The Civil War Experience
Beginning in 1861, the Civil War was the deadliest war in American history. The war raged on between the South's Confederate army and the North's Union Army. The brutality of the war did not take sides, both army's and civilian populations were devastated. With turmoil existing between the two sides long before the war, there were many reasons to go to war, the main reason being slavery. Slavery, a topic that had become an intolerable way of life in the North was a foundation pillar and essential needs provider of the South. The roles of Blacks and women in American society changed during the war, from colored soldiers joining the union army to women taking up jobs as nurses and secretaries. The impact of the word death was diluted by the massive number of casualties resulting from the war's great battles including Antietam, Gettysburg, and Shiloh. Generals had never before been so responsible for the lives of their soldiers as seen in Pickett's Charge. Though General Grant had consistent success, the South's Generals made it clear that their West Point training prepared them well unlike the Norths. In addition to the advantages and disadvantages that came with their respective generals, advantages including more railroads and more people helped the North end the war in the end. As the war simmered down to the days of Appomattox Courthouse and Lincoln's assassination, America emerged as an entirely new country. The civil war experience is the embodiment of all of the blood, sweat, and tears that went into this metamorphosis.
ID: National Archives 79-T-2265
Date: July, 1863
Description: An amputation being performed in a hospital tent. This shows the brutality of war.
Date: July, 1863
Description: An amputation being performed in a hospital tent. This shows the brutality of war.
ID: Theatlantic.com(#19)
Date: July, 1863
Description: The slaughter of horses around the Trostle House can be seen in this image. It shoes how the war was not just between two military forces but how it also took on a total war aspect and involved the civilians of both sides and parts of everyday life.
Date: July, 1863
Description: The slaughter of horses around the Trostle House can be seen in this image. It shoes how the war was not just between two military forces but how it also took on a total war aspect and involved the civilians of both sides and parts of everyday life.
ID: Theatlantic.com(#38)
Date: 1864
Description: The camp of the Tennessee Colored Battery in Johnsonville, Tennessee, during Siege of Vicksburg. The camp is nestled between a system of railroad lines, which shows the importance of transportation.
Date: 1864
Description: The camp of the Tennessee Colored Battery in Johnsonville, Tennessee, during Siege of Vicksburg. The camp is nestled between a system of railroad lines, which shows the importance of transportation.
ID: Theatlantic.com(#43)
Date: November, 1864
Description: A picket station of colored troops in Virginia. Slavery was a major factor in fighting the war, and these colored soldiers saw the moral benefits of fighting against the south.
Date: November, 1864
Description: A picket station of colored troops in Virginia. Slavery was a major factor in fighting the war, and these colored soldiers saw the moral benefits of fighting against the south.
Photographer: Mathew B. Brady.
Date: 1857
Description: Clara Barton, a famous union nurse, is the better known as the founder of the Red Cross. She represents the growing list of jobs and responsibilities that women took up during the Civil War.
Date: 1857
Description: Clara Barton, a famous union nurse, is the better known as the founder of the Red Cross. She represents the growing list of jobs and responsibilities that women took up during the Civil War.