The Descent Into Total War

Richard Billies — Fri, 24 May 2013 10:52:45 +0000

This entry is part 6 of 6 in the series The Hard Hand of WarTotal War is an oft-used phrase in modern warfare. The textbook description of Total War is war in which a belligerent engages in the complete mobilization of fully available resources and population. However, Total War in the American Civil War did not begin with a formal directive from the [...]

The Descent Into Total War is a post from: North Against South

Missouri: The War Inside the War

Richard Billies — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:23:48 +0000

This entry is part 5 of 6 in the series The Hard Hand of WarWhile attempts at conciliation seemed to be prevalent in the Eastern Theater, events in the Trans-Mississippi Theater took a different tack. Missouri and her neighbors to the north and the south were the scenes of violent activity against the civilian populations. The Missouri-Kansas border war [...]

Missouri: The War Inside the War is a post from: North Against South

1862: The End of Conciliation in the East

Richard Billies — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:11:35 +0000

This entry is part 4 of 6 in the series The Hard Hand of WarWhile 1861 same several attempts to settle the war without shedding an ocean of blood, 1862 would see the gradual descent of the war into a bitter conflict on both sides. In order to understand this period we’ll look at the [...]

1862: The End of Conciliation in the East is a post from: North Against South

Lincoln’s Democrat Generals

Richard Billies — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:47:46 +0000

Some historians have put forward a theory that the Union generals of the early war were lenient in prosecuting the war due to their political leanings. Abraham Lincoln in an effort to garner support for the war appointed a significant number of Democrats as major generals of volunteers at the start of the war. The [...]

Lincoln’s Democrat Generals is a post from: North Against South

General Winfield Scott’s Plan to End the Rebellion

Richard Billies — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:17:06 +0000

This entry is part 3 of 6 in the series The Hard Hand of WarThe prime mover of conciliation with the South in the Lincoln administration was its General-in-Chief Winfield Scott. Scott was a Virginian but also a steadfast supporter of the Union. He was the most recognizable soldier in the United States and had [...]

General Winfield Scott’s Plan to End the Rebellion is a post from: North Against South

Toward A Real Civil War: Spring and Summer 1861

Richard Billies — Fri, 10 May 2013 10:06:39 +0000

This entry is part 2 of 6 in the series The Hard Hand of WarThe antebellum United States Army had about 16,000 officers and men. Of these about one-quarter of the officer corps resigned to join the Confederate Army. At the onset of the war both armies were no better than armed mobs, untrained, undisciplined [...]

Toward A Real Civil War: Spring and Summer 1861 is a post from: North Against South

Union Efforts at Conciliation: 1861

Richard Billies — Thu, 09 May 2013 09:00:25 +0000

This entry is part 1 of 6 in the series The Hard Hand of WarOne hundred and fifty two years after the start of the American Civil War many Americans are uneducated about the facts surrounding the war. In most people’s minds the war between the North and South was just that a war between [...]

Union Efforts at Conciliation: 1861 is a post from: North Against South

The St. Albans Raid

Richard Billies — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:00:56 +0000

This entry is part 10 of 10 in the series Spies of North and SouthSt. Albans, Vermont is the last place one would expect to have a raid by Confederates during the latter part of the American Civil War. But on October 19, 1864, the quiet Vermont, border town was the site of a Confederate [...]

The St. Albans Raid is a post from: North Against South

The Confederate Secret Service

Richard Billies — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:34:06 +0000

This entry is part 9 of 10 in the series Spies of North and SouthUnlike the Union government, the Confederate government did not find it necessary to organize a large force of detectives and spies for other than purely military purposes. They organized the Confederate Secret Service and employed it for purposes they considered purely [...]

The Confederate Secret Service is a post from: North Against South

Union Spies: Lafayette C. Baker

Richard Billies — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:48:49 +0000

This entry is part 8 of 10 in the series Spies of North and SouthMuch of the Union intelligence gathering was decentralized with the principal commanders employing their own network of agents. It has been said that Ulysses S. Grant had at least 100 spies throughout the Western Theater. Other commanders had their own networks. [...]

Union Spies: Lafayette C. Baker is a post from: North Against South