Posted on 06/25/2008 10:44:52 PM PDT by GOP_Raider
I told myself I'd limit myself to one vanity post per several hundred comments and threads I'd posted, so I apologize in advance.
Currently, I'm doing some summer reading and I'm looking specifically for books on the Civil War/War Between the States--or the "War of Northern Agression" if you're so inclined. While I am for certain that this topic could fill up my living room and perhaps my grandparents' entire house, I'm looking for anything that those of you who argue back and forth on the Civil War threads have read. Thanks in advance.
“Picacho Peak, about 40 miles west of Tucson, Ariz., where the two armies clashed in 1862.”
....hmmm.....I always liked the movie “The Good,The Bad and The Ugly”....wonder if the historical basis for the military scenes in the movie was Picacho Peak?....although the pistols in the movie look like .44 Colts that were converted to cartridges....and that conversion wouldn’t have been available until after the war.
1. Thomas P. Kettell, Southern Wealth and Northern Profits, University of Alabama Press, 1860. This is a short book on the economic conditions of the country in 1860. It shows how fragile the Northeastern states’ economy was, and how dependent these regions were on Southern productions. It also clearly shows how the tariff system had led the federal government into a very vulnerable dependency on the overseas sales of Southern productions. It is the unbiased description of pending economic collapse by a respected economist of the time.
2. John S. Tilley, Lincoln Takes Command, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1941. This is a carefully researched work on Lincoln's efforts to manage the Federal government before and just after he was inaugurated. It deals extensively with Lincoln's maneuvers between his opposing entities.....his cabinet, his military, the US Constitution, the Congress, and the law.
3. Maury Klein, Days of Defiance, Random House, Ltd, 1999. A clear and extensive history of the events leading up to Ft. Sumter and Pensacola Fl, 1861. A full description of the federal government's movement toward war on the South. It closely follows Tilley’s descriptions, and reveals the true issues of the time.
I would not recommend the ‘mainstream’ authors such as McPherson, who misinterprets the beginning of the war, or Goodwin, who is unable to reveal Lincoln's motivations before the Emancipation Proclamation.
It certainly is a refutation of the idea that the Confederacy was fighting for limited government.
I must say, reading Civil War letters was an incredible experience. It's amazing to think what these men had to go through during this period.
“Quantrill’s War” by Duane Schultz give a view of the darker side of ‘The War’. “Nine April Days” uses first hand accounts to tell the story of the retreat to Appomaticks.
Right. That's why as soon as the Cotton South left the North just collapsed.
Now who was the guy who looked at the same data as Kettell and concluded that the economy of the Deep South was perilously dependent on New York?
I don’t care much for Killer Angels since I find it very deficient in its history.
Anything on Forrest. That’s where I begin and end.
Forrest’s speech to the Independent Order of Pole-Bearers Association July 5, 1875.
A convention and BBQ was held by the Independent Order of Pole-Bearers Association at the fairgrounds of Memphis, five miles east of the city. An invitation to speak was conveyed to General Nathan Bedford Forrest, one of the city’s most prominent citizens, and one of the foremost cavalry commanders in the late War Between the States. This was the first invitation granted to a white man to speak at this gathering. The invitation’s purpose, one of the leaders said, was to extend peace, joy, and union, and following a brief welcoming address a Miss Lou Lewis, daughter of an officer of the Pole-Bearers, brought forward flowers and assurances that she conveyed them as a token of good will. After Miss Lewis handed him the flowers, General Forrest responded with a short speech that, in the contemporary pages of the Memphis Appeal, evinces Forrest’s racial open-mindedness that seemed to have been growing in him.
“Ladies and Gentlemen I accept the flowers as a memento of reconciliation between the white and colored races of the southern states. I accept it more particularly as it comes from a colored lady, for if there is any one on God’s earth who loves the ladies I believe it is myself. ( Immense applause and laughter.) I came here with the jeers of some white people, who think that I am doing wrong. I believe I can exert some influence, and do much to assist the people in strengthening fraternal relations, and shall do all in my power to elevate every man to depress none. (Applause.) I want to elevate you to take positions in law offices, in stores, on farms, and wherever you are capable of going. I have not said anything about politics today. I don’t propose to say anything about politics. You have a right to elect whom you please; vote for the man you think best, and I think, when that is done, you and I are freemen. Do as you consider right and honest in electing men for office. I did not come here to make you a long speech, although invited to do so by you. I am not much of a speaker, and my business prevented me from preparing myself. I came to meet you as friends, and welcome you to the white people. I want you to come nearer to us. When I can serve you I will do so. We have but one flag, one country; let us stand together. We may differ in color, but not in sentiment Many things have been said about me which are wrong, and which white and black persons here, who stood by me through the war, can contradict. Go to work, be industrious, live honestly and act truly, and when you are oppressed I’ll come to your relief. I thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for this opportunity you have afforded me to be with you, and to assure you that I am with you in heart and in hand. (Prolonged applause.)”
