Silas,
a Negro slave. Slavery was an evil thing and it needed
to be ended long before it was. To say the Civil War was
not fought over slavery would be naive. It is a real
shame that it took such a terrible war to get slavery abolished. |
|
A Mulatto boy is suspended in chains from a device some
southern slaveholders used to keep the uppity slaves in
line. The southerners used a variety of these devices.
Slaves would be suspended like this for hours in the hot
sun, deprived of water and food, and were sometimes beaten with whips.
Not all of the slaveholders used devices such as this
one but too many of them did.
|
|
These
two aging Negro slaves, husband and wife, have been
beloved house servants for the family for over thirty
five years. The lady was the primary caretaker for all
of the children during their early years. The man was
the Chief Servant, over all of the other house slaves,
for almost twenty years. Now elderly and getting frail,
they have no desire to be set free. They want to stay
with their white master and continue to serve
what the consider to be their family. The war has ended. What is left of the
family is now terribly poor. They have approached the
family with a proposal to stay on and continue to work,
just for their keep. They nervously await the decision of the
family members, now meeting behind closed doors to
discuss the matter. |
|
Confederate
skirmishers getting lined up. |
|
A
Confederate soldier on sentry
watch in the winter. |
|
THE
DAY OF GENERAL LEE'S SURRENDER AT APPOMATTOX. |
|
A
Confederate soldier signs up for parole after Lee's
surrender. |
|
ULYSSES
S. GRANT: I believe this sketch captures the spirit of
General Grant. He was not known for his military
brilliance. He was short and stocky, smoked cigars, did
not keep his beard trimmed neatly and sometimes drank
too much whiskey. He was not an imposing figure. But he
could get things done and win battles because he was
stubborn and tenacious. He had the will to win battles -
a quality that was lacking in many of the Federal
generals. |
|
ROBERT
E. LEE: |
|
An
old Yank remembers Total War in Georgia. |
|
A
Confederate Navy officer. |
|
A
Confederate Cavalry officer getting ready to lead a
charge. |
|
After
the Battle of Shiloh, Confederate soldiers gather to
discuss the action. |
|
A
Confederate Navy Blockade Runner Captain on the lookout
for Yankee interceptors. |
|
A
Yankee soldier. Most southerners later said they fought
to stop the invasion by the Yankees and protect their homeland, not for the right to own slaves.
Most Federals later said they fought to end the
rebellion and preserve the Union and did not give much
thought to the slavery issue. |
|
A
rebel marches off to join the fight to stop the Yankee
invasion. Volunteers came from every walk of life. The
typical Confederate soldier was poor and did not own
Negro slaves. However most of them believed slavery was
a good thing and had ambitions to own slaves
when they could afford it. Slaves were the main labor
force in the South for tending to and harvesting
cotton, which was labor intensive. The southerners were more concerned about
stopping the Yankee Invasion and protecting their loved
ones and property. They expected it all to be done in
a short time. |
|
The
General weeps. |
|
A
Southern Planter sipping tea during the opening days of the
Southern War of Independence. Most people on both sides
thought it would all blow over in a few months. It was
finally taken seriously after the Battle of Shiloh
(Tennessee) which happened in April of 1862. It was a
long and brutal war after that. Many of the old southern
aristocratic class were reduced to poverty by the time
the war ended in 1865. Most of the south was left in
rubble. |
|
ATTACK
BOTH WAYS: Nathan Bedford Forrest was known for his unconventional
aggressive actions on the field of battle. A practical
man, Forrest firmly
believed it was always better to attack rather than try to
defend against an attack. On one occasion, when they were being
threatened by attack by the Federals from
two different directions, a subordinate officer asked him what
they should do. Forrest tersely replied "Attack
them both
ways". |
|
A Cherokee
Confederate. Many native Americans fought as
Confederates, especially those from the five civilized
tribes with roots in the southeastern states - then old
Dixie. |
|
A
Confederate cavalryman. They rode behind dashing and
cavalier
commanders like Stuart, Hampton, Gordon, Forrest and
Mosby. They were the Knights of the Confederacy. |
|
A Confederate
sentry. This was a duty that was dreaded by most young
soldiers. But they knew it was necessary and they all
had to take their turn at doing it. Such was the life of
a soldier. |
|
Coming
at you. Tangling
with Texas Confederate Calvary up close was not a
pleasant experience for the Yanks. The Texas cavalry
were a wild bunch. They were generally undisciplined but
excellent horsemen. They were sometimes used for shock
and awe because they were so wild, ugly and mean
looking. |
|
Honoring
the fallen. A grizzly old Confederate Sergeant gives a simple salute
to a fallen comrade with his saber. Present Arms! The
final salute. |
|
A
rebel soldier. The typical Confederate soldier was poor
and uneducated. Most of them were raised on small farms
in rural settings. Some owned small farms but only a few owned black slaves.
