The Civil War of America lasted between the years 1861-1865. The cause of the war was the decision that President Abraham Lincoln had made to abolish slavery in the whole of America more especially the South (Mcpherson, 90). Even before the war, the South or the confederates had wanted to secede from the Union or the United States of America.
The essay is an analysis of the Letters from the soldiers who were at war and the historical context that the content reveals. Before America went into the Civil war, the South was very different from the North. The South had huge plantations which were owned by very rich landowners and the main crop they grew was cotton (Mcpherson, 270). They used slavery as a means to accomplish their economical succes something that the Northerners were against.
The farming south depended on the industrialized north for manufactured goods, banking and loans for development (Eicher, 20). The families of the soldiers were tortured by the warfare and any letter served as a connection between them and their loved ones. As a result of this, warfare led to development of a postal system to quench mixed feelings. When they did not receive any news or letters for long, they believed by default that a son, father or husband was dead (Eicher, 55).
According to the letter of James Munnerlyn which is dated 9th October 1862, it shows the state of things at the time. Munnerlyn was a confederate soldier who strongly supported slavery. They fought the war, slowly advancing from the south to the north. The letter is hand-sent to Munnerlyn from his sister. She gave the letter to a passing soldier. This shows the economic conditions of the time. The sister could not afford or was not in a positon to buy a postage stamp. She chose to give it to a soldier irrespective of the fact that it may not be delivered.
During the period of Civil war, the Confederacy had given a currency whose value was based on cotton because they gambled at being victorious. At the same time, the north printed the Confederate currency and circulated it in the south (McPherson, 300). The result was mega inflation which led to the use of barter trade in the south or the black market rather than using money as a medium of exchange. The North had also blocked ports and systems of transport for the south which led to the downfall of their economy (Eicher, 172). This letter fits into the historical event of the loss of confidence in currency at the time of war in the South. Although stamps and paper coins of value were issued, they were scarce because the Congress had diverted the use of metals towards the war (Eicher, 176). This letter also shows the development in the transport and comunication sector. The postage system, though it existed had not developed fully.
The Yankees chastised the Union soldiers leading to their defeat in Fredrick City. This shows that the war had forced people to do with two choices politically: either they supported the Confedarates or the Unionists (McPherson, 500).
Nownie Saussy goes home after being wounded. At that time, the medical world had not developed. They had ill-trained staff, improvised hospitals, lacked medical equipment, rule bound with lack of essential drugs (Eicher, 250). The soldiers learnt that they faced imminent death both at the hospital under the regimental doctors and on the battle field due to delay in evacuation. These factors drove Saussy to go home unlike many others who hid in farmhouses and abandoned shelters or were left lying amongst the dead on the battle fields. The hospitals were parasite infested and dirty. The uncouth doctors who were untrained just amputated limbs of soldiers which left a huge pile of limbs near the hospitals (Eicher, 253).
The army used ‘pistol & carbine balls’. This showed that the military development was at a transitiion point. These weapons especially carbine balls shattered bones and resulted to death when it hit a person directly (McPherson, 402). The way the soldies retreated also shows the way they were ill-equipped and injured. Ill-equipement came about by the inefficency to consistently maintain and resupply the soldiers with ammunition unlike the Unionists who had a steady supply of ammunition from their industries (Eicher, 623).
The three letters of the Unionists indicate some form of political unity. All the three men are proposing imminent victory over the Confederates. The letters begin with the words ‘drop a few lines’ which indicates the unity that was between the soldiers and perhaps to act as a marker of Unity. The Post Master General of the United States of America had refused delivery of any mail that supported abolitionism of slavery from the 1830 (Mcpherson, 780). This is clearly supported by the way Boyer gives directions to the sister so that the letter can reach him safely.
The Union soldiers were a determined lot. They do not reveal their problems at war because they thought that a small exposure may give their enemy the upperhand. In the three letters, no soldier talked about defeat versus the letter of Confederate Munnerlyn who gives out news of defeat and retreat.
Peter Boyer sends some ‘twenty dollars’ to his father and some clothes. This time, the Northerners had value for their money unlike the south. But for a soldier to send money back home, it indicated that things were not good economically. At the same time, they were not badly off in the north unlike the south which had no use of currency due to inflation. This also indicates that the Northerners had printed money for the South, defeating them economically before making them loose politically in the war.
Socially, Lincoln ordered for Emanicipation of slaves under the Emanicipation Proclamation which he could issue under the influence of his presidential powers on the first day of January 1863 (Eicher, 151). African Americans who were enslaved in the South, escaped to join the Union and hid behind their lines. They complemented the strength of Unionists by giving them immense support during war. Others lived in camps created by the Union, went to school to learn how to read and write. Re-captured slaves and black soldiers were killed at gunpoint while others imprisoned by the confederates for example the Fort Pillow Massacre (McPherson, 579). This exposed the deep social divisions at the time. They imprisoned the white union soldiers while killing the blacks. This showed the deep hatred that the confederates had for blacks, their ‘objects of satisfaction and revenge’ ( McPherson, 580). On the contray, while the Notherners used them as soldiers and sailors, the Southerners used them as handy men and laborers and could not arm them. This again revealed the value that the confederates had about the slaves. They believed that Africans American slaves were primitive and lacked confidence. If they armed them, they would kill themselves and the whites implying that they constantly looked at them as a threat. The confederates lived in fear of a slave uprising because of all the evil they had done towards them. They suspected that if armed, they could revenge for all the wrongs and torturous lives they had led. This also exposes the valuse that both sides had for human life. The Unionists upheld liberty, human rights and the value of life while the Confederates opposed all this.
In a political context, President Lincoln blocked outside interference from countries in Europe like Britain and France in the war. This blockade made the south to lack acces to medical, military assistance from these countries which led to their eventual deafeat ( McPherson, 677). The blockade also limited the chances that any ‘outsider’ could have in getting into America. England was for the emanicipation of slaves because it had opposed slavery earlier than other countries.The other factor that blocked other countries from interfering in the war was the sovereignty of America as a nation and the constitution.
In conclusion, the letters have reavealed much of the political, economical, social and cultural context of America in 1861-1865. Through the soldier’s eyes, people can get to know the condition that faced America at the time. Perhaps this war is the one that led to the addition of some liberties to the constitution like the equality of all men. Through the war, President Abraham Lincoln is seen as a ‘human rights activist, a liberator and a noble man” by the slaves while the confederates find him a racist. Above all, in modern day America; he is the greatest President there ever was. Through the war, America is able to face the identity crisis, fight and find unity after the war and join their efforts to develop it to the level that it is today.
Works Cited
Eicher, David J. The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War. NY, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.
McPherson, James M.Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (1988).Oxford, Oxford University Press.