Introduction
The American Civil War was a war that divided the nation, pitting brother against brother. Four for long years this war will drag on. At one point President Lincoln believe that only if the Union could capture and control one key terrain the war could be brought to an end. Nestle between Cairo, Illinois, and the Gulf of Mexico, lays the Mississippi River twisting and winding for roughly a 1,000 miles. This river will prove to be a vital area for whomever controlled it. Siting more than 200 feet high, the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi overlooked the river on the Louisiana-Mississippi state border. The Confederate control of this area gave them an ideal position to defend against the Union Army and to keep their Supply and economical lines ebbing. Capturing this area will not prove to be an easy task for the Union. This battle will take the Union over a year and a high body count to bring the Confederates to its knees, signaling the beginning of the end of the American Civil War (Macdonald, 2012, p 231; McPherson, 1998, p 421).
The Town of Vicksburg
Before the outbreak of the Civil War, Vicksburg, Mississippi had become one of the most prosperous and sophisticated towns on the southern frontier. It was a booming center of trade, welcoming crowded boats carrying all kinds of goods and commodities from around the world. Secession would not be a favored decision by the citizens of Vicksburg but since the state seceded it left them no choice. By early 1862 the peaceful town had become one of the most strategically important spots in the entire Confederacy and would soon be heavily sought after by Union forces. From the onset of the war, to protect their most prized possession, the Confederacy put up defensive positions ...
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...Yes, the Union would had suffered more casualties than it had but they had a General that was willing to pay that cost.
Works Cited
Ballard, M. (2004). Vicksburg: The Campaighn That Opened The Mississippi. Chapel Hill, NC, USA: The University of North Carolina Press.
Carlisle, R. P. (2008). Civil War and Reconstruction. New York, New York: Infobase Publishing.
Macdonald, J. (2009). The Historical Atlas of the Civil War. New York, New York: Chartwell Books INC.
McPherson, J. (1998). Battle Cry of Freedom. New York, New York: Oxford University Press.
McPherson, J. M. (1997). For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Winschel, T. J. (2004). Vicksburg Campaign: Unvexing the Fathe of Water. Retrieved from Civil War: http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/vicksburg/vicksburg-history-articles/vicksburgwinshcelhg.html
In 1863, the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was awoken to the beginning of what was to be the turning point of the Civil War for the Union. It began as a small skirmish, but by its end it involved so many Americans to which would become one of the bloodiest battles ever taken place on Unites States soil. The Battle of Gettysburg was not only a turning point in the war.
The book “For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought In The Civil War” by James M. McPherson examines the motivations of the soldiers who fought in the Civil War. McPherson wanted to understand why the men fought in the Civil War and why they fought so ferociously for such a large amount of time even though there was a huge possibility of death, disease and injurys.To answer the question regarding the reasons why men fought in the Civil War so viciously, and for such a long period of time, James McPherson studied countless amounts of letters, diaries and other mails that were written or sent by the soldiers who fought in the Civil War.
...ces. The weary Confederate forces were overcome and Van Dorn ordered a withdrawal. The battle had been won by the Union (Battle). Van Dorn went across the Mississippi, abandoning all of the operations west of on the western side of it. Therefore, the Union controlled all of the area to the west of the Mississippi. The Union kept control of this area for 2 more years before there was any dispute. By controlling one whole front of the war, the Union's victory was much easier and more probable than before.
Heidler, David Stephen, and Jeanne T. Heidler, eds. Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: a
In the next pages I will explain why Fredericksburg was such a tragedy. Why it was a big morale booster for the South, but a disappointment for the North?
The book ‘For Cause and Comrades’ is a journey to comprehend why the soldiers in the Civil War fought, why they fought so passionately, and why they fought for the long period of time. Men were pulling guns against other men who they had known their whole lives. McPherson’s main source of evidence was the many letters from the soldiers writing to home. One of the many significant influences was how the men fought to prove their masculinity and courage. To fight would prove they were a man to their community and country. Fighting also had to do with a duty to their family. Ideology was also a major motivating factor; each side thought they were fighting for their liberty. The soldier’s reputations were created and demolished on the battlefield, where men who showed the most courage were the most honored. Religion also played an important role because the second Great Awakening had just occurred. Their religion caused the men who thought of themselves as saved to be fearless of death, “Religion was the only thing that kept this soldier going; even in the trenches…” (McPherson, p. 76) R...
McPherson, James M.; The Atlas of the Civil War. Macmillan: 15 Columbus Circle New York, NY. 1994.
In James McPherson’s novel, What They Fought For, a variety of Civil War soldier documents are examined to show the diverse personal beliefs and motives for being involved in the war. McPherson’s sample, “is biased toward genuine fighting soldiers” (McPherson, 17) meaning he discusses what the ordinary soldier fought for. The Confederacy was often viewed as the favorable side because their life style relied on the war; Confederates surrounded their lives with practices like slavery and agriculture, and these practices were at stake during the war. On the other hand, Northerners fought to keep the country together. Although the Civil War was brutal, McPherson presents his research to show the dedication and patriotism of the soldiers that fought and died for a cause.
General Burnside’s “Campaign to Richmond” led the Army of the Potomac to the far side of the Rappahannock River, opposite of Fredericksburg, on the 19th of November 1862. Burnside envisioned pontoon boats stretching twice across the river to allow for a swift and continuous passage of his army. This is where Burnside’s problems began. The pontoon boats arrived several days later and Confederate scouts in the city were able to report the Army of the Potomac’s location. Within days, General Lee’s Rebel f...
Stevens, Norman S. 2004. Antietam 1862; The Civil War's bloodiest day. New York: Osprey Publishing.
...iled to gain the recognition of the European nations, North's superior resources made the outcome inevitable, and moral of the South towards the end of the war. The Civil War was a trying time for both the North and the South alike, but the question of its outcome was obvious from the start. The North was guaranteed a decisive victory over the ill-equipped South. Northerners, prepared to endure the deficit of war, were startled to find that they were experiencing an enormous industrial boom even after the first year of war. To the South, however, the war was a draining and debilitating leech, sucking the land dry of any appearance of economical formidability. The debate continues whether or not the South could have won the Civil war. It’s always going to be a bunch of “what ifs?”
Book Title: The American Civil War: A Handbook of Literature and Research. Contributors: Robin Higham - editor, Steven E. Woodworth - editor. Publisher: Greenwood Press. Place of Publication: Westport, CT. Publication Year: 1996
Perman Michael, Amy Murrell Taylor. Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2011.
"Battles of the Civil War". Civil War. 2013. Civil War Trust. Web. 9 Dec 2013.
More confederates than unions were illiterate due to the fact that most held professional or white-collard jobs (36). To make the Union soldiers sample fair sense most blacks couldn’t read or write, 2 who could were included in the sample (36). The levels of patriotism differed from the upper and lower south given to the fact that the upper south were mainly cotton states. The confederates felt as if it was a “rich mans woar but the poor man has to do the fifting” (16). The confederates were mainly fighting for “independence, property and way of life” (27). Some characteristics the soldiers had in common were McPherson’s calculations for the Union. He came to seeing that out of 562 Union soldier’s letters read only 67 percent voice strong patriotic motives. This is the same as the two-thirds of Confederates. As a result from reading McPherson’s book, research showed that the Union and Confederate soldiers expressed about the same degree of patriotic and ideological convictions. Even though they both had different reasons for fighting the levels of sincerity and dedication in their notes were