Old West New West Magazine – Your Travel & History Guide for Western Adventures. Enjoy Travel Tips, Discounts, Specials, Restaurant Reviews, National Park Information and Much More… http://www.oldwestnewwest.com/civil-war-and-the-west/california/ Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:10:36 +0000 Joomla! 1.5 - Open Source Content Management en-us http://www.oldwestnewwest.com/20080831103/civil-war-and-the-west/california/union-forces-rush-to-fortify-san-francisco-bay.html http://www.oldwestnewwest.com/20080831103/civil-war-and-the-west/california/union-forces-rush-to-fortify-san-francisco-bay.html The idea was simple: outfit a schooner for war, recruit a crew of Southern sympathizers, capture one of the mail steamers that each month sailed out of San Francisco Bay carrying at least a million dollars in gold, then go terrorize the Pacific Coast as a Confederate privateer.

The plot didn't come out of a Hollywood producer's script. It was real, and except for a slip of the tongue by one of the crewmen bragging during a night of drinking (as one account suggests) might have become more than just a minor footnote in California's role in Civil War history.
]]> Mikeharris@oldwestnewwest.com (Mike Harris) California Sun, 31 Aug 2008 18:06:47 +0000 http://www.oldwestnewwest.com/20080831102/civil-war-and-the-west/california/gold-southern-sympathies-and-the-texas-threat.html http://www.oldwestnewwest.com/20080831102/civil-war-and-the-west/california/gold-southern-sympathies-and-the-texas-threat.html Confederate general escaping into the desert, Texas soldiers heading west to invade, a troop of California militia "going over" to kill Yankees, and a Confederate privateer planning to sail boldly into San Francisco Bay.

It's a story big enough only for Hollywood. And it's all true.
]]> Mikeharris@oldwestnewwest.com (Mike Harris) California Sun, 31 Aug 2008 17:54:29 +0000