sums of money. After the war, he became a stockbroker and a real estate agent.

4. William Henry Carroll (1810-1868) a Confederate Brigadier General: He was from Tennessee and commanded Knoxville where he declared martial law. He was present at the Battle of Fishing Creek where his errors cost the Rebels a victory. He was deemed unsafe to command and was later arrested for neglect of duty while being drunk behind lines. He resigned in February of 1862 after a court of inquiry and then moved to the Dominion of Canada.

3. Jefferson Columbus Davis (1828-1879) a Federal Brigadier General: He was an officer in the Mexican War and with the Civil War, he was noted for having the same first and last name as the Confederate president. He was present at Ft. Sumter after which he was promoted and continued to rise in rank. He performed decently at the Battle of Pea Ridge. He had a quarrel with his superior at Louisville, Major General William Nelson, whom he later shot and killed after a supposed insult. Surprisingly, Davis was not punished for this act and even returned to duty and did well until Sherman’s March to the Sea where he left some freed slaves behind, but he got away with this too. He was the first commander of the Department of Alaska following its purchase from the Russians in 1867.

2. William David Porter (1808-1864) a Commodore, USN: He was the son of the famous Commodore David Porter of the War of 1812 and the brother of Admiral David Porter and foster brother of the famous Admiral Farragut. Commodore Porter (the younger) was infamous for his foul mouth. He was cruel to his family and blackmailed them, but the hatred was mutual. He was not a popular officer and was even placed on reserve before the war. When the war broke out, he showed his allegiance to the North—since he was from New Orleans—by divorcing his wife who was also from New Orleans. He was given command of a gunboat which he renamed “Essex” after his father’s ship in the War of 1812. He stole Army supplies and after a boiler explosion, he had $91,000 in unauthorized repairs made to the “Essex”. He never followed orders and blamed others for his errors and even took credit for actions which were not his own. Despite his record, he remained in the Navy until his death.

1. Hugh Judson Kilpatrick (1831-1881) a Federal Brigadier General: General Kilpatrick was a drunk, liar, libertine, etc. He was an infamous cavalry commander who earned himself the nickname of “Kill-Cavalry”. He was from New Jersey and graduated from West Point in 1861. He also held the distinction of being the first officer to be injured in the war at the Battle of Big Bethel in June of 1861. He engaged in some raiding activities, including a failed raid of Richmond. His moral character, however, left much to be desired as he was arrested in Washington for a drunken spree, despite claiming he was a teetotaler. He was also corrupt in that he sold confiscated goods and kept the money. He was also a liar in that he bragged about his achievements and at the third day of Gettysburg he ordered a cavalry despite the already apparent Federal victory at great cost, just to bolster his reputation. He also had political aspirations as he wanted to be governor of New Jersey and then President of the United States. He was placed under General Sherman during his March to the Sea, but was not popular there either. He kept three women in his tent as “aides” but when it was noticed he was receiving more than aid from them, it became apparent they were women. After the war, he was United States Envoy to Chile until 1870 and again in 1881

            On March 16, 2011, the San Diego Civil War Round Table listened to Pedro Garcia’s “Men Really Do Go Mad, Part 2”.  In November of 2010, in Part 1, Mr. Garcia noted the events which happened in Washington between the election of Abraham Lincoln and his inauguration in March of 1861, including President Buchanan’s difficulty, or lack of effort, in controlling the situation and his cabinet’s extreme corruption and division.  In this presentation, Mr. Garcia moved the focus to Charleston, South Carolina, where the iconic Ft. Sumter is located and where the Civil War began.    

            In addition to the difficulties in the outgoing administration, President-elect Abraham Lincoln was no more helpful in containing the situation which was quickly getting out of hand in South Carolina.  Lincoln was not alone, however, and as South Carolina began to work for secession, some northern newspaper editorials said that she should be let go. 

            Perhaps the angriest man in South Carolina was Robert Barnwell Rhett, Jr.  The younger Rhett was the editor of the Charleston Mercury and had continuously conveyed his secessionist sentimetnts through his editorship.  These sentiments were amongst the most radical and were seen as so extreme by some that the younger Rhett was prevented from becoming governor of South Carolina after a successful career in Congress.  The governorship instead went to a milder secessionist, Francis Wilkinson Pickens.  Rhett was not the only extreme secessionist.  Virginian Edmund Ruffin, born in 1794 was rabidly anti-union.  He was quite impatient with Virginia’s “slow” secession movement and went to South Carolina where according to legend he began the bombardment of Ft. Sumter.  All of this anti-union sentiment of the “fire-eaters” illustrates the rabid nature of the planter class in the South as well as their undemocratic tendencies and haughty nature as they pushed the union towards its destruction.

            Meanwhile, the defenses in Charleston, South Carolina had been designed to protect the harbor against invasion from the sea and never against the city itself.  In addition, many of the forts were quite outdated or even half-abandoned.  There was Fort Moultrie on Sullivan Island, which was the main Federal battery, but was old and decaying.  Ft. Moultrie was held by sixty-one men.  Further in Charleston Harbor was Fort Pinckney which served as the magazine for the Federal forts and was only staffed by one ordinance sergeant.  Elsewhere in the Harbor was the Revolutionary War-era Fort Johnson which had no strategic value and was also manned by only one man.  In the middle of the harbor on an artificial island was the soon-to-be-formidable Fort Sumter.  Ft. Sumter was amongst the strongest fortifications on the Atlantic coast, but was not yet complete after thirty years of construction and was still only modestly armed. 

