vonn
US Veteran
Thought I would have seen a thread on this by now .
Appomattox
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zzzippper
Member
The end of the War of Northern Aggression is not a happy topic.
1morethan8
US Veteran, Absent Comrade
Three of my family were there 150 years ago.
Philadelphia Patriot
Member
For what it's worth, I'm watching Gods and Generals now.
1morethan8
US Veteran, Absent Comrade
HdQrs Army of No Va
10th April 1865
General Order
No 9
After four years of arduous service marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources.
I need not tell the brave survivors of so many hard fought battles who have remained steadfast to the last that I have consented to this result from no distrust of them; but feeling that valour and devotion could accomplish nothing that would compensate for the loss that would have attended the continuance of the contest, I determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their Countrymen.
By the terms of the Agreement officers and men can return to their homes and remain there until exchanged.
You will take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from the consciousness of duty faithfully performed, and I earnestly pray that a Merciful God will extend to you his blessing and protection.
With an unceasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your country and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous consideration for myself, I bid you all an affectionate farewell.
R. E. Lee
Genl
10th April 1865
General Order
No 9
After four years of arduous service marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources.
I need not tell the brave survivors of so many hard fought battles who have remained steadfast to the last that I have consented to this result from no distrust of them; but feeling that valour and devotion could accomplish nothing that would compensate for the loss that would have attended the continuance of the contest, I determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their Countrymen.
By the terms of the Agreement officers and men can return to their homes and remain there until exchanged.
You will take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from the consciousness of duty faithfully performed, and I earnestly pray that a Merciful God will extend to you his blessing and protection.
With an unceasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your country and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous consideration for myself, I bid you all an affectionate farewell.
R. E. Lee
Genl
shouldazagged
Absent Comrade
One of the great moments of that awful war was Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain having his troops salute as the surrendered Confederate soldiers passed by.
I wish it gave more healing and resolution to those who are still fighting rhe war. And I'm a Tennesseean descended from Georgians.
I wish it gave more healing and resolution to those who are still fighting rhe war. And I'm a Tennesseean descended from Georgians.
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Saw where they found....
I saw where they found that someone who they thought had died a slave actually lived longer than they thought, which means they actually lived to be free. Doesn't sound like a big deal to us, but if you were that person.......
I saw where they found that someone who they thought had died a slave actually lived longer than they thought, which means they actually lived to be free. Doesn't sound like a big deal to us, but if you were that person.......
nicky4968
Member
I had people on both sides.
Of every one who went, none came back.
Grant saved the nation with the treaty.
Of every one who went, none came back.
Grant saved the nation with the treaty.
Philadelphia Patriot
Member
Harrison
US Veteran
On my father's side of the family they all fought for the South. On my mother's side some fought for the North and some had not made it to the U.S. yet. A sad sad day for Dixie.
Watchdog
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I was in an old graveyard in one of the so-called "border states" one time. I remember seeing one tombstone that was inscribed "Killed by The Rebels", and just a few feet from that one was another one inscribed with "Murdered By Yankees".
I have copies of a lot of the regimental records of the unit my great-great-grandfather, James Snipes, served in. I got the copies years and years ago from the official Confederate Archives stored in Columbia, South Carolina. They are written in a beautiful, almost copperplate script.
He was wounded at Sullivan's Island. The battery near him was involved in shelling what's described as a Yankee ironclad, and the battle is described in pretty good detail. He ended up losing an arm, and eventually died years after the war from the residual effects of the wound. As late as 1912, his widow, Elizabeth, was still receiving a pension of $12 a month from the federal government. I still visit his grave now and then in an old country churchyard a good ways out Highway 9 from Lancaster, South Carolina. But for some reason, I can't remember the name of the church. I'd give my finest firearm for just one photograph of the old boy.
The records describe how their lieutenant was fatally wounded by a musket shot to the head. They describe a later march to Virginia through mud and other horrible conditions. The men were almost out of food and their clothes were in tatters, but their saddles, other tack, and weapons are described as being maintained in excellent condition.
The records even recorded his enlistment date, the location (Lancaster County, SC), and the name of the sergeant who enlisted him.
Pre-war census records of 1860 show him as declaring a net worth of $600. He also declared that he owned no slaves. Just as an aside, in those early census records in South Carolina, the names of slaves were not usually recorded. They were listed by age and sex. They basically had no identities prior to the war.
It's amazing what you can find out if you just do the research. I'm just remembering this stuff off the top of my head. The records are up in the attic somewhere.
Oh, and the regimental bugler was fined a month's pay for drunkeness. Another soldier was fined $1 for "expectorating in the direction of an officer". Seriously. Gotta love them Johnny Rebs.
I have copies of a lot of the regimental records of the unit my great-great-grandfather, James Snipes, served in. I got the copies years and years ago from the official Confederate Archives stored in Columbia, South Carolina. They are written in a beautiful, almost copperplate script.
He was wounded at Sullivan's Island. The battery near him was involved in shelling what's described as a Yankee ironclad, and the battle is described in pretty good detail. He ended up losing an arm, and eventually died years after the war from the residual effects of the wound. As late as 1912, his widow, Elizabeth, was still receiving a pension of $12 a month from the federal government. I still visit his grave now and then in an old country churchyard a good ways out Highway 9 from Lancaster, South Carolina. But for some reason, I can't remember the name of the church. I'd give my finest firearm for just one photograph of the old boy.
