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Transcripts For CSPAN3 The Civil War Noah Andre Trudeau Robert E. Lee 20221108

historical parks civil works impose oomph. >> we enjoy distinct pleasure to introduce the passion of world war it's again my distinct pleasure to introduce the proud son of two world war two veterans, noah andre trudeau. he's the author of numerous military history articles and eight civil war history books. his articles cover a wide canvas with contributions covering the revolutionary war, mexican american war, world war i and world war ii. and the spanish american war. his books include the last citadel as p referred to. covering the entire siege of petersburg. like men of war. the combat history of black troops in the civil war which is gonna be reprinted he just told me by the university of kansas press. be on the lookout for that. gettysburg, a testing of courage, a fresh history it. that iconic battle. in southern storm, which is a history of sherman's march through georgia. he's also authored a short paragraph-y of the south leading general robert daly, robert e. lee lessons in leadership. that's part of the great generals series at it by general wesley kay clark. also be on the lookout for his tours with smithsonian and he's got some coming up. focusing specifically on lincoln and his visits to city point. please give noah andriy trudeau a big warm welcome. [applause] >> all right. starting on page one, andy. there we go. look, it's a real honor to be sharing some talk time with a group of historians assembled to say understand by your votes. you and it's also a privilege to speak to a group whose knowledge about the civil war is only matched by their curiosity to learn more. i want to draw a couple of distinctions right off the bat. my colleagues i'm, guessing, are mostly presenting thoughtful entertaining looks at things that happened. my top might be more properly subtitled a speculation. as i will be looking at something that might have happened and i believe it did happen but i can't prove. to begin, i want to take a little bit of a side trip and i want to assure you that at some point, we are going to get into the appomattox campaign, we're just going to start left field in back to home plate. i want to -- i've realize that what i have put together about the appomattox campaign stems from things i learned over the years by trying to be as thoughtful as i can regarding sources. and so i have a couple of points i want to make about the ways i believe that even some of the most trusted sources are potentially been manipulated by a number of factors. and i think anybody working with this material has to take that into account. in a grand way, i believe reexamination of the appomattox campaign will be the ultimate proof of whether or not i can convince you that it's a worthwhile effort. to start with, i know what i wanted to call the first item about the didn't know what to call it. and i found myself thinking a lot about sherlock homes. before i read everything i could lay my hands on about the civil war, i was a sherlock ian. i read stories, i read novels, i saw all the movies. -- and i read lots of books about conan doyle and homes and as i was struggling for that, what am i gonna call this first item on my list? i kept thinking back to one book about sherlock holmes. and i brought it with me just so you know i don't make these things up. the book was by samuel rosenberg and it was called naked is the best disguise. i won't go into all of it. he does an amazing job of combing through all sorts of philosophies and religions to sort of make ties to sherlock homes. but the one point he seems most proud about has to do what holmes's mailing address. . holmes is more than just me knows in this room learned that 22 be baker street. to the english system, a was the first floor and be was the next four up. so rosenberg and one of those eureka moments says look, that means that an every tale of sherlock homes there is a second story. because of this, i said yes, that's what i need here. second story, that's going to be one of my ideas. i'm guessing that more than a couple of you have spent some time researching battles, campaigns using primary sources. and while i won't ask for a show of hands, i suspect that a couple of you have probably found you have to eye witnesses to the same event whose accounts cannot be reconciled. these are going to be one of these is the second story. or you've read multiple biographies of a single subject or multiple campaign histories and you've noticed that the rioters have gone to different sources to tell different parts of the story. much of the time, these belong in the trash bin. but sometimes, as our understanding of events changes, they can rise from the dead. i now, second stories will be reoccurring, it'll pop its little head out from time to time. now the most important thing i want to talk before i got to the main part of it. it's memory. i'm a big fan of the tv series criminal minds which ended its run in 2020. any of you have seen understand the opening sequence always ended with a shot of them in that wonderful white plane, flying often a voice over by the actor, one of the actors. a quote from some literary or political source. the one that's appropriate here came from a canadian novelist name william gibson. it says time moves in one direction, memory another. and i think we have to realize that the real outpouring of participant writing about the civil war occurred at the end of the 19th and early part of the 20th century, 20 plus years out from the events that were being remembered. and that's something i think to do it. gibson also says he -- basically arguing that essential for human beings to forget things as they get older. it's just part of life. not something to fear. on the other hand, these civil war veterans reach a point in their life or they feel it's important for them to sit down what the experience in the civil war. you look at the pub dates when these appeared in magazines or articles and i'm guessing most of them are going to be 1880 in later. already 20 or so years out of the civil war that point. so what i want to do is i want to look at the fact, identify two sources of manipulation that occurred in our society in that period that i think modify that natural flow of forgetting. the forces i want to steal a word that has arisen and importance in this online era of marketplace ideas. influencers. i see that popping up again and again and again. even on the whole covid thing, when they went to the list of doctors, hospitals you should consult. influencers was on that list. people who either because of something they do, a lifestyle, product, philosophy acquire lots of followers. i would like to suggest that influencers existed in the late 19th and early 20th century. these were individuals with connection to the major figures and the major campaigns who gave speeches that were recorded on, provided articles that appeared in newspapers and journals and even wrote books of their own. when i research my lincoln book, i spent a lot of time looking at lincoln references after the civil war. and i began to see many of them were starting to be influenced by things that were being said. i want to give an example. i have a friend and we launch every couple of months. and we talk about this and talk about that. if somebody makes a statement that's just sitting out there, the other one who looks at him and says all right, give me a for instance. so i want to give you a for instance on where i think influencers played a role in shaping something. my lincoln book, i had lots of sources but i divided them into trustworthy -- trust but verify and handle very carefully. one of the trusted sources was an officer who commanded the gunboat that accompanied lincoln's boat throughout his time at city point. a fellow name john barnes, he was captain of the uss that. i had nothing but admiration for barnes and i admire -- admire the honesty of his statements. so much so that when i hit my first crisis here, i believe i was one of the first writing about lincoln to actively consult the uss bet logbook. at that point, enable law, emily naval vessels were required to keep log so there is no logbook for the river queen. but there is a logbook for the uss bat which was captain burns's boat and when i compared barnes is recollections with the logbook, they didn't match in some places. i realized he was working from memory. he didn't have his logbook in front of him. and when i adjusted the memory to what the logbook said about things where they were or what things were happening, they all lined up just fine so i had no problem doing that. the one point where i had a little question about him was his treatment of mary lincoln. he was pretty cold and hard on her in his recollections. and by the way, there are two recollections of barnes is that -- the one you can access pretty easily into magazines that appeared in the early 20th century. he wrote a memory of his whole war experience, distributed in 12 tight scripts to his family. they put that one copy on lines you can find that online if that interests you. but i read his treatment of mary lincoln and i said, you know, i've seen this before somewhere. and sure enough, i found it echoing two prominent lincoln influencers. horse porter and adam badeau. among other things, they hated mary lincoln as the unworthy widow of the great martyred president. and she loved her home life and live to proudly. they hated her for that. again, man versus women in those ages. and i realize that when barnes came to that point, he was probably a little bit fog in the memory and he decided to rely on the great gentlemen he knew. i'm guessing here them personally because they moved in the same circles. their memory became his memory. and that's why i had to treat that part very carefully. now there is another force that work to shape the memories of civil war veterans afterwards. i want to stop with a -- this is a case where we had a supposition that i tried out and i think it worked. years ago, once in a lifetime -- the friend i have lunch with. his son was an honors class in a maryland high school. and he asked his father, do you think he'll come and talk to our class? he said ask him. and he asked his teachers, teacher said sure. and so without thinking, that was my first mistake. i said yeah, okay. and then the panic set in. i said what the heck i'm going to tell a class of teens about something they probably don't know anything about? how do i bridge that gap? that's going to be there. this was a history honors class. they did everything from colonial times to modern times. and the civil war is probably two days, three days of stuff. but here i was going to come and stand in front of them and actually you kind of look a lot -- this is what it looked like. except they were more fearful. and then i said all right, i said even if you slip through the civil war classes, i'm going to try something with you. i'm going to say three names. and then talk about your reaction to them. then i said lincoln. , grant, robert e. lee. and i saw lots of nodding there. i said look, you may not know who these guys are. you may not know any details of their life. but when i said their name, an image got into your head and attached to it whether historically right or historically wrong. were some characteristics. that's the kind of influence i'm talking about. that permeates to the levels if you will of the uninitiated. they're going to have an opinion in their minds i about some of the important figures of the war. and i really want to emphasize everything i'm talking about, i think pertains to those campaigns, those times that have transcended themselves and become all those symbols of things. the battle of trudeau's elbow probably wouldn't make it but gettysburg, sherman's march, appomattox. i think all of fall into those categories. i think in many of those cases, influencers help filled in some of the memory blanks on the veterans who wanted -- who tried that. i made some changes to the script in the morning. and i have arrows here, and narrows their. there is another force that helped shape them. there is a process that happened. if any of you have read the book lincoln the marble man. you've encountered a circumstance where groups of individuals who were set on establishing certain specific kinds of imagery, they were influences that gave speeches, they gave talks. as a result, a very specific image emerged of robert e. lee that really lasted well into the last century. but it was -- this was flowing hot in this post 19th century, early 20th century period. these old soldiers felt a compulsion to be part of this great story. it was a compulsion they wanted to remember. and when they started to tell their stories, especially of appomattox, gettysburg, sherman's march. they felt heavily pressured to conform to the standard story that was out there. they were not there to challenge the story. they were there to say this was my part of this great story. my friend would say, give me a for instance. for reasons that are not smart enough to figure out who, yet sherman's march. i would argue that within 20 years of the march, the standard story had been established. it was a jaunt through georgia where the problems were a few. you had roots famous song, marching through georgia. which i think that the tone. it didn't provide any specifics but it certainly was not a funeral march. they were singing with a saying marching through georgia. it was a march of triumph. it was a march of victory. and this template only worked if as the standard story began to say everything was perfect. everything moved exactly as they wanted. so the march veterans for their stories. they were almost compelled to write it that way. i've picked this one because i have stumbled on to one of those ripple effects that come to within about two years of where we're standing right now. 1985, a much properly respected historian wrote a history of sherman's march. and he based his soldiers side essentially on published recollections of men on the march. and these men had already bought into that part of the story. so we need it is compilation and again, it was rail received and honored. he looked at those and calculated based on everything they've said that in the course of sherman's march, it rained for two days. let's jump to 2017. when the author of civil war monitor put together an occasional feature, he called civil war by the numbers. this is the march to the sea. upper right hand corner. number of times that range during the savannah campaign. to. when i did my sherman book, i was out after a different objective than he was. i really was going to look at it day by day. and i wanted to get the little details of what went on each day. so i wound up looking at maybe 150 manuscript or type -- diaries. and here i can thank my ninth grade earth science teacher. who love to talk about the weather. god bless him, he even convinced a local army air base to give him its discarded radar. and we had our own radar in our little high school there. and i -- drawing the circles and figure out the lows in the highs. i just loved it. but as a result, weather is always on my mind. look, i'm looking at you all and i'm guessing i'm not the only one in the room who has looked at a number of manuscript diaries. speaking only for myself, i will say for the most part, they are boring. but look, it's like an awkward conversation at a party. you can always talk about the weather. and i realize that even the most boring one would say, it rained in the afternoon or something like that. so i put out a spreadsheet. left-wing, right wing. entries for each day. i even tracked down a professor at the university of georgia who was as crazy as i was. she looked at my results and see said, a front came through here, you had a storm over here. just by the weather and the temperature, things that gave her. and by my count, it rained whole or in part for eight days and it snowed for one day. none of which these guys remembering it 30 years out even recalled. or if they recalled it, they said that doesn't fit the story. i better not say that because people will laugh at me. hurrah, hurrah, we bring the jubilee. that was the spirit that animated this thing. the reason i've done all of this is just to give you a sense of when i'm looking at these sorts of things. these are a lot of the questions i'm trying to answer. i'm afraid i have learned -- i trust but verify a lot of times. and sometimes i am surprised by what i find. let me -- i'll tell you a case. again, the lincoln book. i was always looking for lincoln recollections. in a new york -- you may not have noticed this but i did because they looked at so many. every lincoln's birthdays starting about 1880, every regional newspaper, local newspaper. in february would run a sunday supplement on that week about abraham lincoln. they'd have no trouble getting stories about the greatness, whatever. they would always send their cub reporter over to the local veterans home. and they would say, all right, who hear averment abraham lincoln? and they'd all raise their hand. and she'd write down their stories. some of which were in kansas, montana. easy ones to get rid of. what i really liked. it was a new york soldier in a heavy regiment which is artillery regiment that you normally man seized guns but were infantry for the most part at this point of the civil war. he said he was a century at city point. and one day on his way up to meet with grant, he stopped and had a couple of pleasant words for him. that was it. nothing more profound than that. but it was such a great moment. and i went to the -- doing my due diligence. i went to the civil war biography thing in park service. and i found him. and he was indeed with that regiment which i remember was the ninth new york heavy artillery. and i said great, one more thing to do. i looked at the itinerary of the new york heavy artillery. they never got within spitting distance of petersburg. and i said maybe it's a detachment so i read all that tiny print. all the little dates. nothing was detached for petersburg. so it was a harmless memory but i couldn't use it. that's i think how this informs now when i do things to try to make those kinds of evaluations. you never know what you're going to turn up. i want to begin the turn towards appomattox and robert e. lee. this is my that as they would say. when i was that a young kid, reading everything i could find about the civil war. i started in 1862, lee on the peninsula. i had what i called a freeze frame mentality. snapped a shot of him at that point. projected to 63, 64, 65. didn't think he changed. only after i was older and i like to think a little wiser did i realize that lee was a human being. he was a man under tremendous stress throughout the period that took its toll. and as i looked back at his campaigns throughout that period, things he said, things he knew. i haven't copyrighted about this is my three faces of belize civil war career. i believe there are three distinct phases. culminating in the appomattox campaign. phase one, 1862 to early 1864. lee's self appointed mission was to maneuver the enemy into a battle of annihilation. inflicting a defeat so severe that the north would be compelled to come to the negotiating table. this he felt as a military man endowed and i'm sort of thinking about lee. with certain skills and of a warrior. he could help achieve this. by doing this. this was his mantra. in fact, the question he asked time and again of his subordinates was how can we get at those people? how can we get at those people? and this was so important to him that i think it helps answer the question that people often ask. why did he take so many risks? because the reward was so important to him. that he took the risks. i did that -- little book on robert e. lee. and i will confess to you and no one else, this is the first book i did that was a job. meaning it wasn't my idea. usually, i am burning alive with an idea i want. i find a publisher who buys into it. we do the book. this time, there was a publisher doing a series. and my agent got word from them and they said we got two openings. george kuster or robert ailey. and i looked and i said. i don't want to do castor. and i said all right, i'll give le a try. in retrospect, i'm not going to speak for the book. the book is what it is. you either buy it or not buy it in terms of agreeing with me on some things. but i realized my ears and public radio really help me. radio writing teaches you concision. in radio i've only got your year for the length of a sentence. i can't go on for 12 more sentences to sort of make that point i've got to make it right away with you or you won't get it. and the fact that this was by its format limited to 200 pages. douglass -- freeman's introduction is probably longer than that. it forced me to sort of boil the water a lot and get down to some of the critical things. i came across some things that i'm guessing were in freeman but maybe he didn't emphasize them enough. ways in which lee was taking risks in odd places. a few days after the battle of antietam, lee called his officers together and indicated he was ready to go after -- again. he wanted to cross back to the river and fight him again. his officers were gentleman, they were proper but they probably gave him that gentle southern equivalent of are you crazy? and they laid out for him the losses of officers. units that are not functional anymore. any reluctantly agreed. this i think speaks to that sense of mission he had. next time you hear someone say chancel ville, lease greatest victory. you have my permission to laugh at them. a robert e. lee thought chancellorsville was anything but even victory. this is a quote. we had gained not an answer ground and the enemy could not be pursued. he had taken serious losses. just as he was on the verge of launching that raid into the north. i'm going to confess here. i'm an old-fashioned guy. this is a difference between innovation and arrayed. often you'll see leagues campaign marked as an invasion. innovation means i'm taking over your ground and i'm going to stay there. a raid is i'm going to hit you hard to, some damage, go back home. i think that's what this was. only went to gettysburg and i have no reason to talk to you about what happened there. what i think we need to do. and this isn't done as often as i'd like to see. we need to view this action as lee viewed it. not as able historians have viewed it. i will confess, as the author of a book on gettysburg, the question i had two -- biggest trouble answering is why was gettysburg important? two more years of war. more casualties after gettysburg than before gettysburg. more property destroyed. more civilians turned homeless. what the heck to gettysburg accomplish? other than turning back a movement by lee? that was it. so let's look at this as leave unit. we're heading to phase two of my copyrighted history of lee. this was in fact his first crisis. as he saw it. he had had every advantage in the campaign. he believed that the time of the battle his soldiers were fit and confident. he controlled the temple -- tempo of the campaign in battle forcing the enemy to react to him. he had several clear opportunities to smash the union army. that he could not produce a decisive victory at that time made it very clear to him he could not do it at anytime. how did lee react? august 8th, 1863, he resigned. jefferson davis refused to accepted but the point that stood out to me in his letter to davis was when he said i cannot even accomplish what i myself desire. so lee mentally reuben crafted himself a new mission. in place of the great victory, he would harry and away union forces to buy time for a political process to negotiate an end of the war. this sustained him through the overland campaign and into the siege of petersburg. again, i'm not going to go through the un and the yang of the petersburg campaign but it was gradual attrition. what i wanted to see was what kind of information was ali getting about how the war was going elsewhere. and what was he saying. what does this tell us about his state of mind at this time? eight douglass south hall freeman would have some sort of quiet lee posed determined, capable, able. here is what -- everything i'm going to read here are lee quotes. january 27th, 1865. he warned the confederate secretary of war of the alarming frequency of desertions from his army. soon afterwards, order from his headquarters pronounce the penalty for advising or persuading a soldier to desert's death. following union success that almost broke his lines near hatches run in february 1865. lee told the war secretary, you must not be surprised if calamity falls us. a mid february. he assess the threat posed by sherman and the carolinas and predicted it may be necessary to abandon all our cities. i'm giving you a window into leads mind in this critical period. early march, he concluded a review of the overall situation with the statement that the legitimate military consequences of the enemies numerical immaterial superiority have been postponed longer than we had a reason to anticipate. it's in this period he met with the confederate congressman robert empty hunter who asked lee to tell jefferson davis the south could not win its case on the battlefield. lee refused to do so but according to hunter, he never said to me that he thought the chances were over but the tone in tenor of his remarks made that impression in my mind. hunter would be one of those second stories that i think gets dropped sometimes. it just doesn't fit the lead picture. then in march, lee met with jefferson davis who made it clear he had no plan for a diplomatic solution. his only plan was to have the north inflict so much misery on the south that they would rise in revolt and give him the forces he would need to win. now we move into -- i have to do this quickly know this point. april 2nd, grant breaks lisa lines and lee and has been abandoned petersburg and richmond. we can thank hollywood screenwriters for magnifying the symbolism of appomattox. there is a film currently rotational on those western channels called the undefeated with john wayne and rock hudson. opens with wayne senior great attacking a rebel position. the next morning, wayne presents his opposite number with news of lee surrender and at the civil war was over. an episode of gun smoke has doc adam speaking to a civil war vet on a mission of vengeance. says dock, all the violence in the world didn't and win at least surrendered. warner brothers series law man, marshall dan troop and scorsese -- whose life he saved and who's now the territorial government to talk with him about amnesty. this time, the character says maybe we'll have a chance to arrange my own appomattox. this speaks when a campaign has this kind of power on the popular media. you can bet there's been some twisting through the story at various times. in early 1865, lee had distributed a contingency plan that should richmond petersburg defense become untenable. they would fall back to a certain fixed point. this is completely normal. this is what good commander does. assessing possibilities. i assign a thing there. guided by that plan, the troops rotating from richmond and petersburg marched west to converge on a point on the richmond and danville railroad called the amelia courthouse. troops began reaching their on april 4th as did robert ailey. here he paused in the official story is -- both told i -- scattered forces to regroup and to make an appeal to the citizens of amelia county to provide provisions. since -- i won't be sitting around a group of this caliber probably in the distant future at best. i'm just wondering if any of you in your visits to state historical societies, museums, have ever seen an original version, original copy of that pamphlet that lee printed up and passed out? has anyone ever seen one? . i'm not suggesting it's not real. but i'll note that -- clifford dowdy did his wartime papers of robert e. lee. he prince the taxed with a footnote the confederate veteran. i checked the confederate veteran. it is signed the copy and receive to a small virginia newspaper who claim that they wrote it down a verbatim. if your lock this down, i would not say this is not the kind of providence that you would want to see. i believe elise appeal was a cover story. part of louise responsibilities throughout the siege, he would've maintained an inventory of foodstuffs within reach of his wagons. with that in mind, i looked back through least dispatches earlier and sure enough, on january 11th, 1865, robert e. lee told the confederate secretary of war there is nothing within reach of this army that can be impressed. the country is swept clear. i'm not a farmer but you can tell me how much crops they can grow in february in march. in that part of virginia. so when the wagons came back empty, i'm not surprised -- i don't believe that lee was surprised either. i believe lee is slowly coming to terms with his third crisis point. there is no longer any point of fighting for a time of jefferson davis has no intention of giving into a negotiation from a position of weakness. davis seems to believe that they would get -- reach that point and rise up. i think all the had experience understood that winter would haven't believe otherwise. he is a man in search of a solution. . he makes -- now makes two critical decisions. that set him on the road to appomattox courthouse. first, he does nothing. his objective point is danville virginia. 