Mr. Garcia Explaining Major Anderson's Flight from Ft. Moultrie

    Ft. Moultrie was under the command of General John Lane Gardner, but during the pending secession crisis he proved to be tactless with the locals and was replaced by a Southerner—Major Robert Anderson on November 15, 1860.  Anderson knew his assignment was going to be difficult, but this was compounded by the corrupt Secretary of War, John B. Floyd who made no effort to increase Federal manpower in the increasingly hostile city.  Anderson sent six separate requests to Washington for re-enforcements and received no reply.  On the night of December 26, 1860 while the hostile city was relaxed during Christmas festivities, Anderson moved his command to Ft. Sumter.  South Carolina Confederates were so enraged that they occupied the other three Federal batteries in the harbor leaving Anderson alone at Ft. Sumter.  President Buchanan sought Anderson’s return to Ft. Moultrie, but strong opposition in his Cabinet prevented him from pressing, and instead had him send an ill-fated supply mission.

            General Winfield Scott was going to send the warship “Brooklyn” but instead sent the civilian ship “Star of the West” from Ft. Monroe.  The “Star of the West’ arrived in Charleston Harbor on January 8, 1861, but was forced to withdraw when it faced Confederate fire.  These were the first shots of the war.  At Ft. Sumter, Anderson’s options were limited in that if he provided cover fire for the ship, he would have started a war and thus he decided to be the better person and let the Confederates make the situation worse.  Some, including Abraham Lincoln and Abner Doubleday, an officer under Anderson, were not happy with his decision.

            With the failure of the “Star of the West” mission, the situation in the South grew more heated.  Lincoln became president on March 4, 1861 and soon after William Seward became the Secretary of State.  It has been argued that Seward was the most able statesman in the new Cabinet.  Seward, however, sought to appease the South to save the Union and in doing so sought to shape Lincoln’s opinion, which would later turn out to be one if his actual follies as Lincoln was not easily controlled.  The South had been preparing for war since secession and by Lincoln’s inauguration their army outnumbered the diminished Federal Army.  Many felt Lincoln was too much at ease about the pending crisis.  Lincoln remained cool when told Anderson had only six weeks of supplies remaining. 

            With Anderson’s supplies dwindling, Lincoln was faced with a dilemma.  He could go with the popular action of surrendering the fort, or resupply the fort and cause a war.  Lincoln made a third choice to supply the fort, but warn Jefferson Davis and if Davis consented to Ft. Sumter’s resupplying, Lincoln would stand down, and if not, the ships would defend themselves and begin the Civil War.  Thus the decision was left to Davis and true to Confederate haughtiness, he told General Beauregard to prepare a “ring of fire” to bombard Ft. Sumter.  The bombardment of Ft. Sumter began on April 12, 1861.  Since the Confederates had mortars and Anderson did not wish to endanger his men, he prevented them from using the heavier guns on the parapet, but this only weakened the defense of Ft. Sumter to the lesser guns of the casement.  After he began to run low on ammunition and fearing a shot to the magazine, Anderson surrendered Ft. Sumter on April 14, 1861. With the bombardment of Ft. Sumter by Confederate forces, thus began the most tragic war in American history.  Anderson returned to the North a hero, but died in 1871 with his health having been ruined by his experiences.

            On February 16, 2011, the San Diego Civil War Round Table welcomed Barbara Bruff Hemmingsen’s “The Western Theatre of the Civil War: the Battle for Chattanooga, September-November 1863”.  Her great-great-grandfather was a Federal soldier in the battle and it was from his account from which she drew some of the information, and on which she focused her presentation.

            Mrs. Hemmingsen began with a general account of the importance of Chattanooga to both the Union and Confederacy as an important supply base.  Chattanooga, being in Tennessee, was a part of the Confederacy and was eagerly sought after by the Federal Government.  The Battle of Chickamauga was a part of this endeavor to retake Chattanooga.  After the failure at Chickamauga, the Federal Army was besieged at Chattanooga where they were fired upon by Confederate forces which overlooked the city from Lookout Mountain as well as Tunnel Hill and Missionary Ridge.  In addition, Confederate forces were hindering Federal communications by railroad and the Tennessee River.  Mrs. Hemmingsen’s ancestor took part in a Federal picket line and wrote of his experience in his diary. 

            The Federal Army tried to send relief to Chattanooga through the Army of Tennessee under General Sherman as well as even sending some of the Army of the Potomac under General Hooker.  The Confederates, however, managed to capture Union supplies.  President Lincoln relieved General Rosecrans at Chattanooga in October and replaced him with General Grant.  Mrs. Hemmingsen’s ancestor was surprised at the relief of General Rosecrans.  General Rosecrans had, however, began to work on strengthening the supply lines which was continued under General Grant.  Grant later used Rosecrans’ plan of a night attack to secure a beachhead.  The scheme succeeded and the Federal Army had supplies.  Grant next wanted to break the siege using Sherman to attack Tunnel Hill while Hooker attacked Missionary Ridge.  The Army of the Cumberland under General Thomas would also attack Missionary Ridge.  The Army of the Cumberland attacked on November 23, 1863 and succeeded.  Sherman failed to occupy the correct hill the next day and Hooker failed the same day to take his section of Missionary Ridge. 

            The battle was not going well and Grant sent reinforcements.  Fortunately for the Federal Army, the Confederates had made an error in fortifications in that they fortified the topographical and not military crest—meaning they fortified the only the physically highest part of the ridge and not the most widely defensible area.  This error allowed Federal soldiers to advance without being under continuous fire as there were areas the Confederate artillery could not reach, and in turn the tide of the battle went in favor of the Union.  Mrs. Hemmingsen’s ancestor took part in this charge and was shot, but was only grazed. 

