The Outpost 
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE SALT CREEK CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE 
VOLUME XLIII No. 7 March 2006 
389th Regular Meeting


DATE: 3rd March 2006
PLACE: Fairview Village, 200 Village Dr., Downers Grove, Il.
TIME: 8:00 P.M.
SPEAKER: Gale Pewitt
TOPIC: “Confederates in Canada”


 During the Civil War, several hundred Confederates operated in numerous cities in 
what was then known as British North America. They were well financed and carried 
out a number of operations. In mid-1864, the Confederates proposed a peace initiative 
to representatives from the Lincoln administration. Later, working with the 
Copperheads in the Old Northwest Territory, they attempted to free the Confederate 
prisoners of war at Camp Douglas and Johnson’s Island. Among the many other 
irregular operations were: Sabotaging shipping on the Mississippi River, burning New 
York City, and attempting to destabilize the US economy by purchasing gold and 
selling it for sterling in Europe. In addition, there is some evidence that they even 
attempted to employ germ warfare. Union intelligence was responsible for reducing 
the overall impact of this “fire in the rear” campaign. Who were these Confederates 
and what led them to Canada?

 Gale Pewitt, a long-time member (and past president!) of the SCCWRT, is giving his 
eighth talk to this organization. He is a retired physicist from Argonne and Fermilab. 
Being a native of Tennessee, he points out that he is descended from four great-
grandfathers who were privates in the Confederate Army, and only one is documented 
to have deserted! Although he has Southern leanings, his talk will be objective and 
non-partisan (Of Course)! 

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FEBRUARY MEETING

 BY 

CINDY INTRAVARTOLO

 On February 3rd, Lawrence Lee 
Hewitt presented, “How Lincoln Won 
the War”, before 60 members and guests 
at the 388th regular meeting of the Salt 
Creek Civil War Roundtable.

 According to Hewitt, when Lincoln 
was elected as president, he was an 
unknown commodity. He would prove 
to have infinite patience, an iron 
resolution, high intelligence, and the 
power to fire people with language. 
Lincoln focused on his objective, which 
was saving the Union. He stated the 
American Union was “the last best hope 
of Earth”. He never lost sight of that 
objective, or what it would take to 
achieve it. He knew he needed all of the 
support he could get to make that 
happen.

 Hewitt commented that Lincoln’s 
cabinet appointments were more 
important than the general’s 
commissions he signed. To gain as 
much support for the war effort as 
possible, his cabinet was composed of 
an equal number of former Whigs and 
Democrats as well as the three 1861 
Republican candidates. In addition, 
each region of the country was 
represented except for the Deep South. 
His decision to use force to stop the 
rebellion called for new volunteer 
soldiers, and also provided a rallying 
point for Northern support of the war. 
With the war coming, Lincoln had to fill 
two needs in order to win: he had to 
find a general who would attack the 

enemy, and he had to raise the 
necessary troops. Neither task proved 
easy.

 In 1861, what Lincoln needed was the 

U.S. Grant of 1864. However, all he had 
was Winfield Scott, a general who was 
past his prime and whose physical 
debilities kept him from taking the field. 
On May 17, 1861, Lincoln appointed 34 
brigadier generals and Grant was 18th 
on that list, but his overall ranking 
within the country was 31st. In February 
1862, Lincoln promoted Grant to major 
general following the Battle of Fort 
Donelson. That placed him 11th in the 
Union Army and 7th among those in 
field command. Grant suffered a 
setback at Shiloh but, following the fall 
of Vicksburg in 1863, he was raised to 
lieutenant general and now, according 
to Hewitt, Lincoln finally had the Grant 
he needed to win the war. 
Raising the necessary troops was 
another trial. The firing on Fort Sumter 
initially brought forth more volunteers 
in the North than suitable weapons. 
Afterwards, there were four additional 
Confederate states and four border 
states-Kentucky, Delaware, Maryland, 
and Missouri- that Lincoln hoped would 
remain in the Union. Lincoln eventually 
won the support of these, and gained 
West Virginia as well. These states 
contributed twice as many men to the 
Union as to the Confederacy. Lincoln 
therefore had contributed significantly 
to his own manpower. By May of 1862, 
recruiting stations in the North were 

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closing down. It was believed that no 
more soldiers would be needed, the war 
would soon be over. This however, was 
not the case. Lincoln then turned to the 
Emancipation Proclamation. This 
measure would greatly expand the 
available manpower and the freed 
slaves would count twice-not only 
would they be fighting for the North, 
but they would not be working for the 
South. By the end of the war 
approximately 180,000 African 
Americans would fight for the Union. 
In spite of this additional manpower, 
Lincoln knew he would need more men. 
He appointed foreign generals and 
hoped these men would bring in their 
fellow nationals. He instituted a draft 
that didn’t bring in many men, but was 
a powerful inducement to volunteering. 
He looked for veterans to re-enlist once 
their enlistment’s expired. He studied 
weaponry and saw the importance of 
repeating rifles. Such weapons would 
increase the effectiveness of his 
manpower.

