Test #3

I was curious to know who did the essay about the war being a Confederate defeat or Union victory. If so, what were some of the arguments everyone made. I wrote that it was a Union victory, a few of the reasons being the rise of Grant & Sherman and that it was a war of attrition. The North was going to win it was inevitable.

Nov. 26-29

Based on After Secession and other sources, why did the Confederacy really fail???

Nov 5-8: Confederacy

You are a leader in the Civil War (political or military). What's more important, maintaining the racial status quo or gaining an advantage thru the use of black troops???

If the food shortage was so bad in the confederacy then why didn't more people try to correct the problem by rebelling against their ineffective government. Surely that many starving people couldn't all blame the Union for their lack of food enough to be content and let the war continue. I know history shows that they do but I personally don't think I could stand by and let my children starve. Maybe that is why I didn't find the fact that a mob of woman and some men and boys breaking into stores and stealing what they needed/ wanted to survive all that shocking.
The other thing that amazes me is the reluctance of the military to use Black soldiers considering they felt they were inferior. I would think that they wouyld use them in seige type conflicts so that they could have the "inferior" soldiers charge from the front and exhaust the opposition while the other soldiers came around from behind thus minimizing the number of "worthy" or "superior" soldiers that were uninjured. (Sounds racist but it is just my understanding of their thinking) Maybe I just don't get their logic at all.

Oct 29-31

Oct 22-25: Gettysburg

Fascinating Facts about the Civil War

At Andersonville Prison, disease, malnutrition and abuse claimed many lives. An average of 127 men died each day, meaning that bodies were buried at the rate of one every eleven minutes. This death rate was higher than that of most battles.

Civil War weapons were so inaccurate that it is estimated that for every soldier shot, they needed 240 pounds of gunpowder and 900 pounds of lead.

Galusha Pennypacker was the youngest General of the Civil War. He was only 17 years old in 1861.

Paul Revere's grandson, Colonel Paul Revere was killed during the Battle of Gettysburg.

Seventeen of the fifty-one Confederate generals who fought at Gettysburg were killed in battle.

The Civil War lasted for 1,396 day, from 1861 until 1865. Approximately 623,000 soldiers died in about 10,455 military “events”.

The fighting in Spotsylvania was so intense that a white oak tree, almost two feet in diameter was cut down by bullets.

There was another Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War who was on the opposite side. Private Abraham Lincoln was a Confederate deserter from Virginia.

When he fell from a platform at a train station, Robert Lincoln was saved by famous actor Edwin Booth, brother of the man who would assassinate his father just a few months later.

Robert Steinmetz

Killer Angels
What made the mutineers want to join up with the 20th Maine before Gettysburg? Was it Chamberlain or was it just for other reasons? Does anyone happen to know the background on this particular regiment (2nd Maine)??

Jeb Stuart
Did he have an ego problem after losing at Brandy Station?? Why did he disappear on the march north into Pennsylvania?

Robert Steinmetz

Killer Angels

What made the mutineers want to join up with the 20th Maine before Gettysburg? Was it Chamberlain or was it just for other reasons? Does anyone happen to know the background on this particular regiment (2nd Maine)??

Oct 15-18

Robert Steinmetz

I've heard about the argument Bragg had with himself. Supposedly it had to do with his service in the army out West before the Civil War. He was a post commander and quartermaster at the same time. Bragg refused his own request for supplies. Weird!

Sure Lincoln should have gotten rid of the ineffective generals sooner, but I think he still had some hope that one of them could get a victory in Virginia. McClellan knew how to get the army ready to fight again and raise morale even after they had been beaten (7 Days Battles, 2nd Bull Run).

How might the war have changed had generals like Grant & Sherman been put in command much sooner???

This is crazy.

I know that some of the battles that were fought and lost on the field affected the generals, but come on. Why couldn't they realize that the best way to save their men is to fight and win making the total conflict shorter therefor making the war itself shorter. I think that Lincoln should have replaced his bad Generals faster with those who were winning on the western front.
Also, my no-it-all sister told me a story about Braxton Braggs having a written arguement with himself at one point in the war. Has anyone else heard of this? I have found a couple of places on the internet with the story but was unsure about it's crediblity.

Oct 1-4: Watkins, Lincoln, Battle

Robert Steinmetz

What was McClellan's deal? How come he didn't have the will to fight????? A war can't be won by obsessing over every last little detail and then not moving against the enemy. McClellan may have been "what the army needed" in 1861. Now U.S. Grant might not have had McClellan's credentials/background, but he did the one thing necessary, fight!

Sept 24-27: Combat Motivation and the First Year of War

As usual, create a new post or comment on this one if you still can't post.

Please do not comment on posts that are older than this one. There are too many posts for me to check old posts for new comments.

Robert Steinmetz

It may have seemed like a fun diversion for everyone at first. The war would be over in 90 days. But after 1st Bull Run the outlook of many people was a lot different. To respond to Megan's question, there really wasn't much choice about putting inexperienced men into the field. The army was very tiny and spread out mostly in the West to fight against Native Americans. Not to mention a large number of officers went South. The navy only had a handful of ships available that weren't overseas. So that begs the question, who's left to fight?? Thus inexperienced, raw recruits were needed for the field armies and the fleets. A lot of the officers had to learn as they went along. As MacPherson wrote, West Point taught a lot about engineering & fortifications but little about the actual practicalities of commanding troops in the field. Others were political appointees so that the leaders on both sides could make their constituents happy.

