Post by General William T. Sherman on Dec 12, 2015 17:09:05 GMT
The first great battle that will be discussed here is the Battle of Gettysburg from July 1st to July 3rd, 1863. Anyone can leave information about a battle that they want to talk about on here as well.
General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia
A little background:For decades prior to 1860, slavery divided the nation into North and South. Slavery was outlawed in the industrialized states in the North, while slavery was allowed in the Southern agrarian states. A few big deciding factors were these:
1.The Compromise of 1850. The Missouri compromise of 1820 stated that all states below Missouri must be slave states, while all above would be free. When California was admitted after the 1848 Gold Rush which attracted settlers to migrate to California, there was a problem. California was both north and south of the Missouri compromise line. Henry Clay, a Kentucky senator, proposed the compromise of 1850. It stated that California would be a free state, the rest of the territories taken from Mexico would become slave states, and a fugitive slave law would be enacted which stated that any slaves who left their slavedrivers must be returned. This caused an uproar through the north, as now slaves who fled the south away from their masters could now be taken back by law.
2.The Dred Scott decision. In the 1850's, a southern slave owner brought his slave, Dred Scott, north to a free state. Once they arrived at the free state, Dred Scott proclaimed his freedom. His slaveowner brought him to court, and the case went up to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court decided that any slave brought north by his owner would still be owned by the slave master. Again, riots occurred in the North, as this was seen as a fatal injustice.
3.The event that made the civil war inevitable was the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. A northern democrat named Stephen Douglas decided that a trans-continental railroad would be a good idea to unite the nation. It would go from Chicago all the way to California. Douglas believed that in order for the railroad to be built, however, the areas where the railroad would have to go through would have to be federally administered as states. The railroad would go through the territory of Nebraska, which needed a lot more people in the territory in order to become a state. So Douglas concocted a plan to make the territories into states. The law that he proposed was the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The law stated that the territories of Kansas and Nebraska could become slave states if the people there wanted slavery in the territory. This violated the Missouri compromise, as Nebraska stretched from modern day Nebraska all the way to Montanan border with Canada. The act was passed and the North was shocked. Northerners took action and flocks of people immigrated to Kansas. The South responded by sending border ruffians from Missouri to vote in fraudulent elections to decide if Kansas should have slavery. Some people, like John Brown, took up violence and killed multiple border ruffians in Kansas. The passing of this act propelled Abraham Lincolns career as well, and in 1860, Lincoln was voted into the presidency entirely by Northern voters. Not one voter in the south voted for Lincoln. In 1860, South Carolina left the Union, and was joined by multiple other states such as Virginia, Texas, and Tennessee soon after. The Civil War began.
The Battle of Gettysburg began as a result of Confederate commanders (Southern commanders) trying to find a way to gain foreign allies. Cotton diplomacy, a technique used by the confederates to try and lure foreign powers such as France to join their side against America. It failed by 1863 and the confederacy realized that they needed a decisive victory in order to persuade France to join their side. Robert E. Lee decided to aim for the Pennsylvanian capital of Harrisburg. He embarked on the campaign, but was spotted by Union troops as he was traveling through Pennsylvania. The garrison at Gettysburg spotted him and immediately requested for reinforcement. Reinforcements successfully arrived and the Union prepared to defend the land. Lee's forces fought the Unionists on July 1st 1863. The Battle of Gettysburg had begun. The confederates first attacked Union forces on the first of a series of hills. The union was pushed back and retreated to the second hill. A longer battle ensued for control of this hill, but they still had to fall back again. The last hill was held by union forces for the rest of the day. The day ended off an artillery barrage in a separate area of the small town. The day ended with a confederate victory.
General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia
A little background:For decades prior to 1860, slavery divided the nation into North and South. Slavery was outlawed in the industrialized states in the North, while slavery was allowed in the Southern agrarian states. A few big deciding factors were these:
1.The Compromise of 1850. The Missouri compromise of 1820 stated that all states below Missouri must be slave states, while all above would be free. When California was admitted after the 1848 Gold Rush which attracted settlers to migrate to California, there was a problem. California was both north and south of the Missouri compromise line. Henry Clay, a Kentucky senator, proposed the compromise of 1850. It stated that California would be a free state, the rest of the territories taken from Mexico would become slave states, and a fugitive slave law would be enacted which stated that any slaves who left their slavedrivers must be returned. This caused an uproar through the north, as now slaves who fled the south away from their masters could now be taken back by law.
2.The Dred Scott decision. In the 1850's, a southern slave owner brought his slave, Dred Scott, north to a free state. Once they arrived at the free state, Dred Scott proclaimed his freedom. His slaveowner brought him to court, and the case went up to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court decided that any slave brought north by his owner would still be owned by the slave master. Again, riots occurred in the North, as this was seen as a fatal injustice.
3.The event that made the civil war inevitable was the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. A northern democrat named Stephen Douglas decided that a trans-continental railroad would be a good idea to unite the nation. It would go from Chicago all the way to California. Douglas believed that in order for the railroad to be built, however, the areas where the railroad would have to go through would have to be federally administered as states. The railroad would go through the territory of Nebraska, which needed a lot more people in the territory in order to become a state. So Douglas concocted a plan to make the territories into states. The law that he proposed was the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The law stated that the territories of Kansas and Nebraska could become slave states if the people there wanted slavery in the territory. This violated the Missouri compromise, as Nebraska stretched from modern day Nebraska all the way to Montanan border with Canada. The act was passed and the North was shocked. Northerners took action and flocks of people immigrated to Kansas. The South responded by sending border ruffians from Missouri to vote in fraudulent elections to decide if Kansas should have slavery. Some people, like John Brown, took up violence and killed multiple border ruffians in Kansas. The passing of this act propelled Abraham Lincolns career as well, and in 1860, Lincoln was voted into the presidency entirely by Northern voters. Not one voter in the south voted for Lincoln. In 1860, South Carolina left the Union, and was joined by multiple other states such as Virginia, Texas, and Tennessee soon after. The Civil War began.
The Battle of Gettysburg began as a result of Confederate commanders (Southern commanders) trying to find a way to gain foreign allies. Cotton diplomacy, a technique used by the confederates to try and lure foreign powers such as France to join their side against America. It failed by 1863 and the confederacy realized that they needed a decisive victory in order to persuade France to join their side. Robert E. Lee decided to aim for the Pennsylvanian capital of Harrisburg. He embarked on the campaign, but was spotted by Union troops as he was traveling through Pennsylvania. The garrison at Gettysburg spotted him and immediately requested for reinforcement. Reinforcements successfully arrived and the Union prepared to defend the land. Lee's forces fought the Unionists on July 1st 1863. The Battle of Gettysburg had begun. The confederates first attacked Union forces on the first of a series of hills. The union was pushed back and retreated to the second hill. A longer battle ensued for control of this hill, but they still had to fall back again. The last hill was held by union forces for the rest of the day. The day ended off an artillery barrage in a separate area of the small town. The day ended with a confederate victory.
