American Civil War Issues Essay

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The Union Navy in the Civil War

In discussions concerning the civil warfare, credit is normally given to the Union Army. However, there may be consensus among many historians that the warfare couldn’t have been gained without the assistance of the Union Navy. This is a facet that is as a rule overlooked, ensuing to low credit score to the navy’s role in the warfare¹.

During the Civil War, the Union Army and Navy collaborated and lots of a instances developed joint struggle plans that negated the confederacy’s strengths in the south and effectively quashed its intentions to advance northwards². The Union Navy’s position primarily concerned mounting blockades alongside the shoreline of the confederate states with the only intention of ravenous the Confederate forces of a lot-wanted provides³. Precisely, the Union navy blockades primarily aimed at stopping confederate ships from accessing European ports, significantly hindering the capacities of both the Confederate military and navy.

After blockade goals had been achieved, the Union navy aided the Union military in land battles, particularly within the battles of Shiloh and Vicksburg. The battle of Shilloh followed the seize of Fort Henry by the Union army. Their success was largely because of the blockade provided by the Union navy^four. In the following weeks after the seize, both the Union army and the Union navy worked together, gaining floor upstream until the clash that later can be named the Battle of Shilloh. In the battle of Vicksburg, the Union navy helped primarily in transporting floor troopers as a result of the canal that the Union forces relied on was destroyed by a damaged levee⁵.

Whether or not the Union military might have succeeded without the Union navy’s assistance is debatable. However, it is important to do not forget that during the civil warfare, army technology was not very advanced, and armies relied on numbers. Therefore, it’s justified to conclude that there have been chances that the military may have misplaced with out the navy’s assist.

Supplies to the Civil War Armies

In any battlefield, logistics is among the factors that determine if a military triumphs or not. The scenario was not completely different during the civil struggle. Both Union and Confederate armies mobilized huge logistical operations that helped make sure that soldiers have been nicely equipped and supplied to maintain momentum and high morale. Historians agree that the Union military was generally extra organized and had the advanced functionality in meeting the troopers’ wants.

The Union military had transport regiments that were primarily tasked with ferrying provides to the battlefield. The union army built railroads and emergency bridges of their quest to fulfill soldiers’ wants on the battlefield. In any battlefield, medical provides are critical for survival and the general outcome of a war. In this regard, the Union army, along with the navy, built steamboats and floating hospitals geared up with medical supplies, doctors, and nurses to provide enough medical care.

Unlike the Union army, the Confederate supply machine was unfastened and insufficient. State governments were mandated to produce the soldiers. However, most could not work due to dire monetary conditions and acute disorganization. The Confederate army operated dilapidated railroads that resulted in ineffective transport. At times, the accomplice military was so desperate for provides that were not forthcoming that they had to result in acts corresponding to begging, borrowing, and stealing meals and ammunition. Also, the Confederate army largely relied on supplies from captured Union depots.

In the availability chain for each armies, ladies played an essential position. One of the most important tasks that girls played was the sewing of uniforms for each armies, a task that went alongside way in serving to to sustain the provision of clothes⁶.

The Shenandoah Valley

War planners closely depend on major land formations such as mountains and valleys for tactical superiority. During the Civil War, various land formations put each armies both at an advantage or drawback. Many students have careworn the importance of the Shenandoah Valley to both armies⁷. There is consensus that the valley was an important supply supply for the confederate troopers as a result of it produced quite a few varieties of crops that the military of North Virginia relied on. Additionally, its strategic location gave the accomplice military a vantage level for launching invasions into the Union states. Primarily, the valley gave the southerners a perfect chance to attack Washington because of its proximity to Maryland. This is the importance that led “Stonewall” Jackson to declare that “if the Valley is misplaced, Virginia is lost”, a rallying cry to confederate troopers not to let the valley slip out of their management⁸.

