The Role of Media in the American Civil War
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- 3.1.2.The Battle of Fredericksburg
- 3.1.3.First military drafts in the American history
- 3.1.4.The Siege of Vicksburg and Battle of Gettysburg
3.1. The Early Years3.1.1. The Scott’s Great SnakeThe Scott’s Great plan or the Anaconda plan were popular nicknames for the strategy of the Union Navy forces. The Government intended to weaken the Confederacy by cutting it off from the rest of the world and thus to stop import of weapons to the South and export of cotton especially to Great Britain. Yet the goal was not only to take over the Southern ports but also to split the Confederacy by controlling the Mississippi river. At first, the results of the Scott’s snake were disputable due to the frequent success of the “blockade runners” in breaking the blockade. However, it is said that the war was shortened considerably as the Confederate troops lacked the supplies and weapons provided from Europe. Owing to the low impact of the blockade at the beginning, the South doubted that the plan could do any harm to its economy. In the early November 1861, the Savannah Daily Morning News published an article “What the Blockade has done for us” that emphasized southern independence of foreign resources: “It was the cry at the North that they would starve us out. Those who joined in it knew but little of the resources of our “Sunny South” or of the energy of our people” (2). The Atlanta Southern Confederacy went even further with celebrating the self-reliance to foreign aid in the article “Blockade Broken”: “We have enough to spare. It is highly gratifying to our young pride as a nation to find in this practical way how rich and diverse are our resources, and how independent of the rest of the world we may be if necessity so require” (1). Apart from the enormous self-confidence in the matter of their own ability to supply, the Confederate States were also aware of what the blockade would cause to the European economics. Great Britain and France were dependent on the Southern cotton and as the blockade cut down the export to Europe, not only British manufactories entered a period of high unemployment but also producers of wine and silk in France were affected by closed markets in the United States. The Gazette and Sentinel from Louisiana criticized the blockade for its feasibility: Probably nothing has done more to injure the United States in the respect of the European nations, than Mr. Lincoln’s blockade of the United States. A blockade to be regarded by other nations must be complete – it must be an actual and not a paper blockade. And this we have not the power to do, even were our navy ten times as large as it is. (Bradburn 2) Indeed, in 1861 the blockade was leaky. According to James Rickard, the author of “The Blockade and the War at Sea”, only one of ten ships attempting to trade with the South ended in capture, however as the war proceeded the number of ships captured climbed to two out of three in 1864. 2.1.1. The First Battle of Bull Run On July 21 1861, two months after the fall of Fort Sumter, the first major conflict of the upcoming war started in Virginia, only 25 miles to Washington D.C. The goal was to reach quickly the Confederate capital Richmond and annex the rebel states back to the remainder of the United States before the end of summer. Yet what first seemed as the Union victory turned into a defeat at the end of the day. The battle gained its name from a small stream of Bull Run where it took place, however the South named the skirmish according to the city of Manassas nearby. According to “The Civil War Battle Names” the phenomenon of having 2 different names for one battle was not rare in the Civil War as the Unionists tended to call the conflicts after natural resources such as creeks or rivers (Wilson’s Creek, Stones River), whereas the Confederate army used names of towns nearby, or even farms and railroad stations (Oak Hills, Murfreesboro). The first battle of Bull Run is very well known as a spectator event. The Northerners encouraged by the newspapers shouting mottos as “On to Richmond” in the headlines, were keen to see the clash in their own eyes. The article “Remembering the First Battle of Bull Run” described the curious situation as follows: “Hundreds of people—including reporters, government officials and even average citizens—traveled out to watch the battle. They made a day of it, bringing picnic lunches and wine, almost as if they were attending a modern-day tailgate party”. Due to the general enthusiasm on the North after a few won skirmishes in Virginia, the defeat was even bitter as the Michigan Cass County Republican commented on: After performing such deeds of valor as are rarely to be found on the pages of history, after a series of brilliant victories, such as never before were won on the continent, after carrying one after another of the enemy’s batteries, after our troops had covered themselves