Portal:American Civil War

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The American Civil War Portal

Battle of Fort Donelson by Kurz and Allison

The American Civil War (1861–1865) was a sectional rebellion against the United States of America by the Confederate States, formed of eleven southern states' governments which moved to secede from the Union after the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States. The Union's victory was eventually achieved by leveraging advantages in population, manufacturing and logistics and through a strategic naval blockade denying the Confederacy access to the world's markets.

In many ways, the conflict's central issues – the enslavement of African Americans, the role of constitutional federal government, and the rights of states – are still not completely resolved. Not surprisingly, the Confederate army's surrender at Appomattox on April 9,1865 did little to change many Americans' attitudes toward the potential powers of central government. The passage of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments to the Constitution in the years immediately following the war did not change the racial prejudice prevalent among Americans of the day; and the process of Reconstruction did not heal the deeply personal wounds inflicted by four brutal years of war and more than 970,000 casualties – 3 percent of the population, including approximately 560,000 deaths. As a result, controversies affected by the war's unresolved social, political, economic and racial tensions continue to shape contemporary American thought. The causes of the war, the reasons for the outcome, and even the name of the war itself are subjects of much discussion even today. (Full article)

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Stylized drawing of a man on a mule, dressed in suit coat with feathers in his hat; the sheet music is entitled "How Are You John Brown, Comic song, Sequel to Here's Your Mule." — Typical cover of sheet music, with songs depicting the individuals of the era, such as John Hunt Morgan

During the American Civil War, music played a prominent role on each side of the conflict, Union (the North) and Confederate (the South). On the battlefield, different instruments including bugles, drums, and fifes were played to issue marching orders or sometimes simply to boost the morale of one's fellow soldiers. Singing was also employed not only as a recreational activity but as a release from the inevitable tensions that come with fighting in a war. In camp, music was a diversion away from the bloodshed, helping the soldiers deal with homesickness and boredom. Soldiers of both sides often engaged in recreation with musical instruments, and when the opposing armies were near each other, sometimes the bands from both sides of the conflict played against each other on the night before a battle.

Each side had its particular favorite tunes, while some music was enjoyed by Northerners and Southerners alike, as exemplified by United States President Abraham Lincoln's love of "Dixie", the unofficial anthem of the Confederacy. To this day, many of the songs are sung when a patriotic piece is required. The war's music also inspired music artists such as Lynyrd Skynyrd and Elvis Presley. (Full article...)

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Grand Parade of the States

During the American Civil War, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania played a critical role in the Union, providing a substantial supply of military personnel, equipment, and leadership to the Federal government. The state raised over 360,000 soldiers for the Federal armies. It served as a significant source of artillery guns, small arms, ammunition, armor for the new revolutionary style of ironclad types of gunboats for the rapidly expanding United States Navy, and food supplies. The Phoenixville Iron Company by itself produced well over 1,000 cannons, and the Frankford Arsenal was a major supply depot.

Pennsylvania was the site of the bloodiest battle of the war, the Battle of Gettysburg, which became widely known as one of the turning points of the Civil War. Numerous more minor engagements and skirmishes were also fought in Pennsylvania during the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign, as well as the following year during a Confederate cavalry raid that culminated in the burning of much of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. (Full article...)

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William Franklin Raynolds (March 17, 1820 – October 18, 1894) was an American explorer, engineer and U.S. army officer who served in the Mexican–American War and American Civil War. He is best known for leading the 1859–60 Raynolds Expedition while serving as a member of the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers.

During the 1850s and again after his participation in the Civil War, Raynolds was the head engineer on numerous lighthouse construction projects. He oversaw riverway and harbor dredging projects intended to improve accessibility and navigation for shipping. As a cartographer, Raynolds surveyed and mapped the islands and shorelines on the Great Lakes and other regions. At least six lighthouses whose construction he oversaw are still standing. Some are still in use and of these, several are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (Full article...)

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Image 1William H. Seward, United States Secretary of State during the American Civil War
Image 2William Birney
Image 3Abner Doubleday
Image 4President Rutherford B. Hayes was the 19th President of the USA
Image 5Francis B. Spinola, Brigadier General for the Union in the American Civil War, and Congressman from New York
Image 6Ulysses S. Grant, by Thure de Thulstrup
Image 7Charles Pomeroy Stone
Image 8Andersonville survivor
Image 9Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, by Alfred Waud
Image 10Siege of Yorktown, by James F. Gibson
Image 11Braxton Bragg
Image 12Ambrose Burnside, by Matthew Brady
Image 13Robert E. Lee, by Levin Corbin Handy
Image 14Military execution of the conspirators in the Abraham Lincoln assassination
Image 15The burning of Columbia at Columbia, South Carolina in the American Civil War, by William Waud
Image 16Battle of Harpers Ferry, by Robert Knox Sneden
Image 17George Atzerodt, by Alexander Gardner
Image 18Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Image 19The Chickahominy – Sumner's Upper Bridge at Peninsula campaign, by William McIlvaine
Image 20George Armstrong Custer, by George L. Andrews
Image 21David Dixon Porter, by Mathew Brady
Image 22John Lorimer Worden, by Mathew Brady
Image 23United States President (and former Brigadier-General) Benjamin Harrison
Image 24John F. Reynolds, by Alfred Rudolph Waud
Image 25Charles Griffin
Image 26Christian Fleetwood
Image 27Battle of Franklin, by Kurz and Allison
Image 28Battle of Fort Sanders, by Kurz and Allison
Image 29Confederate casualties at Chancellorsville during the American Civil War, by the National Archives and Records Administration
Image 30Daniel McCallum, by the Brady National Photographic Art Gallery
Image 31Harriet Tubman
Image 32Atlanta roundhouse ruin at History of Atlanta, by George Barnard
Image 33Lithographic facsimile of the Bixby letter, by Huber's Museum
Image 34Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, by Thure de Thulstrup
Image 35Pickett's Charge, by Thure de Thulstrup
Image 36African-American Civil War soldiers
Image 37First Battle of Bull Run map
Image 38Richmond, Virginia after the American Civil War
Image 39Abraham Lincoln's private secretary and biographer John Hay
Image 40Christopher Raymond Perry Rodgers
Image 41Quaker guns, by George Barnard and James F. Gibson
Image 42The original sketch of Sherman in South Carolina: The burning of McPhersonville, at and by William Waud
Image 43Allan Pinkerton, President Lincoln, and John A. McClernand in 1862 by Alexander Gardner
Image 44The print version of Sherman in South Carolina: The burning of McPhersonville at McPhersonville, South Carolina, by William Waud
Image 45Andersonville Prison at Andersonville National Historic Site, by John L. Ransom
Image 46John A. Dahlgren, by Mathew Brady

Did you know...

... that Enoch Marvin Banks resigned from the University of Florida because of public outrage over his belief that the American Civil War was caused by slavery?
... that in the aftermath of the American Civil War, the only Black-led organization providing teachers to formerly enslaved people was the African Civilization Society?
... that Justus H. Rathbone, founder of the Knights of Pythias, served as a hospital steward during the American Civil War?
... that Colonel Bradley Winslow was brevetted by US president Abraham Lincoln for "brave and gallant conduct" during the siege of Petersburg in the American Civil War?
... that the only functioning secondary school in Mississippi during the American Civil War was founded by Thomas S. Gathright?
... that Chinese-born Joseph Pierce enlisted as a Union Army soldier, fought at the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War, and was made a corporal?