150 miles to the south along the railroad. and the temporary capital of the confederacy. from there on the same day that lee arrives at amelia courthouse, davis issues a proclamation when he says no peace will be ever made with the infamous invaders. let us meet the faux with fresh defiance, within conquered and in conquerable hearts. that's what's waiting for lee at the end of the line out there. eight miles south of lee, following that a railroad is cheaters ville. it has two points of distinction. number one, it's on roads leading from the east and south. lines of march being occupied at this point by the union army. and number two, it's got an active -- its leads telegraph point to the south. now i'm going to go back to my old friend sherlock holmes. in a story -- favorite story called the silver blaze, he's investigating a kidnapped horse and with a typically -- clumsy scotland yard inspector with him. and is writing back the, inspector asks homes, is there anything you wish to bring to my attention? and in one of the famous quotes that even again people who don't read a lot of homes probably know this quote. he says i commend your attention. the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime. he's referring to the fact that the watchdog at the candle -- the stable where the horse was was -- didn't make any noise that night. which for homeless men that somebody on the inside the job. the guy was scotland yard guy was said, but the dog did nothing in the nighttime. and holmes said that is the curious incident. i commend to you the curious incident of the confederate forests of infantry and calorie that listened to cheaters villain april 4th to hold open his door to the south. and the answer is there was none. and that's the curious incident. mid morning, they moved on april 5th, they move south. they found the roadblock to jitters filled by union cavalry and fast arriving infantry. we now makes the most critical decision of his last campaign. on his orders, the richmond petersburg forces began moving west. new objective, the town of farm bill. they begin moving on the night of april 5th. when i give an earlier version of this talk, i move right ahead to the battles of april 6th. then i had one of those moments best expressed by the word de. work with me. by heading west from amelia courthouse, leaving the line of danville railroad, what did lee also accomplish? it runs along the railroad tax. it carries dots and dashes. the telegraph. by turning away from the railroad, lee had broken his telegraphic connection to jefferson davis. he was now a free agent. able to make decisions without having to consult with him. why is this important? ask joseph johnston. his army around raleigh, north carolina, has sherman's forces about a day's march to his east. when sherman said -- johnson checks jefferson davis because there in connection. davis wants johnson to send them all his cavalry and to scatter his infantry with orders to rendezvous at a point to the west. johnson knows the misery this will inflict upon civilians as hordes of hungry infantry men come looking for food. he rejects davis's orders and surrenders his army. that's what you won't see so many joe johnson statues anymore. . by breaking his telegraphic communication to davis, lee is not bound to consult with him at this point. back to virginia, 1865. retreats are sloppy mother nature. on april six, two confederate columns got out supporting distance of each other and acted federals attacked each one. fight near hybrids was minor but the fight along sailors creek resulted in a serious loss in both men and officers. several very high ranking. remember me at the beginning. the second story. there is a second story now that's going to emerge here. freeman's biography of lee has him being told of the disaster and then calmly issuing orders to pull things together. this was the interesting part for me. there is an alternate version they know about because freeman printed in a footnote. which basically a set of that says well this happened but i can't believe it's true and i checked with walter taylor. he assures me it's not true. therefore it can't be true. let's remember walter taylor was one of the main influencers after the war. promoting that image of lee that became known as the marble man. so thanks to freeman, i've got what happened there. and officer coming out from jefferson davis's location and asks for an update. in lee says a few more sailors creek and it will be all over. and it just as expected it from the first. freeman's lee wouldn't say that. but i hope you see at my point, i believe i've got ample reason to suggest that maybe he did. and 14 days in the future. lee would write from richmond that his army at this point began to disintegrate. i think we now is looking to create an honorable situation to surrender his army. he's all out of options, the options of inflicting misery on the countryside. he will not accept. later when confederate cavalry want to break out, he refuses them to go now at 50, we got two moments. the army comes up on far ville and begins to assemble on the north side of the river. now we talked about sources. to me, one of the more trusted confederate sources is edward alexander. who wrote both a sort of a public more and a private more. we owe both are available. it's in that when we find the second story aired here it is. alexander reports to lee for an assignment for his guns. alexander is an old artillery man. he's shown a map of the area. his examination of it left him puzzled. disturbed. here is what he wrote. these are his words. it's the first side i had a map since we left richmond i skated eagerly to see our general situation. the most direct and shortest road to lynchburg which was supposedly lees ultimate destination from farm ville did not cross the river as we had done. but kept up the southside near the southside railroad. the road we were on bent back up and then back and it was evidently longer. finally recross the waters of the river and rejoining the straighter road at appomattox courthouse. i pointed at that place and said it looked as if their we might have the most trouble. leeds response, road alexander, was to dismiss him with the words well there is time enough to think about that later. with that, he says his army off on the longer route to appomattox courthouse. below on the other side of the river, union cavalry infantry are soon on the shorter route. i suspect a lot of these stories are known by all the officers but they're just understanding the gentlemen don't talk about that. i think a piece of it popped up. it's while at farm bill that we received tunnel grants first request for his surrender. he still has that viable escape route. open to him. so he's obligated by a sense of honor to keep moving. and when he asks -- longstreet says we must fight on or not the minimal support you. longstreet says not yet. which means it's not all the pieces are in place it to do this. i think. two days later, the conditions are all. madly is boxed in. alexander warned him he would be. he meets with grant april 9th, 1865 to surrender his army. three closing notes. in his final address to his army on april 10th, lee probably give away more than he attended when he wrote that feeling that valor had devotion could accomplish nothing that could compensate for the loss that must have attended the continuation of the contest. i determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared him to his country. i think lee is describing everything he was doing after leaving amelia courthouse. you may remember that i made a point of the fatally brokers connection with davis in amelia courthouse. on april 10th, grant meets informally with lee and among other things, asked some if you would want his name to a proclamation urging his hollywood generals to surrender. all of a sudden, the fact that he was not in contact with jefferson davis was important to lee who answered he could not make a statement without checking for us with his commander-in-chief. a let you draw your own conclusions for that. finally, on april 20th, lee got something off his chest. in a letter written to jefferson davis and god knows how that ever got delivered. he outlined the sorry state of affairs throughout the confederacy and concluded to save the useless suffusion of blood, iraq amendment be taken for the suspension of hostilities and the restoration of peace. so it's certainly my hope that any future lee biographers will take a hard look at the campaign as i've described it. could be wrong. i've been known to be wrong. three years, two months -- [laughs] in a way, the symbolism was so perfect to became hollywood's go to shorthand for ending the civil war. i would suggest to you that this kind of perfection does not happen by accident. i hope -- i don't expect everyone to agree with a revision of the appomattox story. i do hope it might inspire some to revisit the civil war as one of the most storied saugus with fresh eyes. thank you very much. [applause] i guess if you have questions now. i'll remind you, i'll be holding over here. you're going to make a break. we have it assigned books and chat. if you have any questions right now, i'm happy to answer them. there are stunned. [laughs] thank you. we all want to, good. >> you describe the three phases of at least of 11 of the war. do you think that it only moved in one direction or do you think it was variable so maybe the north in the 1864 campaign or -- jubilee would towards cc. was that more a spectrum? >> those are defensive moves. north and it was a defensive move. throughout this campaign, leads army could do damage to the north. the crater was not a front. sending early was just another -- i don't know if he had higher hopes for early. at the end of the day, early prove to be a disaster. initially successful. but in the end of this faster. i think this conflict with the man i, think i still can explain to you why he agreed to do forward statement at that point. i think he's stuck between maybe this will do something to slow them down. and when it doesn't instead mean unfortunately, he loses a lot of men. people are complicated things. i think they can move in a direction sometimes jog, left, right, still keep in that direction. i think i would argue that this enhances in a way i think please statutory. to be the gentleman that just stuck to it, fought to the end, surrendered only when he was forced to, i think is a less appealing character than when it becomes -- feels the losses so personally, understands -- every general expects losses but expect them for again. lee reached a point where he knew there was no more gain to be found. and the thought he would suffer more losses of these young men who i'm sure he admire tremendously. caused some of these wiggling's back and forth but i think if you charted here, going to see he was focused on that point. i believe after amelia station. he couldn't know that grant would do such a good job breaking his lines. under an obvious circumstance, my understanding in 1863 he had a heart attack or a major cardiac event, i am wondering how his physical ailments or condition plays in to his attitude toward what is going on on the battlefield. >> he is incapacitated for several days. i checked with ray and he assigned back to intestinal distress kind of thing. for a man of lee's age to brought the campaigns he does, i think it reminded him of his mortality. he put in his mind the fact there has got to be a time where i this product not here. certainly the writing was on the wall in 1865 and i think that's where he made that turn. >> you mentioned some of lee's correspondent in 1865 and he says if we don't evacuate or prepare spring of 1865 and he says -- if we don't evacuated or are at least prepared to do, that that's my first question. my second question is a little push back that he did the honorable thing. he surrendered -- my mic's not working here, there was no choice. my first point, why didn't we, if things weren't going to go well, why didn't he try to convince and prepare for richmond? and because the calamity is here at pamplin park on the second, that's what unleashes the -- need a new mike. >> i got about every fourth word. but i got your point about warning davis. so the second one of those stories i had in the script, but looking at my clock i had to jump past it. again, freeman has lee sort of centering the calm of the storm as he is reorganizing on april 2nd. but supposedly, a korean came up to him with a note from president davis saying 24 hours is not enough for us to evacuate. and we went, i know i gave that guy ample warning this would happen. it was a burst of anger directed at jefferson davis. so, he did, davis was even more of a, i forget, russian cuckoo cloud world. than anybody else in the confederacy at that point. lee would be respectful, well, mr. davies, things aren't looking exactly as we hope they would and i think could be prudent if you considered starting to evacuate some of the last important things of the confederacy. it would've been not get your rear and in gear and get ready to get out of town on short notice kind of warning. i'm, sorry i didn't get your second. i just couldn't hear it. >> i'll try it again. >> it's not me making that stuff cut off, i got a little button here. >> alan nolin in lee considered, he said that lee made it abundantly clear before richmond spurt that the cause was lost. no one argues that any loss of life really, as you look at the beginning of spring in 65, a loss of life that is on lee. well you say he did the honorable thing in surrendering at appomattox, how would you respond to someone like nolan who said leaves own words he said the game was up? and he continued to fight. but even to your own point, statement doesn't make sense, there's another offensive gambit according to nolan and according to your own words. maybe one that didn't have any chance at all but he did it anyways. >> we lee was caught in a dilemma. he was a u.s. army guy first, i would guess an army guy contemplating proactively surrendering to the army, his treason. i think lee, to live with himself, which he obviously did afterwards, i don't sense any regret after the war for what he did, it was like he had to bring all the right elements together at the right place and the right time for this to happen. the fact, that again, i can talk to that high school class. and if i said appomattox they, said that ended the civil war, didn't it? they would be wrong but they would be right to. >> upfront. more of a comment than a question. but when you are discussing leaves first phase, looking for the decisive faze to end the war, the first thing that came to mind was the japanese in the pacific during the second world war, always looking for the decisive battle and not a war of attrition. that's the comment. and do you think jeremy irons is a battle sherlock holmes then basil rat phone? >> anybody else? are we done? we got one. >> regarding the comment about lee at the very end, and were his attempts futile at that point. he probably knew it wasn't going to affect anything. but warned his generals encouraging him to keep on the fight? >> of course. >> so, he wasn't making this decision in a vacuum. i think he knew it was probably the right decision to make, but he had other people he was listening to as well. >> the cavalry, generals tended to be the younger generals, they wanted to break out. and he said, no. i think longstreet knew what was going on, i really do. most of the other senior guys at that point are in chains thanks to sailors creek. got one, okay. good, keep them coming. >> when you say you think longstreet knew what was going on -- lee hadn't included him in a discussion on -- >> on longstreet, whether it was by accident or whether he had included him. i don't think there was any actual, lee would have never had a conversation on pete, you know, i'm thinking of surrendering in the army, what do you think? but longstreet could read the writing on the wall, and i think he was one of the generals who probably understood lee better than almost anybody else in that command. i think he could both see his struggle but also understand his objective at the end. that's why that comment just leaps out at me. why would he have said not yet? when you expected a more ringing affirmation of the need to fight on. to me, it said wink wink, nod nod, i know what you're thinking, but not yet. that's my read of it, i can't tell you it's solid. yep? >> i've got to stand up for robert e. lee here. what's his job? it's his job to make policy or is his job to make military decisions that can give his army and advantage? and i would argue that, at fort stead men entering the appomattox campaign, until his military options are eliminated at appomattox courthouse on april 9th, he had opportunities to fight his army to some advantage. i think that is the explanation for why lee behaved the way he did during the last couple months of the war. >> you could be right. but i would point out, there is no confederate counterattack during the appomattox campaign. it's defensive fighting that occurs at sailors creek. and at farm fill, again, two times he has an option to take something that would preserve his offensive possibilities. if he's had to forced down to cheaters ville and help them off and got his army moving south, that would have said he wants to keep the fight going. or if at farm fill, he had moved his army along the south side of the river and said he was trusting epl exam to hear. if vp tells me i looked at that map here and tells me, no, i would go with him on that one. stead men was in motion for months or a month and a half maybe. i think maybe he looked at it as buying more time, and it didn't. anyone else? well, thank you, thank you. 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Transcripts For CSPAN3 The Civil War Union General Fitz John Porter 20221108

empowerment. that's why charter is investing billions, elating infrastructure, upgrading technology, empowering opportunity, and communities big and small. charger is connecting us. >> charter communications, along with these television companies, so boards c-span 2 as a public service. orld war ii >> >> he's the author of numerous military history articles, and eight civil war history books. his articles tend to cover a wide canvas with contributions covering the revolutionary war, mexican american war, world war i, and world war ii. and the spanish american war. his books include with the last citadel, as he referred to it, covering the entire siege of petersburg. like a man of war, a combat history of black troops in the civil war, which will be reprinted by the university of kansas press. be on the lookout for that. >> gettysburg, testing of courage, a fresh history of that iconic battle and southern storm, which is a history of sherman's march through georgia. he's also the author of a short biography of robert e. lee. the lessons and leadership. that is part of the great generals series at it by general wesley kay clark. also be on the lookout for his tours with smithsonian and he's got some coming up. focusing specifically on lincoln and his visits to city point. please give noah andriy trudeau a big warm welcome. [applause] >> all right. starting on page one, andy. there we go. look, it's a real honor to be sharing some talk time with a group of historians assembled to say understand by your votes. you and it's also a privilege to speak to a group whose knowledge about the civil war is only matched by their curiosity to learn more. i want to draw a couple of distinctions right off the bat. my colleagues i'm, guessing, are mostly presenting thoughtful entertaining looks at things that happened. my top miproply subtitled a speculation. as i will be looking at something that might have happened and i believe it did happen but i can't prove. to begin, i want to take a little bit of a side trip and i want to assure you that at some point, we are going to get into the appomattox campaign, we're just going to start left field in back to home plate. i want to -- i've realize that what i have put together about the appomattox campaign stems from things i learned over the years by trying to be as thoughtful as i can regarding sources. and so i have a couple of points i want to make about the ways i believe that even some of the most trusted sources are potentially been manipulated by a number of factors. and i think anybody working with this material has to take that into account. in a grand way, i believe reexamination of the appomattox campaign will be the ultimate proof of whether or not i can convince you that it's a worthwhile effort. to start with, i know what i wanted to call the first item about the didn't know what to call it. and i found myself thinking a lot about sherlock homes. before i read everything i could lay my hands on about the civil war, i was a sherlock ian. i read stories, i read novels, i saw all the movies. -- and i read lots of books about conan doyle and homes and as i was struggling for that, what am i gonna call this first item on my list? i kept thinking back to one book about sherlock holmes. and i brought it with me just so you know i don't make these things up. the book was by samuel rosenberg and it was called naked is the best disguise. i won't go into all of it. he does an amazing job of combing through all sorts of philosophies and religions to sort of make ties to sherlock homes. but the one point he seems most proud about has to do what holmes's mailing address.. holmes is more than just me knows in this room learned that 22 be baker street. to the english system, a was the first floor and be was the next four up. so rosenberg and one of those eureka moments says look, that means that an every tale of sherlock homes there is a second story. because of this, i said yes, that's what i need here. second story, that's going to be one of my ideas. i'm guessing that more than a couple of you have spent some time researching battles, campaigns using primary sources. and while i won't ask for a show of hands, i suspect that a couple of you have probably found you have to eye witnesses to the same event whose accounts cannot be reconciled. these are going to be one of these is the second story. or you've read multiple biographies of a single subject or multiple campaign histories and you've noticed that the rioters have gone to different sources to tell different parts of the story. much of the time, these belong in the trash bin. but sometimes, as our understanding of events