What was the civil war like?

Answer 1

Frankly, my dear, I don't give a ____. (Rhett Butler)
(only kidding)

Answer 2

A seceding of part of the country from the union of the 'united states', a political divide angry enough that it resulted in physical division and set up of whole armies, leaderships, monies, uniforms, allegiences, death, mayhem, destruction of most of the southern states and properties, with some of the bloodiest battles to have ever been fought on american soil, many were civilians being murdered in that cause. Many willingly risked their lives to smuggle slaves to the north.
It has been debated ever since whether the conflict was truly about actually freeing the slaves or the economics of using slave labor.

The pain left behind from the conflict would last 100 years in this country and take an act of Congress to remove Confederate flags from government properties in the south who still fly that flag within their souls. It left a scar and an anger that may not heal for many many more generations to come.

Ain't war grand.

Answer 3

Not very civil and hard to express in merely a few words. Therefore you can get a good idea by reading diaries and journals and an even better answer by following it up with a Civil War reenactment.

The first book describes facts of the war and has several pictures and clips from diaries, including one on page 115 that is in complete agreement with, and thus helps to authenticate the movie "Andersonville" (the most well-known southern prisoner of war camp). Another clip on page 118 records a prisoner finding a quarter on a soldier who had just died. The prisoner shared his fortune with a fellow prisoner named Andrews then made 2 trips to the sutler shop to wisely invest his money into nearly a half bushel of sweet potatoes which he carried in a blanket and buried under his tent to keep them from being stolen. A clip entitled A Confederate Officer Loses His Dinner records a confederate officer on horseback chasing a turkey only to be bested by an enlisted soldier on foot.

Look at the last book I referenced. It costed $25 from the museum of which I provided a website. Without even reading the book, just look at the town name - South Union. The name could have offended each side. What's more, it is in a neutral state, west of Virginia, south of Louisville, due north of Nashville and just north of the TN state line. That was right in the middle as both sides enlisted troops from KY and fought to control it. That book describes a settlement that was given exemptions from the draft by President Lincoln himself. Yet they were right in the middle of back and forth fighting. The troops (both sides and deserters) were usually in search of food, horses, and firewood and not always very civil about meeting their needs. Sometimes they would just outright steal, sometimes demand, sometimes ask for the stuff. On 12/17/1862, the Shakers fed 75 soldiers with 110 horses breafast & supper gratis. On 7/4/1863 there is a mention of rebels under Gen Lee reported to be in Penn (the only mention of Gettysburg). On 5/2/1864, "Guerilla bands seem to overrun the border & western boundaries of this state_Murder & robbery the disorder of the day_taking place within a few miles of our little village" On 12/6/1864, there is an account of cavalry pressing horses (pressing means drafting so basically the govt was claiming them). It says 200 cavalry split into squads searching the Shaker settlement for hidden horses and they were successful, but only chose 4 and told the Shakers to go to Nashville to get vouchers for government reimbursement. The settlement never fully recovered from the financial losses of the war and eventually sold all their land and split the proceeds among the last survivors.

It depends where you live as to where to find a civil war reenactment. I participate with L Co., 1st Texas Volunteer Infantry, which was historically recruited in the same county in which I reside. You could make plans for one of the big reenactments, like the 145th reenactment of Gettysburg, July 4-6, 2008. You can probably still get some hotel reservations and have time to acquire some period dress from eBay or one of the many sutlers (suppliers) online such as the last website listed below.

Answer 4

I'm old, but not THAT old.

The Civil War has been grossly revised. It was brought about by simple economics. The South had "cheap" labor and the North didn't, and didn't like the edge that gave the South.

Pure and simple, that's what started the whole flap. That's why the North pushed to have slavery abolished, and the South said, "What's it to you? You can't tell us what to do," and shots were fired (much like today's road rage).

But whats-his-face Moore or Burns makes it far more dramatic and, while their versions sell, "it ain't necessarily so."

Answer 5

If you are serious about wanting to know the place I would suggest to start is a book titled Johnny Reb and Billy Yank. I'm not sure of the author or publisher but it is a compilation of letters home from soldiers on both sides of the Civil War (Fight for Southern Freedom).

Answer 6

None of us on here are that old! From everything I have read it was a brutal, dirty, and horrible war. More Americans were killed in that war than all others put together. The Southern troops were ragged, sick, and hungry most of the time and the Northern troops weren't much better off. It has been glorified in fiction and film so much that many of us have forgotten what it cost. Not only in lives, but in the hundred plus years it took the south to recover. The seeds of ignorance and bigotry were planted.

Answer 7

Well, I remember turning to General Sherman and saying, "Sherm," we were friends, "I think we should have turned right at Vicksburg, this looks like the road to Atlanta." I never got a response because the krauts hit us with a counter attack that threatened to drive us back to the Argonne. The fighting was hot and heavy, but we won the day, I'll never forget the guys planting the Stars & Stripes on that hill before we left Iwo Jima. Did I mention the head wound I got at Inchon? That was a hell of a day, coming in low and fast unloading everything I had on that bridge, seeing it cloud into a billion splinters over my shoulder. What was the question?

Answer 8

Well, from the letters that I have read while doing my family genealogy..... it was horrible. What do you think it was like? Maybe you could watch the movie "Gone With The Wind" and have a Hollywood interpretation. "Glory" is another good movie. Maybe even try watching "The Civil War" by Ken Burns. It's a documentary.

Answer 9

I can't recall it TOO well ( was but a wee lass at the time) but what I have read is that it was terrible: blood, sweat, and tears. Amputations with no anesthetic until morphine was first used, body parts, the dead and the dying all left on battlefields. If you lived near one of the fronts, the opposition soldiers who came through often killed the men folk and the servants, raped and killed the women, and stole all your food and valuables. In the South, the city of Atlanta was burned to the ground. I hope that our country will never see anything like that again. But in a way some of our riots and hurricane Katrina have come close. Cities and people gone mad, animals left to their own devices, old and young alike defenseless, injured, and dying. Sad to remember, sadder to witness.

Answer 10

Not sure why you're asking us this question, but if you're honestly serious, then go to PA and spend a day or two at Gettysburg. I don't think that anyone who's ever visited the battlefield has left without being profoundly moved. So much loss under such terrible conditions.

Enough said.

Answer 11

I think it's hilarious that you posted this in the Senior Citizens section seeing as the Civil War ended in 1865.
Now THAT is Senior!!!

I'm not sure there's anyone left to give you a firsthand account if that's what you were looking for.