Civil War History - General DiscussionFor Discussions on Civil War Era Personalities, Politics, Issues, Campaigns, Battles, and more. Serious Civil War Discussions Only Please! All other posts will be deleted.
Here is the opinion of William T. Sherman on the preparations for the Civil War in the North before the Southern attack on Ft. Sumter. (This is from CHAPTER XXV, CONCLUSION--MILITARY LESSONS OF THE WAR in his Memoirs, Volume II) :
===== That civil war, by reason of the existence of slavery, was apprehended by most of the leading statesmen of the half-century preceding its outbreak, is a matter of notoriety. General Scott told me on my arrival at New York, as early as 1850, that the country was on the eve of civil war; and the Southern politicians openly asserted that it was their purpose to accept as a casus belli the election of General Fremont in 1856; but, fortunately or unfortunately, he was beaten by Mr. Buchanan, which simply postponed its occurrence for four years. Mr. Seward had also publicly declared that no government could possibly exist half slave and half free; yet the Government made no military preparation, and the Northern people generally paid no attention, took no warning of its coming, and would not realize its existence till Fort Sumter was fired on by batteries of artillery, handled by declared enemies, from the surrounding islands and from the city of Charleston.
General Bragg, who certainly was a man of intelligence, and who, in early life, ridiculed a thousand times, in my hearing, the threats of the people of South Carolina to secede from the Federal Union, said to me in New Orleans, in February, 1861, that he was convinced that the feeling between the slave and free States had become so embittered that it was better to part in peace; better to part anyhow; and, as a separation was inevitable, that the South should begin at once, because the possibility of a successful effort was yearly lessened by the rapid and increasing inequality between the two sections, from the fact that all the European immigrants were coming to the Northern States and Territories, and none to the Southern. The slave population m 1860 was near four millions, and the money value thereof not far from twenty-five hundred million dollars. Now, ignoring the moral side of the question, a cause that endangered so vast a moneyed interest was an adequate cause of anxiety and preparation, and the Northern leaders surely ought to have foreseen the danger and prepared for it. After the election of Mr. Lincoln in 1860, there was no concealment of the declaration and preparation for war in the South. In Louisiana, as I have related, men were openly enlisted, officers were appointed, and war was actually begun, in January, 1861. The forts at the mouth of the Mississippi were seized, and occupied by garrisons that hauled down the United States flag and hoisted that of the State. The United States Arsenal at Baton Rouge was captured by New Orleans militia, its garrison ignominiously sent off, and the contents of the arsenal distributed. These were as much acts of war as was the subsequent firing on Fort Sumter, yet no public notice was taken thereof; and when, months afterward, I came North, I found not one single sign of preparation. It was for this reason, somewhat, that the people of the South became convinced that those of the North were pusillanimous and cowardly, and the Southern leaders were thereby enabled to commit their people to the war, nominally in defense of their slave property. Up to the hour of the firing on Fort Sumter, in April, 1861, it does seem to me that our public men, our politicians, were blamable for not sounding the note of alarm. =====
In short, Sherman thought the people in power as the war approached were culpable for not doing more to prepare for war.
Maybe it wasn't the political leadership or the common man who did not prepare for war, but what about all those Northern, New England and New York, money-grubbing industrialists who wanted control over the economic life of the Southern states?
Aren't they really the ones who pulled the strings of those politicians anyway? Wasn't greed and Money the real cause of the war?
(Tim, just trying to cut to the chase, is all.)
Unionblue
__________________ "The American people and the Government at Washington may refuse to recognize it for a time but the inexorable logic of events will force it upon them in the end; that the war now being waged in this land is a war for and against slavery." Frederick Douglass
"Loyalty to our ancestors does not include loyalty to their mistakes." George Santayana
Maybe it wasn't the political leadership or the common man who did not prepare for war, but what about all those Northern, New England and New York, money-grubbing industrialists who wanted control over the economic life of the Southern states?
Aren't they really the ones who pulled the strings of those politicians anyway? Wasn't greed and Money the real cause of the war?
(Tim, just trying to cut to the chase, is all.)
Unionblue
Unionblue,
Ah, constructive sarcasm!
Amazingly short-sighted folks, those people. Seems they planned all along to suppress the South by Civil War -- and forgot to prepare for it! Sherman never seems to have realized the depth of their devious plot, I guess. ROFL.
Seriously, I would have to agree with Sherman. I have never found any evidence of preparations by the Federal government to wage war on the South before those states began seceding and attacked Ft. Sumter. I have seen some people try to claim that such was being done, but on the evidence they presented I always assumed they were not being serious.
Lincoln and many others of the North had heard S.C. and the south cry wolf several times over the years.
Mostly, I think, Lincoln etal. thought that there was sufficent Union sentiment in the South to head off a civil conflict. In fact, that idea about Union sentiment in the South colored the somewhat mild strategy and tactics of the North early in the war.
Another consideration may have been that a military build-up might have been reagarded as a provocation, etc.
............ ????
__________________ -
"It was a very peculiar time." - Franklin D. Cossitt
Ancestors in USA Army: 6th IA Inf, 11th IL Cav, 1st AL Cav; 122nd NY Inf; 6th MI Cav; 35th MA Inf; 100th IL Inf; 1st CO Inf/Cav; 22nd IN Inf
Lincoln and many others of the North had heard S.C. and the south cry wolf several times over the years.
Mostly, I think, Lincoln etal. thought that there was sufficent Union sentiment in the South to head off a civil conflict. In fact, that idea about Union sentiment in the South colored the somewhat mild strategy and tactics of the North early in the war.
I agree that they seemed to feel that way. The problem (if we can call it that) is that they would not be acting that way if this was all an aggressive design for 'Northern dominance", as some claim.