Most of them were outdoorsmen, skilled hunters and
fishermen - used to living on meager subsistence and
working hard. They had been brought up handling firearms
and many were excellent marksmen. They made good soldiers
and endured the hardships this cruel war presented gracefully.
Robert E. Lee lauded them as being the finest soldiers
any General could ever have serving under him. |
|
My
great grandfather, James Sanford Callahan, enlisted in
the First Texas Mounted Rifles when it was formed in
1861 by Henry McCulloch. He was 17 years old. It was disbanded a year later.
He transferred to the Arizona Brigade, First Texas
Cavalry - Hardeman's. As far as I know, he spent the war
years patrolling the Indian country in the Texas
frontier. Keeping the Indians in check was a a big
problem in Texas during the war years. The lack of
support by the Federal Government in controlling the
hostile Indians and bandits on the frontier was listed
as the main reason for Texas leaving the Union to join
the Confederacy on the official Declaration of
Secession. |
|
A
Rebel cavalryman giving up at the end of the war. Beaten but unrepentant
- many of them
went on to live long lives. Some went to their graves
still believing in the cause of the Confederacy. |
|
Released
from a Prisoner of War Camp near Chicago, a paroled
Confederate starts the long walk home in Dixie. Already
sick and half starved, many of the men in this situation
never made it home. |
|
The
last stand by a young Confederate officer. |
|
Remembering
Shiloh in 1895. Old soldiers from both sides get
together to tell stories. |
|
Union
General George Henry Thomas: The Rock of Chickamauga.
With more like him on the Union side, the war
would have ended much sooner. |
|
Confederate
General Nathan Bedford Forrest: The Wizard of the Saddle.
A very impressive figure during the war years, he
suffered from diabetes. It took its toll on him. He was described as being a mere
shell of his former self at a reunion, held shortly before he passed away.
He died in 1877 in Memphis, Tennessee. His name is
blemished by his association with the KKK. I do not
believe it is right to judge the men from that era by
the standards of today. Forrest was a great General
because he led his troops in harm's way and brought most
of them back home safely. His troops were some of the
best provisioned of all of the Confederates. He
took good care of his troops and
led them from the front. |
|
Confederate
General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. He had piercing blue
eyes that sometimes seemed to glow, like there was a
light behind them. Some soldiers swore they saw an eerie
blue aura around Jackson at the first Battle of Bull
Run. One of the many nicknames for him was "Old Blue
Light". |
|
Confederate
General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson weeps uncontrollably
at a staff meeting as he reads about the death of a
young child he befriended. A very religious and
eccentric man, Jackson often baffled those who served
under him. He was secretive and rarely shared his full
plans with the subordinate generals. He issued orders
that were sometimes considered to be crazy and did not
explain his reasoning. Even the most loyal of the
subordinates considered him to be aloof and peculiar. A
strict disciplinarian, he had ordered men shot for
cowardice, sometimes without a full hearing.
He also ordered a "take no prisoners" policy. Still, he
loved being around little children and would sometimes
get down on the floor to romp with them, at
inappropriate times. He once even let the little children play in the room
where he was meeting with his staff officers.
He died on May 10, 1863 from wounds he received
several days earlier,
when he was shot by a friendly sentry near
Chancellorsville, Virginia. |
|
Old
Tom Fool. Thomas Jackson as an instructor at the
Virginia Military Institute (VMI). Jackson was odd and
eccentric and became an easy target for the young
cadets. They nicknamed him Old Tom Fool and made fun of
him. He took it all in stride, accepting it as just
part of the job. |
|
Stonewall
Jackson watching the movements of the enemy from high
ground some distance away. He would have the staff stay
back a hundred yards or so away from him, out of his ear range. He had exercises he did
daily -
raising his arms up above his head, one at a time. He
would hold each arm up like that for several minutes at
a time. He believed it let the blood drain down to his
trunk and helped with his circulation and digestion. When he was on these reconnaissance
trips, he wanted to be alone. He did not want to be
bothered by having to deal with people, with their idle conversation and
the other distractions. |
|
Stonewall
Jackson. Sitting on a stump, eating peanuts. He wore a
common uniform and often did not wear any markings
showing that he was a General. People took him for a
Private soldier and were surprised when they learned
that this slovenly looking man was the Great Stonewall. |
|
Jackson
and his Bible. He carried his Bible with him everywhere
he went and read from it every day, whenever he had the
chance. |
|
Jackson
meets with a cavalry officer to discuss plans for liberating a village in the
Shenandoah Valley of Virginia which had been under the control of the
Federals for some time. |
|
The
great Thomas Jonathon "Stonewall" Jackson. |
|
Colonel
S.W. McCain, Texas Confederate cavalry. I know nothing
about him but found a photograph indicating that he
served with the First Texas Mounted Rifles. My great
grandfather also served as a private in that unit, along
with his older brother. The inscription on the old photograph
was faded and smeared and I am not sure the name is
correct. If anyone has any information about it, please
share it with me. |
|
A.P.
