This year marks the 150th Anniversary of the end of the American Civil War in 1865, and April of that year stands as one of the most momentous months in American history. Yesterday, April 1st, the so-called "Waterloo of the Confederacy" occurred at the Battle of Five Forks in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, where the Union forces under the command of Major General Philip Sheridan routed Major General George Pickett's Confederates at this critical crossroads leading to the last rail line supplying Robert E. Lee's lines at Petersburg. Both Ulysses S. Grant and Lee knew that once Five Forks and the Southside Railroad fell into Union hands the Army of Northern Virginia would be forced to abandon Petersburg and the Confederate capital of Richmond. This is precisely what happened 150 years ago today, when Grant ordered a general assault on Lee's lines and broke through his exposed right flank, forcing Lee into his doomed retreat towards Appomattox Court House. When Lee notified the Confederate authorities in Richmond that he was withdrawing from Petersburg, the government immediately began evacuating the capital. While destroying supplies and infrastructure that could be used by the advancing Union army, the Confederates lost control of the fires they set and wound up burning down the heart of the city along the James River and Canal Basin. The Battle of Five Forks on April 1, 1865 and the fall of Petersburg and Richmond 150 years ago today set in motion the series of events leading to what is generally considered the climatic finale of the American Civil War. A week later, Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox on April 9th, and five days later John Wilkes Booth would shoot President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington. The next morning, April 15th, Lincoln died and Andrew Johnson was sworn in as the 17th President of the United States. Battle of Five Forks http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Five_Forks The Fall of Richmond, Virginia http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/warfare-and-logistics/warfare/richmond.html Of course, the fall of Richmond marked more than the end of the bloodiest conflict in American history, it marked the much belated end of chattel slavery in the United States, freeing millions of African Americans from the bonds that they had endured since the Colonial era. If you're a Civil War buff, Richmond will be commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the fall of the former Confederate capital for the next several days: Richmond Civil War Events http://www.visitrichmondva.com/civilwar/civil-war-events/
Thanks for sharing this. Unfortunately, American history is not a major topic here in continental Europe and I don't think they even mentioned these things on any news level what so ever. What a shame indeed. Maybe the fact that it is the bloodiest conflict for the US makes it a bit surreal for Europeans, because the number isn't that high considering what we went through in two world wars. They are pushing in the news here though what happened 100 years ago in WW1... It wouldn't hurt mentioning the American Civil war as well. I don't think too many Europeans actually know much about it...
My pleasure, mihapiha. I have the same lament about European history, too, which is unfortunate because I think America's history leads, in large part, back to Europe. This is particularly true when you consider that the U.S. is part of Western Civilization. To make matters worse, I don't recall much time being spent on the history of central and eastern Europe. The same may apply in your part of the world, but if you asked your typical American who Prince Eugene of Savoy was they wouldn't have the slightest clue who he was and what he accomplished. That pretty much goes for the Byzantine Empire, as well - everything I know about the Byzantines I learned on my own, not in school. Perhaps, there will be a brief mention of the end of our Civil War this Thursday (April 9th), which marks the 150th Anniversary of Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House. There's an interesting fluke of history involving that, as well. The war began on Wilmer McLean's farm in Manassas at the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861, and afterwards McLean moved his family south to Appomattox Court House to avoid the constant fighting up in Northern Virginia. By an extraordinary stroke of coincidence, Lee surrendered his army to Ulysses S. Grant in the parlor of Wilmer McLean's home at Appomattox. Thus, it has been said that the Civil War "started in his front yard and ended in his front parlor". You can't make stuff like that up...
[video=youtube;nnS9M03F-fA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnS9M03F-fA[/video] Civil War trivia always makes me think of this song....
It doesn't seem that long ago. After 150 years, Richmond is still struggling with its Antebellum and Civil War past. I grew up on the battlefields of Northern Virginia, and as a kid we could find minié balls and other artifacts laying on the ground as if they had just been deposited there. As was the case in many areas of the South you could still find old slave shacks standing. Fortunately, we've put more distance between us and that past, but the legacy of slavery and the CW still endures in many places.
