Part 1

Because civil wars are fought by people within the same country, these conflicts often tear communities apart. For example, the American Civil War is often described as a war of "brother against brother." Many Americans found themselves fighting on the opposite side of their friends and families.

Have there been civil wars in other countries?

Many countries have experienced civil wars. Here are some countries that have experienced civil wars over the last 100 years:

• China (1935—1947)

• Spain (1935—1939)

• Greece (1946—1949)

• Nigeria (1967—1970)

• El Salvador (1979—1992)

• Syria (2011—present)

In the months following Lincoln's election, seven Southern states seceded, or withdrew, from the United States. The passage below comes from a speech given by Alexander Hamilton Handy, a Mississippi judge who supported secession.

[T]he first act of the black Republican Party will be to exclude slavery from all the territories [and] from the District of Columbia. . . . The moment that slavery is pronounced a moral evil—a sin—by the general government, that moment the safety of the rights of the South will be entirely gone.

black Republican Party: a term often used by opponents of the Republicans

territories: areas controlled by the United States that were not states

Secessionists such as Alexander Hamilton Handy worried that the Republican Party would pass laws that would endanger slavery in the South.

Why was slavery so important to the secessionists?

The economies of the Southern states depended on slavery. Plantation owners used slave labor to grow and process cotton and other crops. Cotton was the main export of the South. Slaveholders feared that freeing enslaved people would end their economic and political power.

Many non-slaveholding white Southerners also feared that ending slavery would lead to African American people having equal rights.

Why did Alexander Handy use the term "black Republican"?

In the Civil War era, some opponents of the Republicans used the term "black Republicans" to claim that Republicans cared only about African American people.

Historians use a variety of sources to understand the past. Some of these sources are primary sources, which means they were made during the time period being studied.

What do diaries tell us about how Americans reacted to the secession crisis?

By reading diaries and other primary sources from the period, historians learn that Americans had different ideas about what would happen after Southern secession. Some people thought there would be no war, and others worried that a war would be long and bloody.

One of the most famous diaries from the Civil War period was written by the South Carolinian Mary Chesnut. Chesnut was the wife of a Southern senator, and she insightfully wrote about her experiences during the war years.

On March 1, 1861, a few months after the Southern states seceded, Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office to become president. The passage below comes from the speech Lincoln gave right after taking the oath of office. In the speech, Lincoln addressed the people of the seceded states. He described to them what he saw as his primary duty as president.

In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath . . . to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect, and defend it.

momentous: important

assail: attack

solemn: serious

What were Lincoln's goals for his inauguration speech?

Historians still debate how to interpret Lincoln's inaugural speech. Here are some theories about his goals:

1. To give the seceded states a chance to change their minds: Lincoln says that the Confederate states could still come back without being punished.

2. To stop more states from leaving: Lincoln reassures people in the slave states that had not seceded that he would not try to ban slavery.

3. To make his purpose clear: Lincoln says that he will not let the Southern states remain separated from the Union.

Southern-born United States army officers had to decide what to do when their home states seceded. The passage below comes from a letter that Robert E. Lee wrote in April 1861. Lee was a Virginian who had served in the United States army for decades.

I have been unable to make up my mind to raise my hand against my native state, my relatives, my children and my home. I have therefore resigned my commission in the army and never desire again to draw my sword save in defense of my state.

commission: position

save in: except for

A leader of the Confederate army

Lee went on to lead a Confederate army after resigning from the U.S. army. He became one of the most famous generals of the Civil War.

What did other Southern officers decide to do?

Over 300 Southern U.S. army officers resigned. Most of these men joined the Confederate army.

Others decided to stay in the Union army. Southerners who sided with the Union were often called traitors by their friends and families. For example, after the Virginia-born army officer George Henry Thomas sided with the Union, his sisters declared they had no brother and refused to speak to him ever again.

How were the army volunteers organized?

Volunteers for both armies were recruited into units called regiments. Each regiment was supposed to have 800–1,000 men. However, regiments usually became much smaller as soldiers died from disease and battle.

People from the same county or town usually served in the same regiment. So, soldiers often served with their friends and relatives. Regiments had names made up of a number and the state from which they came. For example, the 71st regiment organized in Illinois was called the 71st Illinois.

Were all volunteers farmers?

No. Although most had been farmers before enlisting, volunteers came from many backgrounds. For example, volunteers from cities such as New York, Chicago, or Philadelphia were often former dock workers or clerks.

Who volunteered from cities?

Large cities included many immigrants, most commonly from Ireland and Germany. More immigrants lived in the North than the South, so most immigrant soldiers served in the Union army.

In 1861, both the Union and Confederate armies accepted only white males.

Were African American men ever allowed to join the army?

At the start of the war, many Northerners opposed letting African American men join the army. In 1863, the Union started accepting African American men into the army.

