The Civil War Commanders - Report Example

The Civil War commanders Introduction The American Civil War is a conflict that took place between 1861 and 1865. The warhad both fine and awful characteristics that led to its entitlement as the Great American Tragedy (Masur 3). One of the most significant characteristic of the war is that it used the most sophisticated technologies of its time. The technologies that the Americans used during the war include aerial observation, the telegraph, armored submarines, repeat weapons, and mine warfare. The use of these technologies also led to the naming of the battle as a modern war of the nineteenth century (Keegan 10). The civil war took place because of the disagreements that arose between the northern and southern states. The main cause of the disagreement was slavery that was acceptable in the south while it was disregarded in the north. The south practiced slavery with the aim of finding labor for the large scale tobacco and cotton farms that were the main economic drivers in the region (McPherson 18). The north, on the other hand, disregarded slavery because the region practiced extensive entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship was so widespread in the region that it led to a higher development of the north than the south. The war, therefore, kicked off when the anti slavery north tried to impose its lifestyle and believes to the south (Varon 23). The foundation of the war was set when John Brown abolished slavery in the whole country in 1859. The abolition of the practice caused the south to seek ways of maintaining it by seceding from the union of eleven South American States. The first state to secede was South Carolina that withdrew from the unification in December 1860 (McPherson 36). The state withdrew from the union while claiming that slavery was their constitutional right; this meant that the abolition of slavery in the state interfered with the constitutional right of the whites of owning slaves as property. Other states seceded from the union and formed a new collaboration known as the Confederate States of America (Addey 50). The inauguration of Abraham Lincoln as the president of the US led to the beginning of the battle when he ordered all states to provide soldiers who would fight in the south with the aim of recovering Port Sumter, in South Carolina, and other ports that were located in the south (Keegan 47). List of major generals The soldiers who fought the civil war were led by individuals who were known as major generals. The generals were said to be the ones who determined the outcome of the war because they used their knowledge and skills to lead the troops to the battle (Civil War Generals 5). The most recognized major generals of the South include: i. Stonewall Jackson ii. Longstreet James iii. John Mosby iv. Alexander Porter v. Anderson Jubal vi. John Hood vii. Barnard Bee viii. Bragg Braxton ix. Robert Lee x. Nathan Forrest xi. Richard Ewell xii. Armistead Lewis xiii. Albert Johnston xiv. Joseph Johnston xv. Bloody Anderson xvi. Hill A.P xvii. Jeb Stuart xviii. Pierre Beauregard and xix. George Pickett (Civil War Generals 18) The northern generals, on the other hand include: i. Oliver Howard ii. John Reynolds iii. Macarthur Arthur iv. Winfield Hancock v. Nathaniel Banks vi. Ulysses Grant vii. George Thomas viii. John Buford ix. Philip Sheridan x. William Rosecrans xi. John Pope xii. George McClellan xiii. Abner Doubleday xiv. George Custer xv. Daniel Sickles xvi. Benjamin Butler xvii. Joshua Chamberlain xviii. Joseph Hooker xix. Irvin McDowell xx. George Meade xxi. Ambrose Burnside xxii. General Sherman (Civil War Generals 24) This paper will analyze three generals who include Lee, Stonewall, and Grant. The analysis will help the readers to identify the reasons why the generals supported either the north or the south. Apart from the reasons of taking sides, the analysis will also enable the reader to understand the contributions of the generals in the civil war. General Ulysses Grant General Grant Ulysses was born in a Christian family in Ohio, in 1822. Grant’s parents gave birth to five other children after him after relocating to Georgetown where his father, Jesse Grant, built a house and a tannery where he could transform animal skins into leather and sell it to earn a living (Masur 49). Grant hated working in his father’s tannery and he kept telling his parents that he would work hard to ensure that he does not end up being a tanner when he grew up. The parents helped Grant as much as they could because they wanted him to achieve his dream of living a better life than that he had in the family. In a bid to help Grant pursue his goals, Grant’s father found for him a school in the US Military Academy. The academy offered the boy a chance to study there under the circumstance that he would provide army services after school (Varon 65). Though Grant was quiet and shy, he accepted the opportunity and joined US Military Academy to undertake his studies. After completing school, Grant went to serve in the military and he worked with the unit that resided in Jefferson Barracks. It is after joining the Jefferson Barracks unit that the troop was ordered to move to the south to Louisiana and then to Texas. The unit moved to the south to fight in the Mexican War; while there, Ulysses was known for his braveness by both his peers and the troop leaders. While fighting in Mexico, Grant served as the master of his troop in the fourth phase of the battle. The appointment enabled Grant to master the art of war and develop the skills required for winning a battle (Keegan 67). Although Grant loved fighting, he hated the consequences of the war such as the death of his friends and the losses that the state incurred during the period. After the Mexican war, he returned to Louis and married Julia who he had met when he