Why the North Won and Effects of the War

Dear Diary,
Looking back over the war, I have been thinking about why the North won. At the beginning, the South had a strong military, determination to protect their livelihood, and confidence. The North did not have many committed to the fight because they did not have to protect the only way they had ever lived. As the war went on, the North had more become involved with the war. They also had greater technological developments and more resources. The North's bigger population helped them find people to be soldiers. The Union was able to use their brilliant generals, who were willing to do anything they needed to to win the war. The Confederacy used up their resources far to early in the war and were not able to call upon fresh troops. The North also had the advantage of Lincoln's leadership. He was able to keep what was left of the nation together while they fought. The Emancipation Proclamation also helped the North by raising their sprits. Here is a picture of some of the Union soldiers with Lincoln:

 That's all for now Diary,

Rebecca

Union Soldiers with Lincoln. N.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2016. 

       <http://lincoln200.delaware.gov/images/photos/17_

       LincolnVisitingUnionTroops.jpg>.
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Dear Diary,
A lot has changed since the war ended. One way Congress started trying to help fix the economy before the war ended is by the Land Grant College Act in 1862. This act makes it where the money raised by the sale of public lands goes to states to establish universities that taught agriculture and mechanical arts. They also created a tariff that year that would protect the North's industrial industry and use it as a much needed revenue for the Union. This surge in manufacturing would continue even after the end of the war. After the war ended in 1865, the northern banks, factories, and cities underwent industrialization sweeping that would help make the United States a global economical power. It took much longer to rebuild the South after the war. Many cities that had been effected by total war lay in ruins. The South had to find ways to enter the modern cash society without their slaves and many of their factories. Agriculture would be their main center for the southern economy for many years to come. Northerners would often blame the South's slowness for their own shortcomings, forgetting all about Sherman's destruction of their assets.

The war also effected the society of the United States. Many Confederate soldiers returned home to find everything destroyed. There were millions of Southerners without home in 1865. Some of the Southerners thought God was punishing them. Some white southerners veiled that eventually the South would be redeemed. Although African Americans in the south were just as lost, they had the new hope that came with their freedom. Some African Americans would take advantage of the Homestead Act and move west. Sadly, many African Americans found out that their freedom was not all it was said to be.

The war also effected the government. There was still a lot of sectionalism in the government. It never again led to secession however. After the war, there were still debates about states' rights. Even though the war divided the states, it did not divided the national bond of the constitution. The increased amount of federal government helped Americans see themselves a more of a nation then just a bunch of states held together by a thin thread.

This will be my last journal Diary. It has been years since I wrote today. I am now an old lady who enjoys spending time with my children and grandchildren. I found you the other day in a box in the attic and figured I will tell you what happened after the war so many years ago. Here is a picture of me now,

That's all Diary,

Rebecca

Little Old Lady. N.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2016. 

       <https://whowerethey.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/

       kindface.jpeg>.

Lincoln's Assassination

Dear Diary,
News has spread quick. Lincoln has been assassinated! He was assassinated on April 15, 1865. He was at Ford's Theater watching a viewing of Our American Cousin when John Wilkes Booth came up behind him in his private box and fired off a shot at the back of his head. He then jumped onto the stage and shouted out in latin, "Thus ever to tyrants," the motto of Virginia. He then went on to say, "The south is avenged." Lincoln officially died the next morning. After a couple days, Booth was shot and killed while he was hiding in a barn in Virginia. It was later discovered that he had been a part of a plot to kill the Vice President and the Secretary of State as well. The plotters hoped that this would cause enough panic in the north to give the South enough time to regroup and continue the war. Although the Secretary of State was injured, they did not die. Lincoln was the only one of the three to die. Four of Booth's accomplices were hanged for their involvement. Lincoln's death made even the people who criticized him see him as a symbol of freedom. Lincoln was no longer around to be the skilled leader he was. I will definitely miss how he was able to lead us through this crisis of these past few years. Here is a picture of the assassination of Lincoln:

That is all for now Diary,

Rebecca

 Assassination of Lincoln. N.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2016. 
       <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/The_Assassinati
       on_of_President_Lincoln_-_Currier_and_Ives_2.png>.

Lee's Surrender

Dear Diary,
I have only recently learned about how the battle at Gettysburg and its affects had pushed Lee to surrender. He had to retreat from Petersburg on April 2nd because of failing to seize the town. Then when Lee tried to join his soldiers in North Carolina, he found they did not have enough food. They were trapped in the town of Appomattox Court House, Virginia by the Union soldiers. By April 9th, Lee formally surrendered to Grant. General Grant told his men not to gloat because "the rebels were are countrymen again." The war is over, at least in this area. At the time of Lee's surrender there were still 170,000 soldiers under arms. It would take until June before all the other Confederate Generals could surrender. It is said that the African Americans in Texas celebrated on June 19th as the news finally reached them. I am so happy the war is over. It has been years of long, hard work for many of the men across the country. Now that the war is over my husband will finally be coming home. It has been almost a year, if not more, since I have seen him. I cannot express to Diary just how happy I am. Here is a photo of Lee surrendering at the Appomattox Court House:

That's all for now Diary,

Rebecca

Lee's Surrender. N.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. 
        <http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/1504071157
        14-06-civil-war-0497-restricted-super-169.jpg>.

