Essay on General Sherman's "March to the Sea" On November 12, 1864, Sherman marched out of Atlanta toward the Atlantic coast. Tracing a line of march between Macon and Augusta, he carved a sixty-mile wide swath of destruction in the Confederacy's heartland. The only forces the Confederacy could bring to oppose him was Wheeler's cavalry and a motley collection of militia and over and under-aged reserves of perhaps 14,000 troops; certainly no match for the 62,000 Union veterans Sherman had kept...

Medicine During the Civil War "When the war began, the United States Army medical staff consisted of only the surgeon general, thirty surgeons, and eighty-three assistant surgeons. Of these, twenty-four resigned to "go South," and three other assistant surgeons were promptly dropped for "disloyalty." Thus the medical corps began its war service with only eighty seven men. When the war ended in 1865, more than eleven thousand doctors had served or were serving, many of these as acting assistant...

The Revolutionary War in America (1775-1783) led to the birth of a new nation. The war began on April 19, 1775 with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. For about a decade, tension had been mounting between Great Britain and the American Colonies. The British government had passed a series of laws in an attempt to increase control over the colonies. But Americans had become used to having control over their local government. They objected to the new laws and protested being taxed without...

Analysis of Taxation During the Revolutionary War During the mid 18th century the American colonists, both bold and ambitious, were showing attitudes of indignation and resentment towards English Parliament. Aside from this, the attitudes generated were mainly the result of British violations of the rights of the new American citizens. The Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution were the direct effect of the economic and political British transgressions. Of many revolts and...

Bella Boyd Though seldom written about in depth in standard high school history textbooks, the spy played a pivotal role in the United States Civil War. However, the most noteworthy spies during this time of national crisis were generally not your stereotypical black-trench-coat-wearing, sly, cunning, male spies. Much more common were female spies, generally using their Southern feminine wiles to extract vital and secretive information from high-ranking Northern military personnel. They...

Why the Confederacy lost. The American Civil War, one of the bloodiest wars the United States has ever had to go through. The American Civil War started in 1861 and lasted until 1865. This conflict was a,” separatist conflict between the United States Federal Government (Union) and eleven slave states that declared there secession and formed the Confederate States of America.” We all know that the Union eventually came out on top in 1865 with the surrender of Robert E. Lee, but...

A Yankee's Argument of post-Civil War Reconstruction After the Civil War was over, the South was in, for the most part, in ruins. Events during the war that made this happen were for example, General Sherman’s troops destroyed 33% of Atlanta by burning trees, houses, and anything else that got in their way. Around 10% of all the white males in the south died in the war. About 4 million slaves were set free. The south had damage that was so great, it amounted to about 4 billion...

Man I hate fire, it slowly burns me down until I am into a pile of myself, bound to destruction. I am a very old candle, one of many in this spacious room. I remember my maker saying that I was going to be in the Independence Hall, Philadelphia, and I have been here ever since. The year was 1787 I believe, yes . . . 1787. Recently I had been hearing with my waxy ears that there was a convention originally scheduled for the 14th of May to be held in the Independence hall, but unfortunately...

Detailed Study of the American Revolution Introduction: Methodological Issues and Opportunities If, as is often said, history is the study of change over time, then the American Revolution is an ideal case study for historical understanding. The Revolution presents a wide range of issues having to do with the nature, causation, mechanisms, and extent of historical change. For example: Was the Revolution really a revolution? Or was it that historical oxymoron, a conservative revolution? What...

Reasons for a Need of Farm hands Directly following the Civil War There were different sources of strengths and weaknesses of the working class in the decades after the Civil War. After the War there was a large demand for resources produced on farms. Farming and the need for agricultural workers increased. Some of the other strengths that were held by the working class after the war were a large result of the Homestead Act. This act was passed in 1862. It gave people the opportunity to...