            The Battle of Chattanooga was won by the Union.  With this important supply base, Federal forces were able to continue their advance into the South, including Sherman’s famous 1864 March to the Sea, a topic of a future presentation by Mrs. Hemmingsen.

By Travis Fuqua with Photographs by Travis Fuqua

            On January 19, 2011, the San Diego Civil War Round Table celebrated its 25th anniversary with Phil Binks’ “Civil War Arms, Part 2”.  Mr. Binks began collecting Civil War-era arms around 55 years ago and has amassed an impressive collection.  Of the dozen or more arms present, the majority were from Mr. Binks’ collection.  After an introduction, Mr. Binks proceeded to speak about the notable guns in the collection.

Mr. Binks Presenting

            There was a Model 1841 Springfield .57 caliber rifle. This is one of 450 made for the cadets at West Point and were used from the 1840s to the mid-1850s.  This was the rarest gun in his collection and perhaps the most famous as any number of the famous Civil War officers who attended West Point could have used this specific rifle.  There are very few today and their value is significant.  Another long arm was a late flintlock which was converted to percussion caps.  It was a .54 caliber smoothbore for cavalry use.

            Among Mr. Binks’ pistols was an 1837 Colt percussion revolver.  There was also a model 1849 Colt pocket model which was quite small.  Wesson and Leavitt infringed upon Colt’s patent for the aforementioned revolver and thus only a thousand were produced as Colt later sued.  Mr. Binks also had one of the famous .36 caliber single action Colt 1851 Navy revolvers.  This model was called “Navy” since there was a naval scene on the cylinder.  This specific model was made in London. There was also a .45 caliber Colt Army Model 1860.

            Mr. Binks went on to state that American guns used octagonal barrels and since they were made in three parts, they were easy to clean.  He noted that pre-loaded cylinders were a poor idea since they would prove explosive if dropped, and although not necessarily fatal, would nonetheless be unpleasant.

            There was a Remington Model 1858.  This was an extra-ordinarily sturdy weapon as there was a strap over the cylinder.  Several were bought by the government but their cost kept their numbers limited.  Among his more unique guns was one with two triggers.  Another unique gun was the French Lefaucheux.  It had a pin-fire mechanism in which a brass tube is pressed into the percussion cap by the hammer.  These weapons were used in small numbers at the beginning of the War until supplanted by superior American models.

A Portion of the Collection Presented

 There was also a collection of sabers.  By the Civil War, however, sabers were used when out of ammunition and for ceremonial purposes.  Musicians carried short swords instead of guns.  Artillery corps also used short swords which copied an Ancient Roman design.

            At the end of his presentation, Mr. Binks showed a collection of very small arms.  One was a pepperbox with multiple barrels.  They were .36 caliber and had no sight which contributed to their limited accuracy.  Ladies, such as spies, carried similar .28 caliber multi-barrel pistols.  There was also a Deringer, a variant of which was used by Booth to kill President Lincoln.  Mr. Binks noted that counterfeit Deringers are misspelt with two “r’s”—Derringer.

            The collection of long arms and pistols as well as sabers and accessories was quite impressive as was Mr. Binks’ and various SDCWRT members’ knowledge.

A Scene at the December Social

By Travis Fuqua with Photographs by Travis Fuqua 

           On December 16, 2010, the San Diego Civil War Round Table had its annual social event. Members as well as their family and friends attended the joyous event. There was a full dinner with a main course of turkey with dressing and mashed potatoes. There were several salad dishes and dessert dishes which several members brought.

            The dinner was highlighted by member Karen Hasman and her women’s barbershop quartet the California Note Catchers. The group sang several holiday songs and at the end, the audience joined in singing tunes such as “Jingle Bells”.

The California Note Catchers

            At the end, there was a gift exchange, but done in the manner of “white elephant”, with members exchanging such wonderful items such as umbrellas, bugles, and empty bottles of whisky.  In addition, all guests received a book as a present courtesy of the SDCWRT.

            In all, the event was a very joyous end to the year for the San Diego Civil War Round Table. The SDCWRT would like to extend its gratitude to all who contributed food, gifts, and time as well as the California Note Catchers for their wonderful performance.

            On November 17, 2010, Pedro Garcia presented “Men Really Do Go Mad”. In this presentation, Mr. Garcia asked: “Can men really go mad?” and answered this question by showing the madness of the events which took place in Washington, D.C. and Charleston, S.C. in the couple of months after the election of Abraham Lincoln in November of 1860.

            The question of slavery had been contained through compromise until the admission of California in 1850 undid the even balance between slave and free states in the Senate with the free states gaining a majority. Throughout the 1850s, there arose an ever increasingly debate over slavery and its expansion and future in the Sectional Crisis. The South felt increasingly encircled and pushed harder for states’ rights in the face of their increasing minority. They did not see the Union as permanently binding. The North did, however. With the election of Abraham Lincoln in November of 1860, the Sectional Crisis reached its peak with the South fearing a Federal war on slavery by the Republican majority. As a response, South Carolina seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860 beginning the Secession Crisis.

            When the Secession Crisis began in December, neither President James Buchanan nor President-Elect Abraham Lincoln had any real plans with which to handle the crisis. Buchanan’s goal was to keep the Union together long enough until Lincoln’s inauguration in March of 1861, while Lincoln did not take the problem seriously as he was not yet President.

            Earlier in his career, Lincoln had consented to the expansion of slavery to save the Union, but by the time of his campaign, he opposed its expansion but not yet its abolition. When South Carolina began to move for secession in late-November of 1860, Lincoln remained a recluse in Springfield. Many thought Lincoln was foolish for ignoring the impending disaster. When he was asked about the deteriorating Union, Lincoln referred people to his campaign speeches, but they had been designed to enflame the enemies of slavery and did nothing to slow the dissolution of the Union. In part, the Secession Crisis was fueled by Lincoln’s inaction.

