Monroe County Civil War Roundtable

Meanwhile South of the Border:

The French Attempt to Take Over Mexico 1862 - 1867

When the US Civil War began, enforcing the Monroe Doctrine was pretty low on the priority list and military capability of the US government. The French attempted to take advantage of the situation by taking over Mexico and establishing Archduke Maximilian of Austria as a puppet "Emperor" of Mexico. Many Mexicans resisted this takeover and a 5-year war ensued. The program will focus on two battles, the Mexican victory at Puebla on May 5, 1862 (the famous Cinco de Mayo) and the French Foreign Legion's stand at Camerone in April 1863; and the origins of the conflict, the personalities and leaders on both sides, and the challenges they faced. An important aspect is the interrelation between the "Mexican Adventure" and our simultaneous American Civil War.

Dave Jordan was born in Atlanta, Georgia and became interested in the Civil War during the Civil War Centennial. His grandmother lived in an antebellum brick house south of Dalton, Georgia. Soldiers from both sides had stayed in the house, and many of them had written their names, units, hometowns, etc. in charcoal on the walls. Inside the closets (which were added post-war) you could still make out some of the names because they had only been covered with a thin layer of whitewash. His first Civil War related memory was attending the reenactment of the Great Locomotive Chase in 1962. He has served as President of the Kalamazoo Civil War Round Table since 1999, as Newsletter Editor from 2000 - 2019 and Program Director since 2001. He has previously spoken to the Monroe CWRT on the Battle of Olustee.

Dave received his Bachelors of Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1977 and a Masters in Engineering from Purdue University in 1995. He worked as an engineer in the aerospace industry for 43 years until taking a COVID-related early retirement offer in April 2020. He lives in Texas Township with his wife Tina, daughter Kelsey, a Golden Retriever named Ginger and a cat named Ella. During the summers he works as an Official Scorer at the Kalamazoo Growlers baseball games. He also plays a LOT of pickleball.