Born into wealth in a 1,000-year-old nation in Central Africa, Nicholas Said traveled through the Ottoman Empire and Europe, picking up nine languages and meeting kings, czars and emperors, before arriving in the US on the eve of the Civil War. After joining the 55th Massachusetts, he served in the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida and then remained in the South to help the freed slaves. Through his eyes, we can see how different regions in the world tackled questions of slavery, racial prejudice, religion and war.

Dean Calbreath
Dean Calbreath is a former reporter who was on the Pulitzer-winning team that uncovered the largest individual bribery scheme in Congressional history. After retiring from daily journalism, he turned his focus to shedding light on little-known corners of history. He has been interested in the Civil War since his childhood, digging out Minie balls from his great-aunt's backyard in Amelia, Virginia. His book, “The Sergeant,” which tells the fascinating story of Nicholas Said, has gotten some significant praise from reviewers, including from historian Henry Louis Gates Jr., who calls it “essential reading.” It was named as Book of the Year by the San Diego Writers Festival and Best Biography by the San Francisco Book Festival. This week, it was named as Book of the Month by the San Diego Public Library.

The Barons
The North was already becoming an industrialized economy by 1860 but the Civil War gave production techniques a power boost. In this talk, we’ll survey various fields like transportation, arms manufacturing, medicine and food production to understand how factory owners adapted to the massive requirements the war presented, as well as how the government innovated to pay them. As usual, this talk goes behind the scenes to describe the Good Barons involved, some of whom are now household names like Borden, Armour, and Squibb.  Some like Parrott and Cooke are well known to Civil War buffs, but several lesser-known entrepreneurs like Burden and Eads will also get some limelight.  We’ll wrap with some stories about the Bad Barons, including fraudsters.

Dave Schrader
Dr. Dave Schrader has been giving CWRT talks to Los Angeles audiences since 2013. He is particularly fascinated by “the rest of the story” – for example, the activities of support organizations such as the Signal Corps, the Quartermaster, and Commissary Corps, who often played major, but behind-the-scenes, roles in the abilities of generals and presidents to achieve their goals.  Or, people like Lincoln’s Secretaries, or his Ambassadors, that played a pivotal role in supporting the President and his policies. Or, the Fire-Eaters, who drummed up support for secession in the south.  Most of Dave’s talks are interactive so be prepared for audience participation!

Did you know that Blacks were forming militias in the years leading up to the Civil War? Come to our October 15 th meeting, and hear our Guest Speaker, Julian Della Puppa, discuss the creation, and formation of the early Black abolitionist, and anti-slavery, militias; and, how they were formed in local Black communities in the North. Learn how these militias, and those that served in them, would become some of the first units to have recruits who would join the USCT regiments formed in 1863. Also, find out the impact they had on the outcome of the war.

Julian Della Puppa
Julian Della Puppa is a an archivist, and public historian. He is an USC alumni with a master’s degree in Management Library and Information Science. Julian has worked at the USC Shoah Foundation as a metadata archivist, assisting in preserving Holocaust, and other historic genocide materials for use in education. Julian currently works at the Drum Barracks Civil War Museum, where he assists in teaching the public about California’s role in the civil war, as a living historian and guide. He is also a part of the 97th USCT living history group, regularly participating in events that allow him to speak about the lives, and contributions, of African American soldiers during the Civil War.

The California Column was formed between September 1861 and January 1862 of Union volunteers from California. Two infantry regiments, parts of two cavalry regiments and a four-gun battery of regular army artillery were combined under the command of Col. James H. Carlton. In April 1862, after several months training at various Southern California camps, the column began to leap frog eastward from Ft. Yuma, but never more than four companies at a time owing to the scarcity of water. The Column had three skirmishes with Rebel troops as they moved eastward to help expel the Rebel invaders from Arizona, New Mexico and Westernmost Texas. The Column reached Mesilla, New Mexico on the Rio Grande in September 1862. They reoccupied several abandoned Union forts, set up new outposts and spent the rest of the war in battling the Apache Indians and keeping open an east-west military pony express service. This presentation gives an historical overview of the California Column as told through its extant letters and covers (envelopes) sent to and from its soldiers who marched farther than any other unit in the Union Army during the Civil War.

Scott Prior
Scott Prior was a successful petroleum exploration and development geologist for 42 years, having worked for ARCO International, and Occidental Petroleum. He has now transferred his interests in earth history to postal history. He has authored 10 articles on private express companies operating during the California gold rush. These were published in Western Express, the quarterly journal of the Western Cover Society, with two earning the “Basil C. Pearce Award,” for most outstanding article during the prior year—in 2023, and 2019. He is also interested in early California postal history in general and specifically that relating to the California Column. He lives with his wife, Ellen, in Huntington Beach.

“The truth is rarely pure, and never simple.” — Oscar Wilde

Ulysses S. Grant has long been viewed as one of the finest generals in American history, the man who won the Civil War. To a point that is true; but he did not win the war all by himself. And it is not unreasonable to examine what all of those other generals who helped win the war have to say.