worked in the city. After leaving Mexico, Grant experienced difficulties because he lacked funds to support his family. However, even when he found slaves to work in his farm for free, he did not accept their services because he felt sentimental for them (Civil War Generals 56). When the civil war began, Abraham Lincoln appointed Ulysses as the major general of the northern volunteers in 1863. Grant could not hesitate to serve the military because he had served there once and no one else was more experienced than him at that time. Grant also agreed to fight for the north because he did not support slavery; for example, even when he had free slaves to work in his farm, he always freed them instead of mistreating and selling them in for money (Civil War Generals 72). The fact that Grant was born in a Christian family also explains the reason why he agreed to support the north in fighting the south and fleeing slaves from suffering. Grant used the skills that he had gained in the Mexican war to help Lincoln and his government to contain the southern region. His efficiency in the war enabled Grant to lead the winning troops. His first success was that of delivering Fort Donnellson and Vicksburg in Mississippi (McPherson 75). Although Grant succeeded in capturing these regions, his opponents accused him of causing numerous deaths and they asked President Lincoln to remove him from office. However, the president still believed in Grant and he allowed him to continue fighting. This enabled Grant to conquer the south when he defeated General Lee. The defeat of Pittsburgh then made General Lee to surrender to President Lincoln in 1865 (McPherson 80). General Robert Lee General Robert Lee was born in Stratford, in Virginia, in 1807. Lee’s family was among the most outstanding relations in Virginia at the time of his birth and also during his life time (Civil War Generals 103). He went to school at the US Military Academy that was in West Point where he became the second best student in the year of graduation. When Lee graduated, he became a member of the Corps Engineers and his duty was to oversee the development of the coastal defenses; he did this job for seventeen years (McPherson 97). The general married Mary who was came from George Washington’s family. The general took part in the Mexican War when he was a Corp Engineer and he won three awards that increased his popularity in the military. The awards that Lee achieved led to his appointment as the superintendent of the academy at West Point. Lee provided the students with high quality education without knowing that the students would oppose him in a civil war that would take off later (Varon 84). Abraham Lincoln promoted Lee to become a colonel of the country when he was sworn in as the president in 1861. Lee agreed to serve in the position and he took an oath of allegiance. However, Lee’s services of colonel did not last long because he resigned from the position when Virginia seceded from the union of the southern states. The colonel resigned because he wanted to defend Virginia that was his home city, his family lived there, and he was supported slavery by all means. After his resignation from the US Army, Robert Lee was appointed as the general commander of Virginia troops (Masur 116). Lee accepted the appointment as the commander of Virginia soldiers because in his opinion, slavery was a constitutional right. Lee’s family used slaves to work in their farm and he used to mistreat them because he thought that they were born to serve others and that they would die while providing services to their employers. Lee also accepted the position of commander because he wanted to defend the interests of the citizens of Virginia (Keegan 127). Robert Lee also became a general of the south because he was one of the most experienced supporters of the south. He also knew the generals of the north because some of them were his classmates, for example, Grant; while others were his students. He thought he would defeat the north because he had trained some of the soldiers who fought from that side (Masur 138). While he served as a general, Lee made several achievements; one of his achievements was that of winning the battle of Chancellorsville, in 1863. Lee won by splitting his soldiers into two groups and using his tactics to command the divisions (McPherson 128). This achievement made Lee prominent because he defeated the north, which had better fighting tools and machines. The other achievement was that of winning against Burnside in Fredericksburg. After defeating Burnside, Lee declared his love for war and how he had become fond of the civil war battle (Varon 162). Despite Lee’s achievement, he also disappointed the south severally when he was defeated in the war by generals from the north. Lee’s worst disappointment to the south was that of surrendering to General Grant of the north, in 1865 (Civil War Generals 120). The general signed his surrendering note in Virginia at the Appomattox Courthouse. Lee surrendered because when he fought the Gettysburg War, he was defeated ruthlessly; this war led to the death of numerous of his soldiers and it led to a massive destruction of the south that took years to reconstruct. Robert was also defeated in the war that he took part in at Maryland (Masur 140). After surrendering to Ulysses Grant, Lee undertook the role of being the head of Washington College until when he died of stroke in 1870, five years after the end of the bloodiest war in America. Stonewall Jackson General Jonathan Jackson was born in Virginia, in 1824 as the first born child to his father, Jonathan who was an attorney and his mother Julia. Two years after his birth, Jackson’s parents got a second born child, Laura who was a girl. Stonewall went to school in West Point academy just like General Ulysses and General Lee (Addey 13). By the time he