Continuing my tidbit on the Battle of North and South

July 30, 2009

Has anyone noticed our weird weather this summer? The southeast is a smidge cooler and experiencing a bit more rain compared to the last couple years. In the northeast the summer hasn’t really been very warm at all. Thank you, El Nino! Boy, oh, boy! I love summer – it’s my favorite of the four seasons – and I just wish we could have a little bit of fun outside before Labor Day rolls around. If it’s any consolation, winter is supposed to be milder and not as chilly. That is a nice trade, I suppose. I hope everyone has been having a nice summer, despite the goofy weather. Anywho… I left a huge cliffhanger in my last blog for all of you, and I hope you’re ready for next chapter of the story.

Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter

When we left off I told you that the American Civil War officially began on April 12, 1861, when the Confederate Army launched a siege on Fort Sumter in South Carolina. It was a 34-hour fight that ended with Confederate forces triumphant over the Union. It was the first battle of a war that would consume and divide the United States for the next four years. At the conclusion of the battle the Union commander carried the Fort Sumter Flag (which fell during battle) north where it became a symbol of their goals, and a rally cry for supporters of the Union. The Siege of Fort Sumter was the first of 10,000 individual battles that were waged in the United States during the Civil War – with forty percent of the fighting taking place in Virginia and Tennessee. However, not all were epic struggles, such as Gettysburg or Antietam.

Following the Siege of Fort Sumter President Lincoln called for a volunteer army from each state, which led the secession of four more southern slave states: Virginia*, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee joined the seven states (South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas) that seceded prior to Lincoln taking office. During the Civil War that spanned time between February, 1861, and May, 1865, the 10,000 battles fought were categorized in to regional campaigns: The Eastern Theater, Western Theater, Lower Seaboard Theater, Pacific Coast Theater, and Trans-Mississippi Theater. What follows is a brief (and abridged) account of what occurred in the Eastern Theater, which is considered by historians and the most prolific of all during the Civil War.

The Eastern Theater

The Eastern Theater

The Eastern Theater included the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and the coastal forts and seaports of North Carolina. The United States National Parks Service documents that 160 battles waged during the American Civil War took place within the borders of the Eastern Theater. Battles in The Eastern Theater generally are more famous than others in the history of the war, mostly because the fighting took place in densely populated areas, the proximity to the capital cities of Richmond (Confederacy) and Washington, D.C. (Union), and press coverage at the time.

Great battles fought in the Eastern Theater included Bull Run (Virginia), Gettysburg (Pennsylvania), and Antietam (Maryland). The First Battle of Bull Run, fought in Virginia on July 21, 1861, ignited just months after Battle of Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The Confederate Army stood victorious while the fighting amassed nearly 4,900 combined casualties in a single day. Antietam (September 17, 1862) is recorded as the bloodiest single-day engagement, and the three-day Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863) was the bloodiest of all battles of the War. Military engagements in the Eastern Theater continued until April 9, 1865, where, at Appotomax County Courthouse in Virginia, Union infantry surrounded Confederate forces led by General Robert E. Lee. It was at this time and place where General Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant and, in doing so, marked the final engagement of war between the Union and Confederacy in Virginia.

In period of 1861 and 1865 that was the American Civil War, 620,000 soldiers died and an undetermined number of civilians were injured or killed. While considered the darkest (and deadliest) time in American history, the legacy it left behind includes the ending of slavery in the United States, the restoration of the Union, and strengthening role of a federal government. The social, political, economic and racial issues of the war shaped the reconstruction era and brought about the necessary changes that made the United States a global superpower.

I hope that this blog topic is… well… I hope it’s a couple things. I hope that it is informative and interesting for you to read, and I hope that it sparks your interest just enough that you might seek out some of this history for yourself. If that might be true, I have included a couple links below where you will find a surplus of historical information on this period of our history. When I write next time I will include more historical information about the Civil War, and some of the more prolific events during that period, such as the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Gettysburg Address. In the meantime, God bless you, and God bless America!

Some sites worth visiting:

http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/civil.htm

http://www.civilwar.com/

Until next time e-friends…..have a great day!

Lexi

*The northwest portion of Virginia seceded from Virginia, joining the Union as the new state of West Virginia on June 20, 1863.