Understandably so. Speaking of CW trivia, a lot of people don't know that Richmond initially opposed Secession: What the article doesn't mention is that many people in Richmond understood that a war with the Union likely meant that it would be fought in Virginia and that the death and destruction would eventually reach their city one way or the other. Needless to say, they were right - the city became a focal point of the war and much of it was destroyed on April 3, 1865.
I know of that story. I did read about it and learned on US history on my own. However, I am ashamed to say, that the American civil war didn't even find its way into my studies in college. I received a MA in history without needing to know much beyond American Independence in the late 1700s. I encountered the Civil War in college only twice. Once, in the battle of Gettysburg as its modern warfare scenario which would be reused in WW1 in Europe as well, and another time when we briefly mentioned the importance of photography. Every time we discussed the american Civil War was because a student initiated with a question. I found out that Austria supported the South and volunteer troops were dispatched as well, which came as a big surprise, since neither Austria had slavery nor was there an interest on the American continent. I found out later that the reason was very trivial. The soldiers liked the Southern weather more and the parties supposedly were much more enjoyable in the South. There seem not to have been political reasons for participating at all. Indeed the US history is western civilization. You can trace pretty much every political idea which went world wide to some European root. It is especially disappointing because the lack of interest in the American Civil War exceeds beyond today as well. Even during the war and well into the 20th century its impact got largely ignored by all western powers. The Civil War is considered today the first act in modern warfare and by studying it, every country would have had a much better understanding in what they got themselves into in WW1. Its importance is truly ignored by a very large part of the western world. And I have to say that the same is usually true in the US as well. Most Americans I talk to, don't know its impact. They seem to study battles, political agendas, slavery, etc. in school but seem to forget the aspect of the construction of a nation and nationalism, which is even more important. The importance and impact of the change from "United States are" to "United States is" as a result of the Civil War seems to get forgotten too often. Americans don't have a root they could rely on like other nations in the world. The people are not connected because of a language, are not connected because of a common history, and are not connected with a common culture. So the big three arguments what makes an American truly an American falls flat. Americans are connected through an idea, though. An idea which found its way into people's minds as a result of the Civil War. That it much more extraordinary and important than the economic situation as a result of it! Even new citizens can see themselves as Americans if they believe in that idea, rather than other roots. If you think about it, it is much more difficult to become a German and become accepted as one...
I could imagine. I grew up in Syracuse NY. We had a major role with the underground railroad and the Civil War. But we don't celebrate it as much, I'm not too sure why. I'm going to have to look into that.
Some of the better old houses left in the South were Slave's quarters. Even the poor back then had lots of square footage.
This period has always fascinated me, not the least because there were still thousands of men under arms even after Lee's Surrender. Jefferson Davis was, in fact, fleeing to get in touch with some of them when he was captured.
Most if not all of Europes military schools for it's officers studied the American Civil War as soon as the war ended. Today every nations military academys study the American Civil War. Most major European nations had their military attaches on the battlefields observing during the American Civil War. The American Civil War is considered to be the first modern war fought. From iron clad warships and submarines to rapid fire gatling guns and hot air balloons that were used to observe and direct indirect artillery fire where the cannon cockers were not able to see their target. How railroads were used and would become vital in future wars providing logistical support for the combat troops. The telegraph where Grant and Lee could communicate with their government hundreds of miles away. Maneuver warfare was nothing new but became the rule during the American Civil War. The US Civil War, the First Modern War http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/civil-war-innovations/
I know that, The problem is that the officers largely ignored what happened. The attaches who should have observed what happened on the battlefields where drunk and going on parties rather than participating properly. That's why all European powers made critical mistakes in 1914 when WW1 started. They clearly had learned nothing.