changes, they can rise from the dead. i now, second stories will be reoccurring, it'll pop its little head out from time to time. now the most important thing i want to talk before i got to the main part of it. it's memory. i'm a big fan of the tv series criminal minds which ended its run in 2020. any of you have seen understand the opening sequence always ended with a shot of them in that wonderful white plane, flying often a voice over by the actor, one of the actors. a quote from some literary or political source. the one that's appropriate here came from a canadian novelist name william gibson. it says time moves in one direction, memory another. and i think we have to realize that the real outpouring of participant writing about the civil war occurred at the end of the 19th and early part of the 20th century, 20 plus years out from the events that were being remembered. and that's something i think to do it. gibson also says he -- basically arguing that essential for human beings to forget things as they get older. it's just part of life. not something to fear. on the other hand, these civil war veterans reach a point in their life or they feel it's important for them to sit down what the experience in the civil war. you look at the pub dates when these appeared in magazines or articles and i'm guessing most of them are going to be 1880 in later. already 20 or so years out of the civil war that point. so what i want to do is i want to look at the fact, identify two sources of manipulation that occurred in our society in that period that i think modify that natural flow of forgetting. the forces i want to steal a word that has arisen and importance in this online era of marketplace ideas. influencers. i see that popping up again and again and again. even on the whole covid thing, when they went to the list of doctors, hospitals you should consult. influencers was on that list. people who either because of something they do, a lifestyle, product, philosophy acquire lots of followers. i would like to suggest that influencers existed in the late 19th and early 20th century. these were individuals with connection to the major figures and the major campaigns who gave speeches that were recorded on, provided articles that appeared in newspapers and journals and even wrote books of their own. when i research my lincoln book, i spent a lot of time looking at lincoln references after the civil war. and i began to see many of them were starting to be influenced by things that were being said. i want to give an example. i have a friend and we launch every couple of months. and we talk about this and talk about that. if somebody makes a statement that's just sitting out there, the other one who looks at him and says all right, give me a for instance. so i want to give you a for instance on where i think influencers played a role in shaping something. my lincoln book, i had lots of sources but i divided them into trustworthy -- trust but verify and handle very carefully. one of the trusted sources was an officer who commanded the gunboat that accompanied lincoln's boat throughout his time at city point. a fellow name john barnes, he was captain of the uss that. i had nothing but admiration for barnes and i admire -- admire the honesty of his statements. so much so that when i hit my first crisis here, i believe i was one of the first writing about lincoln to actively consult the uss bet logbook. at that point, enable law, emily naval vessels were required to keep log so there is no logbook for the river queen. but there is a logbook for the uss bat which was captain burns's boat and when i compared barnes is recollections with the logbook, they didn't match in some places. i realized he was working from memory. he didn't have his logbook in front of him. and when i adjusted the memory to what the logbook said about things where they were or what things were happening, they all lined up just fine so i had no problem doing that. the one point where i had a little question about him was his treatment of mary lincoln. he was pretty cold and hard on her in his recollections. and by the way, there are two recollections of barnes is that -- the one you can access pretty easily into magazines that appeared in the early 20th century. he wrote a memory of his whole war experience, distributed in 12 tight scripts to his family. they put that one copy on lines you can find that online if that interests you. but i read his treatment of mary lincoln and i said, you know, i've seen this before somewhere. and sure enough, i found it echoing two prominent lincoln influencers. horse porter and adam badeau. among other things, they hated mary lincoln as the unworthy widow of the great martyred president. and she loved her home life and live to proudly. they hated her for that. again, man versus women in those ages. and i realize that when barnes came to that point, he was probably a little bit fog in the memory and he decided to rely on the great gentlemen he knew. i'm guessing here them personally because they moved in the same circles. their memory became his memory. and that's why i had to treat that part very carefully. now there is another force that work to shape the memories of civil war veterans afterwards. i want to stop with a -- this is a case where we had a supposition that i tried out and i think it worked. years ago, once in a lifetime -- the friend i have lunch with. his son was an honors class in a maryland high school. and he asked his father, do you think he'll come and talk to our class? he said ask him. and he asked his teachers, teacher said sure. and so without thinking, that was my first mistake. i said yeah, okay. and then the panic set in. i said what the heck i'm going to tell a class of teens about something they probably don't know anything about? how do i bridge that gap? that's going to be there. this was a history honors class. they did everything from colonial times to modern times. and the civil war is probably two days, three days of stuff. but here i was going to come and stand in front of them and actually you kind of look a lot -- this is what it looked like. except they were more fearful. and then i said all right, i said even if you slip through the civil war classes, i'm going to try something with you. i'm going to say three names. and then talk about your reaction to them. then i said lincoln., grant, robert e. lee. and i saw lots of nodding there. i said look, you may not know who these guys are. you may not know any details of their life. but when i said their name, an image got into your head and attached to it whether historically right or historically wrong. were some characteristics. that's the kind of influence i'm talking about. that permeates to the levels if you will of the uninitiated. they're going to have an opinion in their minds i about some of the important figures of the war. and i really want to emphasize everything i'm talking about, i think pertains to those campaigns, those times that have transcended themselves and become all those symbols of things. the battle of trudeau's elbow probably wouldn't make it but gettysburg, sherman's march, appomattox. i think all of fall into those categories. i think in many of those cases, influencers help filled in some of the memory blanks on the veterans who wanted -- who tried that. i made some changes to the script in the morning. and i have arrows here, and narrows their. there is another force that helped shape them. there is a process that happened. if any of you have read the book lincoln the marble man. you've encountered a circumstance where groups of individuals who were set on establishing certain specific kinds of imagery, they were influences that gave speeches, they gave talks. as a result, a very specific image emerged of robert e. lee that really lasted well into the last century. but it was -- this was flowing hot in this post 19th century, early 20th century period. these old soldiers felt a compulsion to be part of this great story. it was a compulsion they wanted to remember. and when they started to tell their stories, especially of appomattox, gettysburg, sherman's march. they felt heavily pressured to conform to the standard story that was out there. they were not there to challenge the story. they were there to say this was my part of this great story. my friend would say, give me a for instance. for reasons that are not smart enough to figure out who, yet sherman's march. i would argue that within 20 years of the march, the standard story had been established. it was a jaunt through georgia where the problems were a few. you had roots famous song, marching through georgia. which i think that the tone. it didn't provide any specifics but it certainly was not a funeral march. they were singing with a saying marching through georgia. it was a march of triumph. it was a march of victory. and this template only worked if as the standard story began to say everything was perfect. everything moved exactly as they wanted. so the march veterans for their stories. they were almost compelled to write it that way. i've picked this one because i have stumbled on to one of those ripple effects that come to within about two years of where we're standing right now. 1985, a much properly respected historian wrote a history of sherman's march. and he based his soldiers side essentially on published recollections of men on the march. and these men had already bought into that part of the story. so we need it is compilation and again, it was rail received and honored. he looked at those and calculated based on everything they've said that in the course of sherman's march, it rained for two days. let's jump to 2017. when the author of civil war monitor put together an occasional feature, he called civil war by the numbers. this is the march to the sea. upper right hand corner. number of times that range during the savannah campaign. to. when i did my sherman book, i was out after a different objective than he was. i really was going to look at it day by day. and i wanted to get the little details of what went on each day. so i wound up looking at maybe 150 manuscript or type -- diaries. and here i can thank my ninth grade earth science teacher. who love to talk about the weather. god bless him, he even convinced a local army air base to give him its discarded radar. and we had our own radar in our little high school there. and i -- drawing the circles and figure out the lows in the highs. i just loved it. but as a result, weather is always on my mind. look, i'm looking at you all and i'm guessing i'm not the only one in the room who has looked at a number of manuscript diaries. speaking only for myself, i will say for the most part, they are boring. but look, it's like an awkward conversation at a party. you can always talk about the weather. and i realize that even the most boring one would say, it rained in the afternoon or something like that. so i put out a spreadsheet. left-wing, right wing. entries for each day. i even tracked down a professor at the university of georgia who was as crazy as i was. she looked at my results and see said, a front came through here, you had a storm over here. just by the weather and the temperature, things that gave her. and by my count, it rained whole or in part for eight days and it snowed for one day. none of which these guys remembering it 30 years out even recalled. or if they recalled it, they said that doesn't fit the story. i better not say that because people will laugh at me. hurrah, hurrah, we bring the jubilee. that was the spirit that animated this thing. the reason i've done all of this is just to give you a sense of when i'm looking at these sorts of things. these are a lot of the questions i'm trying to answer. i'm afraid i have learned -- i trust but verify a lot of times. and sometimes i am surprised by what i find. let me -- i'll tell you a case. again, the lincoln book. i was always looking for lincoln recollections. in a new york -- you may not have noticed this but i did because they looked at so many. every lincoln's birthdays starting about 1880, every regional newspaper, local newspaper. in february would run a sunday supplement on that week about abraham lincoln. they'd have no trouble getting stories about the greatness, whatever. they would always send their cub reporter over to the local veterans home. and they would say, all right, who hear averment abraham lincoln? and they'd all raise their hand. and she'd write down their stories. some of which were in kansas, montana. easy ones to get rid of. what i really liked. it was a new york soldier in a heavy regiment which is artillery regiment that you normally man seized guns but were infantry for the most part at this point of the civil war. he said he was a century at city point. and one day on his way up to meet with grant, he stopped and had a couple of pleasant words for him. that was it. nothing more profound than that. but it was such a great moment. and i went to the -- doing my due diligence. i went to the civil war biography thing in park service. and i found him. and he was indeed with that regiment which i remember was the ninth new york heavy artillery. and i said great, one more thing to do. i looked at the itinerary of the new york heavy artillery. they never got within spitting distance of petersburg. and i said maybe it's a detachment so i read all that tiny print. all the little dates. nothing was detached for petersburg. so it was a harmless memory but i couldn't use it. that's i think how this informs now when i do things to try to make those kinds of evaluations. you never know what you're going to turn up. i want to begin the turn towards appomattox and robert e. lee. this is my that as they would say. when i was that a young kid, reading everything i could find about the civil war. i started in 1862, lee on the peninsula. i had what i called a freeze frame mentality. snapped a shot of him at that point. projected to 63, 64, 65. didn't think he changed. only after i was older and i like to think a little wiser did i realize that lee was a human being. he was a man under tremendous stress throughout the period that took its toll. and as i looked back at his campaigns throughout that period, things he said, things he knew. i haven't copyrighted about this is my three faces of belize civil war career. i believe there are three distinct phases. culminating in the appomattox campaign. phase one, 1862 to early 1864. lee's self appointed mission was to maneuver the enemy into a battle of annihilation. inflicting a defeat so severe that the north would be compelled to come to the negotiating table. this he felt as a military man endowed and i'm sort of thinking about lee. with certain skills and of a warrior. he could help achieve this. by doing this. this was his mantra. in fact, the question he asked time and again of his subordinates was how can we get at those people? how can we get at those people? and this was so important to him that i think it helps answer the question that people often ask. why did he take so many risks? because the reward was so important to him. that he took the risks. i did that -- little book on robert e. lee. and i will confess to you and no one else, this is the first book i did that was a job. meaning it wasn't my idea. usually, i am burning alive with an idea i want. i find a publisher who buys into it. we do the book. this time, there was a publisher doing a series. and my agent got word from them and they said we got two openings. george kuster or robert ailey. and i looked and i said. i don't want to do castor. and i said all right, i'll give le a try. in retrospect, i'm not going to speak for the book. the book is what it is. you either buy it or not buy it in terms of agreeing with me on some things. but i realized my ears and public radio really help me. radio writing teaches you concision. in radio i've only got your year for the length of a sentence. i can't go on for 12 more sentences to sort of make that point i've got to make it right away with you or you won't get it. and the fact that this was by its format limited to 200 pages. douglass -- freeman's introduction is probably longer than that. it forced me to sort of boil the water a lot and get down to some of the critical things. i came across some things that i'm guessing were in freeman but maybe he didn't emphasize them enough. ways in which lee was taking risks in odd places. a few days after the battle of antietam, lee called his officers together and indicated he was ready to go after -- again. he wanted to cross back to the river and fight him again. his officers were gentleman, they were proper but they probably gave him that gentle southern equivalent of are you crazy? and they laid out for him the losses of officers. units that are not functional anymore. any reluctantly agreed. this i think speaks to that sense of mission he had. next time you hear someone say chancel ville, lease greatest victory. you have my permission to laugh at them. a robert e. lee thought chancellorsville was anything but even victory. this is a quote. we had gained not an answer ground and the enemy could not be pursued. he had taken serious losses. just as he was on the verge of launching that raid into the north. i'm going to confess here. i'm an old-fashioned guy. this is a difference between innovation and arrayed. often you'll see leagues campaign marked as an invasion. innovation means i'm taking over your ground and i'm going to stay there. a raid is i'm going to hit you hard to, some damage, go back home. i think that's what this was. only went to gettysburg and i have no reason to talk to you about what happened there. what i think we need to do. and this isn't done as often as i'd like to see. we need to view this action as lee viewed it. not as able historians have viewed it. i will confess, as the author of a book on gettysburg, the question i had two -- biggest trouble answering is why was gettysburg important? two more years of war. more casualties after gettysburg than before gettysburg. more property destroyed. more civilians turned homeless. what the heck to gettysburg accomplish? other than turning back a movement by lee? that was it. so let's look at this as leave unit. we're heading to phase two of my copyrighted history of lee. this was in fact his first crisis. as he saw it. he had had every advantage in the campaign. he believed that the time of the battle his soldiers were fit and confident. he controlled the temple -- tempo of the campaign in battle forcing the enemy to react to him. he had several clear opportunities to smash the union army. that he could not produce a decisive victory at that time made it very clear to him he could not do it at anytime. how did lee react? august 8th, 1863, he resigned. jefferson davis refused to accepted but the point that stood out to me in his letter to davis was when he said i cannot even accomplish what i myself desire. so lee mentally reuben crafted himself a new mission. in place of the great victory, he would harry and away union forces to buy time for a political process to negotiate an end of the war. this sustained him through the overland campaign and into the siege of petersburg. again, i'm not going to go through the un and the yang of the petersburg campaign but it was gradual attrition. what i wanted to see was what kind of information was ali getting about how the war was going elsewhere. and what was he saying. what does this tell us about his state of mind at this time? eight douglass south hall freeman would have some sort of quiet lee posed determined, capable, able. here is what -- everything i'm going to read here are lee quotes. january 27th, 1865. he warned the confederate secretary of war of the alarming frequency of desertions from his army. soon afterwards, order from his headquarters pronounce the penalty for advising or persuading a soldier to desert's death. following union success that almost broke his lines near hatches run in february 1865. lee told the war secretary, you must not be surprised if calamity falls us. a mid february. he assess the threat posed by sherman and the carolinas and predicted it may be necessary to abandon all our cities. i'm giving you a window into leads mind in this critical period. early march, he concluded a review of the overall situation with the statement that the legitimate military consequences of the enemies numerical immaterial superiority have been postponed longer than we had a reason to anticipate. it's in this period he met with the confederate congressman robert empty hunter who asked lee to tell jefferson davis the south could not win its case on the battlefield. lee refused to do so but according to hunter, he never said to me that he thought the chances were over but the tone in tenor of his remarks made that impression in my mind. hunter would be one of those second stories that i think gets dropped sometimes. it just doesn't fit the lead picture. then in march, lee met with jefferson davis who made it clear he had no plan for a diplomatic solution. his only plan was to have the north inflict so much misery on the south that they would rise in revolt and give him the forces he would need to win. now we move into -- i have to do this quickly know this point. april 2nd, grant breaks lisa lines and lee and has been abandoned petersburg and richmond. we can thank hollywood screenwriters for magnifying the symbolism of appomattox. there is a film currently rotational on those western channels called the undefeated with john wayne and rock hudson. opens with wayne senior great attacking a rebel position. the next morning, wayne presents his opposite number with news of lee surrender and at the civil war was over. an episode of gun smoke has doc adam speaking to a civil war vet on a mission of vengeance. says dock, all the violence in the world didn't and win at least surrendered. warner brothers series law man, marshall dan troop and scorsese -- whose life he saved and who's now the territorial government to talk with him about amnesty. this time, the character says maybe we'll have a chance to arrange my own appomattox. this speaks when a campaign has this kind of power on the popular media. you can bet there's been some twisting through the story at various times. in early 1865, lee had distributed a contingency plan that should richmond petersburg defense become untenable. they would fall back to a certain fixed point. this is completely normal. this is what good commander does. assessing possibilities. i assign a thing there. guided by that plan, the troops rotating from richmond and petersburg marched west to converge on a point on the richmond and danville railroad called the amelia courthouse. troops began reaching their on april 4th as did robert ailey. here he paused in the official story is -- both told i -- scattered forces to regroup and to make an appeal to the citizens of amelia county to provide provisions. since -- i won't be sitting around a group of this caliber probably in the distant future at best. i'm just wondering if any of you in your visits to state historical societies, museums, have ever seen an original version, original copy of that pamphlet that lee printed up and passed out? has anyone ever seen one?. i'm not suggesting it's not real. but i'll note that -- clifford dowdy did his wartime papers of robert e. lee. he prince the taxed with a footnote the confederate veteran. i checked the confederate veteran. it is signed the copy and receive to a small virginia newspaper who claim that they wrote it down a verbatim. if your lock this down, i would not say this is not the kind of providence that you would want to see. i believe elise appeal was a cover story. part of louise responsibilities throughout the siege, he would've maintained an inventory of foodstuffs within reach of his wagons. with that in mind, i looked back through least dispatches earlier and sure enough, on january 11th, 1865, robert e. lee told the confederate secretary of war there is nothing within reach of this army that can be impressed. the country is swept clear. i'm not a farmer but you can tell me how much crops they can grow in february in march. in that part of virginia. so when the wagons came back empty, i'm not surprised -- i don't believe that lee was surprised either. i believe lee is slowly coming to terms with his third crisis point. there is no longer any point of fighting for a time of jefferson davis has no intention of giving into a negotiation from a position of weakness. davis seems to believe that they would get -- reach that point and rise up. i think all the had experience understood that winter would haven't believe otherwise. he is a man in search of a solution.. he makes -- now makes two critical decisions. that set him on the road to appomattox courthouse. first, he does nothing. his objective point is danville virginia. 