Month: May 2011

Fort Sumter and the Start of the Civil War

Posted by

0

Imagine that you have just become President of the United States. You gave your first speech to the nation and attended the inaugural ball. After the ball, you are handed a note that says that one of the remaining federal forts in the South is in danger. Abraham Lincoln had to deal with a crisis almost from the moment he became president.

The letter Lincoln read was from Major Robert Anderson, commander of the Federal troops at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Members of the newly formed Confederacy had surrounded the fort with ships and cannon. Anderson implored Lincoln to send more supplies to the fort.

Members of Lincoln’s cabinet all gave different opinions as to what the President should do. Some said the fort should be evacuated to avoid a civil war with the South, while others said he should send extra troops to protect the fort. Lincoln decided to do neither—he would send a boat with supplies to the fort but troops and warships were instructed to stand by and respond only if the Confederates fired the first shot. He sent a messenger to inform the governor of South Carolina “to expect an attempt will be made to supply Fort Sumpter [sic] with provisions only; and that, if such attempt be not resisted, no effort to throw in men, arms, ammunition will be made…[except] in case of an attack on the Fort.”

The South Carolina Confederates, however, saw the fort as an example of a foreign nation (the Union) trying to stick around in the newly independent Confederate States. They also believed that war would bring the upper Southern States, like Virginia, to their aid. On April 12, 1861, Confederates opened fire on the fort. The supply ship had not yet arrived and other nearby boats were prevented from aiding Anderson’s men by the high seas. As a result, Federal forces were outmanned and had limited gun power. After over a day of bombardment that destroyed parts of the fort, Federal forces surrendered it to the Confederates. Ironically, no one was killed in the first confrontation of the Civil War that later took so many lives.

Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

Posted by

0

240px-Gettysburg_Address_at_Lincoln_Memorial At the Battle of Gettysburg, the Confederate dead, wounded, and missing numbered 28,000 with 23,000 for the Union. Following the battle that created more casualties than any other in American history, plans began for the dedication of a national cemetery at Gettysburg.

Despite the later fame of his Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln was not the first person asked to speak at the dedication. In addition to former U.S. Senator Edward Everett, several famous poets were invited, including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The poets declined, so an invitation was sent to the President of the United States. Still, Lincoln only needed to say “a few appropriate remarks” after Everett’s speech was over.

Lincoln didn’t mind keeping his speech short, but he took the task of speaking about the war in person seriously. Despite popular myth, the address was not written hastily on a train while Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg. Though he likely was still editing the speech in his mind, Lincoln’s secretary insisted that the train ride was too bumpy for Lincoln to write on it. Instead, Lincoln revised his well-thought out remarks at the home of his host in town.

On the morning of November 19, 1863, Everett and Lincoln were seated in front of a large crowd that had gathered for the dedication. Everett’s speech lasted two hours, so a rather tired audience prepared itself for a long oration from the President. Instead, they heard a two-minute speech that would be remembered nearly 150 years later.

In the address, Lincoln first asked the audience to recall the founding ideals of the nation, that all men are created equal. He viewed The Civil War as a test of those ideals: “Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether…any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.” Lincoln then gave credit to what the soldiers had done for their country in the recent past, saying, “We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.”

The end of the address looked to the future and pointed out the responsibility of those who were still living: “we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.” The new nation, Lincoln hoped, would result in a reunion of the states and the end of slavery.

Though the Gettysburg Address was not immediately popular, some discerning listeners recognized its significance. The next day Edward Everett wrote to Lincoln, “I should be glad…that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes.”

For the full text of the Gettysburg Address see http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/gettyb.asp

Image: Gettysburg Address at Lincoln Memorial

Railroads in the Civil War

Posted by

0

  1863 Union Locomotive
This year the 150th anniversary of the Civil War will be commemorated with ceremonies and reenactments of battles. Though tactics on the field influenced the outcome of the war, the way in which both sides chose to use the new technology of the railroads in the 1860s was equally important. 

The Confederacy had some disadvantages over the Union in using the railroads to transport men and supplies. They had only 9,500 miles of railroad versus the Union’s 21,000 miles. Yet at the beginning of the war some Confederate generals did use this new technology successfully. At the Battle of Bull Run, Confederate forces won in part because the troops had been sent by train to the battle and were consequently well rested. In contrast, Union forces were tired from marching in the Virginia heat before the fighting started.

Over the next couple of years, the Union took action and began to utilize its railroads more effectively. The United States Military Railroad was created in 1862, and Congress gave the government the authority to take over the railroads for war purposes. The USMR included career railroaders, soldiers, and other workers. They were taught to operate, repair and build railroads. The Confederacy did not organize a similar force. Unlike the Union, the Confederate government opposed taking over the privately owned railroads. Their lack of an organized rail system had important consequences.

The consequences became clear in 1863 when Union forces were nearly wiped out at the Battle of Chickamauga (northern Georgia) and were pushed back to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Two weeks later, the Union moved 25,000 soldiers to support the remaining Union forces and grabbed a victory at Chattanooga.

The Confederacy also lacked mechanics that were skilled in rebuilding railroads and repairing railroad parts, so when Union forces sabotaged Southern rail lines it was difficult for them to rebuild. Southern forces wrecked Northern rail lines, too but the Union had more manpower to rebuild them. General Sherman took advantage of the Confederacy’s lack of manpower on his way to capturing Atlanta. His soldiers pulled up rails, heated them so they would bend, and wrapped them around tree trunks to make what were called Sherman’s Neckties.

General Grant also used the Union railroads to supply his army when he attempted to capture the Confederate capital in Richmond, Virginia. Though he had to move a little further South, Grant managed to surround Confederate General Lee’s forces, which eventually surrendered in 1865.     

 (Pictured: Union locomotive, 1863)

The History of Memorial Day

Posted by

0

Maybe you and your family are planning a barbeque for Memorial Day Weekend, or you’re planning to take a short trip out of town. But do you know why Memorial Day is a national holiday?

A few years after the Civil War, Major General John A. Logan determined that a day should be set aside for decorating the graves of the soldiers who died in the conflict. Back then, Decoration Day [known commonly today as Memorial Day] was always celebrated on May 30. That day was supposedly chosen because flowers throughout the U.S. would be in bloom in late spring. General Logan declared that “we should guard [the graves of Civil war soldiers] with sacred vigilance…Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.”

During the late nineteenth century, many communities in both the North and South already placed flowers on the graves of soldiers from the Civil War, but Logan’s proclamation and specific date made the practice even more popular. By the end of World War I, Memorial Day observances honored all soldiers who died in America’s wars.

240px-Memorial_Day_Armed_Forces

 In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by Congress and was placed on the last Monday in May, providing a three-day weekend for the public. In recent years the day has been observed with parades that include members of the armed forces. Yet some believe that the focus on travel and family get-togethers during Memorial Day weekend has diminished the original purpose of the day—to honor America’s fallen soldiers. In order to “put the memorial back into Memorial Day”, Congress proposed that a National Moment of Remembrance be observed on that day. All Americans are encouraged to stop whatever they are doing at 3pm for a minute of silence to honor those who gave their lives for their country. President Clinton signed the resolution into law in 2000.

As you enjoy your day off from school, take a moment to remember why Memorial Day was created and think about the sacrifices of our soldiers.