This July is the 150th Anniversary

[ThorinNNY]

of the battle of Gettysburg.Which got me thinking about the Civil War or War the between the States, if you prefer. I know the history books list it as starting on April 12, 1861 and ending in early April of 1865.
I`ve gotten to thinking that`s MOSTLY true but history is often something you just can`t tie up into a neat package. I remember reading a statement in a book, made by an Italian commentator stating the American Civil War ended in 1876. At first, I just dismissed it as a just typo, but now I`m not so sure about it being an error anymore.It`s true the mass killing stopped, but there were some incidents.
First off, a few battles were fought after Gen. Robert E. Lee`s surrender.Abraham Lincoln promised to act with malice towards none and charity towards all, but the assasination put an end to any moderating influence Lincoln might have exerted.Not all Confederate units surrendered, at least one went to Mexico.
Southern States were under martial law, for the most part ,for 10 years after the surrender.Many changes were imposed on the population those states and there was great resentment .
While I wouldn`t go as far as to say the Civil War began in the mid 1850`s there were many bloody skirmishes fought in Kansas and and Missouri that set the stage for a wider conflict. And John Brown`s raid on the Arsenal at Harper`s Ferry in 1859, his subsequent trial
and execution forced many Americans to examine the question of whether they would fire upon fellow Americans who had differing opinions about the important issues of their day.
As far as I`m concerned if I were ever asked when the Civil War started and ended by a government official or a stranger, I`d give the standard textbook answer.If I were talking with someone I thought was a reasonable person and could be trusted, I`d elaborate on the above.
Now, esteemed moderators, to bring the topic to shooting muzzleloaders, I`ll bet there`ll be some awesome renactments by the NSSA and mayble the NMLRA and various reenactor groups. Wouldn`t that be a solemn, inspiring sight to see!

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

My parents took me there when I was a kid. I spied something on the ground and it was an old nickle. I still have it and as I recall it was dated 1865 (it was hard to read from the weather exposure). I was told that there was so much gunfire that nary a tree was left standing.

 

[Sam1911]

I`ll bet there`ll be some awesome renactments by the NSSA and mayble the NMLRA and various reenactor groups. Wouldn`t that be a solemn, inspiring sight to see!

I live there (uh, here...whatever). The town is anticipating FOUR MILLION visitors this summer. Yikes.

I will be quite happy to watch the reenactments on video!

 

[Cosmoline]

Historians often regroup the dates in order to emphasize the importance of events leading up to and following the big wars. In the case of the CW the events before and after are in many ways more important than the actual battles. Reconstruction's failures had repercussions through the 1960's.

One bit of buzz I've heard is that the reenactments this year will be the last of the big CW reenactments. A lot of people are planning on hanging up the uniforms once and for all after this. And there aren't many younger ones to fill in the ranks. I hope that isn't true.

 

[ThorinNNY]

Sam quote: " I will be quite happy to watch the reenactments on video".

Sam, you are a very sensible gentleman, a scholar and I would not be at all surprised if you were an outstanding judge of fine whiskey !

351 Winchester
That 1865 nickle you found bought a LOT more in 1865 than a nickle does today. Today that nickle is worth a tidy sum of money.

Cosmoline
Alas, many re-enactors are in the 60 + age group. If I were a reenactor I`d resemble my remark.Okay, I WAS once drafted on short notice (2 hours) ,stuffed into a 2 sizes too small War of 1812 uniform, and given a challenging role to play, that of an artilleryman killed in the first minute of battle.Alas, a promising re-enacting career tragically cut short.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Here's an excellent forum that I enjoy for discussing the Civil War. http://civilwartalk.com

 

[Sam1911]

A good pal of mine does occasional reenacting and was one of the (very) many extras recruited to be in the film Gettysburg. He's so short though, that only the top of his hat is visible in the shot!

 

[Gambit88]

Ill be part of the GAC reenactment over the 4th of july. From my understanding there Will be two or three reenactments plus what the park puts on. I can't wait to be on that artillery line.

 

[eastbank]

my ggg uncle died there with ricketts artillery either on the second or third day of fighting. i tried to find out where, but it was a fluid moving fight with the battle lines changing many times. what a terrible waste of americans. eastbank.

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

If the Civil War was fought today with the casualty to total population ratio it would be something like 20-30 million. The total population of the US at the the time was around 20 million people and the death toll was around 700,000.

 

[Cosmoline]

If you include civilian deaths in the south it was much higher, too. The federal forces became increasingly destructive, causing direct and indirect collateral deaths. Nobody really knows how many died, but the region took a hundred years to recover.

 

[Ohio Gun Guy]

Gettysburg is a must see, in my opinion. In our family we now know of 2 who died in Confederate prison camps.... But at the Gettysburg battlefields it's just a sad, awe inspiring place for all of them...

 

[Sam1911]

The new battlefield national park museum is humbling and breath-taking. If you do come here (even just to be number 3,999,998 in line this summer! ) do not miss it.

 

[Sol]

I remember when I was a young lad in kindergarten and the school had an ancient WW1 vet come and talk about his life (he was a local) anyways he got to talking about when he was a youngster that he would help the old legless civil war vets around town. Pretty odd to think of the 2 degrees of seperation between a kid and a vet and another vet of a war that happened 150 years ago.

 

[ThorinNNY]

There`s a book THIS REPUBLIC OF SUFFERING by Drew Gilpin Faust details a lot of the long -lasting effects of the Civil War.It`s a good read and worth the time .
As an interesting side note, there is a Confederate veteran buried in a cemetary in Ogddensburg , N.Y. He died at the age of 58.He came to America from Germany through Charleston,SC in 1861, IIRC.
After serving the Confederacy, he came to and settled in Northern NY. He married a woman from the area and made his living by farming. His name was Fidel Keiser.His grave is also decorated on Memorial day.
As far as i know, he never left behind a diary or any papers dealing with his experiences as a soldier during the CW.
It would be interesting to be able to see what he thought of what must have been a very strange new world . I also wonder what his motivation was in travelling and settling down so far from the only part of America he got to know, the South.I`m sure there`s an interesting story there, if only someone could uncover it.

 

[Mike OTDP]

I suspect the main focus of reenacting may shift to either World War 1 or the American Revolution.

 

[AlexanderA]

I took part in the 125th anniversary reenactment of Gettysburg back in '88. A little too old to do that now, although I may go as a spectator.

BTW, the N-SSA doesn't do reenactments. They're "skirmishers," which means that they do live fire against (inanimate) targets. The N-SSA Spring Nationals are coming up on May 16-19, outside of Winchester, Va.