 Hewitt concluded that, for all his 
efforts, Lincoln barely accomplished his 
goal. He did, however, save the Union 
before his untimely death and, 
therefore, won the war as he intended.

 The SCCWRT extends its warmest 
thanks to Lawrence Hewitt for his 
enlightening presentation. 


PRESERVATION REPORT

 BY

 LEN OVERCASH, SR.

 SAN JOSE, CA.- Best-selling crime 
author Patricia Cornwell will donate at 
least $500,000 to help researchers solve 
the mystery of the sinking of the 
Confederate submarine Hunley, the first 

sub in history to sink an enemy warship. 
“This is a crime scene and you are doing 
an autopsy on that submarine,” 
Cornwell told The Associated Press 
Tuesday. “It’s much like Jack the 
Ripper-you take the best modern science 
and apply it to a very old investigation 
and see if you can make the dead speak 
after all these years.” 

NEW MARKET, VA.-The Shenandoah 
Valley Battlefields Foundation 
applauded actions by the Valley’s 
General Assembly delegation to offer 
reasonable solutions to improving 
Interstate 81. Battlefields Foundation 
Executive Director Howard Kittell said, 
“Delegates Gilbert and Landes and the 
Valley’s delegation have exhibited 
tremendous leadership on this issue 
which is important to all of us along the 
I-81 corridor. The interstate bisects 
seven of the ten battlefields in the 
Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National 
Historic District. …we are seeking to 
improve I-81 in a way that makes the 
roadway safer and more efficient and 
also protects the Valley’s scenic beauty 
and cultural resources. We are grateful 
for the hard work of our delegation to 
find balanced, common-sense, solutions 
to the future of I-81.”

 Recommendations for the roadway 
include: completing spot improvements 
such as climbing lanes and re-designed 
exits; using the highway’s median for 
improvements to limit encroachments of 
the road on private property; stepping 
up law enforcement to improve safety; 
and providing funding for land 
acquisition to mitigate impacts of I-81 
on cultural resources in the corridor, 
most notably battlefields. 
Source: www.civilwarinteractive.com 
“The Daily Newspaper of the Civil 
War” 

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ALL 

FOR THE 

UNION

 A word from the President: 
The Board and I are always looking for 
fresh ways to get more exposure for our 
website. Since we have many talented 
members who are authors of Civil War 
books, journals, and articles, we would 
like to list their works in the sites book 
section. We want to keep this website as 
an educational tool for all Civil War 
enthusiasts. Especially for local High 
Schools, Colleges, and Universities to 
use in research. If you would like to list 
your books or papers online please 
contact Stephen Munier, Dan McCarthy, 
or myself. We are always looking for 
new submissions.

 To commemorate the 145th 
anniversary of President Lincoln’s 
inauguration, the DuPage County 
Historical Museum Association will 
hold its 2nd Annual Inaugural Ball in 
honor of President and Mrs. Lincoln, 
(Our own Max and Donna Daniels). It 
will be at the DuPage Co. Historical 
Museum on Sat., March 4, 2006 from 

7:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M. 
The 33rd Illinois Regt. Band will 
perform. There will be dancing, raffles, 
beverages, and a refreshment table. A 
special raffle will benefit the restoration 
of the 36th Illinois battle flag.

 Admission is $60 or $45 per person 
for members of the Museum 
Association. Call Paula Pezza at the 
Museum, 630-682-7343 for more 
information

 
EDITOR’S 
NOTES

 The next board meeting will be held on 
Tues. 02/28/06 at 7:30 P.M. in the home 
of Dan McCarthy, 4358 Lawn Ave., 
Western Springs, 708-246-7873.

 Welcome to new member John Flynn 
of Palos Heights. Welcome Aboard, 
Pard. Hope you enjoy the ride! 


CALENDAR OF EVENTS 
April 7th-Len Overcash-Ft. Fisher 
May 5th-Phil Lauricella-Glass Slide Show of 
last Gettysburg Veteran’s reunion. 
June2nd- Banquet at Lisle Hilton- speaker-
TBA 
August 5th-97th Regimental String Band at 
Methodist Campground, Des Plaines. 

September to infinity-TBA 

The Salt Creek Civil War Roundtable 

www.saltcreekcwrt.org. 
President: Rick Zarr 
Vice-President: Gil Mitchell 
Treasurer: Bill Hupp 
Secretary: Jan Rasmussen 
Historian: Cindy Intravartolo 
Sgt. At Arms: Ron Kumnick 
Meeting Liaison: Mary Lord 
Newsletter Editor: Dan McCarthy, 4358 
Lawn Ave., Western Springs, IL,60558. 
708-246-7873, macarthaig@aol.com 

Newsletter Staff: Cindy Intravartolo, Len 
Overcash Sr., Jan Rasmussen 

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