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OUR HONOR ROLL of PAST SPEAKERS: CLICK HERE
We are proud to announce that our 15 September 2010 speaker will be Steve Madden presenting "Shades of Gray – Musings on Confederate History". Steve is very knowledgeable on Civil War history, particularly that of the Confederacy, as he has been studying it for most of his life.
The Confederate Seal was the official seal of the eleven states that voted to secede from the United States that led to the commencement of the Civil War. The seal features George Washington on horseback, based on the statue of him in Richmond, Virginia. Washington is surrounded with a wreath composed of some of the main agricultural products of the Confederate States: namely wheat, corn, tobacco, rice and sugar cane. The date on the seal’s margin, 22 February 1862, is the 130th birthday anniversary of George Washington and the day that Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as President of the Confederate States of America. The Margin also contained the Confederate national motto Deo Vindice (Under God, Our Vindicator).
A set of the seal silver dies was ordered in 1864 to be made by Her British Majesty’s seal engraver in England and reached Richmond on April 3, 1865, just before the city’s evacuation by Lee’s army. Due to the risks of running the Union naval blockade, the accompanying embossing press was shipped to Bermuda. The dies were unlikely to ever have been used in any official capacity.
Both sets of artifacts passed through private ownership before entering museum collections. The dies presently reside in Richmond’s Museum of the Confederacy and the embossing press, equipped with brass replica dies, is in a National Trust Museum in St George’s, Bermuda.
Steve Madden, 50, lives in Redlands and serves customers for the Southern California Gas Company. A native Californian, he was born in Lynwood and raised in La Mirada. He is a 1981 graduate of Cal State Fullerton and has been active in the Southern California Civil War community for a number of years. Steve is a former president of the Long Beach Civil War Round Table, former commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans Inland Empire Camp and reenactor with the 1st Texas Infantry. Steve began studying the war when he was 10 and hasn't stopped.
So has Steve determined who won yet? You be the judge! With the 150th anniversary of the Second War for Independence approaching, please join us in enjoying Steve's highly researched and very informative presentation of "Shades of Gray--Musings on Confederate History. He has been very well received with this presentation at other Civil War-oriented organizations! You won't want to miss Steve's fascinating presentation!
Tom Keesee, Los Angeles/West San Fernando Valley CWRT Program Coordinator
Please Join Us:
Weiler's West Hills Deli
22323 Sherman Way - West Hills
Presentation at 7:00 PM Sharp!
Enthusiastic Discussion to Follow Steve's Presentation
Buffet Dinner at 6:30 PM: Sandwiches, Drinks, etc. $15 (total)
Attendance Only -- $5 (includes drinks & cookies) RSVP Mandatory* only for Dinner
* (By Noon on the Day of the Meeting) Contact Tom Keesee thkeesee@pacbell.net
We Always Welcome Guests & New Members!
Coming Attractions:
13 October 2010 - "Thomas M. Chester, Flamboyant & Controversial Civil War Journalist" – Nick Smith
10 November 2010 – “Ulysses S Grant: Pyramid of Political Popularity” – Douglas Wagenaar
15 December 2010 – “The Richmond Howitzers” – Michael Presswood
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