The American Civil war took place in the years between 1861 and 1865. The war took place after the seven states in Southern America seceded from the United States forming the confederacy. The south or the confederacy was never recognized as a nation by any foreign power despite having claimed thirteen states and several territories in the western region of America. The states that did not secede were known as simply the North or the Union. After four years of bloody fighting that left over 620,000 casualties from either side, the south collapsed with much of its infrastructure destroyed (Gallagher, 2003,). In order to fully comprehend much about the civil war, it is prudent to focus on its causes, conduct and aftermath.
There were four notable causes of the civil war in America. The socio-economic differences between the North and South was one major reason that brought about the bloody combat in 1861 to 1865. The southern economy depended greatly on cotton and slavery while the Northern was founded more on industrialization rather than agriculture. This disparity brought about different socioeconomic attitudes where the South was more synonymous with the plantation life while the North was focused on urbanization (Gallagher, 2003). The Northern evolved greatly with urbanization as people drawn from various cultures coexisted and worked together unlike in the south where the societies held on to its age-old social order. Another reason was state versus federal rights which pitted many southern states representatives against their Northern counterparts. The Southern representatives felt that the new constitution infringed upon the rights of individual states through the strengthening of the central federal government (Gallagher, 2003,). The federal government denied many of these representatives the right to nullify its acts that were deemed unconstitutional leading to the eventual secession by the aggrieved states.
The third cause of the war was the contentious slavery issue. Many northern states perceived slavery as evil and irreconcilable with the emerging United States republicanism while the Southern perceived it as more of a state-based ownership system. The northern which mostly comprised of the anti-slavery forces sought to contain slavery leading to its eventual end. The south, on the other hand, opposed such legislation as slavery was part of its economic lifeline. The last cause of the civil war was the election of Abraham Lincoln as President in 1860. The Southern states perceived Lincoln as an abolitionist and a custodian of the northern states interests. Even before his election seven states (Mississippi, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and South Carolina) had already initiated the secession process (Gallagher, 2003).
The civil war was conducted in both guerilla and armed ways. Both the Union and the Confederacy employed these two tactics in the civil war. The two were employed majorly in three frontiers the Eastern theatre, Western theatre and Trans-Mississippi. The Eastern Theatre was bordered by Atlantic Ocean and Appalachian mountains and was linked to the most famous campaigns in the history of the war. The bloodiest combat in the Eastern Theatre was the Gettysburg battle. It is also here that Richmond and Washington DC were attacked. The Union had an upper advantage in the Eastern Theatre due to its control over major rivers and the sea. The Western Theatre was defined as the region to the east of the Mississippi river and Western of the Appalachian Mountains (Gallagher, 2003,). It marked the continuous defeats of the Confederate army starting from Kentucky to south of Mississippi river. It is at this front that Sam Watkins witnessed the deaths of many of his Confederate army company. Private Watkins’ account Co. Aytch tells of how the Confederate Union conducted itself in Western theater. He cites that a sheet of fire was poured into our very faces “in the 1864 battle of Franklin; Tennessee to illustrate how intense that battle wars (Watkins, 1900). Watkins described the attacks by Union as fatal as they left the earth red with the blood of the Confederate soldiers. The Trans-Mississippi area saw guerilla warfare being conducted by the confederate due to their limited resources and increased number of casualties mostly. Groups such as Quantrill raiders, Order of the American Knights and Sons of Liberty attacked pro-Union soldiers and officials.
The conduct of the civil war cannot go on without mentioning the role of the Black Americans who were conscripted by both sides. The 1st Rhode Island regiment had a great number of Black soldiers who were formerly slaves. This was brought about by shortage of white soldiers. The black soldiers, however, in most cases were not treated same as their white counterparts despite engaging in the war in equal measure. James Henry Gooding, a black corporal in the 54th Massachusetts troops highlighted this in his letter to President Lincoln. He cited the need for equal pay for all soldiers regardless of their race that was later on honored by the Lincoln administration. “We feel as though our country has spurned us” letter by Gooding pushed for the increment of the wages of the Black officers from 10$ to 13$ which was what their white counterparts earned.
The aftermath of the war was characterized by the surrender of the Confederacy to the Union and initiation of the reconstruction of the South. Sam Watkins in his book Co. Aytch witnessed the surrender at Appomattox, which translated to the conquest of Virginia. Under General Joe E Johnston, Watkins and his fellow 64 soldiers out of the initial 3,200 that had gone to war surrendered (Watkins, 1900). Watkins notes it was a pitiful sight to behold with only sixty five members of the original 3,200 of the Tennessee Regiment. It is prudent to note that pockets of violence were witnessed in various parts until the surrender of Stand Watie, a Native combatant, in 1865. The end of the war also saw the initiation of the reconstruction of the South by President Lincoln. The Reconstruction sought to impose a new socio-economic order to the south with much prominence given to the abolishment of slave trade (Gallagher, 2003).
References
Gallagher, G. W. (2003). The American Civil War: This mighty scourge of war. Oxford: Osprey.
Watkins, S. R. (1900). "Co. Aytch". Chattanooga, TN: Times Print. Co.
