Gods and Generals The American Civil War was a military conflict between the United States of America (the Union), and 11 secessionist Southern states, organized as the Confederate States of America (the Confederacy). It was the culmination of four decades of intense sectional conflict and it reflected deep-seated economic, social, and political differences between the North and the South. Many books have been written on this “first modern war” describing how over 620,000 men were killed. Jeff Shaara goes deeper and explores the personal conflicts of four historical figures, two from the South and two from North: General Lee, General Jackson, Colonel Chamberlain, and Hancock.
Robert E. Lee’s story began with a dilemma; he had to
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135) This describes Major Jackson’s general attitude towards war and towards God. Jackson is extremely pious and does all he can to please God and to follow His path. Newspaper coverage of his battles quickly publicized him and the title Hero was given to Jackson. Throughout the war, Jackson shows dedication, going beyond his orders and chasing away his enemies. He also shows an immense concern for his troops, he “had seen the bare feet, the bloody impressions, and he felt a deep pain, a sadness.” (Pg. 289) His men were shabby compared to the forces of Hancock and Chamberlain.
Winfield Scott Hancock, named after General Winfield Scott, has the talent of making himself “indispensable in any assignment he is given...” (Pg. 5) Due to this talent, he is the best suited to take the role of Quartermaster. After various locations, he is transferred to California, where his story begins. Like Lee, he feels he belongs on the battlefield, and not in an office. Hancock visits General McClellan and is told, “We need leaders, Mr. Hancock. I believe that includes you.” (Pg. 160) And so, his duty is now assigned.
One of the many patriots, Joshua Chamberlain enlisted in the Union Army to defend his country. It is ironic because “he had never enjoyed shooting anything...” (Pg. 36) and yet he is willing to kill in pride for his country. A teacher Bowdoin, he receives high recommendations to the army, and Governor Washburn offers
In the book “Presidential Courage” by Michael Beschloss, the author makes a few interesting depth details of the hardships and tasks faced by the sixteenth president of the United States of America Abraham Lincoln in chapter fifteen. The chapter starts out by giving a premise on one of Lincoln’s appointed commanders George McClellan.
Many individual soldier’s stories also demonstrate the resilience of either side, showing how unwilling they were to give up, and stop fighting, until absolutely necessary. Even John Hay’s efforts to get Florida to join upcoming United States political gatherings, show the unwavering pursuit for unity from the Union’s side.
Company Aytch, a memoir written by Sam Watkins, tells the personal tale of a lowly private fighting four long years in the American Civil War. Watkins was from Columbia, Tennessee, and was a part of Company H, 1st Tennessee Infantry. He recounts his military career in chronological order, from before the Battle of Shiloh in 1862 to the day the Confederacy surrendered at Nashville in 1865. Watkins is a humble writer, often reminds the reader that he is not aiming to provide a comprehensive account of the entire war, but rather a collection of personal stories. Military history books often recount the lives of generals and of great strategies, but this book insists that history should not exclude the common men who filled the ranks of the military.
The romanticized version of the Civil War creates a picture of the North versus the South with the North imposing on the South. However, after reading “The Making of a Confederate” by William L. Barney, one can see that subdivisions existed before the war was declared. The documents analyzed by Barney primarily focus on the experiences of Walter Lenoir, a southern confederate and a member of the planter elite. His experiences tell a vivid story of a passionate and strongly opinioned participant of the Civil War as well as demonstrate a noticeably different view involving his reasoning when choosing a side. Between analyzing this fantastic piece of literature and other resourceful documents from “Voices of Freedom” by Eric Foner, one
Jackson joined the Confederacy and soon made his reputation as Stonewall Jackson at the First Battle of Bull Run, also called Manassas. When his men were retreating he stood still while enemy soldiers were firing at him. His troops saw him and one of them shouted "There is Jackson standing like a stonewall." Only then did his men have the courage to fight on and eventually win. In 1862, in the Shenandoah valley Jackson earned international fame by defeating 60,000 Union soldiers with only 17,000 troops. After the campaign ended he went to help Robert E. Lee in Richmond. He and Lee were very close to each other and knew each other like brothers. Other battles Jackson fought in were The Seven Days Battles, Cedar Mountain, the Second Battle of Bull Run, Antietam, and Fredericksburg.
