Disunion! Civil War is Proclaimed! (1 Viewer)

[jazzeum]

May 20, 1861. North Carolina becomes one of the last states to leave the Union. At the time of secession, North Carolina Unionists opposed secession, not because they were anti slavery, but because the Union offered the best safeguard for slavery. George Badger, a delegate to North Carolina's convention on secession, called it the "death knell of slavery."



The attitude of Jonathan Worth, a State Senator, may have been typical of many: "Peaceable secession would soon annihilate slavery. War, long continued, will ruin every peaceful citizen and end in the total overthrow of civil liberty and the abolition of slavery. I think the South is committing suicide, but my lot is cast with the South."

The article can be accessed here.

 

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Did the technological advances in communications in existence by 1860 play a part in the outbreak of the Civil War?

In an article by Daniel Crofts, Professor of History at the College of New Jersey, and which can be accessed here, he argues that it did.

By 1860 there were 50,000 miles of telegraph; 3,725 newspapers (who printed 900 million pages, compared to 200 million in 1840); and railroad mileage of over 36,000 miles (compared to 3,000 in 1840). As national unity unraveled, and each section began to see each other in a harsh light, communication advanceds may have played a role in transforming stereotypes into realities and persuaded Southeners and Northerners that they were more different than they really were.

Crofts quotes Edward Ayers that "It was surely no accident that a long-brewing sectional animosity boiled over when railroads, telegraphs and and newspapers proliferated in the 1840s and 1850s."

Fascinating article.

 

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Philadelphia was considered the most northern of southern cities. Although it showed spontaneous expressions of patriotism after Lincoln called for volunteers in April 1861, the city was a Democratic bastion. Notwithstanding the presence of the largest free Black population in the North, the city was opposed to even the smallest expression of anti-slavery sentiment. The state of Pennsylvania was a border state but on what side of the border it stood was another question.

Phildalphia's reputation continued through Reconstruction. In 1870 the city was occupied when the marshal called in the marines to protect blacks voting for the first time under the Force Act (designed to curb KKK violence in the South).

The article can be accessed here.

 

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The role of college graduates, other than those of the military academies, is considered an under-appreciated aspect of the Civil War. In colleges in the North junior officers (either graduates or dropouts) were more likely to come from the colleges.

One of the goals of colleges at that time was to train young men, through the study of ancient languages, "order, system and accuracy while inclining thier tastes to the elevated, chaste and simple."

One such young man was Lieut. Rush Cady, a member of Hamilton College's Class of 1862, who enlisted in the 97th Infantry of the New York Volunteers, who saw action at the Battle of Cedar Mountain, Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg, where he was killed on July 1, 1863.



According to the author if this article, what comes through in Lieut. Cady's letters was stoic determination, a person who had no trouble identifying his own place and duties within a seamless and purposeful history, as he and his fellow students had been taught to do at Hamilton College.

The article can be accessed here.

 

[jazzeum]

A couple of days ago I posted about the death of Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, which can be accessed here.

At the same time, Ronald Coddington, who has written "Faces of the Civil War" and "Faces of the Confederacy," wrote in the Disunion series about Colonel Ellsworth's good friend, Lieut. Edward Knox, which can be accessed here.

Both Ellsworth and Knox served in the First Fire Zouaves, or the 11th New York Infantry. Knox was the first one to find the fallen Ellsworth.

Knox eventually left the 11th New York and joined the People's Ellsworth Regiment, mustered into service as the 44th New York Infantry. The 44th played a key role in Little Round Top.


Lieut Knox (left) as member of the 44th

Knox survived the War until he died in 1890.

 

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For those of you who do not know about Mary Chesnut (and I profess not to know enough), her wartimes chronicles are worthwhile reading and probably fall into the category of must.

Catherine Clinton's article serves as a good introduction and can be accessed here.

Mary Boykin Chesnut was the daughter of a South Carolina politician and married James Chesnut, who held the Senate seat her father once held.



In her diaries, beginning with Lincoln's election, she comments on many subjects but never managed to get them into print until after her death in 1886. They were first published in 1905 and as Professor Clinton (of Queens' University of Belfast) notes they have stayed in print because "her astute commentaries remain so compelling."

The edition edited by C. Vann Woodward, which won the Pulitzer Prize, is still in print and available from Amazon.

 

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May 31, 1861. Joseph Holt, recent Secretary of War in the Buchanan administration and a steadfast native of Kentucky, speaks out on behalf of the Union. Holt believed secession was illusory.



Holt blamed the war on the secessionists, believing that a small group of disunionists had suppressed the Union-loving majority among white Southeners, a somewhat misleading notion according to Daniel Crofts, the author of the article.

The article can be accessed here.

 

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How did writers at the outbreak of the Civil War grapple with the subject and make sense of what was transpiring? That is the subject of today's article by Randall Fuller, who looks at Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Melville, Oliver Wendell Holmes and James Russell Lowell, but especially Walt Whitman.