The records describe how their lieutenant was fatally wounded by a musket shot to the head. They describe a later march to Virginia through mud and other horrible conditions. The men were almost out of food and their clothes were in tatters, but their saddles, other tack, and weapons are described as being maintained in excellent condition.
The records even recorded his enlistment date, the location (Lancaster County, SC), and the name of the sergeant who enlisted him.
Pre-war census records of 1860 show him as declaring a net worth of $600. He also declared that he owned no slaves. Just as an aside, in those early census records in South Carolina, the names of slaves were not usually recorded. They were listed by age and sex. They basically had no identities prior to the war.
It's amazing what you can find out if you just do the research. I'm just remembering this stuff off the top of my head. The records are up in the attic somewhere.
Oh, and the regimental bugler was fined a month's pay for drunkeness. Another soldier was fined $1 for "expectorating in the direction of an officer". Seriously. Gotta love them Johnny Rebs.
1morethan8
US Veteran, Absent Comrade
I wonder.. the majority of the Confederate soldiers didn't own slaves... what were they fighting for?
Watchdog
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There is no one answer to that question. The multitude of answers are both simple and complicated. Thousands of books, papers, dissertations, etc., etc. have been written on the subject.
My personal opinion is that slavery was not the central issue. Nor was states' rights, although I do believe states' rights was one of the biggest reasons. I sure don't know the answer, and I seriously doubt anyone on this forum can say for sure. I'm not sure anyone really knows, I don't care what they say.
I'd say pick a couple of opposing historians, read what all they have to say about it, then make up your own mind. Or study the political situations and practices in the two or three years leading up to the war. You can lose yourself in this stuff.
And that's why James Buchanan is one of the worst president's if not the worst.
Did nothing to stop such a deadly war.....
Did nothing to stop such a deadly war.....
charlie sherrill
SWCA Member
The victors write the history.
finesse_r
Member
The south fought for the same thing the American Colonist fought for against the British. Freedom, from an invading army. The right of self government and the right to reasonable representation. The more densely populated northern states were able to use their numbers to control the foreign trade policies that were crippling the south economically.
And certainly states rights was the central underlying justification for secession. Prior to the Union’s invasion of the CSA and forcing them into the USA at gun point, states rights were considered superior to federal rights. Rather than change that by constitutional amendment which was the only legal way to deny states their right to secede, and which they could not do, the Union resorted to armed invasion and four years of bloody war.
A better question is why was the south denied their state’s rights to secede? Certainly slavery was not raised as an issue until the war had been raging for two years. It was an after thought not a cause of the war.
When will the Union let my people go?
Chipmunk6
Member
Mr. Lincoln's War began and ended on
the same man's land.
the same man's land.
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1morethan8
US Veteran, Absent Comrade
In my opinion.. I believe the Southern people viewed the North as a dictatorship and was placing restraints on their way of living.
And many still believe it's still true today.. "control" coming from the north side of the James River.
After all.. is it the Southern States that want to take your firearms!?
This song by Waylon has that hidden message...
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-MX0PXDWis"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-MX0PXDWis[/ame]
And many still believe it's still true today.. "control" coming from the north side of the James River.
After all.. is it the Southern States that want to take your firearms!?
This song by Waylon has that hidden message...
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-MX0PXDWis"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-MX0PXDWis[/ame]
Johnny_w
Member
Are we really having this discussion again? I refer people to this thread: http://smith-wessonforum.com/lounge/376184-confederate-memorial-day.html
On Dec. 24, 1860, delegates at South Carolina’s secession convention adopted a “Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union.” It noted “an increasing hostility on the part of the non-slaveholding States to the institution of slavery” and protested that Northern states had failed to “fulfill their constitutional obligations” by interfering with the return of fugitive slaves to bondage. Slavery, not states’ rights, birthed the Civil War.
On Aug. 22, 1862, President Lincoln wrote a letter to the New York Tribune that included the following passage: “If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that. What I do about slavery and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union.”
High tariffs had prompted the Nullification Controversy in 1831-33, when, after South Carolina demanded the right to nullify federal laws or secede in protest, President Andrew Jackson threatened force. No state joined the movement, and South Carolina backed down. Tariffs were not an issue in 1860, and Southern states said nothing about them.
Five myths about why the South seceded - The Washington Post
On Dec. 24, 1860, delegates at South Carolina’s secession convention adopted a “Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union.” It noted “an increasing hostility on the part of the non-slaveholding States to the institution of slavery” and protested that Northern states had failed to “fulfill their constitutional obligations” by interfering with the return of fugitive slaves to bondage. Slavery, not states’ rights, birthed the Civil War.
On Aug. 22, 1862, President Lincoln wrote a letter to the New York Tribune that included the following passage: “If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that. What I do about slavery and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union.”
High tariffs had prompted the Nullification Controversy in 1831-33, when, after South Carolina demanded the right to nullify federal laws or secede in protest, President Andrew Jackson threatened force. No state joined the movement, and South Carolina backed down. Tariffs were not an issue in 1860, and Southern states said nothing about them.
Five myths about why the South seceded - The Washington Post
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It's a shame that in another 50 years a man of such honor and dignity as R.E. Lee will be little more than a footnote in history. I doubt that there are any textbooks left that teach the children of such things while in our PC culture most glorify mostly questionable characters in American history.
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