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®.
Actually, the first shot was fired on the Star of the West by Citadel Cadets
Do you think Grover Cleveland was conservative or liberal?
Do you think Teddy Roosevelt was conservative or liberal?
Now compare to Woody Wilson.
The American Civil War or How the South got it’s ass kicked.
Dinesh is a resentful inferiority complex brown man
Pity so many drink him up
The stupids
the disaster at Appomattox.
The disaster was the firing on Fort Sumter. If that had not happened, there would have been no Appomattox.
The South has been paying for losing that war ever since.
Ditto for Teddy Roosevelt. As governor of New York, he ended school segregation. Just one month after Roosevelt was sworn in as President, he invited Booker T. Washington, a black civil rights activist, to dine at the White House.
Really? LBJ. Jimmy Carter. Bill Clinton. Both Bush's. I'd say they've gotten their revenge and then some.
The War for Southern Independence.
The whole country has. The original constitution died at Appamattox and was replaced by one in which the federal government no longer respected any limitations on its own power. The result as Lee predicted, is out of control debts, constant foreign meddling and oppression at home.
Conservative. One of the few Democrats I like.
Do you think Teddy Roosevelt was conservative or liberal?
Liberal.
Now compare to Woody Wilson.
Communist.
Taft is not mentioned often but he is high on my Sh*t list. He went to Congress and pushed for the Income Tax. Unfortunately they did what he wanted . This Cancerous amendment essentially made all of us into free range slaves and fed the Federal Monster into the beast it is today.
I think the War of Southern Rebellion is more accurate but that's just me.
Ping.
5.56mm
So the point is, be careful who you think is a (modern) Repub and a (modern) Dem.
Teddy and Woody were both “progressives” - and president-wise, the perfect tipping point on when one became tyrannical and the other stopped.
The slavery thing really is overblown, and look who beats on it now. So you know likely you shouldn’t be lionizing Lincoln and the rest of the old Republicans, because they love them.
Same as RevWar.
If they wanted to leave, let them leave. Why “union” at the point of a gun?
The South wanted out.
April 12, 1970 - Just to the southeast of Houston, TX for a grand sum of less than $500 (no insurance, either), ro_dreaming was born to the world.
Walking out without negotiation, without paying for your share of national obligations, taking every piece of property you can get your paws on, and shooting up a fort on the way out the door are not actions that promote an amicable separation. The South wanted their war, they got it. Sorry it didn't work out the way they had planned.
And they started a war to get out and then went and lost it. Sorry if I can't whip up a lot of sympathy for them when they do that.
DC had no authority to keep them obligated to the union.
Show me where it is authorized. Anything not addressed in the Constitution is left to the states.
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