>PBS stations just finished rerunning Ken Burn's classic documentary on the Civil War. This documentary should be required viewing in American high school history classes since that period so defined the structure and essence of modern America.
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>In my family, scraps remain. On my Mom's side of the family (yes, Koziol doesn't seem Southern and it's not - my Dad's family came here about 100 years ago) we still have Confederate currency, a CSA sword, and other memorabilia.
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>My grandmother once told me that she wasn't allowed to sing the Battle Hymn of the Republic in her fathers house. It was a Yankee song. My great-grandfather once told me of finding the remains of a Union patrol while laying the first telegraph lines to Miami circa 1910. My great-great-grandmother used to talk about fleeing the family farm with her parents (she was 3 or 4) in advance of Sherman in 1864.
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>On that nostalgic note, does anyone else have any family lore of that period?

John;

On my mothers side of the family from her father I have two relatives involved with the civil war in one way or another. My great-great-grandfather was a Union Officer stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco, at the time Grant and other later to be famous generals were there. During the Civil War he remained at the Presidio, so I tell people “our family was neutral – we are from California”! That is the Walsh side of my family. His grandson was a navy admiral (Edmond Walsh).

On the Cummings side, my great-great-grandmother was an Army nurse during the civil war. She lived to be 106 and was born in Ireland around 1826. As a youngster she arrived in “Yerba Buena”, while it was a Mexican possession, later to be called San Francisco. Her maiden name was Bridget Gil, and she had a well known cousin – father Peter Yorke, a catholic priest from Galway, who was a leader in San Francisco for labor and the poor.

I am trying to do research on my fathers side of the family. I once saw an Air Force officer who introduced himself to me, since we share the same last name. He looked just like my dad! His family was from Virginia. Could I have “rebels” in my family? My dad was born in Kansas City, Kansas, and raised in Ft. Worth, Texas and Ukiah, Oregon.

In researching my dad, I found out many things so far. He deserted our family in 1950 and we never again heard from him. A few months ago I found five brothers and sisters from two later marriages. We are getting together for Thanksgiving. I found my father through the Internet. He passed away October 21, 1999. I think that being a U.S. Marine during WWII and going through 14 major battles, including Okinawa, did him no good. My siblings have convinced me I am glad I did not meet him later in life. I like to keep my good memories as an eight year old.

By the way our son is a history major and will graduate in December! He just bought the DVD version of the PBS Civil War series. Now I want to get the CD of the music. My wife is from Peru and she loves the music from that program and period in American History.

Tom