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San Francisco Civil War Round Table Meeting
Thursday 19th May 2011
at the United Irish Cultural Center
2700 45th Avenue, San Francisco
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Jefferson Davis' Last Train Ride
presented by
Fred Bohmfalk















"On the 6th day of December, 1889 in the city of New Orleans, State of Louisiana, Jefferson
Davis late President of the Confederate States of America, departed this life.  In early life
fortune smiled on him, in that he was afforded abundant opportunities for high mental
culture.  These opportunities were faithfully improved by him, so that at the dawn of his early
manhood he was abundantly equipped to meet the wants of the active and useful life upon
which he was at once called to enter.  He was born and educated for a leader among men,
and opportunity for the development of the qualities of his mind and body came thick and fast
in after life.  And whether in the cabinet or in the national council, or as the chieftain of the
people of his own Southland, he illustrated at every point his greatness of his character
."  
(excerpt from the ROGERSVILLE REVIEW NEWSPAPER, Rogersville, Tennessee
December 22, 1889.)

Jefferson Davis had a very active and productive life, first in the service of the United States and then
in the service of the Confederacy.  Fred looked briefly at Jefferson Davis' personal life, as we still do
today at funeral services, and then talked about his two funeral services, separated by three years.

Fred Bohmfalk is a native of California and grew up in Oakland/San Leandro.  He graduated from
San Jose State University with a degree in Industrial Management and from the University of
Southern California with a master's degree in Systems Management.  Fred went on to a 22 year Air
Force career in the Strategic Air Command (SAC) flying as a crew member on the B-52 and
RC-135 aircraft.  He also spent many years on the SAC staff at Omaha, Nebraska.  After
retirement in 1981, Fred began ten years of employment with TRW in the missile and space division
where he served in project, program and contracts management in areas such as satellite
communications. In 1991 he retired again and went to work in family businesses.  Since that time
with an interest in history he has been very active in the Sacramento Civil War Round Table, Friends
of Civil War Alcatraz and Sons of Union Veterans.  He has also been very active as a speaker and
writer.  He had two great-great grandfathers who served in the Civil War, Union Pvt. Joshua White,
1st Wisconsin Co. K and Confederate Pvt. Dedlef Schuentz, 6th Texas Co. K. both dying of
disease during the war.



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