This literary study will define the presentation of the Confederate geographical advantage of Henry House Hill in Manassas: A Novel of the Civil War by Upton Sinclair. The journey of Allan Montague defines the transformation a young man from a Confederate sympathizer to an Abolitionist fighter in Sinclair’s depiction of the Civil War conflict. The First Battle of Manassas defines an important victory for the Confederate forces, which temporarily demoralized the Union Army. Sinclair’s description of this battle defines the geographical advantage of the Confederate Army by taking and holding Henry House hill. By taking the higher ground, the Confederates were able to have an open view of the advances of the Union Army. This advantage led to …show more content…
In essence, Sinclair’s novel provides insight into the geographical advantage that the Confederate Army had over the Union Army during the First Battle of Manassas in 1861. In the novel, Manassas: A Novel of the Civil War by Upton …show more content…
The historical development of the First battle of Manassas is founded on the decision to send McDowell’s Union forces to directly confront Beauregard’s Confederate forces around Bull Run River. In this context, the geographical advantage that the Confederate Army wielded was choosing the proper hillside in which to base their defense against the Union forces. The initial retreat from Stony ridge and Matthew’s Hill define Beauregard’s strategy of gaining a stronger position on Henry House Hill and Chinn Ridge. This decision was based on the more accurate knowledge of the geography of the area, which allowed them to expose the Union Army on the open fields below Henry House Hill. Montague’s experiences during this battle define the problems with Union Army strategies, which exposed them to gunfire from hills and ridges. This explains Sinclair’s understanding of the loss of the battle due to the Union Army’s lack of positioning on the higher ground. These experiences provide a literary context for the bloodshed and nightmarish horrors of the war for the Union Army, since they were the victims of Confederate attacks on their positions from Henry Hill and Chinn Ridge. Historically, Sinclair provides a compelling narrative of Montague’s experiences during the First Battle of
Jackson and Hancock are both given brigade commands (Jackson Confederate and Hancock Union). Chamberlain becomes a Lieutenant colonel in the 20th Main regiment (Union). At the Battle of Manassas junction, the first battle of the war, the Confederacy drove the Union Army away in a panic. Soon after, the weight of the battle came crashing down on both sides and they came to the realization that this was going to be bloodier than they thought.
Following the prologue, Lemann focuses his research on Adelbert Ames, a Republican politician in Mississippi during the Reconstruction era, to detail the attempts to keep the south in accordance to Reconstruction policies issued by the Grant administration and federal government directly following the war. While he was initially appointed as provisional governor of Mississippi, Ames oversaw the 1869 election that passed the new Mississippi constitution, guaranteed rights for blacks and elected a heavily Republic legislature. While attempting to transform the political climate of the state, Ames listened to horrifying reports of his political enemies and observed the attitudes towards blacks which motivated him to campaign to be Governor: I
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was a very important soldier in the Civil War, and although Chamberlain was a citizen turned soldier rather than a high-ranking officer, he was still able to help lead the Union Army to victory. In the book Killer Angels, written by Michael Shaara, the author provides the reader with perspective from the Union side of the long Civil War through Chamberlain. He reveals Chamberlain’s character through not only direct characterization but also through his decisions, words and actions. He’s a complex character with many faces. The reader gets to know him as an intelligent teacher, a courageous soldier, a decisive leader, a devoted brother and friend.
However, the tide of the times would soon affect young J.D. His father would soon lay aside his farming equipment and take up arms to defend his home from the Union armies. His father’s time in service to the Confederacy would soon prove to be in vain, however. In fact, the very home William Tant sought
Nathaniel Philbrick, author of Bunker Hill: A City, A Siege, A Revolution, successfully enables his readers to grasp the significance behind Boston and its neighboring cities during the rise of the Revolutionary War. Most Americans have a vague understanding of why events like the Battle of Bunker Hill are relevant and how this particular campaign played a pinnacle role in leading up to the Revolutionary War, but Philbrick does a service to Americans by beautifully illustrating these events from cover to cover. Not only is each occasion intimately detailed, but Philbrick records these instances in a precise and memorable rhythm. Although at times his novel might appear exhausting with vivid imagery, Philbrick’s thesis remains clear: In the
Admiral David Farragut has successfully seized New Orleans from the grasp of the Confederacy on April 24th, 1862. Two of the major opponents to the Union’s advancement in the war were Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip, which had been brutally seized from Union troops. Those forts were used to provide a front line of defense from any kind of naval assault on New Orleans. Now, however, securing New Orleans has put a serious dent in the Confederacy’s strength. Farragut accomplished this great feat by organizing an assault on the enemy forts with a daring fleet of 24 gunboats, 19 mortar boats, and nearly 15,000 soldiers on the night of April 24th; it soon forced the forts to surrender.
