Week Four

July 1861

Dear Diary,

       Recently my uncle has been asked to serve in the war by the Confederacy, everyone is much proud of him and they view him as a jewel of the family. His name is Richard Smith. We have recently received a telegraph from him stating the newest news regarding the war. I have enclosed the paper below:



"Dear loving family,
 As you all are much aware of, I have recently been asked to prove service for the Confederacy. Last week, we won a great victory against the Union. I wish to tell you my experiences.

As I waited with as few other soldiers outside of Washington, we see a large sum of Union soldiers approach us, all weapons in hand. Our army and theirs met at Bull Run, a creek in Virginia. For the first couple hours of fighting, the Union troops gained the lead. That is, until Stonewall Jackson (General Thomas J. Jackson) sent the Union troops running back to Washington. We later found out that as a response, Lincoln only called for additional troops and replaced the former general that was in charge with a man named George McClean."


After father read this allowed to mother and I, I felt an immediate sense of overwhelming pity. Many, including myself, took the news of the battle of Bull Run as a shock because it showed people that the war wasn't one that was going to end quickly, and many might not be prepared for the outcomes of it.

Dear Diary,

September 1862's newspaper:

Battle At Antietam: The Confederacy Takes a Blow

Occurrence At Antietam

 General Lee led his troops into Maryland, hoping to start a pro-Confederate uprising on Union soil, which in plan was supposed to gain European recognition. Unfortunately, this did not go according to plan after Lee wanted an Ally with Maryland. They called for Union soldiers as a response and a few days later the Union soldiers, led by McClean, found a copy of Lees battle plan and took attack.
 The two armies went to battle as the Union troops attacked in three phases, and at the end of the day their victory was followed by death of more than 23,000 soldiers. So far this has been the bloodiest day of the Civil War.



    After I received this newspaper, I arranged for Tommy and I to meet up during the middle of the night. I discussed with him how I believe the Union will win the war, bringing the Confederacy back into America and abolishing slavery. He told me he hopes that I'm right. He thanked me and told me that he was glad I was in his life. I agreed and told him to go back to bed before we both get in trouble. Even though the Northerners won this battle, they still lost more lives then the South did

Love, Florence

1863

Dear Diary,

 On September 22, 1862, Lincoln announced a drastic proclamation stating the emancipation of slavery in states still in rebellion after January 1 or 1863. Although these do not include border states, I still think this is a good call. Many people (only in the North of course) agree with my excitement. Others, however, were less enthusiastic. Many thought this proclamation was taking steps too slow and they wished for one to abolish slavery everywhere.
  As expected, father and the rest of the newspaper company, along with mother are all very angry. I discussed the news with Mary-Jane, and she told me how her parents said that this Proclamation gave the Southerners a reason to fight in the war. As for the northerners, it redefined the Civil War as one to be fought for slavery. It also made free African Americans want to fight in the war more, which was an Act that was actually passed by Congress, allowing blacks to fight in the war this act was named the Militia Act.
This was the head of the newspaper this morning:

---

                       
                      Love, Florence

1864

Dear Diary,

    I recall that the last time I wrote in this book which happens to be a year ago, I stated that the Militia Act allows blacks to participate in the war. As most southerners opposed this, some considered drafting slaves and free blacks into the Confederacy (which never happened, thankfully).

    As for the north, the governor of Massachusetts, an abolitionist, supported the formation of the all-black 54th Massachusetts. I think this formation is so influential for other slaves as it encourages them to fight for their own rights. Even though on ground the African American soldiers weren't always treated as equals, I still think this is a very important advance in the war. Now that the north has more soldiers and even the help from enslaved people, they have yet another advantage over the south. This animation I found in fathers journal shows blacks and whites fighting bravely on the battle ground:



I also found this clip depicting the Regiment from their perspective, before battle, praying and singing to God before a battle:

Love, Florence

1863

Dear Diary,

 As the war has been increasing, the Southern life has been in danger of collapsing, as has the Confederate army. As a new country, the army has little supplies and resources, unlike the North. As I stated when the war first began, the Union has a navy, which has been a great trouble to Confederate forces. As the Union has blocked many of our ports, its so hard for farmers and slave owners like my father to get the food into markets. Since the war has plummeted our economy has been plummeting to the ground as most of it was dependent on slaves. Due to the cost of the war and the lack of supplies in the Confederacy has issued paper money which caused inflation as prices soared fro certain items. I can definitely say my life has been negatively affected by this war due to the debt it has put our country and my family in. 

 These hardships have also began to weaken southern unity as the leaders argue against Jefferson Davis. Some sates are even resisting sending their troops outside of their own borders.

