[‘photo credit: The Pasadena Civil War Round Table]
“This story was compelling to us because Ormsby Mitchel is not well known, and it provides a complement to the stories of major battles and leaders. We appreciate hearing about the “lesser known stories,”” said a representative from the Pasadena Civil War Round Table.
Known as “Old Stars” for his astronomical work, Mitchel graduated from West Point in 1829, ranking 15th in his class. Before the Civil War, he founded the Cincinnati Observatory in 1845 and published the Sidereal Messenger in 1846, the first monthly magazine in the United States devoted to astronomy. He also helped establish observatories for the Navy and Harvard, and has features on Mars named in his honor.
When the Civil War erupted, Mitchel was commissioned as a brigadier general of Ohio volunteers on Aug. 8, 1861. His troops achieved the deepest Union penetration into Confederate territory when they occupied Huntsville, Alabama, on April 11, 1862. He also authorized the famous Great Locomotive Chase, later depicted in films by Buster Keaton and Walt Disney.
In October 1862, Mitchel established Mitchelville on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, recognized as the first post-Civil War freedmen’s town in the United States. Shortly afterward, on Oct. 30, 1862, he died of yellow fever in Beaufort, South Carolina.
“We feel very strongly that our free lectures help to keep the history and stories alive of those who fought and died on both sides of this great American conflict,” the Round Table representative explained. “The ramifications of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras are still potent today in our country.”
The Pasadena Civil War Round Table, formed in the 1960s, hosts monthly presentations at the historic Blinn House, a 1905 George Washington Maher-designed landmark. The organization partners with Pasadena Heritage, with rental fees helping to fund their historic preservation mission.
The organization has over 100 paid members and numerous patron donors. “The Pasadena Civil War Round Table has no agenda and promotes no single viewpoint,” according to their mission statement. Recordings of presentations are available on their YouTube channel with over 100 subscribers.
The Blinn House, 160 N. Oakland Ave., Pasadena, CA 91101. (626) 664-6627. http://www.pasadenacwrt.org/
