As most of our nations National Parks are west of the Mississippi, this back end leg of our trip could result in a lot of driving with very few stops to admire our park system as we swing our RV up the east coast. Fortunately, the east coast is dotted with the history of our countries bloodiest war and that was the Civil War. Historical sites which include numerous National Historical Parks and Battlefields are no less amazing than the natural beauty that was in our National Parks. Every battle that was fought is a fascinating story of bravery, savagery, untold losses, and more often than not, monumental blunders by those in command, seemingly more often than not by the Union forces. You cannot but imagine the level of commitment to “the cause” on both sides as they endured charges across open fields into a barrage of musket and cannon fire, brutal bombardments by artillery batteries, hand to hand combat, bayonets as a handier means of killing than reloading their muskets, field doctors removing mangled limbs with saws and without anesthesia, anguished deaths of the wounded laying in the fields after the battle has ended, endless marches through all manner of weather, lack of food and adequate clothing, and the pitting of brothers and friends against each other on American soil. I wonder at the different factors that actually fueled the commitment. If you were a Confederate soldier, were you fighting this hard to protect the institution of slavery or states rights? Were you fighting to protect your homeland, the South, from Northern aggression? If you were in the Union army, were you fighting to maintain a unity of the states? Were you fighting because you were against the institution of slavery? Or maybe, some continued fighting because they had already been through the hell of battle and loss and deprivation and your anger moved you to take it out on the enemy. Something must have fueled the incredible bravery shown by these fighting men. It’s the type of bravery that keeps you fighting regardless of the odds against you. It’s the type of bravery that turns the tides of battles. Every battle and engagement is a chapter in this story that on its own, cannot be put down, and regardless of the side of the Mason Dixon line on which you fall, you cannot fail to shed a tear when hearing the recounting of these battles in which so many young Americans died. They are battles that made up a war of unbelievable tragedy.

Our first stop was Fort Sumter, situated in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. This was where the first shots of what would be the start of the Civil War took place. By 1861, 6 southern states had voted to seceded from the Union when Maj. Robert Anderson moved his two companies of Federal forces (Union) from an unprotected position at Fort Moultrie on the Charleston harbor, into Fort Sumter which currently was empty. The State of South Carolina considered this a “breach of faith”, and ordered Anderson to vacate the fort. Anderson in turn was ordered by the Union President James Buchanan to hold the fort. Later that year when Lincoln was elected, he too supported the holding of the fort with Anderson’s forces, as he did not recognize the splitting of the Union. He also stressed that the Union forces would not fire on anyone from the fort. This was not acceptable to the secessionist state of South Carolina and the southern Secretary of War ordered General Pierre B. T Beauregard of the CSA (Confederate States of America) to drive the Federal forces out. After preparing batteries around the harbor, Beauregard ordered Anderson to vacate the fort or he would commence bombardment of it. Anderson refused and on April 12^th, 1861, the canon batteries around the harbor began the bombardment of Fort Sumter. Anderson held out for 34 hours before surrendering. General Beauregard had been a student of Andersons when Anderson was an instructor at West Point and the two knew each other well. Beauregard allowed Anderson and his men to board a ship that took them back to New York. Fort Sumter was back under command of the Confederate States of America. Although not one soldier was lost on either side during the siege, this became the starting point of a war which would kill or wound over 300,000 men over the next 5 years.

The first official battle of the Civil War after Anderson and his Federal Brigades were forced from Fort Sumter, was the Battle of Manassas, as the Union called it, or, the Battle of Bull Run as the Confederates called it. Manassas is only 25 miles southwest of Washington DC and the North felt that this would be a quick battle and end of the secessionist conflict and that would be it. The Union General Irvin McDowell planned on taking the strategic railroad junction at Manassas Virginia and use it as a jumping off point in then taking the city of Richmond Virginia, which was the secessionist states capital. McDowell had approximately 35,000 fresh recruits who had quickly been brought together on 90 day enlistments. None had ever been in battle or had any idea what war was like. It was the same for the 32,000 troops that were under the command of Confederate General Pierre G.T. Beauregard. It would be a clash of two green and untested armies. The two armies battled back and forth for 10 hours before 10,000 Confederate reinforcements under the command of General Stonewall Jackson arrived and helped turn the tide of battle in favor of the South. The Union forces retreated in what turned into a rout by the Confederate forces. The Confederate victory did much to embolden the Confederate armies but didn’t at all dampen the moral or resolve of the North. What was clear after this battle however, was the fact that this war was not going to end quickly. It was going to be a long drawn out and bloody conflict. The National Park Service does an amazing job of maintaining these sites and they have volunteers who are truly experts on the Civil War, who give tours. We walked out along the battlefield and received a detailed accounting of the events as they transpired. It was humbling to walk over the ground where so many had suffered and died in this first true battle of the Civil War.