            President Buchanan, on the other hand, represented the failed politics of compromise. He was a famous diplomat and was skilled at compromise, but was ill-equipped for harsh politics. While trying to please everyone through compromise like a good diplomat, he pleased no one. In the final four months of his term, Buchanan’s distinguished career was forever tarnished by his inaction during the Secession Crisis. As people became increasingly unhappy with him, Buchanan became worried since he had never before been attacked in public and did not take criticism well. As mentioned before, Buchanan eagerly looked forward to Lincoln’s coming inauguration as deliverance from the increasingly unpleasant office.

            Buchanan first heard news of the crisis from John Lane Gardner who was in charge of Charleston Harbor. Gardner wrote he was being harassed by locals and requested re-enforcements. Buchanan then called his Secretary of War, John Buchanan Floyd (of no relation to the then president, but the son of the Virginia governor who ended the Nat Turner Rebellion), to assess the situation. Floyd told Buchanan there was nothing to fear. Floyd then dismissed Gardner.

            It was later discovered Floyd was one of the most disloyal men in the government. Floyd’s corruption was soon discovered and he was forced to resign on December 29, 1860 when Buchanan refused to order the abandonment of Ft. Sumter in Charleston. An audit soon began and it was discovered that Floyd had sent 115,000 muskets to the South, or 1/6 of the national arsenal. While it was legal to give these things to the southern states since they were still part of the Union, given that they were becoming increasingly hostile to the Federal Government, it was an exceedingly imprudent thing to do. The audit also showed Floyd redeployed much of the Federal Regular Army to the West, leaving the North without defense. Floyd was later indicted in the following month and appeared in court in March of 1861, but the charges were dropped. He later fled to the Confederacy where he became a brigadier general in Virginia, but died of ill health in 1863.

            Despite Floyd’s claims of calm in South Carolina, Buchanan still worried and called a meeting of his Cabinet. The Cabinet gave him diverse responses and in the following months, almost all of the Cabinet would resign or be given new positions.

            There were some in the Cabinet who supported Federal interests in the South. The Attorney General, Jeremiah Black, was the most capable Cabinet member and served as Buchanan’s conscience. He convinced the President to send relief to the South. Black later finished Buchanan’s term as Secretary of State beginning in mid-December of 1860 after Lewis Cass resigned. He was succeeded as Attorney General by Edwin Stanton. The Secretary of State, Lewis Cass, at 78 was feeble and less capable, but resigned when Buchanan failed to protect Federal interests in the South. The Postmaster General, Joseph Holt, despite his southern roots, was a staunch unionist. He was made Secretary of War in January of 1861 after Floyd’s resignation. He was replaced as Postmaster General by Horatio King. Secretary of the Navy, Isaac Toucey, was the only member of Buchanan’s Cabinet to stay in his position all four years, and as a constitutional lawyer argued against secession, but also argued against coercion.

            The southerners in the Cabinet were not eager to send re-enforcements to the South. The Secretary of War’s position has already been mentioned.  Secretary of the Treasury, Howell Cobb of Georgia, who began as a unionist and disliked slavery, decided the days of the Union were numbered and resigned on December 8, 1860 to help found the Confederacy. His successor Philip F. Thomas resigned in January of 1861 after failing to gain a bond for the deteriorating Union. His successor John A. Dix strongly supported the North, however. The Interior Secretary, Jacob Thomson of Mississippi, sided with the secessionists and resigned in January of 1861 to help the Confederacy.

            Buchanan has often been portrayed as a southern sympathizer. Buchanan’s Cabinet, after all, was divided with an inclination to the South. Buchanan himself had won fourteen of the fifteen slave states in 1856, but few free states. Finally, he did not use coercion to keep the Union together.

            Through a closer examination, however, it can be seen that Buchanan was not completely pro-South. In many ways, he was simply stalling until Lincoln’s inauguration. Buchanan viewed the Secession Crisis as Lincoln and the Republicans’ fault. In addition, Buchanan realized he had a small army since Floyd had redeployed it. Buchanan also believed the Secession Crisis was a problem for Congress—since  before the Civil War, the Executive branch was seen as weaker than the Legislative branch. Congress, however, did nothing beyond argue and combined with the Executive’s inaction, the crisis continued.

            There were a couple of efforts by the politicians to save the Union. The southern-made Crittenden Compromise, which would have made constitutional amendments and Congressional resolutions on slavery which would have undermined the Missouri Compromise and given favor to the South, failed as did the Virginia Peace Convention which was composed of many elderly statesmen who said nothing new in the rapidly developing crisis.

            By the beginning of 1861, the Union’s disintegration continued and as Mr. Garcia will show in his presentation to be given in February of 2011, the nation’s eyes turned to Charleston, S.C.

Rich Marcell Presenting with a Picture of the Young Lee

Written by Travis Fuqua with Photographs by Bob Batten

            On October 20, 2010, Rich Marcell presented “Another Look at Robert E. Lee”. Mr. Marcell’s purpose in giving this presentation was not to give another full biography or try to change one’s opinions on General Lee, but to give a new look at his character and endeavor to portray him not in a hagiography or to vilify him, but to place him in a realistic light.