The Shenandoah Valley witnessed one of the bloody marketing campaign intervals of the entire Civil War. One of the campaigns that took place within the Shenandoah Valley was the Lynchburg Campaign that happened from May to June of 1864. In this marketing campaign, Ulysses Grant deliberate an invasion of the valley by way of a senior soldier named Siegel⁹. Siegel was in command of roughly ten thousand males whose major goal was to destroy the railroad heart in Virginia’s Lynchburg town. Siegel via by no means completed his objective as he was intercepted by accomplice troops and defeated¹⁰.

The other marketing campaign that occurred was one led by Philip Sheridan, who as a cavalry commander within the Union military. Sheridan led the campaign that happened from August to October 1864¹¹. He adopted a cautious method to the campaign as a result of the president was going through reelection therefore any disastrous end result in the valley might have hindered his reelection possibilities¹².

General, Nathan B. Forrest and the KKK

General, Nathan B. Forrest was one of the notable figures through the Civil War. After the war broke out, General, Nathan B. Forrest defected to the south and joined the Confederate States Army. Because of his wealth, devotion and willingness to defend the Confederate course, Forrest was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and mandated to recruit and practice a regiment of volunteers in the Confederate military^thirteen.

Despite his providers to the Confederate army, Forrest is usually remembered for his association with the extremist group Ku Klux Klan which he allegedly joined in 1866. Many students assert that the KKK was in want of an skilled leader and one ideally with a military background. Forrest fitted the outline, and it is understood the Klan state chief satisfied him to join¹⁴. James says that Forrest was essential in maintaining order in the Klan particularly during the early years of its existence when the Klan adopted a much less violent method to forcing blacks back to near-slavery situations¹⁵.

According to James. Forrest was instrumental in organizing and executing the Klan’s midnight parades and ghost masquerades that aimed at violently intimidating black voters and white Republicans against voting¹⁶. Forrest by no means publicly acknowledged his involvement with the Klan. In truth, he gave a speech in 1875 to a black viewers that encouraged inter-racial reconciliation amongst southern communities.

It is understood that elevated public scrutiny of the group, coupled with a congressional investigation, could have led Forrest to resign from the group. He did not take an active position in the group; quite, he retired to personal life where he finally died in 1877 from complications related to diabetes¹⁷.

Reconstruction Policies

After the warfare, President Lincoln determined to assist the southern Confederate states rejoin the Union. His plan concerned offering the southern states mild concessions to ensure that them to rejoin the Union. As a end result, Lincoln issued a Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction in 1863 that required that no less than 10% of every of the southern states’ population take an oath of loyalty to the Union and agree to emancipation¹⁸. Unfortunately, Lincoln was assassinated before he would oversee the reconstruction. His vp Andrew Johnson succeeded him and continued his legacy of a lenient method to the southern reconstruction.

President Johnson’s reconstruction effort was soon undermined by radical Republicans that did not tolerate the inferior tag that black folks were given¹⁹. In a method, due to this fact, this marked one of many stark differences between the reconstruction insurance policies championed by Lincoln and people who have been carried out by his successors. Another distinction between the insurance policies is that in Lincoln’s time, the workplace of the presidency championed them while throughout his successor’s time; congress was more or less in cost²⁰.

Certainly, Lincoln had a transparent and strong vision for the southern states. No one can predict precisely what might have occurred to the southern states had Lincoln lived through his presidency. However, analysts imagine Lincoln had a strong vision that entailed uniting the country, which ultimately might have admitted the southern states to the union utilizing a reasonable approach. It is due to this fact prudent to acknowledge that the South may have been treated differently had Lincoln lived because his philosophy was slightly different from that of the unconventional Republicans that championed the reconstruction agenda after his death.

Bibliography

Baggett, James. The Scalawags: Southern Dissenters In The Civil War And Reconstruction. New York: Cengage Learning, 2004.

Browne, Ray. The Civil War and Reconstruction. New York: Thomsons Learning, 2003.

Ford, Lacy. A Companion to the Civil War and Reconstruction. New York: Cengage Learning, 2011.

Gienapp, William. Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America: A Biography. New York: Routledge, 2002.

Perman, Michael. Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Trumbauer, Lisa. Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. London: Sage Publications, 2007.

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