For four years, Americans fought against one another on the battlefield. This war would come to make up the bloodiest war in American history. Over the four years, over 620,000 soldiers died in the conflict. This war became one the most traumatic event in American History. Since the beginning of colonization to the 1860’s, the people in this country were slowly being divided. From 1850 to 1861, it was apparent that the union was separating into the North and the South and battle was soon to follow. With this division, peace could not continue amongst the country, for the country was filled with problems that affected the common Americans. With the events that led up to the war, the South felt like they had every reason to secede from the
On April 18, 1865, the Civil War was ended by an agreement reached between Joseph E. Johnston and William T. Sherman following the surrender of the Confederate Army. Decades later, historians still question how the Civil War began. Although they view slavery as an underlying cause of the Civil War, there is still controversy in accepting that it was the main cause of conflict between the North and the South. In What This Cruel War was Over, Chandra Manning argues that the North fought for the purpose of protecting their ideals of liberty, morals, and self-government, whereas the South fought for individualized self-interests. Through the use of primary and secondary sources, Manning examines the viewpoints of both Union and Confederate soldiers in order to assert that most soldiers during the time period viewed slavery to be the underlying cause of the war.
Between 1861 and 1865, the Civil War of the United States was fought. The war was the north against the south, the north against slavery and secession, and the south for slavery and secession. “During the course of the war, more than six hundred thousand Americans on both sides of the conflict died, making it to this day the bloodiest armed conflict in U.S. history.” At the end of the bloodbath, called the Civil War, the Union north won. Slavery was abolished and secession was no more.
This book was a good analysis of Civil War soldiers' diaries, and letters to their loved ones. Which explains what they were going through in their lives and what they fought for and risked their lives for in this conflict. In the book the author James M. McPherson uses information from l00's of diaries and letters from the soldiers to learn why they fought in this war. The Union soldiers fought to preserve the Nation that was created in 1776, to save it from destruction. The Confederate soldiers fought for their independence, liberty, self government, and for revenge.
Moral over matter? The Civil War was a fight to the death on the principle of setting another man free. It was a brutal for year battle, Union VS Confederacy, Yankees VS Rebels, pledging their last measure. The Civil War is one of the most famous wars in the world. Most Civil War information focuses on the victors, the Union/Yankees. The cause of this war began with the Compromise of 1850 which tried to maintain political balance between free and slave states in Congress. However, the election of 1860 was the final straw, causing the separation of the northern and southern states. The southern states seceded because they feared Abraham Lincoln, now president, would abolish slavery thus causing the Civil War. The Civil War began in 1861 at Fort Sumter and ended when General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse in 1865. While the Confederacy had undeniably talented generals, their well known arrogance may have been the cause of their demise.
The Civil War of America has been discussed as the first modern war of the new industrial age. Army’s of such a large size had yet to meet head on, face to face in the battle field with weapons of such mass destruction and deadly force. America had not yet seen casualties of this magnitude to
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”1 These words, spoken by Abraham Lincoln, foreshadowed the war that became the bloodiest in all of the United State's history. The Civil War was a brutal conflict between the North and South; brother against brother. With slavery as the root cause, Southern states had seceded from the Union and were fighting for their independence. They became the Confederate States of America (CSA) and were a force to be reckoned with. The Union, however, put up a fierce struggle to preserve the country. If the Civil War was to be a war of attrition, the North had the upper hand because of its large population, industrialization, raw materials, railroad mileage, and navy. But if the war was short lived, the
The United States has been involved in a lot of wars and battles throughout the past. The Civil War was one of the most significant moments in the history of the United States of America. The Civil War took place between the North and South of the United States of America following the Confederacy seceding from the Union after Abraham Lincoln’s presidency and fought to maintain their independence. The war started off as a war regarding the rights of the different states. As the war progressed, it ended up turning into a war about freedom, slaves, white Northerns rioting against the draft and black Americans, Union troops, and much more.
The Civil War was a four year armed conflict between northern and southern sections of the United States. The Civil War cost more American lives than any other war in history. There were bout 3 million people who fought in the beginning of the Civil War and about 600,000 people’s lives were lost at the end of the war. What began for many as a romantic adventure soon became a heartbreaking bitter struggle between the two parts of a divided country. This, however, was more than the industrial North fighting against the agricultural South. There were divided families with brother fighting brother. Some Northerners joined the Southern ranks and some Southerners were in the Union
H.G. Wells, author of mind blowing novel The War of The Worlds, used foreshadowing and both external and internal conflicts to show the theme those humans should not assume that they are the superior race. Wells was the author of more than 100 books, almost half of them nonfiction, published over a span of 52 years.