Why Civil War Matters?

[Reba]

That's cool, thanks, Reba.

You're welcome.

 

[Byrdie714]

Here are some pictures from last week's reenactment of the Battle of Charleston:

Is this the battle for Ft. Sumter or Ft. Wagner?

 

[DragonYoga]

The Blue And The Gray
Francis Miles Finch (1827-1907)


By the flow of the inland river,
Whence the fleets of iron have fled,
Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver,
Asleep are the ranks of the dead:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Under the one, the Blue,
Under the other, the Gray
These in the robings of glory,
Those in the gloom of defeat,
All with the battle-blood gory,
In the dusk of eternity meet:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgement-day
Under the laurel, the Blue,
Under the willow, the Gray.

From the silence of sorrowful hours
The desolate mourners go,
Lovingly laden with flowers
Alike for the friend and the foe;
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgement-day;
Under the roses, the Blue,
Under the lilies, the Gray.

So with an equal splendor,
The morning sun-rays fall,
With a touch impartially tender,
On the blossoms blooming for all:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Broidered with gold, the Blue,
Mellowed with gold, the Gray.

So, when the summer calleth,
On forest and field of grain,
With an equal murmur falleth
The cooling drip of the rain:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment -day,
Wet with the rain, the Blue
Wet with the rain, the Gray.

Sadly, but not with upbraiding,
The generous deed was done,
In the storm of the years that are fading
No braver battle was won:
Under the sod adn the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Under the blossoms, the Blue,
Under the garlands, the Gray

No more shall the war cry sever,
Or the winding rivers be red;
They banish our anger forever
When they laurel the graves of our dead!
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day,
Love and tears for the Blue,
Tears and love for the Gray.




This is my FAVORITE poem from that period. The author read an article in his newspaper of a group of women in Charleston (I think?) who went and laid flowers on both Union & Southern graves alike. Their act inspired this poem.


As for the war - it started out with a completely different reason than what it ended with. In the beginning, it was over the Southern states' trying to secede - several states started to secede just before Lincolin took the office, and Lincoln felt forced to ignore the Consitution and force them to rejoin the union. People thought at first it would be over quickly - as a matter of fact, in the first few battles, local townspeople would go up and have a picnic and watch the battles. Only when the war dragged on and on, and people started talking about slavery - THEN the slavery became the focus of the war. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation originally only freed the slaves in the North. After the war, the Southern slaves were included.

And that's the quick history lesson!

My mom's side is from Arkansas, and if I remember right, someone from her side of the family held slaves, and we have a family story of brothers fighting against brothers in the War.

 

[SCBassist]

May be a problem celebrating, wave the bars and stars at a public event, , my money says Sharpton will be there! LOL

 

[Calvin]

Here are some pictures from last week's reenactment of the Battle of Charleston:

Cool pictures, for sharing

The Blue And The Gray
Francis Miles Finch (1827-1907)


By the flow of the inland river,
Whence the fleets of iron have fled,
Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver,
Asleep are the ranks of the dead:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Under the one, the Blue,
Under the other, the Gray
These in the robings of glory,
Those in the gloom of defeat,
All with the battle-blood gory,
In the dusk of eternity meet:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgement-day
Under the laurel, the Blue,
Under the willow, the Gray.

From the silence of sorrowful hours
The desolate mourners go,
Lovingly laden with flowers
Alike for the friend and the foe;
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgement-day;
Under the roses, the Blue,
Under the lilies, the Gray.

So with an equal splendor,
The morning sun-rays fall,
With a touch impartially tender,
On the blossoms blooming for all:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Broidered with gold, the Blue,
Mellowed with gold, the Gray.

So, when the summer calleth,
On forest and field of grain,
With an equal murmur falleth
The cooling drip of the rain:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment -day,
Wet with the rain, the Blue
Wet with the rain, the Gray.

Sadly, but not with upbraiding,
The generous deed was done,
In the storm of the years that are fading
No braver battle was won:
Under the sod adn the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Under the blossoms, the Blue,
Under the garlands, the Gray

No more shall the war cry sever,
Or the winding rivers be red;
They banish our anger forever
When they laurel the graves of our dead!
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day,
Love and tears for the Blue,
Tears and love for the Gray.




This is my FAVORITE poem from that period. The author read an article in his newspaper of a group of women in Charleston (I think?) who went and laid flowers on both Union & Southern graves alike. Their act inspired this poem.


As for the war - it started out with a completely different reason than what it ended with. In the beginning, it was over the Southern states' trying to secede - several states started to secede just before Lincolin took the office, and Lincoln felt forced to ignore the Consitution and force them to rejoin the union. People thought at first it would be over quickly - as a matter of fact, in the first few battles, local townspeople would go up and have a picnic and watch the battles. Only when the war dragged on and on, and people started talking about slavery - THEN the slavery became the focus of the war. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation originally only freed the slaves in the North. After the war, the Southern slaves were included.