joined the academy in 1842, both of his parents had died and he was left with his sister Laura and uncle Cummins who took care of his school and family needs. Jonathan graduated from the academy after four years and he was ranked as the seventeenth best student of the year (Addey 34). On finishing school, Jackson joined the military and he was ordered to join the Mexican War as a lieutenant. Jackson fought with the first unit that went to the war and his ambition and struggle to be distinguished from the other soldiers won him the position of a brevet major (Civil War Generals 80). It is at the Mexican War that Jackson met with Robert Lee and became friends because they were both ambitious and they aimed at achieving high and similar goals. When the Mexican War ended, the general of then ordered Jackson to move to Florida where he was assigned duties. However, because of his reluctance to move from Virginia, Jackson resigned and found another job as an artillery teacher, in the military college of the city (McPherson 172). While he was teaching, some of his students disliked him because he was not well-versed with philosophy, he was poor in pronouncing some English terms, and he was ruthless during assemblies and when giving orders to the students (Addey 28). Jackson also taught in the Lexington Presbyterian Church as a Sunday school teacher while he was a civilian. He taught so that he could quip children with the Christian faith, which he followed strictly. However, even if Jackson was a Christian, he held slaves in his home and he did not oppose the oppression of slaves in the south. He even married a woman from a strict Christian background in continuance of his faith (Civil War Generals 137). When the civil war began in 1861, Jonathan became a colonel of the confederate troops immediately after the secession of Virginia from the southern union. His first battle was that of the Bull Run, and it is during this battle that he was nicknamed, “Stonewall,” when the commander argued that he stood like a stone wall. It is after this war that Stonewall became a general of the army of volunteers (Keegan 191). Stonewall accepted the position of general because he wanted to defend Virginia that was his hometown. Jonathan also supported the south because he proposed slavery and he used slaves in his own farm to complete the heavy and tiring tasks. Jackson’s character also made him to accept the position because he loved fighting and he was considered to be merciless and tough by his peers. Jackson’s admiration of Lee also led him to become a general to the extent that he joined Lee’s army in 1862 so that they could fight for Virginia (Addey 57). Jackson’s achievements include that of securing Shenandoah Valley from the soldiers of the northern federal government. The general also led his troops into fighting successfully in Chancellorsville and in Fredericksburg. This time, Jackson was working in partnership with Lee with whom they shared ideas, tactics, and tools. However, after winning the Chancellorsville battle, Stonewall was shot by soldiers from his side when they mistook him and other soldiers to be enemies. Stonewall died one week after being shot because his body developed other complications such as pneumonia (Civil War Generals 141). The death of Jackson hit Lee hardly when he heard about it. Lee wrote a letter to Jackson telling him that if he had a choice; he would have chosen the freedom of the city to be disabled instead of Stonewall. Lee also wrote to Jackson that he had lost his right arm while Stonewall lost his left arm (Addey 66). This meant that Lee was more affected by the death of Jackson than anyone else. Conclusion The American Civil War is a battle that took place between the northern and southern states of the country between 1861 and 1865. The war broke out when Abraham Lincoln became the president of the country and abolished slavery that was common in the south. The southern states seceded from the southern union led by South Carolina. The state seceded from the union because it supported slavery arguing that it was their constitutional right. During the war, troops from both sides were led by commanders, who include Ulysses, Pope, and Sherman of the north. The generals from the south include Robert Lee, Stonewall, Pierre, and Pickett. Grant chose to fight for the north because he was born there, he opposed slavery, and he was the only experienced commander of the military that served the federal government. Lee and Stonewall, on the other hand, fought for the south because they wanted to defend Virginia that was their home town and they proposed slavery. Grant helped the north to win the battle using his knowledge, military tactics, and tools. He defeated Lee who was the then commander of the south forcing him to surrender in Virginia. After the success, Grant became the next president of the US after Lincoln. Lee, on the other hand, became the president of Lexington College after his defeat; while Stonewall died from pneumonia when he was shot by one of his soldiers towards the end of the civil war. Works Cited Addey, Markinfield. "stonewall Jackson": The Life and Military Career of Thomas Jonathan Jackson. Scituate, Mass: Digital Scanning, 2001. Print. Civil War Generals: An Illustrated Encyclopedia : Including Naval and Other Military Heroes of the Civil War. New York: Gramercy Books, 1999. Print. Keegan, John. The American Civil War: A Military History. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. Print. Masur, Louis P. The Civil War: A Concise History. Oxford.: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print. McPherson, James M. Drawn with the Sword: Reflections on the American Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Print. Varon, Elizabeth R. Appomattox: Victory, Defeat, and Freedom at the End of the Civil War. , 2013. Print. Read More