HILL CONFEDERATE LIEUTENANT GENERAL. Early in the war
Hill served as a subordinate under General James
Longstreet. A feud started between these two very high
strung individuals. It almost resulted in a duel.
General Lee stepped in at the last minute to call an end
to it. To keep them apart, he transferred Hill to serve
under General Thomas Jackson. Hill excelled as a
division commander under Jackson. He commanded the the Light
Division of Jackson's Copr. Longstreet and Hill eventually got back on
friendly terms. He had problems as a Corps Comander after Jackson died. He was killed at Petersburg, Virginia
in 1865. |
|
Richard
Ewell Lieutenant General CSA. Always obedient,
Ewell was often mystified by the behavior of his
superior officer, Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson. He stated more than
once that he believed Jackson was crazy. He saw Jackson
as a "Bible thumper and religious zealant".
He always obeyed Jackson's orders nonetheless. Jackson's
death had a big impact on him. He seemed to lose
confidence in his own judgment. He was criticized for
being indecisive at the Battle of Gettysburg. He later
became a devout Christian himself. After the war ended,
he was a gentleman farmer in Tennessee and
spent much of the time in his later years doing public
service work and doting on his
grand children. |
|
General
James Longstreet CSA: Lee's Old War Horse. He did not
give Lee his full support at the Battle of Gettysburg
and was openly critical of some of Lee's decisions and
orders. He was blamed by many for causing the South to
lose the war because of his lack of loyalty to Lee and his poor performance at Gettysburg.
Lee took full responsibility for it. After the war ended, Longstreet became involved in
several big investment schemes. A few were marginally
successful - most of them were not successful at all. He
became a Republican and was was called a "scalawag" by
some powerful people in the South. |
|
Lieutenant
General Wade Hampton III, CSA, Cavalry. Older than most
of his contemporaries, he was nonetheless an impressive
figure. He lacked a military education but proved to be
a capable tactician and commander. He went up against
some of the best in the Union Army. Many of them later
praised him. He was tall and carried a straight sword
that was almost four feet long. He would often wield the
oversized sword as he attacked on horseback and was a
fearsome sight. He was known for his strength and
physical endurance and the ability to inspire his men.
Brave and dashing, he was wounded several times.
From the aristocratic class, his family owned many black
slaves to work the fields of a large plantation in South
Carolina. He was wealthy and invested much of his own
money in buying cannons, equipment and supplies for his
troops. He went on to be a powerful politician after the
war ended. |
|
Lieutenant
General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler, CSA, Cavalry.
He was born in Georgia but spent much of his childhood
in Connecticut. He fought gallantly for the Confederacy.
He went on to serve
with distinction in the U.S. Army. |
|
A
Confederate parson. This parson will probably be part of
a crew firing a cannon tomorrow. There were no dedicated
Chaplains. Many parsons served but they were not there to
preach the gospel. The business of fighting a war came first. |
|
|
|
Colonel
John Mosby, CSA, cavalry. The Gray Ghost. He led his
Rangers on daring attacks behind the Federal lines to
confuse their communications and disrupt their resupply
systems. Mosby and his troops were hailed as heroes in
the south but were often branded as raiders, outlaws and
bandits by the Federals. |
|
A
Confederate Drummer Boy. My great
grandfather, William Elijah Gooch, supposedly ran away
to join up with the Confederate Army as a drummer boy
when he was 12 years old. That is the story but I have
no proof. |
|
This
sketch shows my great grandfather, James Sanford
Callahan on the right reuniting with his older brother,
Wesley Hughes Callahan, after they were separated for
sometime near the end of the Civil War. They were very
close. They were both Confederate cavalrymen. |
|
A
Confederate soldier returning home at the war's end
surveys the damage. The destruction was everywhere.
Almost all of the big plantation mansions were razed and
burned. The small farms were ransacked and picked
through so there was nothing of real value left there.
Some of the homes and outbuildings on the smaller farms
were still standing but they were run down and
dilapidated. The people were living in poverty. The
gloom and despair of it all was overwhelming. Many
returning soldiers made
the decision to go west to escape having to look at it.
They left their homes and the loved ones who survived behind and headed west,
with only what they could carry. It was a new beginning for
them. |
|
Gloom
and despair was everywhere. The people were hopeless and
lost their drive and gumption. |
|
A
southern widow with her 5 children. It was a common sight in
those times. The high number of widows and orphans
caused great concerns for many years after the war ended. |
|
An
aging former Southern Planter and his wife. Once wealthy
and powerful, many of the old planters died with very
little - some in complete poverty. |
|
The
long walk home. |
|