And that's the quick history lesson!

My mom's side is from Arkansas, and if I remember right, someone from her side of the family held slaves, and we have a family story of brothers fighting against brothers in the War.

Nice poem and for sharing with us Yes there was debate on what really caused the war and the slavery issues on the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 BEFORE the Gettysburg. That Emancipation Proclamation is Lincoln's idea as he try to put the Civil War to the end as soon as possible. After Gettysburg, the tide is on the Union's favor and it takes another 2 years to finally end it.

 

[PowerON]

the last battle ever laid on America soil.

 

[Reba]

Is this the battle for Ft. Sumter or Ft. Wagner?

Neither.

Fort Sumter was the site of the beginning of the Civil War. It was fought across the waters of Charleston Harbor.
"On April 10, 1861, Brig. Gen. Beauregard, in command of the provisional Confederate forces at Charleston, South Carolina, demanded the surrender of the Union garrison of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Garrison commander Anderson refused. On April 12, Confederate batteries opened fire on the fort, which was unable to reply effectively. At 2:30 pm, April 13, Major Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter, evacuating the garrison on the following day...."
Battle Summary: Fort Sumter, SC

The battle at Battery Wagner was an amphibious assault on the beach, which included the black Union regiment that was portrayed in the movie Glory.
Battery Wagner, the Assault of July 18, 1863

The reenactment battle was fought on an open field, at the edge of the woods on the island. It wasn't on the beach or harbor.

Obviously the reenactment isn't the same scope as the real battle. It was a "miniature" of the several battles that happened on Johns Island. If you go to the below link, and Ctrl + F for "Johns Island" you can find descriptions of the battles there.

Battle of Bloody Bridge, July 7,8 & 9, 1864

 

[DragonYoga]

Cool pictures, for sharing



Nice poem and for sharing with us Yes there was debate on what really caused the war and the slavery issues on the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 BEFORE the Gettysburg. That Emancipation Proclamation is Lincoln's idea as he try to put the Civil War to the end as soon as possible. After Gettysburg, the tide is on the Union's favor and it takes another 2 years to finally end it.

Thanks for the clarification, Calvin. I took American History from the beginnings to 1877. The teacher was very linear about the war, looking at various causes and the final cause that "broke the camel's back".

Glad you liked the poem!

 

[Reba]

The Blue And The Gray
Francis Miles Finch (1827-1907)

Thank you for sharing the poem.

 

[Byrdie714]

Neither.

Fort Sumter was the site of the beginning of the Civil War. It was fought across the waters of Charleston Harbor.
"On April 10, 1861, Brig. Gen. Beauregard, in command of the provisional Confederate forces at Charleston, South Carolina, demanded the surrender of the Union garrison of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Garrison commander Anderson refused. On April 12, Confederate batteries opened fire on the fort, which was unable to reply effectively. At 2:30 pm, April 13, Major Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter, evacuating the garrison on the following day...."
Battle Summary: Fort Sumter, SC

The battle at Battery Wagner was an amphibious assault on the beach, which included the black Union regiment that was portrayed in the movie Glory.
Battery Wagner, the Assault of July 18, 1863

The reenactment battle was fought on an open field, at the edge of the woods on the island. It wasn't on the beach or harbor.

Obviously the reenactment isn't the same scope as the real battle. It was a "miniature" of the several battles that happened on Johns Island. If you go to the below link, and Ctrl + F for "Johns Island" you can find descriptions of the battles there.

Battle of Bloody Bridge, July 7,8 & 9, 1864

So...the re-enactment wasn't for a particular battle?

Just grown men playing 'dress-up' and playing with their toys, so to speak?

I think for me if it was for a particular battle, i.e. Ft Sumter/Ft. Wagner-- I would be interested in observing but if it wasn't, I wouldn't be interested.

Sorry.

 

[Reba]

So...the re-enactment wasn't for a particular battle?

Many reenactments are but this one combined several small skirmishes into one. There just aren't enough people to make a "big" battle, and some of the original battle areas aren't accessible any more.

Just grown men playing 'dress-up' and playing with their toys, so to speak?

Men, women, and children dressed authentically, in authentic encampments, using real weapons, reenacting scenes from actual events. There's a reenactment happening somewhere almost every weekend.

I think for me if it was for a particular battle, i.e. Ft Sumter/Ft. Wagner-- I would be interested in observing but if it wasn't, I wouldn't be interested.

Sorry.

No need to apologize. Every one has different interests.