A Glimpse at History

“If the Civil War was civil, I would hate to see an uncivilized one!”

General Sir James Marshall-Cornwall, in his first chapter of his book “Grant as a Military Commander”, noted that the real issue between the North and the South was entirely political and economic.1  He told of the economic pressure the North had on them for expansion with high tariffs and the South needed free trade for their agriculture. 
So, what came from that was a big difference in culture and two totally different economic systems.  The beginnings of a foundation upon which to disagree, more so than the issue of slavery.

When discussing the motives for fighting the “War for Southern Independence”, (rather than the Civil War) one of the favorite myths is to convince future generations that the South fought to keep people in slavery.  This has been implied and applied to our Southern people for so long that most Southerners today accept themselves as National Villians.

This, of course is absurd! It can be supported by stating that seventy to eighty percent of the Confederate soldiers and sailors were not slave owners!2 Putting the extent of the Southern sacrifice into some type of modern perspective. During world War II, the Unites States lost approximately three hundred thousand military personnel. If the United States had lost personnel in World War II at the same rate as the South did during the “War for Independence”, the loss of American lives in World War II would not have been three hundred thousand, but instead, six million!  Based on these figures, who in his right mind could claim that the Southern soldiers and sailors, which were not slave owners, went to war against a numerically superior enemy, and endured four long years of hardship and loss, all in order to allow a few rich men to keep their slaves.  A far too simple excuse for such a devastating war.  But, it has been used so frequently in historical lessons in our schools that the children have come to believe it and the worst part is that is has been paid for by our collective taxes!   More tomorrow!!!!!!!!

Works Cited:

1 General Sir James Marshall-cornwall, Grant as a Military Commander (Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, New York, NY: 1970), p.4

2 John S. Tilley, Facts Historians Leave Out (Bill Coats, Ltd., Nashville, TN: 1990), p.9

Filed under: Civil War Blogs by Savannah Meade