Download May - McHenry County Civil War Round Table

1864
2014
VOLUME NO. 16 ISSUE NO. 5
MAY 13, 2014
McHENRY COUNTY, ILLINOIS
PRESENTATION
MCHENRY COUNTY
CIVIL WAR
ROUND TABLE
DISCUSSION GROUP
FAITH
440LINCOLN’S
WEST JUDD
STREET
By Father Robert Miller
WOODSTOCK, ILLINOIS
TUESDAY MAY 13, 2014
7:30PM TO 9:00PM
NOW CELEBRATING
SERVING THE COMMUNITY
AND MCHENRY COUNTY
SINCE IT”S FOUNDING
6000 NORTHWEST HIGHWAY
CRYSTAL LAKE, ILLINOIS
SATURDAY MAY 24, 2014
THE
AT UNION,
McHENRY COUNTY, ILLINOIS
IN SEPTEMBER OF 1998
FROM
BY MR. JERRY ALLEN
Every Fourth Saturday of the Month
THE PUBLIC IS ALWAYS WELCOME
AND ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND
______________________________________
MISSION STATEMENT
IN HIS FATHER’S PASSING
WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND OUR
CONGRATULATIONS TO
THE WINNING CONTESTANT
OF THE
(
MCHENRY COUNTY
CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE
HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED TO PROMOTE
AND FOSTER EDUCATION, DISCUSSION,
AND ANALYSIS OF
THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
WE HOPE THROUGH LEARNING
ABOUT THE PAST,
WE WILL BE ABLE TO MORE
COMPLETELY
UNDERSTAND THE PRESENT
AND HAVE A POSITIVE, BENEFICIAL
EFFECT
ON OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY
INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
OUR MEMBERS.
_________________
IS PLANNING A FIELDTRIP
TO
SOUTH SUBURBAN CWRT
Thursday May 22, 2014: Presentation
By Bruce Allardice
McHENRY COUNTY CWRT
Tuesday May 13, 2014 Presentation
By Jerry Allen
NAPER SETTLEMENT
Saturday May 17, & Sunday May 18, 2014
KENOSHA CIVIL WAR MUSEUM
Civil War soldiers. Ask them about their gear, Civil War
battles, and what it took to be a Civil War soldier. Join us at
noon for a 45-minute interactive presentation designed for
families or just stop by any time to chat.
Sponsored by the Kenosha Garden Railroad Society.
Train Extravaganza Weekend
Train Weekend Saturday, May 31, 2014; 10am-5pm
and Sunday, June 1, 2014; Noon-4pm
The Civil War was the first major war during which the
railroads played a crucial role. Two free presentations are
offered by author and B&O Railroad Museum curator
Daniel Carroll Toomey
.
The First Front
Saturday, May 31, 2014; Noon
MCCWRT DISCUSSION GROUP
AT THE PANERA BREAD COMPANY
CRYSTAL LAKE, ILLINOIS
TOPIC OF DISCUSSION
Every Fourth Saturday of the Month
LAKE COUNTY CWRT
Thursday May 8, 2014: Presentation
By Jeff Johnson
NORTHERN ILLINOIS CWRT
Friday May 2, 2014: Presentation
www.kenosha.org/civilwar/index.html
5400 First Avenue
Kenosha, Wisconsin 53140
Upcoming Events:
The Civil War Museum offers many
educational activities throughout the year.
Here is the upcoming schedule:
Second Friday
Lunchbox Lecture Series:
By Betty Kay
SALT CREEK CWRT
Friday May 16, 2014: Presentation
By David Keller
KANKAKEE VALLEY CWRT
Wednesday May 7, 2014: Open Forum
Led by Ray Guttendorf
LINCOLN/DAVIS CWRT
Tuesday May 20, 2014: Presentation
By Eric Jacobsen
CWRT OF CHICAGO
Friday May 9, 2014: Presentation
By David Bastian
MIDWAY VILLAGE ROCKFORD
Tuesday May 6, Through Friday May 9, 2014
Commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.
The programs are free. Bring your own lunch. Snacks
and beverages are available in Museum vending
machines.
