2010 West Coast Conference
War Memorial Building
San Francisco, CA
November 12, 13, 14,
2010
Click here for printable conference registration form
Click here for conference schedule
Speakers to include:
James M. McPherson was born in North Dakota and grew up in Minnesota, where he graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1958. He received his Ph.D. in History from Johns Hopkins University in 1963. From 1962 to 2004 he taught at Princeton University, where he now holds the post of George Henry Davis '86 Professor of American History Emeritus. He is the author of 15 books and editor of another dozen books, mostly on the era of the American Civil War and Reconstruction. His books have won several prizes, most notably the Pulitzer Prize (1989) for BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM; THE CIVIL WAR ERA, and two Lincoln Prizes (1998 and 2009) for the following: FOR CAUSE AND COMRADES; WHY MEN FOUGHT IN THE CIVIL WAR and TRIED BY WAR; ABRAHAM LINCOLN AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF. He has won a number of other awards, including the Pritzker Prize for lifetime achievement in military writing (2007). He has served as President of the Society of American Historians and the American Historical Association, and is an elected member of the American Philosophical Society and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has also served on several boards of Civil War museums and battlefield preservation organizations.
Dr. Craig L. Symonds is Professor Emeritus at the United States Naval Academy from which he retired in 2005. The first person ever to win both the Naval Academy’s “Excellence in Teaching” award (1988) and its “Excellence in Research” award (1998), he also served as History Department chair from 1988 to 1992, and received the Department of the Navy’s Superior Civilian Service medal three times. He served as Professor of Strategy at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island (1971-74) and at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, England (1994-95).
Symonds is the author or editor of twenty-three books, including prize-winning biographies of Joseph E. Johnston (1992), Patrick Cleburne (1997), and Franklin Buchanan (1999), as well as The American Heritage History of the Battle of Gettysburg (2001). Decision at Sea: Five Naval Battles that Shaped American History (2005), won the Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Prize for Naval History. His 2008 book, Lincoln and His Admirals: Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. Navy, and the Civil War, won the Barondess Prize, the Laney Prize, the Lyman Prize, the Lincoln Prize, and the Abraham Lincoln Institute Book Award. He also won the Nevins-Freeman Prize in 2009.
He and his wife Marylou live in Annapolis, Maryland. They have one son and one grandson.
Richmond, Virginia native Rick Hatcher has been a student of the Civil War since the 1961-1965 Centennial. He earned his B.A. in history from VCU in 1973 and began his career with the National Park Service as a volunteer and seasonal employee at Richmond National Battlefield Park in 1970. After gaining permanent status at Colonial National Historical Park (Yorktown) in 1976, he has worked at Kings Mountain National Military Park, South Carolina, at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, Missouri, where he was the Historian, and since 1992, at Fort Sumter National Monument. He has written and published widely about Wilson's Creek and about Forts Sumter and Moultrie, and has been involved with the unfolding drama of the submarine, H. L. Hunley, and her crew.
John A. Martini is a native Californian and a life-long researcher into the history of the American West. He worked as a National Park Ranger for more than twenty-five years at such diverse locations as Fort Point National Historic Site, Alcatraz Island, the National Maritime Museum, the USS Arizona Memorial, the Presidio of San Francisco and Teddy Roosevelt's estate at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site. He now works as an independent historian/consultant specializing in historical research, interpretation and preserving cultural resources.
John's specialty is historic preservation. In the course of his work as a Park Ranger and researcher, John has carried out dozens of oral history taping sessions preserving the words and memories of people spanning the historic spectrum from Alcatraz guards and convicts to Japanese pilots who participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
He is also an acknowledged expert on America's coastal defenses and is recognized as the leading expert on Alcatraz Island during the years it served as a fortress and an army Disciplinary Barracks. John's published works include: Fort Point: Sentry at the Golden Gate; Fortress Alcatraz; The Official Guide to the Presidio of San Francisco; and Alcatraz at War.
