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April 12, 1861: The Civil War Begins
Fold3 ^ | April 1, 2021 | Jenny Ashcraft

Posted on 04/02/2021 9:04:55 AM PDT by gattaca

On April 12, 1861, Confederate troops fired the opening shots of the Civil War at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. This month marks the 160th anniversary of the beginning of the war, the deadliest conflict ever fought on American soil. The Civil War lasted four years and resulted in an estimated 620,000 deaths and 1.5 million casualties. Approximately one in four soldiers that went to war never came back home. This impacted families, communities, and the entire country for generations to come.

Historical photograph of Fort Sumter The years leading up to the beginning of the Civil War were filled with increasing tensions between northern and southern states. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected president by a strictly northern vote. The election was the impetus for southern states, who were already wrangling with the North on issues like slavery, states’ rights, and westward expansion, to begin the process of secession. Four days after the election, South Carolina Senator James Chesnut resigned his Senate seat and began drafting secession documents. Before long, six more states joined South Carolina to form the Confederate States of America on February 8, 1861. That number increased to 11 states after the fall of Fort Sumter. Four border states (Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri) held enslaved persons but remained loyal to the Union.

Exterior view of Fort Sumter Fort Sumter, originally built as a coastal garrison, was located at the entrance to Charleston Harbor. Confederate General P. G. T. Beauregard, from the newly formed Confederate States Army, demanded federal officials turn over the fort. He claimed the fort was located in Confederate territory and thus belonged to the South. President Lincoln refused and made attempts to send a ship to resupply the fort. The ship was turned away by Confederate guns.

Tensions grew, and Beauregard finally sent US officials an ultimatum – abandon the fort or face destruction. At 4:30 a.m. on April 12th, some 500 soldiers from the South Carolina Militia opened fire on 80 Federal soldiers inside the fort. The bombardment continued for 34 hours until the afternoon of April 13th, when the garrison commander, Major Robert Anderson, surrendered the fort. Though there were no fatalities on either side during the Battle of Fort Sumter, the conflict marked the beginning of more than 10,000 military engagements that occurred between 1861-1865.

Interior View of Fort Sumter Fold3® has an extensive collection of Civil War records including:

Brady Civil War Photos: The Civil War is considered the first major conflict to be photographed extensively. Mathew Brady led a photography team that captured images of the war using a mobile studio and darkroom. Civil War Maps: This collection of 2,000 detailed battle maps provides insight into Civil War engagements. Some maps show the placement of regiments and the movement of troops. Civil War “Widows Pensions” Files: Only 20% of Civil War pension files are digitized, but if you are lucky enough to find the pension file for your ancestor, you’ll uncover a treasure trove of information. Civil War Service Records: We have service records for both Union and Confederate troops. These records are organized by state. Service Records for US Colored Troops: Approximately 179,000 Black men served in the US Army and another 19,000 in the US Navy. Despite facing racism and discrimination, the US Colored Troops served with valor and honor. These records are organized by regiment. Southern Claims Approved: After the war, the US government established the Southern Claims Commission. This office accepted petitions for compensation for items taken by Union troops during the war. In addition to these collections, Fold3 has more than 150 additional collections that contain 43 million Civil War records. Start searching our Civil War collection today on Fold3®.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: 18610412; fortsumter; thecivilwar
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To: DiogenesLamp
A coalition of equal states cannot "rebel." None of them are masters of the other. Only slaves can "rebel."

You and FLF-bird must have the same dictionary.

101 posted on 04/02/2021 4:50:42 PM PDT by DoodleDawg
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To: DoodleDawg
Walking out without negotiation,

Lincoln refused to negotiate. They tried.

without paying for your share of national obligations,

They produced the far greater majority of all payments made to the Federal treasury, and they had only 1/4th the population.

Washington DC wasn't against slavery. It was against losing the money produced by slavery which was paying 73% of it's total revenue in 1860.

taking every piece of property you can get your paws on,

It was their property in the first place, and was only given to the Federal government for the purpose of defending their states.

and shooting up a fort on the way out the door

They left in December of 1860. That was "out the door." What happened in April of 1860, many months after they had gone "out the door" was a consequence of the Washington DC government attempting to force them into submission with warships.

Wasn't you the one saying that if a man is going to shoot you dead in the street, you would attack him first?

"If someone were to pull a gun on you and you are unarmed and you're sure that they plan to kill you then do you stand there like an idiot and let them do it? Or would you be desperate enough to try and disarm the guy with the gun and fight for your life?"

102 posted on 04/02/2021 4:56:08 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: DoodleDawg
Article I, Section 8 gives Congress the authority "for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions".

A statewide democratic vote for independence is not a "rebellion" or an "insurrection." Nations have been doing it quite a lot lately, and nobody is accusing England of "rebelling" from the European Union.

The people who called it a "rebellion" and an "insurrection" were simply liars who manipulated people.

Apart from that, the Constitution derives it's just power from the "consent of the governed" as pointed out by the Declaration of Independence.