Sponsored by the Milwaukee Civil War Round Table
and the Iron Brigade Association
Uncle Billy’s Boys:
The 55th Illinois at Vicksburg
Friday, May 9, 2014; Noon – Freedom Hall
Presented by Laurence Schiller, of Northwestern
University. Dr. Schiller describes the actions of the Illinois
55th, under the overall command of Brigadier General
William Sherman, during the Vicksburg Campaign and
gives a picture of the tensions and problems of the
civilian soldiers who made up the regiment.
A Soldier’s Life
A Soldier's Life Saturdays,
May 17, 2014 Noon-4pm
Check out family-friendly reenactors in character as
When the Civil War began, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
became the most important railroad in the nation by being
the only direct rail link between Washington, DC, and the
loyal states. During the first three months of the war, the
fate of the nation’s capital was determined by the
movement of Union soldiers on trains provided by the B&O
Railroad. Mr. Toomey explores this “First Front” concept
as presented in his new book, The War Came by Train:
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad During the Civil War.
The B&O – America’s First Railroad
Saturday, May 31, 2014; 2pm
Mr. Toomey presents a second lecture on the history of the
B&O Railroad with illustrations of all time periods.
___________________________________
Civil War Embalming
Approximately fifty members and guests attended the April
meeting of the McHenry Civil War Roundtable, which was
jointly sponsored by MCCWRT and the Woodstock Area
Library.
Our guest presenter for the evening was Mr. Jon Austin of
the Illinois Humanities Council. His topic was “Civil War
Field Embalming: A Demonstration of Period Technique.”
Mr. Austin’s presentation is in the form of a “first person”
19th century medical school lecture for general audiences.
Dressed in period costume he “demonstrated” embalming
techniques on a Union “casualty” – volunteer Ryan Diss
from Northwood Middle School in Woodstock.
Jon stressed that the embalming surgeons were not
military personnel: they were doctors who acted as
independent businessmen. They followed the armies as
rumors of impending battles spread. Either General Butler
or General Burnside, in fact, warned them not to post
handbills advertising their services before a battle as it was
too demoralizing to the troops.
We must keep in mind that embalming was a relatively
new procedure; one designed to help preserve the body
for shipment home from a far-off battlefield.
As Drew Gilpin Faust points out in her book, This Republic
of Suffering, the Victorian definition of a “good death” was
to die at home, in bed, and surrounded by family. It is a
small wonder then that such families would want their
relative’s body – cut down by an enemy projectile in an
unknown field hundreds of miles away – returned home for
proper burial.
Jon stressed that embalming was primarily practiced
among the Union armies. Many southerners saw it as a
horrific practice – a defilement of the body. Also, it was
more prevalent among officers as they had more money
and would even be extended credit. Estimates have run
as high as 40,000 embalmed soldiers, but Mr. Austin,
based on his research, thinks the number may have been
even greater than that.
MAY 5-7, 1864:
BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS
The Battle of Davis's Cross Roads, also known as the
Battle of Dug Gap, was fought September 10–11, 1863, in
northwestern Georgia, as part of the Chickamauga
Campaign of the American Civil War. It was more of a
series of maneuvers and skirmishes than an actual battle
and casualties were negligible.
An audience member asked how the bodies of Civil War
soldiers were typically shipped home. Jon explained that
they were placed in sheet iron or cast iron coffins, and
hermetically sealed, then transported by rail or steamboat.
Sometimes ice may have been used to retard deterioration
of the remains. A candle might have been placed inside
the coffin to remove oxygen. Charcoal was used to
deodorize bodies, and isinglass, cotton, or linen to mask
wounds.
Finally, Mr. Austin pointed out that during the April/May,
1865 funeral journey, President Lincoln’s body was
injected with additional embalming fluid because of the
severity of his injuries. Also, additional cosmetology was
done because of discoloration. Almost forty years later,
upon the final opening of the coffin, eyewitnesses
commented on how life-like the martyred President yet
looked.
Bob Frenz
_________________________________________
The first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia
Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the
Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.
Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a
bloody war of attrition by Grant against Lee's army and,
eventually, the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia.
The battle was tactically inconclusive, and was considered
a huge loss for Grant. However, instead of retreating, he
would disengage and continued his offensive and
advances to Spotsylvania Court House.
Casualties consisted of:
Union- 17,666
Confederate- 7,750
MAY 7, 1864:
BATTLE OF ROCKY FACE RIDGE
DALTON, GEORGIA
MAY 4, 1864
RADICAL WADE-DAVIS
RECONSTRUCTION ACT PASSES
IN THE U.S. HOUSEThe Wade–Davis Bill of 1864 was a bill proposed for the
Reconstruction of the South written by two Radical
Republicans, Senator Benjamin Wade of Ohio and
Representative Henry Winter Davis of Maryland.
