The American Civil War

The American Civil War

The Civil War was the deadliest war in American history. Over 600,000 soldiers died during the war. The fighting started at Fort Sumter in South Carolina on April 12, 1861. The American Civil War was fought between southern and northern states of the United States. The southern states didn't want to be part of the United States anymore and decided to make their own country. However, the northern states wanted to stay as one nation.

The civil war had begun when southern troops bombarded Fort Sumter, South Carolina. When the southern states seceded from the Union, there were still a few forts on southern soil that were manned by United States soldiers.  Rather than surrender the forts, President Lincoln attempted to resupply the soldiers by sea.  The Confederacy learned of Lincoln’s plans and demanded that the forts surrender under threat of force.  When the U.S. soldiers refused, South Carolinians launched a bombardment of Fort Sumter in the Charleston harbor.  After a 34-hour battle, the soldiers inside the fort surrendered to the Confederates.  Legions of men from north and south joined with their leaders to protect their interests.  The primary interest of the north was to maintain the United States as a single, undivided country.  The primary reason for the south seceding from the Union was to protect the right to own slaves.

The term "Home Guard" refers generally to an organized militia that was under the direction and authority of the Confederate States of America. Home Guard units were, essentially, to be a last defence against any invading Union forces. They also were used at times to gather information about invading Union forces troop movements, as well as to identify and control any local civilians who were considered sympathetic to the Union cause. The Confederate Home Guard was working in coordination with the Confederate Army, and was tasked with both the defence of the Confederate home front during the American Civil War, as well as to help track down and capture Confederate Army deserters. The Home Guard was a type of militia for the Confederacy in that it did have a rank structure and did have certain regulations, whether those were enforced or not. The Home Guard possessed a wide range of powers, whether those powers were legitimate and recognized by the Confederacy or not. Because during the war there were few Southern men at home, there were few to stand in the way of any Home Guard unit that wished to abuse its powers by taking advantage of or mistreating Southern civilians. In addition to this, due to the war demanding so much attention from the Confederate Congress, little attention was paid to the Home Guard units.