Portal:American Civil War
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The American Civil War (1861–1865) was a bitter sectional conflict between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America, formed of eleven southern states' governments which moved to secede from the Union after the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States. The North's victory was eventually achieved by leveraging advantages in population, manufacturing and logistics and through strategic naval blockade preventing the Confederacy from access to the world's markets.  Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865), sometimes called Abe Lincoln and nicknamed Honest Abe, the Rail Splitter, and the Great Emancipator, was an American politician who served as the 16th President of the United States (1861 to 1865), and the first president from the Republican Party. Lincoln opposed the expansion of slavery and as commander in chief of the nation's armed forces oversaw the Union war effort during the American Civil War. Lincoln selected commanders and approved their strategies, selected senior civilian officials, supervised diplomacy, patronage and party operations. Rallying public opinion through messages like the Emancipation Proclamation and speeches such as his concise Gettysburg Address; Lincoln took a few short minutes to speak the address, but it had an enduringing impact on U.S. history, and American political thought. As president, Lincoln had strong opinions on plans for the abolition of slavery and the Reconstruction of the Union, but his untimely assassination just as the war ended made him a martyr and an icon of American nationalism. (More...)  During the American Civil War, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania played a critical role in the Union, providing a huge supply of military manpower, materiel, and leadership to the Federal government. Over 360,000 Pennsylvanians served in the Union Army, more than any other Northern state except New York.[1] (some other states sent a larger proportion of their population but not a larger number). Beginning with President Lincoln's first call for troops and continuing throughout the war, Pennsylvania mustered 215 infantry regiments, as well as dozens of emergency militia regiments that were raised to repel threatened invasions in 1862 and 1863 by the Confederate States Army. Twenty-two cavalry regiments were also mustered, as well as dozens of light artillery batteries. The vast majority of Pennsylvania troops fought in the Eastern Theater, with only about 10% serving elsewhere. [2] The thirteen regiments of the Pennsylvania Reserves fought as the only army division all from a single state, and saw action in most of the major campaigns and battles of the Army of the Potomac.
The military Sharps Rifle (also known as the Berdan Sharps rifle) was a falling block rifle used during and after the American Civil War. Along with being able to use a standard percussion cap, the Sharps had a fairly unusual pellet primer feed, a device which held a stack of pelleted primers that flipped one over the nipple every time the trigger was pulled and the hammer fell. This was much easier to operate from horseback than individual percussion caps. The Sharps Rifle was used in the Civil War by the U.S. Army sharpshooters known popularly as "Berdan's Sharpshooters" in honor of their leader Hiram Berdan. The Sharps made a superior sniper weapon of higher accuracy than the more commonly issued muzzle-loading rifled-muskets. This was due mainly to the higher rate of fire of the breech loading mechanism and the fact that the quality of manufacture was superior. It was produced by the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company. (More...)  Simon Bolivar Buckner, Sr. (April 1, 1823 – January 8, 1914) was a career U.S. Army officer and a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, the officer who yielded to Ulysses S. Grant's famous demand for "unconditional surrender" at the Battle of Fort Donelson in 1862. He later served as governor of Kentucky and was an unsuccessful candidate for vice president of the United States on the National Democratic Party (or "Gold Democrats") ticket in 1896. (More...)  Battles • Books • Campaigns • Cities • Industrialists • National Battlefields and Military Parks • Native Americans • Orders of battle • People • Prisons • Songs • Spies • States • Surgeons • Theaters • Weapons • Women • Veterans' Organizations Political leaders • Army • Armies • Chaplains • Generals • Officers • Soldiers • Navy • Admirals • Captains • Commanders • Naval ships • Officers • Ships Political leaders • Army • Armies • Chaplains • Corps • Departments • Generals • Officers • Regiments • Navy • Admirals • Ships • Officers
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