In contrast to President Abraham Lincoln's more lenient
Ten Percent Plan, the bill made re-admittance to the Union
for former Confederate states contingent on a majority in
each Southern state to take the Ironclad oath to the effect
they had never in the past supported the Confederacy.
The bill passed both houses of Congress on July 2, 1864,
but was pocket vetoed by Lincoln and never took effect.
The Radical Republicans were outraged that Lincoln did
not sign the bill. Lincoln wanted to mend the Union by
carrying out the Ten percent plan. He believed it would be
too difficult to repair all of the ties within the Union if the
Wade–Davis bill passed.
MAY 11, 1864:
BATTLE OF DUG GAP
DAVIS’S CROSSROADS, GEORGIA
Fought in Whitfield County, Georgia, during the Atlanta
Campaign of the American Civil War. The Union army
was led by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman and
the Confederate army by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston.
Confederates were forced to evacuate their strong position
due to a Union flanking movement.
General Johnston had entrenched his army on the long,
steep Rocky Face Ridge and eastward across Crow
Valley. When Sherman approached, he demonstrated
against this position with two columns while he sent a third
one through Snake Creek Gap, to the south, to hit the
Western & Atlantic Railroad at Resaca.
The first two columns engaged the enemy at Buzzard
Roost (Mill Creek Gap) and at Dug Gap while the third
column, under Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson, passed
through Snake Creek Gap and on the May 9 advanced to
the outskirts of Resaca, where it found Confederates
entrenched.
Fearing the strength of the enemy, McPherson pulled his
column back to Snake Creek Gap.
On May 10, Sherman decided to join McPherson in an
effort to take Resaca. The next morning, Sherman's army
withdrew from in front of Rocky Face Ridge. Discovering
Sherman's movement, Johnston retired south towards
Resaca on May 12.
In the initial stages of the campaign, Union Maj. Gen.
William S. Rosecrans's Army of the Cumberland induced
the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Gen. Braxton
Bragg to evacuate the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Rosecrans dispatched three corps on three different roads
toward northwestern Georgia. The corps on the center
road was the XIV Corps under Maj. Gen. George H.
Thomas, which moved just across the border to Trenton,
Georgia, and prepared to move on to Lafayette in pursuit
of Bragg. Lafayette was the present location of Bragg's
army; due to misinformation and poor intelligence,
Rosecrans was convinced that Bragg was demoralized
and was retreating to Dalton, Georgia, farther to the
southeast. But once he realized that the Union forces had
separated and were vulnerable, Bragg intended to attack
Thomas, halt his advance, and defeat him.
Thomas's corps raced forward, seized the important gaps
in Missionary Ridge and the Pigeon Mountains, and moved
out into McLemore's Cove. Maj. Gen. James S. Negley's
division, supported by Brig. Gen. Absalom Baird's division,
was moving across the mouth of the cove on the Dug Gap
road when Negley learned that Confederate units were
concentrating around Dug Gap. Moving through heavy
determined resistance, he closed on the gap, withdrawing
to Davis' Cross Roads in the evening of September 10 to
await the supporting division.
Bragg had ordered Maj. Gen. Thomas C. Hindman with his
division to assault Negley in the flank at Davis's Cross
Roads, while Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne's division forced
its way through Dug Gap to strike Negley in front.
Hindman was to receive reinforcements for this movement,
but most of them did not arrive. The Confederate officers,
therefore, met and decided that they could not attack in
their present condition. The next morning, however, fresh
troops did arrive, and the Confederates began to move on
the Union line.
The supporting Union division had by now joined Negley,
and, hearing of a Confederate attack, the Union forces
determined that a strategic withdrawal to Stevens Gap
was in order. Negley first moved his division to the ridge
east of West Chickamauga Creek, where it established a
defensive line. The other division then moved through them
to Stevens Gap and established a defensive line there.
Both divisions awaited the rest of Thomas's corps. All of
this was accomplished under constant pursuit and fire from
the Confederates.
After his abortive attempt to attack one isolated Union
corps, Bragg turned his attention to the corps to his north,
the XXI Corps under Maj. Gen. Thomas L. Crittenden,
setting the stage for the bloody Battle of Chickamauga on
September 19.
