The Union Navy in the Civil War
In discussions concerning the civil war, credit is usually given to the Union Army. However, there is consensus among many historians that the war could not have been won without the help of the Union Navy. This is an aspect that is more often than not overlooked, resulting to low credit to the navy’s role in the war.
During the Civil War, the Union Army and Navy collaborated and many a times developed joint war plans that negated the confederacy’s strengths in the south and effectively quashed its intentions to advance northwards. The Union Navy’s role mainly involved mounting blockades along the coastline of the confederate states with the sole intention of starving the Confederate forces of much-needed supplies. Precisely, the Union navy blockades primarily aimed at preventing confederate ships from accessing European ports, significantly hindering the capacities of both the Confederate army and navy.
After blockade goals had been achieved, the Union navy aided the Union army in land battles, especially in the battles of Shiloh and Vicksburg. The battle of Shilloh followed the capture of Fort Henry by the Union army. Their success was largely due to the blockade provided by the Union navy. In the following weeks after the capture, both the Union army and the Union navy worked together, gaining ground upstream till the clash that later would be named the Battle of Shilloh. In the battle of Vicksburg, the Union navy helped mainly in transporting ground soldiers because the canal that the Union forces relied on was destroyed by a broken levee.
Whether or not the Union army could have succeeded without the Union navy’s help is debatable. However, it is important to remember that during the civil war, military technology was not very advanced, and armies relied on numbers. Therefore, it is justified to conclude that there were chances that the army could have lost without the navy’s help.
Supplies to the Civil War Armies
In any battlefield, logistics is one of the factors that determine if an army triumphs or not. The situation was not different during the civil war. Both Union and Confederate armies mobilized huge logistical operations that helped ensure that soldiers were well equipped and supplied to maintain momentum and high morale. Historians agree that the Union army was generally more organized and had the advanced capability in meeting the soldiers’ needs.
The Union army had transport regiments that were primarily tasked with ferrying supplies to the battlefield. The union army built railroads and emergency bridges in their quest to meet soldiers’ needs on the battlefield. In any battlefield, medical supplies are critical for survival and the general outcome of a war. In this regard, the Union army, together with the navy, built steamboats and floating hospitals equipped with medical supplies, doctors, and nurses to provide adequate medical care.
Unlike the Union army, the Confederate supply machine was loose and inadequate. State governments were mandated to supply the soldiers. However, most could not work due to dire financial situations and acute disorganization. The Confederate army operated dilapidated railroads that resulted in ineffective transport. At times, the confederate army was so desperate for supplies that were not forthcoming that they had to result in acts such as begging, borrowing, and stealing food and ammunition. Also, the Confederate army largely relied on supplies from captured Union depots.
In the supply chain for both armies, women played an important role. One of the most significant tasks that women played was the sewing of uniforms for both armies, a task that went along way in helping to sustain the supply of clothing.
The Shenandoah Valley
War planners heavily rely on major land formations such as mountains and valleys for tactical superiority. During the Civil War, various land formations put both armies either at an advantage or disadvantage. Many scholars have stressed the importance of the Shenandoah Valley to both armies. There is consensus that the valley was a crucial supply source for the confederate soldiers because it produced numerous varieties of crops that the army of North Virginia relied on. Additionally, its strategic location gave the confederate army a vantage point for launching invasions into the Union states. Primarily, the valley gave the southerners a perfect chance to attack Washington because of its proximity to Maryland. This is the importance that led “Stonewall” Jackson to declare that “if the Valley is lost, Virginia is lost”, a rallying cry to confederate soldiers not to let the valley slip out of their control.
The Shenandoah Valley witnessed one of the bloody campaign periods of the entire Civil War. One of the campaigns that took place in the Shenandoah Valley was the Lynchburg Campaign that took place from May to June of 1864. In this campaign, Ulysses Grant planned an invasion of the valley through a senior soldier named Siegel. Siegel was in command of approximately 10000 men whose main aim was to destroy the railroad center in Virginia’s Lynchburg town. Siegel through never accomplished his goal as he was intercepted by confederate troops and defeated.
The other campaign that took place was one led by Philip Sheridan, who as a cavalry commander in the Union army. Sheridan led the campaign that took place from August to October 1864. He adopted a cautious approach to the campaign because the president was facing reelection hence any disastrous outcome in the valley may have hindered his reelection chances.
General, Nathan B. Forrest and the KKK
General, Nathan B. Forrest was one of the notable figures during the Civil War. After the war broke out, General, Nathan B. Forrest defected to the south and joined the Confederate States Army. Because of his wealth, devotion and willingness to defend the Confederate course, Forrest was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and mandated to recruit and train a regiment of volunteers in the Confederate army.
Despite his services to the Confederate army, Forrest is often remembered for his association with the extremist group Ku Klux Klan which he allegedly joined in 1866. Many scholars assert that the KKK was in need of an experienced leader and one preferably with a military background. Forrest fitted the description, and it is understood the Klan state leader convinced him to join. James says that Forrest was crucial in maintaining order in the Klan especially during the early years of its existence when the Klan adopted a less violent approach to forcing blacks back to near-slavery conditions.
According to James. Forrest was instrumental in organizing and executing the Klan’s midnight parades and ghost masquerades that aimed at violently intimidating black voters and white Republicans against voting. Forrest never publicly acknowledged his involvement with the Klan. In fact, he gave a speech in 1875 to a black audience that encouraged inter-racial reconciliation among southern communities.
It is understood that increased public scrutiny of the group, coupled with a congressional investigation, may have led Forrest to resign from the group. He did not take an active role in the group; rather, he retired to private life where he finally died in 1877 from complications associated with diabetes.
Reconstruction Policies
After the war, President Lincoln decided to help the southern Confederate states rejoin the Union. His plan involved offering the southern states mild concessions in order for them to rejoin the Union. As a result, Lincoln issued a Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction in 1863 that required that at least 10% of each of the southern states’ population take an oath of loyalty to the Union and agree to emancipation. Unfortunately, Lincoln was assassinated before he would oversee the reconstruction. His vice president Andrew Johnson succeeded him and continued his legacy of a lenient approach to the southern reconstruction.
President Johnson’s reconstruction effort was soon undermined by radical Republicans that did not tolerate the inferior tag that black people were given. In a way, therefore, this marked one of the stark differences between the reconstruction policies championed by Lincoln and those that were carried out by his successors. Another difference between the policies is that during Lincoln’s time, the office of the presidency championed them while during his successor’s time; congress was more or less in charge.
Certainly, Lincoln had a clear and strong vision for the southern states. No one can predict precisely what could have happened to the southern states had Lincoln lived through his presidency. However, analysts believe Lincoln had a solid vision that entailed uniting the country, which eventually could have admitted the southern states to the union using a moderate approach. It is therefore prudent to acknowledge that the South could have been treated differently had Lincoln lived because his philosophy was slightly different from that of the radical Republicans that championed the reconstruction agenda after his death.
Bibliography
Baggett, James. The Scalawags: Southern Dissenters In The Civil War And Reconstruction. New York: Cengage Learning, 2004.
Browne, Ray. The Civil War and Reconstruction. New York: Thomsons Learning, 2003.
Ford, Lacy. A Companion to the Civil War and Reconstruction. New York: Cengage Learning, 2011.
Gienapp, William. Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America: A Biography. New York: Routledge, 2002.
Perman, Michael. Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
Trumbauer, Lisa. Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. London: Sage Publications, 2007.