US Civil War

US Civil War

Difficult Decisions made by Civil War soldiers

There were many tough questions and decisions Civil War soldiers had to make during battle and even before battle started. The first main question that had to be answered was,which side are you on? This was a decision that many people answered differently and for different reasons. One man, Robert E. Lee decided to be loyal to his home state of Virginia. He disagreed with the South's beliefs of slavery, but he wanted to fight for his family and his friends. Many people just didn't want to fight against their family, but some did. Another challenging decision to answer would be following basic orders. A lot of the time soldiers are told to do something that they don't necessarily agree with. The question is, do you follow your orders? This is what caused many people to desert. They couldn't carry out orders that they didn't agree with. Also, many soldiers didn't want to go out on the battlefield and have to fight against their former friends and family. This was an extremely difficult question to need to answer.

Works Cited

Flags: http://ragencage.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/civil_war_soldiers-union_confederate.GIF

Fugitive Slave Act:http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-STQwUf02Cc0/UUZy16C-vcI/AAAAAAAAACQ/seO9Ur00Rlc/s1600/FSA.jpg

Camp: http://www.archives.gov/research/military/civil-war/photos/images/civil-war.jpg

Robert E Lee: http://www.marinersmuseum.org/blogs/civilwar/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/robert-e-lee.jpg

Civil War Differences

Was the American Civil War Inevitable?

Hardships

There were countless hardships soldiers faced in the war. First off, there was little food in the camps. Many soldiers had to steal food from farms and innocent people. This was caused by the scarce food in camp tasting so horrendous. Also, at the camp living conditions were tough. Soldiers slept in cramped, wet tents with many other tired men. Not only were there physical hardships, but there were also mental hardships. Soldiers were forced to take weapons and supplies off of dead soldiers. They had to watch soldiers die right in front of them, and most of the time there was nothing anyone could do. These mental hardships could ruin soldiers lives when they were finally able to go home.

The U.S. Civil War was different from previous military conflicts for many reasons. First, this was a civil war. Americans vs. Americans. Soldiers were fighting people they may have personally known. Also, this war was battled on American soil, which has only happened three times. So, civilians were getting their first taste in over 50 years of how vicious a war is. Many Americans didn't think this was going to be a long war. Most thought it would be one battle. Some people even went to watch the initial battle, but what the saw at Bull Run was no picnic. It was pure hatred.

The U.S. Civil War between the Confederate and Union states was inevitable. The North and South disagreed greatly on their ways of life. The South had no problem with having slavery, and many northerners despised it. How could two "rivals" live right next to each other and not fight. Plus, the Union and Confederate people flat out hated each other. Also, in 1850 the Fugitive Slave Act was passed. This act stated that all northerners were required by federal law to catch and return any runaway slaves they found. This act irritated people in the North. They didn't want to have slavery and they had to uphold it by sending slaves back to their owners in the South.