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A little tidbit on the battle of North and South

July 15, 2009

American Civil War

American Civil War

Hello, friends! I hope your Fourth of July celebrations were plentiful. Me and the family had a wonderful time downtown this year. It was such a beautiful site to see so many people, decked out in their patriotic regalia, waving American Flags, all coming together for a common purpose. Day in and day out we all seem to cheer for something, and more often than not it’s for different reasons. My dad roots for the Buffalo Bills, and my mom likes the Carolina Panthers. It’s a house divided when those two teams play each other every couple of years. NASCAR fans root for many different drivers who’re all making left turns on the same track at the same time! And don’t even get me started on college sports…that’s a whole’nother thing I’m not gonna go near at this time. But for real, it really gives me warm feelings all over when everyone is cheering and celebrating for the same reason. The Fourth of July is a day – in fact it’s THE day – when we can all smile bigger to celebrate our Independence and eat a lot! LOL! Let’s just say it’s a good thing I wore shorts with an elastic waistband. If I don’t see a hot dog or a pile potato salad for another year I won’t be sad about it.

You know, there was a time when we didn’t all root for the same goal for our country. During a four-year span, between 1861 and 1865, we fought amongst ourselves. It is considered the most inglorious period of our American history. I remember a time when my mom had a “thing” for Patrick Swayze. In the 80’s he was in the TV miniseries, “North and South,” which took place at the time of the American Civil War. In the show Patrick Swayze fought for the South against his best friend, who was fighting for the North. The allusion of fictional characters to historical truth is hokey, but it’s pretty plain in its meaning; we as a people during the time of the Civil War fought our own brothers.

Civil War Soldiers

Civil War Soldiers

The American Civil War pitted eleven southern states – The Confederate States of America – against the U.S. Federal Government (commonly referred to as The Union). The Confederacy declared a secession from the United States after increasing talks of anti-slavery. Anti-slavery was a hot topic in the United States for a decade prior to Abraham Lincoln’s Presidential election in 1860, the secession of the Confederate States, and the start of the Civil War. Heavy helpings of the political agendas in the 1850’s focused on the expansion of slavery, the moral beliefs surrounding the practice, and an agreement by both the North and South that if slavery could not expand it would disappear. Lincoln’s election to the Presidency in 1860 was the proverbial last straw for the south who feared losing their grip on slave ownership, and triggered their ultimate secession.

During his campaign Abraham Lincoln stated, “Government cannot endure permanently half slave, half free.” Honest Abe campaigned against the expansion of slavery beyond the states in which it already existed. The Confederacy, led by Jefferson Davis, fought the Union which was supported by all the free states and the five border slave states in the north (for the time being). A little more than one month passed following Lincoln’s victory when, in December, 1860, South Carolina secedes from the Union. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas followed just a couple months afterward; the seven southern states seceded from the Union even before Lincoln took office in March, 1861. Both Lincoln and the outgoing U.S. President, James Buchanan, rejected secession, considering it rebellion.

Fort Sumter Flag

Fort Sumter Flag

With the beginnings of lines being drawn, the Civil War began on April 12, 1861, with the Siege of Fort Sumter. Following the Confederacy informing the Union that it planned to attack the South Carolina Fort, a bombardment commenced before dawn, lasting for 34 hours until the next morning. During the assault the fort’s central flagpole fell. The absence of flying colors queued Confederate envoys to inquire whether the flag had been lowered in surrender. Shortly thereafter the commander of Fort Sumter agreed to a truce, and surrendered the fort to Confederate control. No one from either side was killed during the bombardment. It was not until the 100-gun salute to the U.S. flag when a pile of cartridges blew up from a spark, killing one soldier and injuring the rest of the gun crew, one mortally. The deaths are logged as the first of the American Civil War. While the flag at Fort Sumter fell during battle, it was not lost. The Fort Sumter Flag was carried north where it became a widely known symbol of the battle, and rally cry for supporters of the Union.

And that is just the beginning. I’m going to halt the lesson here so you can digest this historical step in to the past. Meanwhile, I am going to digest the rest of my Fourth of July feast. More to come from days gone by, stay tuned for Patrick Swayze’s first scene. It’s coming soon!

Lexi

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