This battle was one of the most significant because it had the highest amount of casualties of the battles during the War, and it brought about Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address speech. This speech honored the soldiers killed during the battle and reminded the people of the purpose of the soldier’s sacrifices, which were to be equal, free, and to have national unity. Robert E. Lee led his army of Northern Virginia to collect supplies in Pennsylvania farmland and take the fight away from Virginia. He wanted to threaten Northern cities, weaken their appetite for war to be able to win the battle on Northern Soil to strengthen the peace movement of the North.2 There were great losses to both sides of the army’s, but the Confederate army was most defeated. Lee led his army back to Virginia with their victory despite their mass
The Civil War was fought on U.S soil during the 1800’s for the cause to bring the nation back together and later in the war, to end slavery. As a result, The North or the Union ended up beating their opponent, the Confederacy. Why did the Union beat the Confederates? The Union won this battle because of material, economic and population advantages and the role that the African-Americans played in the war. First, the union had advantages in material, economics, and population.
McDowell’s initial plan was to seize the railroad junction at Manassas. Things did not go as planned. Just miles away, General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, Commander of the Confederate forces, and about 22,000 troops guarded the fords from Union Mills to
Not only was topography an important influence upon the development of the Battle of Fredericksburg, but it also contributed, to a significant extent, towards the ultimate Confederate victory. The lay of the land offered the Confederates a strategic and commanding vantagepoint atop Marye's Heights and Prospect Hill, and the Rappahannock River acted as a defense buffer, increasing the challenge of the Union crossing into Fredericksburg. On the other hand, the land posed several challenges for the Confederates; the thick morning fog over the river concealed the approaching Unionists and gave them time to lay their pontoon bridges, the terrain of Jackson's command post at Prospect Hill was weak, and the relatively gradual slope of the heights
The Overland Campaign was a turning point in the Civil War: it was a strategic victory for the Union, but consisted of heavy losses on both sides. In just 40 days, the Union lost 55,000 men. The Confederates lost 36,000 men, but with an army roughly half of the Union’s to begin with, their losses were proportionally much greater. The final battle of the campaign, Cold Harbor, led to extremely high losses on both sides, but was a defensive victory for Lee. Anti-war sentiments grew in the North and Grant was labeled “the butcher.”
He writes about, “boyhood dreaming about Confederate glory,” and confesses that he is “still hit with a profound sadness when I read over the material on which this study is based” (Dew, 2). He believes a lot of people are still being misled to believe that this cause should be glorified, when in reality, it was meant to restrict freedom and human rights. Charles Dew’s Apostles of Disunion is intended to end the discussion on whether or not the South's primary goal in 1861 was to defend its slave-based culture. The book allows all of us who struggle with myth of states’ freedom and rights as the cause of the war to critically analyze the part that race played in the war. It is an effective way to allow students and scholars alike to confront the role of slavery, white supremacy, and racism in the mind of the Old South and the popular movement for
The Confederacy battled with a Celtic style. The Celtics were lined up all in one line to defend themselves. They literally made a human wall. The Confederate/Celtic honor code made the important war figures to be in the front of the battle lines. Expectedly, this shattered the Confederacy’s command center.
As a result of the Industrial Revolution, the Civil War was a time of technological advancements and patents that ultimately turned the tide and gave the Union an advantage over the Confederacy. The development of railroads, the telegraph, and new weapons contributed to the Union defeat of the Confederacy in 1865. Chiefly, one of the Union’s greatest asset during the war was their expansive railroad system. After the start of the Civil War, President Lincoln placed all railroads within the Union under government control in order to expedite the movement of troops and much-needed supplies. The 22,000 miles of railroad track resembled TENTACLES that spread throughout the Union, deploying troops and supplies at record speeds, and allowing for reinforcements to arrive quickly and efficiently.
The evidence identifies the Butler of the Iowa soldiers’ account as Robert J. Butler whose plantation sat upon the aptly named Butler’s Hill. This land is now the City of North Augusta in Aiken County, South Carolina. In 1865, it would have sat within the southwestern corner Edgefield District, a region known for its fine homes and political power players. In the northwest section of the district lived another Butler family, of distant if any relation, which had become one of the state’s wealthiest families and bonified political dynasty producing two Congressman, a Senator, and a Governor of the South Carolina in the first sixty years of the republic. They were members of ruling planter class in the least democratic state in the nation.