MAY 8, 1864:
BATTLE OF SPOTSYLVANIA
COURTHOUSE
On May 21, Grant disengaged from the Confederate Army
and started southeast on another maneuver to turn Lee's
right flank, as the Overland Campaign continued toward
the Battle of North Anna.
Casualties and losses
18,399
(2,725 killed
13,416 wounded
2,258 captured/missing)
12,687
(1,515 killed
5,414 wounded
5,758 captured/missing)
on foot because they were so steep. Still wearing his jack
boots, he sank in a small stream the troops were crossing
and his boots filled with water. Nearby soldiers rushed back
to their general and pulled him out.
Hayes' brigade spearheaded the main assault around 11
a.m. The troops fought their way to the Confederate works
and severe hand-to-hand fighting ensued. Sparks from the
musket fire ignited the thick blanket of leaves on the ground
and many men from Sickel's and Hayes' brigades were
pinned down and burned alive. The two brigades began to
fall back when Crook sent in two fresh regiments into Hayes'
front. The West Virginians finally advanced against the
cannon that had plagued them throughout the battle and
overran its crew. Now the Ohio troops began to overwhelm
the Confederate center. Jenkins tried desperately to shift
MAY 9, 1864:
troops to the threatened areas, but fell mortally wounded
BATTLE OF CLOYD’S MOUNTAIN
and was captured by Union soldiers. His second-inGettysburg,
Pennsylvania
The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes
command, John McCausland, took command and conducted
The
Battle
of
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in
more simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania (or
November 19, 1863
a rear-guard action as he withdrew his troops
the 19th century spelling Spottsylvania), was the second western Virginia on May 9, 1864 that allowed the Union
.
forces
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Tennessee
major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864
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fighting of the war. The whole engagement lasted a little over
1864, two Union armies marched towards Richmond and
an hour with much of that being hand-to-hand combat.
a third moved into the Shenandoah Valley. Crook's troops
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were
also
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in
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and
began
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march
critical crossroads of Spotsylvania Court House and
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through the Appalachian Mountains into southwest Virginia.
began entrenching. Fighting occurred on and off from
involved. Crook lost 688 men, roughly 10% of his force.
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objective
was
to
destroy
the
Virginia
&
Tennessee
May 8 through May 21, 1864, as Grant tried various
The Confederates lost fewer men—538—but that totaled
Railroad, working in conjunction with William W. Averell's
schemes to
the Confederate
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23% of their total force.
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Abraham
Lincoln Online
offensive,
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battle was tactically inconclusive, but with almost 32,000
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in
command
of
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few
scattered
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The battle is considered a Union victory because Crook was
Confederate units protecting the rail lines. Jenkins had
campaign.
able to continue on and destroy the Virginia and Tennessee
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a day before
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destroy several railroad bridges along the same line,
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severing one of the Confederacy's last vital lifelines and its
During
the
1863
Gettysburg
Campaign,
Jenkins'
Brigade
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only rail connection to East Tennessee.
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Ewell's
Second
from Laurel Hill, a position that was blocking them from
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led
his
men
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the
Cumberland
Valley
Spotsylvania Court House. On May 10, Grant ordered
The day after the battle, remnant Confederate troops
attacks across the Confederate line of earthworks, which into Pennsylvania and seized Chambersburg, burning down unsuccessfully defended a railroad bridge over the nearby
nearby
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structures
and
bridges.
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accompanied
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on
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innovative assault attempt by Col. Emory Upton against
MAY 13, 1864:
recover sufficiently to rejoin his command until autumn. He
the Mule Shoe showed promise.
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been appointed
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h
now the northeast gate in Section 27. However,
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have
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nobly
advanced.
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is
rather
for
us
to
be
here
dedicated
to
the
great
task
remaining
before
Jenkins, having decided to make a stand at Cloyd's
Quartermaster General Meigs did not formally authorize
incursion.
Mountain,
up a strong defensive
position. to
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Crook
establishment
of burials
theregave
until June
15, last
1864. full
that from these honored dead we
takesetincreased
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the
decided against
a frontal
assault,
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of devotion
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forthe
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shall
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heavily
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as
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swung
hand-to-hand fighting, some of the most intense of the
his brigades around to the Confederate right flank.