Were there any female soldiers?

Both the Union and the Confederacy banned women from the army. Still, a few women disguised themselves as men to join the army. These disguised women were often caught when they were wounded in battle.

This is a picture of Frances Clalin. Clalin was a woman from Minnesota who disguised herself to join the Union army. She fought in several battles and was wounded at least once. Eventually, she was caught and kicked out of the army.

Poor white Northerners and Southerners resented laws that made it easier for wealthy people to avoid being drafted. In the Union, $300 was more money than many families could afford. In the Confederacy, only wealthy families owned 20 or more enslaved people. Poor Northerners and Southerners felt it was unfair that wealthy people could avoid the draft. Union and Confederate soldiers often wrote letters home to their families. The passages below come from two letters that a Confederate soldier named Eli Pinson Landers wrote to his mother.

Fall 1861

My Dear Mother,

I stood [guard] duty the other night when it was raining hard and I thought of my old feather bed at home. . . . Mamma I think about you every hour in the day. I just think about you working so hard without me till I hardly can stand it. It was hard enough when I was there to help you but you must do the best you can.

October 2nd, 1863

Dear Mother,

I reckon you will hear that I am very sick and I have been but I am getting better. . . . Day before yesterday was a very wet day. . . . Everything wet and no place to lie down and I got so bad off till they started me to the hospital. . . . I was afraid that some of the boys would write that I was very sick but I am a heap better. [Mostly] well so don't be uneasy.

reckon: expect

a heap: a lot

• Soldiers became sick in camp. In the second letter, Landers wrote that he was so sick that some of the other soldiers tried to take him to the hospital.

• Soldiers worried about their families back home. In the first letter, Landers wrote that he thought about his mother all the time. He worried about how she was doing back home.

In July 1861, a Union army marched south from Washington, D.C., into Virginia. Its goal was to seize Manassas Junction, an important railroad center. This plan led to the First Battle of Bull Run, the first major battle of the war. The following passage was written by Walt Whitman, a poet who was living in Washington, D.C., at the time. Read the passage.

[The Union] troops commenced pouring into Washington over the Long Bridge at daylight on Monday, 22nd July . . . all the men with this coating of sweat and rain, now recoiling back, pouring over the Long Bridge — a horrible march of twenty miles, returning to Washington baffled, humiliated, panic-struck.

commenced: started

recoiling: springing

baffled: confused

Why was the battle called the First Battle of Bull Run?

Many battles of the Civil War were fought in northern Virginia. In August 1862, the Union and Confederate armies fought another battle near the same area as the first major battle of the war. So, people started to call the two fights the First Battle of Bull Run and the Second Battle of Bull Run.

The violence of the First Battle of Bull Run shocked many people in the Union and the Confederacy.

Who brings a picnic basket to a battle?

Many people traveled from Washington, D.C., to see the First Battle of Bull Run, bringing picnic baskets so they could eat while watching the armies fight. These civilians thought that it would be a fun show.

Bull Run was the first large battle of the war, so people didn't realize just how violent battles were. When the Union troops tried to retreat, the roads were blocked by panicked tourists.

After the defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run, the Union army around Washington, D.C., spent time rebuilding and training. The army began to be known as the Army of the Potomac, after a river in the area.

Many soldiers used their free time to write letters to their family and friends. Historians still have thousands of these letters and use them to learn about soldiers' lives and opinions.

What was daily life like for a recruit in the Army of the Potomac?

New recruits spent much of their day training. Many Northerners blamed the army's defeat at Bull Run on soldiers' lack of training. So, recruits would spend hours each day on marching drills. Commanders hoped that these drills would make recruits more disciplined.

Was the Army of Potomac the only Union army?

No. The Army of the Potomac was the largest Union army, but there were other armies spread out across the United States. Some of these armies also got their names from local rivers, such as the Army of the Cumberland.

Union armies often lacked information about the local territory when they marched through a Southern state like Virginia.

"I heard it on the grapevine . . ."

During the Civil War, enslaved people would overhear bits of news and gossip from their owners or other white Confederates. Slaveholders underestimated African American people and often were not careful about what they said near enslaved people.

Rumors and news could pass quickly through networks of enslaved people. This news was often shared with Union soldiers. Some people called this flow of information the grapevine telegraph.

Today, to hear something "on the grapevine" means to learn something from gossip.

The passages below were written by reporters shortly after the Battle of Antietam.

The first passage was written by a Confederate newspaper reporter.

The results of the battle may be briefly summed up. Judged by all the rules of warfare, it was a victory to our arms. . . . Varying as may have been the successes of the day, they left us intact, unbroken, and equal masters of the field with our antagonist.

arm: army

antagonist: opponent

The second passage was written by a Union newspaper reporter.

