The American Civil War Begins
This week marks the anniversary of the start of the Civil War. The bloodiest war in American history began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces, under the command of General P.G.T. Beauregard opened fire on the Union forces entrenched at Fort Sumter, South Carolina in Charleston Bay. After fifty hours of battle, and 4,000 rounds of ammunition launched by the well-supplied Confederates, Major Robert Anderson surrendered the fort without any loss of life. Buoyed by this victory, the South thought the war would be over in a matter of months. However, on April 15, President Lincoln
issued a proclamation for 75,000 men to stop the Southern insurrection, and the long Civil War was underway. The first battle that suffered casualties took place at Bull Run in July, 1861. But it didn’t stop there.
The official beginning of the war culminated years of squabbling between the North and the South. The issue of slavery had been dividing the nation for more than a decade, and the rhetoric on both sides escalated each year. By 1860, the Southern faction was openly discussing secession from the United States. Following the election of Republication Abraham Lincoln, South Carolina began secession proceedings and started seizing forts and stockpiling ammunition. Within weeks, five other southern states joined
forces with South Carolina. In 1861, Jefferson Davis was named president of the Confederate States of America and the war began in earnest, often pitting families against one another. Ultimately, 2,100,000 Union soldiers were engaged during the four years of battle, as opposed to 1,000,000 Confederate soldiers.
One of the most devastating battles happened in Gettysburg, PA from July 1-3, 1863. More lives were lost in this intense fight than any other during the entire rest of the war, as more than 50,000 soldiers were slain. Residents of the town had to wear masks over their faces when they left their homes, since the stink of rotting flesh permeated the air for months. There were too many bodies to properly dispose of them. The Battle of Gettysburg marked the turning point of the war, as Union General Meade stopped the advance of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
The war lasted for four long years, from 1861 to 1865. The South was finally defeated, but not before 620,000 Union and Confederate soldiers gave their lives.
Two of the books in the Cotillion Ball Series are about the effects and after effects of this dark chapter in American history. In A Widow’s Salvation, Pepper Fitzpatrick is forced to carry on with her life after her husband becomes one of the first to die for the cause at Bull Run. And The Forgotten Debutante highlights the little known Federal Reburial Program, after the war finished, when bodies of the Union soldiers were gathered from the killing fields and relocated into national cemeteries.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-civil-war-begins?cmpid=email-hist-tdih-2017-0412_
http://www.historynet.com/civil-war
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gettysburg
Excellent reminder of one of the darkest periods in American history, Becky! Sadly, we are still arguing about how to view certain elements of that war. Perhaps in another generation, the last remnants will finally be behind us.
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Awesome Becky, great job. @lovehistory @gailingisauthor
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Thanks, Gail for stopping by today. It’s a sad anniversary, true, but one that shouldn’t be forgotten.
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My hope is that someday we can all come to peace with it. Thanks, Linda.
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Reblogged this on PBUH prophets mercy and guidance.
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Pingback: The American Civil War Begins | #Barki2017 #iPDev 👑🇲🇦💯💻🔬
Found you via WP’s “Discover” feature, and look forward to future posts. I’m also an author of historical fiction.
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Thanks so much for tracking us down.
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Superb! I love it and I love history of just about any sort !
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Thanks for visiting today. Glad you stopped by and glad you love the topic.
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interesting site…love the collaboration, great idea. The Civil War, a favorite topic of mine. I have subscribed to the blog. If you like, you are invited to visit my blog. 🙂
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Thanks so much for visiting the site today. Obviously, the Civil War is one of my favorite topics, too.
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I enjoy the site. History is my field, and Ifind it always fascinating
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Both of my great-grandfathers were in the Union Army, (Ohio) but they were very young (about 18) when it ended. I have their discharge papers, which their widows needed to apply for pension…much later of course.
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Good article Becky, see you tomorrow evening.
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Unfortunately, this war still isn’t over. The nation is still divided over many issues that were fought over in the Civil War… perhaps in the future we can finally resolve our differences, put this dark moment behind us once and for all, and live together in harmony. Thank you for posting this.
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So informative…
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Fascinating, and completely tragic. In a nation that’s still as divided as America, we can only hope that this time we can all find some common ground.
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Good post
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Wow very interesting visit our website you might find it interesting
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Great pictures! Makes the story come to life!
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While were on the subject of the Civil War, I believe all these people who talk about “southern pride” in relation to the confederate flag really need to do their research to understand what the CONFEDERACY stood for.
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Agreed. It’s the war that has never really ended.
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Not really too far from me is the town of Gettysburg. It’s about a 3 hr. drive from here. I’ve been there 3 times, so far, and it’s a interesting battlefield to visit. It get’s very full of visitors during the Summer day’s. It’s also very haunted. I’ve enjoyed History around my area for a long time. It’s what my Blog is mostly about. I am following.
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I’ve been to Gettysburg once and written about it in my novels. I lived in VA for a long time and visited most of the battlefields in VA and MD as well. I just started to follow your blog. Beautiful photography.
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Thank you so much, Becky. Appreciated.
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