Civil War. Supporting attacks by Warren and by Maj.
Crook began the battle with an artillery barrage, then sent
Gen. Ambrose Burnside were unsuccessful.
in his brigade of green West Virginians under Colonel Carr
B. White.
Crook's remaining
Colonel The text above is from the so-called "Bliss
Source:
Collected
Works
Lincoln,
editedtwobybrigades
Roy under
P. Basler.
Grant repositioned
his lines
in yet another
attemptofto Abraham
Horatio G. Sickel and future president Colonel Rutherford
engage Lee
under
more
favorable
conditions
and
Copy," one of several versions which
Lincoln wrote, and believed to be the final version. For additional versions, y
B. Hayes were to launch a frontal assault as soon as the
launched amay
final attack
by Hancock
on May 18, which
search
The Collected
WorksWest
of Abraham
through
the
of the Abraham Lincoln Association.
Virginians
hadLincoln
gotten under
way. Serving
as courtesy
a major
made no progress. A reconnaissance in force by
under
Hayes
was
another
future
U.S.
President
named
Confederate Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell at Harris farm
William McKinley. White's brigade, in its first fight ever,
on May 19 was a costly and pointless failure for the
© Abraham Lincoln Online
advanced to within 20 yards before heavy casualties in its
Confederacy.
exposed position forced it back. Crook, moving with Hayes'
Ohio brigade, had to dismount and traverse the slopes
The Gettysburg Address
The Election that Caused the Civil War
By Josh Simon (Dr. Edward F. Wilt Jr /MCCWRT Essay Winner 2014)
Our Founding Fathers, when drafting the Constitution, intentionally did not tackle the
issue of slavery head on. They had the foresight to know that a new country made up of a
patchwork of independent states with a strong sense of sovereignty, in its infancy, could not
survive if they had tried to resolve the decisive issue of slavery at that time. As the United
States expanded, the country's leaders continued to skirt the slavery issue and only addressed it
through a patchwork of state laws, compromises, and court cases. The Underground Railroad
was helping slaves escape to the north. Conflicts between pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups
were becoming more violent such as Bleeding Kansas and Harper's Ferry. As the anti-slavery
movement grew and Western Expansion led to the addition of several new territories tensions
surrounding the issue escalated. The North and the South became further divided. Inevitably,
during the Election of 1860 it all came to a head.
By 1860 The Whig party was gone, a casualty of the sectionalizing effects of the slavery
issue; the Whig party was unable to exist half slave and half free. The Democratic Party
remained intact but slavery was causing ~ divide between the strong southern wing and its
smaller northern contingent. The new Republican Party was emerging in the northern states.
The key to the Republican Party's success and growth was its position on slavery. Most
Republicans took a moderate approach - they opposed the expansion of slavery and felt that
Congress needed to insure that slavery remained within its current boundaries. They felt that by
limiting the spread of slavery into new territories it would eventually become extinct. This
moderate approach separated the majority of Republicans from abolitionists who advocated for a
quick end to slavery and the emancipation of all slaves.
Lincoln’s first step to the Presidency was garnering the Republican nomination.
His opponent, and the early-front runner for the nomination, was William Henry Seward (New York’s Senator
and former Governor). Lincoln was not well known outside of Illinois until February 27, 1860
when he was invited to lecture at Cooper Institute in New York. There Lincoln delivered his statement
to a crowd of 1,500 people. Lincoln had crafted his speech after meticulous research. In it he looked at
the views of the 39 signers of the Constitution and found evidence that at least 21 of them – a majority
– believed that Congress should control slavery in the territories and not allow it to expand. He argued that
this meant that the Republican stance on the issue of slavery was not, in fact, revolutionary but instead similar
to the Founding Fathers and should not alarm Southerners. His speech excited those in attendance and
gained him important political support in Seward’s home territory. A New York writer said,
“No man ever before made such an impression on his first appeal to a New York Audience”.
The speech was printed by New York newspapers and was widely circulated. It led invitations for Lincoln
to speak at several locations across the Northeastern United States.
In this speech, he made it clear
that Republicans should not give in to Southern demands to recognize slavery as being right but to
“stand by our duty, fearlessly and effectively” – the gauntlet had been thrown.
