the civil war that took place between the northern and southern states of the United States between 1861-65.
3
votes
2answers
138 views
How well were the African soldiers equipped in the civil war?
I know that Africans ( former slaves) were used on both sides during the civil war (later in the north than in the south I think) now my question is this: how were the African soldiers equipped during ...
4
votes
2answers
411 views
How professional and well equipped were US Civil War soldiers?
Essentially, what the question says - did the war cause Americans to become better at war than the Eurasian powers (Germany, France, England, Russia, Japan, whatever, I am just making up a list) at ...
4
votes
1answer
280 views
Why did Confederate General Forrest leave the KKK?
I've watched a video with a simplified version of General Nathan Bedford Forrest's history. It was in the context of contemporary pressure to remove statues of Confederate leaders.
At the request of ...
6
votes
2answers
302 views
Why was it necessary to maintain a balance of power between the Slave and Free states?
As said in the title, why was there a need to maintain the balance of power between the Slave states and Free States by keeping them equal in number, before the American Civil War?
Both the Clay ...
0
votes
2answers
182 views
How could a deserter go West in 1863?
A man deserted from the Armory Square Hospital in DC in Feb 1863. His next recorded presence was in 1865 Iowa when he got married under an assumed name. I am curious to know how he might have made it ...
1
vote
2answers
143 views
Are there historical instances of property rights not being respected/acknowledged between U.S. states, territories, and the federal government?
Some of the controversies leading up to the American Civil War were whether the U.S. States had to recognize the slave property of other States (e.g., maintaining them in a state of slavery, or ...
2
votes
2answers
276 views
Were there many foreigners fighting during the American civil war?
Apart from Philippe d'Orléans and his brother, as well as Patrick Cleburne, were there many foreigners fighting during the American civil war ? Any other famous cases ?
-3
votes
2answers
256 views
Why was the North willing to go to war over Slavery?
[edited]
According to Washington Post, "There is a consensus among historians that the root cause of the Civil War was slavery". Assuming that slavery was indeed the root cause, I can understand why ...
9
votes
3answers
628 views
Did the North give the South its debt after Civil War ended?
In discussions with a colleague of mine many years ago, concerning the American Civil War (aka the War Between the States), he mentioned that “... the North left/gave all the [financial] debt to the ...
1
vote
1answer
89 views
Meaning of Civil War term “playout”?
I am reading Gettysburg The Last Invasion by Guelzo and it is recounted that a captain advised a sergeant to make sure that men who were chronic "playouts" be taken into the fight or killed by the ...
-5
votes
1answer
147 views
Edmund Burke vs Thomas Paine [closed]
Historical figures are regularly assigned designations left or right.
As Edmund Burke, and Thomas Paine were leading antagonists with these designations at the latter half of the 18th century. Here ...
3
votes
1answer
110 views
Pre civil-war, did the north ever make any attempts to stop the underground railroad? [closed]
Did Northern authorities before the Civil War make any attempts to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act and/or stop the Underground Railroad?
3
votes
1answer
208 views
Was John S. Mosby the model/motivation/template for John Carter?
I've always suspected this but have never seen any concrete proof. Was the fictitious Edgar Rice Burroughs character John Carter based on the civil war hero/villain John S. Mosby?
Mosby was arguable ...
2
votes
1answer
368 views
Were Confederate pikes just a curious item to laugh at?
If you check this video you can see many Confederate pikes being unearthed. There are also other videos featuring high-tech Confederate pikes. Were these meant just to entertain troops in the field? ...
7
votes
1answer
270 views
American presidents on secession legality?
I am writing article (in Russian) on secession legality, and would like to include and analyze expressed opinions of antebellum American Presidents on the subject.
My favorite is Andrew Jackson’s ...
4
votes
5answers
393 views
Emancipation Proclamation in a tweet
Today is the 155th anniversary of the signing (but not the release) of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Critics remarked even at the time that it didn't free a single slave, since it only applied to ...
1
vote
3answers
319 views
Would occupying Big Round Top have been a good idea for the Confederates?
A lot of attention was given at the end of the 19th century to the "what if" the Confederates occupied the Little Round Top at Gettysburg, but there's the Big Round Top nearby and the Confederates ...