150 miles to the south along the railroad. and the temporary capital of the confederacy. from there on the same day that lee arrives at amelia courthouse, davis issues a proclamation when he says no peace will be ever made with the infamous invaders. let us meet the faux with fresh defiance, within conquered and in conquerable hearts. that's what's waiting for lee at the end of the line out there. eight miles south of lee, following that a railroad is cheaters ville. it has two points of distinction. number one, it's on roads leading from the east and south. lines of march being occupied at this point by the union army. and number two, it's got an active -- its leads telegraph point to the south. now i'm going to go back to my old friend sherlock holmes. in a story -- favorite story called the silver blaze, he's investigating a kidnapped horse and with a typically -- clumsy scotland yard inspector with him. and is writing back the, inspector asks homes, is there anything you wish to bring to my attention? and in one of the famous quotes that even again people who don't read a lot of homes probably know this quote. he says i commend your attention. the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime. he's referring to the fact that the watchdog at the candle -- the stable where the horse was was -- didn't make any noise that night. which for homeless men that somebody on the inside the job. the guy was scotland yard guy was said, but the dog did nothing in the nighttime. and holmes said that is the curious incident. i commend to you the curious incident of the confederate forests of infantry and calorie that listened to cheaters villain april 4th to hold open his door to the south. and the answer is there was none. and that's the curious incident. mid morning, they moved on april 5th, they move south. they found the roadblock to jitters filled by union cavalry and fast arriving infantry. we now makes the most critical decision of his last campaign. on his orders, the richmond petersburg forces began moving west. new objective, the town of farm bill. they begin moving on the night of april 5th. when i give an earlier version of this talk, i move right ahead to the battles of april 6th. then i had one of those moments best expressed by the word de. work with me. by heading west from amelia courthouse, leaving the line of danville railroad, what did lee also accomplish? it runs along the railroad tax. it carries dots and dashes. the telegraph. by turning away from the railroad, lee had broken his telegraphic connection to jefferson davis. he was now a free agent. able to make decisions without having to consult with him. why is this important? ask joseph johnston. his army around raleigh, north carolina, has sherman's forces about a day's march to his east. when sherman said -- johnson checks jefferson davis because there in connection. davis wants johnson to send them all his cavalry and to scatter his infantry with orders to rendezvous at a point to the west. johnson knows the misery this will inflict upon civilians as hordes of hungry infantry men come looking for food. he rejects davis's orders and surrenders his army. that's what you won't see so many joe johnson statues anymore.. by breaking his telegraphic communication to davis, lee is not bound to consult with him at this point. back to virginia, 1865. retreats are sloppy mother nature. on april six, two confederate columns got out supporting distance of each other and acted federals attacked each one. fight near hybrids was minor but the fight along sailors creek resulted in a serious loss in both men and officers. several very high ranking. remember me at the beginning. the second story. there is a second story now that's going to emerge here. freeman's biography of lee has him being told of the disaster and then calmly issuing orders to pull things together. this was the interesting part for me. there is an alternate version they know about because freeman printed in a footnote. which basically a set of that says well this happened but i can't believe it's true and i checked with walter taylor. he assures me it's not true. therefore it can't be true. let's remember walter taylor was one of the main influencers after the war. promoting that image of lee that became known as the marble man. so thanks to freeman, i've got what happened there. and officer coming out from jefferson davis's location and asks for an update. in lee says a few more sailors creek and it will be all over. and it just as expected it from the first. freeman's lee wouldn't say that. but i hope you see at my point, i believe i've got ample reason to suggest that maybe he did. and 14 days in the future. lee would write from richmond that his army at this point began to disintegrate. i think we now is looking to create an honorable situation to surrender his army. he's all out of options, the options of inflicting misery on the countryside. he will not accept. later when confederate cavalry want to break out, he refuses them to go now at 50, we got two moments. the army comes up on far ville and begins to assemble on the north side of the river. now we talked about sources. to me, one of the more trusted confederate sources is edward alexander. who wrote both a sort of a public more and a private more. we owe both are available. it's in that when we find the second story aired here it is. alexander reports to lee for an assignment for his guns. alexander is an old artillery man. he's shown a map of the area. his examination of it left him puzzled. disturbed. here is what he wrote. these are his words. it's the first side i had a map since we left richmond i skated eagerly to see our general situation. the most direct and shortest road to lynchburg which was supposedly lees ultimate destination from farm ville did not cross the river as we had done. but kept up the southside near the southside railroad. the road we were on bent back up and then back and it was evidently longer. finally recross the waters of the river and rejoining the straighter road at appomattox courthouse. i pointed at that place and said it looked as if their we might have the most trouble. leeds response, road alexander, was to dismiss him with the words well there is time enough to think about that later. with that, he says his army off on the longer route to appomattox courthouse. below on the other side of the river, union cavalry infantry are soon on the shorter route. i suspect a lot of these stories are known by all the officers but they're just understanding the gentlemen don't talk about that. i think a piece of it popped up. it's while at farm bill that we received tunnel grants first request for his surrender. he still has that viable escape route. open to him. so he's obligated by a sense of honor to keep moving. and when he asks -- longstreet says we must fight on or not the minimal support you. longstreet says not yet. which means it's not all the pieces are in place it to do this. i think. two days later, the conditions are all. madly is boxed in. alexander warned him he would be. he meets with grant april 9th, 1865 to surrender his army. three closing notes. in his final address to his army on april 10th, lee probably give away more than he attended when he wrote that feeling that valor had devotion could accomplish nothing that could compensate for the loss that must have attended the continuation of the contest. i determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared him to his country. i think lee is describing everything he was doing after leaving amelia courthouse. you may remember that i made a point of the fatally brokers connection with davis in amelia courthouse. on april 10th, grant meets informally with lee and among other things, asked some if you would want his name to a proclamation urging his hollywood generals to surrender. all of a sudden, the fact that he was not in contact with jefferson davis was important to lee who answered he could not make a statement without checking for us with his commander-in-chief. a let you draw your own conclusions for that. finally, on april 20th, lee got something off his chest. in a letter written to jefferson davis and god knows how that ever got delivered. he outlined the sorry state of affairs throughout the confederacy and concluded to save the useless suffusion of blood, iraq amendment be taken for the suspension of hostilities and the restoration of peace. so it's certainly my hope that any future lee biographers will take a hard look at the campaign as i've described it. could be wrong. i've been known to be wrong. three years, two months -- [laughs] in a way, the symbolism was so perfect to became hollywood's go to shorthand for ending the civil war. i would suggest to you that this kind of perfection does not happen by accident. i hope -- i don't expect everyone to agree with a revision of the appomattox story. i do hope it might inspire some to revisit the civil war as one of the most storied saugus with fresh eyes. thank you very much. [applause] i guess if you have questions now. i'll remind you, i'll be holding over here. you're going to make a break. we have it assigned books and chat. if you have any questions right now, i'm happy to answer them. there are stunned. [laughs] thank you. we all want to, good. >> you describe the three phases of at least of 11 of the war. do you think that it only moved in one direction or do you think it was variable so maybe the north in the 1864 campaign or -- jubilee would towards cc. was that more a spectrum? >> those are defensive moves. north and it was a defensive move. throughout this campaign, leads army could do damage to the north. the crater was not a front. sending early was just another -- i don't know if he had higher hopes for early. at the end of the day, early prove to be a disaster. initially successful. but in the end of this faster. i think this conflict with the man i, think i still can explain to you why he agreed to do forward statement at that point. i think he's stuck between maybe this will do something to slow them down. and when it doesn't instead mean unfortunately, he loses a lot of men. people are complicated things. i think they can move in a direction sometimes jog, left, right, still keep in that direction. i think i would argue that this enhances in a way i think please statutory. to be the gentleman that just stuck to it, fought to the end, surrendered only when he was forced to, i think is a less appealing character than when it becomes -- feels the losses so personally, understands -- every general expects losses but expect them for again. lee reached a point where he knew there was no more gain to be found. and the thought he would suffer more losses of these young men who i'm sure he admire tremendously. caused some of these wiggling's back and forth but i think if you charted here, going to see he was focused on that point. i believe after amelia station. he couldn't know that grant would do such a good job breaking his lines. >> in your talk, you made reference to the stress that lee was under. i obvious or comes dance. my understanding was, at some point in 1863 he had a heart attack or major cardiac event. i'm wondering how his physical ailments or physical condition plays into his attitude toward what's going on on the battlefield. >> as north anna too, i checked with gordon ray and he attributed that to intestinal distress kind of thing for a man of leaves age to go through the campaigns he did it put into the mind for his fact where i end this -- is not there in 60, three 64. but the writing on the wall was in 1865 and that's where he made that turn. yep? >> so, you mentioned some of these correspondence to the secretary in spring of 1865 and he says -- if we don't evacuated or are at least prepared to do, that that's my first question. my second question is a little push back that he did the honorable thing. he surrendered -- my mic's not working here, there was no choice. my first point, why didn't we, if things weren't going to go well, why didn't he try to convince and prepare for richmond? and because the calamity is here at pamplin park on the second, that's what unleashes the -- need a new mike. >> i got about every fourth word. but i got your point about warning davis. so the second one of those stories i had in the script, but looking at my clock i had to jump past it. again, freeman has lee sort of centering the calm of the storm as he is reorganizing on april 2nd. but supposedly, a korean came up to him with a note from president davis saying 24 hours is not enough for us to evacuate. and we went, i know i gave that guy ample warning this would happen. it was a burst of anger directed at jefferson davis. so, he did, davis was even more of a, i forget, russian cuckoo cloud world. than anybody else in the confederacy at that point. lee would be respectful, well, mr. davies, things aren't looking exactly as we hope they would and i think could be prudent if you considered starting to evacuate some of the last important things of the confederacy. it would've been not get your rear and in gear and get ready to get out of town on short notice kind of warning. i'm, sorry i didn't get your second. i just couldn't hear it. >> i'll try it again. >> it's not me making that stuff cut off, i got a little button here. >> alan nolin in lee considered, he said that lee made it abundantly clear before richmond spurt that the cause was lost. no one argues that any loss of life really, as you look at the beginning of spring in 65, a loss of life that is on lee. well you say he did the honorable thing in surrendering at appomattox, how would you respond to someone like nolan who said leaves own words he said the game was up? and he continued to fight. but even to your own point, statement doesn't make sense, there's another offensive gambit according to nolan and according to your own words. maybe one that didn't have any chance at all but he did it anyways. >> we lee was caught in a dilemma. he was a u.s. army guy first, i would guess an army guy contemplating proactively surrendering to the army, his treason. i think lee, to live with himself, which he obviously did afterwards, i don't sense any regret after the war for what he did, it was like he had to bring all the right elements together at the right place and the right time for this to happen. the fact, that again, i can talk to that high school class. and if i said appomattox they, said that ended the civil war, didn't it? they would be wrong but they would be right to. >> upfront. more of a comment than a question. but when you are discussing leaves first phase, looking for the decisive faze to end the war, the first thing that came to mind was the japanese in the pacific during the second world war, always looking for the decisive battle and not a war of attrition. that's the comment. and do you think jeremy irons is a battle sherlock holmes then basil rat phone? >> anybody else? are we done? we got one. >> regarding the comment about lee at the very end, and were his attempts futile at that point. he probably knew it wasn't going to affect anything. but warned his generals encouraging him to keep on the fight? >> of course. >> so, he wasn't making this decision in a vacuum. i think he knew it was probably the right decision to make, but he had other people he was listening to as well. >> the cavalry, generals tended to be the younger generals, they wanted to break out. and he said, no. i think longstreet knew what was going on, i really do. most of the other senior guys at that point are in chains thanks to sailors creek. got one, okay. good, keep them coming. >> when you say you think longstreet knew what was going on -- lee hadn't included him in a discussion on -- >> on longstreet, whether it was by accident or whether he had included him. i don't think there was any actual, lee would have never had a conversation on pete, you know, i'm thinking of surrendering in the army, what do you think? but longstreet could read the writing on the wall, and i think he was one of the generals who probably understood lee better than almost anybody else in that command. i think he could both see his struggle but also understand his objective at the end. that's why that comment just leaps out at me. why would he have said not yet? when you expected a more ringing affirmation of the need to fight on. to me, it said wink wink, nod nod, i know what you're thinking, but not yet. that's my read of it, i can't tell you it's solid. yep? >> i've got to stand up for robert e. lee here. what's his job? it's his job to make policy or is his job to make military decisions that can give his army and advantage? and i would argue that, at fort stead men entering the appomattox campaign, until his military options are eliminated at appomattox courthouse on april 9th, he had opportunities to fight his army to some advantage. i think that is the explanation for why lee behaved the way he did during the last couple months of the war. >> you could be right. but i would point out, there is no confederate counterattack during the appomattox campaign. it's defensive fighting that occurs at sailors creek. and at farm fill, again, two times he has an option to take something that would preserve his offensive possibilities. if he's had to forced down to cheaters ville and help them off and got his army moving south, that would have said he wants to keep the fight going. or if at farm fill, he had moved his army along the south side of the river and said he was trusting epl exam to hear. if vp tells me i looked at that map here and tells me, no, i would go with him on that one. stead men was in motion for months or a month and a half maybe. i think maybe he looked at it as buying more time, and it didn't. anyone else? well, thank you, thank you. 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Transcripts For CSPAN2 Book Discussion 20140811

one very fascinating character. very complex individual. a different person with different people. something of a chameleon, intelligent, but at the same time remarkably stupid. i mean, to make some of the mistakes he made shows the level of incompetence. >> don't you think he thought he had immunity? >> well, he does. >> legally he was living in a bubble. the president. no one is going to challenge him. and so its starts in a sense with the tapes, the arrogance of the tapes. you think you can do this. this was not just done to you and his aide. all of the four leaders. anyone who went into the oval office. he was just kind of saying, the confidence that people expect when they come see the president. we are not going to care about that. it is in my interest to do this taping. when it was disposed the idea that no one is ever going -- he is troubled by that very fact himself in a couple of those conversations. he tells some, i don't feel comfortable doing this. he does not pull the plug. and you know what is amazing about these books in a sense, it's kind of seals the conclusion about nixon. and what you have done is brought the microscope as close to this presidency as anyone could. for that it is a public service. at the same time, all of the detail -- for somebody who wants to relive and relive in technicolor and for many, many hours, this will tell the story. >> the review was interesting. it is not an easy read. not an easy read because it is a painful read because it reminds us of those times. i did not -- you were not my audience. i don't know if when you write a book you have an audience. people who don't know watergate well to have a smattering of knowledge about it. not at the level that would work to do. so those are the people. the reason i did not do transcripts is because i find transgress tenuous to read. also said why didn't he publishes transcripts? nav 23 volumes of 3-inch no books. almost 4 million words. this is huge. it would fill all of these shelves. >> thirty-nine years. the national stage on television you have returned. i am sure in the minds of many people, in the minds of some. thank you so much. >> thank you, bob. [silence] >> others familiar with their material. airing every weekend on book tv at 10:00 p.m. on saturday, 12 and 9:00 p.m. on sunday, 12:00 a.m. on monday. you can also watch online. go to booktv.org and click on afterwards and that book tv series and topics list on the upper right side of the page next on book tv joseph wheelan talks about the final days of the confederacy. [inaudible conversations] >> good evening this evening we are honored to have with us the other joseph wheelan. written extensively. before he began full-time writing he was an editor. his writings have received critical acclaim it is getting more rave reviews already. well researched and argued. please welcome. [applause] >> thank you for inviting me. and what i've really appreciate it. i hope you are all doing well tonight provided thank you for coming. i am here to talk about my latest book which is the campaign that sealed the fate of the confederacy. some of the union campaign in virginia that i described in the "bloody spring" spends six weeks. may and june of 1864 petallides. [roll call] hundred 50 years ago. in my book and make the case that the chain of battles fought by hillises' s. grant army with the sole source major turning point. excellent pokes about the campaign's major battles, but usually this campaign is part of a larger history of the war. surprisingly few 1-volume books attempt to tell the story of the overland campaign. i decided to write one. the names of the major battles are not especially well known and not resonate like shiloh and antietam, vicksburg, gettysburg. but for more than 40 days the army of the potomac and are ready lee's army in northern virginia were in nearly continual contact as grant marched from their rapid and river in northern virginia to the gates of petersburg spots. men were killed every day sometimes in great numbers. this type of warfare was new to north america. as one general said, the carnage became such that the loss of a thousand men in a day was considered no great matter. by romantic chivalry with which the war began and vanished. during the spring of 1864 grant would prosecute war as no other union general and. he would ruthlessly press is great advantages of numbers, logistics', firepower against lee's army. during his campaign the combatants slaughtered one another in shocking numbers. both armies made mistakes, but mainly both armies pleded the bid together they lost a hundred thousand men killed, wounded, were captured in over six weeks. despite krantz lack of victories , campaign shifted the initiative permanently to the union and pentathletes of petersburg and richmond. lee was never able to watch another major offensive president abraham lincoln needed a military victory in the east if he hoped to win reelection in the fall of 1864. he was not optimistic about being reelected. his defeat would mean peace, and the confederacy's survival as a sovereign nation. lincoln was frustrated by it and eastern armies joe years over the past few years despite its huge advantages of manpower and resources. his eastern general had been timid and slow. when they did fight they typically withdrew after one defeat. twice they allowed lee's army to escape over the potomac into virginia. the list of failed union charles was long and included george mcclellan, john pope, burnside and hunker. lincoln and all of this hope of all western general, grant, and made in general chief of the union armies in march 86 teefor. never before bestowed on a union general. grant was a quiet and passive man who won battles while chain smoking cigars. he had a reputation as a strategist and never gave up. the grants 1863 victories at vicksburg and chattanooga had made in venice. when grant came to washington in march it to 64 wing kin and were secretary edward stanton for the first time he was the object of intense curiosity. granted not look the part of a great general. he was medium height, medium weight. he wore a private some nondescript blue uniform with his general stars and some on the shoulders. one man said that he was an ordinary, scrubbing looking man with a slightly seedy look. someone else had something different to say. the look of a man determined to drive his head through a brick wall. disliking washington and its show business, as he called it, grant chose to direct all the armies on the field with the army of the potomac. with the exception of a great victory at gettysburg a hard luck army who was well equipped, large, and slow. the army's sprawling winter camp in northern and virginia rant but in every available eastern unit until he had over a hundred thousand men. across the river was the army of northern virginia. weaponry. his army thought superbly and moved past. 42 miles away. instead of clearing wilderness his army stopped there that night to secure the wagon train. he will -- it was a mistake. a glittering opportunity that he did not waste. when may 5th ghandi -- is second quarter suddenly appeared on the turnpike. the union's fifth quarter advanced on the rebels fighting exploded along road and into the woods. his men repeled all of the union attacks. fighting spread when the third quarter arrived. and all that initially stood between the rebels and the road which is cut would have led to his offensive at the very beginning was a single regiment. the fifth new york cavalry fought brilliantly. the infantry division stop to the troops in a bloody battle and left the woods and flames. the second corps was the largest most famous, hardest fighting core in the army of the potomac. handcar, the migrants most reliable general commanded it. grand would turn to hancock and the second quarter again and again. the third quarter and added the general like visitation and thick smoke made it impossible. more than a dozen pieces and. that is until seats of enemy fire blew up the woods and then fell dead or wounded. would go of the 46 north carolina called it perjury purine simple. someone else is providing as blind as midnight. in a cavalry were all but useless. those outside the words cannot see the actual fighting, just as real affect a rewarded streaming out on bloodstain structures. fresh troops pouring in. when the fighting ended on may may 5th the 15,000 men have fought toto for up to 40,000 yankees for three hours. repulsing repeated attacks. lee was sure however that and cardboard attack in the morning. the third corps was to better to realist to prolong. they expected the first quarter to arrive during the night requires the exhausted food core to dig in the. in the second corps had attacked the yankees on the turnpike. the fifth corps repelled the attacks. comparatively little occurred the rest of the dead at 5:00 a.m. and cards 40,000 men surged west toward a peals jumble brigade. large tree was not there. hancocks man oval on the confederates and there were driven back. the men streamed to the rear. we tried to rally them, but he could not. lee and hell knew if hancock was not stopped the army of northern virginia is destruction was and the situation is most critical for the confederates lost trees first course on the recent battlefield. starting the last 2 miles after marginal might agree it was one of the most dramatic moments of the war. hills men went wild with