Good Civil War Quotes

Oh, I have about a thousand of these! Here are a few to get you started...

"You are green, it is true; but they are green also. You are all green alike." -Abraham Lincoln in response to a message from Irvin McDowell shortly before the first battle of Manassas.

"My God! My God! What will the country say?" -Abraham Lincoln after receiving news of Hooker's defeat at Chancellorsville.

"Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees." -Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson's last words.

"They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." -Union General John Sedgwick just moments before being shot by a Confederate sniper at Spotsylvania

"I think I understand what military fame is; to be killed on the field of battle and have your name misspelled in the newspapers." -William Tecumseh Sherman

"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved; I do not expect the house to fall; but I do expect that it will cease to be divided. It will become all the one thing or all the other." -Abraham Lincoln

Oh, that's not a lot, but those are the only ones that come to mind at the moment. Hope you enjoy them.
 
From the father, of Colonel Robert Shaw "We hold that a soldier's most appropriate burial-place, is on the field where he has fallen."
 
" Four score and seven years ago, our forefathers...."
Well, you probably know the rest of it. It's Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. A little long to be considered a quote maybe.
If you haven't read it recently, you should. Read the whole thing. There are several remarkeable phrases in there.
.."a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from this earth."
"..the last full measure of devotion..."
 
My favorite Lincoln Quotes..........

"The trouble with Hooker is that he's got his headquarters where his hindquarters aught to be"

"Sending armies to McClellan is like shoveling fleas across a barnyard, not half of them get there."

"Will you pardon me for asking- what the horses of your army have done since the battle of Antietam that fatiques anything." (Lincoln's remarks to General McClellan, who excused his lack of action because of his claim of tired horses.)

"-confused and Stunned, like a duck hit on the head." (Lincoln referring to General Rosecrans loss at the Battle of Chickamauga, Rosecrans was relieved of command shortly thereafter)
 
Dale,
I'm not 100% sure but I think the headquarters/hindquarters statement was about Pope not Hooker
 
Here of some of my favorites:

"I was not a Wisconsin soldier, and have not been honorably discharged, but at the judgement day I want to be with Wisconsin soldiers"

General John Gibbon

"The storm cometh- we hope the infatuated rebels like the appearence of the northern horizon. The storm of patriotism may shortly become the huricane of vengeance, and they have only themselves to thank... Those who sow the wind must reap the whirlwind"

Milwaukee Sentinal Editorial

"The terrible list of casualties shows that on this blood-stained field they sustained the reputation of Wisconsin soldiers."

Wisconsin Adjutant General Gaylord, in regards to the 18th Wisconsin's fighting at Shiloh

"Colonel Bryant was shouthing at the top of his voice, 'Get into the works, boys! Get into the works!' We got into the works, but we found the balls coming from both the front and the rear. Some of the men shouted back to the colonel, 'Which side, colonel, which side?' 'I don't care which side,' fairly yelled the excited commander,' but , Get into the works! and do it quick.'"

Dialouge between the 12th Wisconsin and their Colonel, during the battle of Bald Hill, July 22, 1864.

(they are kinda long but still good)

Spencer P. Davis
Co. E 33rd Wisconsin

(Message edited by 12th_Wisconsin on March 09, 2003)
 
"I don't care for John Pope one pinch of owl's dung."

- Union General Sam Sturgis, shortly before the Second Battle of Manassas

- CY
lol.gif
 
A Union that can only be maintained by swords and bayonets, and in which strife and civil war are to take the place of brotherly love and kindness, has no charm for me. -- Robert E. Lee, January 1861

I had a right to my own political opinions. I am a Southern woman, born with Revolutionary blood in my veins. Freedom of speech and of thought were my birthright, guaranteed, signed and sealed by the blood of our fathers. -- Rose O'Neal Greenhow, August 23, 1861

Keep steady in the view of the great principles for which you contend. The safety of your homes and the lives of all you hold dear depend upon your courage and exertions. Let each man resolve to be victorious, and that the right of self government, liberty and peace shall find him a defender. --Gen. Robt. E. Lee, in a speech to his soldiers on Sept. 9, 1861