It is amazing to me the points on which battles and wars are turned and in my limited studying of the Civil War, one of the most significant was the battle of Antietam in Sharpsburg Maryland. I could include the outcome at the Battle of Gettysburg but we hadn’t been there on this trip. General Robert E. Lee led his army of 40,000 men across the Potomac River and into Maryland with the goal of acquiring supplies and ultimately putting a siege on Washington DC with hopes of forcing an end to the war. At the same time, England was debating the support of the Confederate States which would immediately give legitimacy and war material to the Confederacy which in turn would significantly impact the outcome of the conflict. England was dependent on the Confederate states for cotton and other crops and receiving British support represented a potential turning point for all involved. The decision to debate and support the Confederacy in the British Parliament, would depend on the Confederacy succeeding in one more major battle with the Union. The Battle of Antietam would be watched closely by the Brits. General Lee had divided his army in order to rout the Union troops that were guarding Harpers Ferry which was an armory (storing weapons for the troops). The Union General George B. McClellan was in Maryland when one of his soldiers found a copy of General Lee’s “Special Order 191, which outlined Lee’s plans and also the fact that at this point his army was divided. McClellan realized this was the time to attack and he did, driving Lee’s forces from mountaintop positions around Harpers Ferry. Lee contemplated retreating his forces back to Virginia but instead, decided to make a stand with all his forces brought together at Sharpsburg Maryland. This would be the Battle of Antietam, which was named after the creek that ran through the area. On September 17^th, 1862, the battle began. Back and forth it raged. Bridges that afforded crossing of the creek were staunchly defended by the Confederates. Eventually, General Ambrose Burnside was able to take the lower bridge and drive the Confederate troops back. In the 10 hours of bloody fighting, the lines of battle had not shifted significantly, however, of the 100,000 troops that were involved in it, 23,000 were either dead, wounded or missing. It was the single bloodiest day in United States history. Although the battle was a draw, Lee decided to take his forces back across the Potomac into Virginia, leaving the Union forces in control of Sharpsburg. The South was denied a significant victory. Three months later President Lincoln issued “The Emancipation Proclamation” freeing the slaves in the secessionist states. Slaves could flee the south and even join the Union Army which they did. The Emancipation Proclamation and the Battle of Antietam, which was viewed by England as a Confederate loss, ended the British Parliaments support of the south. While the war would continue for several more years, this was a major turning point. It’s hard to say exactly what the full impact was of finding General Lee’s “Lost Order”, but it certainly played a roll in the “draw” at Antietam, and the subsequent view of the British of it being a Confederate loss. One other point of note with this battle was a local woman, Clara Barton, who seeing the carnage taking place, made numerous deliveries of bandages, lanterns, and food to the hospital that had been set up at Antietam. The hospital surgeon Charles Dunn, called her “The Angel of the Battlefield”. In 1881, Barton founded the American Red Cross, which would go on to provide neutral assistance to soldiers in war and also to civilians who were affected by natural disasters.

After almost 5 long years of this bloody conflict, the end finally came on April 9^th, 1865. Gereral Robert E. Lee’s army of Northern Virginia, was boxed in by General Ulysses S. Grant near Appomattox, Virginia. Lee’s 28,000 troops were starving and short on necessary supplies and were blocked from hooking up with other Conferderate forces in North Carolina. Desertions were also running high so seeing no way out, Lee sent a message to Grant inquiring about what the possible terms of a surrender were. The terms were generous and respectful and General Lee respected the consideration from Grant throughout the rest of his life. All officers and enlisted men were to receive a full pardon upon laying down their weapons and surrendering their colors. They were also allowed to keep their horses as the spring planting was coming up and officers were allowed to keep their side arms. In addition, Grant ordered that food rations be delivered to all of the Confederate troops. As the first of the Confederate troops marched past the Union troops, the Union band struck up a celebratory tune at which Grant immediately ordered them to halt it. Instead, the Union forces stood at attention and saluted the passing Confederate troops, in a show of respect to those who were now again part of the United States of America. I cannot imagine the emotions of this moment and will freely admit that I tear up when imagining it. An interesting note about the surrender is this: the first land battle of the Civil War was fought at Manassas or, as the south called it, the first Battle of Bull Run. An individual by the name of Wilmer McClain had a farm near Manassas and after that battle, decided to relocate to a quieter location to get away from the war. He moved to Appomattox, Virginia, which was the location of the last battle of the Civil War. In addition to being present for the first and last battles of the war, it was in the parlor of his home at Appomattox where General Lee tendered his formal surrender to General Grant. There are so many fascinating battlefields and historical sites to visit that are associated with the Civil War that I have thought about doing another trip in the RV just to try and visit half of them. The history of our country and this conflict, even through just the handful of sites we visited, would be well worth it.