Only by dispassionately examining the past, and by giving ear to more than one voice, can we come to a balanced understanding of our own history. Grant’s memoirs, no matter how entertaining or well-written, no matter how dramatic the circumstances of their genesis, should not be allowed to stand as the sole arbiter of truth. For the sake of history, and for the sake of the truth itself, we must be willing to set aside preconceptions and consider impartially just what really happened all those years ago. Sometimes the process can be painful. That does not, however, mean that we should turn our back on it. The truth is there, if we are willing to look.

Frank Varney earned his undergraduate degree at William Paterson University, his MA, and Ph.D. at Cornell University. He regularly takes student groups to historic sites - especially Civil War battlefields - and makes frequent speaking appearances before Civil War roundtables, historical societies, and other interested groups. He has also been the keynote speaker at several veteran’s memorials. He was a briefly-retired Distinguished Professor of History until he received an offer too good to refuse. Dr. Varney currently teaches U.S. and Classical History at St. Michael’s College, in Vermont. He has written numerous appendices, chapters, and introductions – for books by other historians - and articles, and is the author of General Grant and the Rewriting of History, 2013 and General Grant and the Verdict of History, 2023.

Chancellorsville: The Campaign, Consequences, and Legacy of an Epic Battle
Set in the wilderness of central Virginia during the blooming spring of 1863, the Chancellorsville Campaign is widely considered to be Robert E. Lee’s masterpiece victory. Outnumbered nearly two-to-one, R. E. Lee immortalized his military legacy with his Army of Northern Virginia, by turning the tide of fortune against Joseph Hooker’s Army of the Potomac, in dramatic fashion, and carrying the Civil War into the North for a second time. The brilliance surrounding Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s attack against the Army of the Potomac’s right flank has been countlessly scrutinized in the annals of military history. The remarkable organization and initiative on display from Hooker’s officers, foreshadowed the maturation of Union leadership, and its relentless fighting spirit in the months to come. However, these facts only tell part of this extraordinary chapter of America’s Civil War; the Chancellorsville Campaign created heroes and villains, raised hopes, crushed reputations, and established a legacy that endures. The campaign, its leaders, soldiers and civilians, as well as post-war memorialization, and battlefield preservation efforts, will be discussed in-depth.

Austin Krause
Austin Krause has been a member of the Pasadena Civil War Round Table since 2015, and currently serves on the Board of Directors.  He is a member of the Ramona Parlor #109 of the Native Sons of the Golden West, and has been re-enacting the Civil War as a member of the 8th Louisiana Infantry Regiment for fifteen years. Austin earned his degree in Sociology, Criminology and Justice Studies from California State University, Northridge in 2018 and is a proud member of the International Sociology Honor Society, Alpha Kappa Delta. He also earned a certificate from Columbia University in 2020 for completing Dr. Eric Foner’s “The Civil War and Reconstruction 1850 - 1877” professorship course. He is currently researching the Lost Cause of the Confederacy in anticipation for a project to be published in the future.

From the Civil War to the White House
The Civil War convulsed the nation for four years, and its effect on the office of the Presidency was felt for years after. With one exception, all presidents who followed Lincoln, from Andrew Johnson in 1865 to William McKinley in 1901, held military rank.
Of the eight men who served as president in these years, seven were soldiers, and five of those saw the elephant of battle. One of those, of course, was Ulysses Grant, the most famous soldier of them all, a general who was so popular that some saw him as a potential candidate to replace Lincoln in 1865. His time came in 1869. And he was followed by a succession of combat soldiers – Hayes, Garfield, Harrison, McKinley.
In this talk, we will recall the wartime careers of these eight U.S. presidents and speculate about the influence of their war experience on their post-war careers that led them to the nation’s highest office. In addition to the five who fought, time will be devoted to two generals who were wartime administrators – Johnson and Arthur – and the one president who avoided war service, Grover Cleveland, our 22nd and 24th president.
And there might be some trivia too!

Ed Pearson
Edward Pearson was born in San Diego to a Naval officer father. He bounced around the U.S., including two years spent at the Naval base at Guantanamo. He went to high school back in San Diego, then came up to LA to go to USC, then to USC Law School. Ed has been an attorney since 1978, practicing the field of Estate and Trust Law. He is currently with the firm of Overton, Lyman & Prince, whose claim is it is the oldest firm in Los Angeles. Ed has always been a student of history generally, U.S. history particularly, and Civil War history even more particularly. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the Pasadena CWRT, holds the office of Vice President, and serves as our "Trivia Master" at each meeting.

Charley: The True Story of the Youngest Soldier to Die in the American Civil War
Come to our March meeting, and hear how our Speaker, Brendan Lyons, learned about Charley, when he was in the Boy Scouts; and, about his Eagle Scout project to create a monument to Charley, as well as his journey to writing a book that is part narrative non-fiction, and part faithful reproduction of the story of the youngest enlisted soldier to die during the American Civil War. The story begins in West Chester, PA, on Charley’s 12th birthday, shortly before the start of the Civil War. Follow Charley as he prepares to go to war himself, against his parent’s wishes, then joins Company F, of the 49 th Pennsylvania Volunteers, and experiences grueling marches, bloody battles, loss, sickness, fear, and ultimately his own death. You will not want to miss witnessing this compelling story, and to learn all the details, you should buy the book, which is available at Barns and Noble, and Amazon.

