I was looking at a map of California and spotted Pleasanton, near San Francisco. I thought it sounded familiar but couldn’t figure out why. The name origin didn’t shed light on my confusion, but did conjure up a great Sherman quote: “I think I know what military fame is; to be killed on the field of battle and have your name misspelled in the newspapers.”

Pleasanton is located on the Rancho Valle de San José Mexican land grant and was founded by John W. Kottinger, an Alameda County justice of the peace, and named after his friend, Union army cavalry Major General Alfred Pleasonton. A typographical error by a U.S. Postal Service employee apparently led to the current spelling.

Source: Pleasanton, California – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

We all know the Confederates were short of staples during the war, and the Union army would consider coffee at the top of their list of needs. This list is meant to disgust coffee drinkers, but I’d drink a few of them before I ever willingly sipped coffee!

Here are 25 of the most bizarre things that people made what came to called “Confederate Coffee,” which, in most cases, didn’t contain any caffeine and in fact, was more of a tea.These ingredients were either dried, browned, roasted, or ground before steeping or dissolving into hot water to make “coffee.”
Source: People brewed ‘Confederate Coffee’ from plants during the 1860s – Tech Insider

I missed the auction, but as I don’t really have $30000 kicking around at the moment I was never in the running for top bidder. Someone lucked out, though. This is quite the collection!

The album contains the autographs of anyone who was anyone living in Washington DC during the Civil War, Soules said. That includes the likes of Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, George Armstrong Custer, Kit Carson, Robert E. Lee and Brunswick’s own illustrious Maj. Gen. Joshua Chamberlain.Soules said the autographs were compiled in the album by William Kettles, who worked at a telegraph station right across from the White House… Working as a telegraph operator, Kettles likely asked people coming to the telegraph station if he could get their autograph.

Source: ‘Holy Grail’ of Civil War autograph albums up for auction | www.timesrecord.com | The Times Record

I’ve spent the past two summers in Glasgow, Scotland. During my wanderings around the city, I noticed a few Frederick Douglass mentions. And during the time I couldn’t wander (it rains A LOT) I was listening to BBC4 (I listend A LOT). So despite not having yet listened to this programme, I can vouch for its quality.

Opera singer Andrea Baker explores the impact of Frederick Douglass’s time in Scotland.

Source: A Man’s a Man for a’ That: Frederick Douglass in Scotland – BBC Radio 4

More Civil War media coming our way! This time a mini-series from PBS, so the production values and script should be of decent quality. Again, the focus is less on battlefield than on hospital (and, I suppose, the love story between cold doctor and heartwarming nurse), but the setting suggests some interesting history lessons.

There’s a new Civil War film out, albeit one that is more of a claustrophobic thriller than a war film. The reviews are mixed, and the trailer doesn’t interest me much, but it might appeal to some of you readers out there, so I’ve included the trailer below, as well as a link to the NYTimes review.

The British director Daniel Barber labors to impress in this Southern period thriller with two Union soldiers preying on two sisters and a slave.
Source: Review: In ‘The Keeping Room,’ 3 Women Under Siege in the Civil War – The New York Times

I’d heard, of course, about the plot to steal Lincoln’s corpse, and how the bodysnatchers managed to crack the tomb, but I’d never read the full details of the plot. This is Hollywood thriller stuff! I’ve excerpted the beginning but it’s worth clicking through to the link for the complete story. A quick Google reveals a full-length nonfiction book is available, too, if you wanted all the juicy details. How long before this becomes the next instalment in the National Treasure series?

With its chief engraver serving a 10-year prison term, the gang of funny money makers were running low on the bogus bills. They hatched the ill-conceived plot to kidnap Lincoln’s body. They planned to cart it 200 miles to the dunes to bury it.Fortunately, the Pinkertons, a detective agency, had infiltrated the gang and were aware of its plans.

Source: NWI and the plot to steal Lincoln’s body