Quote:
Originally Posted by samgrant
Another consideration may have been that a military build-up might have been reagarded as a provocation, etc.
............ ????
In the days before the Civil War, Congress was actually trying to cut back on military expenditures. Bragg had argued with Sec. of War Davis over this (they took the horses away from his flying battery) and ended up resigning from the service rather than taking a Major slot in one of the new cavalry regiments.
In December 1860, there is a letter from then-Senator Davis to the War Dept. inquiring about ways to reduce expenses. Sent as head of his committee, IIRR. Far from making preparations for war, the nation's military was practically strangled for a nation of its' size.
The Charleston garrison was badly understrength. The fortifications there and elsewhere were in poor shape. Well over 80% of the Army was stationed west of the Mississippi, much of it on the West Coast. The average post was only two companies, and many posts in the east were held by a single "fortkeeper" and his family. The Navy in some ways was in worse condition.
If I were preparing for a war, I think I would want to start out a bit better than that.
If the Federal government were trying to avoid provoking the South, they had been at it for a long time.
The new Confederacy didn't seem to have the same philosophy. By the time of the attack on Ft. Sumter, Davis had issued calls for about 32,000 men (some in early March, some just before the attack) -- double the size of the Federal Army in existence. Lincoln had yet to call for a single additional man at that point.
I can't fix blame on anyone for being unprepared. If war was indeed as imminent as Sherman supposed, there was no way to prepare for it. Would any southern legislator (other than a Texan) vote to support a large standing army? Purchasing modern arms? Cranking up armories? Just what could have been done?
After setup of a Confederate government Jeff Davis issued calls for volunteers. Remember Buchanan was still president. Even so, calling for volunteers would have been viewed as provocative, so Lincoln also avoided preparations -- and the Legislature had gone home.
Don't want to hijack a thread, but what could have been done.
Ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
I am sure that I read and posted this on another forgotten thread, that the South felt confident it could go to war or secede because of the very fact the US government WAS so weak! It was a major factor in the call for secession.
Sincerely,
Unionblue
__________________ "The American people and the Government at Washington may refuse to recognize it for a time but the inexorable logic of events will force it upon them in the end; that the war now being waged in this land is a war for and against slavery." Frederick Douglass
"Loyalty to our ancestors does not include loyalty to their mistakes." George Santayana
I can't fix blame on anyone for being unprepared. If war was indeed as imminent as Sherman supposed, there was no way to prepare for it. Would any southern legislator (other than a Texan) vote to support a large standing army? Purchasing modern arms? Cranking up armories? Just what could have been done?
After setup of a Confederate government Jeff Davis issued calls for volunteers. Remember Buchanan was still president. Even so, calling for volunteers would have been viewed as provocative, so Lincoln also avoided preparations -- and the Legislature had gone home.
Don't want to hijack a thread, but what could have been done.
Ole
There is a big difference here between the governmental actions.
The US President had no authority to call for new troops on his own, save that of the Militia Act (to call the governors of the states to provide Militia). The US Congress, already sitting when Lincoln was inaugurated March 4, 1861, adjourned and went home very quickly thereafter without passing any such legislation -- even after much threatening, armed aggression, seizure of Federal property, and the blockade/siege of Federal posts at Pensacola and Charleston. While there were still some Southerners in Congress at that point, many had resigned and gone home, so Northern control of the Congress would have been possible if desired.
The Confederate Congress, OTOH, had passed legislation authorizing the new President to call for up to 100,000 long-term Volunteers, in addition to establishing a new Regular Army for the Confederacy. As Lincoln was taking the oath of office, Davis called for the first of them. He called for more before he attacked Ft. Sumter (gets him to about 32,000). This does not include other state Militia/Volunteer/Regular forces that had already been called out.
Even when Ft. Sumter was attacked, Lincoln was limited to using the Militia Act to request troops from the governors (some of whom refused as we know). Lincoln called for 75,000 90-day men; the next day Davis made another call against the 100,000 authorization his Congress had given him, bringing his total to 64,000 -- but these men were called for a year of duty.
By May, Lincoln had called for more. In addition to more Militia calls, he undoubtedly exceeded his authority by calling for new Regular troops, which was dependent upon retroactive Congressional approval when the Congress assembled July 4.
In general, if the "North" was preparing for war they must be said to have done a lousy job. The Confederacy appears to have made an attempt to prepare for it as soon as they organized their government.
I think the character of so called militias, differed in the North and the South.
In the North, they were more of a social club, not seriously drilling for combat, etc.
In the South, from what I have read, they were very serious organizations, with proper drilling, etc., ready and willing to get it on.
????
In general, this is probably a good characterization. Like all such, there are specific cases where it does not quite fit, but in general it seems correct.
The Massachusetts Militia was in better shape than most other Northern states, and got started preparing for war a little before Ft. Sumter due to the efforts of the Governor. There was a regiment of Militia in New York City that was very well-regarded, regularly drilled. In one state (Ohio?) it was discovered the latest accurate statewide Militia roster dated from the 1830s. In states like that, the annual state Militia encampment was essentially a social event.
In the South, the John Brown raid on Harpers Ferry had acted as a goad to the Militia organizations. In 1859-1860 there had been a surge in the Militia, with many new companies formed and men joining up. Drills became much better attended and regular. In that sense, Southern Militia was probably quite a bit ahead of Northern Militia as 1860 turned into 1861. IIRR, Charleston had over 20 different Militia companies, and a regiment of them was camped out nearby when the Secession Convention there passed their declaration (the Governor rode over and read it to them within 30 minutes, greeted by cheers and the firing of cannon). These were the men manning the steamers in the harbor when Anderson moved from Ft. Moultrie to Ft. Sumter.
CivilWarTalk.com -
A free and friendly Civil War community. 
On Northern preparations for the Civil War 
Linear Mode
