Monument To Mosby's Men

This letter was written by Confederate Soldier J.C Morris to his wife in a camp near Lanjer, Arkansas on May 10, 1863. Morris served in the 21st Texas Cavalry, Company F. Morris’s rank is unspecified, however because the letter is fairly well written he was likely educated and was therefore likely a higher rank such as a Sergeant or possibly even an officer. In the letter, Morris describes killing and capturing the “Yanks” with minimal loses. He writes “ We captured a good many prisoners while in Mo. and killed a good many.” As a result of his unit’s successes, Morris at the time was likely still hopeful that a Confederate victory was possible. He writes of the Unit’s triumph against Union forces in the line “The yanks boasted that we would

Company Aytch, a memoir written by Sam Watkins, tells the personal tale of a lowly private fighting four long years in the American Civil War. Watkins was from Columbia, Tennessee, and was a part of Company H, 1st Tennessee Infantry. He recounts his military career in chronological order, from before the Battle of Shiloh in 1862 to the day the Confederacy surrendered at Nashville in 1865. Watkins is a humble writer, often reminds the reader that he is not aiming to provide a comprehensive account of the entire war, but rather a collection of personal stories. Military history books often recount the lives of generals and of great strategies, but this book insists that history should not exclude the common men who filled the ranks of the military.

The tomb of the unknown soldier is located in Arlington National Cemetery overlooking Washington D.C. Sculpted in the east panel which faces Washington D.C., are three Greek figures representing Peace, Victory, and Valor. There is also three wreaths sculpted on each side, representing the six major campaigns for WWⅠ. Lastly, inscripted into the back of the tomb is: Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known to only but God.

“It was not war-it was murder” (M.G. D Hill 1862). July 1st 1862, held one of the bloodiest battles during our civil war. Throughout the battle we have learned the importance of understanding your terrain and surroundings. Confederate also realized the relevance of controlling Malvern Hill from a military stand point. Throughout the mistakes of this battle it has taught us over time better ways to communicate, emplace, and maneuver artillery units as a whole. This battle plays a key role in the advancement of our military tactics and execution in the ways that we use artillery today.

The Foreword began with describing the armies of the two armies. It states that the Confederate armies had a strong union among its men, because of their similarities in traditions, language, and religion. The soldiers had a strong belief in their leaders and were stronger together. This resulted in them beating much larger armies. The leader of this group on the battle of Gettysburg was Robert E Lee. A man who loves Virginia, who doesn’t partake in any bad habits, and who is a calm and composed man. However, the Union army was more diverse in their traditions, language, and religion, but this didn’t stop them from volunteering for their country. The leader of this group was George Gordon Meade. Unlike Lee, Meade was far more irritable and

On March 4, 1921, an unknown soldier from World War I was buried with the approval of Congress in the plaza of the Memorial Amphitheatre at Arlington National Cemetery. This serviceman was chosen randomly out of four other servicemen from four individual gravesites located in France. Not only was this soldier honored as a valiant trooper, but unknown soldiers from World War II and the Korean War were honored and remembered at this site too. The soldier located in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was buried with a white marble sarcophagus on top of the grave that has engravings of both Greek figures and words that say “an American soldier known but to God.” The importance of this mausoleum is that it honors those who were unidentified soldiers, and shows that our country will honor our armed forces and respect them, whether they are known or unknown.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery is on a hill that looks over Washington,D.C. On March 4, 1921, Congress approved the burial of an unknown American soldier from World War I in the plaza of the new Memorial Amphitheater. The white marble tomb has a flat-faced form and is relieved at the corners and along the sides by neo-classic0 columns, set into the surface. Sculpted into the east panel which faces Washington, D.C., are three Greek figures representing Peace, Victory, and Valor. The six wreaths, three sculpted on each side, represent the six major campaigns of World War I. Written on the back of the Tomb are the words: “Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God.”

McPherson’s account that the Confederates were unable to fight is not supported by his claims that the two groups of the Confederate soldiers continued waging war on two fronts even with the limited supplies occasioned by the cutting of the Texas supply corridor and the passage from Arkansas (McPherson, 2009). How could soldiers who were reeling from deprivation of all food supplies still engage in warfare?

