By; Adriannah Severio Date; March 13,2009
In order to tell you how devastating the Civil War was, the soldiers can really explain it all to you. By pictures, letters, biographies, even some soldiers had street’s cities and state’s named after them. Neither the Union and or the Confederacy could have fought as long as they did without their friends and family supporting them. First of all John Jones was a Union soldier, wrote a letter to his wife letting her know what he thought about Abraham Lincoln an his Emancipation Proclamation, and how he felt about it and what he thought was the right thing. Also he was telling his wife that he thinks he can make it for another year or two out there in the war because of all the support that he is getting. This letter to his wife was eight pages long, well written and also very visual so that his wife could visual seeing him out there in the war, being afraid not knowing what is coming next. Now that you have some kind of background about the Civil War soldiers, now you can just imagine how the rest of them felt, being there in the war living day by day. Not knowing what will happen when they are sleeping, how long they have to eat dinner, when the next time was they are going to se there family’s, will they ever see there family’s things like that is what was running through their minds. That is what all soldiers had to go through in the Anaconda Plan, Battle of Antietam, Battle of Gettysburg, Total War, and also March to Sea. There are many more wars and battles that soldiers have been through a lot, and you will find all of that out today in my essay. Finally, the soldiers played a major role in the Civil War.
For most soldiers, the Civil War was an extended absence from their families. June 23, 1864 a Confederate officer A.D. Clifton, 6th Mississippi Calvary wrote his wife, mother, sisters, and all other family members. Mr. Clifton was longing for the day to come where he goes home and see his family members all again, to hug and to be loved, and to be back in a loving and caring place. (Pg 11 I take my pen) “My arm is swollen very mutch it is as large as your fist.” (Pg 11 I take my pen) Telling his wife this was making her worried about what was going on out there and what he was going through out there in the middle of the war. As much as Mr. Clifton was worrying about his family’s safety, they were just as worried. She can only imagine what it was like for her husband because she could hear the gunshots and people screaming and calling out for help, and can picture everything in her head. She can hear all of this from her home in Connersville, Tennessee. (Pg 13 I take my pen) Three weeks after Mr. Clifton wrote that fleeter to his wife he was killed at the battle of Harrisburg, Mississippi. (Pg 11 I take my pen) Leaving his wife and family behind for out to defend his country, and that is what A.D. Clifton had done. He was a regular man before he was brought into the war, having to leave your family behind, not thinking about them, keeping your mind focused on the war and what is going to happen next, that is what A.D. Clifton.
Soldiers who fought in the Civil War were shocked, to discover the severity of the combat. A confederate solder John P. Nugent had wrote a letter back home to his mother who resides in Louisiana. (Pg 28 I take up my pen) John was writing to his mother letting her know all of the hardships he is going through, in the Battle of the Bull Run. He was telling her how he had to walk through Kentucky without any shoes because his shoes gave out on his way to his other location. (Pg 29 I take up my pen) His mother was one of many worrying parents that are out there, and one of many caring family members worrying about what is going on and how they are serving day by day out there in all of the sun, heat, dust, insects, cold, rain, and everything else that they had to deal with out there during the Civil War. Also in John’s letter to his mother he is telling her that he is not in very good health, and that he would love to come home to see her but he can’t because his General won’t let him go. He is also letting her know that the General’s sister is sending him new socks. (Pg 29 I take up my pen) After this letter the mother must feel tribal because right after that letter a dozen of men wearing woolen uniforms, burdened with gear and short on water, collapsed of sun stroke in the mid summer heat.
At the time of the Civil War Abraham Lincoln was president. Will he was president he thought that on of the General’s strategy’s he didn’t agree with. As the war went on president Lincoln saw that the General’s ideas and strategy’s were really working and president Lincoln saw that he decided to write a letter to the General stating that. (Why documents matter PG 34) The General’s name was Ulysses S. Grant. General Grant was very surprised to hear that the president of the United States was actually backing him up with confidence. General Grant still kept up his good work just now with the confidence of the president and not just his family. Not long after this letter sent, president Lincoln was killed. The next president was Franklin D. Roosevelt. He had written a letter to the men and women in the war because there were racial issues. It was bad enough that the war already had a lot of family’s worrying about there, and working in the hospitals. But now there were racial issues going around. (Pg 44 why documents matter in the letter the president wants FDR to signal something. That something is the disapproval of discrimination against blacks in all branches of the service, including the merchant marine. This meant that they had to encourage men of all color to service in the Civil War. Also that the president was trying to say to the soldiers that they shouldn’t be having this problem because of the fact that would should matter is the men’s loyalty, professional and or technical ability and training. So the soldiers had a batch of good one’s and a batch of bad one’s that make fun of the one’s of color.
