American Civil War

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

The American Civil War had its origin and cause in irreconcilable disagreements between slavery-protecting and non-slavery states regarding the power of the central government to prevent slavery in areas that had not yet become states. When Abraham Lincoln won the elections in 1860, for the Republican party, and promised to abolish all the states of the Union, seven slave-holding states in the South seceded and created a new nation, the Confederate States of America. The Lincoln government and the vast majority of North Americans considered this separation illegitimate and did not recognize it, since it discredited democracy, and at the same time they feared that their example could be followed by other states, producing a fragmentation with disastrous consequences for the Union.

The war began at Union Fort Sumter in Charleston on April 12, 1861. After the fort was taken by Confederate forces, it forced Union soldiers to lower the United States flag, as a sign of capitulation. Lincoln summoned the militia to oppose this uprising. Four states joined the Confederates by exiting the Union. At the end of 1861, close to a million men, including both sides of the conflict, fought along a line that ran from Virginia to Missouri. Other battles had taken place before, in the mountains of West Virginia, won by the Unionists, allowing them to create a new state. W.V. On the other hand, the Union army began a blockade work against the Confederates, and established a base in Port Royal, South Carolina, which made it impossible for the Confederacy to reach foreign world powers and markets.

The fight between the contenders intensified in 1862. Great battles followed one another, such as Shiloh in Tennessee, Fredericksburg in Virginia, Antietam in Maryland, and in subsequent years, Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, Vicksburg on the Mississippi and Chickamauga , and Atlanta in Georgia. In the year 1864, the primary intention of the northern states, which was to wage a limited war to replenish the Union, shifted to a new plan for total war to annihilate the Confederacy, thereby abolishing slavery, so that a new war would emerge. improved Union, whose flag was the rebirth of freedom.

From 1862 to 1865, Robert E. Lee's Confederate army of northern Virginia held out against the onslaught of the Union Army of the Potomac, led by a succession of useless generals, until Ulysses S. Grant arrived in Virginia as commanding general . of the Union armies in 1864. Grant and Lee engaged in a series of battles, in which blood flowed freely on both sides, until the Union general cornered the Confederate at Appomattox in April 1865. In the slave states west of the Appalachian Mountains, things were no better for the Confederates, as they were systematically defeated by the Union in a long string of battles. In 1864-1865, General William Tecumseh Sherman 's army penetrated the Confederate core of Georgia and South Carolina, laying waste to their economic foundations. In turn, General George Thomas would virtually finish off the Confederacy's Army of Tennessee at the Battle of Nashville .

By the spring of 1865, all the Confederate armies had surrendered, and after Confederate President Jefferson Davis was taken prisoner while trying to escape on May 10, 1865, what little Confederate resistance still fought collapsed, and so the american civil war reached its end point, in favor of the north. But this war, which nominally ended slavery, could not do the same with racial discrimination. And today, in the US, there is still a citizen struggle for recognition of the human rights of ethnic minorities. Fight that is far from over but quite the opposite.

WHAT WEAPONS WERE USED IN THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

The American Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865, and during this time, both the Union and Confederate armies used a variety of weapons. Here is a list of some of the most commonly used weapons during the American Civil War:

Rifles: The most widely used rifle during the Civil War was the Springfield Model 1861, which was used by both Union and Confederate troops. The Confederates also used the British-made Enfield rifle.

Muskets: The smoothbore musket was still used by many troops during the Civil War, particularly in the early years of the conflict. The Springfield Model 1863 musket was the most commonly used by Union troops.

Carbines: The carbine was a shorter version of the rifle, designed for use by cavalry troops. The most common carbines used during the Civil War were the Sharps carbine , the Spencer carbine, and the Henry carbine.

Pistols – Pistols were a common weapon for officers and cavalry troops. The most widely used pistols during the Civil War were the Colt Model 1851 Navy and the Colt Model 1860 Army .

Revolvers: Revolvers were also used as sidearms, particularly by officers. The most commonly used revolvers were the Colt Model 1851 Navy , the Colt Model 1860 Army , and the Remington Model 1858.

Artillery – Artillery played a crucial role in the Civil War with both sides using a variety of artillery pieces including cannons, howitzers, and mortars. The most common types of guns used were the 6-pounder, 12-pounder, and 24-pounder.

It is worth noting that the weapons used during the Civil War evolved over time, and as new technologies emerged, they were adopted by armies. By the end of the war, for example, breech-loading rifles had become more common and would eventually replace the muzzle-loading rifles and muskets that had been used earlier in the conflict.