Rare opportunity to buy complete set of Civil War-themed books

Here's an idea for a unique gift for the holidays or other special event:

A very generous longtime CGS member has made a large donation of the complete American Civil War collector's series published by Time-Life in the 1980s. We have added a lot of the genealogical titles to our collection. We hope to raise funds for the society by selling the duplicate titles and the books that fall outside of our collection criteria. Usually we put such books for sale on our eBay account, but today, in the hope of inspiring some holiday shopping among our historically inclined members, we would like to make this incredible collection of Civil War books available for purchase direct from the library.

We have a complete set of twenty-nine books–twenty-eight titles, one in two volumes–of the Time-Life Books Collector's Library edition. These are leather-bound reprints of books published during or shortly after the Civil War (see below for titles). The richly illustrated books have gilded page edges, red ribbon bookmarks, and embossed images on the cover.  In excellent condition, they would be a treasure for any Civil War historian, young or old. We would like to sell the set locally to avoid expensive shipping charges. We are asking $160 for the complete set; a bargain at less than $6 a volume!

Interested? Contact our library volunteer Kristi Wessenberg for further information.

Books in the series:

Reminiscences of the Civil War by John B. Gordon

Daring and Suffering by William Pittenger

Campaigning With Grant by Horace Porter

Army Life in a Black Regiment by Thomas Wentworth Higginson

A Rebel War Clerks’ Diary, Volumes 1 & 2 by John B. Jones

Memories, by Fannie A. Beers

Army Memoirs By Lucius W. Barber

Detailed Minutiae of Soldier Life by Carlton McCarthy

Richmond during the War by Sallie B. Putnam

Hard Tack and Coffee by John D. Billings

One of Jackson’s Foot Cavalry by John H. Worsham

Mosby’s Rangers by James J. Williamson

Recollections of a Private by Warren Lee Goss

The Citizen-Soldier by John Beatty

Destruction and Reconstruction by Richard Taylor

Three Years in the Sixth Corps by George T. Stevens

The Narrative of a Blockade-runner by John Wilkinson

The Story of a Common Soldier by Leander Stillwell

War from the Inside by Frederick L. Hitchcock

Battle-fields of the South by An English Combatant

Three Months in the Southern States by Arthur J. L. Fremantle

Confederate Operations in Canada and New York by John W. Headley

Campaigns of a Non-Combatant by George Alfred Townsend

A Soldier’s Recollections by Randolph H. McKim

In and Out of Rebel Prisons by Alonzo Cooper

Personal Recollections of a Cavalryman by James Harvey Kidd

Four Years in Rebel Capitals by T. C. DeLeon

Life in the Confederate Army by William Watson

Copyright © 2019 by California Genealogical Society

Dismissed from the Union Army

by Georgia Lupinsky

Personal stories abound in Frederick S. (“Rick”) Sherman’s beautifully narrated genealogy book, The Ancestry of Samuel Sterling Sherman and Mary Ware Allen.  One such story is that of his maternal great-grandfather, Robert Morris Copeland, an accomplished landscape architect. One of his early projects was the design of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts, where Ralph Waldo Emerson was the principal speaker at its dedication.

A Sign of Things to Come
However, one episode in 1862 marked Copeland and his family deeply.  Was an event twelve years prior, a precursor to this dark time in his life? In 1850, while a student at Harvard, Copeland was “rusticated” (temporarily suspended) for part of his junior year, due to an alleged lack of respect for the faculty.  Though this apparent challenge to authority put Copeland in good company (earlier British students who had been “rusticated” included renowned poets John Milton, John Dryden and Percy Bysshe Shelley), it did not bode well for a future challenge he was to make.

Volunteers for the Union Army
Shortly after the Civil War began, Copeland volunteered for the Union Army and “likely because of his education, family connections and upbringing, immediately secured a lieutenant’s commission. He was then quickly promoted to major, serving as Asst. Adjutant General to Major General Nathaniel Banks, "Commander of the 2nd Massachusetts.” This regiment was sent to Harpers Ferry and on into the Shenandoah Valley, where it was opposed by Confederate General Stonewall Jackson.

In the spring of 1862, Copeland believed that the Union forces under Banks had a wonderful opportunity to combine with those of John C. Fremont and rout Jackson’s forces. However, orders came from Washington for Banks “to fall back and send half his forces to Fredericksburg.” Major General Banks was prepared to follow  orders, but Copeland was so agitated that he persuaded Banks to send him to Washington to explain the situation to Secretary of War Stanton. This stance along with other unwise steps taken by Copeland during this period so enraged Stanton that he dismissed Copeland from the service on 6 August 1862. 

Effort to Clear His Name
Learning of his dismissal by reading of it in a newspaper, Copeland was stunned by this action and spent the next eight years trying to clear his name. He even obtained a personal interview with President Lincoln, who essentially told him “that if he took time to worry about all the grievances of individual officers, he would have none left to run the country.” 

