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the civil war that took place between the northern and southern states of the United States between 1861-65.

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What information is there on the totality of the War Department General Orders? [closed]

This question stems from another question I recently asked about General Order 207, dated July 3rd, 1863. This question all led me to research GO 205 and 206. I was able to find General Orders 205 and ...
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What is “belligerent ground” as referenced in this 1863 General Orders signed by Abraham Lincoln?

I came across several things in General Order 100 signed by President Lincoln titled “Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field”, which can be found here. Article 50 ...
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What is the punishment of “cashiering” referenced in this 1863 General Order by Abraham Lincoln? [closed]

I came across several things in General Order 100 signed by President Lincoln titled “Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field, which can be found here. Article 46 ...
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What is meant by “prize money” in General Order 100 (Civil War era, dealing with war booty)? [closed]

I came across several things in General Order 100 signed by President Lincoln titled “Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field, which can be found here. In article ...
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Can anyone find “War Department General Order No. 207, 3 July 1863” in which “prisoner conduct after capture” was mentioned?

I started following rabbit hole after rabbit hole while I was looking in to the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program, and I wound up on the report of the Secretary of Defense’s Advisory Committee ...
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Does the expansion of the U.S federal government after 1865 support the argument that U.S civil war itself was about states' rights? [closed]

Some people appeal to the fact that the U.S government expanded its bureaucracy after 1865 to support the argument that states' rights were the leading cause of the U.S Civil War. For example, you ...
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Did Stonewall Jackson suggest to fight naked?

Fremantle, Three Months in the Southern States, pp. 132-3: General [James E.] Slaughter declared that on the night after the terrific repulse of Burnside’s army at Fredericksburg, Stonewall Jackson ...
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Was swordsmanship important in the American Civil War?

I know swords were issued and I think they were used but my impression was that men on horseback (officers?) would simply slash at men on foot. Was swordsmanship actually studied with the idea of ...
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If West Virginia could legally secede from Virginia, why couldn't Southern states secede from the USA? [duplicate]

There is a huge and interesting argument on whether it was legal for the States which became the Confederacy to leave the Union. I can see interesting points in both sides of this argument. I come ...
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Did Northern troops attempt to re-enslave African Americans in Southern plantations during the Civil War?

In Black Reconstruction in America, W.E.B. Du Bois argues that during the war, Northern troops - in this case under the command of Nathaniel P. Banks - sometimes tried to get enslaved people back to ...
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What was the fate of the planters and their plantations following the American Civil War?

I had a question about the fate of the Southern planter class following the American civil war. The question was sparked by W.E.B. Du Bois's Black Reconstruction in America. Du Bois argues that they ...
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How was it possible for people to remain enslaved until 1869? [closed]

In this article, we read that Wood's enslaver marched his slaves to Texas after the Civil War where she remained enslaved to him until 1869. This is the first I have heard of this. How is this ...
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What does “free and independent states” mean in the Declaration of Independence? [duplicate]

The Declaration of Independence declared the United Colonies to be "free and independent states," with the following context: We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in ...
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281 views

How effective was Civil War-era artillery in the rain?

How did rain effect cannon of the mid-19th century? Specifically the commonly fielded types like the 12-pounder Napoleon. Could they operate effectively and reliably in heavy rainfall? I’ve been able ...
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How many troops did the Confederate and Union army have in each year of the Civil War? [closed]

How many troops did each army of the civil war have in each year of the war from 1861-1864 and how many casualties did they have each year?
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What was the experience level of officers during the American Civil war?

It's common knowledge that the American Civil War was fought by amateur soldiers. DISCIPLINE & TRAINING OF SOLDIERS Rather than learning in training camp, Civil War regiments had to learn to ...
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Did the King of Siam offer war elephants to the Union during the Civil War?

I have read many sources stating that Lincoln refused an offer for war elephants during the Civil War. I have also read that this was not true. I was hoping that this site could shed some light on the ...
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Is there any truth to my family's story about “Cooper's Pie Wagon”?

According to family lore, my great-uncle Dr. John Cooper "was a surgeon on Gen. Sherman's and Gen. Fremont's staffs. Credited with the invention of the ambulance; soldiers nicknamed it as Cooper's "...
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At what point after the war did Confederate money begin to attain value again?

At the start of the U.S. Civil War, the Confederate States of America began to print their own money. Almost immediately it began to lose value due to inflation (except in 1864). By the end of the ...
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408 views

Before the Civil War, did the USA ever offer something like a “5-year plan” for the South to abolish slavery?

Before the U.S. Civil War broke out, did the North ever offer any sort of gradual slavery abolishment deal to the South, instead of demanding that the South stop slavery immediately? I imagine the ...
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Were exchanged prisoners from Elmira taken to a single or multiple exchange points?

Were exchanged prisoners from Elmira taken to a single or multiple exchange points? My gg-grandfather died en-route after being exchanged in February, 1865. Would he have been in route to City Point ...
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What defenses did Lee leave behind when the Army of Northern Virginia left for Gettysburg?

When Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia marched northwest to the Shenandoah Valley in June 1863, how strong (how many men, cannons, etc.) was the force they left opposing the Army of the Potomac ...
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312 views

How much damage did Farragut do to Confederate supplies in spring/summer 1863?

