Daily Updates on the Civil War

I have been following for the past month a fantastically put together blog by "The American Interest" called The Long Recall. Everyday this blog takes first-hand accounts from newspapers 150 years ago and prints them in a concise manner putting you as the reader into the civil conflict between the states. The information has opened my eyes to the things that went on before the war officially started and the resistance that sprang up in what became known as the border states. I am looking forward to the next four years and learning about the day-to-day events and drama that is the Civil War.


http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/civilwar/

Our Nation Divded: Confederacy Declares War on United States

May 6, 1861, the Confederate States of America made the 'War Between the States' official. It was today, 150 years ago that the Confederacy made it official in act and soon deed on their intention to remain a separate country and defend their territories in armed conflict. Since Fort Sumter both sides had been by time in an attempt to secure larger and stronger military forces. Neither side was completely ready for this fight. This day also marks the additional of two more states to the Confederacy, Arkansas and Tennessee which Lincoln was attempting to keeping as apart of the United States. As spring continues the North and South are poised on the edge of full-scale war which both sides want to avoid however both sides believe is inevitable and anxious to get it started.  

Last World War 1 Veteran Dies

Claude Choules has passed on to glory being the last known veteran of the First World War. Joining the Royal Navy in 1916 Choules saw two years of service which took him to witnessing the surrender of the German fleet in 1918. The story of the First World War is much forgotten behind the grandeur of the Second World War however it is one war which time should not forget. Living in Austrlia most of his life since the First World War, Choules was a low key participator in the Second World War mainly helping with a German mine that washed ashore as well as the protection of Fremantle Harbor. The stories which Choules would have been able to tell about his experience would have been invaluable and I hope a portrait of his history can be passed down to other generations even if only through his family. Choules passing reminds us all of one of the bloodiest wars in world history and from my perspective I thank him for his service to England and the alliance which won the war.


http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/05/australia.ww1.veteran.dies/

The North is Falling Behind

It has been apparent throughout my lifetime that the South takes the Civil War and the remembrance of it far more seriously than the North. With the majority of battlefields and without question the better stories being located south of the Mason-Dixon Line it is no surprise this is true. As we start the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War the disparity between the North and South is becoming more apparent. In states like New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania the celebrations of the Civil War are lacking compared to Virginia, South Carolina, and even western states such Tennessee and Missouri. True there are not a lot of battles to reenact in these Northern states like the South but the richness of the history is there. Hopefully we will see a revitalization in the Civil War by people all around the country and better learn who we are as a people based on where we came from.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/04/17/northcivil-war-sites-events-long-forgotten/?test=faces

Our Nation Divided: Fort Sumter

Examining the newspaper articles from New York, to Kansas, to South Carolina it was very apparent that no matter where you went in the country everyone was waiting for a confrontation to break out and the focal point was Fort Sumter. Today marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the battle to take Fort Sumter. The Fort meant so much more than a strategic military complex. For the North it was a symbol of maintaining the integrity of the Union. To lose it signaled a need to confront the Southern rebellion by force, that diplomatic solutions were at an end. it signaled a loss of control, a loss of public property owned by the United States. For the South it represented their independence. To take control of it would legitimized their secession from the United States and solidified their position as an independent power. So it was no surprise that all eyes of the nation were focused on Charleston harbor in South Carolina.


This "Pro-Slavery War", as a Northern paper proclaimed, will forever define our country's future. This act of hostility by the Confederacy at Fort Sumter forced the hand of the United States to confront the issue of Southern secession with military action. It put this country into a war that although many in the country at the time thought would end in a matter of months, lasted four years and took the lives of hundreds of thousands of American men, women, and children. Stories of heroism, tales of valor, and so much more from this war has contributed to defining America, our way of life and most importantly changed the course of our future for the better.