excitement. the regiment's swept aside. nearly down to two. the texas brigade reached headquarters first. he saw that texans come up. faced with in motion. texas' always move. texans roared their approval the traveler up to the tax is front line as they began to advance on the yankees. they saw how badly attended -- intended to attack. they refused to continue unless you want to rewrite one indispensable man in the confederate army. he was up and he was not listening. travelers by the way. finally persuaded him to move further to the rear the counterattack sent the yankees reeling. the monster is surprise flanking attack along in an unfinished railroad and forced the yankees back to the starting point. preparing to launch a second of flank attack when disaster struck. the riders were passing between two rebel regiments when they were hit by friendly fire. sean and a knack reminded the robo of stonewall jackson's accident three days earlier just a few miles away a chance as well. li's eight lieutenant colonel walter taylor wrote the straits fatality really call off the flank attack. several hours later he instead, he to have launched a massive fraudulent tac on hancock's while entranced man. it was a fair year. it turned out to be lee's last major attack of the war. as both armies lost heavily. grant's army 17,600 killed wonder there captured. the army of northern virginia. some units were nearly wiped out the second vermont lost two-thirds of his men on may 5th and help stop to the core from capturing. the taxes brigade lost 550 of its 800 men who turn oxters counter atakapa. the question now was what would grant to next? of the union army generals expected him to emulate his predecessors and go into camp. lee however never really believed grant would withdraw. grant was sometimes uncannily alike and strategic thinking. thinking that he would push off. a major crossroads here is what lee would have done. exactly what granted. grant's army began moving the night of may 7th and 8th when the yankees realize they're returning south to recross. they cheered and shouted thrilled with his message, i propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer. go ahead. longstreet with all of the war had warned his fellow officers not to underestimate grant. he told them we must make up our minds to get in a battle and to stay there. that man will fight us every day and every hour until the end of the war lisa faster moving army got to this pennsylvania first, although just barely. part of the path of the army of the potomac this side of this obscure town, lee's army built the most formidable field fortifications seen until that time in the war. they cover 5 miles their roles calzones in front of the position. they installed pennant like abbott terms to entanglement attackers. they dug trenches topped by headlocks that shielded the defenders. the components are nothing new. the combinations were ingenious. from this point forward fortifications became the world's major on the eastern front. they enabled the confederates to fight a much larger army on nearly equal terms commute an anomaly. about two-thirds of a mile wide, three-quarters of a mile deep the rebels called it the kneele shield. yankees referred to it. became better known may 8th through the 11th his kortrijk flanking attacks as well as from to attacks. the lost thousands of men. nothing succeeded. on may 12th at 4:35 a.m. the yankees unleashed a massive attack. hancocks second quarter shock troops led the attack could be 20,000 men striking an area no wider than a quarter mile. lee immediately organized a counterattack. at great cost a confederate brigades drove the enemy back. there the fighting became close quarters. grants on one side and rebels on the other. union troops continued to end so 40,000 were crammed into a small area. sometimes drove deeper and more. the close quarters fighting was the most savage of the war. in the pouring rain combatants fire their weapons in each other's faces, stabbed or another with bayonets and hurled their bayoneted muskets like javelins' him. ditches on both sides of the entrenchments filled up with bodies. the union battery blessed the enemy at close range and lost all but two of the 23 officers and men in just minutes. for 20 hours a frenzied fighting went on without pause. the wounded were trampled down the confederate wrote that the bullets flew in sheets. today resigns. the intensive musket fire toward the dead and wounded to pieces. around midnight the fighting finally ended. during the night the rebels slipped late to the position they had dug three-quarters of a mile behind. the exhausted yankees did not know that they were gone until the next morning. the scene of horror greeted them bodies lay 60 in places paid also bullet riddled that they have become more like jelly. and new york times correspondent described it as one 80th stuff about. even in losses that date total 9,000. the confederate slauson 7200. in the days ahead the maneuvers in the tax failed to gain him in the ground one of lee's greatest triumphs. some are becoming troubled by his seemingly inexhaustible manpower. they said killing yankees was like telling mosquitos. suits came for every one killed. union losses were staggering 18,400. in 15 days of campaigning grant's army lost 30,000 men. the army of 120,000. hancock suffered 11,500. the still losses, 12,600 to 323,700 total. they cut deeper. during the night of may 20th to 21st, the union army slipped away to the southeast. grant again hoped to get between lee and richmond and force a climactic battle. again, lee's army traveling the inside route was quicker. on the south banks of the north anna river lee's chief engineer general martin smith devised a brilliant defense of alignment resembling an inverted v, apex and at the river. the rebels could annihilate anyone. the river and the swamping anchored is too lax meaning les line could not be fine to. but even better grants brigades, -- crossed to the right and left of the apex pitch to wings were separated by les defenses. in order for one wing to reinforce the other there would have to cross the river twice. the confederates could quickly shuttle troops from one side to the other the heated would also enable the to suddenly shift manpower to one side of the attack. however, lee was incapable of doing this with longstreet wounded and temporarily sidelined by his chronic prostatitis lee was working harder than ever. he typically grows at 3:00 a.m. after just a few hours sleep. with his small staff all of the army's strategic tactical and logistical needs. long days in the saddle, stress and tasty meals had taken a toll on his 57 year-old body. a year earlier lee had suffered a minor architect. his hair i am right when the war began had turned silver white. his trouble now is dysentery. he was unable to leave his tent. there was no one to take his place. lee was 26 to utilize the formation to attack granted. no stonewall jackson, no longstreet, nudge of stuart. when union probes revealed the contours of the rebel offensive formation granted elected not to attack bill he maneuvered again to the southeast to try to get between lee and richmond fed tabret may 27 to can the veterans council reported the union entrenched and was empty. the two armies jockeyed northeast of richmond and gravitated a place. familiar to the veterans of both armies to had thought in 1862. in fact, they reoccupied the old fortification and the positions were reversed. on may 301st engine first the armies fought the engagements for position a massive attack on the rebel right wing. if not he could maneuver again to the southeast. he scheduled the gasol for june june 2nd. is troops or not ready. postponed until the next morning and he does series of cunning differences over the varied terrain. when they were done there were trenches that covered all the likely attack crops did not attack at all union captain james mcginnis, lead and iron filled the air as the snowflakes private nelson said the army seemed to melt away whack of frosts in july. alabama brigade want, the infantry simply tour the yankees to pieces confederate general said it was not work. it was murdered. after a few hours the attacks were suspended. the union lost about 5,000 men and one hour heavy artillery lost more than 400 men in 20 minutes rebel losses were small. days afterward they found a bloodstained diary. the diaries final entry read june 3rd. i was killed attempted no further attacks. the army's settled into a 10-mile front incessant artillery and sniper fire eerily for shattered. killed or wounded during the daytime on june 12th he stole another march. his army maneuver down to the james river and crossed on the 2100-foot long pontoon bridge a simple but army engineers. grant intended to capture petersburg before lee could get their him, but the yankees were to slow and boggled the operation. when they did attack enforce these men had arrived. crack loss 11,000 men to a futile attacks and rebel fortification. there would be plenty of fighting, but little would change for nine months. his campaign had ended in a stalemate had tears burr in richmond. in the north many just the campaign and a lawyer at his army was intact. richmond had not been captured. there were appalled by the losses of grants campaign. the 66,000 union soldiers killed, wounded, captured between may 5th and june june 18th. this equalled two-thirds of union casualties during worst previous three years. checks considerably fewer than grants losses, lies could not be wholly reported. grants could. grant and lincoln were not discouraged. grant had probably and a box in petersburg and richmond. lee and perris grant. he said : to and choke as much as possible it is true that his army was still intact. tired, ragged, dirty. spirits remained high. lee's army was now under siege. a northern virginia and another major offensive we had warned his generals the men must fight it out in the field. becoming inevitable. he was correct. and the plague had changed. so any questions, happy to try to answer them yes. >> bid to win. how do you account for that? >> i don't know. terrible businessman. he ran afoul. he worked so hard. nothing worked. he ended up having to do this himself in illinois. he just said no head for that, civilian life. he certainly had a knack wants to get going for army life. it is hard to account for that. the same problem. when you are at the army, a series of disappointments. he never caught on anywhere. tried, was marked. nothing ever really worked. so i guess those guys were be made for military life and warm. during that night when the union army started south, the confederate serve very lucky to get their first. they were supposed to leave during the night and then arrest and then continue the rest of the way. but because the woods were on fire there is no place to rest. it is just flames everywhere. they pressed on. the cavalry was holding of the union church the confederates were running the last mile or so to get into the entrenchment. >> well, the soldiers in the south, i think, were trying to drive off invaders. the union army was a field as the invading army. and the north, i think there is a real feeling of patriotism and believe, a strong belief in the union, preserving the union. i think those are the two on either side, the main reasons. and then later the union army had to resort to to the draft. they had to pay people to come and. the bounty hunters, they called them. people who came in in order to get the $300 bounty. they would go to the union army and get into a unit and then they would take office as they could and then try to get a bounty. so they had a problem, the northern armies, with desertions . later this southern army, desertion was a tremendous problem. 1865. yes. the confederate army. right. >> both armies, what did they learn the two weeks following the initial assaults. the war effort that would describe the rest of the warm in atlanta and in petersburg. >> i think they learned the power of fortification pick they got very good at building. within a day or so they could build almost impregnable fortifications. they got good at taking and cutting down timber everything. but you know, the union kept trying to attack those fortifications. they lost a lot of people and petersburg during that -- i think that was a lesson learned. became not all war of maneuvering by of just a static situation is what it became. >> last week when i was traveling, -- >> what was the question? >> the question was why did people in this country -- viagra they fascinated and even celebrate the civil war? people in other countries don't do that some much. and i don't know. i would say the answer may be there was one civil war. now is all over. you look at the population of the country at that time which was something like 22 million in the north, 1 million in the south. well, a small population. the number of casualties, i mean killed, wounded, maimed, coming out of that, it just left an indelible impression. the fighting was often just so terrible. i think that is busy. [inaudible question] >> the command wind to richard anderson. division commander in another court. he got it. he has command of it. he came back once later. and what happens to jeb stuart. that is kind of a whole. we no longer could rely on longstreet or stonewall or jeff stuart. what happened to him was that he was killed during the campaign. phil sheridan and written off with a cavalry corps. he had convinced grant that he could lead the cavalry corps toward richmond and draw steward in the battle and destroy the confederate cavalry. seceded. a place called the yellow tavern about 6 miles north of richmond. during the battle stewart was wounded. a union soldier from michigan with a pistol shot him in the side. taken it to rich many died the next day. update : the confederate army. they have some good confederate commanders that could take place but nothing quite like storage. so it was another loss during the campaign. yes. >> this situation. the military supply. guns and ammo. well supplied. >> guns and ammo. >> yes. actually. the question was after the battles were the army's well supplied with arms and ammunition? they were. both armies. the difference was the confederate army did not have enough food. the troops were about half starved. and it just got worse and worse for them. they had a real problem with their commissary. so much at that stage a problem. they're not being enough food coming in. just not getting to the soldiers. and that was really pathetic. before the campaign started -- i mean, the confederates, one of them said, little tiny piece of meat on -- bacon on a piece of wood and said this is my ration for the day. lee was so embarrassed that he raised cain with the commissary. jefferson davis had to get more food to them. they never had enough food steadily. they always had enough weapons. by the end of the war it was all hodgepodge for the confederates as far as their arms went. captured weapons and hold weapons, weapons that have come over from england. that is the answer. >> how long did it take you? >> let's see. it was about a year-and-a-half. on up to virginia. a university of north carolina libraries, terrific fascinating. just go over there and read the journals and letters of the soldiers. so fluid in there riding, many of them. put this to shame today. i find it fascinating. just a wealth of material, stuff that i just could not fit

Transcripts For KBCW KPIX 5 News On The CW 20130720

and just give her one last hug and a kiss to let her know that i love her. >> her world changed for ever when her 8-year-old daughter, she calls lady bug, was shot and killed at a friend's sleepover. and i'm so sad that she didn't get to live. she didn't get to even see 23 or see a prom or just see anything. >> she was on vacation when she got the horrifying phone call no parent should ever have to hear. >> this is really tearing me apart daily. having to pick out caskets. >> her grandmother says she is heartbroken. >> i don't have anybody to dye eggs with anymore. that's all we did. she would come over and say, i'm a little helper. >> and a shooter who took an innocent life comes a mother's message. >> you don't knock on the door and shoot three kids. >> what do you want to say to the person who did this? >> i want them to come forward. i want them to come forward. they took someone dearly to me. >> she is touched by all of the heartfelt messages that have been left. she says she truly believes there is good in this world. just not here. >> even though the city of oakland failed her, i want her to know that the people in oakland love her. >> in oakland, juliette goodrich, kpix5. >> she doesn't know who the shooter is and hasn't talked to the police. funeral arrangements are planned for next week. a call for calm. hundreds fanned out in the streets of oakland in a peaceful demonstration with signs reading justice for trayvon. it's a different picture than what we have seen earlier this week. this time, no violence and no vandalism. organizers say this unity march was for trayvon and other young people of color. they are asking for peace during planned protests this weekend. and president obama is weighing in on the george zimmerman verdict. in an unannounced visit, mr. obama spoke for almost 18 minutes about race. and shares his own experiences as a young black man. >> there are very few african american men in this country who haven't had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store. that includes me. there are very few african american men who haven't had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars. that happens to me, at least before i was a senator. now this isn't to say that the african american community is naive about the fact that african american young men are dis proportionately involved in the criminal justice system. that they are both victims and perpetrators of violence. the question for me, at least, and i think for a lot of folks is, where do we take this? we need to spend some time in thinking about how do we bolster and reenforce our african american boys? and this is saying michelle and i talk a lot about. a lot of kids out there who need help, who are getting a lot of negative reenforcement. and is there more than we can do to give them a sense that their country cares about them and values them and is willing to invest in them. >> the white house's original plan was to have the president address the verdict during interviews tuesday with four spanish language television networks. but none asked about it. >> the president's speech comes after six days of phone calls to the white house from the african american community. angry protests and soul searching by mr. obama himself. one black leader says the president's remarks were well timed and well considered. >> i think the president did today was exactly needed. he did what any president should do. that is to respond to what is a crisis in this nation. >> the president's comments about race mirror conversations being heard in homes all across the country. as kpix5, sharon chin explains for african americans, the killing of trayvon martin serves as another cautionary tale. >> the talk, like a chess game is a black man's strategy for street survival and the talk of jordan's bar in san francisco's bay view. >> there hasn't been any type of trouble. >> bridgette bush told her son how to behave if he didn't do anything wrong, but gets stopped anyway. he will be a college freshman studying engineering. >> you show your id. everything is here in the car. you do what you need to do and don't try to be defensive. >> walter taylor passed on what he learned from his generation. >> i -- my children, none of my children know that you are going to be treated differently than what other people may be treated. >> when he was 11, zada got the talk several times from his grandparents and mother. >> make sure your hands are apparent. make sure when you are reaching for something, you tell them what you are reaching for. don't make any sudden movements. >> the former navy serviceman was wrongly accused in separate drive by shootings. being black means having to prove you are not suspicious. >> we live in a conscious state of being approved. you know, when i go to different areas in san francisco or when i'm in l.a., or whatever i may be, you know, it's like i have to be in a constant state of proving that i'm not that guy or i'm not here to do this or to do that. >> because of all the publicity surrounding the verdict, he will have to give the talk to his ten-year-old son this weekend. he says he is sad that in 2013, he still has to do it. >> so the talk. that's what it is known as. the talk. has it changed over the years? is it going to change in the wake of the trayvon martin case? >> the parents say the times have changed and that today's children are used to more ethnic diversity. for coleman, it will be hard to explain to his son that he could be treated differently because he doesn't classify his friends by ethnicity. >> yet in the bay area, we have a lot of that. there are a lot of ethnic cultures mixed together. >> it will be a lesson for him tomorrow. >> sharon, thank you for that. we learn that today one of the three victims of the plane crash at sfo died not from the crash, but being run over by an emergency vehicle. 16-year-old wong was killed when a fire rescue ran her over. >> oh my god. >> the cause of death of asiana flight passenger is listed as multiple blunt injuries that are consistent with being run over by a motor vehicle. those injuries she received, she was alive at the time. >> obviously, this is very difficult news for us. we are heartbroken. we're in the business of saving lives. >> the chief does not expect disciplinary action against the driver or drivers of the rescue rig. but in a statement, the chinese consulate in san francisco is urging swift action in finding who is responsible. a violent robbery on the campus has students concerned for their safety tonight about eight last night, a man sitting on a campus lawn area was pistol whipped and he had his laptop stolen. police say what is surprising in this case is the three suspects are all women. and they encourage everyone to speak up if they see something that doesn't look right. >> we are not talking about looking people because the way they dress. we are talking about behavior that strikes you as out of the ordinary. something that draws your attention. please call us. >> victim is expected to recover. police are looking at campus surveillance video to get a better look at those suspects. also tonight, there's an all-out battle to stop a wild fire from burning down tourist towns in southern california's mountains. 6,000 people in pine cove are all under mandatory evacuation orders. the flames consumed more than 42 square miles. 