Week Five

1862

Dear Diary,

   Father came home with this newspaper a while ago announcing the events of the latest battle in the war:

The Battle Of Gettysburg

After Lee's victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville, he led his army into Gettysburg in hopes to seize supplies such as shows for his soldiers. Lee wished to next win a battle on northern ground to gain attention from Britain and/or France. Next, Lee's men ran into Union troops  led by General Buford. Buford men spread out northwest and called for reinforcements. 

The first day of battle, June 1st,  the Confederates were in the lead as they pushed Union forces into higher ground in the south. However, when nightfall came General Meade, who aided the Union troops who were already there and strengthened their position. The Union army dug a two and a half mile defense line from Culps hill southward until Cemetery Ridge. The Federal line ended at the hills Little and Big Round Top. 

On July 2nd, Lee planned to assault the two ends of the Unions line. Colonel Chamberlain, a Union defense, ordered a bayonet charge against the Confederates, which ended in hundreds of the Confederates to surrender. 

On July 3rd, Lee still had high hopes of victory and  he commenced an artillery barrage aimed at the middle the Union Line. Thousands of the brave Confederate soldiers were trampled by the Union cannons and firearms. After their loss, Lee abandoned his invasion in the North and led his army back into Virginia. This appears to be the last battle that the south will fight on Union soil again.

     I heard from father that recently (late November), Lincoln went the the Gettysburg sight and deliver the Gettysburg Address, in honor of the fallen soldiers. Lincoln said the Civil War was a struggle to uphold the Declaration of Independence. I think the South in the war shouldn't have been so ignorant to think they could win a battle on the Union soil when they can barely win a battle on their own. The Confederates have much less then the Union such as food and weapons, Lee shouldn't be as proud as he is when fighting the battle. My father is of course mad over this loss, he says that the Confederates need to step up if we are planning on winning the war...

Love Florence

1864

Dear Diary

  I heard my parents speaking of a war technique called total war. From what I overheard, it is a strategy that targets not only the military side but the civilians too, in order to weaken the economy that supports them. This is the technique that General Grant from Mississippi Valley uses to fight the Confederate forces, as Mississippi now belongs to the Union. It took him months to fight the south and many of his battles ended in victories, which caused the south many serious losses. 

The total war method was also used by William Sherman, as he attempted to march 250 miles to the port of Savannah, along with 60,000 other troops. Sherman ordered the men to loot supplies along the way as well as destroying everything left behind. I learned that on their way, Sherman's army destroyed buildings, killed and ruined hundreds of homes, and even burned down Atlanta once the confederates were drove out. 
Here is a map of Sherman's march to the sea:


  I think that Sherman's march s so important because it gives war a whole new strategy, never before has America fought in this way, attacking an economy in order for victory. I think this form of fighting is cruel and inhumane, I don't think this is a good face for Lincoln. It is apparent that he did not think of what could possibly happen if or when the United states become one again, as the south is being severely attacked.

1864

Dear Diary,

      Here is what everyone has been talking about recently: 

           Supposedly and not surprisingly, after many losses in the war, the Confederates have been growing tired and they are beginning to speak of peace. The Vice President, Alexander Stephens set up a meeting with Lincoln discussing those matters yet in the end there were no results. The main reason for this was the 13th Amendment. I heard that if it were ratified, then slavery would end in the US. The people here in the south were too ignorant to give up on living a life with no slavery. After it passed in December, Lincoln is now focusing on bringing the Confederate states back into the Union, which was something that even many of the northerners didn't want. I think that it is a beneficial thing for the Union to be back together to end much chaos and confusion. Lincoln then announced his 2nd Inaugural Address announcing that he wished for peace and unity in the states. My father told me that many people were mad at him in the south because they believe that if  Lincoln didn't want war then he shouldn't have started it. The north wants to punish the south and therefore they wish to keep their distances from us. 

Here is footage of the speech Lincoln gave:

Love Florence










1864
Dear Diary, 

       I talked to Tommy the other day and he told me of his family's plan to run away. With all the chaos happening with the war and the now evident fact that the north will win, it is best to escape now. They plan to move west and take advantage of the Homestead Act. I told him it was a good idea and promised I wouldn't tell my father. I'm so happy for Tommy to leave, but I will miss him as he was someone I could talk to about everything. He told me he will write to me once the war is over and that was the last thing he said before him and his family left to find the Underground Railroad.