In March 1863 Farragut ran the batteries at Port Hudson and began disrupting Confederate operations between Vicksburg and Port Hudson. Shelby Foote seems to suggest that it was this operation that ...
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How to make sense of Civil War regiment reports?

I'm reading through my book on the 48th VA Infantry by John D. Chapla and interspersed throughout the book are these reports that I'm having a hard time making sense of. http://imgur.com/yrLex9q I ...
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What caused the Mule Shoe salient?

I have a few ancestors that fought in the 48th VA Infantry Regiment, most of whom were captured at Mule Shoe during the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. The Mule Shoe was a half-mile long, mile-...
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To what extent has the United States become (in 1870) the nation that it originally set out to be? [closed]

I was thinking about this for a while. I know that the US never intended to abolish slavery at that time, but it still happened. Is that even relevant? Some of the things I thought that they ...
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How detailed were American Civil War medical records of the types of diseases that various soldiers had?

The Northern armies evidently kept at least somewhat detailed statistics on how many of their soldiers were sick. Shelby Foote's The Civil War: A Narrative recalls one incident where the Army of the ...
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482 views

Why is Jackson's valley campaign considered a Confederate victory?

Wikipedia article on the campaign I'm curious why Jackson's valley campaign is considered a victorious Confederate campaign. Yes, Jackson won almost all the battles that were fought, but as I ...
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What was the South actually afraid Lincoln or Congress would do that precipitated the Civil War?

While the US Civil War was fought over slavery, it doesn't appear that an interpretation of law from the 19th century supports the notion that Congress or the President could have eliminated slavery ...
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194 views

What were the circumstances surrounding Forrest's injury at Shiloh?

In Shelby Foote's, "The Civil War", he describes how Nathan Bedford Forrest was injured during the organized rebel retreat from Shiloh on day 2. According to Foote, Forrest and his troopers ...
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Why did Lincoln wait to issue the Emancipation Proclamation?

(Apologies in advance: not being American, while I've read up somewhat about the military aspects of the Civil War, I am somewhat unclear as to its political dimension.) Lincoln did not declare the ...
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Did Frederick Douglass affect British policy during the American Civil War?

In his recent biography of Douglass, David Blight talks about Douglass’s trips to England prior to the war. He explains the Douglass was well received, but doesn’t give insight into any effect this ...
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Which “Walker” is Thoreau referring to in “A Plea for Captain John Brown”?

“If Walker may be considered the representative of the South, I wish I could say that Brown was the representative of the North. He was a superior man.” Excerpt From: Henry David Thoreau. A Plea ...
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Why did Robert E. Lee say that George McClellan was the best general he ever faced?

In administration, preparation, and morale, he may have been excellent, but in starting campaigns he was ruinously cautious and in battles he was reluctant to sustain casualties. In the the Peninsula ...
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An American Civil War battle where a general was ordered to advance to a certain point and wait . . . so waiting was all he did?

I'm trying to pin down something I once read about what went wrong with the Union's plans for a certain battle in the American Civil War. I think I once read a few paragraphs about this in a book by ...
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How did messages get back and forth between ship and shore during the Battle of Cherbourg?

In volume 3 of Shebly Foote's book on the American Civil war, he mentions that once out to sea, Winslow got a message from France about Semmes's intentions. Does that mean there were boats going back ...
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Where can I find a personal account of freedom of a slave in America after 1863

The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 declared free all slaves in the Confederacy. In 1865 the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the whole country. I am familiar with the context. What I am ...
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Is this a US Civil War uniform?

Image is a photo of an original tin type (photographic method introduced in 1856, in popular production until roughly 1867), hat appears to be U.S. Civil War - Union, "X" patch on right front breast ...
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Why did the Confederacy think they could win the American Civil War?

The early Confederacy (The 7 founding states) attacked Fort Sumter in April 1861, starting the American Civil War. The Confederacy knew this would lead to war with the Union, yet they seemed to be ...
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What was the effect of the Civil War on the cost of cotton?

If you look at contemporary sources discussing slavery as practiced in the antebellum American South, a couple recurring themes pop up again and again: Cotton. Cotton farming requires large amounts ...
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What prompted Lincoln to change his mind about ending slavery?

Prior to the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln asserted that he would not end slavery in the South and that he was not in favor of racial equality. Yet, by 1863 he signed the “Emancipation Proclamation” ...
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Why did Heth go towards Gettysburg on July 1, 1863?

In Shelby Foote's book about the civil war, he indicates that General Henry Heth send his men into Gettysburg looking after a "supply of shoes". They ran into Buford's men, Heth approached A.P. Hill, ...
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How did Lincoln know to stick with Grant before the completion of the Vicksburg campaign?

I'm reading Shelby Foote's book on the Civil War and something struck me: Lincoln was sticking by Grant, whom he'd never met, well before his big victories at Vicksburg and Chattanooga. How did ...
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Did Lincoln “usurp” his war powers?

In a previous question I made the statement that Lincoln "usurped" his war powers during the civil war. This statement was controversial and elicited thoughtful comments. I thought I would open up a ...
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What did the Emancipation Proclamation exactly do?

I'm a bit confused about what Lincoln's proclamation did exactly. It's thought by some the Emancipation Proclamation gave all slaves the status of free. However from reading the introduction of the ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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282 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 ...

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