Brendan Lyons
Brendan Lyons grew up in Downingtown, PA, and studied history education at Villanova University. He first learned of Charley King’s story in 2004 as a Boy Scout in East Brandywine, PA. One of his troop’s scoutmasters introduced Charley’s story to the troop. Though Charley was known to be the youngest soldier to die in the Civil War, his burial place was unknown and there was no monument in existence to honor his bravery and sacrifice. At the suggestion of Scout Leader Bob McGonigal and because of his fascination with American history, Brendan took up the cause of funding and building a monument to Charley for his Eagle Scout project.

A Tour of Lesser-Known Battlefields
Join us on an immersive journey through the hidden gems of Civil War history as we explore lesser-known battlefields. Discover fascinating insights about the conflicts that unfolded on these hallowed grounds, guided by Frank Mitchell, a dedicated member of the LACWRT known for his engaging and enlightening presentations.

Frank Mitchell
Frank Mitchell is a local historian with a lifelong passion for U.S. history, a fascination that began during his junior high school years. He holds an honors degree in history from Pepperdine University and boasts an impressive library containing over 2,000 volumes, the majority of which delve into the intricacies of the Civil War and its key figures. Notably, Frank's expertise extends to delivering captivating lectures on U.S. history, covering topics from the American Revolution to the presidency of Woodrow Wilson. Nevertheless, his most cherished subject remains the Civil War, where his knowledge truly shines. Frank's dedication to preserving history is evident through his extensive collection of memorabilia spanning from the American Revolution onward. This assortment includes a British redcoat uniform, the attire worn by the officer tasked with guarding Mary Surratt, an array of firearms, field equipment, and much more. Moreover, his collection of autographs is remarkable, featuring signatures from all of Lincoln's cabinet members, nearly every member of Jeff Davis' cabinet, and a substantial number of generals. Notably, he possesses a poignant letter from McClellan to his wife, a document in which McClellan expresses criticism of Abraham Lincoln. Frank's commitment to preserving and sharing history makes him a valuable resource for anyone seeking to explore the rich tapestry of American history, particularly the Civil War era.More details soon…

Ormsby Mitchel: Astronomer — General — Visionary
Prior to the Civil War, Ormsby Mitchel was the most celebrated astronomer in the United States: he built the largest observatory in the country, and his lectures on the wonders of the heavens drew huge crowds. As a Union general during the war, he captured Huntsville, Alabama, and was responsible for the famous raid that became known as The Great Locomotive Chase. He then founded the first community for freed slaves in the nation. Drawing from extensive research and a wealth of images, George Melrod’s special holiday presentation for the LA Civil War Round Table will trace the tragic life and extraordinary career of this forgotten American visionary. If you have witnessed George’s first two talks, you can trust him when he says this talk, “Should be epic!”

Mr. George Melrod
George Melrod graduated Harvard University, but has been a student of the Civil War all of his life. Over the last 30 years he has written various screenplays and has published extensively about visual art and culture. From 2006–2017, he was the editor of the largest contemporary art magazine in California and the Western US. As a fiction writer of the Civil War era, he remains fascinated by the lesser-known characters and human interest stories of the American Civil War. His previous presentations have included “John F. Reynolds and James B. McPherson and the Loves They Left Behind,” and “John Gibbon: Iron Man of the Army of the Potomac.”

The U.S. Colored Troops at Andersonville Prison
Historians traditionally have said there were just 776 US Colored Troops held in Confederate prisons. Would you be surprised to learn that the real number exceeds 2,642? Come to our January 17, 2024 meeting, and here Bob O’Connor describes how he took three years to painstakingly go through 209,000 USCT records, to determine that number. Bob says,”I have their names, regiments, ranks, where they were captured, where they were held, and what happened to them! He started looking at Andersonville and expanded out from there. Now his research includes the records of the USCT casualties at many of the major battles, including at Fort Wagner, Olustee, Fort Pillow, and at Petersburg; and, he is still working on Vicksburg. This is a little- known story, and you will not want to miss this meeting.

January Presenter
Bob O'Connor, hailing from the heart of Illinois and a proud alumnus of Northern Illinois University, has been a prolific author in the realm of Civil War literature since 2006. With an impressive catalog boasting over two dozen titles dedicated to the Civil War, Bob's passion for this era is evident. His dedication extends beyond the written word; Bob has delivered over 1,000 presentations, spanning 29 states (though, intriguingly, California remains uncharted territory for his talks). Notably, he brings history to life through authentic historical interpretations, embodying the little-known character Ward Hill Lamon, who served as Abraham Lincoln's bodyguard. Bob's contributions to the field have not gone unnoticed, as he has earned finalist honors four times in national book competitions. Moreover, he is widely recognized as one of the foremost authorities on the United States Colored Troops (USCT), conducting extensive research, particularly in the area of USCT Prisoners of War. Currently residing in Charles Town, West Virginia, Bob O'Connor's website, www.boboconnorbooks.com, serves as a treasure trove of resources. It houses 90 podcasts, covering various captivating Civil War topics, available for free listening, offering a rich and immersive experience for history enthusiasts.

