Patriot's History: The Civil War (Chap 9)
Just Before the Battle, Mother (composed 1860s)The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (Joan Baez)
The Battle Cry of Freedom (written 1862, recorded early 1900s)
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Summary The start of war, the North had industry, more people, Lincoln's skills -- sure victory! The South had passion and experience; their generals put the outcome in suspense. Chapter Election 1860, South amenable to any "Northern man of Southern principle." But Lincoln, the Republican, was anti-slave, and Douglas was a Democrat who never gave a strong impression either way. On slavery some two of three Americans appeared to be against, so Lincoln didn't need the Southern vote. Plantation owners thought alike: the antidote to Northern tyranny was clear, but they would need a million poor to fight the battle. They'd secede and form their own Confederate authority. So Carolina (South) was first, and rapidly the others followed suit. Jeff Davis President, their Constitution offering the argument that slavery was normal, blacks a lesser race. Implicit was the Southern motive to embrace "King Cotton" and tradition, even while the fear of growing Negro numbers worsened every year. Fort Sumter heard the starting shots, and President Buchanan, ineffective, handed subsequent affairs to Lincoln. It's instructive to compare the strengths and weaknesses: a greater share of population, armaments, and industry sustained the North. It ruled the railroads and the sea, had Lincoln's common sense, and let the black man fight. The South, defending land and honor, would incite its Rebels to a heated passion, and its war experience and military leaders more than balanced their free enterprise deficiencies. The North anticipated victory with ease: Bull Run was like a party, ladies picnicking to watch the massacre; but in a sickening surprise for Northerners, the Yanks were beaten back by Stonewall Jackson and the Rebs, a fierce attack that set the tone for many Southern victories. With George McClellan (strategist, but ill-at-ease in battle, and in scorn of Lincoln) in control of stagnant Union forces, the elusive goal of victory was fading. Bloody Shiloh showed the horrors of the war, while Southern conquests owed their debt to Lee. The Merrimac and Monitor engaged at sea, and in the west, to reassure a President consumed with doubt, Ulysses Grant defeated Vicksburg and began again to plant the seeds of Northern victory, like once before. Supreme commander U.S. Grant would change the war. |