Friday, September 17, 2010

2010 West Coast Civil War Conference


If you'll be in the vicinity of America's most beautiful city in November, put some time aside for the 26th West Coast Civil War Conference (Nov. 12, 13, 14). This meeting is hosted by a different Civil War Round Table or other Civil War-related group each year, and this marks only the second time it's been held in San Francisco. The first time was about 20 years ago, hosted by the South Bay CWRT.

This year, the Friends of Civil War Alcatraz have put together what looks to be a spectacular program on the theme of Civil War Coastal Defenses, and have enlisted James McPherson and Craig Symonds as headliners. NPS ranger Rick Hatcher, who's written on Sumter and Moultrie, and the CSS Hunley, will also be on hand. I'm probably most excited about hearing historian John Martini, and not because that's my favorite cocktail. Martini's work on local installations is indispensable—at present I am reading his book on Fortress Alcatraz. He is the guy who discovered the lost Alcatraz photos mentioned in some earlier blog posts. 


This is going to be a fun one. The conference is based at the War Memorial building near City Hall, and outings are planned for Fort Point, Alcatraz, Fort Mason, and other sites in the city.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I would like to bring to your attention to what I believe is a unique
book and an unknown but very moving true story that may be of interest
to folks with Civil War ancestors--
Hiram's Honor: Reliving
Private Terman's Civil War, ISBN 978-0615-27812-4. Second Bull Run,
Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Richmond (Belle Island), and Andersonville are
prominently featured in the book.

Step into the Civil War at http://hiramshonor.blogspot.com.