with imperishable honor by their brilliant conduct, and just when a complete triumph over the rebel army seemed about to crown their efforts, victory was turned into a defeat. (Campbell 3) The battle was very-well planned on both sides, however as it was the first real conflict between two inexperienced armies, to keep the troops organized was the hardest task for the leadership. The Northern press saw the cause of the defeat in atrocious conduct, specifically the New York Tribune criticized in “The Causes of our Defeat”: “the cowardly or imbecile conduct of Gen. Patterson in permitting Johnson to form a junction with Beauregard, when it is asserted, he was repeatedly telegraphed to engage Johnson at any hazard” (2), meanwhile Robert M. Clarke for the Lancaster Gazette from Ohio accused the government of “imbecility and a disposition to compromise with rebels” (1). The Union defeat meant an increase of morale for southern troops at first, secondly the acquisition of cannons and supplies that the northerners left behind when retreating. The southern newspapers celebrated the first confederate victory. The Shreveport Daily News mocked the northern newspapers in the article “the Northern Press on the Manassas”: “The Republican papers that have been hallowing “Ho! For Richmond!” Now that disaster has followed their demand, want to blame somebody for their foolish advice” (1). From the southern point of view, the battle is also known as a place when gen. Thomas J. Jackson came to his immortal nickname “Stonewall”. In the “First battle of Bull Run” the situation is described as follows: when Jackson burst into the fight at a key moment helping to hold an important position, General Barnard Bee told his soldiers to look at Jackson standing there “like a stone wall”. The first battle of Bull Run showed the war was about to be neither quick nor simple affair as many had expected. On August 3 1861 the Harper’s Weekly published a sober editorial “When to Celebrate a Victory” that would be soon true for the North as well as for the South: “The proper time to celebrate a victory is when the army returns victorious, not when it marches out to battle.” (483)
„All Slaves in States in Rebellion on the First of January Next to be Free“(“A Degree of Emancipation” 1) . This is what the New York Times shouted out on 23 September 1862. Approximately 4 million slaves lived in the South by 1863. They all were officially set free owing to Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order issued by the President Abraham Lincoln. Although the proclamation was valid for all slaves throughout the continent it could have an immediate effect only in Tennessee, southern part of Louisiana and western part of Virginia as those were under Union occupation. In fact, the document did not granted freedom to any single slave. However, the declaration lifted spirit of many black men on the South and what was „the most important, it signified that the war had taken a new turn. It was to be a war for freedom now as well as Union, and from this position there could be no retreat.“(Williams 118) Predictably, Southern newspapers criticized the declaration and announced that no Union proclamation "will have the slightest effect upon the slave population of the South” (Richmond Dispatch 12 Jan. 1863, qtd. in “The Emancipation Proclamation”). Not only the editors denounced the act but also questioned its legal validity. On 7th November 1862 both Charleston Mercury and The Southern Confederacy agreed on Lincoln’s incompetence to proclaim the act of emancipation. “There are three questions concerning the Presidents’ emancipation proclamation. One, has he a constitutional power to issue it, as a civil, political, or administrative act? The second, was it expedient? The third, has he constitutional power as commander-in-chief to issue it, at this time, as a military act?” (Smith 1) As a matter of fact the President himself lacked constitutional power to emancipate a single slave as a civil, political, or administrative act without congressional support. And was the proclamation expedient? The reactions on the South were mostly negative. People were anxious of losing their style of life and feared revolt of their slaves, who on the other hand felt spark of hope flashed up. On the contrary, according to Connors, poor white farmers were upset as the war’s cause was no longer Union versus Confederacy rights, but they were just fighting to keep “property” of wealthy plantation owners. Nevertheless what is more surprising, the North was almost as divided, concerning the response on the Proclamation, as the South was. Of course, the majority of the Northerners saw Lincoln as the “Great Emancipator” and Bennett from New York Herald pointed out that the men in the battlefields when looking at the Proclamation with “the wretched but transparent negro in it, saw clearly the end of the war.” (1). Despite the general enthusiasm, part of the nation feared that the proclamation written as it was could have deepened the gap between the quarreling states. Manypenny for Ohio Statesman summarizes on 24th September 1862: “God only knows what we are now to expect as a Nation. We hope for the best, but fear the worst.” (1) In spite of the various reactions, the Emancipation Proclamation gave direction to the post-war America and the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution that abolished slavery was adopted in December 1865. 