. . . the whole rebel army of Virginia annihilated. . . . We have undoubtedly won great and decisive victories both yesterday and today. Among our trophies are . . . a large number of prisoners. The rebellion is virtually subdued.

annihilated: destroyed

decisive: definite

virtually: almost

Which reporter was right?

Neither. Although both sides claimed victory, many historians consider the battle to be a draw, or a tie. The Confederate army had to return to the South in order to get supplies and reinforcements. The Union commander declared victory only because the Confederates had marched away.

How could the reporters be so wrong?

Battles were large and confusing, involving tens of thousands of people. Reporters usually had to depend on rumors and gossip to figure out what had happened. Often, family members of army officers would read that their loved ones had died or survived a battle, only to find out that the reporter had gotten the facts wrong.

On January 1st, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. This executive order legally freed of most of the enslaved people in the United States.

Why did Lincoln wait so long to issue the Emancipation Proclamation?

Many abolitionists felt that Lincoln took too long to emancipate enslaved people. Lincoln's supporters argued that there were valid reasons for waiting:

• At the beginning of the war, most Northerners did not consider themselves abolitionists. But by late 1862, more and more Northerners believed that ending slavery would help defeat the Confederacy.

• Lincoln worried that if he issued the Proclamation while the Union was losing the war, it would look desperate. Although the Battle of Antietam was a draw, the Union claimed it had won the battle, giving Lincoln a chance to issue the proclamation.

The passage below comes from the Emancipation Proclamation.

[T]he executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of [freed enslaved people] and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.

repress: oppress

How did Union soldiers react to the Emancipation Proclamation?

Some Union soldiers, such as General McClellan, thought emancipation was a mistake, since he didn't believe the federal government should interfere with slavery. McClellan hoped that Lincoln would lose the next election so that the proclamation would be repealed.

However, many soldiers had a different reaction. Many Northerners had never been in a slave state before, and in their letters home they described their disgust over plantations and the effects of slavery. These soldiers believed that slavery was bad for enslaved people and for non-slaveholding white people of the South. This experience led many soldiers to support the Emancipation Proclamation.

A few months after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, the antislavery leader Frederick Douglass wrote an article addressed to African American men.

You should therefore, simply as a matter of right and wrong, give your utmost aid to the North. In presence of such a contest there is no neutrality for any man. You are either for the government or against the government. . . . If you are sound in body and mind, there is nothing in your color to excuse you from enlisting in the service of the republic against its enemies.

contest: fight

neutrality: staying out of something

sound: healthy

Frederick Douglass had been pushing Union politicians to let African American men join the army since the beginning of the war. Finally, the Emancipation Proclamation made it legal for African American men to serve in the army. Two of Douglass's sons joined the first African American regiment in Massachusetts.

America's most well-known formerly enslaved person

Frederick Douglass was born into slavery but later escaped to the North. After escaping, Douglass dedicated his life to fighting slavery. He also wrote an autobiography that helped educate people about the lives of enslaved people.

During the Civil War, Douglass gave speeches and ran a newspaper. He also collaborated with Republicans such as President Lincoln to help the Union. Douglass often felt frustrated by Lincoln when he thought the federal government was not doing enough to fight slavery.

Many regiments of African American soldiers, such as the 54th Massachusetts, resented being paid less than white soldiers for doing the same job. The soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts wanted both to serve in the army and peacefully protest unfair treatment.

The African American soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts refused to take any pay until the unfair laws were changed. The white officers of the regiment also thought that the law was unfair, so they refused pay to show their support. Other African American regiments used similar tactics to protest the law.

Did the soldiers' strategy work?

Yes! The soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts refused pay for over a year. More and more Northerners came to believe that it was unfair to pay African American soldiers less. In June 1864, Congress passed a law so that white and African American soldiers would receive the same pay.

Although African American women could not officially join the army, many of them helped the Union army. The following passage is from a letter sent to the federal government by Harriet Tubman in 1898, 33 years after the war ended. Tubman argued that she deserved to be paid for helping the Union.

My claim against the U.S. is for three years of service as nurse and cook in hospitals, and as commander of several men (eight or nine) as scouts during the late War of the Rebellion, under the directions and orders of Mr. Stanton Secretary of War, and of several generals.

War of the Rebellion: another name for the Civil War

Harriet Tubman, war hero

Before the Civil War, Harriet Tubman led many enslaved people to freedom on the Underground Railroad. During the war, she continued her struggle against slavery. On one mission in South Carolina, Harriet Tubman helped lead a raid that freed over 750 enslaved people! Many of these freed people joined the Union army.

Did Harriet Tubman get the compensation she asked for?

Yes, but not for a long time. After the Civil War, people who had served in the Union army usually got a pension, or money to help in old age, from the federal government. In 1899, 34 years after the war had ended, Harriet Tubman finally received a pension for her service. By then, she was 77 years old.