Men will ultimately be governed by Gods or Tyrants. --Benjamin Franklin

Our government is an agency of delegated and strictly limited powers. Its founders did not look to its preservation by force; but the chain they wove to bind these States together was one of love and mutual good offices. --Jefferson Davis
 
"The Rebel army is now the legitimate property of the Army of the Potomac"
- Joseph Hooker spoke these pompous words shortly before he was soundly defeated by Robert E. Lee at Chancellorsville

"It is well that war is so terrible--we should grow too fond of it"
- Robert E. Lee gave this observation while watching thousands of Union soldiers sent to the slaughter at Fredericksburg

"If you bring these leaders to trial it will condemn the North, for by the Constitution secession is not rebellion."
- Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court privately delivered this opinion on charging captured Confederate officers with treason.

"I am now considered such a monster, that I hesitate to darken with my shadow, the doors of those I love, lest I should bring upon them misfortune."
- Robert E. Lee gave this appraisal of his image to a friend shortly after his surrender at Appomattox in 1865.

"The whole army is burning with an insatiable desire to wreak violence upon South Carolina. I almost tremble for her fate."
- William T. Sherman made this observation as he prepared to march his army into South Carolina following his March to the Sea.

"We talked the matter over and could have settled the war in thirty minutes had it been left to us."
- A common Rebel soldier made this statement after fraternizing with a Union soldier between the lines.
 
I can't help but think of several colorful quotes from D.H. Hill's after-action reports, particularly the one after Fredericksburg. He praises Hardaway's Whitworth action, citing it's effect on the "pirates", and reporting "2 or 3 thieves knocked on the head."

Another is attributed to Sherman, regarding Grant. Something to the effect that "He stood by me when I was crazy, I stood by him when he was drunk."

Of course, Lee's Farewell to his troops, General Order #9, is a classic.
 
The movie placed Lee's quote at Gettysburg. History places it elsewhere.

"It is well that war is so terrible We should grow too fond of it."
-Robert E. Lee
Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862
 
Daniel, I'm just speculating that the quote was placed in the movie Gettysburg because the film maker wasn't sure if there ever would be a movie about Fredericksburg, and thought it would be a shame to waste such a good quote.

Of course, it was a little jarring for those of us who had already watched Gettysburg to hear the same quote in Gods and Generals, which had the effect of calling attention to the fact that it was out of place in one movie or the other. Either that, or Lee was so fond of his own quote that he went around repeating it.

But you are correct, history does indicate that he first made this statement at Fredericksburg.
 
"You and I both anticipated that the cause of the country would be advanced by making the attempt to provision Fort Sumter, even if it should fail, and it is no small consolation now to feel that our anticipation is justified by the result." Lincoln to Gustavus Fox, in a letter dated 5-1-65. That phrase 'even if it should fail' is a tip-off to Lincoln's real motivations.}}}
 
If there is one man in either army, Confederate or Federal, head and shoulders above any other in audacity, it is General Lee! His name might be audacity. He will take more desperate chances, and take them quicker, than any other general in this country, North or South.

Confederate Colonel Joseph Ives
 
However my personal favorite is this one:

"If I ever disown, repudiate or apologize for the cause for which Lee fought and Jackson died, may the lightning of heaven rend me, may the scorn of all good men and true women be my portion. Sun, moon and stars all fall on me when I cease to love the Confederacy. Tis the cause, not the fate of the cause which is glorious."

Major R.E. Wilson
1st NC Sharpshooters

(Message edited by Tamaroa on March 26, 2003)
 
And this......

"Whenever you see anything blue, shoot at it and do all you can to keep up the scare."

Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest

(yippppeee I'm a corporal now!)
 
Thea, if Lincoln wrote a letter to Gustavus Fox, or anyone else, dated May 1, 1865, that's big news.

Could you please check on that date?
 
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