3.1.2.The Battle of FredericksburgThe battle of Fredericksburg was fought from 11 to 15 December 1862 and no other battle of the American Civil War saw more men fighting – almost 200 000 in total. Although the Union attacked in numerical superiority of 50 000, the Confederacy inflicted to its enemy a resounding defeat. The casualties of the North counted 12 700 men while the South suffered 5 300 casualties only. The tone of the Northern press was bitter and severe towards Ambrose Burnside, the Union troops general and in most cases towards the Administration in Washington as well. The press blamed Burnside for blind courage and string of wretched orders he had made. Murat Halstead, the reporter of the Cincinnati Commercial noted on 13th December 1862: “It can hardly be in human nature for men to show more valor or generals to manifest less judgment, than were perceptible on our side that day”, pointing out the fact that despite suffering immense casualties, the Northerners gain absolutely nothing in the campaign. “The Reports” in the New York Herald described the pressure on General Burnside when he was “forced to cross the Rappahannock River and make this hopeless attack against his own better judgment.” The Union was shocked and bewildered from such a defeat and the spirit of the army of Potomac was down in the dumps, regarding to the failure in the Peninsula campaign from spring 1862. While the North was mourning, the headlines of all southern newspapers celebrated great victory. The Memphis Daily Appeal released considerably optimistic editorial “Day Breaking” on 24th December: “The signs in the political firmament are day by day becoming more cheerful & promising. The black clouds of war that for near 2 years have darkened our country's horizon are beginning to break & let through the cheering beams of hope & promise.” (2) The battle of Fredericksburg proved the qualities of Confederate leaders as Robert. E. Lee, J.E.B. Stuart and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson as well as strengthened the effort of the union forces to capture the Confederate capital, Richmond.
The first national draft passed by the Southern Congress in April 1862, the Union draft act followed soon after, in March 1863. Indubitably, the Conscription Bill was the most criticized for the exemptions it contained. The men whose professions had high value for running the state, were relieved from the military duty. As among those exempted were druggists, teachers and editors, Williams comments on “Suddenly there were more schools and drugstores than ever before though they could not analyze the simplest compound or put up the plainest prescription.” (9). The Union government faced criticism for allowing men to purchase themselves from the army by paying 300 dollars and consequently the newspapers primarily warned people about deepening the gap between rich businessmen and poor farmers. The author of “The Conscription Law” in the Daily Sentinel expected that “the three hundred dollar exemption clause would have been stricken out of the bill. It is an aristocratic provision that should not find favor in democratic Government, and its tendency must be to develop a poor man’s party - to excite the poor against the rich” (1). The saying “a rich man’s war and poor man’s fight” spread all over the country reflecting the fact that majority of rich slave-owners were allowed to stay at home while the poor no-slave owning men were fighting the war. The New York City suffered the worst riot in the history of the United States on 13th July 1863. What first appeared as a peaceful demonstration turned into an anti-draft violence. The editorial in Cleveland morning leader “Oddities of the Draft” described the situation from July 13th: “Some have their wives and families with them. Some come in jolly crowds, and some come moping, melancholy, alone. There are lawyers, and divines, farmers and mechanics. Some swear, and some pray, and almost all drink” (1). Thence, the violence during the riots owed partly to “the fact that the saloons were opened and the marchers were fueled by alcohol. Neither freed blacks were spared the rampage” (Angle 98). The crowd blamed them for being the cause of the war and several were beaten to death. As soon as the riots had finished on July 16th, 105 people were dead. McPherson summarizes: “Even though people were getting exhausted of the war, both the Union and the Confederacy still felt the way a Unionist officer did, when in 1864 wrote “we must succeed” (66).
