12 Facts Everyone Should Know About the Civil War
The American Civil War was a bloody and brutal period in American history
It was not only “brother against brother,” as the saying goes, but it was a battle for the soul of the country for the next (at least) 150 years.
While most people understand the broad strokes of the war’s causes and conflicts, there are some little known facts that may cast America’s bloodiest war in a whole new light for some.
Here are some interesting facts about the Civil War that we researched for you.
Fact #1: The First Soldier Killed in the War Died Entirely by Accident
During the siege of Fort Sumter in South Carolina, the first salvos of the Civil War were fired. There were no casualties on either side when PGT Beauregard accepted the fort’s surrender.
When Union troops lowered the American flag, they saluted it with one hundred guns. Private Daniel Hough of the 1st US Artillery was killed by an accidental discharge from a cannon firing that salute.
Fact #2: The Civil War Began and Ended at the Same Guy’s House
While the first shots were fired in Charleston Harbor, the First Battle of Bull Run, also known as “First Manassas,” took place nearly three months later. During the battle, General Beauregard made his headquarters at the home of Virginian Wilmer McLean.
McLean relocated his family to Appomattox Court House, a two story house in the area, shortly after. On April 9, 1865, Grant and Lee met at McLean’s house to discuss the South’s surrender.
Fact #3: The Secession of the Southern States Was Determined Unconstitutional by the Supreme Court
Prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, 11 states seceded from the Union. Beginning with South Carolina in December 1860, followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana in January 1861, Texas in February 1861, and the final four (Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee) between April and June 1861.
Although the Union eventually won the war and defeated the newly formed Confederation, many Civil War facts revolve around the question of whether secession was legal in the first place. The answer is no, though it was only after the war that it was declared illegal.
In 1869, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Texas versus White that secession was unconstitutional.
“The ordinance of secession and all acts of legislature intended to give effect to that ordinance were absolutely null,” Chief Justice Salmon Chase explained. They had absolutely no legal effect.”
Fact #4: The Battle of Gettysburg Was the Bloodiest Battle of the Civil War
The Battle of Gettysburg is one of the most famous battles of the Civil War, but Civil War facts reveal that it was also the bloodiest (when taking the total number of casualties into account). Between July 1 and July 3, 1863, 51,000 people on both sides were killed, wounded, captured, or went missing after three days of fighting.
This battle is remembered not only for the number of casualties it caused, but also because it was a watershed moment in the war, as the Confederate Army, led by General Robert E. Lee, suffered its first major defeat at Gettysburg, giving the Union a chance to win the war.
Although the war lasted another two years after the battle, many consider it to be the turning point of the war. The Battle of Chickamauga in September 1963 was the second bloodiest battle, with over 34,000 casualties.
And what was the bloodiest single day battle of the Civil War? The Battle of Sharpsburg in September 1862 claimed over 22,000 lives.
Fact #5: Slavery Was One of the Most Important Causes of the Civil War
Civil War facts show that the causes of the war were numerous and complex, as well as contentious during the war, which was exacerbated by historical revisionists who were always looking for new answers and explanations.
The simple truth is that slavery was the root cause of tensions between states, and the Republican Party was determined to abolish slavery.
When Abraham Lincoln won the Republican presidential nomination in 1860 without winning a single Southern state, the South felt alienated and saw secession as their only option. Secession heightened tensions and eventually led to war.
Fact #6: Black Soldiers Refused Their Pay in Protest for 18 Months
When black soldiers first enlisted in 1863, they were paid ten dollars per month, while white troops were paid thirteen dollars per month (officers, naturally, earned more). The black troops were also charged a monthly uniform fee.
They refused to be paid unequal wages by refusing to accept their pay at all but fought valiantly the entire time. Congress ordered in 1864 that they be paid equal wages, with full pay, retroactive to the beginning of their enlistment.
In an apparent historical anomaly, black soldiers fighting for the South were paid equal wages from the beginning of the war.
