America's Bloodiest Conflict

Many people believe that the Civil War was a conflict over slavery. That was a large piece of the puzzle, but it was not the whole story. It was also a war about autonomy and representation. President Abraham Lincoln wrote,

“If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that.”

The lightly populated southern states were badly outnumbered in Congress and felt they had little say in the affairs of the nation. In fact, the slaves they “owned” were counted as only three-fifths of a human for purposes of representation. So the South believed if they separated, and tried to make it on their own, they would attain the autonomy they desired. It resulted in a five-year conflict that led to the death of more Americans than all other military conflicts combined.

During the 1800s slavery was an important institution in the American South. But for humanitarian reasons, many Northerners were offended by the cruelty, and called for its abolition. But the Southern economy was dependent on slave labor, and while many Southerners saw that slavery was inhumane and economically unsustainable, a quick change in their ways would have been a disaster. That was a prescient, but unfortunate analysis.

So the southern states decided to break away and try it on their own. South Carolina was the first to secede, led by former Vice President and Senator John C. Calhoun. Other southern states quickly followed, and in a matter of weeks the entire south had broken away under their new name, the Confederate States of America. They quickly learned what the Founding Fathers had – forming a new nation was not such an easy task. The new Confederate government was fractured from the start.

But the South was not foolish, and they knew that the gangly President Abraham Lincoln would not let them walk away unscathed. So the newly formed and ragtag Confederate army went on the offensive, hoping to catch the North off guard, knowing that news traveled slowly in those days. With hunting rifles and a few cannons pilfered from an armory, the Confederates attacked. They engaged the Union forces at Bull Run, Virginia. Upon learning that the battle was to take place, local residents took blankets and picnic baskets to watch a quick one-battle war expected to be won by the Union. What they witnessed was a bloodbath, and the beginning of a horrific five years in the 1860s that left America a wounded and limping nation.

After the first engagement, the Southerners began an audacious guerilla warfare campaign. On horseback and on foot, they looted and burned homes and businesses in Union territory. Since the Union held the nation’s armories, they were particularly fond of stealing weapons and ammunition to “finance” the rebellion for free. Meanwhile, the North did little or nothing to stop them. Instead, Union soldiers practiced and drilled while the “Rebs” were running amok in Northern territory, unchecked. The North involuntarily and unintentionally funded the Southern war effort.

The Southerners believed strongly in their actions. To this day, many Southerners do not call the five-year war the "Civil War," instead calling it “The War of Northern Aggression.”

While the issue of slavery was undoubtedly a part of the war, it was much more complicated than that. A general cultural difference between the North and the South was a major factor. The genteel Southerners and the industrious Northerners simply did not get along. It was a culture conflict analogous to a sibling rivalry that resulted in sadly deadly consequences.

Through a combination of Northern sluggishness and incompetence, along with Southern pluck and audacity, the Civil War resulted in more American deaths than all other wars combined. No one will ever be able to place a figure on the number of lives lost in the conflict, as even to this day the remains of soldiers are found in fields and woods, a grim reminder of the time when our country tore itself apart.