How the American Civil War Played Out

What was the cause and what exactly happened

The American Civil War was fought on the basis of colour of the skin.

The Americas was divided into the North and the South.

The War was fought because of the lack of dignity shown to people with dark skin.

The Southern American rich landowners made the ‘blacks’ work for them as slaves. They owned these people. In 1860, when Abraham Lincoln was voted President the Southern people felt insecure. They thought that their regal lifestyle will now cease to exist.

The United States of America (the Union) consisted of the North as well as South America. As the doubt set in with the Southerners, they withdrew from the Union. The South then formed their own nation called as Confederate States 0f America.

In the North, the story was opposite to that of its counterpart. They believed slavery to be evil.

So to remerge the Union and free the slaves, the North went on battle with the Confederate. This conflict went down in history as the American Civil War.

The fight lasted for four years from 1861-1865. Initially the North and the South both won plenty of encounters.

In 1863, the Confederate invaded the North under the leadership of General Robert E. Lee. The battle lasted 3 days in Gettysburg. In the end this skirmish ended in defeat for the south. This changed the scenario of the war.

The North was on the winning side because it was richer in resources than the south. The south had dwindling resources and were getting weaker day by day. The North had a ready to work labour force.

So in the finale, the Northern Armies along with General Ulysses S. Grant and General William T. Sherman marched on the South. Their battle strategy was simple. Grant attacked from the northern side and Sherman from the west. He ransacked like a tornado, destroying everything that came his way. Thus on the 9th of April, 1865, Lee surrendered to the North, ending the war.

The slaves were given freedom. The Union was remerged. All was stitched back in its place except for the Southern ‘Whites’ who were angry for years to come.

The pictures taken by Matthew Brady during the war shows the plight of the war and what a disastrous affair it was.

The victory from the war took away with it the real gem who had led the nation- Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was assassinated post the war.

Lincoln’s assassination was a shock to many. It was the first time any American President had been murdered.

The poem by Walt Whitman shows the sadness of the people after the death of their president-

“…The port is near, the bells I hear, the people exulting,                                                                                                          While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;                                                                                                      But O heart! Heart! Heart!
O the bleeding drops of red
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.”s