The San Francisco Civil War Round Table Meeting
18th March 2010
An enthusiastic gathering was relieved to learn that the chef at the Irish Center still
had corned beef and cabbage available, despite the throngs present on the previous
evening (St. Patrick's). A number of guests were warmly welcomed, including
Michael Block, the winner of our high school essay contest some years ago.
The coming sesquicentennial, in 2011, of the start of the Civil War was discussed
and it was resolved to mark the occasion in some appropriate fashion.
Frank Poetzsch and Bob Quinn
Our guest speaker was Elaine Herrmann who kept us spell-bound with her story
of finding a Civil War diary in the basement of a house in Monterey. After many
years, she succeeded in transcribing the diary which was written by Josiah
Higgins, a young sailor in the Union Navy. He saw action at the capture of New
Orleans, the siege of Vicksburg, and the Mobile blockade.
Her enthusiasm for the story of this young man, which had fallen into her hands so
serendipitously, led to her writing the book "Yeoman in Farragut's Fleet: the Civil
War diary of Josiah Parker Higgins."
Elaine Herrmann and Wayne Padgett
18th March 2010
An enthusiastic gathering was relieved to learn that the chef at the Irish Center still
had corned beef and cabbage available, despite the throngs present on the previous
evening (St. Patrick's). A number of guests were warmly welcomed, including
Michael Block, the winner of our high school essay contest some years ago.
The coming sesquicentennial, in 2011, of the start of the Civil War was discussed
and it was resolved to mark the occasion in some appropriate fashion.
Frank Poetzsch and Bob Quinn
Our guest speaker was Elaine Herrmann who kept us spell-bound with her story
of finding a Civil War diary in the basement of a house in Monterey. After many
years, she succeeded in transcribing the diary which was written by Josiah
Higgins, a young sailor in the Union Navy. He saw action at the capture of New
Orleans, the siege of Vicksburg, and the Mobile blockade.
Her enthusiasm for the story of this young man, which had fallen into her hands so
serendipitously, led to her writing the book "Yeoman in Farragut's Fleet: the Civil
War diary of Josiah Parker Higgins."
Elaine Herrmann and Wayne Padgett