Fact #7: The Civil War Battles Were Usually Named after Geographical Features in the Area
The naming of battles during the American Civil War is sometimes complicated by the fact that some battles have two names, one given by the Union and one by the Confederacy.
The Union usually named their battles after bodies of water (rivers, creeks, and so on) or other geographical features on or near the battlefield.
The Confederacy, on the other hand, named their battles after nearby towns, settlements, or other man made landmarks.
The Battle of Antietam for Northerners (the Battle of Sharpsburg for Southerners) and the First Battle of Bull Run for Northerners were two of the most famous battles of the Civil War (the First Manassas for Southerners).
Fact #8: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln Was a Part of the Civil War
On the evening of April 14, 1865, just three days after General Lee surrendered his forces to the Union in Virginia, John Wilkes Booth, a pro-slavery Confederate sympathizer, shot President Lincoln in the head while the President was watching a play at the Ford’s Theater in Washington.
Lincoln died the next morning, and Civil War facts show that he had foreknowledge of his death and expected something to happen. Despite the fact that the Union’s leader had been assassinated, the Union had won the war.
Andrew Johnson, Lincoln’s Vice President who succeeded him in office after his assassination, and their collaborators guided the United States through the difficult Reconstruction Era that followed the Civil War.
Fact #9: Women Had an Important Role in the American Civil War
Women had no legal right to fight in the war, so many disguised themselves as men to participate. The Civil War was fought by four hundred to eight hundred women, according to estimates. What is driving them?
The same as men’s motivations: ardent patriotism, the promise of dependable wages, a desire for adventure, or the opportunity to share the experience with their loved ones.
Women who did not fight in the war did a variety of important jobs to support the men who did many worked as nurses or spies.
Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a book that exposed the harshness of slavery to the North
Harriet Tubman, an escaped slave who worked as a spy for the Union
and Clara Barton, a nurse who founded the American Red Cross, were among the most famous women involved in or connected to the Civil War.
Fact #10: Civil War Soldiers Were Often Buried on the Battlefield after They Fell
Because the sheer number of casualties made it impossible to properly bury all of the fallen men, soldiers were typically buried right where they had fallen on the battlefield. Soldiers who died in hospitals were typically buried nearby.
Some of the bodies were later exhumed and relocated to National or Confederate cemeteries, but the sheer number of casualties prevented proper burial of all the bodies. Thousands and thousands of Civil War soldiers are undoubtedly still buried in unknown battlefield graves across the country.
Fact #11: Lincoln’s first War Secretary thought General William T Sherman was insane
Sherman’s capture of Atlanta secured Lincoln’s re-election in 1864, effectively ending the Democratic Party’s call for peace talks. His March to the Sea, followed by an uncontested sweep through the Carolinas, devastated the South and hastened the war’s end.
But Sherman wasn’t himself in 1861.
When then War Secretary Simon Cameron asked Sherman how many men he needed to defend the North, the general’s request for two hundred sixty thousand men prompted Cameron to remove Sherman from command and send him to Kentucky under the command of Ulysses S Grant, a Brigadier General of the United States Volunteers.
Sherman suffered a nervous breakdown and was deemed unfit for duty. Sherman was transferred to Grant’s old command after Grant’s rise to prominence in the Union Army, and the rest is history.
Fact #12: Neither Side Could Actually Afford to Fight the War
As any high school history class will tell you, the Union was the manufacturing center of the United States in 1861, while the South was primarily agrarian.
The North was able to produce the goods required to fight the war thanks to this industrial base, whereas the South had to make do with what it could scrape together. However, history shows that neither side could afford the war.
The Union’s total tax revenue could only account for 15% of its spending. Even with higher tariffs, the first income tax, and other excise taxes, the federal government never made more than a quarter of what it spent.
To finance itself, the Union was forced to incur 2.7 billion dollars in foreign debt.
Final Thoughts
There you have our 12 interesting facts about the Civil War. I hope you found this interesting and learned some knowledge. Maybe you will also like:
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