Megan Reilly

Two things.
First: How would you answer the midterm question over the Northup book? I did read it but the question itself throws me.
Second: Why on earth did the leaders of the two warring factions think that men with no previous experience could lead an army to victory? It seems like everyone thought that this was a fun diversion from normal life and that anyone could lead without the slightests concept of war and tactics.

Sept 17-21: War & Watkins

Hate crime in West Virginia

From Jennifer Dorr
CNN

(CNN) -- Six West Virginians charged with kidnapping, torturing and sexually assaulting a woman for at least a week may also face hate crime charges, Logan County Sheriff's officials said Tuesday.

Danny Combs and Alisha Burton were charged in the West Virginia case.

1 of 3

The victim, 20-year-old Megan Williams, is black; those charged are white.

CNN does not normally identify the victim in sexual assault cases, but in this case, Williams' family said they want the public to know what happened.

The suspects include a mother and son, a mother and daughter, and two men.

According to criminal complaints filed in the county, Williams was sexually assaulted, stabbed in the left leg, choked and beaten.

The victim said one of the suspects cut her ankle with a knife while saying, "That's what we do to [racial slur] around here," police records show.

She also allegedly was forced to eat rat and dog feces, lick up blood and drink from the toilet. The criminal complaints say the suspects threatened to kill the victim if she left the house where she was being held.

Logan County Prosecutor Brian Abraham said he planned to meet with local police, FBI and a federal attorney at 4 p.m. ET to determine whether hate crime charges should be filed.

The six are charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, malicious wounding and battery. Kidnapping is punishable by up to life in prison. The penalty for first-degree sexual assault is 15 to 35 years.

Abraham said the charges could be modified as the investigation continues.

Williams was discovered Saturday after sheriff's deputies received an anonymous tip that a woman was being held against her will at a home in Big Creek, West Virginia.

As the deputies spoke with a woman on the front porch, "a female inside the residence limped toward the door with her arms held out, saying 'Help me,' " according to a news release from the Sheriff's Department.

Don't Miss

• Woman tortured for at least a week, officials say

The woman had stab wounds on her left leg and bruises around her eyes, the statement said. Her wounds were determined to be about a week old.

"Deputies found her with two black eyes, part of her hair had been pulled out, she had lacerations on her neck and she had been physically, mentally and sexually abused," said Sheriff W.E. Hunter.

In custody are Frankie Brewster, 49; her son Bobby, 24, both of Pecks Mill, West Virginia; Danny J. Combs, 20, of Harts, West Virginia; and George A. Messer, 27, Karen Burton, 46, and her daughter, Alisha Burton, 23, all of Chapmanville, West Virginia.

"They all have previous records and have been arrested numerous times," Hunter said. "They are familiar to law enforcement." E-mail to a friend

CNN's La Neice Collins and Joann Rizzo contributed to this report.

John Brown's Legacy

I was surprised by the video we watched on Monday afternoon. I had never been taught, or exposed to the portrayal that the film conveyed about John Brown. Maybe because I am a native Kansan, and he is regarded as a hero I was ignorant to his relative insignificance among society as a whole before his death. Only after he self-martyred himself did his ideas become romanticized, and consequently became relative in public discourse. In addition it seems that his becoming a martyr diverted attention away from his reckless decisions and hand in an atrocity.

I suppose my point is that it was refreshing to have a preconceived notion of a historical figure shattered. However, I now have some reservations about a murder covering almost an entire wall in our state capital. Even if his killing could be rationalized as moral and just, it leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.

Just my .02 --- ben

Sept 10-14: John Brown & Secession

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Northup

I find it very interesting the Northup shows different levels of respect for his different masters. One would think that he would hate all of his masters because they are the ones keeping him in slavery but in reality he respects the ones that respect him. For example he respects one of his masters Ford and even runs away to him when things go badly under another master. I think it shows that at the time the more respect you would show one of your slaves the more respect and hard work you would get in return.

Exam ID's

Well, it looks as though the first midterm is just around the corner. Dr. Weber would like each of you to e-mail me 1 to 3 possible ID's. Remember, Abraham Lincoln is not a useable ID. They have to be reasonably useable. If Dr. Weber feels that you were too "easy" on your ID choices, then she will disregard them and choose all the ID's herself. In that scenario, the exam will be harder than you may wish.

You only have to e-mail me the name of the ID, but remember that it should have 2 What's and 1 Why.

Please e-mail them to me by 9pm Sunday.

In chapters 17 and 18 I found it interesting that Mrs Epps was portrayed as a strong woman that didn't allow her husband to act like a crazy person. For example when he stabbed the old man in the back she reacted a person would today with discuss. I think this shows that no all southern women were weak and needed the protection of a man. Sometimes those men needed to be protected from their women when they were angry with the.

Jena, LA

I read this the other day and thought it was really interesting. I suggest that everyone takes a look. I guess I would really like to hear why things like this are okay from the perspective of someone who supports unfair treatment like this even today. Anyway, I just thought this was a good thing to look at so we can all realize what a problem racism still is.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/324177_amygoodman19.html

Welcome!

Welcome to the blog site for History 412 Section 41725 at the University of Kansas for Fall 2007. We meet regularly on Thursdays at 11am in Wescoe 4001. Lon Strauss is your discussion leader.

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