"Wrap the World in Fire," Part I: The Possibility of British Intervention in the American Civil War

"Wrap the World in Fire," Part I:  The Possibility of British Intervention in the American Civil War

“If any European Power provokes a war, we shall not shrink from it.  A contest between Great Britain and the United States would wrap the world in fire.”  United States Secretary of State William Seward uttered these bold words in the summer of 1861, while his nation tore apart at the seams.  Yet despite the secession of eleven Southern states, Seward pondered the possibility of war with Great Britain, the world's foremost power.  Why?  The answer lies in the high-stakes game of diplomacy that was played by both the Union and Confederacy with Great Britain during the American Civil War.  For the Union, foreign intervention in the conflict was a constant threat, one that might ensure Southern independence.  Conversely, the Confederacy constantly sought and expected foreign recognition and intervention, seeking support and validation for their secession. 

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Roundtable: The Civil War's Most Influential Event

Roundtable:  The Civil War's Most Influential Event

In Civil Discourse's first ever roundtable question, we asked five of our writers a classic, yet undeniably important, question:  what event most influenced the outcome of the Civil War?  Our authors diverse answers (and non-answers!) may surprise you!

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Seceeding from the Secessionists: Creating West Virginia

Seceeding from the Secessionists: Creating West Virginia

From the very beginning, there was division between eastern and western Virginia.  Families in western Virginia did not usually own the land on which they lived which excluded those white men from voting, and they generally did not own slaves.  This was very different than eastern Virginia where there was a larger degree of land and slave ownership.  Western Virginia was largely tied to white wage labor in a rapidly industrializing economy and many of the area’s residents supported abolition because they felt slaves were taking jobs that white laborers should be paid to do.  The start of the Civil War brought those tensions to a head.  On April 17, 1861, right after the firing on Fort Sumter, a convention of Virginians voted to submit a bill of secession for a vote of the people.  Many western delegates marched out of the Secession Convention and vowed to create a state government loyal to the Union. 

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A Forgotten Anniversary? The Escape and Capture of Jefferson Davis

A Forgotten Anniversary? The Escape and Capture of Jefferson Davis

The small town of Irwinville, Georgia would become the setting for one of the greatest and perhaps overlooked episodes of the sesquicentennial story.  In a piece announcing the victorious capture of Davis in Harper’ Weekly, a Union officer commented on the night of May 11, 1865, “a fight ensued, both parties exhibiting the greatest determination…the captors report that he (Davis) hastily put on one of his wife’s dresses and started for the woods, closely followed by our men, who at first thought him a woman, but seeing his boots while he was running, they suspected his sex at once.” And so begins the legend of Davis the cross-dresser.

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“To See What Freedom Meant:” April 9, 1865 (Sesquicentennial Spotlight)

“To See What Freedom Meant:” April 9, 1865 (Sesquicentennial Spotlight)

Much has been made of the surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia on April 9, 1865. Historians note that myth surrounds those final bedraggled days of the Army of Northern Virginia, the magnanimity with which Union soldiers welcomed their fellow Americans back into a nation at peace, and the causes won and lost in the subsequent years. Though it took months for the rest of the remaining Confederate forces to surrender their arms, no moment stands more clearly in historical memory as marking the end of the United States’ most costly war than the meeting in which Robert E. Lee surrendered his forces to Ulysses Grant. While myth may obscure some of the more concrete realities of that day – what was with Wilmer McClean anyway? – the peace wrought by those two great generals was nothing short of remarkable both for what it ended and what it began.

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Sesquicentennial Spotlight: Richmond Occupied!

Sesquicentennial Spotlight: Richmond Occupied!

The Union army broke the Confederate lines at Petersburg early on April 2 after the engagement at Five Forks the previous day.  Lee knew the position was lost, and the army’s only hope was to move west to find reinforcements and supplies.  With the Confederate army moving west, Richmond was now exposed to the Union army.  That night the Confederate government and the troops left in the city evacuated in haste, taking the last open rail line to Danville, VA, which would be the last seat of the Confederate government.  Throughout the night into April 3, retreating Confederates set fire to portions of the Confederate capital, hoping to destroy supplies before the Union soldiers could reach them. 

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Could Slavery Have Died a Peaceful Death?

Could Slavery Have Died a Peaceful Death?

On January 31, 1865, the United States Congress narrowly passed an amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery; that this was accomplished thanks to the American Civil War is undeniable. That destroying slavery became a primary goal of the Civil War, however, was not initially expected. Many northerners were extremely reluctant to abolish the institution. Only through the actions of enslaved men and women, a small group of abolitionists, and the interaction of U.S. soldiers with the brutal institution was the North compelled to focus on slavery. Which begs the question: Could slavery have been abolished without the Civil War?

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