Love Florence

1865

Dear Diary,

             I head from the newspaper that a few weeks after the Inaugural Address, Confederate soldiers led by Lee's army attempted to break into the siege of Petersburg yet they failed. Lee ordered a retreat from Petersburg as they finally saw that the situation was essentially hopeless. Lee's army was starving and exhausted as they were then trapped at Appomattox Court House in Virginia by the Union. On June 9th, Lee then finally surrendered to Grants army. After this, many other Confederate leaders followed and surrendered as well. After the surrender, the Union soldiers were ordered not to "gloat" and now saw their former rebels as neighbors. I think that even though they are saying this, nothing will be the same between the states again. I also heard news of African Americans celebrating on June 19th, the day that the news reached he Southwest. Even though the war is not over, I think Lee's surrender is important because it could potentially lead to the victory of the Union, which means an end to slavery.

Here is a painting of Lee surrendering to Grant that I found in father's notebooks:

Love Florence






1865
Dear Diary, 

      

Something enormous happened last week! Lincoln was assassinated! Everyone is talking about it, It all started when Lincoln went to go see a play (Our American Cousin) a few days after Lees surrender. One of the actors, John Wilkes Booth, who also happened to be a Confederate supporter, sneaked up to the president's private box as he fired a single bullet into the back of his head. The next morning, Lincoln died from the injuries! After several days, Booth was hunted down and killed in Virginia. They found out that Booth was part of a plot to not only kill Lincoln but the Vice President and the Secretary of State. The plotters were hoping to cause chaos in the north in order for the South to regroup and continue with the war. 

          Lincoln's tragic murder caused many northerners to unite and it cause them to see Lincoln now as a hero a skilled leader. Here in the south I'm sure many were pleased at this news, yet I feel like Lincoln was one of the biggest factor that caused many slaves to be free and for that I will always see him as a good man. 

Here is a cartoon in the newspaper that depicts the murder:

                         Love, Florence

1866

Dear Diary,

        

It has been months after the civil war has ended. From the start, I believed that the north would win right away. The Confederacy was a new country and even though they did have a lot of advantages, those of the north superseded theirs. The north's bigger population, greater technological prowess and more abundant resources. The Union clearly was able to develop new advantages and fearless leaders such as Grant and Sherman. On the other hand, the south used up their resources, often leaving the troops starving and without supplies. Even though some may argue, the North also had leadership from Lincoln, who applies skill to overcome difficulties with the war. For example, the emancipation proclamation was a step that led the north and the African Americans in America to withstand their northern spirits and giving them a greater reason to fight for. 
Here is something I found that explains what would happen if the South won he civil war (skip 1 min):

  I know I always seemed more lenient towards the northern side, and it was because I wished for slavery to end. But the reality is, I feared for the Confederates because it is where I live and my lifestyle consists of it. The realities of the war were extremely brutal, a fate I would not wish on anyone. After the civil war was over, about 600,000 people died, and more injured or scarred.

 

      In the north, industrial boom caused by the war continued. Congress passed both the Land Grant College act and the legislation that authorized a protective tariff. This protected northern industry from foreign competition and payed off debts for the Union war efforts. Many banks and cities are currently undergoing industrialization, causing the economic power in the US emerge.

 

      Unlike the north, here in the south many of the cities remain burned down and farms and families were destroyed. The economic footing was extremely hard for us to regain after the war, trying to rely on the north and our agriculture in order to help our economy. Some of my family think that the loss was a noble cause, some southerners thought the South would be redeemed while on the other hand others believe that they should pray for forgiveness. Most of the former slaves are beginning to migrate westward like Tommy and his family did in order to start a new life. 

Here is a picture of what most of the south was left in after the civil war:

  As for the government, the sectional differences sadly still remained strong but nothing as bad as the war was. The war helped make the federal authority concrete.  Despite the harsh outcomes, I believe that the war helped well over a million people become less subjugated to a person because of their race, I'm glad that slavery is over and I'm glad I could help Tommy leave and start a better life with his family. 

For the last time, love Florence

Works Cited

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         2016. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwn-37jbJ-A)