The Boys of Illinois — Teacher’s Regiment, and the Rock River Rifles
In this new talk, Dr. Dave Schrader intersects a view of the war through the stories of recruits from Illinois with his personal background growing up in the cornfields of northwestern Illinois. The talk focuses on the war as seen through letters home from soldiers in the Teacher’s Regiment, from the Normal School (now Illinois State University where Dave went), and the Rock River Rifles (exactly where Dave grew up). Dave will trace the steps of several soldiers in one regiment that faced battles in Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas, while the others marched through Kentucky and Tennessee to Atlanta, and ended up in Washington DC. Dave’s talks are always very interesting, and entertaining. This one is personal, and he is excited about it. So, you do not want to miss this meeting.

Dr. Dave Schrader
Dr. Dave Schrader has been giving CWRT talks to Los Angeles audiences since 2013. He is particularly fascinated by “the rest of the story” – for example, the activities of support organizations such as the Signal Corps, the Quartermaster, and Commissary Corps, who often played major, but behind-the-scenes, roles in the abilities of generals and presidents to achieve their goals.  Or, people like Lincoln’s Secretaries, or his Ambassadors, that played a pivotal role in supporting the President and his policies. Or, the Fire-Eaters, who drummed up support for secession in the south.  Most of Dave’s talks are interactive so be prepared for audience participation!

California in the Civil War
How would you like to hear incredible true stories about how the Civil War came to California? Of course, you would! Come on! Our guest speaker, Zack Foster will be regaling us with tales of how the California Volunteers, and state militia, held onto the Golden State for the Union, as well as about Confederate ships captured on the Pacific Coast. Learn how California troops took Arizona back from the rebels, and about California government officials who defected to the CSA, not to mention stories about quixotic Confederate guerrilla wars in California. If you enjoy California history, you do not want to miss this meeting!

Zach Foster
Zach Foster is a former reserve soldier, and military contractor, who hosts the popular YouTube channel, “The Civil War: Wild West Edition,” which focuses on the War Between the States and Territories from Texas to the Pacific Coast. He’s also the author of two Civil War nonfiction books to be released in 2023.

Mary Surratt — Inocent or Guilt?
In 1865, Mary Surratt was tried, and convicted by a military tribunal, as a conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and was hanged—thus becoming the first woman ever to be executed by the federal government. Those events remain controversial to this day. Who was Mrs. Surratt? What was her role? Why was she charged as a conspirator, and tried by a military tribunal? Was she innocent, or guilty? Attend our meeting, and Bill Binzel will answer these questions, and more.

William P. Binzel
William P. Binzel is a native of southcentral Ohio, who has resided in the Washington, DC area for more than forty years.  A retired attorney, he spent twelve years on the staff of the U.S. House of Representatives, eleven years in the financial services sector with MasterCard International, and ten years as general counsel, and executive vice president, of an educational nonprofit foundation focused on financial literacy.  Mr. Binzel’s undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin is in U.S. History.  A life-long student of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, and the Lincoln assassination, Bill is President of the Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia, and Vice President of the Surratt Society (an organization that supports research into Lincoln’s death and related topics).  He is an editor and contributor of articles to The Surratt Courier. He served as historic editor of The North Star – Canada and the Civil War Plots Against Lincoln, published earlier this year by Random House. He is a docent at the Dr. Samuel A. Mudd House Museum near Bryantown, MD; has served as a docent at the Surratt House Museum in Clinton, MD; and is a narrator of the Surratt Society’s extensive tour of the twelve-day escape route of John Wilkes Booth from Ford’s Theatre to the Garrett’s farm in Caroline County, VA.

First Fallen: The Life of Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, The North’s First Civil War Hero
You may know that Colonel Elmer Ellsworth was the first Union officer killed in the American Civil War; but, do you know why, when it happened, on May 24, 1861, the entire North was aghast? Why was Ellsworth famous before his untimely death? Did you know Ellsworth’s friend, and law mentor, was Abraham Lincoln; or, that Mary Lincoln insisted that he lie in state in the East Room of their home? Our speaker, Meg Groeling, has spent years examining archival resources, diaries, personal letters, newspapers, and other accounts, so she can tell us Ellsworth’s story, including. new information that will give us a better understanding of the Ellsworth phenomenon. The story of Ellsworth’s life is complex, and fascinating; but it is also the story of many young men who fought and died for the Union. Elmer, however, was the first and, according to those who remember him, perhaps the best. Join us and REMEMBER ELLSWORTH!

Meg Groeling
Meg Groeling is a regular contributor to the blog Emerging Civil War, exploring subjects beyond the battlefield such as personalities, politics, and practices that affected the men who did the fighting. A writer, teacher, and curriculum developer since 1987, she has taught at both the elementary and middle school levels for more than thirty years. She graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a B.A. in liberal studies and has been involved in continuing education for her entire career. Meg received a master’s degree from American Public University, majoring in military history with a Civil War emphasis. Savas Beatie published her first book, "The Aftermath of Battle: The Burial of the Civil War Dead," in the fall of 2015. This is a volume in the Emerging Civil War Series, although it differs from the others in that it takes on a much broader range of subject. The book has received excellent reviews and has already gone into its second printing. Her new book, “First Fallen," tells the complex story of Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, and includes accounts of John Hay, George Nicolay, Abraham Lincoln, and the Lincoln family which put Ellsworth clearly at the forefront of the excitement that led up to the 1860 election of a President. Meg lives in Hollister, California, in a lovely 1928 bungalow covered with roses outside and books inside.

