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Top 10 Famous Facts about the American Civil War

The American Civil War was fought between the Union (these are states that remained loyal to the federal union, mostly the North) and the Confederacy (states that voted to secede; the States from the South).

This war was caused by the status of slavery back then. One side had expanded slavery into territories acquired after Louisiana was bought and the Mexican鈥揂merican War.

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Before the start of the Civil War in 1860, about 4 million out of the 32 million Americans were enslaved black people, the majority of them lived in the South.

In the history of Wars, the Civil War is one of the most studied and written about in the United States.

To date, this war remains to be the subject of cultural and historiographical debates. Particularly, the persisting myth of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy.

Between 600,000 and 700,000 soldiers lost their lives in the war. Additionally, thousands of civilians died too.

Here are more facts about the American Civil War.

1. Slavery was the main cause of the American Civil War

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The American economy was heavily dependent on cotton grown by African American slaves in the late 18^th and 19^th centuries.

Additionally, the social and political structures were sustained by the slaves, therefore, those that benefited from it sought to guard it for their selfish interests.

This was more prevalent in the Southern states than the more industrialized North.

After independence, several northern states had abolished slavery while several from the south still upheld it.

Politics began to heat up in the country as new territories were formed. The anti-slavery and pro-slavery groups had endless debates on the matter.

The mid-19th century was tough for southern states as more non-slave states were being unionized.   

By 1860 the matter could no longer be resolved politically and the 11 southern states seceded from the Union leading to the Civil War.

2. The American Civil War was the most brutal in US history

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The American Civil War is one of the deadliest battles the country has had. It is estimated that between 600,000 and 900,000 people died during the war.

More people died during the civil war in America than they did in World War I and II.

Other than death by ammunition, several other people died from diseases and injuries from the war.  

Wounded soldiers were hospitalized in dilapidated facilities and got very little medical care due to overcrowding.

Most of the soldiers suffered from bullet wounds. Prisoners of war held in confederate prisons died from starvation and neglect.

At the ill-reputed Camp Sumter prison in Georgia, prisoners were described as 鈥渨alking skeletons鈥�. About 45,000 prisoners died at Camp Sumter prison.

3. The majority of the men that fought in the American Civil War were immigrants

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The Union Army was a diverse force with multinational individuals. Part of them were Irish and German soldiers. There were also Steuben volunteers.

There were also immigrant soldiers from France, Italy, Poland, England and Scotland. One of the four troops had more foreign soldiers than local.

African American soldiers were allowed to join the Union Army in 1836.

4. Each State had a different reason for fighting in the American Civil War

The states that took part in the war had different reasons. For instance, the Confederate states wanted to defend slavery and protect their rights.

While the Northern states were more focused on protecting the Union and keeping the country as one.

Each faction had its reasons and both gave it their all during the war.

5. Harriet Tubman freed slaves during the American Civil War

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Harriet Tubman is a celebrated human rights activist who escaped slavery to become a leading abolitionist.

She led hundreds of slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad before the war.

Harriet arrived at the Union camp at Port Royal, South Carolina, in the spring of 1862 to support the Union cause.

While there, she taught freed slave women skills to earn them wages with the Union Army.

After some time, she took on another role of gathering intelligence about the countryside from the freed slaves and taking river scouting trips.

On June 1, 1863, Tubman and Union Colonel James Montgomery marched into the interior with 300 black Union soldiers.

The troops searched nearby plantations, burning homes and barns as Union gunboats sounded their whistles. More than 720 slaves were shuttled to freedom during the mission.

This was the first raid led by a woman during the Civil War, Tubman liberated 10 times the number of slaves she had freed in 10 years on the Underground Railroad.

6. The American Civil War began at the Battle of Fort Sumter

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The first battle of the Civil War happened at Fort Sumter in the state of South Carolina. April 12, 1861, was the day the battle started marking the official start of the Civil War.

The battle lasted two days ending on the 14 of April with a Confederate victory and no reported deaths.

During the day of the battle, President Lincoln had ordered his commanding officer to hold on until fired upon.

One of the Union commanding officers Confederate president Jefferson Davis knew they could not hold out long and surrendered to the rebels who took over the fort.

The attack on Fort Sumter hugely restored the North to the defence of American nationalism.

7. President鈥檚 Lincoln election triggered the America Civil War

The election of President Lincoln motivated the legislature of South Carolina to call a state convention to consider secession. President Lincoln publicly opposed slavery as a form of moral decay.

Before the Civil War, South Carolina was the most vocal Southern state to foster the idea that a state had the right to nullify federal laws and to secede from the United States.

The convention unanimously voted to secede on December 20, 1860 and adopted a secession declaration.

Their argument was sided with states’ rights for slave owners in the South but differed on states’ rights in the North thus opposing the Fugitive Slave Act.

They further claimed that Northern states were not fulfilling their federal obligations under the Constitution.

The “cotton states” of Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas followed suit, seceding in January and February 1861.

8. Black Union soldiers protested for being paid lower wages than white soldiers for 18 months

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When black soldiers signed up with the Union Army in early 1863, they were paid a meagre $10 a month. While their white counterparts earned at least $13, and senior white officers earned more.

Further, their pay was reduced to $7 and received inhumane treatment while in the army. This led to a protest of the low wages and poor living conditions. They refused the poor pay.  

These soldiers were backed by abolitionist congressmen who persuaded Congress to raise their pay.

In September 1864, black soldiers received equal pay that was backdated to their enlistment date. They finally had enough to send back home.

9. Abraham Lincoln planned to send the slaves back home

One of President Lincoln鈥檚 policies was to have black people sent back home. He was supported by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and Harriet Beecher Stowe.

In 1862, Lincoln took five black ministers to the White House. He informed them that it was best to separate.

He planned to send freed slaves to central America and even called for a constitutional amendment authorizing Congress to pay for colonization.

However, Prominent abolitionists, Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison opposed his idea. 

Unfortunately, Lincoln did not succeed to gather enough support for the policy. He went quiet after signing the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.

10. There were more deaths during the American Civil War than in any other American conflict

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Data on the death of soldiers during the civil war shows that it’s around 700,000. This is however not inclusive of innocent civilians that died during the war.

Although missiles and bullets were the major cause of death, there were other causes such as diseases, malnutrition, exposure, and infection.

These diseases spread faster since there was the introduction of trains and masses of people travelling in them.

The American Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865.