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

            This month, SDCWRT member Gene Armistead will present “Generally Despicable: Men Who Wore the Star During the Civil War”.  Some Civil War Generals, like Forrest and Sherman, are thought despicable—even despised—by partisans of the other side.  Some, like Ben Butler, are thought to be despicable by nearly everyone even though charges against him were actually false.  Some, like Dan Sickles, really were despicable people but somehow managed to pretty much behave during the war.  Gene will review the actions of a dozen generals, mostly little known, who wore the star and excelled in personal despicability during the Civil War.

            On April 20, 2011, Joshua A. Weiselberg presented “An Introduction to the Western Theatre of the Civil War: 1862 Mill Springs and Shiloh”.  Mr. Weiselberg is an author who is currently working on getting his book published.  His book is about a hunt for treasure in Louisiana and while in the process of researching for writing this book, he became engrossed in the Civil War.  The Battles of Mill Springs and Shiloh are central events in his novel as they were the first major Federal victories in the Civil War.  In addition, the Battle of Mill Springs showed the strengths and weaknesses of many famous Civil War commanders.

Mr. Weiselberg Showing Manœuvres at the Battle of Mill Springs

            Mr. Weiselberg began with outlining the structure of the Federal Army and a map of the Civil War as well as the Federal and Confederate officers involved in the Battle of Mill Springs.  He then began by explaining the events at the Battle of Mill Springs.  Confederate Brigadier General Felix Zollicoffer charged uphill against Federal General, and the Federal commander at Mill Springs, George Thomas.  In addition, the terrain and weather, being January 19, 1862, made fighting very difficult.  The soldiers who could fight had trouble differentiating between the two sides as the Confederacy had not yet adopted gray and both sides were wearing blue.  Later, Federal Colonel Speed S. Fry met General Zollicoffer in the confusion and shot him, making Zollicoffer the first Confederate general to die in the war.  Later Confederate General George Crittenden, the Confederate leader in the battle, ordered a brigade to charge, but poor equipment and materiel hampered their advance and they were repelled.  In the end, the Federal Army won and Kentucky remained neutral.

            This month’s speaker will be one of our own members. Josh Weiselberg’s program will be “The Western Theater: Mill Springs and Shiloh.” Josh will introduce the Union and Confederate commanders that played a role in the Western conflict. He will discuss Shiloh and its significance in the strategy in the west, and its effect on later engagements out there, including Mill Springs as a focal point.

            Josh will supply an overview of the future of the Western Theater of the War and how Crittenden, McCullough, Van Dorn, Grant, Curtis, as well as Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis responded after these events. Sounds as if it is going to be a very interesting program so come one and all.

            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.

        When South Carolina left the Union on December 20, 1860 the threat of secession left the realm of rhetoric and entered an alternate reality.  In Part II of, “Men Really Do Go Mad : Slavery, Secession, Seward, and Sumter”, SDCWRT member Pedro Garcia takes us to the centre of gravity of the secession movement, Charleston SC, as well as to the prize in Charleston Harbor…before returning north to look at the reaction of the Lincoln administration.  Reading suggestions are: Days of Defiance by Maury Klein, Apostles of Disunion by Charles Dew, First Blood—the Story by W.A. Swanburg, and The Unpopular Mr. Lincoln by Larry Tagg.

            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.

The Battle of Missionary Ridge at Chattanooga

This month our speaker will be one of our own members, who has given us several outstanding programs over the years—Barbara Hemmingsen.  Tonight Barbara’s program is “Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge”.  After its defeat at the Battle of Chickamauga, September 19-21, 1863, the Union Army retreated to Chattanooga where it was promptly encircled by the Confederate Army of Tennessee.

            The siege was broken by the Federals under the leadership of General Grant, and was made possible, in large measure, by the men of the Army of the Cumberland who spontaneously, stormed up Missionary Ridge and drove the Confederates south.  The lecture will be illustrated by quotes from the letters of Captain Joseph Bruff, 125th O.V.I., who endured the siege and then led the men of Company A up the ridge to break it.

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.