3,000 plus firefighters and almost 30 aircraft are taking on that wild fire. it is only about 15% contained. investigators say that fire was human caused, but they don't know if it was set intentionally or by accident. bart unions are ready to talk, but no one will be there to listen. the other plans keeping negotiators away for at least ten days. >> and how in the world could it of happened? a man steals a bus and goes on a joyride? we found out just how easy it is to do. >> it is cloudy and calm in the bay area tonight. beautiful shot of the bay bridge. but what's going on on the las vegas strip right now? record rain fall. we have the video to prove it. that and your local forecast coming up. >> and we all kick ourselves for losing too much money. but wait until you see how one man took out his anger. ,,,,,,,,,,,, hands. k-p-i-x 5 insider new at 10:00, caltrans has another bay bridge problem on its hands. phil reports, 37 seismic shots absorbers on the western span are leaking lubricant. they are called dampers and there are 96 of them all together. it will cost around $13 million to fix them. caltrans installed them nine years ago as part of a seismic upgrade. they plan to replace them starting in 2015. now we are ticking down the time to the next bart strike. but there will be no negotiations for the next ten days because bart's chief negotiator is going on vacation. the announcement comes after a day when both signs were in the same building, but apparently not the same room. the chief negotiators for bart's union workers is laying a lot of the blame at her counterpart's feet. >> for the chief negotiator for the district to be gone for ten days of the 15 days that the parties have available before the deadline is a serious, serious problem. >> earlier today, a bart spokesman said his agency is ready to negotiate a fair contract and all signs signed off on a five-day absence by bart chief negotiator, tomahawk, well ahead of time. strike deadline is august 4. >> an ac transit bus made an unscheduled express run from san francisco clear down to the central valley this morning. this all started about 9:30 when a man stole the bus from the terminal. the temporary one, the chp finally stopped it outside of oakdale. kpix5 tells us you can drive away. some of these buses without a key. >> bus drivers say stealing a bus is not hard. >> press a button. >> what is hard is getting away with it. >> that's pretty gutsy. a guy that took it, i don't know what he was thinking. you can't get far with that bus. >> a gps helped the chp track it down. the driver led officers on a 20 minute chase. they stopped the bus by using spike strips to flatten the tires. officers arrested a san francisco man, 29-year-old, justin moss, officials say this was a stand by bus parked at the transbay terminal. >> i have been here t eigh years and i can't recall that ever happening. >> and muni officials say they have never had their buses stolen. the bus drivers say they are not surprised. >> there's not much security for as far as locking the bus, we don't have keys to the bus. >> doesn't think the suspect is a former driver for them. but they think he has training. >> it's not like operating an airplane, there are procedural things you have to go through. >> i feel there was previous knowledge with how to operate a commercial-type vehicle. because he doesn't get in the large and start driving around. >> the suspect was facing several felony charges. investigators still don't know why he stole the bus. in san francisco. >> the chp used spike strips to bring the bus to a stop. no one else was on that vehicle. people are becoming one of the enlightened ones, one with the enlightened one himself remains of buddha and great buddha masters are on a tour in the bay area. and kit doe shows us visitors are walking away with more than just positive energy. >> little fanfare. nonetheless, buddhists say there hasn't been this much positive energy concentrated on one place in quite some time. >> and it's a very rare opportunity to actually see a relic because normally, they are enshrined in a statue in india or asia. so to have a collection this big is really quite profound. >> relics are pearl-like objects found in the cremated remains of buddhist masters. changes the mind and body on a molecular level. >> during these meditation, they go through the cremation, it crystallizes to form these relics. average, normal people wouldn't have relics, just really high conscious beings. >> 45 relics from present day spiritual leaders going back to the first original buddha himself. they have been handed down through the generations surviving war and conflict and are priceless. >> are you worried about the safety of the relics? >> they take care of themselves. >> about 100 people came to the opening ceremony that the ocean of compassion center. >> touched in every cell and you know you are connected to something so much bigger and holy and the whole universe. i don't know how to explain it. >> the relics have been seen by 1.8 million people in 67 countries and only here in the bay area once every couple of years. it will be here in campbell through the weekend. >> magic word was, the weekend. >> oh yes, we're here. >> and some stuff going on in vegas. >> yeah, weather pretty calm around here. anything but in las vegas. they had a huge thunderstorm roll through. i have video to show you. this is not how you want to spend your friday night in las vegas. only thing worse would be losing money at the blackjack table. quarter inch of rain in less than a half hour. take a look at this nightclub. you bringing the roof down? we don't mean it literally. look at that. the roof is collapsing at that nightclub in las vegas because of all the rain. now it doesn't sound like much. in las vegas, it's a big deal. to my weather map to show you what's going on. it's the same ridge of high pressure that has been keeping us dry and mild is giving las vegas all the thunderstorm activity because it is taking monsoonal moisture and shoving it right toward the las vegas basin and there it is. all those thunderstorms rumbling through right there. you can see it all collecting and rumbling right through las vegas valley. if you have plans going there, it will be rough weather wise. more thunderstorms in the forecast for tomorrow. our weather perfectly dry. as a matter of fact, use the word perfect. it is very comfortable. as a matter of fact, it hasn't been that hot. concord, you haven't been above 92 more than one time out of the past 15 days. our forecast, now head of the sierra, there is the chance of a few thunderstorms on both saturday and sunday with highs in the upper 80s. back here in the immediate bay area, beautiful. sonoma, 86. let's talk more about that ridge of high pressure. it is giving places like phoenix and flagstaff in las vegas problems. it's giving us warm air. cloud cover will move around that ridge of high pressure and once low pressure gets closer to us, that's going to act like a magnet and draw up clouds. we aren't going to see any flooding, no thunderstorms. but we'll see an increase in cloud cover coming up on next monday and next tuesday. the weekend is looking fantastic tomorrow being the warmer day of the weekend. oakland, 74 for you. your average is 70. liver more at 94. san jose 83 degrees. los altos, 93. 82 tomorrow for san rafael. san francisco heading into the city 67. 100 tomorrow for lake port. the warmer day saturday. about 5 degrees cooler on sunday. here comes that cloud cover monday and tuesday. we'll get the sunshine back on wednesday. you know it's a nice forecast when the only big change coming is clouds. >> we'll take it. that's okay. >> steady and normal. we like that. >> and don't go to vegas this weekend. >> it will be soggy. >> thanks, paul. they study hard and stressed out to take advanced placement tests. why hundreds of scores are being thrown out. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, millbrae high school are beg lege scores for more than 200 advanced placement tests at a high school are being tossed out. the college board service says mills high school didn't follow procedure during exams in may. among the problems, students were seated too close together, perhaps giving unfair advantage. the school demands the board reinstate the scores. somebody once said the best revenge is massive success. well, in a small town in italy, a man calmly walked into a casino and successfully destroyed several slot machines. he went on a rampage after losing $6500 in two days. italian police say the man used a pick ax to smash those machines. then calmly walked back out. he did not get a free drink. the casino says the man is a regular slot player. >> frustration. the newest 49ers native of san francisco and baseball is back. how the giants fair against a division leader. the minute is next. ,,,, ,,,, announcer: right now at sleep train, save hundreds on beautyrest and posturepedic. ,,,, choose $300 in free gifts with tempur-pedic. even choose 48 months interest-free financing on the new tempur-choice. the triple choice sale ends soon at sleep train. 49er...the cornerback was acquired in a trade with the tampa bay san francisco native, eric wright is a 49er. the cornerback was acquired in a trade with the tampa bay bucks. start the clock. happy birthday. 90 years young. that's the strike. first inning, buster posey drives one deep to left center. just misses a home run by a few feet. blanco scores all the way from first. 1-0 giants. that would be more than enough run support for chad who had another fine performance. seven innings, 8 strikeouts. the giants shut out the d- backs. home run derby champ. albert pujols hit a few home runs. aj griffin as the a's lose 4-1. tiger woods teed off at 1:45 this morning in round two of the british open. he sinks the birdie put on 3. shoots an even 71 and tied for second in one shot off the lead, which is held by miguel. he follows up yesterday, 68 with a 71 and at 3 under, jimenez takes a one stroke lead into the weekend. 49, he is looking to become scott's oldest major champion. >> it's right there. >> see you at 11:00. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, [telephone rings]

Transcripts For KPIX KPIX 5 News At 11pm 20130720

. this is kpix 5 news. we have breaking news. wet mess on the vegas strip tonight because of record rain fall. >> water poured into a nightclub from the roof and all while friday night partying was getting underway. paul has more to show us. paul. >> the interesting thing is the same ridge of high pressure has been giving us the calm weather and the weather very close to normal has been giving las vegas anything but normal weather. there it is, steerg all the storms right over the las vegas strip. look at all those thunderstorms heading right toward the city, and we had a quarter of an inch of rain fall. this is the result. street flooding las vegas strip normally slow because traffic was slow today because of a couple feet of water. let's show you more of that nightclub video. the roof did not collapse, but all the -- all the water that was being carried across the roof decided to come into the facility instead so problems there for all the party goers in las vegas. take a look of this picture of a lightening strike right near the strass to -- the rain fall was more since concord has seen since easter. also, tonight, president obama's very personal comments about his life as a young black man have many americans talking, once again, about reyes. in a moment, sharon chen will walk us through what generations of black parents say is the special kind of talk that they have to have with their kids, but first, here is some of what the president said about the trayvon martin case. >> there are very few african american men in this country who haven't had the experience of being followed when they were shopping at a department store. that includes me. there are very few african american men who haven't had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars. that happens to me, at least before i was a senator. now, this isn't to say that the african american community is naive about the fact that african american young men are disproportionally involved in criminal justice system, that they're disproportionally both victims and perpetrators of violence. the question for me, at least, and i think for a lot of folks is where do we take this? we need to spend some time in thinking about how do we bolster and reinforce our african american boys, and this is something that michelle and i talk a lot about. a lot of kids out there who need help who are getting a lot of negative reinforcement, and is there more that we can do to give them a sense that their country cares about them and values them and is willing to invest in them. >> the president isn't saying anything that hasn't been said in a lot of african american homes around the country for years now. sharon chen tells us while most parents talk to their kids about the birds and the bees, some black parents feel that they also have to talk about something else. >> the talk, like chess game, is a black man's strategy for street survival and the talk of sam jordan's bar on third street in san francisco's bayview. >> he's never been in any type of trouble at all, thank god. >> bridge et bush told her 18-year-old son devon how to behave if he didn't do anything wrong but gets stopped by police or others anyway. he'll be a college freshman studying engineering. >> you answer everything. you show id. everything is here in the car. you do what you need to do, and you don't try to be defensive. >> walter taylor passed on what he learned from his generation. >> i tell my children, hey, my children -- none of my children has been arrested. know that you are going to be treated differently than what other people may be treated. >> when he was 11, coleman got the talk several times from his grandparents and mother. >> make sure that your hands are apparent, make sure that when you're reaching for something, you're telling them what you're reaching for, don't make any sudden movements. >> the former navy serviceman says he was wrongly accused in two separate drive by shootings just because he was nearby. he says being black means having to prove you're not suspicious. >> that's how we live. we live in a constant state of being approved. you know, when i go to different areas in san francisco or when i'm in la or wherever i may be, you know, it's like i have to be in a constant state of proving that i'm not that guy or i'm not here to do this or to do that. >> because of all the publicity surrounding the trayvon martin verdict, coleman says he will have to give the talk to his ten-year-old son this weekend. he says he's sad he has to do it at all. >> interesting to hear the president spend the time he spent today on this subject. thank you, sharon. in oakland tonight, hundreds of people fanned out in the streets once again with signs reading justice for trayvon. this protest was peaceful unlike the other demonstrations we've seen earlier this week. while out there tonight, our joe vasquez came across a remarkable about protest and violence. if you ever wonder why some protesters feel the need to break windows and wreak havoc, joe got answers for you. >> within the protests, a demonstration of huge differences of opinions. >> the verdict has everybody outraged. >> the guys in the ties call themselves the black menu nieted group. they pleaded with fellow protesters to stop attacking local businesses. >> everybody has little venting to do, but there's more positive ways you can vent than damage the same people who's gef giving your brothers, your sisters, your mom and dad jobs. >> what should happen? would you guys take people down. >> you just need to get hand to hand with them and explain to them, like, hey, stop it, stop it. >> also in the crowd, men in masks, including zachary of berkeley who we've seen at many protests throughout the years on a variety of causes. >> look at the positive, not the negative. the courthouse, i mean, it's ridiculous. >> you tell me what's the negative. you saw these young men say that it's negative to break windows. >> it's not negative for me. i mean, the bank bailouts. you have chase manhattan getting $21 trillion and then asking the people to pay that back. a window is nothing. >> when they beat beat up that guy, hit him with a hammer. >> oh, i'm not into people hitting each other with hammers. i can't be everywhere and policing everything, but i totally -- yes, i mean, what got hit was perfect. >> as far as you're concerned, breaking windows, that's all appropriate. >> oh, come on, that's ridiculous. somebody said how about the grieving mother, is a window got feelings? i mean, we're talking about inanimate objects. >> oakland police say they will have every available officer on the street for a larger protest planned for tomorrow. also in the news tonight, the mother of that 8-year-old girl arrived back at the bay area tonight to plan her daughter's funeral. there was a visual for her who was shot and killed two nights ago when a gunman fired into the apartment where she was attending a sleepover. juliette goodrich on the message her mom has for the killer. >> i just wish she was here right now so i could just, like, hold her and just give her one last hug and a kiss and let her know that i love her. >> chiquita's world changed forever when her eight-year-old daughter she calls lady bug was shot and killed at a friend's sleepover. >> i'm so sad that she didn't get to live. she didn't get to even see 23 or see a prom or just see anything. >> she was on vacation when she got the horrifying phone call no parent should ever have to hear. >> this is really tearing me apart daly, having to pick out caskets. >> alasia's grandmother says she is heartbroken. >> i don't have anybody to make cakes with anymore. i don't have anybody to dye eggs with anymore. that's all we did. she would come over and say, momo, i'll be little helper. >> and to the shooter who took an innocent life and injured a grandmother and two other children with bullets comes a mother's message. >> you don't -- you don't knock on the door and shoot three kids. >> what do you want to say to the person out there that did this. >> i want them to come forward. i want them to come forward because they took someone dearly to me. i love her. >> her mom told me she is touched by all the heartfelt messages that have been left. she says she truly believes there is good in this world, just not here. >> even though the city of oakland failed her, i want her to know that the people in oakland love her. >> in oakland, juliette goodrich, kpix 5. >> the killer is still on the loose tonight. police won't say if they know who they're looking for. we learned today that one of the three victims of asiana flight 214 at sfo died not from the crash but from being run over by emergency vehicle. 16-year-old ye meng yuan was killed when a fire rescue rig hit her on the tarmac, the fire chief does not expect disciplinary action against the driver or drivers, but in a statement the chinese consulate in san francisco is urging swift action to find who's responsible. coming up, counting down to another bart strike mess. >> still no deal so why won't the two sides be going to the table for another week. and someone takes off in a transit bus. how the chp eventually tracked it down and eventually stopped the driver. >> i wanted that kind of --. and why a bay area artist says he felt the need to put up phony highway signs about drones. ,,,,,,,, ,,,, could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. yep, everybody knows that. well, did you know some owls aren't that wise? don't forget i'm having brunch with meghan tomorrow. who? meghan, my coworker. who? seriously? you've met her like three times. who? (sighs) geico. fifteen minutes could save you...well, you know. caltrans has another proble its hands tonight. . a live look at d bay bridge where caltrans has yet another problem on its hands tonight. that's right, kpix 5 insider phil reports 37 seismic shock absorbers on the western span are leaking lubricant. these are called dampers. there are 96 of them all together. it's going to cost about $13 million to fix them. caltrans installed them nine years ago as part of a seismic upgrade. again, this is the western section of the bridge. caltrans plans on replacing those starting in 20 15. there will be no discussions for the next ten dayings because bart's chief negotiator is going on vacation. today's announcement came even though both sides were in caltran's oakland headquarters but apparently not in the same room. the chief negotiator for bart's workers put much of the blame on the agency's noeshter thomas hock. >> for the chief negotiator for the district to be gone for ten days of the 15 days that the parties have available before the deadline is a serious, serious problem. >> earlier today, a bart spokesman said his agency is ready to negotiate a fair contract, and despite what the union says, all sides signed off on this five-day absence well ahead of time. the strike deadline is august 4th. the hunt for a bus stolen from san francisco's transbay terminal ended two hours and 100 miles later. the bus wusz taken around 9: jnt 20 this morning. this was finally spotted and stopped near oakdale just south of stockton. ac transit says it was a standby bus parked at the transit terminal. the van the driver led offices on a 20-minute chase. bus drivers we spoke with say stealing a bus isn't that hard, but getting away with it is. >> that's pretty gut si. i mean, the guy who took it, i mean, i don't know what he was thinking. you can't get far with that bus. >> that's for sure. chp officers stopped the bus by using spike strips to flatten the tires. they arrested 29-year-old san franciscociscan justin moss. why did he take the bus? we still don't know. these drone signs are popping up in places around the bay area like on highway 37. they're fake, of course, but they certainly look real. the chp wants to remind everyone it does not have drones. now, the bigamistly was who made these things. well, we took a look and found the guy. he is an a rtist who lives in the north bay, and here's what he had to say. >> i went to a sign shop. i cut the aluminum myself. i figured out the font. >> just like the signs that we use on the side of the road. >> a sign that really looks like something that caltrans would have made. >> did it professionally. >> i wanted that kind of, "what? ". >> the first officer who saw this on highway 37 did a double take. >> what the [ bleep ] was going on here. >> the jenisis of this idea was just seeing signs that say speed enforced by aircraft and thinking about the ababsurdity of that idea. but there's a relly serious side to this. you know, i think we all have to be aware of what's going on with the nsa and with all the snooping in the internet and on the phones and i think that drones really tie into that. >> along with not having drones, we definitely do not have any drones that would fire any type of weaponry. >> well, fire missiles. that was a little bit of an added touch. i have to admit that i did it for the graphic quality. that's more of the joke part, but, you know. >> but it is illegal to post any sign that resembles an official trafg sign. >> i don't know what the consequences will be. i just felt like it was something i needed to do, plus, well, it has brought some excitement into my life. >> so what happens next? well, steven says he doesn't know. we'll find out so stay tuned. well, paul, we're actually pretty relieved to say the weather here pretty normal. >> very normal. >> we'll take it. >> because --. >> easy. >> it could be doing this. >> yeah. >> no. i mean, the picture. here's what could be going on. look at this. las vegas, we showed you about 15 minutes ago what's going on outside the strip. this is inside. >> that's carpeting. >> yeah. that is flooding inside cesar's. those are slot machines. those are the blackjack tables off in the background. they have floogd inside the casinos right now. that's how much rain is falling in the greater las vegas area. new flood warnings up for the san bernardino valley, as well. here's what we have going on around here. truckload full of normal. we've got normal clouds sitting over the bay right now. normal temperatures, and we will continue to see that. inland, it can get hot. been above 92 degrees in concord only one time out of the past 15 days in the next 7 days in my forecast we do not have any temperatures like that. heading up to tahoe perhaps tomorrow, sunny start, stormy finish, though. high of 87 degrees. here's the setup for sonoma. maybe you're heading up to wine country. sunny, warm, 86 for a high. mostly sunny skies. 82 on sunday. we're trending a little bit cooler after tomorrow but in general stay very close to normal. same area of high pressure giving all the storms to vegas, arizona and utah. that will play into our weather the top of next week as low pressure approaches the coastline we get cooler on sunday. that's going to act like a magnet and draw up some of that moisture giving us some clouds. that's the only change in the forecast over the next seven days. these are your highs tomorrow, 94 for livermore, few degrees above average, san jose 83, sunny vail 80, fremont tomorrow beautiful daze 77 degrees. 92 for pleasant hill, 93 san ramon, 87 for napa. downtown san francisco a popular destination for the weekend, 67 along the embarcadero. extended forecast, little bit cooler on sunday, little bit cloudier. sunshine is back on wednesday and look at those highs near the bay in the 70s every day for the next seven. very close to normal. how is sports looking? got the answer coming up next. ,,,,,,,,,, announcer: announcer: you're on the right track to save big during sleep train's triple choice sale. for a limited time, you can choose to save hundreds on beautyrest and posturepedic mattress sets. or choose $300 in free gifts with sleep train's most popular tempur-pedic mattresses. you can even choose 48 months interest-free financing on the new tempur-choice with head-to-toe customization. the triple choice sale ends soon at sleep train! ♪ sleep train ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ she has been around corn her entire life, so she's probably been around corn longer than i have. [ jeannie stonebarger ] i shop at safeway quite a bit. i walk around the produce department a few times, just to see that box. i'm like...yes! really, really proud. to know that they're buying locally is important. [ female announcer ] safeway works with hundreds of local farmers because local means fresher. ♪ this ten game homestand, the giants will know whether t'e going to be buyers or sellet e . giants got them right where they want them right now. >> it's a new season. anything can happen. >> yeah, absolutely. >> that's why they have the all star break and they split it up in halves. by the end of this ten-game home stand, the giants will know whether they're going to be buyers or serls at the trade deadline. hatch pi birthday. 90 years young. that's a strike. first inning, buster posey drives one deep to left center. just misses a home run. blanco scores all the way from first. one nothing giants. that would be more than enough run support for chad who had another fine performance. seven innings, eight strike outs. the jiebts shut out the d backs two to nothing to begin the second half. home run derby champ scratched late due to wrist soreness in anaheim. knows a thing or two about home runs. a deep shot to left off a. j. griffin. griffin gave up three solo home runs, first one up to mike trout in the fifth, this one a no doubter. the halos hand the a's a 4-1 loss. tielger woods seed off at 1:45 this morning our time. round 2 of the british open. tiger sinks the birdie put on three. he's tied for 2nd and just one shot off the lead. after 69 in round 1, phil mick elson's four puts on 16 for a double bogey. lefty finishes the day one over four shots become of the leader. he shot a 71 round 2 at three under jimenez takes a one streak lead in the weekend and at 49-year-old looking to become golf's oldest champ yoven. eric wright is now 49er. the corner back was traded with the bucks. roll the friday night top 5. friday night fight, charles martin absolutely pummelled aaron. just vicious blows by martin. he wince by tko in just four rounds. curry has got a nice little golf game, too. look at the putt. he's fourth at the celebrity golf tournament up in tahoe. and no. 3, tour defrance is notorious for fans running alongside cyclists. think twice if you want to join us. blatantly tripped one of the runners. that's going to leave a mark. no. 2, back to the diamond. nick markakis of the arls takes it away from adran beltran. and at no. 1, back to the british open, robert didn't make the cut. 11 over, but who cares when you can make this, a 100-foot putt. and there it goes. we'll be right back. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, "enlightened one" himself. remains of . new tonight, people are becoming one with the enlightened one himself. remains of buddha and great buddha masters are on tour here in the bay area. >> and kiet do shows us visitors are walking away with more than just positive energy. >> arrived in campbell with little fanfare, none theless, buddhists say there hasn't been this much positive energy in the bay area in one place in quite some time. >> it's a rare opportunity to actually see a relic because normally they're enshrined in india or asia so to have a collection this big is really quite profound. >> relics are pearl-like objects found only in the kre mated remains of masters. buddhists believe the lifetime of meditation changes the mind and body on a molecular level. >> they cultivate this qualify then when they go through the kre mags it chris allizes to form these relics. average, normal people wouldn't have relics. >> the tour features 45 relics from present-day spiritual leaders going all the way back to the first original bud ha himself. they've been handed down through the generations surviving war and conflict and are priceless. >> are you worried about the safety of the relics. >> no. they take care of themselves. >> about a hundred people came to the opening ceremony. the event is free. the highlight? getting blessed with the relic of the original buddha. >> you're touched in every cell, and you know you're connected to something so much bigger and holy and -- and the whole universe. i don't know how to explain it. >> the relics have been seen by 1.8 million people in 67 countries and only here in the bay area once every couple of years. it'll be here in campbell through the weengd. kiet do, kpix 5. >> and we'll be right back. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, dieters. th n gold" . how is this for a little incentive to lose a few pounds. gold. that's what due buy is offering die yetters. >> the your weight in gold program will give participants a gram of gold for every kfshgsilogram of weight they lose based on current market price that's about 41 bucks for every 2.2 pounds. >> wow. >> do the math. >> pretty good deal. letterman is next. >> i'm in on that one. >> johnny depp is next. ( band playing "late show" theme ) >> from the heart of broadway, broadcasting across the nation and around the world, it's the "late show" with david letterman. tonight... plus paul shaffer and the cbs orchestra. i'm alan kalter. and now, the missing sock from the wash, david letterman! captioning sponsored by worldwide pants and cbs ( band playing "late show" theme )

