historical introduction : the civil war 1861-65

source : ‘uniforms of the american civil war 1861- 65’ Philip J Haythornthwaite

Is so a short survey, there is little room for an enumeration of the causes of the most devastating war ever waged in America. Very briefly, the United States in the late 1850’s was sharply divided. The northern states, in particular those on the eastern seaboard, were democratic and forward-thinking, with large numbers of european immigrants, basing their economy upon industry and (in the western states) agriculture. The southern states, on the other hand, were reactionary in ideas to the point of almost medieval feudalism; their economy was principally based upon the growing of cotton, but by the late 1850’s were conscious of gradually becoming the ‘poor relations’ of the north.

flag of Texas (25 january 1839)

flags of the american civil war : Texas

source : ‘flags of the american civil war (3) state & volunteer’ men at arms 265, Osprey publishing

Texas had been an independent republic from 1839 for almost a decade before joining the United States; and the flag that had been flow by the republic of Texas became the flag of the state of Texas.

flag of Louisiana (february 1861)

flags of the american civil war : Louisiana

source : ‘flags of the american civil war (3) state & volunteer’ men at arms 265, Osprey publishing

The earliest state flag, raised on receipt of the news of South Carolina’s secession in december 1860, featured a red field with a single five-pointed white star in its centre, with a pelican feeding its young in a nest painted within the star.

coat of arms of the state of New York

New York state flag : design and features

source : worldatlas.com

Though the flag designers are not documented, the coat of arms that features on the flag was designed by John Jay, John Sloss Hobart, and Gouverneur Morris.

irish immigration

source : ‘irish-american units in the civil war’ men at arms 448, Osprey publishing

In search of economic opportunities and – on both sides of the religious divide – freedom from discrimination, sons and daughters of the emerald isle thronged to America in two major waves of immigration.

Sumter and the outbreak of war, 1861

source : ‘the American civil war story’ BBC history magazine

The first shots of the american civil war were fired at 4.30am on 12 april 1861 by South Carolina forces.

southern states secede from the Union

source : ‘the American civil war story’ BBC history magazine

To no-one’s surprise, South Carolina, long the most radical proslavery region of the southern states, was the first to announce it was leaving the federal Union, on 20 december 1860.

civil war : states alignment

the american civil war : economic and social developments

source : ‘the american civil war – the war in the east 1861-may 1863’ essential histories 004, Osprey publishing

Although broad generalizations about the two sections can obscure almost as much as they reveal, some trends in northern and southern development between the establishment of the constitution and the close of the ante bellum (pre-war) period help set up the final sectional crisis.