Civil War historians view the Battle of Chancellorsville as General Robert E. Lee’s “greatest and most remarkable” victory (Sears 1). Lee, facing an army twice his size, defies all military doctrine and divides his army multiple times in order to out-maneuver and surprise the Union forces. The daring maneuver succeeds and ultimately forces the Union’s Army of the Potomac to retreat. The victory was another major blow to Union troops, but it came at a huge cost to the Confederacy: the loss of General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. By evaluating the battle through the lens of the mission command activities, one can see how Lee’s daring maneuver was actually very calculated and his only option for victory. Throughout the rest of this paper, I will describe the timeline of the battle and how General Lee used the mission command activities of understand, visualize, assess, and lead to ultimately achieve victory at Chancellorsville.

James M. McPherson, author of For Cause and Comrades, uses more than 25,000 unaltered letters and closely 250 private journals from Civil War soldiers—both Union and Confederate—in his attempt to explain what possessed these men to endure the roaring, gruesome chaos of war. What better way to express the motivation behind fighting than words straight from the pens of the men who were physically there and experienced the Civil War to its fullest? I personally feel as though McPherson succeeded in his explanation of the different driving forces that kept each man going during these difficult years of battle. The Wall Street Journal describes McPherson’s work as “an extraordinary book, full of fascinating details and moving self-portraits.”

The position and view of the hill allowed for anyone to oversee the entire Union Army, therefore this would be a huge advantage to the Union. As Warren observed atop the hill, he watched as the Union made an inordinate left flank by the foot of the hill. The Union were not the only ones making a move, however, the Confederates were advancing towards the hill and shrouded from the Union’s sight by a line of trees. The Confederates managing to capture the practically barren hill meant the likely end to the Union at Gettysburg. The position would allow the Confederates to attack the Union in the side and rear with their artillery, which significantly weakening the Union to the point of no hope. If this were to happen then the Union would have to evacuate Cemetery Ridge, and the field would go to Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederates. (Savior

Lieutenant General James Longstreet contributed to the Civil War despite the lack of appreciation from his fellow men. Longstreet opposed offensive warfare in Gettysburg and argued that the “enemy outnumbered you and outgunned you and would come looking for you anyway if you waited somewhere on your own ground” (10). He did not openly express his arguments all the time but was often ignored by General Robert E. Lee and many of the Confederate troops when he did spoke his mind about how an offensive tactic at Gettysburg would cost the Confederacy numerous casualties. Even though soldiers like Brigadier General Lewis Armistead agreed with many of Longstreet theories of defensives, but the South would never listen to Longstreet. The

The Confederate Monuments are a life lesson to American people. The statues teach us about the past of our nation. People in our time think that the statues are supporting white supremacy. That is yet to be seen. Most of the Confederate monuments in the United States were

The Civil War of America has been discussed as the first modern war of the new industrial age. Army’s of such a large size had yet to meet head on, face to face in the battle field with weapons of such mass destruction and deadly force. America had not yet seen casualties of this magnitude to

The Battle of Gettysburg was amongst one the most important turning points during the Civil War. It was a three-day bloody battle between the Union and Confederate forces which would ultimately lead up to the victory of the Union. In The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara shows a depiction of the battle through the eyes of the officers and tries to give the reader a first-hand look into the daily struggles that they had to deal with when it came to distinguishing between what’s best for their men and chances of success in the battle. In the book, we are introduced with two important officers: Colonel Chamberlain of the Union force, and General Lee of the Confederate force. Throughout the book, we witness different leadership strategies and philosophies between both officers which ultimately serve as their road to success or failure in the battle. Focusing on General Lee’s philosophy on leadership, “To be a good soldier, you must love the army. But to be a good officer you must be willing to order the death of the thing you love.”, it reinforces the idea that in order to fully succeed at battle, you must set aside and sacrifice your sense of sympathy towards your soldiers as a way to avoid making emotional decisions.