Although the campaign in Virginia did not proceed well for the Union, the strategy in the West appeared successful. The northern high command resolved to take control over the Mississippi river which was together with railroads crucial for supplying the Confederacy. Owing to several operations on the river, the Vicksburg was the last strong tactical point holding Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana in touch with the rest of the South by the end of 1862. As the city of Vicksburg was well-fortified, general Ulysses Grant who led the Army of Tennessee came to decision to first isolate and later to impose a siege on the city. The sieges are “long waiting periods. With lots of time on their hands, soldiers on both sides actually socialized and discovered that they had a lot in common” (McPherson 52). Interesting enough, Vicksburg surrendered just on the 87th anniversary of adopting the Declaration of Independence. Consequently, people in Vicksburg do not celebrate 4th July in memory of the defeat. The Northern newspapers considered fall of Vicksburg as first rays of victory coming. The press enjoyed quoting southern newspapers shocked by the sudden turnover of the war. In Kansas the reporter of the Emporia News speculated in the article “Vicksburg reported captured!”: “There is every evidence that the leaders, as well as the soldiers, are losing their faith and ability to gain independence”(2). Others went on with describing Southern mood as desperate, and people broken and dispirited. And they were right. During the siege, the official reports from Vicksburg were mostly positive as the city defenders hoped for promised reinforcement. “The Siege of Vicksburg” in the Abingdon Virginian informed: “Our men are encouraged by a report that Gen. Johnston is near with a large army and are in good spirits” (2). But the help never came. General Johnston was indeed near, however strongly outnumbered and furthermore the communication between him and gen. John Pemberton, the commander of troops within Vicksburg, was hard to establish due to the enemy army between them. An interesting fact is that Vicksburg newspapers were in business until the very end of the siege and keep the city in defiant mood. According to the “The Fall of Vicksburg”, one of the last news of the Daily Citizen printed on the back of wallpaper was “the Yankee Generalissimo surnamed Grant has expressed his intention of dining in Vicksburg on the Fourth of July. . . . Ulysses must get into the city before he dines in it." And as Vicksburg put up a flag of truce in the morning of the 4th July, it is assumed that Grant got his dinner. Almost simultaneously, the day before Vicksburg siege was ended, the Confederate States lost great battle in Pennsylvania near the city of Gettysburg. Needless to say, the southern government was delighted by gen. Lee’s early achievements in the campaign. After the victory at Chancellorsville, the army of Northern Virginia marched north and became a genuine threat not only for major Union cities, but even for the capital. Southern hopes for capturing the North dashed away as the Army of Potomac, now under gen. Meade command won the crucial fight near Gettysburg on 3rd July, 1863. Both Southern and Northern newspapers were aware of gravity of the battle of Gettysburg. The Union roared with delight being now highly confident about its victory in the war meanwhile the Confederacy mourned for its dead and only the most obstinate ones believed in victory of South by this time. The battle of Gettysburg was undeniably one of the most reported ones owing to its position close to “the yard” of big northern newspapers, New York Times and New York Daily Tribune in particular. The Northerners were reading the information from the battlefield with one day delay at most, while the southern newspapers, not worried at all about plagiarism, copied the news as fast as they received some. As Glenn Brasher points out, all of the approximately 45 reporters on the field encountered the same problem and that was frequent cut off the telegraphic lines and thus due to the blackouts and often eloquent reporters, the news was highly unreliable. Consequently, the southern and northern newspapers published two different results after the battle was finished. The Union celebrated great victory and sang glory to the brave Army of Potomac, whereas Brasher claims that the Confederate journals denied all the news except those with reference to the good-fighting of southern troops. The majority of southern newspapers believed in inaccuracy of the reports transmitted, in addition Mercury on 10th July 1863, the Charleston even announced “a brilliant and crushing victory achieved by the army under Gen. Lee” (qtd. in Brasher)1 However the most famous response to the battle of Gettysburg appeared in press 4 months after the fight was over. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was published on November 19, 1863 and the reactions varied depending mainly on the political orientation of the press. The Chicago Times released an article saying: The cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly flat and dishwattery remarks of the man who has to be pointed out as the President of the United States. Is Mr. Lincoln less refined than a savage? It was a perversion of history so flagrant that the most extended charity cannot view it as otherwise than willful. (qtd. in The Historic Present) Springfield Republican from Massachusetts described his speech “a perfect gem, deep in feeling, compact in thought and expression, and tasteful and elegant in every word and comma.” (qtd. in “The Gettysburg Address”) The battle of Gettysburg spoiled all southern hopes to conquer the North. The Army of Northern Virginia was pulled back over the Potomac River and was never to come back again. Download 142.04 Kb. Share with your friends:
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