Portal:American Civil War

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The American Civil War Portal

Charles Pomeroy Stone and his 8 year-old daughter Hettie

The American Civil War (1861–1865) was a sectional rebellion against the United States of America by the Confederate States, formed of eleven southern states' governments which moved to secede from the Union after the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States. The Union's victory was eventually achieved by leveraging advantages in population, manufacturing and logistics and through a strategic naval blockade denying the Confederacy access to the world's markets.

In many ways, the conflict's central issues – the enslavement of African Americans, the role of constitutional federal government, and the rights of states – are still not completely resolved. Not surprisingly, the Confederate army's surrender at Appomattox on April 9,1865 did little to change many Americans' attitudes toward the potential powers of central government. The passage of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments to the Constitution in the years immediately following the war did not change the racial prejudice prevalent among Americans of the day; and the process of Reconstruction did not heal the deeply personal wounds inflicted by four brutal years of war and more than 970,000 casualties – 3 percent of the population, including approximately 560,000 deaths. As a result, controversies affected by the war's unresolved social, political, economic and racial tensions continue to shape contemporary American thought. The causes of the war, the reasons for the outcome, and even the name of the war itself are subjects of much discussion even today. (Full article)

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First book edition cover of *The Red Badge of Courage* (1895)

The Red Badge of Courage is an 1895 war novel by American author Stephen Crane. The novel was published on 3 October 1895. Taking place during the American Civil War, the story is about a young private of the Union Army, Henry Fleming, who flees from the field of battle. Overcome with shame, he longs for a wound, a "red badge of courage", to counteract his cowardice. When his regiment once again faces the enemy, Henry acts as flag-bearer, carrying the regimental colors.

Although Crane was born after the war, and had not at the time experienced battle first-hand, the novel is known for its realism and naturalism. He began writing what would become his second novel in 1894, using various contemporary and written accounts (such as those published previously by Century Magazine) as inspiration. It is believed that he based the fictional battle on that of Chancellorsville; he may also have interviewed veterans of the 124th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, commonly known as the Orange Blossoms. Initially shortened and serialized in newspapers in December 1894, the novel was published in full in October 1895. A longer version of the work, based on Crane's original manuscript, was published in 1982. (Full article...)

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Grand Parade of the States

The New England state of Connecticut played an important role in the American Civil War, providing arms, equipment, technology, funds, supplies, and soldiers for the Union Army and the Union Navy. Several Connecticut politicians played significant roles in the Federal government and helped shape its policies during the war and the Reconstruction. (Full article...)

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Oliver Christian Bosbyshell (January 3, 1839 – August 1, 1921) was Superintendent of the United States Mint at Philadelphia from 1889 to 1894. He also claimed to have been the first Union soldier wounded by enemy action in the Civil War, stating that he received a bruise on the forehead from an object thrown by a Confederate sympathizer while his unit was marching through Baltimore in April 1861.

Bosbyshell was born in Mississippi. His parents were of old Philadelphia stock, and he was raised in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. After briefly working on the railroad and then studying law, Bosbyshell enlisted in the Union cause on the outbreak of war. Following a brief period of service in the 25th Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment, he joined the 48th Pennsylvania, remaining in that regiment for three years. He saw action in such battles as Second Bull Run and Antietam. He rose to the rank of major and led his regiment, but was mustered out upon the expiration of his term of service in October 1864, having been refused a leave of absence. (Full article...)

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Image 1Military execution of the conspirators in the Abraham Lincoln assassination
Image 2Francis B. Spinola, Brigadier General for the Union in the American Civil War, and Congressman from New York
Image 3Robert E. Lee, by Levin Corbin Handy
Image 4John A. Dahlgren, by Mathew Brady
Image 5The original sketch of Sherman in South Carolina: The burning of McPhersonville, at and by William Waud
Image 6George Armstrong Custer, by George L. Andrews
Image 7The print version of Sherman in South Carolina: The burning of McPhersonville at McPhersonville, South Carolina, by William Waud
Image 8Ulysses S. Grant, by Thure de Thulstrup
Image 9David Dixon Porter, by Mathew Brady
Image 10William Birney
Image 11First Battle of Bull Run map
Image 12Daniel McCallum, by the Brady National Photographic Art Gallery
Image 13African-American Civil War soldiers
Image 14Lithographic facsimile of the Bixby letter, by Huber's Museum
Image 15Allan Pinkerton, President Lincoln, and John A. McClernand in 1862 by Alexander Gardner
Image 16Confederate casualties at Chancellorsville during the American Civil War, by the National Archives and Records Administration
Image 17William H. Seward, United States Secretary of State during the American Civil War
Image 18Battle of Fort Sanders, by Kurz and Allison
Image 19Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, by Alfred Waud
Image 20United States President (and former Brigadier-General) Benjamin Harrison
Image 21The burning of Columbia at Columbia, South Carolina in the American Civil War, by William Waud
Image 22John F. Reynolds, by Alfred Rudolph Waud
Image 23Andersonville Prison at Andersonville National Historic Site, by John L. Ransom
Image 24Battle of Franklin, by Kurz and Allison
Image 25Battle of Harpers Ferry, by Robert Knox Sneden
Image 26Christian Fleetwood
Image 27Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, by Thure de Thulstrup
Image 28President Rutherford B. Hayes was the 19th President of the USA
Image 29Harriet Tubman
Image 30Ambrose Burnside, by Matthew Brady
Image 31Andersonville survivor
Image 32Christopher Raymond Perry Rodgers
Image 33Pickett's Charge, by Thure de Thulstrup
Image 34The Chickahominy – Sumner's Upper Bridge at Peninsula campaign, by William McIlvaine
Image 35Braxton Bragg
Image 36Siege of Yorktown, by James F. Gibson
Image 37Quaker guns, by George Barnard and James F. Gibson
Image 38John Lorimer Worden, by Mathew Brady
Image 39Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Image 40Richmond, Virginia after the American Civil War
Image 41Atlanta roundhouse ruin at History of Atlanta, by George Barnard
Image 42Abraham Lincoln's private secretary and biographer John Hay
Image 43Charles Pomeroy Stone
Image 44Charles Griffin
Image 45George Atzerodt, by Alexander Gardner
Image 46Abner Doubleday

Did you know...

... that actor George Kunkel portrayed in blackface the character of Uncle Tom, using it at first to promote slavery during the American Civil War but later to attack it, after his views had changed?
... that Dubuque, Arkansas, was destroyed in the American Civil War and is now covered by the waters of Bull Shoals Lake?
... that Carter Moore Braxton fought for the Confederacy throughout the American Civil War and, according to one report, had seven horses killed under him but avoided any wounds?
... that Dethloff Willrodt fought for the Union army on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg on July 1, 1863, having previously been a soldier in the Confederate army?
... that Enoch Marvin Banks resigned from the University of Florida because of public outrage over his belief that the American Civil War was caused by slavery?
... that the only functioning secondary school in Mississippi during the American Civil War was founded by Thomas S. Gathright?