The Civil War, there’s a great compromise, as it’s called. It consists of Southerners admitting freely that it’s probably best that the Union wasn’t divided, and the North admits rather freely that the South fought bravely for a cause in which it believed. That is a great compromise and we live with that and that works for us. We are now able to look at the war with some coolness, which we couldn't do before now, and, incidentally, I very much doubt whether a history such as mine could have been written much before 100 years had elapsed. It took all that time for things to cool down. Shelby Foote
Slavery, throughout its entire existence in the United States, is none other than the most barbarous, unprovoked and unjustifiable war of one portion of its citizens against another portion, the only conditions of which are perpetual imprisonment and hopeless servitude, or absolute extermination, in utter disregard and violation of those eternal and self-evident truths set forth in our Declaration of Independence. John Brown, Provisional Constitution and Ordinances, 1858
An estimated eight hundred had been killed. The Union army had suffered its first defeat. The American Civil War, which many thought would only last for a few weeks, would drag on for four more even bloodier years. Blood and Glory: The Civil War, H2 2016
They were assisted by a powerful new medium that would change the way war and killing would be reported for ever – photography. ibid.
One of the most vocal and influential of the abolitionists was a former slave named Frederick Douglass. ibid.
By 1860 that number [of slaves] had grown to almost four million. ibid.
These were no ordinary warships – they were the Iron-Clads. Blood and Glory: The Civil War in Colour s1e2: Weapons of War
Modifications to weapons already in use – innovations that would make them more accurate and much more deadly. ibid.
Disease spread like wildfire, and dysentery, typhoid fever and malaria quickly ravaged both sides. Blood and Glory: The Civil War in Colour s1e3: Bloodbath
South Carolina: the CSS Planter … When Union troops boarded the ship they were shocked to find the captain was a runaway slave … he’d stolen the vessel from their masters. Blood and Glory: The Civil War in Colour s1e4: The Legacy of War
‘Insane’ soldiers have been found wandering about the country, in railroad depots, and about the streets of cities. ibid. Report from the association of Medical Superintendents 1864
A million men, it is estimated, are now standing in hostile array and waging war along a frontier of thousands of miles. Battles have been fought, sieges have been conducted, and although the contest is not ended and the tide for the moment is against us, the final result in our favor is not doubtful. We have had our trials and difficulties. That we are to escape them in the future is not to be hoped. It was to be expected when we entered this war that it would expose our people to sacrifices and cost them much, both of money and blood. But the picture has its lights as well as its shadows. This great strife has awakened in the people the highest emotions and qualities of the human soul. Jefferson Davis, 1862
Put not your trust in princes and rest not your hopes on foreign nations. This war is ours; we must fight it out ourselves. Jefferson Davis
If the Confederacy falls, there should be written on its tombstone: DIED OF A THEORY. Jefferson Davis
Always mystify, mislead and surprise the enemy, if possible. And when you strike and overcome him, never let up in the pursuit so long as your men have strength to follow. The other rule is, never fight against heavy odds if by any possible manoeuvring you can hurl your own force on only a part, and that the weakest part, of your enemy and crush it. Such tactics will win every time, and a small army may thus destroy a large one in detail, and repeated victory will make it invincible. General Stonewall Jackson
The time has come for offering mediation to the United States Government, with a view to recognition of the independence of the Confederates. I agree further that, in case of failure, we ought ourselves to recognize the Southern States as an independent State. Earl Russell, foreign secretary letter to prime minister
It is evident that a great conflict is taking place to the northwest of Washington, and its issue may have a great effect on the state of affairs. If the Federals sustain a grave defeat, they may be at once ready for mediation, and iron should be struck while it is hot. If, on the other hand, they should have the best of it, we may wait a while and see what may follow. Lord Palmerston
At least 600,000 men died in the Civil War. Major battles numbered the dead in the thousands; even minor skirmishes killed hundreds ... Then why study the death of thirteen men? ... Mass death numbs the mind and heart as it numbers its vast toll. Relief from the horror is less possible when we watch old Joe Woods and thirteen-year-old David Shelton plead for life – and then die. Phillip Shaw Pauadan, Victims: A True Story of The Civil War
It is something great and greatening to cherish an ideal; to act in the light of truth that is far-away and far above; to set aside the near advantage, the momentary pleasure; the snatching of seeming good to self; and to act for remoter ends, for higher good, and for interests other than our own. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
But out of that silence rose new sounds more appalling still, the strange ventriloquism of which you could not locate the source. A smothered moan as if a thousand discords were flowing together into one key note. Weird. Unearthly. Terrible to hear and bear. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
As I sit tonight writing this epistle the dead are all around me. The knife of the surgeon is busy at work. Amputated legs and arms lay scattered in every direction. I hope my eyes will never again look upon such sights. Ned Spencer, Cincinnati Times
For me the picture of the Civil War ... a discussion about something higher. About humanity. About human dignity. About human freedom. Barbara Fields, historian
If there was a single event that caused the War, it was the establishment of the United States in independence from Great Britain with slavery still a part of its heritage. Barbara Fields
A Proclamation By The President: Seventy-Five Thousand Volunteers Called For. The Government to be Sustained. Its Property Protected, and the Laws Enforced. Newspaper article
The inmates of the White House are in a state of utmost trepidation. And Mr Lincoln in despair. The London Times
Little did I conceive of the greatness of the defeat. The magnitude of the disaster which curtailed upon the United States. So short-lived has been the American union that men who saw it rise may live to see it fall. The London Times, article William Russell
The triumph of the Confederacy would be a victory of the powers of evil which would give courage to the enemies of progress and damp the spirits of friends all over the civilised world. The American Civil War is destined to be a turning point for good or evil of the course of human affairs. John Stuart Mill
Woe to those who began this war if they were not in bitter earnest. Mary Chesnut
Darkest of all Decembers ever my life has known.
Sitting here by the embers stunned, helpless, alone. Mary Chesnut
My face dropped and I resigned myself to sit by the wounded and sooth them, or silently watch the dead. Walt Whitman
January 31 1862: Mud. Mud. Mud. Elisha Hunt Rhodes
I have never in my soldier’s life seen such a sight: the dead and wounded covered the ground. Elisha Hunt Rhodes
We can fight rebels, but not in the mud. Elisha Hunt Rhodes
May 7th: If we were under any other General except Grant I should expect retreat. But Grant is not that kind of soldier. Elisha Hunt Rhodes
Well the first year of so of the war does not go very well for the North. They lose most of the battles, particularly in the eastern theatre, Virginia. But if you ... looked at a map of the United States you’d be amazed how little territory had been recaptured from the Confederacy. Eric Foner, Columbia University New York
We may anticipate with certainty the success of the southern states. William E Gladstone
Dear Ellen, I can’t tell you how disgusted I am becoming with these wretched politicians. They are a most despicable set of men ... The President is nothing more than a well-meaning baboon. George McClellan
The light of two lanterns softly illuminates the the tower of the Christ Church in Boston. It’s April 18th 1775, and this is the very signal American colonists have anxiously awaited. The British are coming. Revolutions that Change History V: The United States
Now comes the necessary time to defend their cause … The Battle of Lexington was the first of many that came to define the American Revolutionary War. ibid.
The 18th century saw the slow burn of revolutionary fervour take hold in the minds of America’s greatest thinkers. ibid.
In a town meeting Adams rallies colonists to resist tea taxation. ibid.
At the call of these committees, delegates unite for the momentous First Continental Congress in September 1774. ibid. historian
From the Carolinas to Canada a surge of patriotic rage fuels the insurgent forces. ibid.