            General Robert Edward Lee was born in Virginia on January 19, 1807 to Major General Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee III, a hero of the Revolution and Anne Hill Carter. Major General Henry Lee was famous for his eulogy of the immortal General Washington in 1799 when he said: “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen”. Young Robert’s father died in disgrace when he was eleven in 1818. With the help of the infamous South Carolina statesman John C. Calhoun, Robert E. Lee was granted admission to West Point in 1824 and began his studies there in 1825. Lee did well and graduated in 1829 second in his class and became a brevet Second Lieutenant in the Cops of Engineers.

            Lee’s mother died later that year. On June 30, 1831, Lee married Mary Custis, the great-granddaughter of Martha Washington and thus Lee joined the family of the immortal General Washington. Initially, the bride’s father was reluctant to give his daughter away to the son of the disgraced Major General Henry Lee, but he later consented. Lee continued as a junior officer until the outbreak of the Mexican War in 1846. He served along with General Winfield Scott in his landing at Vera Cruz where he distinguished himself throughout the campaign and was promoted to brevet Colonel with the permanent rank of Captain. It was here that Lee also worked with the future General Grant under Scott as well as many other junior officers who would later distinguish themselves in the Civil War. While with Scott in Mexico, Lee learned the art of being a gentleman and officer.

            At the same time, Colonel Lee did acknowledge slavery as an evil, but as typical for many of his class and time, only saw the inhumanity of it for the masters but never deeply considered the immense suffering of the slaves. In a letter to his wife in 1856, he stated: “I think it however a greater evil to the white man than to the black race, & while my feelings are strongly enlisted in behalf of the latter, my sympathies are more strong for the former.” It has been claimed with these words and similar ones that Lee was anti-slavery, but his views were hardly as such and were similar to those of his class and he still believed that bondage was necessary to build them morally, socially, and politically. Given his deep Christian faith, Lee also believed that slavery existed at the will of God and his will would end it as well. He also felt the North had no authority to bring an end to slavery.

            When the secession crisis began in December of 1860, Lee continued to support the Union and felt secession was revolution against the Founding Fathers. In March of 1861, Lee accepted his promotion to Colonel by Lincoln. General Scott, leader of the Federal Army, was eager to have Lee in a leading position for the Union. After the Battle of Ft. Sumter, Virginia seceded from the Union on April 17, 1861. At the same time, Scott was eager to have Lee made a Major General, but upon hearing the news of Virginia’s secession, Lee declined Scott’s offer as he could not fight against his home state since Virginia was his “country”. Thus, Lee resigned from the Federal Army on April 20, 1861.

            Lee had relatives in the Federal Army and did not advise them to resign the Army on account of him, but they did, nonetheless. The newspapers in Virginia realized how valuable Lee would be to their forces and Lee accepted a command in Virginia on April 23 to command all of Virginia’s military and naval forces. Lee never regretted leaving the Federal Army to fight for Virginia, but he did not harbor any unrealistic optimism about the prospects of the Confederacy. He also realized that the majority of the fighting would be in his home state and the Union would not give up easily.

Mr. Marcell

            Early in the War, Lee gained little fame fighting against younger politically appointed officers. Lee came to command an actual army at the Battle of Seven Pines in June of 1862 when Lee and President Davis were observing the battle and when the Confederate leader was killed, Davis appointed him commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. The Army of Northern Virginia had the luxury of stable and competent leadership, unlike the Army of the Potomac, but suffered from poor supplies and other problems. In command, Lee was criticized for being too cautious and out-of-date. Federal General, George McClellan, believed Lee’s appointment worked in the favor of the North. Lee’s fame grew as he managed to halt the Federal advance towards Richmond during the Peninsular Campaign, but failed to destroy McClellan’s army.

            As a commander, Lee did not hold any councils of war and did not interfere with his subordinates which may have been detrimental since he was criticized for being too kind and amiable when it was not always to his or the army’s advantage. Lee’s reason for his relaxed command was his deep religiosity in that he believed the fate of his army to be in the Hands of God. Lee knew his weaknesses and instead placed his faith in the immortality of General Washington and God. Lee told his sons to “Do your duty in all things.” General “Stonewall” Jackson said Lee was the only man whom he would follow blind.

            When the war drew to an end and the Army of Northern Virginia was defeated, Grant offered Lee the ability to surrender. When Lee enquired as to Grant’s terms, Grant said that he had but one—Confederate men could not take up arms against the Union again. Lee was determined not to surrender unless there was a guarantee of peace. Grant knew that Lee was very clever, but could not legally offer him peace. Lee also had the option of engaging in a guerilla war with Grant, but decided against it as it would have taken the war to the people. Lee decided to surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. After the surrender, Lee issued a farewell address to the Army of Northern Virginia where he said that as a Christian people, the South must accept their situation.

            Not long after the War, Lee came to be idolized in the South. There is a 12-ton statue of him in Richmond with the simple inscription of “Lee”. Lee himself also sought to write about his experiences in the War before his death. Confederate General Jubal A. Early said Lee was the best general of the war, better than Grant, and Virginia was the most important theatre of the war. Early’s statements led to the foundation of the “Lost Cause” in the South where the South had not been fairly matched with the North since they had superior leadership, but were simply overwhelmed by the North. Lee became the hero of this “Lost Cause”. Lee thus came to have a status in the South second only to that of the immortal General Washington. It has only been in recent times that Lee has been examined more realistically. While Lee was a great figure, he nonetheless fought against the legal government of the United States to uphold this country’s most reprehensible institution.

            Mr. Marcell ended his lecture by quoting about Lee: “Noble he was. Noble he became.”

            On September 15, 2010, the San Diego Civil War Round Table announced the winner of the Presentation of the Year for 2009-2010. The winner was Mark Shapiro for his October 2009 presentation: “The Curious Case of Ambrose Bierce”.  The SDCWRT extends its sincere gratitude all presenters for their fabulous presentations.