Mrs. Slater — The Missing Lincoln Conspirator
Were all the conspirators in the Lincoln assassination actually rounded up, and held for trial? We know that John Surratt Jr. escaped, and that he was eventually recaptured and tried. But, what about Mrs. Slater, who was arrested, questioned, and released? Did she just disappear? Could a woman, in mourning clothes, who spoke French, be the perfect Confederate courier between Richmond, and the Confederate Secret Service office in Montreal, Canada? Mrs. Slater was mentioned by several witnesses in the Conspiracy trails, but no one could describe what she looked like, so she disappeared, along with over $600,000 held in a Montreal bank. But Bob O’Connor tracked her down.  Come to our April meeting, and hear our guest speaker, Bob O’Connor, tell us this fascinating, never before told story.

Mr. Bob O’Connor
Bob O’Connor is a native of Illinois, and a graduate of Northern Illinois University. He has been writing Civil War books since 2006, with over two dozen titles about the Civil War. Bob has also given over 1,000 presentations since that time, in 29 states (but never in California). In addition, he portrays another little-known character, doing authentic historical interpretations of Ward Hill Lamon, who was Abraham Lincoln’s bodyguard. O’Connor has been named finalist four times in national book competitions. He is also considered one of the nation’s leading authorities on the United States Colored Troops, and has done extensive research, particularly on USCT Prisoners of War. Bob makes his home in Charles Town, West Virginia. His website is www.boboconnorbooks.com.  The website also contains 90 podcasts on various Civil War topics that are available to listen to free.

A Nation of Widows and Orphans: The Devastation of the Cherokees, 1861-1865
Four years of murderous internecine warfare during the Civil War desolated the once prosperous Cherokee Nation. Previous LACWRT presenter Richard Miller will discuss how intra-tribal rivalries dating to the early 19 th century divided the Cherokees into bitterly opposed pro-southern and pro-northern factions; their unrelenting conflict, fighting on behalf of the Union and the Confederacy, contributed to the ruin of their homeland. He will feature two little-known battles in Indian Territory – one a southern victory and one a northern victory – that encapsulate the wartime trauma experienced by native people in Indian Territory and will reflect on understanding the Civil War and the American West in the context of the war in Indian Territory.

Mr. Richard Miller
Richard Miller is the author of John P. Slough: The Forgotten Civil War General, published in 2021 by the University of New Mexico Press. He earned a B.A. in history from Carleton College and an M.A. in history from Princeton University.  He is a past president of the Puget Sound Civil War Roundtable and is a frequent presenter to Civil War roundtables and other history groups.  He lives in Seattle with his wife Karin.

Such a Woman — The Life of Madame Octavia Walton LeVert
The famous writer Washington Irving, said that Octavia was, “A woman such as appears but once in the course of an empire.” Born the granddaughter of a signer of the Declaration of Independence, the daughter of the first Secretary for Florida, and the first woman to represent the United States outside the country, Octavia Walton LeVert was exposed to wealth, privilege, and fame; a rare advantage for a woman of her time. Her literary salon in Mobile, Alabama, and the publication of her only book, “Souvenirs of Travel,” resulted in international fame, until her Union sympathies during the Civil War ended it all. Come to our meeting, where our speaker, Paula Webb, will use Octavia’s journals and letters to give us a peek into the life of the real Octavia Walton LeVert. In a world led by men, her grace, beauty, and intellect allowed her to shine unlike any other.

Ms. Paula Lenor Webb
Paula Lenor Webb, has a Master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of Alabama. She is currently a tenured Librarian at the University of South Alabama, in Mobile. Ms. Webb has always enjoyed research and documented her local history findings in her first book, Mobile Under Siege: Surviving the Union Blockade, in 2016. She has continued pursuing this avenue of research in her latest book, Such a Woman: The Life of Madame Octavia Walton LeVert. NOTE: Ms. Webb suggests you read her book before the meeting, so you can ask good questions. It is available through Amazon in hardcover, paper back, or Kindle, versions.

Lincoln’s Scout: The Diary of Horatio Cooke—Soldier, Spy, Escape Artist
Have you heard the remarkable story of Horatio Cooke, who was a lowly private-made- Brevet Captain of the Union Army in the Civil War, and later found fame as a performing magician, a Spiritualist de-bunker, and a mentor to Houdini? Come to our February meeting, and hear Mark Cannon recount the story of President Lincoln appointing Cooke as a “Lincoln Special Scout” in 1863; as well as, Cooke’s “rope escape performance” for Lincoln; his witnessing of Lincoln’s assassination; and, his escape from Mosby’s men. Also, learn about Cooke’s influence on Houdini, and his Spiritualist de-bunking campaign, as well as how Mark came to own a copy of “A Magician Among the Spirits,” written, and autographed, by Houdini to Cooke. If you are an Abraham Lincoln historian, Civil War buff, magician, or a fan of magic, you will not want to miss this meeting.

