History Fest

Hard to believe I have not had anything of interest to write about for almost a month!  However, it was a busy September...mainly getting through our first month of school and attempting a few geocaching challenges (24 in 24 hours, the beginning of our 365 days of caching, and a geocaching event).  I guess I just did not feel like writing about the everyday stuff.  I did start a new blog due to the suggestion of our priest...I now have a blog dedicated to my new hobby of painting peg dolls.

This weekend we had a great time visiting some historical spots and re-enactments in the area.  We started out at a Civil War re-enactment.  I have been asked why there would be such an event in California, so I have two answers...number one answer...Why not?  I guess people in California has an interest in the Civil War just as much as anyone.  However, the better answer (at least for this event) has to do with the actual California connection to the war.  Yes...there was actually quite a bit of action related to California during the war!  I did not know most of this information until this weekend so here is what I learned:

Families (new settlers) would often travel with the military troops before settling in an area.  This was a common practice as they would have protection as well as provide services to the troops such as cooking meals, laundry, mending, and bartering other trade goods.  Some settlers would travel with the military for long campaigns, while others would only travel until they arrived in an area for settling.

One settler of interest (portrayed by a re-enactor) was a widow left to raise eleven children.  She chose to follow the military in hopes that she could teach art lessons to the families.  Her story (Diary of Cornelia Peak McDonald) was recorded in her diary and published in recent years.

Although President Lincoln never made it to California, he had always wanted to make this journey.  One of his last conversations before he left for Ford’s Theater on the night of his assassination was with House Speaker Schuyler Colfax, who was himself about to depart for California. The two leaders discussed Colfax’s trip, prompting Mr. Lincoln to say in farewell: “Don’t forget, Colfax, tell those miners that that is my speech to them, which I send by you. Let me hear from you on the road, and I will telegraph you at San Francisco. Pleasant journey and good bye.”(Willard H. Smith, Schuyler Colfax: The Changing Fortunes of a Political Idol, pp. 207-208)

SIDE NOTE:  We had the joy of meeting "Mr and Mrs Lincoln" and they were such a perfect couple for this role.  "Mr. Lincoln" has played this part for over 18 years and only recently found out that he is in fact related to Abraham Lincoln through his mother's ancestry.  "Mrs. Lincoln" had only been involved with this for about a year.  The couple met about three years ago (both in their 70s) and "fought" over a church seat.  After a time, they came to enjoy each others company and were married in 2014 and they now both enjoy their part in living history.  I am so glad we had opportunity to meet them.

One connection with California and the Civil War was the mining of gold and mercury.  We spoke with a historian who explained that the largest mining of mercury was in California.  This was used in the production of munitions.  Of course, gold was always of value but especially during this time.  The Union was concerned that the South would invade in order to obtain both of these valuable resources.  We also learned about the Copperheads...a group of Southern sympathizers throughout the country.  They would remove the copperhead from the penny (Lady Liberty, not the head of Lincoln as we know on the cent today) and wear them as pins to represent their desire for state rights.  In California, these Southern sympathizers were rounded up and sent to Alcatraz.

Finally, we learned about a battle that took place in Glorietta Pass, New Mexico.  This was at first considered a Southern victory until they returned to their encampment to find out it was a ruse to come from behind and destroy all of their supplies.  An interesting story for California as it was based on an attempt to forge a Southern supply-route from California, in defiance of the Union Blockade of the Atlantic and Gulf ports.

Many Californians wanted to assist in the Civil War on both sides.  Troops would join several different groups.  One group was known as the California Column, a group of 5,000 Union volunteers from California. During the summer of 1862, the California Column marched 900 miles to El Paso, Texas in an effort to keep the Confederate Texans from entering the Arizona Territory and to remove them from New Mexico.

A number of high profile officers of the Civil War were stationed in California before the Civil War including William Sherman, Ulysses S. Grant, and Joseph Hooker.  Mark Twain, who moved to California during the Civil War at the age of 29, following a stint in a Confederate State Militia.  Though they fought against each other during the Battle of Gettysburg, Winfield Scott Hancock and Lewis Armistead were good friends when they served as quartermasters in Southern California.

Throughout California there were a number of Camps and Forts used for Pro-Union state militias and the Union Army. One of these many forts was the Drum Barracks, which served as the headquarters for the Union Army in Southern California and Arizona Territory.

We had a few sailors share information about the ironclads used on both sides of the war.  We learned that the Union ironclad was smaller bu t used a device that was inspired by the merry-go-round.  The Southern ironclad was larger and was actually just a war ship that was given an iron cover.  Their ships were harder to maneuver in battle.  We also learned that the sailors held an edge over other military service as they were paid $14 a month (compared to $11 with the Army) and they were taken care of better.

SIDE NOTE:  When this leader of the group saw our boys, he immediately tried to recruit them for the next re-enactment.  It seems that there are never enough young men to participate in these events.  He was so excited about our three oldest boys that he offered to let the entire family participate.  We are trying to decide if we will go to this event or not.  So I might not be finished with my blog posts on this topic!



We also visited booths set up to explain the weapons and munitions.  Then we saw the methods of medicine used at the time.  We ended our time at the re-enactment with a cannon demonstration.  There were actually two different size cannons as well as a rifle group.  If you look at the picture here of the cannon, you might notice the flame spiraling out of the cannon...very dynamic effect of the explosion.

It was a great learning experience for all of us.  However, we were not finished with our historical journey.  Since this post is so long, I will try to write about the rest of our historical weekend another day.