Dr. Shapiro Presenting

            This evening, Mark Shapiro presented “Antebellum Fear: Nat Turner Uprising” about the 1831 Virginia slave rebellion led by the slave Nat Turner.  This was the largest slave rebellion in history and had the greatest political consequences.

            Nat Turner was born October 2, 1800 on the plantation of Benjamin and Elizabeth Turner from whom he received his surname.  His mother was brought from Africa at the end of the eighteenth century while the slave trade was still legal in the United States.  His Father’s origins are unknown since he escaped from the Turner plantation when Nat was young.  The Turner Plantation was in Southampton County, Virginia, near the border with North Carolina, not too far removed from the coast in a swampy area.  The staple crops were apples, corn, and tobacco.  In this county, which was predominantly black with 6,500 whites to 7,700 blacks, the main religion was Methodism, which was something of a paradox for a county with such a ratio of blacks to whites.  The early Methodist church spoke out against slavery and called for manumission.  However, a general backlash against this Methodist doctrine had arisen in the slave states, and by the time of the Nat Turner uprising, the Methodist church had largely reversed its opinion on slavery.

            As a child, Turner was rather precocious and was liked by both his fellow slaves as well as whites.  He had several bumps of an unknown origin on his head and chest which according to African tradition meant that he would be a leader.  Another mystery of his childhood was the fact he could read, but it is not known how he became literate.  It was claimed he was brought a Bible and simply knew how to read it.  This literacy, however, from the standpoint of his owners, would have limited his usefulness—as literate slaves traditionally proved somewhat troublesome to their masters. At the age of ten, Nat was moved to the plantation of Benjamin Turner’s son, Samuel, who was a strict disciplinarian.  Two years after that, Samuel sent the precocious Nat to the monotony of the fields.  When Nat was 21, Samuel Turner hired an overseer to make his plantation more productive in the wake of the Panic of 1819.  Nat did not do well with the overseer and was whipped which prompted Nat to run away.  Curiously, Nat returned after a month and later claimed that the Holy Spirit had visited him and commanded him to return to his earthly master.

            Later Turner married a fellow slave and started a family.  Not long after, Samuel Turner died without issue and Nat along with the other property at the plantation were sold.  Nat was valued at $400 and his wife at a mere $40, and for the first time in his life, Turner knew his value in the eyes of his white masters.  He was sold to the Moore Plantation.  Turner was not happy on his new plantation, but was not defiant.  Instead, Turner became known in his community and became religious as he claimed to be continually visited by the Holy Spirit.  At the time, slaves were still free to worship together which was the closest they came to freedom.  In this environment, Turner gained freedom of movement to be an itinerant preacher.  Later, Turner supposedly had apocalyptic visions in which he was to have a part.  One day, these visions led Nat to approach Moore himself, telling him that slaves should be free.  Moore whipped Turner out of fear he would cause unrest amongst the slaves.

            In the early nineteenth century, there was an ever-increasing fear of slave rebellion, as the ones that did occur became ever more violent.  Some examples include the slave rebellion on the Caribbean island of Saint Domingue which led to the foundation of the nation of Haiti—the first for a slave rebellion to found an independent nation.  There had been fears of a similar slave rebellion in the United States, which found itself in an increasingly isolated position as the other nations of the world outlawed slavery.  In order to maintain order, the slave masters used the carrot-and-stick method whereby the slaves were given some freedom in return for their happiness but should they act out of order there would be severe repercussions.  In addition to the local militias, the Federal government had the power to put an end to slave revolts.

            In 1831, Turner was sent to yet another master, Joseph Travis.  There was a solar eclipse on August 13, 1831 accompanied by an atmospheric phenomenon.  Turner took this eclipse as a sign.  The next week on August 21, Turner with some trusted fellow slaves and a few recruits met to discuss a plan for revolt.  Turner showed up last to the meeting.  The individuals present agreed to assault the county and its seat of Jerusalem and indiscriminately kill all whites along the way, but not to burn or ravish.  Since Turner’s group was small, there was little chance of the plan being discovered which had been a shortcoming of many other rebellions.

            On the morning of August 22, Turner and his followers proceeded to the Travis Plantation where they killed the entire family.  Nat then went to the plantation of his former mistress, Elizabeth Turner, where she was summarily dispatched.  Turner and his group continued killing and gaining followers so that soon he had about 60 supporters and visited 15 houses where his group killed 55 people.  Not long after Turner began killing, the whites in the area became alerted and by the end of the day the local militia engaged Turner’s force.   Nat Turner’s force was defeated and forced to retreat.  The governor of Virginia, John Floyd, called for more militia and for whites to evacuate and prepare themselves.  The following day, the 23^rd, there were further reverses for Turner as his group dwindled under ambush and capture until by the end of the day, Turner was alone.  Nat returned to the Travis Plantation where he dug a hole and hid with some provisions.

            The retaliation by the whites was exceedingly brutal.  Many blacks were killed or tortured on sight regardless of their affiliation with any rebellion.  Between 120 and 220 blacks were wantonly slaughtered.  On August 28, a proclamation was issued ending the bloodshed. Throughout the South, there continued to be fears of slave rebellions during August and September of that year.  Nat Turner was captured on October 30, 1831 and brought to trial on November 5, where he was convicted and sentenced to hang.  Nat Turner was executed on November 11, 1831. The retaliation against the blacks did not end as they continued to loose the few rights they had. Free blacks faced increased discrimination.  The abolitionists of the north received increased criticism from the South despite the fact they had limited influence there.  In fact, the majority of northerners were not in favor of ending slavery, and actually sided with the south until their harsh response to Nat Turner’s uprising.  Northerners then began to question the future of slavery.  Those northerners were not alone, as some in the South also began question the future of slavery.