In May 1860 when the Republican convention convened in Chicago, Lincoln won the nomination against
Seward and his more extreme, abolitionist views. As stated earlier, by 1860 the Democratic Party was a party
divided. When the Democratic National Convention convened in Charleston in April, the leading candidates
for the nomination were Vice President John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky and Senator Stephen A. Douglas
of Illinois. Douglas had defeated Lincoln in the Illinois Senate Race which made famous the Lincoln-Douglas
debates. In these debates Douglas was forced by Lincoln into articulating his “Freeport Doctrine”
The Freeport Doctrine said that it was not up to the Federal government (Congress) to decide
if a new state admitted to the union would allow or prohibit slavery but it should be up to the
“popular will” of the new state. During his time in the Senate he championed this position
during the drafting of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. In fact, Douglas envisioned a nation
“forever divided into free and slave states, as our fathers made it as the people of each state have
decided. ”This position alienated Southern Democrats that he needed to gain the presidential
nomination in 1860. Southern Democrats insisted that the party endorse the idea of a federal slave
code for the territories that would allow slaveholders to enter the territories during the territorial
period. When a majority of delegates refused to accept the southern positions the initial convention
ended with the southern delegates walking out and no majority candidate nominated.
The Democratic Convention re-convened in June and once again they failed to agree on nominees
as they were split over the party’s slavery position. Ten delegations left the party and organized a
Constitutional Democratic convention and nominated Breckinridge. Breckinridge and his party
portrayed Lincoln as a threat to the Constitution and the Union. Breckinridge’s platform stated
that the federal or local governments lacked the power to restrict slavery in any of the territories.
He believed in secession as a right. They hoped that the threat of succession and fear of war
would result in a divide in the electoral votes that would throw the election into the House of
Representatives where the South had greater leverage. The remaining delegates in Charleston
nominated Douglas. The Democrats essentially split their Party’s votes clearing the path for
Lincoln’s election. In addition to Lincoln’s two Democratic opponents he faced a fourth opponent,
John Bell of Tennessee who represented the newly-organized Constitutional Union Party.
This Party was created primarily on the premise that they supported compromise to maintain
the Union without advancing a specific agenda. This party’s conservative message created a following,
particularly in the Border States. In the South, it was the main opposition to the Breckinridge ticket,
further diluting the Democratic votes. In summary, the voters in 1860 had four candidates to choose
from: (1) Lincoln, the Republican who wanted to limit slavery to its current boundaries and did not
support expansion into new territories and states; (2) Douglas, the Democrat nominated primarily
by the northern Democrats who believed in popular sovereignty and the states right to choose;
(3) Breckinridge (National Democrat) who represented the deep south delegates who advocated
for a Federal Slave Code that would allow slave owners to move freely into new territories; and
(4) Bell who represented the Constitutional Party that advocated for compromise with a focus on
keeping the Union intact. Inevitably, no candidate secured a majority of the popular vote.
Lincoln garnered 39.9% of the popular vote and secured 180 electoral votes, exceeding the 150
electoral votes to secure the election. He did not carry a single Southern state. With only 39.9% of the
popular vote Lincoln had no clear mandate. The United States was still a country deeply divided.
Immediately following Lincoln’s election South Carolina moved to follow through on threats to
succeed and on December 20, 1860 they voted unanimously for succession. Before Lincoln was even
inaugurated, a Confederate government under Jefferson Davis was already in place representing
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas.
It is no wonder that in 2008, U.S. News & World Report stated that, “Abraham Lincoln’s victory in
1860 was probably the most consequential election in American history.” He came to power at a time
when a controversial issue that had been left to simmer since the Constitution’s inception 73 years
earlier finally boiled over. For Lincoln, the battle was clear. This was not a dispute over the issue of
slavery. It was, to Lincoln, the protection of the Constitution. In his Cooper Union speech he
addresses the southern states: “Your purpose, then, plainly stated, is that you will destroy the
Government, unless you be allowed to construe and enforce the Constitution as you please, on all
points in dispute between you and us. You will rule or ruin in all events.”
This was, in fact, the “Election that brought on the Civil War”. Quite honestly, the time had come.
The issue of slavery was so divisive that there really was no room left to compromise. The issue
needed to be settled. The election of an unpopular President that did not have the support of 60%
of the population; the election of a President with strong convictions and the ability to articulate
his position and excite the masses was just the final catalyst. By the time Lincoln took his oath of
office, the country was already too far down the road to civil war to turn back.