San Francisco Civil War Round Table Meeting Thursday 19th May 2011 at the United Irish Cultural Center 2700 45th Avenue, San Francisco =========== 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. ====================================== |