American Civil War

The American Civil War, also known as the War between the States or simply the Civil War, was a war fought from 1861 to 1865 between the United States (the "Union" or the "North") and several Southern states that had declared their secession and formed the Confederate States of America (the "Confederacy" or the "South"). The war had its origin in the fractious issue of slavery, and, after four years of bloody combat, the Confederacy was defeated, slavery was abolished, and the difficult Reconstruction process of restoring unity and guaranteeing rights to the freed slaves began.

There were many magicians around during the years of the Civil War.

Robert Heller James H. Sharp Samri Baldwin A.M. Wilson Andrew G. Waring Canada Bill Jones George W. Stock Homer S. Woodworth Harry G. Cooke Jim De Barr Henry Brown John A. Stock James Tully Kelsey

Magicians who served

• Gus Rich (1833-1917) - A tinsmith by trade, he gave his first performance of a magical nature to a large audience at the Ole Salem Concert Hall just before war broke out in 1860. When the Civil War started Rich became the drummer in a 26th North Carolina Regimental Band part of the Confederate Army. When not with the 26th Regiment he and his fellow band members put on performances to raise money for the confederate troops. Rich performed as "The Southern Magician". On April 8th, 1865, the 26th North Carolina Regimental Band was captured and imprisoned, but to their surprise they were released the following day. General Lee had surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox ending the Civil War. Gus Rich returned to his hometown of Salem, North Carolina adopting the moniker "The Wizard of the Blue Ridge" and continued to perform magic until 1914. The Wizard of the Blue Ridge still lives on today in a special magical tribute written by Max Howard called "The War Wizard".

Magicians who performed

• John Henry Anderson (1814 – 1874) - Touring for Anderson was good up to the start of the Civil War, but as the tour progressed he began to feel the effects of the conflict between the states. As business was drying up all over the eastern U.S., Anderson arrived in Richmond to discovered he was not welcome. The Virginians did not take kindly to his posters proclaiming the arrival of "The Great Wizard of the NORTH". War broke out shortly after his visit to Richmond. He tried to continue but it was a loosing proposition, even when he took the tour westward. As a last ditch effort Anderson returned to New York City and hired an author to write a version of Shakespeare's TEMPEST but with an emphasis on pro-Northern ideals. He called this play "The Wizards Tempest", hoping to win over the Northern audiences. At first it appeared he had a huge hit on his hands, but with news that the war was not going well for the Union it seriously hurt business. After a few weeks the show was closed and Anderson found himself in debt. He worked out arrangements to repay his debts and went to England, leaving his family behind.

• Compars Herrmann (1816-1887) - In 1861, he came to America and began to perform in New Orleans. As the Civil War broke out Herrmann headed north to New York were he began to set attendance records. During his stay in Washington D.C., Compars Herrmann was invited to perform at the White House for President Abraham Lincoln and his invited guests. Compars Herrmann's assistant during this engagement was his 18 year old younger brother Alexander. Together they presented their Second Sight routine. Compars performed throughout the Northern States during the Civil War and in 1863 he left America and headed to England and didn't come back to America until 1869, after the Civil War had ended.

• Alexander Herrmann (1844-1896) -

References

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