The 13th Amendment

Dear Diary,
A new amendment has been proposed to Congress. Its name is the Thirteenth Amendment. If this amendment is ratified, there will no longer be slavery anywhere in the United States. In this past February, there was a meeting between the vice president of the Confederacy, Alexander Stephens, and Lincoln to discuss a possible way to end the war. The South would agree with anything that meant there was going to be no slavery in their future. This meeting did not go as well as hoped. The war was not able to end in February. The Thirteenth Amendment already got its approval from Lincoln. We just need Congress to approve it. I really hope they do. I believe that all men and women should be free and equal. Not many people believe in what I believe in, but enough at least agree with me that they should be free. Slaves do not deserve to go through the torture they face. They should not be slaves in the first place. I hope that Congress is able to see things from my point of view. I do hope they ratify this amendment. Here is a photo of the amendment:

That's all for now Diary,

Rebecca

13th Amendment. N.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2016. <http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-

        YC8W6qLuaiM/Ui6OscY7JyI/AAAAAAAAHDY/wCMMSBwAI8M/s6

        40/amendment+13.png>.

Sherman's March

Dear Diary,
Over this past year General Sherman has been working on his "March to the Sea". He started on it in March. The march is supposed to bring 60,000 Union troops all the way to the port of Savannah, Georgia. He and the troops started at the Tennessee-Georgia border. The men were ordered to collect supplies and destroy anything of potential value they could not bring along the way. According to the stories I have heard about Sherman's troops, they tore up tracks, vandalized homes, and destroyed buildings. I almost feel bad for the people of Georgia. Confederate troops had to abandon Atlanta when the Union troops started to close in. Once Atlanta was empty, the Union troops burned the city to the ground. By the time Sherman got to the port of Savannah in December, he had been on a 60-mile long path of destruction. Here is a video of the path that Sherman took and the destruction left behind:

That's all for now Diary,

Rebecca

"Sherman's March to the Sea." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 21 

         Feb. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlMYmJ

         E289w>.

Battle of Gettysburg

Dear Diary,
So much has happened over these past few weeks. Recently General Lee's troops have invaded up through Virginia and are currently somewhere around Pennsylvania. It is said that there was a major battle in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Some of the Confederate soldiers were going to seize some shoes from a local shoe factory when they came across a large group of Union soldiers led by General John Buford. The Union soldiers headed to the northwest part of town and called in reinforcements. The battle itself lasted for three days total. On the first day, the Confederate soldiers pushed the Union force back onto higher ground in the south part of town. On the night after the first day, the Union reinforcements arrived. The Union troops dug a trench that was two and a half miles long. The Union used the fact that they now had the high ground to their advantage. The confederate soldiers tried to move against the Union soldiers by dividing into two groups and attacking each end of the line. There was a commotion on Little Round Top (one of the hills at the end of the line). Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain of the Union army and his men fought against the Confederate army on Little Round Top. When the Colonel's numbers were getting low, he ordered a bayonet charge against the Confederate soldiers. Hundreds of Confederate soldiers had to surrender by the end of July 2, 1863. Lee still thought he could win the battle if they attacked one more time. Lee had an artillery barrage aimed at the center of the Union line thinking it would be the thing to finally break the defenses. When Lee's men finally marched forward, they were plowed down by Union cannon and riffle fire. When Lee ordered General Pickett's division to reposition he had to face the sad fact that there no longer was a division. By the end of the Battle of Gettysburg, more than 50,000 were dead or wounded. Almost a third of Lee's forces were included in that 50,000. This battle made Lee give up on his invasion of the North and go back to the South. Lincoln honored the dead by creating a cemetery for the fallen soldiers. He gave this very inspiring speech that has become known as the Gettysburg Address. In this speech, he talked about all the troubles we have seen in the Civil War. He also stated that all men are equal in this address. This is the last time the Confederate army tried to fight on the North's land. Here is a photo of the dead at the Battle of Gettysburg:

That's all for now Diary,

Rebecca

The Dead at the Battle of Gettysburg. N.d. CivilWar.org. Web. 17 Feb. 2016. 

        <http://www.civilwar.org/photos/galleries/gettysburg/images/dead-at-

        gettysburg.jpg>.

Life As A Soldier and Women in the War

Dear Diary,
About half of the population of eligible men from the Union are fighting in the war. Four out of every five eligible men in the Confederacy had to fight. Many of the soldiers got their first chance to travel when they were traveling with the troops. Soldiers are often homesick being unused to being so far away from home. Soldiers past time between battles by playing games, attending religious revivals, and writing letters home. Some soldiers end up having to be fighting against their own brothers or cousins depending on their family and location. New bullets made killing much more effective in the war. We have never seen so many dead soldiers before. Because the doctors are not aware of the possible infections that come with amputations in the field. There are a lot of soldiers getting amputations nowadays. There is not a lot of clean water and illnesses get passed around very easy. There are also prison camps now. At the prison camps, some soldiers were even outright killed. One camp that I have heard about is in Anderson, Georgia. Currently, in 1864, about 33,000 Union prisoners at the camp in Anderson. Black prisoners in the Confederate prison camps were often killed immediately. There is so much happening lately with the war going on. Here is a photo of one of the camps:

That's all for now Diary,

Rebecca

Civil War Photos. N.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2016. <https://www.archives.

        gov/research/military/civil-war/photos/images/civil-war-072.

        jpg>.

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Dear Diary,

Many of my friends and I have had to take on new responsibilities with the men going off to war. Some have gone off to become nurses in the war. I have had to help my family with our business. Some of my female friends have had to help on the farms and plantations. We even have some within our friend group that have gone on to teach at schools. There are stories told between us of women who have dressed as men and fought in battles for both the North and the South. There are some women in my town who have gone on to do laundry and cooking for the men in the camps. One story that we have also heard about is about a girl named Clara Barton. She assists with helping the sick and wounded on both sides. Clara has helped start the United States Sanitary Commission that allows for women to oversee hospitals. It was signed off by President Lincoln. Here is a photo of Clara Barton:

That's all for now Diary,

Rebecca

Clara Barton. N.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2016. <http://www.uncompromis

         ingcommitment.org/wp-content/sdaolpu/2012/08/clarabar

         ton.jpg>.