The Battle Of The Civil War

The American Civil War has become a point of controversy and argument when discussing key events in shaping America. The arguments that arise when discussing the war tend to focus on whether the Confederate was constitutionally justified in seceding, or whether the North had the right to prevent the secession. However, when discussing the America Civil War and the idea of separation, it is important to be mindful that separation did not simply end at the state level. Letters written by Jesse Rolston, Jr. and Jedediah Hotchkiss portray two significantly different attitudes toward the war, despite the fact that the writers both fought for the Confederate States and give accounts of the same battle, one of which ended in the Confederate’s favor. When examining the documents, both writers express different viewpoints on life on and off the battlefield. This significant difference represents a division amongst the Confederate army.

In the 19th century there was a popular doctrine or belief that the westward expansion of the United States not only could happen, but that it was destined to stretch from coast to coast. For awhile, the nation’s leaders were unable to resolve the divisive issue of slavery. This belief was called Manifest Destiny and it eventually provided a larger stage for the growing conflict over slavery in America.

The war produced about 1,030,000 casualties, including about 620,000 soldier deaths—two-thirds by disease, and 50,000 civilians. The war accounted for roughly as many American deaths as all American deaths in other U.S. wars combined.

William Thomas was 36 and the owner of a plantation in Virginia near Norfolk. He had a wife, two daughters, and a son who he intended to pass the plantation on to just as he father had to him. Following the events of Fort Sumter, he elected to join the Confederate army to defend against what he saw as the Union’s invasion.

Months prior to the battle, the Confederate Army dealt a blow to the Union Army at the battle of Chancellorsville was in May 1863. At the battle of Chancellorsville Major General Joseph Hooker, who commanded the Army of the Potomac, lay in defeat by a smaller force under the command of General Robert E. Lee. The Army of the Northern Virginia had sent the Union forces retreating inflicting over 15,000 casualties. In mid June 1863, General Lee moved his army across the Potomac River for the second invasion of the North. On June 28th, General George Meade took command of the Union forces. On June 29th, the newly appointed Commander ordered his army to pursue General Lee. They would later meet at Gettysburg.

When you hear about the civil war and what caused the feud between the North and the South many people believe it was due to slavery. Too some individuals however, this claim is considered a misconception. James Rhodes was amongst those people who didn’t believe slavery had been the main cause, instead he believed in the Impending Crisis, which was the belief that the cause of the civil war was due to aspects other than slavery such as the difference in views economically, socially, and politically between the colonies. Rhodes stated in his seven-volume History of the United States the Compromise of 1850 that “the moral conflict over slavery, had suggested as well that the struggle also reflected fundamental differences between the Northern and Southern economic systems” (380). The North compared to the South was extremely advanced economically, due to entering the industrial revolution. Northern sectionalists had about two times as much man power as the south, and were open to the idea of advancement in technology such as, railroads and factories. The South was contempt with the life they had been living due to agricultural incomes from products like tobacco and cotton. Money was being made for the South without people having to do anything because slaves had done all the work to make the citizens of the South revenue. This comfort of living is what did not prompt the South to enter the industrial revolution, they rather just stick to the basics

The American Civil War started on April 12th, 1861. It was by far the bloodiest war ever fought on American land. The war left a mark on America with 620,000 people killed and millions of casualties. It was between the northern states called the Union, and the Southern states called the Confederacy. They were angry at each other, mainly because of three reasons: slavery, Compromise of 1850 and secession. All three of these factors led to the inevitability of the Civil War.

Have you ever wondered why the Civil War happened or why it was so substantial to American History? What was the battle that changed it all; that made it the history it is today? Many people have made speculations on the causes of the war and what the major turning point was, but cannot really narrow it down. In James McPherson’s Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam he points out the pivotal moments in American history that led up to and changed the Civil War, so that the reader can get a better insight on the causes and major moments that took place. McPherson explains that the Battle of Antietam was the battle that changed the course of the Civil War along with other important battles and moments.

It is evident that the Civil War helped shape America into the country it is today. The strong factional division -based on slavery- between the Union and the Confederacy guaranteed certain achievements of both sides. Much of what we consider history today remains a part of the outcome from these multiple bloody battles. Activist John Muir of the Civil War-era stated, “the traces of war are not only apparent on the broken fields, burnt fences, mills, and woods ruthlessly slaughtered, but also on the countenances of the people” (page 535). Changes were noticeable throughout the nation. Due to the Civil War, the United States advanced its technology, showed true power from a federal, and how sympathetic political understanding helped the nation.

In 1861 the Civil War began, but the cause of the war began decades before with a societal struggle of slavery between North and South. The societal influences that lead up to the Civil War consisted of five distinct events, all intertwined with one another. The societal events began with the rise of Black churches, and led to abolitionists creating the Compromise of 1850, to fighting in Bleeding Kansas, to a ground-breaking Supreme Court ruling, and ultimately to armed abolitionists attempting to incite a slave rebellion.

The Civil War was a war that was thought to would have lasted no longer than ninety days. After all was said and done, the war lasted more than four years and claimed tens of thousands of lives of both The Union and The Confederate States. There were several battles fought on Northern and Southern soil, battles that forced bloody mortal combat between brothers in the fight for equality amongst all men. It tested the strength of the foundation that the United States was built upon. The Civil War was the first war that was documented both by the writings of the men and women involved in the war, and by photographers who were able to capture the true, raw emotion of life on the battlefront. The best way to learn about the Civil war is by exploring and learning about the brave people who sacrificed so much for their respective causes whether it be to liberate slaves from their masters and strengthen the Union, or to defend a newly founded Confederate states who fought to preserve their way of life in South.

Four score and seven years ago..." These are the famous words that start Abraham Lincoln 's

The Civil war may have been destined to occur and not avoided, as it was the deadliest war in American History. Even the great President Abraham Lincoln tried to avoid the war, but failed ultimately. An analysis of the events that led to the secession of the southern states and the start of the civil war revealed the differences between the North and South. The outcome of the states seceding is a pivotal moment in American History that showed the true divide and is one of the most important historical moments in the 19th century, as the war was a fight over the way of how American life would be.

William Tecumseh Sherman, although not a career military commander before the war, would become one of "the most widely renowned of the Union’s military leaders next to U. S. Grant.” One of the most debated figures of the Civil War, Sherman has been equally celebrated and reviled in public memory. He brought hard warfare to the South, leaving a wake of destruction through Georgia and South Carolina which hastened the surrender of Confederate forces in the Carolinas, Florida, and Georgia in April 1865. His harsh tactics ended the bloody conflict and resulted in freedom for millions of enslaved people.

The American Civil War was fought from April 12th 1861 to May 9th 1865 to mark the bloodiest clash in American history. The civil war started as a result of differences between the free and slave states over the authority of the national government to outlaw slavery in the Southern states. The economy of the northern states had modernized and industrialization had taken root. They had invested heavily in their transport system, financial industries and communications network. The Southern economy produced cotton in large scale and relied slave labor. There was need to expand their economic empire and outlawing slavery could be detrimental to its progress.