Jim Stanbery, widely considered one of the most popular Civil War lecturers on the West Coast, serves as professor of Political Science at Los Angeles Harbor College. He was educated at UC Berkeley and Cal State Long Beach. In 1976 he published a groundbreaking essay in the Journal of International Affairs, which predicted the end of the Cold War and the forthcoming North-South realignment within the United Nations. Professor Stanbery is the 2006 recipient of the West Coast Civil War Round Tables Jerry Russell Civil War Preservation Award. He lives in San Pedro, California.
NOTE: For local folks, or those who will be driving to the conference, there is all-day parking available at two open air lots at Grove and Gough Streets (401 and 400 Grove Street) for $15 per day. It is 1 1/2 blocks from the War Memorial which is located at 401 Van Ness.
Recommended Hotels:
Please note:
Rooms are limited and due to the availability at the time of
booking. Rooms are the responsibility of the individual attending the West
Coast Civil War Conference.
The Inn at the Opera
333 Fulton Street, San Francisco
(415) 863-8400
A place where performing arts lovers and artists converge, The Inn at the Opera, in the heart of San Francisco, features a prime location and a luxurious, French-style ambiance. Built over half a century ago to house visiting opera stars, The Inn at the Opera continues its performing arts heritage by catering to those who appreciate San Francisco’s exquisite cultural activities.
Your comfortable surroundings are a perfect complement to your love of the arts. Relax in elegantly appointed suites are tastefully decorated with antique European furnishings, and enjoy amenities including a complimentary continental breakfast, 24 hour front desk services, fine dining at Ovation at the Opera, high speed Internet access, valet parking and lovely plush robes in all rooms. Inn at the Opera is your perfect choice for leisure vacations, romantic getaways, and business travel to San Francisco.
Located just steps away from the city's Civic Center, the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House, the California Supreme Court, and Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, the Inn at the Opera is your gateway to all the finest cultural activities San Francisco has to offer. The illustrious Opera House is just outside your door, and the diverse charms of the city are all within your reach. Walking distance to War Memorial Building.
RESERVATION CUTOFF DATE: Monday, Oct. 11, 2010
RATES: $119.00 plus tax - Ballet Studio
TAXES: Current San Francisco hotel sales tax is 15.5%
The Day’s Inn
465 Grove Street, San
Francisco
(415) 864-4040
The Day’s Inn is slightly over two blocks from the conference site and has 40 rooms. Cost for 1 bed (queen) is $75 or $85 for 1 bed (king). Rooms with 2 queen beds are $115. Parking is free at the motel.
The Hayes Valley Inn
417 Gough Street, San
Francisco
(800) 930-7999
The Hayes Valley Inn is around the corner from the Day’s Inn, slightly over two blocks from the conference site and has 28 rooms. Double beds are $69, queen bed is $76 and twin bed rooms are $76. Queen bed in Turret Room is $88. Valet parking with in/out privileges is $15 per night.
Hotel Whitmore
(formerly the Ramada Inn)
1231 Market Street, San
Francisco
(415) 626-8000
Hotel Whitmore is four blocks from the conference site. A room with a single king-size bed is $99, queen is $89 and rooms with single double beds are $99. Parking is $31.94 per night.
Holiday Inn
1500 Van Ness, San
Francisco
(888) 465-4329
The Holiday Inn is 11 blocks from the conference site and offers king rooms for $119 and queen rooms for $109. Parking, with in/out privileges, is $36.00 per night plus tax.
Holiday Inn at Civic Center
50 8th
Street, San Francisco
(415) 626-6103
This Holiday Inn is 4 ½ blocks from the conference site and offers king rooms for $99 and two double beds for $99 (note: there is an additional $15 for each additional person). Rooms with two double beds with a sofa-bed is $129 (with the additional $15 per extra person charge). Parking is $35 daily with in/out privileges.