Whereupon N. B. Forrest again thanked Miss Lewis for the bouquet and then gave her a kiss on the cheek. Such a kiss was unheard of in the society of those days, in 1875, but it showed a token of respect and friendship between the general and the black community and did much to promote harmony among the citizens of Memphis.
http://www.tennessee-scv.org/ForrestHistSociety/forrest_speech.html
That was happening. In March of 1861, with only about six weeks of money left in the Treasury to run the government, Lincoln had to send warships to blockade the Southern exports, seize the Southern productions, and convince the European bankers to lend more money.
Those are the steps any country takes when it goes to war. They set up a blockade, if it's possible and likely to help, and they go to the bankers for money, since war costs money. I suspect even Jeff Davis went looking for loans.
BTW, if you did loan him any money, you won't get it back: Tampa Sued to Collect on 147-Year-Old Promissory Note Worth Millions. Section 4 of the 14th amendment invalidates debts "incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States," as well as claims for compensation "for the loss or emancipation of any slave."
And the answer to our trivia question "Who was the guy who looked at the same data as Kettell and concluded that the economy of the Deep South was perilously dependent on New York?" is Stephen Colwell auther of The Five Cotton States and New York, or, Remarks Upon the Social and Economical Aspects of the Southern Political Crisis (1861), though I would also accept Samuel Powell, author of Notes on Southern Wealth and Northern Profits (also 1861).
This is some eye-opening and incredible stuff here. Thanks for posting this, I really appreciate it.
That reminds me, anything you might have on what we in non-Southern states call the “Confederate flag” would be great. Thanks in advance.
Sadly, I'm a mere Northerner as well although the more I learn of The South the more I feel kinship with the people and cultures there rather than the land where I'm forced to live at the moment. As a result, I suppose it would be most appropriate to refer to me as 'a great supporter of The South and it's people' but unfortunately I'm no expert on such things....your request would probably be best addressed to our friend stainlessbanner for a much better answer than anything I would be able to give :-)
The various flags of the Confederacy have a glorious past and vary in design and purpose.
There were and continue to be folks in Northern states sympathetic to states rights, home-rule, and sovereignty. A friend of mine born and raised in NY flies his CBF proudly.
You bet, anytime.
You said: “Those are the steps any country takes when it goes to war.”
That is right and exactly the path that Lincoln took to start the war.
Try again. Fort Sumter had already been fired on by the rebels when Lincoln ordered the blockade. So the war had already been started by the enemy.
You are wrong on two levels. First, the United States Congress stated that the official opening of the war was the declaration of the blockade, and not the Charleston defense of its harbor.
If you still want to hang on the first to fire rationale, I will point out to you that it was Union Lieutenant Daniel Tompkins who fired the first shot in Charleston Harbor.
Some books that provide good background on the war:
The Widow of the South—fiction/historical—Battle of Franklin, TN 11/30/64
The Warrior Generals—Combat Leadership in the Civil War by Buell(yes-a relation to Gen. Buell)
Jeff Shaara’s Civil War Battlefields
My Story of the War by Mary A. Livermore. I have the 1887 edition—it is a fascinating first person account of the efforts of the US Sanitary Commission to set up humane field hospitals for soldiers during the Civil War. Mrs. Livermore was quite a celebrity during the War for taking on the powers that were to get aid and comfort to the soldiers. She traveled to the front lines of Vicksburg and other battlefields to make sure aid went where it was supposed to. She also had tow meetings with President Lincoln. She evidently had a iron trap memory and a diary, because her book is fascinating. It was a best seller in 1885-1888 time range, when books about he War Between the States became the rage(for the firat 12-15 years after the war, no one really wanted to talk about it—the wounds were still too raw).
The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant—by General Grant. He finished this book a few weeks before he died in 1885, and it became a best seller.
Remember when you read contemporary accounts, the personal viewpoint of the author is so much in play and it colors the narrative, because it is subjective. The historical perspective of time has not refocussed or embellished the memory of events yet. It is part of what makes these accounts so fascinating.
Happy reading!
The bravery and tenacity of the men who fought the Civil War cannot be denied, no matter what you think of their politics.
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