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The American Civil War
The American Civil War was a time of great conflict and suffering in our nation's history, but it was also a pivoting point for politcal development, re-evaluation of social ideals and technological improvement. Most importantly, however, it was an event which irrevocably changed the fate of the United States as a nation; it redefined American values, standards, and ultimately, our idea of what it means to be "one nation, indivisible."
The Civil War in Four Minutes
The ''Average Soldier'' ... was 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighed about 140 lbs. ... had brown hair and blue eyes and was from an Anglo-Saxon, Protestant background. ... was a farmer or craftsman. ... was around 20 years old. ... had never fired a shot in anger at another human being. ... was either uneducated or had no education past eighth grade.
Did you know . . . ? * Abe Lincoln's son Tad kept a goat in the White House as the family pet. * A woman named Sarah Emmonds dressed up as a man to fight in the Civil War. She called herself Frank Thompson and was the first woman to be inducted into the Grand Army of the Republic. * General Robert E. Lee took his pet chicken with him on the Gettysburg Campaign. * We get the term 'sideburns' from Gen. Ambrose Burnside, who had extremely big facial whiskers. * Women at the time wore seven layers of clothing ... every day. * Stonewall Jackson was a severe hypochondriac. He performed strange actions to 'correct imbalances in his body.' He was also known to suck on citrus fruit to cure his dyspepsia. * Gen. Ulysses Grant coined the term 'lobbyists' to refer to political gurus, since a lot of them had gathered in the lobby of the hotel where he had stayed in D.C.
Though many people on both sides thought war was necessary, a select view had persuasive anti-war sentiments: The people who wanted a quick end to the war and were willing to compromise to do it were called 'copperheads.' Those in the North who were Southern sympathizers were called 'doughfaces'.
It is good that war is so terrible, else we may grow too fond of it.
