Civil War Connection

Civil War Connection

As time passed by Northern States turned from farming to manufacturing, while farming remained the most important way of making a living in the south. Southern planters used black slaves to work their field which consisted of tobacco and cotton. As slavery spread, people felt it was morally wrong for one person to own another. By the 1840's a movement to abolish slavery was taken in the North. While slavery was becoming an issue between the north and the south, so did the issue of " State's Rights ". Southern states did not want the federal government to interfere in their state affairs. These issues developed a wide rift between the north and the south.

When the Republican Party picked "Abraham Lincoln" as candidate for president, southerners saw Lincoln as an enemy because he opposed the spread of slavery. Since the democratic candidate "Stephan Douglas" , also objected the extension of slavery, southern democrats nominated John C. Breckinridge for president. Southerners announced that they would demand secession from the union if Lincoln was to win the election. On November 6, 1860 , Abraham Lincoln was chosen to succeed James Buchanan in the white house.

The election of 1860 led to the secession of South Carolina , Mississippi , Florida, Alabama , Georgia , and Texas . After claiming to have the right to secede from the union , they established their own nation , which they called the " Confederate States of America " . Jefferson Davis was elected to be president of the confederacy , and Alexander H. Stephens as vice president. The states that seceded, seized all federal properties. but Major Robert Anderson refused to surrender, and instead moved his post near Fort Sumter. On April 12, 1861 Davis ordered an all-out assault on Fort Sumter. This was an act of war that Lincoln could not ignore. Lincoln took action, calling 75,000 men to service and ordered a blockade on Southern seaports. This was the beginning of the Civil War but there was not any major battles fought until July, 1861.

On July 21, 1861 , federal forces clashed with a confederate army in Manassas, Virginia. The battle was fought by untrained armies totaling about 70,000 men. The battle known as the first "Battle of Bull Run "ended in an overwhelming defeat of northerner forces. Nothing was settled by the battle but it set the stage for a war that would be waged for the cause of the union.

The war that stalled after the first "Battle of Bull Run " , flared once again in 1862. There were battles fought between Kentucky and Tennessee. Union forces, won victories at Mill Spring, Kentucky, and took Fort Henry, and Fort Donelson, key posts. The capture of Fort Henry marked the rise of union general Ulysses S. Grant. Ironclad warships, were first used in the " Battle of Merrimack ", which was when confederate