As you can see, the south has been withstanding many hardships due to the war, but so has the north. I heard father talking to mother about how the drop off cotton production in the south greatly damaged their cotton textile industry. At the same time there was a high demand for clothing, arms, and other supplies. Like the south, the north also had troubles paying to supply the military. To fix this, the north attempted to raise their income tax and raise tariffs, which actually helped the northern industry by raising imported goods. They also sold many government bonds, they made billions of dollars worth of bonds. I also heard that Congress passed the Legal Tender Act last year, which created paper money called greenbacks. Here is what they look like:

It is obvious that the north is dealing with their debt so much better than the south. They have much more advantages compared to us considering they have a much stronger government. The north also passed the Homestead Act , which makes the western land cheaper in favor of those who would farm it. 

    I heard father saying that this year the Union instituted drafting, which made people ages 20-45 vulnerable to participate in the war. If you did not wish to do this you could pay $300, so obviously the poor were in no type of favor here. I think this is unfair to those who don't wish to fight in the war.  Some draft rioters created the Copperheads and went against Lincoln's conduct. As a response, the president suspended the right of habeas corpus, which protected a person from being held in jail without being charged with a specific crime. Personally I think Lincoln is taking his power too far with suspending habeas corpus, this mens that anyone can get arrested without a reason, so basically only the people who speak against him will get punished. I, as well as my father for once, agreed that the habeas corpus will only cause more people to become enraged during this time of chaos. 

Here is a political cartoon of the Greenbacks fighting the Union:

Dear Diary,

Yesterday morning my family received this letter from my uncle:

" Dear family,   

     As you know recently I have been asked to fight with the Confederate army in the civil war. I write this letter to tell my dear family about my life here. I spend most of my time here homesick and bored. For fun I usually play games with the friends I have here or playing games. Usually we prepare for battle or the doctors treat those who are sick from disease or hurt from battle wounds. Most of the time we suffer from hunger and thirst as we dont have sufficient supplies and the water we do carry is usually dirty which leads to illness in the ranks. Because of the new technology this war has adapted, I can see the effects it has compared to any other war seen in America. Most of the men in my troop have had legs and arms amputated by doctors due to gaping wounds from the new and powerful weapons. My experiences here lead to much travel an danger, as well as extreme hardship and losses. 

Here is the last picture that was taken of me:

Love, Richard Smith "

Dear Diary,

    To my liking, woman have been taking up more masculine roles since most of the men have been leaving the war. There is far much opportunities without the men here. Many have been taking up family businesses, farms, teaching jobs and plantations. Somme African American woman here in the South have actually been acting as spies and guides for my north.
In the military, most woman have been nursing and healing the sick. One woman, Carla Barton, even secured her permission to travel with Union army ambulances and assist in healing the wounded of both sides. Woman also worked to manufacture arms, ammunition and uniforms for soldiers. People are grateful for the work that woman have been doing for the war and have been thanked in newspapers. I think that this is a great step for woman as we dont have much rights in America. Some woman have even disguised themselves as men and joined the army, I wish I was brave enough to do this, I could even fight for Tommy's freedom. Some have even said that some 250 woman have been placed in the ranks of the Confederate army. Im sure people are mad about the woman taking over masculine jobs but I think this is a great thing and I am exited for what this means in the future.

Love, Florence.

Works Cited

"Telegraph Template." Telecommunications in Colorado Exhibit. Telecommunications in Colorado          Exhibit, n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2016. (http://www.telcomhistory.org/vm/segment1.htm)

Long Island Wins. NY Times, n.d. Web.
(http://www.longislandwins.com/columns/detail/the_ny_times_the_germans_the_anatomy_of_a_scapegoat)

"Topics in Chronicling America - The Emancipation Proclamation." The Emancipation Proclamation.       N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.(https://www.loc.gov/rr/news/topics/emancipation.html)

"African American Soldiers at the Battle of Fort Wagner, 1863." African American Soldiers at the Battle of Fort Wagner, 1863. Ghilder Lehrman, n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.(https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/african-americans-and-emancipation/resources/african-american-soldiers-battle-fort-wa)

 "Greenback." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2016. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenback_(1860s_money))

"Civil War Love Letters: May 10, 1863." History Happens Here. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.(http://www.historyhappenshere.org/node/7390)

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_States_Army)

"ARMY.MIL, The Official Homepage of the United States Army."Vivandieres: Forgotten Women of the Civil War. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2016. (http://www.army.mil/article/11458/vivandieres-forgotten-women-of-the-civil-war/)