            In the beginning of 1832, there began an immense battle in the Virginia legislature as to the future of slavery in the state.  This great debate was naturally caused by the recent Turner rebellion.  Joseph Jefferson Randolph, the grandson of President Jefferson, offered a complicated emancipation plan that not only was lengthy in its process, but also deported the blacks from Virginia, thus ridding the State of Virginia of her blacks.  This proposal demonstrated the fear and insecurity the whites felt as a result of Turner’s uprising. Governor Floyd supported this scheme until John C. Calhoun, the famous South Carolina statesman, convinced him otherwise.  In fact, there was increased conservatism after the rebellion and there were increased endeavors to support and strengthen the argument for slavery.  Slave codes were made more oppressive and abolitionist materials were banned, and if located, burned.

Mr. Cooper Presenting Dr. Shapiro with a Certificate of Appreciation

Surprisingly today, there is little physical evidence of the havoc wreaked in Southampton County during August 1831.  Reliable literature on the subject is limited as the contemporary writings taken from an interview with Turner before his execution are heavily laden with white biases.  The only physical reminder to the events which unfolded there 169 years ago is a road sign near the area reading: “Blackhead Signpost Road”.   This was a site where a slave was killed during Turner’s rebellion and his head placed on a pike as a gruesome deterrent to others who might wish to follow in Nat Turner’s footsteps.  Nat Turner’s legacy today mainly lives on in the actions the South took after his rebellion which led the nation further down the path to the Civil War.

            On August 18, 2010, Barbara Bruff Hemmingsen presented “The Western Theatre of the Civil War: The Battle of Chickamauga, 19-20 September 1863”. Since it would have been impossible to enumerate the entire order of battle and all the maneuvers, Mrs. Hemmingsen instead took a more precise approach by focusing on one particular regiment—the 125^th Ohio and Company A in particular. Mrs. Hemmingsen chose this in particular because her ancestor Joseph Bruff was a captain and then major and finally a lieutenant colonel in this regiment throughout the war and she has many of his letters describing the battles. It is from these letters that Mrs. Hemmingsen drew much of the content of her presentation.

            There was first an overview of the Western Theatre in the beginning of the War which is often neglected. By the beginning of 1863, the western two-thirds of Tennessee were in Federal hands and soon General William Rosecrans, had designs on the capture of Chattanooga and the Confederate Army of Tennessee. Chattanooga was an important city to capture as it served as a central supply base for Confederate forces. Thus Rosecrans began to move his army towards Chattanooga and Captain Bruff describes the march through the Cumberland Valley with vivid attention to the scenery, uncommon for soldiers marching continuously.

            General Rosecrans faced an tactical disadvantage as very few of the officers under his command had been to West Point and thus knew little about army maneuvers. As Rosecrans neared Chattanooga, Confederate General Braxton Bragg left the city and headed to the south on September 8^th. The next day, Rosecrans began pursuit and over the next week the armies moved into position near the Chickamauga Creek. The Battle began on September 19^th and the Federal XIV Corps fortified on the Kelly Farm and the Confederates moved along La Fayette Road. For the details of the forthcoming battle, Mrs. Hemmingsen relied on Peter Cozzen’s “This Terrible Sound” (1992, University of Illinois Press). In addition, only certain parts of the action and that concerning her ancestor were mentioned. Throughout September 19^th, there was action along the Kelly Farm and La Fayette Road.

            At the end of the day, the Federal Army lost its numerical superiority when a train of reinforcements from Confederate General Longstreet’s army in Virginia arrived in the evening and prepared for battle the next day. This move had surprised Federal commanders who did not anticipate the reinforcements. There were now 65,000 Confederate Soldiers to the Federal 60,000. At nine o’clock the following morning, fierce fighting broke out again at the Kelly Farm.

            The fighting was so fierce that Major General Rosecrans began to demand rapidity in the Federal maneuvers, but there arose a miscommunication and the Federal lines began to fall out of order. Many blame Federal Brigadier General Thomas Wood for being resentful towards Rosecrans and acting on purpose, but the accusation, although repeated several times has limited contemporary support. The miscommunication resulted in General Wood moving his men and a hole was made in the Federal lines of which General Longstreet took advantage and advanced his men through the Federal lines and soon some of the Federal forces were surrounded, in disorder, and then began to retreat towards Chattanooga by noon. Other federal forces in the area also soon retreated. Other Federal forces, including the 125^th Ohio did very well and managed to push the Confederate forces back against odds at the Dyer Farm  for which the 125^th was famously commended. In addition, 25,000 Federal soldiers fought 50,000 Confederate soldiers for seven hours at Snodgrass Hill for which there is a plaque and monument today to the monumental Federal feat which has been compared the famous Ancient Greek Battle of Thermopylae.

            By the end of the day, only half of the Federal Army remained to fight the entire Confederate force as the other half had retreated or had become casualties. At dusk, the remaining Federal forces were ordered to retreat to Chattanooga effectively making the Battle a Confederate victory. There were 17,000 casualties on both sides making this amongst the bloodiest battles. The Federal Army retreated back to Chattanooga where they were placed under siege by Confederate forces for the next two months where they had an especially disadvantageous position where the Confederates were able to fire down into the city upon them. General Rosecrans’ career never recovered from the Battle.

            In our first meeting out-of-doors, on July 21, 2010, the SDCWRT was honored to have guest speaker, Larry Tagg return to present: “The Unpopular Mr. Lincoln” Part 2. Mr. Tagg presented last year on the subject of President Lincoln and he was returned for a second lecture by popular demand. This time, Mr. Tagg focused on the Emancipation Proclamation and the process by which Lincoln came to view emancipation as a necessary action.

