Stephen Kirby on “Naval Warfare in the Valley of the Mississippi River (1862-1865)”

Stephen’s great grandfather, Joshua Tecumseh Kirby, served nearly three years in the Union Army as a Private in Company G of the 76th Illinois Volunteer Regiment. For some years he has studied his service that was under overall command of Grant, Sherman, and other Union generals in the Mississippi Valley. The Civil War in this western campaign saw the development of many technological advances in steam-powered riverboats and related weaponry and a very successful combined operations of the U.S. Navy and Army that led to the clearing of the Mississippi River system from Confederate control by the summer of 1863 and the splitting of the Confederacy. It has been said that the taking of Vicksburg is one of the three salient Union victories that led to the re-election of Abraham Lincoln in 1864 and ultimately the end of Civil War and the end of abomination of slavery in the U.S.. Joshua was involved in many of the key battles east of Vicksburg and the Union siege of the strategic city, as well as in the defense of nearby Jackson. He also fought in the last large-scale battle of the Civil War in the costly taking of Fort Blakely and Spanish Fort near Mobile, Alabama.

After the war, Joshua T. Kirby became a successful farmer and later also taught himself to be a skilled mechanic and dealer in early steam-powered agricultural equipment. He was likely influenced by the use of steam in riverboats on which he was frequently transported during the war.

Stephen Kirby is a semi-retired geologist and will also briefly show how some aspects of warfare along the Mississippi River systems were greatly influenced by the hydrology and geology of this giant river system.

Alice Mansell on “The First Lincoln-Douglas Debate”

Who made the Lincoln-Douglas Debates happen and how did the Debates quickly become known coast to coast? Meet two people who sat on the debates’ first podium in Ottawa, Illinois. Judge Caton, the first lawyer in Chicago, the “King of the Telegraph” in the Midwest and an Illinois Supreme Court justice with a country home/deer park close to Ottawa; and Mr. Hossack who shipped the first wheat from Ottawa to Chicago on the new I&M canal he helped to build, and was convicted the next year for harboring a runaway slave after many years of his Ottawa home being a stop on the Underground Railway.

Alice Mansell is a business owner and lawyer who majored in physical sciences and history in college.

Mark Costin on “Price’s Raid: 1864 Confederate Campaign in Missouri”

By 1864 Missouri had been in Union control for two years. Believing that Missourians wanted liberation from Union forces, the Confederates made a desperate attempt to divert Union forces from other war theatres and retake Missouri. The campaign, often referred to as a raid but much larger in actuality, was led by former Missouri Governor General Stirling Price and consisted of 11 major and minor engagements including the battles of Pilot Knob, Westport, and Mine Creek. The campaign was ultimately a disaster for the Confederacy. This talk will outline the strategic situation in Missouri in 1864 as well describe the personalities and battles of the campaign.

Mark Costin is a retired engineer living in Sunnyvale, CA, who previously worked on functional safety for automated and autonomous vehicles. A long time history buff, this is Mark’s second presentation to the the Peninsula CWRT. He holds a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from Case Western Reserve University, an M.Eng from McMaster University and B.Eng from McGill University.

Nick Marinaro on “The Battle of Mobile Bay”

The battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, was arguably the most consequential naval battle of the Civil War, which pitted Confederate naval forces commanded by Admiral Franklin Buchanan against the Union naval forces commanded by his arch-nemesis Admiral David Farragut. The chaotic battle resulted in a Union victory that effectively neutralized any further Confederate naval activities in the Southern theater. Following this battle, the Union commanded total control of the seas and inland waterways, which negated the Confederate navy’s ability to move troops on the water and to import needed supplies and resources.

Nick Marinaro was born and raised in Fresno, California, and has had an interest in the Civil War since elementary school. He graduated from Clovis High School and Stanford University with a degree in Human Biology. His 38 year professional career was with the Stanford University/City of Palo Alto Fire Departments, retiring as Fire Chief. Nick has been a member of the Lions Club for 23 years and is the President of the Peninsula Council of Lions Clubs and Treasurer for the Lions Veterans Charities. He is a Board Member of the Palo Alto/Stanford Historical Association (PAST) and the Treasurer of the Peninsula Civil War Roundtable.