37
votes
2answers
4k views
How did the American Civil War help the U.S economy recover from the Panic of 1857 given that civil wars are extremely destructive?
From the Wikipedia article on the Panic of 1857:
Beginning in September 1857, the financial downturn did not last long;
however, a proper recovery was not seen until the American Civil War.
...
3
votes
1answer
328 views
Could the 1864 US presidential election have been postponed?
This article on HistoryNet makes the following observation about the 1864 election:
The 1864 race for the White House was the United States’ first presidential election during wartime. Proposals to ...
5
votes
3answers
340 views
During the 1850’s and 60’s, was the free North (and its cause in the U.S. Civil War) considered more virtuous than the slave-holding South?
During the 1850’s and 60’s, was the free North (and its cause in the U.S. Civil War) considered more virtuous than the slave-holding South?
Do we find authors or politicians in the U.K. or France ...
14
votes
1answer
3k views
Flag with 13 white stars and a crescent on red background
What flag is this?
I saw this flag as a sticker on a car from another country. I could not recognize the plate so I do not know its nationality.
My search on Google/images resulted mostly in the ...
8
votes
3answers
599 views
Why did Union troops like General McClellan?
I have read that when President Lincoln dismissed General McClellan for the second time (after he didn't try to beat Lee to Richmond in 1862), the troops almost mutinied (The Civil War by Shelby Foote ...
3
votes
2answers
98 views
Looking for source for Jefferson Davis with Bat Wings
Some time ago I came across a large print of Confederate President Jefferson Davis with bat wings, which was ostensibly printed in a northern newspaper during or shortly after the American Civil War. ...
1
vote
2answers
288 views
Did Lincoln provoke the US civil war? [duplicate]
Did Lincoln provoke the US civil war?
Did there exist a position that Lincoln took that ignited the war, or was it just the consequence of long unsolved US problems.
If the reason is the second, ...
3
votes
1answer
75 views
What were the casualties and ship damage on each side of the Battle of Plum Point Bend, Tennessee?
Specifically, how many were killed/wounded/missing on each side?
-1
votes
1answer
118 views
Exactly how much of what did General Benjamin Butler seize from the Netherlands Consulate in New Orleans on May 10th, 1862? [closed]
There seems to be some conflicting reports over whether or not the amount was cash or specie, and exactly how much of it was seized.
-1
votes
2answers
330 views
What is the difference between the union free state and the territories controlled by the federal government?
In the context of the American Civil War, I stumbled upon the so called territories controlled by the federal government. This map for example makes the distinction between them and the union free ...
1
vote
2answers
186 views
How did the James river serve as a natural defense during The US Civil War?
In a text I read it the following was stated:
“Although Richmond's proximity to Washington, D.C., was hazardous strategically, Virginia's topography—the Appalachian Mountains and rivers, such as the ...
16
votes
5answers
3k views
Why did Lincoln's election prompt the Southern states to secede?
I've just finished Dorin Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals. The presentation of the book suggested that the Southern states seceded as a response to Lincoln's election.
I am confused by that timing: ...
3
votes
1answer
2k views
Why did France support the Confederacy in the Civil War? [closed]
In the US Civil War, I've learned that France supported the south. If they had already banned slavery, why would they support the party fighting to keep it? Did they have any diplomatic or political ...
1
vote
2answers
290 views
Why didn't the zeal of social change brought by ending slavery continue after the US civil-war ended? [closed]
After the US civil war when slavery was (kinda) ended, is there a argument to be made that with the zeal of anti-slavery social change people must have been feeling that they, at least in the north, ...
-1
votes
1answer
87 views
Accuracy of the Show “I Go On Singing”
I recently saw a show about the life of Paul Robeson called I Go On Singing. It was a good show, but it contained several assertions that made me wonder.
Tens of thousands of slaves escaped to ...
8
votes
2answers
944 views
Why were cavalry raids so powerful during the American Civil War?
In reading McPherson's "Battle Cry of Freedom" he gives several examples of cavalry groups of less than 2000 men causing tremendous damage, seemingly with tremendous leverage.
Why was the North so ...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
How did Jews feels in the Confederate States of America and what was their political position? [closed]
Was there any sort of legislated racial discrimination against Jews or not? Or, If not by law, maybe they were oppressed socially by so-called "rednecks"? Did they held any positions in the CSA ...