Walt Whitman

The writer is a Professor of English at Drury College in Missouri who has written a very interesting looking book called “From Battlefields Rising: How the Civil War Transformed American Literature.”

The article can be accessed here.

 

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June 8, 1861. Tennessee becomes the last state to secede. On May 6, 1861, the legislature voted to join her "Southern brothers." However, the legislature insisted that the public ratify the decision and on June 8 by a two to one majority the people of Tennessee did so.

Tennessee in 1861 was a divided state, with the east being opposed to secession. That opposition would persist throughout the War. Similar to many a Southern state, Tennessee did not move to support secession until Lincoln issued his call in April for 75,000 soldiers in response to Fort Sumter.

The article can be accessed here.

 

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More on Tennessee in an article entitled "The Switzerland of America." After the Civil War ended a writer compared it geographically to Switzerland.


A view of wartime Knoxville in East Tennessee

However, the author of this piece notes that East Tennessee was independent and anti-secession, and would remain a "thorn" to the Confederacy.

The article sketches the history of Tennessee and how East Tennessee developed its independent stance and its ambivalence towards slavery. Following the War, East Tennessee became a Republican stronghold, which remains so today; the author notes that Tennessee's Second Congressional District has not elected a Democrat since 1852.

The article can be accessed here.

 

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June 9, 1861. The Eve of the Battle of the Big Bethel. Helping lead the Union soldiers into battle is one George Scott, a black man and one of the first African Americans to become a "contraband of war," as declared by General Benjamin Butler, by taking refuge at Fort Monroe in Virginia.

The article, which can be accessed here tells the story of George Scott.

 

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June 10, 1861. The Battle of Big Bethel results in a Confederate victory after the Seventh New York accidentally fires on the Third New York, losing the element of surprise that General Butler had counted upon.

Although this may be the first land battle of the War, what it is noticeable for is providing us with one of the earliest and most detailed maps of the battle in this article by a professor of history specializing in geographical themes.

The map, which is now in the Library of Congress, is faithfully reproduced in the article interactively.

The article can be accessed here.

 

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June 9, 1861. The Battle of Big Bethel (continued). One of the men who hoped to participate in this battle was Sgt. Valentine "Val" Birney of the First Vermont Infantry. On the night before the battle all 10 companies were lined up for the commanders to select five companies. His was not the one selected. The Vermonters suffered six casualties in the engagement.



Sgt. Birney recounted his experiences and his mild disappointment at not being selected in letters to his wife Maria, which are recounted in this article.

Sgt. (eventually to become Lieut. Colonel) Birney led his troops in several engagements during the War and was among the first troops to occupy Richmond in 1865.

The article can be accessed here.

 

[Rob]

Brad, just want to say thanks for all the ACW articles you've been posting, very interesting indeed.

Rob

 

[jazzeum]

Rob,

Pleasure. This is a great series that the Times has been running, with some great stories of individual soldiers.

 

[Rob]

Rob,

Pleasure. This is a great series that the Times has been running, with some great stories of individual soldiers.

Yes they are really good and I'm hooked Brad!. Its pouring with rain here, got my feet up with the Canadian F1 Grand Prix on the tv and a glass of vino and reading these articles, its becoming a regular for me, the articles not the vino!:wink2:

Rob

 

[jazzeum]

June 11, 1861. Missour is on the verge of a civil war within a civil war. Captain Nathaniel Lyon, representing the Union and one known for his rigid manner and anti-slavery views, meets with a former governor and present Governor of the state, Claiborne Fox and Sterling Price. The meeting doesn't go well and Lyon storms out.

The next day (June 12) Jackson issues a proclamation denouncing the federal government, provoking Lyon. Jackson, to avoid being captured, evacuates the state capitol.

Ultimately, the Union forces would secure Missouri for the Union, but not before Jackson's forces had been routed by Lyons, who died in battle.

The article can be accessed here.

 

[The Military Workshop]

Brad,
A question. Did Lincoln accept the yacht in exchange for making the newspaper boss's son a LT ?
Regards
Brett

 

[jazzeum]

Yes, apparently. This website, Mr. Lincoln and New York, indicates that he did.

 

[jazzeum]

June 14, 1861. The first Flag Day. Charles Dudley Warner, the chief editor of the Hartford (Connecticut) Evening Press writes an editorial proposing a national holiday to take its place alongside July 4.

The editorial came at a moment when, as a result of the attack on Fort Sumter, flying the Star and Stripes became popular. Demand was so great that manufacturers could not keep up with it. Miniature flags were everywhere. Even one of the country's most famous pastors, Henry Ward Beecher, gave a sermon talking about the flag.


"Hail! Glorious Banner of Our Land. Spirit of the Union" (1861)


Frederic Church, "Our Heaven Born Banner" (1861)

The article can be accessed here.