Another letter that president Kennedy had wrote to his brother, a General in the Civil War attorney asking for a report. The report was an enforcement of the Justice Department over the past year. The report was a nine-page report. This letter was just letting the president know that there were still race problems remaining. The remaining of the race problems “ was not only in the South, but throughout the country.” (Pg 45 Why documents matter) General Kennedy was trying his hardest to keep everything under control out there but the race problem’s kept coming up throughout the South. But also in the letter he was stating that year of 1962 was a year of progress for the United States. Just in the field of civil rights and that was one of the many parts of the Civil War. Also darning that year General Kennedy had brought the police department into the war for some help on the race problems. Most of them are from the Northern states. The police that were brought into the Civil War had beat two African American ungodly. The shameful part about this was that the entire officer’s just kept beating and beating, they didn’t stop until they saw blood. That is why the racial issues never disappeared. Also that is why they weren’t just in the South they were throughout the country. (Pg 45 in the document. Why documents matter) General Kennedy tried to make everything good again, but that really didn’t go the way General Kennedy planed. But after this letter reached the president of the Untied States General attorney Kennedy tried everything to get rid the racial problems, but they never went away.
Another major part of the soldier’s life is poor food, sickness, restlessness, and also character flaws. George Tillotson of New York was a union solider that had lived and breathed the Civil War. He wrote a letter to his wife telling her all of these things. (I take up my pen pg 30) He was writing to her as well as other men would do to get out of fighting and working. In the letter he described to his wife in detail what he was eating in the year 1862. “ I to rely a good deal upon hope and manage keep in pretty good spirits but them I know that I have more here to divert my mind to than you have there” (I take up my pen pg 31) This sentence is about him explaining to his wife that he is in very good spirits and that he hopes that his wife is too. Also he was saying in so many words that he has more for him to keep his mind busy then she does back home. Meaning that she is worrying about him being out there in the Civil War. The letter that union soldier Tillotson written to his wife was in very good detail and distribution. This is just another way of showing you what the soldier’s life was like out there in the war.
Every solider in the Civil War tries to explain how their experiences are in the war, but most of the soldier are lost for words. Edward K. Ward, a confederate officer for the 4th Tennessee Infantry, in a letter home to his sister trying to define what the war was like for him. (I take up my pen pg 35) In the battle of Stones Ridge, officer Ward is telling his story to his sister in the letter he had wrote home. He is also worrying about their safety and well being. Also that he is hoping that they have received their letters that he has sent home to them. He hasn’t heard from them so he was wondering if they are ok because he has written several letters and they haven’t answered any of them. Also officer Ward is letting them know how many people were killed “ the enemies loss is about 5,000 killed, about 15,000 wounded, with a loss of about 7,000 prisoners, while I am confident 5,000 will cover our entire loss” (I take up my pen pg 36 quote from officer Ward) In this part of the letter he was letting his sister know how life is out there with having to deal with people being killed, wounded and everything that was happening to them, but to let her know that he was ok and wouldn’t be getting hurt, for her not to worry.
So now you can see how devastating it was for soliders in the war. These men were out there day and night, hot and cold, dirty, smelly, and everything you can imagine. There were not much different between the Confederate and the Union in the fighting progress, resolutions alone were bound to count heavily. Marching north, shoes off, and trousers off, was what they did when they were marching through the heat to their other location. Solder’s also made suck a difference in the Civil War one solider named Elemer E. Ellsworth has states, cities, and streets named after him even one here in South Philadelphia. Soldiers were very appreciated and well taking care has when they have returned home to their love ones. Soldiers did play the biggest part of the Civil War for going out there and fighting for our Civil Rights and everyday we thank them.