Transcripts For KPIX KPIX 5 News At 11pm 20130720

. this is kpix 5 news. we have breaking news. wet mess on the vegas strip tonight because of record rain fall. >> water poured into a nightclub from the roof and all while friday night partying was getting underway. paul has more to show us. paul. >> the interesting thing is the same ridge of high pressure has been giving us the calm weather and the weather very close to normal has been giving las vegas anything but normal weather. there it is, steerg all the storms right over the las vegas strip. look at all those thunderstorms heading right toward the city, and we had a quarter of an inch of rain fall. this is the result. street flooding las vegas strip normally slow because traffic was slow today because of a couple feet of water. let's show you more of that nightclub video. the roof did not collapse, but all the -- all the water that was being carried across the roof decided to come into the facility instead so problems there for all the party goers in las vegas. take a look of this picture of a lightening strike right near the strass to -- the rain fall was more since concord has seen since easter. also, tonight, president obama's very personal comments about his life as a young black man have many americans talking, once again, about reyes. in a moment, sharon chen will walk us through what generations of black parents say is the special kind of talk that they have to have with their kids, but first, here is some of what the president said about the trayvon martin case. >> there are very few african american men in this country who haven't had the experience of being followed when they were shopping at a department store. that includes me. there are very few african american men who haven't had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars. that happens to me, at least before i was a senator. now, this isn't to say that the african american community is naive about the fact that african american young men are disproportionally involved in criminal justice system, that they're disproportionally both victims and perpetrators of violence. the question for me, at least, and i think for a lot of folks is where do we take this? we need to spend some time in thinking about how do we bolster and reinforce our african american boys, and this is something that michelle and i talk a lot about. a lot of kids out there who need help who are getting a lot of negative reinforcement, and is there more that we can do to give them a sense that their country cares about them and values them and is willing to invest in them. >> the president isn't saying anything that hasn't been said in a lot of african american homes around the country for years now. sharon chen tells us while most parents talk to their kids about the birds and the bees, some black parents feel that they also have to talk about something else. >> the talk, like chess game, is a black man's strategy for street survival and the talk of sam jordan's bar on third street in san francisco's bayview. >> he's never been in any type of trouble at all, thank god. >> bridge et bush told her 18-year-old son devon how to behave if he didn't do anything wrong but gets stopped by police or others anyway. he'll be a college freshman studying engineering. >> you answer everything. you show id. everything is here in the car. you do what you need to do, and you don't try to be defensive. >> walter taylor passed on what he learned from his generation. >> i tell my children, hey, my children -- none of my children has been arrested. know that you are going to be treated differently than what other people may be treated. >> when he was 11, coleman got the talk several times from his grandparents and mother. >> make sure that your hands are apparent, make sure that when you're reaching for something, you're telling them what you're reaching for, don't make any sudden movements. >> the former navy serviceman says he was wrongly accused in two separate drive by shootings just because he was nearby. he says being black means having to prove you're not suspicious. >> that's how we live. we live in a constant state of being approved. you know, when i go to different areas in san francisco or when i'm in la or wherever i may be, you know, it's like i have to be in a constant state of proving that i'm not that guy or i'm not here to do this or to do that. >> because of all the publicity surrounding the trayvon martin verdict, coleman says he will have to give the talk to his ten-year-old son this weekend. he says he's sad he has to do it at all. >> interesting to hear the president spend the time he spent today on this subject. thank you, sharon. in oakland tonight, hundreds of people fanned out in the streets once again with signs reading justice for trayvon. this protest was peaceful unlike the other demonstrations we've seen earlier this week. while out there tonight, our joe vasquez came across a remarkable about protest and violence. if you ever wonder why some protesters feel the need to break windows and wreak havoc, joe got answers for you. >> within the protests, a demonstration of huge differences of opinions. >> the verdict has everybody outraged. >> the guys in the ties call themselves the black menu nieted group. they pleaded with fellow protesters to stop attacking local businesses. >> everybody has little venting to do, but there's more positive ways you can vent than damage the same people who's gef giving your brothers, your sisters, your mom and dad jobs. >> what should happen? would you guys take people down. >> you just need to get hand to hand with them and explain to them, like, hey, stop it, stop it. >> also in the crowd, men in masks, including zachary of berkeley who we've seen at many protests throughout the years on a variety of causes. >> look at the positive, not the negative. the courthouse, i mean, it's ridiculous. >> you tell me what's the negative. you saw these young men say that it's negative to break windows. >> it's not negative for me. i mean, the bank bailouts. you have chase manhattan getting $21 trillion and then asking the people to pay that back. a window is nothing. >> when they beat beat up that guy, hit him with a hammer. >> oh, i'm not into people hitting each other with hammers. i can't be everywhere and policing everything, but i totally -- yes, i mean, what got hit was perfect. >> as far as you're concerned, breaking windows, that's all appropriate. >> oh, come on, that's ridiculous. somebody said how about the grieving mother, is a window got feelings? i mean, we're talking about inanimate objects. >> oakland police say they will have every available officer on the street for a larger protest planned for tomorrow. also in the news tonight, the mother of that 8-year-old girl arrived back at the bay area tonight to plan her daughter's funeral. there was a visual for her who was shot and killed two nights ago when a gunman fired into the apartment where she was attending a sleepover. juliette goodrich on the message her mom has for the killer. >> i just wish she was here right now so i could just, like, hold her and just give her one last hug and a kiss and let her know that i love her. >> chiquita's world changed forever when her eight-year-old daughter she calls lady bug was shot and killed at a friend's sleepover. >> i'm so sad that she didn't get to live. she didn't get to even see 23 or see a prom or just see anything. >> she was on vacation when she got the horrifying phone call no parent should ever have to hear. >> this is really tearing me apart daly, having to pick out caskets. >> alasia's grandmother says she is heartbroken. >> i don't have anybody to make cakes with anymore. i don't have anybody to dye eggs with anymore. that's all we did. she would come over and say, momo, i'll be little helper. >> and to the shooter who took an innocent life and injured a grandmother and two other children with bullets comes a mother's message. >> you don't -- you don't knock on the door and shoot three kids. >> what do you want to say to the person out there that did this. >> i want them to come forward. i want them to come forward because they took someone dearly to me. i love her. >> her mom told me she is touched by all the heartfelt messages that have been left. she says she truly believes there is good in this world, just not here. >> even though the city of oakland failed her, i want her to know that the people in oakland love her. >> in oakland, juliette goodrich, kpix 5. >> the killer is still on the loose tonight. police won't say if they know who they're looking for. we learned today that one of the three victims of asiana flight 214 at sfo died not from the crash but from being run over by emergency vehicle. 16-year-old ye meng yuan was killed when a fire rescue rig hit her on the tarmac, the fire chief does not expect disciplinary action against the driver or drivers, but in a statement the chinese consulate in san francisco is urging swift action to find who's responsible. coming up, counting down to another bart strike mess. >> still no deal so why won't the two sides be going to the table for another week. and someone takes off in a transit bus. how the chp eventually tracked it down and eventually stopped the driver. >> i wanted that kind of --. and why a bay area artist says he felt the,,,,,,,, announcer: announcer: you're on the right track to save big during sleep train's triple choice sale. for a limited time, you can choose to save hundreds on beautyrest and posturepedic mattress sets. or choose $300 in free gifts with sleep train's most popular tempur-pedic mattresses. you can even choose 48 months interest-free financing on the new tempur-choice with head-to-toe customization. the triple choice sale ends soon at sleep train! ♪ sleep train ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ people are switching to finish... ... and it's spreading all across america. quantum with new power gel delivers amazing clean and shine, even in the hardest water, which cascade just can't do. take the finish shine challenge with quantum. voted product of the year by consumers ! caltrans has another proble its hands tonight. . a live look at d bay bridge where caltrans has yet another problem on its hands tonight. that's right, kpix 5 insider phil reports 37 seismic shock absorbers on the western span are leaking lubricant. these are called dampers. there are 96 of them all together. it's going to cost about $13 million to fix them. caltrans installed them nine years ago as part of a seismic upgrade. again, this is the western section of the bridge. caltrans plans on replacing those starting in 20 15. there will be no discussions for the next ten dayings because bart's chief negotiator is going on vacation. today's announcement came even though both sides were in caltran's oakland headquarters but apparently not in the same room. the chief negotiator for bart's workers put much of the blame on the agency's noeshter thomas hock. >> for the chief negotiator for the district to be gone for ten days of the 15 days that the parties have available before the deadline is a serious, serious problem. >> earlier today, a bart spokesman said his agency is ready to negotiate a fair contract, and despite what the union says, all sides signed off on this five-day absence well ahead of time. the strike deadline is august 4th. the hunt for a bus stolen from san francisco's transbay terminal ended two hours and 100 miles later. the bus wusz taken around 9: jnt 20 this morning. this was finally spotted and stopped near oakdale just south of stockton. ac transit says it was a standby bus parked at the transit terminal. the van the driver led offices on a 20-minute chase. bus drivers we spoke with say stealing a bus isn't that hard, but getting away with it is. >> that's pretty gut si. i mean, the guy who took it, i mean, i don't know what he was thinking. you can't get far with that bus. >> that's for sure. chp officers stopped the bus by using spike strips to flatten the tires. they arrested 29-year-old san franciscociscan justin moss. why did he take the bus? we still don't know. these drone signs are popping up in places around the bay area like on highway 37. they're fake, of course, but they certainly look real. the chp wants to remind everyone it does not have drones. now, the bigamistly was who made these things. well, we took a look and found the guy. he is an a rtist who lives in the north bay, and here's what he had to say. >> i went to a sign shop. i cut the aluminum myself. i figured out the font. >> just like the signs that we use on the side of the road. >> a sign that really looks like something that caltrans would have made. >> did it professionally. >> i wanted that kind of, "what? ". >> the first officer who saw this on highway 37 did a double take. >> what the [ bleep ] was going on here. >> the jenisis of this idea was just seeing signs that say speed enforced by aircraft and thinking about the ababsurdity of that idea. but there's a relly serious side to this. you know, i think we all have to be aware of what's going on with the nsa and with all the snooping in the internet and on the phones and i think that drones really tie into that. >> along with not having drones, we definitely do not have any drones that would fire any type of weaponry. >> well, fire missiles. that was a little bit of an added touch. i have to admit that i did it for the graphic quality. that's more of the joke part, but, you know. >> but it is illegal to post any sign that resembles an official trafg sign. >> i don't know what the consequences will be. i just felt like it was something i needed to do, plus, well, it has brought some excitement into my life. >> so what happens next? well, steven says he doesn't know. we'll find out so stay tuned. well, paul, we're actually pretty relieved to say the weather here pretty normal. >> very normal. >> we'll take it. >> because --. >> easy. >> it could be doing this. >> yeah. >> no. i mean, the picture. here's what could be going on. look at this. las vegas, we showed you about 15 minutes ago what's going on outside the strip. this is inside. >> that's carpeting. >> yeah. that is flooding inside cesar's. those are slot machines. those are the blackjack tables off in the background. they have floogd inside the casinos right now. that's how much rain is falling in the greater las vegas area. new flood warnings up for the san bernardino valley, as well. here's what we have going on around here. truckload full of normal. we've got normal clouds sitting over the bay right now. normal temperatures, and we will continue to see that. inland, it can get hot. been above 92 degrees in concord only one time out of the past 15 days in the next 7 days in my forecast we do not have any temperatures like that. heading up to tahoe perhaps tomorrow, sunny start, stormy finish, though. high of 87 degrees. here's the setup for sonoma. maybe you're heading up to wine country. sunny, warm, 86 for a high. mostly sunny skies. 82 on sunday. we're trending a little bit cooler after tomorrow but in general stay very close to normal. same area of high pressure giving all the storms to vegas, arizona and utah. that will play into our weather the top of next week as low pressure approaches the coastline we get cooler on sunday. that's going to act like a magnet and draw up some of that moisture giving us some clouds. that's the only change in the forecast over the next seven days. these are your highs tomorrow, 94 for livermore, few degrees above average, san jose 83, sunny vail 80, fremont tomorrow beautiful daze 77 degrees. 92 for pleasant hill, 93 san ramon, 87 for napa. downtown san francisco a popular destination for the weekend, 67 along the embarcadero. extended forecast, little bit cooler on sunday, little bit cloudier. sunshine is back on wednesday and look at those highs near the bay in the 70s every day for the next seven. very close to norma what makes a sleep number store different? 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"enlightened one" himself. remains of . new tonight, people are becoming one with the enlightened one himself. remains of buddha and great buddha masters are on tour here in the bay area. >> and kiet do shows us visitors are walking away with more than just positive energy. >> arrived in campbell with little fanfare, none theless, buddhists say there hasn't been this much positive energy in the bay area in one place in quite some time. >> it's a rare opportunity to actually see a relic because normally they're enshrined in india or asia so to have a collection this big is really quite profound. >> relics are pearl-like objects found only in the kre mated remains of masters. buddhists believe the lifetime of meditation changes the mind and body on a molecular level. >> they cultivate this qualify then when they go through the kre mags it chris allizes to form these relics. average, normal people wouldn't have relics. >> the tour features 45 relics from present-day spiritual leaders going all the way back to the first original bud ha himself. they've been handed down through the generations surviving war and conflict and are priceless. >> are you worried about the safety of the relics. >> no. they take care of themselves. >> about a hundred people came to the opening ceremony. the event is free. the highlight? getting blessed with the relic of the original buddha. >> you're touched in every cell, and you know you're connected to something so much bigger and holy and -- and the whole universe. i don't know how to explain it. >> the relics have been seen by 1.8 million people in 67 countries and only here in the bay area once every couple of years. it'll be here in campbell,,,,,, at farmers we make you smarter about insurance, because what you dont know can hurt you. what if you didn't know that it's smart to replace washing-machine hoses every five years? what if you didn't know that you might need extra coverage for more expensive items? and what if you didn't know that teen drivers are four times more likely to get into an accident? 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Transcripts For KPIX KPIX 5 News Saturday Morning Edition 20130720

we'll have the details coming up in a few minutes. we just got sad news into our news room. a white house reporter, helen thomas, just passed away. she was the first woman to join the white house correspondence association. she died at her apartment in d.c. this morning following a long illness. justice for trayvon rallies are planned in cities across america today. the goal is to push for civil rights charge against george civil. hundreds of people fanned out in the streets of oakland to call for justice for trayvon. joe vasquez who spoke to run protestor, who doesn't see vandalizing property during a protest as a bad thing. >>reporter: within the protest, a demonstration of huge differences of opinion. >> the verdict has everybody outraged. >>reporter: the guys in the ties call themselves the black menu nighted group. they plead with fellow protestors to stop attacking local businesses. >> everybody has a little venting to do, but there's more positive ways to vent than damage the same people, who is giving your brothers, your sisters, mom and dads job. >>reporter: would you guys face people? >> you need to get hand in hand with them and explain to them, hey, stop it. >>reporter: also in the crowd, men in masks, including zachary runningwolf of berkeley, who we've seen at my protests throughout years on a variety of causes. look at the positive, not the negative. the courthouse, this is ridiculous. >>reporter: tell me what's the negative. you saw these young men say that it's negative to break windows. >> it's not negative to me. the bank bailouts, you have chase manhattan getting 21 trillion dollars and asked the people to pay that back. >> won it be negative when they beat up that guy, beat him bad. >> i'm not into people hitting each other with hammers. >>reporter: breaking windows, that's appropriate? >> yeah. that's ridiculous. somebody said how about the grieving mother? does the window have feelings? >> that was joe vasquez recording. oakland police say they will have every available officer on the street. a map wielding a machete and gun went on a rampage last night at a park. police say he was heavily armed, when he began chasing children around a park. he retreated into his house. police were able to coax him out. no one was injured. during the confusion, a child was left at the park. anyone with any information on that abandoned child is asked to call police. >> new details this morning in the $9,000 search for two swimmers, who were never in any trouble. two off duty firefighters were spotted swimming toward alcatrez last night. the coast guard went on a three-hour search. both were found safe on the island hiding from rescuers. the firefighters have been sited for trespassing. developing news out of southern california this morning. more evacuations were ordered in river side county, as that wildfire burns for a sixth day. it started near the intersection of highways 243 and 74678 the fire is only 15% contained. bill whittaker shows us the challenges fire crews raced today and the residents who call them heroes. >>reporter: the terrain is tough, the dry conditions you have toer. >> we specialize in initial attack. >>reporter: casey jones is as far of a u.s. fire service helicopter attack team. they've fought a dozen wester fires this summer. >> when there's a lack of landing areas, we have the ability to drop ropes the and insert firefighters into remote areas. >>reporter: 19 choppers carry cruise and water, two massive c-130 cargo planes drop retardants. 24 aircraft in all revolve fighting this fire three miles from the town of idyllwild. the fire came within a few hundred yards of garner family's house. it was saved by helicopter water drops. the garner ranch is now the helicopter staging ground. meg garner. >> they are heroes. they are our heroes. i've lived here all my life. this is fire that we fear every year. >>reporter: this fire is so bad because the vegetation is so dry. as dry as things usually get in august. and there's a lot of it. most of this fire region hasn't burned in 80 years. bill whittaker, cbs news. it was one year ago today when a man walked into a colorado movie theater and opened fire. 12 people, including a 6-year-old girl were killed that day. 70 people were hurt. some of them are now paralyzed. the city of aurora is sponsoring is a day of remembrance in less than 30 minutes from now. the the shooter is facing 4 counts of attempted murder. five crew members from the costa concordia ship wreck in it will are heading to prison. 