Tim DeRoche Talks Civil War

Tim DeRoche, amateur historian from Ulm, Montana, was the featured speaker at the Wedsworth Library last Wednesday evening, April 10. Mr. DeRoche spoke on the Civil War, the Confederate Side. The presentation featured Confederate uniforms, caps, and weapons used in the War. Among the interesting stories he related was the surprising fact that we had a lot of Confederate simpathizers here in Montana. He explained that when the Confederacy lost the war, the people lost everything - land, crops, stock, businesses, the right to vote or hold office. They did have one option, though - go to Montana where they could get land, be a full citizen, be able to vote, and have a normal life. So waves of Southerners came to Montana. Virginia City and Bozeman were heavily Southerners, outnumbering the northerners to the point that, until about 6 years ago, Montana had the first Northern memoral to the Confederacy of any state in the country, a fountain "In Rememberance of Our Confederate Soldiers."

Another story that was interesting was the story of Fort Shaw. Originally named Camp Reynolds, on July 4, 1867, the US Department of the Army issued orders to have the name of the encampment changed to Fort Shaw in honor of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, a Union Army officer who commanded the all-black 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry during the American Civil war.The post's name was changed on August 1, 1867. Their story was portrayed in the 1989 movie, "Glory".

The presentation was followed by a question and answer segment. Refreshments after the presentation were provided by the Cascade Women's Club.a