Civil War
Impacts and Outcomes of all genres in the Civil War
How does War Impact Families?
When it comes down to it, war can be a very touchy subject when you tie it in with families, communities, and society. Any family can be impacted by war whether it is directly by a family member or just the land you are on. A quote from the war novel "With every drop of blood" in my opinion best describes what some unfortunate families deal with and are inscribed with. Johnny, a rebel boy whose father just died from a wound from fighting is brutally awakened when he walks to his fathers bedside, "I picked it up off the little table by the bed and held it up. The room brightened a bit, and I could see the little ones better. They were scared, their faces white, and there were smudges of tears on their cheeks." Families go through periods of pride and honor, and some of the darkest most depressing moments of their life. All you can do is count your blessings, have faith in God and let the pieces fall where they may..
Advantages and disadvantages in the Civil War
The Northern (Union) states had a drastic advantage due to their 21 million populous, out of their 19 states. Compared to the Southern (Confederate) states having 5.5 million people out of 11 states and, 2.2 out of the 5.5 million consists of slaves. The North had a major advantage in railroad mileage, they had 22,000 miles compared to the 9,000 miles that the confederate states had. The North had a huge advantage in factories having coal, iron, wheat, and wool available to them. Although the South could claim 15% of farming that is really all they had going for them. The North had basically all of the navy and the south had little to none naval power. The Norths plan was to block the coast, gain control of Mississippi, and capture their capital in Richmond. The south had a very elaborate plan that would prove not to work out for them. They would try to with hold cotton from the British which would almost instantly back fire on them. Fighting on Southern territory would be a disadvantage for the North as well as bad generals, and no food for the soldiers. The south had no factories to produce weapons, ammunition, and clothing. They also had no help from foreign countries which would prove to be at a huge downfall for them.Finally, Also had a very small population to select troops from.
Women in The Civil War
Women had a very large impact on future generations and the Civil War. They held many jobs surrounding the war efforts such as nurses, spies, soldiers, abolitionists, civil rights advocates, and promoters of women's suffrage. Harriet Beecher Stove was the Author of Uncle Tom's Cabin and was a passionate abolitionist. Another example of powerful women figure in the civil war was Harriet Tubman who was a runaway slave who became a conductor of the underground railroad. Marry Todd Lincoln was the wife to Abe Lincoln who was a prominent figure in her time era. Lucretio Mott was a abolitionist as well as a women's rights activist, elected president of the equal rights association, to defeat universal suffrage. The future of women hood would be transformed from the civil war, in years lives of women would be lied out by a set of ideals that they would not fail.
Theaters in the Civil War
The definition of a theater is a area of conflict which the Civil War consisted of many theaters. The first one being Bull Run, the location Prince William County, Northern Virginia. The first battle took place on July 21, 1861. The North thought that they had it all thought out, they would march from they're point in Washington to meet up with the Confederates but they were held up and shut down just beyond Centreville, Virginia. The Gettysburg battle was the most bloody battle in all of war, death tolls adding up to over 45,000. Lee(South) and Meade(North) led crews that would fight it out until the North would finally win. This changes the tide of the war and would go on to the re-election of president Lincoln. These theaters took place right in the middle of battle where families would go and pick nick or bring a snack and watch the battle take place as if it was a modern day film. One of the bloodiest most horrific theaters was the Battle of Antietam which the Union use ironclads which were war boats used in the 1860's. It is extremely crazy that families would go and watch these take place only half a football field away with gunfire and mortars whizzing right by them with out even moving.
Life as a Soldier
Life as a soldier in the Civil War was real tough no matter what unit you were in or where you were at. Many documents are unclear or spotty, but soldiers did keep track of correspondence, diaries and memoirs. Based off of those crucial pieces of writing it is easy to spot ranks, but it is more about what they wrote not the status of they're military life was. A soldier fighting for the north was probably 5'8" tall with dark hair and blue eyes. The likeliness of him being a farmer and Christian even better. The preciseness of the Southern enlistments are more uncertain. A great deal of confederate soldiers were in or were going to be farmers by trade. No way around it, if you enlisted you better be ready for what was going to come at you whether you like it or not. Also it was a lot of bouncing around from rank to rank on both sides going to different places. Believe it or not the soldiers ranged activities from playing cards, gambling, to ice skating, sledding, building snowmen, and even snowball battles in the winter. Life was tough as a soldier but some how threw a dense wall of darkness they made something bright out of it.
African Americans in the Civil War
I will start by stating the definition of something that was by no means put in place or enforced what so ever, The Emancipation Proclamation which states that all confederate slaves shall be free'd which never was enforced until after the fact. There was no control over the new nation of the south, the south was not going to change their ways because that is the whole purpose of them leaving the rest of the Union. The 13th Amendment abolishes slavery but it still does not get rid of slavery around surrounding the bordering states. Some roles that African Americans had in the Civil War were blacksmiths, nurses, boatmen, to clear paths, factory workers, people who dig holes for the bathroom, cooks, and laundry. But at this time the south still refuses to give African Americans guns, at the very end when they got desperate the finally gave in to the idea. The roles for the north were spies, scouts, and soldiers after the Emancipation Proclamation. As a soldier they were paid 13 dollars, taking out three for clothing. They were also not allowed to be a commissioned officer which meant less pay and respect. A group called Massachusetts 54th was a group that took off around that time known for their bravery during the siege of Fort Wagner. After awhile most of them died and sadly never mad it out. Without the courageous acts of African Americans at this time, the Civil war would have panned out a whole lot differently.
Summary
The Civil War was full of action, horrific, and heroic acts which eventually formed to the great nation that we have to this day. But it simply is not just about the battles or each category. It is about the people, the people that were impacted by death of a loved one, or the soldier that left the little he had going for him back home and put his life on the line for what he believed in. The nation we live in today is one of the outcomes from the civil war. It opened up opportunities for all types of people. The way are country is now is not just by the role of the dice, it is from the people over a decade ago that set such great examples.