32 passengers and crew members were killed when the huge luxury liner capsized. all five were convicted of multiple manslaughter and mention charges negligence -- negligence charges. >> we are at the possibility of another bart strike. bart's chief negotiator is going on vacation. the chief negotiator for bart's union workers is laying a lot of blame on her counterpart's feet. >> for the chief negotiator for the district to be gone for ten days of the 15 days that the parties have available before the deadline is a serious, serious problem. >> a bart spoke american said yesterday his agency is ready to negotiate a fair contract. all sides did sign off on a five-day absence well ahead of time. the strike deadline is august 4th. one man in jail this morning after a 100 mile joyride in a stolen bus. police say that started yesterday morning when justin moss stole the bus from the bay terminal. the chp stopped it outside of oakland. you can drive away in the buses without a key. >>reporter: bus drivers say stealing a bus is not hart. >> you just push a button. >>reporter: what is hard is getting away with its. >> that's gutty. >>reporter: a gps helped the chp track it down. the drive let officers on a 20-minute choice. they stopped the busby using spike strips to flatten the tires. officers arrested 29-year-old justin moss. transit officials say this was a standby bus parked at the terminal. >> i've been here eight years, and i can't recall that happening. >>reporter: they've never had buses stolen. bus drivers say they're not surprised. >> being that there's not much security as far as locking the bus, we don't have keys. >>reporter: ac transit doesn't think the suspect is a former driver, but they think he has training. >> it's not line operating an airplane, but there are procedural things had you have to go through. >> i feel like it's somebody with knowledge of operating a vehicle. >>reporter: the suspect is locked up at the san joaquin county jail. investigators still don't know why he stole the bus. . the chp used strikes strips to stop the bus. the price for a soldier's family found under water and the severe weather that left behind a wet mess on the vegas strip. and the bay area today, we're starting the out with fog and drizzle along the shoreline, but it's going to be the warmest day of the week. we'll have the forecast coming up in just a minute. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, drive through gushing water. severe thunderstorms and high winds... with gust 70- miles-per-hour ... hit e check this out. the famous las vegas strip turned into river. thunderstorms and high winds with gusts up to 70 miles per hour hit that weather yesterday. check out the lightning. a few needed to be rescued from the water. check out what the rain did to the treasure island hotel and casino. pipes rupture and came pouring into the building. several buildings were hit with lightning during the storms. >> you know, we were talking abouting -- talking earlier about helen thomas, it was a huge deal in the early 60s when she was there with all the men in the press conferences and president kennedy, to show you how good kennedy was at deflecting potential questions, helen thomas was called on to speak. she said about the issue of women's rights, i have a question. he said i'm sure we are not doing enough. >> that is a diplomatic response. >> exactly, yeah. helen thomas, if you tuned in, died this morning. anyway, we're talking about the weather in the bay area. we're starting out with fog and drizzle . asas -- as we look toward the bay bridge, it's foggy. 52 degrees in santa rosa. wind speeds right now, fairly calm around the bay area, northwest at livermore but calm at heyward. a lot of calmness. out in fairfield, west, southwest at 17. out the door this morning, expect fog and drizzle along the shoreline. partly sunny at the bay. this weekend at the state fair, it's going to be 100 degrees in sacramento. avoid 19th avenue, because that slows things down. warmest day today. inland temperatures will be in the mid-90s. the cooling, however, begins tomorrow, if you're headed inland, livermore, pleasanton, it's going to be warm today and cooler tomorrow by about five top seven degrees. above average for one more day. as low pressure begins to move toward the bay area, we'll cool it down next week. the weekend looks good. heading out of the bay area, we're looking at 66 at monteray, 107 at fresno, 110 at redding. pinpoint forecast for the bay area, 90 degrees at concord, 93 for livermore and 83 in san jose, 85 degrees in santa rosa. the extended forecast is calling for things to be toasty today inland and cooling it down on sunday and monday and tuesday. things are going to be getting back to what we could call average in the bay area. not so bad. temperatures will be in the mid-80s. at least we can think cool thoughts by looking the temperatures right now. >> not a bad forecast. summer catches usually involve sports. anything to get kids outside. in palo alto, they cater to sports. they don't play. they do play by play. frank mallicoat shots us this camp. >>reporter: it is the perfect week-long summer sports camp, all things tv from working cameras to directing your own shows, hand-on training, including mri by play. >> high drive. deep to the left. way back, and gone. >>reporter: when you tell your friends you're going to sports caster' camp, what do they say? >> they're like lucky you. >>reporter: 11 peninsula teenagers are about to find their inner chris burman. the sports director got the idea when he noticed the sports production truck was sitting idle. >> we came up with the idea to use high school and middle school kids at volunteer crew. we brought them in, trained them. >>reporter: one of those high school games was palo alto high. guess who jumped into the booth. >> it's almost as if keller's dad might be a quarterback coach. >>reporter: not a bad recruiting tool for your camp. >> yeah. i was a smchl the kids loved -- awe (kids lovedsome -- awesome. the kids loved it. >> i've learned so much. >> it's been a great opportunity to learn about tv production, sports production. it's been a great place to grow up. >>reporter: the media center sports broadcasting camp, this week's -- . [ cheering and applause ] >> the camp is just about one week long, and it costs $400. here's the best part. campers can stay on to be part of the high school sports production in the fall and winter. what's cool about your school or summer camp? submit your nomination on your website. kpix.com,/coolschool. coming up next, all eyes on london, all eyes on the duchess of cambridge. ,,,,,, [ female announcer ] for the freshest produce, you want to be close to the people who are close to the land. [ rooster crows ] that's why safeway works closely with local growers. the folks whose hands are in the soil. planting and nurturing the kind of delicious produce that gets delivered to safeway every single day. fresh from our farmers. this week, fresh local sweet corn from g&s farms is just 8 for two dollars. at safeway, ingredients for life. ♪ expected to arrive any mome now. hundreds of reporters d you're looking at live pictures can outside st. mary's hospital in london. that is where the royal baby is expected to arrive now. the telegraph newspaper is reporting kate may have given birth in the city of reeding. that is where she is from and has been visiting her parents. 44 years ago, neil young calls the apollo mission one small step for man, one giant step for man kind. >> the eagle has landed. >>reporter: when the eagle landed in the moon sea of tranquility, al coon was holding his breath. >> great relief when they landed on the mean. neil armstrong's first word was something like the eagle has landed. >>reporter: back when the slide rule was the only calculator, he was a scientist for nasa. holding their breath, 534 million medium watching on live television. >> one giant leap for man kind. >>reporter: he was responsible for the propulsion system on the apollo 11 and says his blood pressure started to rise when it was time for them to hit one button and make three things happen simultaneously. >> all the wires and cables and oxygen tubes get cut with a knife. the engine had to ignite. >>reporter: one of those watching, a student at stanford at the time, who would later work on nasa's pioneer venus project. >> i realized the astronauts had one chance only, otherwise they die. >>reporter: alan never worked at nasa together. now they find themselves living any retirement in palo alto. they realize that for a younger generation, walking on the moon really is hard to believe. >> anybody who was not around at the time does not realize what an incredible achievement for man kind and for united states in particular that was. when you look at the moon, i looked at it last night. i say we really walked there? i know we did. it's so remote. >> that was hal hand martin reporting. as for man's future in space, he says we've lost our way and says the emphasis should be on man's space travel. a u.s. airmen found a unique way to surprise his family. take a look. >> are you freaking kidding me? >> here reporting for duty. >> he popped out of the water in full scuba gear, as you can see, surprising his wife and kids as they wept for a swim. they thought he was in afghanistan. he doesn't expected home for three weeks. on tony's table, a crisp salad. here is stephanie and tony with a salad that is easy to toss together. >> okay, stef, cucumber salad. >> we're going to lighten up today. >> we're going to start off with cucumbers, which we slice into half moons. >> i like half moons. >> we slice grape tomatoes. it's also a hydrating salad, if you've noticed, high water content. we'll put those in an unsalted peanuts. >> very important. you can slice them up too. >> always remember to get unsalted. >> how about chick peas. >> chick peas at protein. then we're going to throw on dill. it looks so nice. >> parsley? >> parsley. the dressing is extra rush jin ol-- extra virgin olive oil, honey,. >> this, on a hot day, last the whole bowl. >> beautiful. this weekend, president obama is asking the country to do soul searching about the trayvon martin case. whens from a press conference coming up. more heart aches for the parents of an asiana afls passenger. we'll be right back. ,, so she sees her allergist who has a receptionist susan, who sees that she's due for a mammogram. mary has one that day. that's when she finds out she has a tumor. she has a successful surgery and because her health provider has an amazing connected system, she has her life. i don't know what you have but i have kaiser permanente. kaiser permanente. thrive. about the loss of her daughr to gunfire. this is kpix 5 nuz news. after an 8-year-old girl is killed, a grieving mother speaks about the loss of her daughter the gun fire. >> trayvon martin could have been me 35 years ago. president obama getting personal. the extraordinary moments during a surprise appearance at the white house. and a late-night swim that turned into a major water are rescue on bay. welcome back. it is about 7:30 on saturday, july 20th. wick look at the weather. we're starting out with clouds and drizzle on the shoreline. it will be warm today. exactly how warm is the subject of weather forecast coming up. it's going to be nice. there are going to be a lot of rallies today. justice for trayvon is the theme, planned in 100 cities across america today. sfrufshg san francisco and oakland are on the list. last night, hundreds of people fanning out in the streets of oakland, calling for justice for trayvon. the protest was peaceful. during yesterday's march, kpix 5 reporter joe vez vasquez had an interesting question. >> it's not negative for me. i mean, bailouts, you have the banks getting millions of dollars. >>reporter: what about the guy hitting the guy with a hammer in. >> i'm not into people hitting each other with hammers. i can't be everywhere policing everything. >> oakland police say they will have every available officer on the street today for a larger protest. an emotional moment shared by president obama ahead of today's marches. as a surprise appearance at the white house, president spoke personally, saying he could have been in martin's position 35 years ago. >> there few african american men in this country, who haven't had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store. that includes me. >> the president now calling on states to reexamine stand your ground laws the. the president isn't saying anything that hasn't been said in african american homes around the county for years. while most parents talk to their kids about the birds and the bees, some african american parents feel they have to talk about something else. >>reporter: the talk, like a test game, it's a black man's strategy for street survival and the talk only san jordan's bar. >> he's never been in any type of trouble. >>reporter: bridget bush told her 18-year-old son devin how to behave if he didn't do anything wrong but gets stopped by police or others anyway. he will be a college freshman, studying engineer. >> you answer everything, show you i.d.. everything is here in the car. you do what you needed to do and don't try to be defensive. >>reporter: walter taylor passed on what he learned. >> i tell my children -- my children know that you're going to be treated the differently than other people . >>reporter: when he was 11, he got the talk several times from his grandparents and mother. >> make sure that your hands are apparent. make sure that when you're reaching for something, you're telling them what you're reaching for. don't make any sudden movements. >>reporter: the former navy serviceman says he was wrongly act ed -- accused in two separate drive bg -by -- drive-by shooting because he was in the area. >> i have to be in a can stand state of proving i'm not that guy. i'm not here to do this. >>reporter: because of the publicity surrounding the trayvon martin verdict, coleman says he will have to give his 10-year-old son the talk this weekend. the colorado city of aurora is marking a tragic anniversary. i was one year ago today when a man walked into a movie theater and opened fire. 12 people, including a 6-year-old girl were killed. 70 people were hurt, some of them now paralyzed. the city is sponsoring is a day of remembrance. as for james holmes, he is facing 24 counts of murder and 14 counts of attempted murder. his trial is set for february of next year. >> the chinese consulate is calling for swift action to determine who is responsible for the girl killed in the asiana crash, who was killed after a rescue truck ran her over. san francisco police reconstructing the investigation. >> the cause of the death is listed as multiple blunt injuries that are consistent with being run over by a motor vehicle. those injuries, she received, she was alive at the time. >> obviously, this is very difficult news for us. we're heart broken. we're in the business of saving lives. >> they do not expect disciplinary action against the drive or drivers of the riggs. despite the heart break of losing her 8-year-old daughter to gun violence, the mother still stands behind the city. the girl was at a sleep over at a friend's house, when she was killed by bullets. >> i'm so sad that she didn't give to live. she didn't get to see 23 or see a prom or anything lee shah's -- or anything. >> he friend survie bay, family members will continue their search for daphne web today. she disappeared more than a week ago from her father's suv parked at 79th avenue and international boulevard. the family is also reaching out to the community to help locate that girl. a violent robbery raising safety concerns on the san jose state campus. police say three women pistol whipped a man to steal his laptop. the coast guard carried out a $9,000 search for two swimmers is, who were never in any trouble, but now you they. two off duty firefighters were spotted swimming from -- from alcatraz last night. both were found same on the island, hiding from rescuers. the firefighters have been sited for tres pathing. guy marriage -- for trespassing. gay marriages may be in trouble in sfifk. this is the second such suit filed to stop same sex mar ands. >> they are half a world away and date back 2500 years. where you can check them out in the bay area. helping them has been the best thing i've done. >> a career spanning five decades, the many job this bay area woman has done since the 60's for free. we're starting out with mostly cloudy skies around the bay area. we have sunshine inland. sunshine will be breaking out all over the place. put on a happy face. we'll see you after the break. ,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, campbell yesterday with lite fanfare. they are pearl- like objects. and they're only found in the cremated remaif great buddhist masters. buddhist relics. they arrived yesterday with a little bit of fanfare. they are pearl-like objects. >> it's a very rare opportunity to actually a relic, because normally, they're enshrined in a statue in india or asia. to have a collection this big is profound. >> the relics are on tour. the exhibit features 45 relics, going back to the first buddha himself. they will be on display until tomorrow at the ocean of compassion buddhist chapel. for 50 years, she has been making life for easier for senior citizen centers. we're introduced to her. >>reporter: when anne griffith isn't selling homes, you'll likely find her volunteering. >> morning, lee mother. >>reporter:ing -- lshzeno -- morning, lenoir. >>reporter: shr ing meals on wheels. for more than 50 years, anne has served older adults. >> i know there was a real need to help, socially, with their brains. physically, they needed to be healthy, eat properly, and be around someone beside the family. >>reporter: in 1962, anne got her first assignment from peninsula volunteers, while delivering her third daughter in the hospital. >> bob champless, who wife was my den mother, came into my delivery room and gave me my raffle tickets to sell. i told them to my ob. >>reporter: all of them? >> of course. >>reporter: before you delivered? >> yeah. >> three she is. >>reporter: over the years, anne has delivered for the peninsula volunteers in a range of roles from president in 1974 to frequent fund riser and event planner. today , they provide low coast housing to old adults and deliver 250 meals a day to the home bound. past president jill says anne has helped the 65-year-old nonprofit fulfill its mission. >> she's a visionary. she sees our organization not as something that is stagnant. it's moving forward. it's moving with the time. >>reporter: for example, anne started showcasing local artists' work at the activity center. she start and underwrite an annual benefit featuring famous arrest or thes. >> author. >> the fact that he enthusiasm hasn't waned is incredible. >> seeing older people and helping them is the best thing i've done. >>reporter: for machine than 50 years as a faithful peninsula volunteer, this week's jefferson award goes to anne griffiths. >> fun want to get involved, use the link online at kpix.com. click the logo at the top of the page to find our story on anne. all right. a lot of evens going on around the area. we have a blues festival going on in san jose. >> we do. >> what do you think it's going to be like? >> probably sunny. temperatures will be in the 80s in the south today and low 90s i land. it will be hot inland, the warmest day of the week. we're starting out with fog and overcast near the shoreline. 52 degrees in santa rosa. another thing happening this weekend, america's cup on the bay, 64 degrees and mostly overcast until about 11:30 this morning. nice again today. in the weather headlines, slight cooling will begin sunday. a mild week ahead for the day area. today is going to be great. as you see on time lapse, the western satellite. you can see the monsoon moisture is working its way into san diego and imperial county. for us, a warm day and temperatures the around the 70s at the bay. futurecast shows we're starting out with low clouds. as the day goes on, it burns back. all the low clouds push back to the shoreline. pinpoint forecast, then, if you're heading out of the bay, it doesn't look bad. central valley at 107 at fresno. heading out of the bay area, morning clouds at sfo, high of 70 degrees. that's monday. thunderstorms will be bumping in new york. if you're headed that direction, that could slow down monday. pinpoint forecast for the bay area, 90 at concord. toward the beginning of the work week, numbers will cool back down into the 80s. we'll stay in the 80s around the bay for the rest of the week. that's the latest on the weather. seems like a nice day for a walk. >> we hope tomorrow is going to be too, because this weekend there's a san francisco walking tradition going on. tomorrow morning, thousands are expected at golden gate park for the 27th annual aids walk san francisco. neil juliano joining us live. things have change sod much significantly. somebody living with aids a decade ago, their life would be different than now. give us a picture. what is it like to live with aids right now? >> this is still about 1.1 people in the united states living with aids. in the bay area, we have about 16,000 people who are hiv positive just in san francisco actually. about half of them do they have the virus under control. they need better treatment. we're about ensuring people get tested, know what they status is, and get the treatment you need. >> if you are on top of it, people can live a really long time now. >> really fantastic break-throughs that have taken place. >> do you almost feel like add -- advancements that are still made, people are less scared of it. >> it's not like aids have develop away. that's why we have so many people coming out tomorrow. >> you have about 15,000 people. >> we'll have about 15,000 people. we'll raise $2 million. >> where will that go? >> to free programs and services in the san francisco area. you know, in 2010 the president made a statement about the national strategy they were trying to come up with. he said our country is add a crossroads. that was three years ago. >> we've made progress. the president made a recommitment to ensure that people are going to be tested, to put extra money into the health and human services department for people to get access to care. it's important that those kinds of things will help us get to that aids-free generation. >> things are going to change for people dealing with aids with the affordable care act. >> that's right. >> how is that going to affect it had. >> there's going to be a transition. some people may have to go to a different entity to get medication. we're going to be providing counseling to help people make the transition. >> that is huge. all right. a lot of that is going to come from the money you guys are going to raise tomorrow. >> very important. >> let's talk about the event. >> we'll have about 15,000 people in the park. there's a brief welcoming ceremony. one of the things that's neat this year, sally strothers is going to be with us. we have a lot of people that are going to be out there. chevron is one of our key partners, the gap, wells fargo, many others. their employees come out, make a day of it, help us raise awareness and funds. >> you can still sign up. give us the website. >> ssas.org. link through to the aids walk page. >> we're talking about no donations. just go out. >> thank you. we'll be right back. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, good morning. eric wright is now a 49ers. the cornerback was acquired in a trade with the bucs. happy birthday lon simmons. buster posey drives one deep to left center, just misses a home run by a few feet. greg or the scores from the 1st. 1-0 giants. that would be more than enough run support for chad, who had a great performance. the giants shut out the d-backs. the home run derby champ was scratched late due to a wrist injury. albert hit a home run, as the a's loose. tiger woods in round two of the british open, tiger sinks the birdie put on three. he shoots 71. he's tied for second in the one shot off the lead. he's tide with miguel. he has a 61. miguel takes a one-stroke lead. that's a look at sports. have a great day. coming up, one more look at this morning top's stories. two bay area cities joining a national march today in honor of trayvon martin. we'll be right back. ,,,, [ glenn stonebarger ] we are a family farm. she has been around corn her entire life, so she's probably been around corn longer than i have. [ jeannie stonebarger ] i shop at safeway quite a bit. i walk around the produce department a few times, just to see that box. i'm like...yes! really, really proud. to know that they're buying locally is important. [ female announcer ] safeway works with hundreds of local farmers because local means fresher. ♪ "justice for trayvon" ralli are planned in 100 cities as america today. san francisco and oakland are on that list. a quick look at this morning's top stories. justice for trayvon rallies are planned in 100 cities across america today. frisk and -- san francisco and oakland are af people fanned out in the streets of oakland calling for justice for trayvon. more evacuations ordered in river side county as a wild fire burns for a sixth day. it started near the intersection of highways had 243 and 74 near palm strings. more than 27,000 acres have burned. ten builds, includes homes, were destroyed. more than 4,000 homes are threatened. tomorrow, here on kpix 5 this morning, phil matier asked willie brown what is the first thing janet napolitano has to do. >> go door to door with the student body. plus another look at the trayvon martin protests and the damage left behind the damage occupy movement. that is on kpix this morning starting at 7:30 a.m. here on kpix 5:00 right before face the nation. weather forecast, pretty typical july whether. >> seems like it, yeah, although today the slight little adjustment, the fact that it's going to be warmer today than it will be for any day in the next seven. temperatures near 90 degrees inland. along the shoreline, moderate. temperatures start out in 50s, 59 at livermore but overcast mere the store to start things out. with we'll look at fog and drizzle near the shoreline. a mostly sunny day inland. looks nice for the bay. have a great saturday. >> good or the me. i have a friend coming into town today. house this for an incentive to loose weight, gold. that is what dubai is offering dieters. they will get one gram of gold for one kilogram lost. is that enough to kill the lure of a cupcake? thank you for joining us this morning. we're back tomorrow at 7:30. ,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ♪ man: ♪ you and me solve a mystery ♪ with huckle kids: ♪ in busytown! girl: let's get busytown! man: ♪ you and me... kids: ♪ you and me! man: ♪ solve a mystery... kids: ♪ solve a mystery! man: ♪ with huckle kids: hooray for huckle!

Police courts | Local Rockhampton courts | The Courier Mail

Police courts | Local Gladstone courts | The Courier Mail

Police courts | Local Rockhampton courts | The Courier Mail