• Mark suggests buying his book, so you can get all of the details of this fascinating story. The Diary of Horatio Cooke Soldier, Spy, Escape Artist: Cannon, M. R.: 9798743399178

• Also, there is an exhibit about this story running through December 31, 2022, at the

  LaQuinta Museum. Virtual tour of the exhibit: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=440261598029966

• In case you are out that way, and want to see the exhibit: La Quinta Museum

Mr. Mark R. Cannon
Mark R. Cannon is a husband and father of two. Professionally, he has been a cruise ship magician, and an escape artist consultant for numerous television programs, and for many of the famous magicians of the world. He served as an airborne law enforcement sergeant-pilot for 36 years. An avid adventurer, he has travelled to over 70 countries including all seven continents. His interests include back-country flying, baseball, magic, the Great Outdoors, and American History. He is the recipient of the 2006 Leslie P. Guest M-U-M Award of Excellence, presented by the Society of American Magician’s for his literary work on “Harry Cooke, American Wizard”.

The War for the Common Soldier: How Men Thought, Fought, and Survived in Civil War Armies
A special joint presentation by the SoCal CWRT Alliance.
How did Civil War soldiers endure the brutal and unpredictable existence of army life during the conflict? This question is at the heart of Peter S. Carmichael's sweeping new study of men at war. Based on close examination of the letters and records left behind by individual soldiers from both the North and the South, Carmichael explores the totality of the Civil War experience--the marching, the fighting, the boredom, the idealism, the exhaustion, the punishments, and the frustrations of being away from families who often faced their own dire circumstances. Carmichael focuses not on what soldiers thought but rather how they thought. In doing so, he reveals how, to the shock of most men, well-established notions of duty or disobedience, morality or immorality, loyalty or disloyalty, and bravery or cowardice were blurred by war. Digging deeply into his soldiers' writing, Carmichael resists the idea that there was "a common soldier" but looks into their own words to find common threads in soldiers' experiences and ways of understanding what was happening around them. In the end, he argues that a pragmatic philosophy of soldiering emerged, guiding members of the rank and file as they struggled to live with the contradictory elements of their violent and volatile world. Soldiering in the Civil War, as Carmichael argues, was never a state of being but a process of becoming.
For more information about the SoCal Civil War Round Table Alliance visit: https://www.socalcwrt.org/

Professor Peter S. Carmichael
Peter S. Carmichael is an American historian at Gettysburg College who serves as Robert C. Fluhrer Professor of Civil War Studies and Director of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College. His research and teaching is focused on the American Civil War, the American South, and public history.

John Gibbon: Iron Man of the Army of the Potomac!
A glimpse into the epic life and times of one the Union’s most underrated generals.
Not all of the most remarkable generals in the Civil War were famous or commanded armies. Raised in North Carolina, in a family of slave-owners, John Gibbon stayed loyal to the Union as the rest of his family sided with the South. During the Civil War, he trained and led the celebrated Iron Brigade, held the center of the Union line during Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg, and was prominent at Appomattox. After the war, he was an Indian fighter who rescued the survivors of Little Bighorn and advocated for justice for Native Americans. In many ways, he was a contradiction: a Southerner who chose honor and loyalty to his country over state and family, and whose coolness in the field earned him the deep respect of his peers, while his penchant for finding flaws in underlings, and superiors, caused numerous disputes – and nearly derailed his career. A complex figure with an epic life story emerges in a vivid presentation through a panoply of rich visual imagery and human detail.

Mr. George Melrod
George Melrod graduated Harvard University, but has been a student of the Civil War all of his life. Over the last 30 years he has written various screenplays and has written extensively about art and culture for numerous magazines, from Art & Antiques, and Sculpture, to VOGUE, and Los Angeles. For over a decade until 2017, he was the editor of art ltd. magazine, which covered contemporary art in California and the Western U.S. He still spends much of his free time reading about the Civil War, and writing historical fiction engaging the human interest stories, and “What Ifs,” of the Civil War.

Coincidence vs. Fate
The concepts of Coincidence and Fate are pretty much opposites. The first asserts uncontrolled randomness while the second contends there is some kind of plan. One says you beat the mathematical odds, and the other says you just didn’t see the formula. In this talk, Earl Robinson will tell us how people in the Civil War collecting community, are constantly asking each other for help finding things that are on the surface very unlikely. Earl says it is like looking for needles in haystacks, and finding them. But it happens. A lot. He asks, is it Chance or fate? When it happens, should we shrug our shoulders, or get all goose bumpy? Whether it is gravity, or magnetism, Earl says that it seems that relics somehow attract. Or, maybe, as some sages have said, “If you look for something hard enough, it will start looking for you.” Like his other presentations, this talk will fascinate, and entertain us, with true stories about a small group of California collectors, whose experiences would throw the odds makers into full retreat. You do not want to miss this program.

Mr. Earl Robinson
Earl’s Civil War memories go back to visiting “John Brown’s lookout” and celebrating the War’s centennial as a boy. He is a founding member of the West Coast Civil War Collectors, owner of Reunion Civil War Antiques, and a regular exhibitor of original artifacts at national Civil War shows. Earl has authored articles in “North South Trader’s Civil War and Military Images” magazine, and he has spoken to Civil War Round Tables throughout Southern California. In addition, Earl is a member of the Board of Directors, for the Garrison and Society, of the Drum Barracks Civil War Museum. His wife, Cathy, is a Virginian, whose great-grandfather was General George Pickett’s orderly. In his other life, Earl is the co-founder, and President, of the Omnica Corporation, one of the premier medical product design, engineering, and development firms on the West coast.