Life After the Army
After his involuntary separation from the Army, Copeland resumed his family life in the beautiful area of West Castleton, Vermont and his career as a landscape architect, completing many worthwhile projects in New England and Pennsylvania. Finally, when Grant became President, he issued a new order in 1870, declaring that Major Copeland was honorably discharged. As the news of Grant’s decision reached Copeland’s neighbors, they celebrated their friend by building bonfires on all the hilltops around West Castleton.

Robert and Josephine Copeland with children, undated:
Robert Morris Copeland seated with William, Ella (in back),
Josephine Gannett (Kent) Copeland and Fred

An Early Death
Robert Morris Copeland died of cancer on 28 March 1874 at the age of 44. He was buried next to a pine tree in the Mt. Feake Cemetery in Waltham, Massachusetts, a cemetery he had designed in 1859. 

Copeland’s descendants continued to write in defense of his service, beliefs and actions during the Civil War. Granddaughter Margaret (Copeland) Blatchford produced an article entitled “Out of Step in the Civil War.” And, almost one hundred years after his great-grandfather’s dismissal, great-grandson Frederick W. Copeland’s article “The Righteous Major” appeared in the Atlantic Monthly in 1961.

The Ancestry of Samuel Sterling Sherman and Mary Ware Allen never disappoints in providing heartfelt stories of those who lived before and also provides insights into historical events that they experienced.  The book may be purchased on our website, CaliforniaAncestors.org, by clicking the Publications tab and selecting the title. The price is $37.95 for non-members and $28.46 for members.

Copyright © 2017 by California Genealogical Society

Chasing Your Civil War Ancestor with Jeffrey Vaillant

Saturday, September 17, 2011
1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

California Genealogical Society Library
2201 Broadway, Suite LL2
Oakland, California 94612

How does one find that Civil War ancestor? What are the steps to be taken? Where is the information? What does the information include? Come and find out the answers to these questions and bring your own questions for discussion.

This class is limited to forty participants and is a free benefit of membership. Non-members fee is $20.00 (non-refundable) and can be applied towards membership on the day of the class.

Preregistration is required. Walk-ins will not be admitted. Registration confirmations will be sent to the first forty participants to register. Additional names will be collected and placed on a waiting list in case of cancellations.

Register online.

Jeffrey L. Vaillant is working towards his professional genealogical certification. His educational background includes a B.A. in History with English minor from the University of Redlands; Graduate studies in American Studies (History, Literature, Art History) at the University of Delaware (3 years); Graduate study in Business at the Colgate Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia; Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (Utah Genealogical Association) Course I on American Records & Research Focusing on Families, Course on certification (January 2010) and Advanced Genealogical Methodology (January 2011). He completed the Intermediate Genealogy course at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research at Samford University (2010) and has blogged about his experiences for the California Genealogical Society where he serves as Vice President.
Copyright © 2011 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

Civil War Research: It's More than Compiled Service and Pension Records

Susan Goss Johnston

Saturday, June 25, 2011
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m

California Genealogical Society Library
2201 Broadway, Suite LL2
Oakland, California 94612

It you haven't heard Susan Goss Johnston speak about military records, you are in for a treat! In honor of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, Johnston is presenting two talks: Recreating the Life of the Civil War Soldier and It Becomes My Painful Duty: Uncovering the Stories behind Letters of Condolence.

Recreating the Life of the Civil War Soldier
Pension records are wonderful presents waiting to be unwrapped and studied. They are rich in genealogical information, but they’re not the only records worth exploring. In fact, these records are only a fraction of the many records that were created during the Civil War. Case studies will be used to find and examine records – and record substitutes – created in the time between a soldier’s draft registration and his burial. What records exist? Where can they be found? What will they tell us?

It Becomes My Painful Duty”: Uncovering the Stories behind Letters of Condolence
We genealogists tend to read documents for the answers they provide, but these letters of condolence sent from the Civil War battlefields still evoke strong emotions one hundred fifty years after they were written. They may provide answers, but they also provoke strong questions. Who was the soldier and his heart-broken widow or grieving father? What were the circumstances behind his death? What does the letter say about the writer? The search for these answers will take the researcher into seldom-used records, and the stories uncovered bring history to life.

Register online

Susan Goss Johnston was a member of Yale University’s first undergraduate class of women, earning a B.A. in physics. After graduation, she began working in medical research while studying voice at Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. The natural outgrowth of this experience, mixed with two children, led to genealogy – research that didn't require grant writing! She has been involved in teaching and researching for thirty years. Sue currently teaches basic and advanced genealogy courses in the Community Education division of Las Positas College in Livermore, California, and is a member of the Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society and co-presenter at the group’s Tri-Valley TMG [The Master Genealogist] user group. She is a graduate of the National Institute on Genealogical Research, "Advanced Methodology and Evidence Analysis" at the Samford University's Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research, and the National Archives' course, "Going to the Source." On her first day of research at the National Archives, Sue found three Civil War pensions, and she has loved military records, especially those of the Civil War era, ever since.


Copyright © 2011 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library.