            The Emancipation Proclamation has traditionally been seen as the point when the Civil War expanded beyond the restoration of the Union to the abolition of slavery, but this is not necessarily true. Rather, many in the North were not eager for emancipation at the time Lincoln announced it. When the war began, it was universally understood that it was solely for the preservation of the Union with Lincoln himself saying that the war was not at all revolutionary, but conservative in the sense that the Union was to be conserved. At the time, the United States and her democracy were still an experiment and hitherto, popular government had ended in failure as it did with the Greeks and Romans, and even by the mid-nineteenth century, many felt the United States would eventually meet the same end.

            When General John Frémont emancipated the slaves in Missouri in August of 1861, Lincoln feared the move would push Missouri to the Confederacy and ordered Frémont to reverse his decision. When a friend of Lincoln, Orville Browning, told him that he was going against people’s basic freedoms, Lincoln replied by stating that such a proclamation about people’s property amounted to a dictatorship. This was a difficult issue in emancipating the slaves at that time as property was a basic right in the United States being one of her founding principles and one of the reasons this country fought for independence from Great Britain. Thus, while there were innumerable problems with slavery, they were species of property and legally, albeit reprehensibly, protected by one of the most valued principles of the country. The phrase: “life, liberty, and property” by seventeenth century English philosopher John Locke was strong on the minds of everyone and even slavery was included in this phrase by many on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line.

            It was not until a year in to the war that Lincoln would begin to change his mind about emancipating the slaves. The North had several misfortunes on the battlefield and Lincoln sought a way to re-invigorate the war. Lincoln faced an immense challenge to emancipation not only from the South, but also the North as prejudice there against blacks was almost insufferable at times.

            Lincoln began seriously thinking about emancipation during the Peninsular Campaign in July of 1862 while at the telegraph office waiting for reports from the front. Senator Sumner asked Lincoln to make July 4 a day of freedom for all by emancipating the slaves, but Lincoln declined on account that it would drive several states to join the Confederacy. On July 12, Lincoln thought of compensated gradual emancipation of $400 per slave and their deportation back to Africa, but the border states declined this idea. Lincoln began to agonize over the issue. The following day, Lincoln was riding with Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton and thus said that emancipating the slaves was a necessity. He announced this to the Cabinet on July 22, but this was a statement and not a debate. William Seward did tell him, however, that he would do best to wait until the North was in a stronger strategic position before issuing such as strong proclamation.

            Lincoln thus waited throughout the rest of the summer through more Federal defeats until the victory at Antietam on September 17. On September 22, 1862, President Lincoln read the Emancipation Proclamation to the seven-man Cabinet with mixed results. Edwin Stanton was the most enthusiastic. Attorney General Edward Bates was a supporter only because of the original clause to deport the slaves. Gideon Welles questioned the constitutionality of Lincoln’s actions. Postmaster General Montgomery Blair thought the move would ruin the Republicans at the polls in a couple of months. Secretary of the Interior Caleb Smith resigned in protest in December. Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase was in conflict over the issue. William Seward was also conflicted as he wanted to make the proclamation himself and it also ended any hope of compromise of which he was a supporter.

            The announcement received various reactions not only in the United States, but even in foreign countries with the London Times commenting on the issue. At home, the Chicago Times said it was usurpation and a disaster. The New York World said Lincoln had gone outside the Constitution. Even abolitionist papers were not in favor of the announcement as they saw it as a cold legal document, which was actually Lincoln’s lawyerly intent as he did not want it to fail in a court of law, rather than the moral one for which they had hoped. In the midterm elections in November, the Republicans suffered heavily. Many accused Lincoln of further dividing the nation and even the moderate Harper’s Weekly went against Lincoln. In the time of the issuing of the statement in September and the document’s actual effective date on January 1, 1863, many did not believe that emancipation would come to pass.

            When it did become law on January 1, 1863, the Federal Army was very dissatisfied and there were upwards of 3,000 deserters a month. In the next month, Lincoln found he only had two supporters in the House of Representatives. Had there been an election at that time, Lincoln would not have won. Lincoln, however, was convinced that he was correct in his actions as he has spent the most time brooding over the issue. Lincoln was very slow to make a decision, but once he made one, it was permanent. Some even saw Lincoln as a greater threat to democracy and the Union than the South. No slaves immediately became free and criticism was rampant, but Lincoln remained stoic, perhaps as a testament to his great character.

            With the deserters in the Army and some of the border states ceasing recruitment altogether, the North faced a severe personnel problem. Some border states were tempted to leave the Union and perhaps take other dissatisfied states with them. As a result, Congress passed the first conscription laws which later resulted in the Draft Riots of 1863 in New York City which was the worst urban insurrection in the nation’s history. Lincoln also faced a political battle with the Copperheads who wanted to end the war at once.

            By the end of 1863, however, the worst was behind Lincoln and the nation began to see emancipation in addition to the restoration of the Union as the only outcomes of the war. The Battle of Gettysburg gave the Union more hope and the continued defeats of the South in the following year and their defeat in 1865 gave Lincoln’s position on emancipation even more strength. Later in the war, after his re-election in 1864 was secure, Lincoln began to work on what would become the Thirteenth Amendment to ensure that his Emancipation Proclamation would become a permanent fixture.

            Lincoln’s great reserve and tact during the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation and ensuing crisis were shown by Mr. Tagg to be a statement of how magnificent a man Abraham Lincoln was during the Civil War and America’s greatest crisis.