The Greatest Escape — A True American Civil War Adventure
Did you know that the largest prison breakout in U.S. history took place during the Civil War? Or, that more than 1,200 Yankee officers were jammed into Libby, a special prison considered escape-proof, in the Confederate capitol of Richmond, Virginia? Come to our November 15 meeting, and hear how a small group of Union officers, obsessed with escape, mapped out an elaborate plan, and on a cold, clear night, 109 men dug their way to freedom. Learn how these freezing, starving men, clad in rags, managed to travel 40 miles to Yankee lines and safety. Also, hear how they escaped pursuit by all the white people in the area, with the help of every Black person they encountered. Marvel at how slaves risked their lives to help these Yankees, and how their journey was aided by a female-led Union spy network. Our speaker, Doug Miller, will tell us how he spent 20 years reading over 50, personal, riveting accounts, written by some of the survivors, about their adventures. Doug will weave together these contemporary accounts into a true-to-life narrative. Much like a Ken Burns documentary, he will use the actual words of the prisoners, recorded more than 150 years ago, to tell this fascinating story. You do not want to miss this program.

Mr. Douglas Miller
Douglas Miller is a documentary filmmaker and writer/producer on more than twenty documentaries aired on the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, and Showtime, notably the series The Color of War, Modern Marvels, and Boneyards. He lives in Studio City, CA.

Searching for Sergeant Noble: The Life and Times of Albert Noble, from Custer's Wolverines to Andersonville
Albert Noble served as a sergeant in Co. L, 5th Michigan Cavalry from 1862-1865. His regiment was brigaded under Maj. General George A. Custer— part of Custer’s Wolverines, which saw action at virtually every major engagement in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, including Gettysburg, Brandy Station, the Wilderness, Yellow Tavern, Cold Harbor and many more. On June 11, 1864, Noble was captured by Confederate forces at Trevilian Station — the largest all-cavalry engagement of the entire war. As a prisoner of war, Noble briefly passed through Pemberton and Libby prisons in Richmond before being sent by railroad to the infamous prison camp Andersonville, near Macon Georgia. During his time at Andersonville, Sgt. Noble kept a diary detailing the horrific conditions endured by Union prisoners. Noble himself suffered from scurvy and dysentery and watched as many of hiscomrades died of starvation and disease. Andersonville prison eventually claimed the lives of 12,000 soldiers — over a third of all inmates there. (Conditions in all Civil War-era prisons, North and South, were terrible and a total of 56,000 Federal and Confederate soldiers died in such prisons during the war.)

Near death, Noble was sent to Camp Lawton, another Confederate prison, before finally being released. It took him many months to convalesce, but he survived and was honorably discharged in the Spring of 1865, just as the war was ending. Noble returned to his home state of Michigan, married, and had two children. In the autumn of 1908, he settled in Riverside, California. He died in 1912 at the age of 81. Today, Albert Noble’s diary is on display at The Lincoln Memorial Shrine in Redlands, CA. It was our speaker's privilege and honor to have transcribed his diary for the museum for the first time ever.

Mr. Brian Cieslak
Brian Cieslak is a 27-year veteran of the fire service, and soon-to-be-retired Fire Captain for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. He is also the President, and Program Chair, for the Inland Empire Civil War Round Table. In addition, Brian serves as a volunteer docent for the Lincoln Memorial Shrine in Redlands, CA. He holds a master's degree in English, a minor in history, and taught freshman composition at California State University, Northridge.

The War Within the War — the Battle to Form West Virginia
The War tore apart not only Northern and Southern States, but also the state of Virginia. How did that happen? Who led the movement to secede from the secessionists? What steps did the western pro-union mountaineers take to carve out a new state? Was it “constitutional”? In this talk, you’ll learn about the clever leaders, their secession conventions, as well as some of the political, and actual battles, that pitted west vs. east within the state of Virginia.

Dr. Dave Schrader
Dr. Dave Schrader has been giving CWRT talks to Los Angeles audiences since 2013. He is particularly fascinated by “the rest of the story” – for example, the activities of support organizations such as the Signal Corps, the Commissary Corps and the Quartermaster Corps, who often played major but behind-the scene roles in the abilities of generals and presidents to achieve their goals. Or people like Lincoln’s Secretaries or his Ambassadors that played a pivotal role in supporting the President and his policies. Or the Fire-Eaters who drummed up support for secession in the south while the Abolitionists were busy motivating people in the North. Most of his talks are interactive so be prepared for audience participation!

The Free State of Jones & An Afternoon With Professor Victoria E. Bynum
Attend this special joint Zoom presentation by the Southern California Civil War Roundtable Alliance and learn the fantastic path Professor Bynum took to investigate this remarkable true story of the Free State of Jones. Victoria’s program will include an interview, a PowerPoint presentation, and a questions & answer session. Professor Bynum will also discuss her other works: Unruly Women and The Long Shadow of the Civil War.

Professor Victoria E. Bynum
Victoria Bynum is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at Texas State University, San Marcos. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego in 1987. A scholar of class, gender, race relations in the Civil War Era South, she is an award-winning author and a National Endowment of the Humanities Fellow. Her book, The Free State of Jones (UNC Press, 2001, 2016), inspired the movie, The Free State of Jones (STX Entertainment, 2016). Other publications include Unruly Women: The Politics of Social and Sexual Control in the Old South (UNC Press, 1992) and The Long Shadow of the Civil War: Southern Dissent and Its Legacies (UNC Press, 2010). She is the creator and administrator of the blog, Renegade South.