6
votes
1answer
382 views
Why didn't former slaves become low-wage workers after emancipation?
The Southern economy is often said to have been in shambles after slaves were emancipated since slavery was largely an economic enterprise. I've also read that former slaves had difficulty finding ...
9
votes
2answers
6k views
How did the Dred Scott Decision contribute to the Civil War?
I have read numerous times that the Dred Scott Decision led to the Civil War in the United States, but I have been unable to find sources to support this. It seems that the Dred Scott Decision chiefly ...
2
votes
2answers
839 views
Did the Confederate States use a plain oval CS buckle during the Civil War?
The discussion at treasurenet.com has some well informed people on it. But one point it raises is not confirmed by anyone who seems to know. (The link comes from Why were US "Cavalry" belt ...
9
votes
1answer
1k views
Why were US “Cavalry” belt buckle backs filled with lead?
Growing up I heard it was so if need be you could swing them as a weapon at the end of the belt. I even heard soldiers would melt bullets to add more lead to their buckle to make it a better weapon. ...
4
votes
1answer
208 views
What was this a buckle for?
I got a buckle in Gettysburg around 1970 that looks like this:
These are very widely known as civil war belt buckles. But the farmer/shopkeeper who sold it to me said it was actually not for the ...
5
votes
0answers
57 views
18th NY Infantry Regiment regimental colors
Im desperatively searching for the regimental colors belonging to the 18th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, which fought on the Union side during the Maryland Campaign.
It's a relatively ...
5
votes
1answer
136 views
Virginia's ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment
A footnote on page 30 of this document says that the date of Virginia's ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment (which abolished slavery) was on the 9th of February, 1865. (If I recall correctly, ...
12
votes
4answers
37k views
What is the context of Lincoln saying: “if I could save the union without freeing any slave I would do it”
Lincoln said (emphasis mine):
Executive Mansion, Washington, August 22, 1862.
Hon. Horace Greeley: Dear Sir.
I have just read yours of the 19th. addressed to myself through the
New-York ...
32
votes
10answers
12k views
Why were Civil War battle techniques so bloody, if the US had learned guerrilla fighting in the Revolutionary War?
My understanding (which could be wrong) is that armies in the U.S. civil war were "bloody" in the sense that soldiers did not retreat or were sent directly into fire, until one side was wiped out. If ...
6
votes
1answer
203 views
Was the Confederacy (effectively) down to six states after the capture of Vicksburg?
The Union capture of Vicksburg (and Port Hudson) in July, 1863, gave the North control over the whole Mississippi River, isolating the Confederate states west of this river: Arkansas, Louisiana, and ...
1
vote
1answer
120 views
What was middle class family life like in post-civil war Georgia?
I'm researching middle class family life in Georgia immediately after the US Civil war. What was life like for middle class families? What were the common themes/experiences?
2
votes
2answers
2k views
What portion of tariffs was paid by Southern states before American Civil War?
UPDATE
Folks, I have to clarify my question. Post is very long, and it looks like question itself is not pronounced clearly.
I am not asking if tariffs were the reason of secession and war; l know ...
3
votes
5answers
1k views
Why did Gen. Lee (Civil War) surrender to the U.S?
I am sure, from different sources, that his men were willing to fight to the death, even if they were surrounded. Also, if they were willing to fight in the first place, because the issue was so ...
3
votes
3answers
289 views
Was the Abolition of Slavery in the United States perceived and advertised as an effort to improve race relations or as an improvement to labour laws?
Firstly, a note: This is a genuine question born of real curiosity, and not an attempt to belittle either the modern socialist cause or the difficulties faced by non-Caucasians in the pre-Abolition (...
1
vote
1answer
331 views
Was the U.S. Civil War unique regarding its relation to slavery? (people fighting for the freedom of a goup they were not part of) [closed]
Although the U.S. Civil War had multiple and complex causes, the question of slavery was a very important factor.
As slavery was part of most civilizations on all continents (especially before the ...
6
votes
2answers
282 views
Were any of the historical figures of the American Civil War close at West Point?
I know many of them went to West Point around the same time. Do we know about their collegiate interactions with each other? Were Lee and Grant friends? Did Stonewall ever prank Custer?
