The American Civil War
- Thread starter Lucrum
- Start date
I love this stuff. I don't have much to contribute other than saying my 76 year old dad and my brother were at Gettysburg's 150th a couple of weeks ago as members of an artillery unit.
I couldn't make it, but man, I love that place. And being a cheesehead, I immediately fell in love with the history behind the Iron Brigade and it's involvement there on the first day of battle. And the small monuments hidden back in the woods which few get to see, and standing where Chamberlain stood on little round top, and seeing where the 1st Minnesota was ordered to their deaths to hold the confederates off for just a few minutes while the left flank was re-forming on the 2nd day of battle... I could go on and on...
Good thread, guys.
I couldn't make it, but man, I love that place. And being a cheesehead, I immediately fell in love with the history behind the Iron Brigade and it's involvement there on the first day of battle. And the small monuments hidden back in the woods which few get to see, and standing where Chamberlain stood on little round top, and seeing where the 1st Minnesota was ordered to their deaths to hold the confederates off for just a few minutes while the left flank was re-forming on the 2nd day of battle... I could go on and on...
Good thread, guys.
bloodiest battles of the Civil War
Gettysburg--51,000 casualties
Chickamauga--34,624 casualties
Spotsylvania--30,000 casualties
The Wilderness--29,800 casualties
Chancellorsville--24,000 casualties
Shiloh--23,746 casualties
Stones River--23,515 casualties
Antietam--22,717 casualties
Second Manassas--22,180 casualties
Vicksburg--19,233 casualties
Gettysburg--51,000 casualties
Chickamauga--34,624 casualties
Spotsylvania--30,000 casualties
The Wilderness--29,800 casualties
Chancellorsville--24,000 casualties
Shiloh--23,746 casualties
Stones River--23,515 casualties
Antietam--22,717 casualties
Second Manassas--22,180 casualties
Vicksburg--19,233 casualties
It's 8th on the list but Antietam was the bloodiest single day battle of the entire war.
Also, I wonder how many people know that after Gettysburg, there wasn't another major engagement for another 10 months. Lee was on the run until the Battle of the Wilderness in May of '64.
Just some random facts.
Quote from wartrace:
Civil War? It is properly called "The war of northern aggression". (at least in these parts......
While I understand your viewpoint, since the confederates took the first shots at fort Sumter, I would think you would refer to it as the war of state's rights.
But I will definitely concede that Sherman was one mean and nasty S.O.B.
Great Thread. Most important war in US history, as it was fought on US soil. It might be interesting for some to research their ancestry and find ancestors that fought in the Civil War.
The thing that amazes me is how little things have changed since the war. Southerners still resent being told what to do by outsiders, northerners disparage southerners in ways they would never dare to do with blacks, substantial numbers of southerners would like to secede, and substantial numbers of obama's hard left would like to impose another Reconstruction on the South.
Obama was mocked for comparing himself to Lincoln, but he was not as far off as people thought. Like Lincoln, he represented a radical fringe with a narrow geographic base. Like Lincoln, he attempted to push through extreme policies with only a narrow electoral mandate and against the wishes of much of the population. Like Lincoln, he has been a deeply divisive figure. Like Lincoln, he has little regard for the Constitution.
Obama was mocked for comparing himself to Lincoln, but he was not as far off as people thought. Like Lincoln, he represented a radical fringe with a narrow geographic base. Like Lincoln, he attempted to push through extreme policies with only a narrow electoral mandate and against the wishes of much of the population. Like Lincoln, he has been a deeply divisive figure. Like Lincoln, he has little regard for the Constitution.