Once that consent is withdrawn, they have no further authority.

103 posted on 04/02/2021 5:00:05 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: jeffersondem

no, the only significance of Appomattox was the symbolic end of four years of war. The Southern Confederacy was already destroyed. Lee’s decision to spare the lives of the 25-30 thousand soldiers in his army was the only alternative to their pointless deaths supporting a regime that had failed.


104 posted on 04/02/2021 5:00:56 PM PDT by Bull Snipe
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To: Pelham

Good to see you. It’s been awhile.


105 posted on 04/02/2021 5:01:17 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: cowboyusa
The war against Confederate Treason

And tell me again who got convicted of Treason? I know Jefferson Davis did not, and if they couldn't even convict him, how is it Treason again?

You should see the world as it really is, not how you wish it to be.

106 posted on 04/02/2021 5:02:52 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: DoodleDawg
“Which, fortunately, the Founding Fathers one. Unlike your rebel leadership.” (sic)

The Founding Fathers established a glorious Republic with a magnificent Constitution.

George Washington, Father of our Country, a Southerner.

Richard Henry Lee, Father of the Lee Resolution in the Second Continental Congress calling for the independence of the colonies from Britain. He was a Southerner.

Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, a Southerner.

James Madison, Father of the Constitution, a Southerner.

George Mason, Father of the Bill of Rights, a Southerner.

And later, Abraham Lincoln, Father of the Gulf of Tonkin Incident - I mean the Fort Sumter Incident. He too was a Southerner, but not a Founding Father.

107 posted on 04/02/2021 5:02:59 PM PDT by jeffersondem
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To: cowboyusa
Trying to leave and RIP apart the US.

Battered wife needs to stay with husband so he can continue beating on her. Battered wife tries to leave, and husband beats her so bad she goes to the hospital.

Wife was in the wrong. She shouldn't have tried to get away from the mean evil son of a bitch.

108 posted on 04/02/2021 5:05:00 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: Bull Snipe
Sumpter led to the disaster that was the war. All Appomattox was the last gasp of one side going down in total defeat.

The nation was much better off with those 750,000 people being killed and Washington DC becoming the dictator of everyone else's lives.

109 posted on 04/02/2021 5:06:32 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: Bull Snipe
So the states can form their own Air Force and Marine Corp because neither of these is mentioned in the Constitution.

They already had their own Marines when they joined, so pretty much yeah.

110 posted on 04/02/2021 5:08:02 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: DoodleDawg
Not really since independence wasn't in the cards for about one-third the population.

It certainly wasn't, and Washington DC fully intended to keep it that way.

111 posted on 04/02/2021 5:08:54 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: DiogenesLamp

and don’t forget the concept that human beings are not hereditary chattel property.


112 posted on 04/02/2021 5:09:29 PM PDT by Bull Snipe
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To: DiogenesLamp

Which states had their own Marines when the Constitution was ratified?


113 posted on 04/02/2021 5:11:47 PM PDT by Bull Snipe
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To: DiogenesLamp

I see it fine, I see you as a traitor, no different from the left. Go fly your filfy treason flag, I will fly old glory.


114 posted on 04/02/2021 5:11:52 PM PDT by cowboyusa (America Cowboy up!)
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To: Bull Snipe

“and don’t forget the concept that human beings are not hereditary chattel property.”

Is this a reference to the United States Constitution handed down by the Founding Fathers - the one Abraham Lincoln twice took an oath to protect and defend?

(Perhaps more than twice if he took an oath upon becoming a member of Congress, or serving in the military.)


115 posted on 04/02/2021 5:14:37 PM PDT by jeffersondem
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To: eyedigress; cowboyusa
I do not disagree that conditions in the south were wrong,

The same conditions (slavery) existed in the North too. The slave states remaining in the Union were Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, West Virginia, and Maryland.

Nobody tried to stop slavery in the areas they controlled during the war.

116 posted on 04/02/2021 5:14:44 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: DoodleDawg
The difference, of course, being that the Founding Fathers won their rebellion and the Southerners lost theirs. I guess they just didn't want it hard enough, huh?

George III was simply far more rational than Lincoln. George III could have conquered the US, but he didn't feel the bloodshed was worth it.

Lincoln had no such qualms, and 750,000 people were killed to establish the supremacy of Washington DC.

117 posted on 04/02/2021 5:16:38 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: DiogenesLamp

“The Liberals won that war.“

No, it was the Conservatives of the Union that won the war.

The Liberal Confederacy and their desire to retain slavery lost and lost big time.


118 posted on 04/02/2021 5:18:16 PM PDT by Meatspace
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To: DoodleDawg
Seized a fortress belonging to the Confederates. Tried to reinforce it with extra men. Sent Warships to attack. Actually invaded with a massive army.

What was it that the Confederates did which made them the "Aggressor"?

119 posted on 04/02/2021 5:18:38 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: jeffersondem

so you have no problem with human beings being owned like dogs, cattle or sheep?


120 posted on 04/02/2021 5:19:55 PM PDT by Bull Snipe
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