Love Him or Hate Him? General Benjamin “Beast” Butler
Most CWRT fans know that Benjamin Butler was the most controversial political general. But he lived a rich and complex life – before, during, and after the Civil War - and this talk aims to provide some nuance to the interpretation of his contributions to the Union, while not ignoring some of the questionable tactics he used. Love him or hate him, you’ll walk away with a richer understanding of his life, his goals, his downfalls, his supporters and his many, many detractors.

Dr. Dave Schrader
Dr. Dave Schrader has been giving CWRT talks to Los Angeles audiences since 2013. He is particularly fascinated by “the rest of the story” – for example, the activities of support organizations such as the Signal Corps, the Commissary Corps and the Quartermaster Corps, who often played major but behind-the scene roles in the abilities of generals and presidents to achieve their goals. Or people like Lincoln’s Secretaries or his Ambassadors that played a pivotal role in supporting the President and his policies. Or the Fire-Eaters who drummed up support for secession in the south while the Abolitionists were busy motivating people in the North. Most of his talks are interactive so be prepared for audience participation!

They Could Have Led: Reynolds and McPherson, and the Loves They Lost
Among the officers killed during the Civil War were two of the most promising generals, in both the Eastern and Western theaters of the war: John Fulton Reynolds and James Birdseye McPherson. Both generals were among the most prominent leaders in the Union army and seemed destined for even greater things, until their tragic deaths at Gettysburg and Atlanta, respectively. This talk looks briefly at the lives and deaths of these two largely forgotten figures, but also at the loves they left behind, in an attempt to give a more personal glimpse of the types of losses suffered during the Civil War.

Mr. George Melrod
George Melrod graduated Harvard University, but has been a student of the Civil War all of his life. Over the last 30 years he has written various screenplays and has written extensively about art and culture for numerous magazines, from Art & Antiques, and Sculpture, to VOGUE, and Los Angeles. For over a decade until 2017, he was the editor of art ltd. magazine, which covered contemporary art in California and the Western U.S. He still spends much of his free time reading about the Civil War, and writing historical fiction engaging the human interest stories, and “What Ifs,” of the Civil War.

Salmon P. Chase - Lincoln’s Vital Rival
Walter Stahr, an acclaimed, New York Times bestselling biographer, will tell us the fascinating story of Abraham Lincoln’s indispensable Secretary of the Treasury: a leading proponent for black rights both before and during his years in cabinet and later as Chief Justice of the United States. You should know that Salmon P. Chase was a rival of Lincoln’s for the Republican nomination in 1860—but did you know that there would not have been a national Republican Party, and Lincoln could not have won the presidency, were it not for the vital groundwork Chase laid over the previous two decades? Drawing on previously overlooked sources, Walter will shed new light on this complex and fascinating political figure, who was forming and leading antislavery parties in the 1840’s, representing fugitive slaves, and building his reputation as a U.S. Senator and progressive governor of Ohio. Learn how Chase proved vital to the Civil War effort, raising the billions of dollars that allowed the Union to win the war, and why Lincoln appointed him Chief Justice in 1864. Walter hopes that his talk will encourage you to read his new book, and learn even more of the forgotten story of a man at the center of the fight for racial justice in 19th century America.

Mr. Walter Stahr
Walter Stahr, is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School, and a well known historian, as well as the author of three biographies to date: of John Jay, William Henry Seward, and Edwin Stanton. Several of his books have won prizes, and Seward was a New York Times bestseller. He is now at work on a biography of Salmon P. Chase.

Col. John P. Slough, “Gilpin’s Pet Lambs,” and the Union Victory at Glorieta Pass
The Confederate Army of New Mexico, its ranks filled with 2,500 Texans, swept into New Mexico Territory in January 1862, intent on claiming the American southwest for the rebel cause. The invasion’s possibilities seemed endless: arms from captured Federal forts, ore from the Colorado gold fields, perhaps even Pacific Ocean ports for the blockaded Confederacy. But in northern New Mexico Territory, a Federal force largely composed of Colorado Volunteers stopped the Texans’ advance at the battle of Glorieta Pass. Commanding the Coloradans was an inexperienced and unpopular officer, Col. John P. Slough, whose ill-conceived battle plan almost led to Union disaster. Shortly after the battle, Slough abruptly resigned his command, claiming that he feared for his life from his own men. Richard Miller, the author of John P. Slough: The Forgotten Civil War General (University of New Mexico Press, 2021), will tell the story of Colonel Slough, his struggles to discipline the hard-drinking and at times mutinous Colorado Volunteers, and their miraculous victory over the Confederate Army of New Mexico at Glorieta Pass.

Mr. Richard L. Miller
Richard Miller earned a B.A. in history from Carleton College and an M.A. in history from Princeton University. Although he spent his career in healthcare management and consulting, he returned to reading and writing history upon his retirement in 2014. He is a past president of the Puget Sound Civil War Roundtable and is a frequent presenter to Civil War roundtables and other history groups. He lives in Seattle with his wife Karin.