Welcome to my Civil War page. As you will undoubtedly notice, this page is written in a Southern Perspective, as I am a proud "Confederate American".

I have spent several years of my life studying the war, and sadly, those of us who care enough to study the War of Northern Aggression are insulted and called oppressors because of the common misconceptions of the Civil War. This page is not intended to be a huge "historical" resource about the Civil War, however, there are several books and web pages that display a clearer image of the Southern cause.

Causes of the War

Probably the most misunderstood part of our history, the causes of the war can be traced back to Thomas Jefferson's presidency. During Jefferson's presidency, Jefferson opposed the creation of a "Supreme Court", and had always believed that the individual state legislatures held the power to declare a law "unconsitutional". This belief was supported by the Tenth Amendment of the Consititution, which stated that rights not SPECIFICALLY granted to the United States Government were delegated to the individual states. In an effort to gain support for his position, President Jefferson sent several anonymous letters to the state legislatures informing them of State's Rights. For the most part, the Northern states just ignored the letters, however, the southern states payed very close attention to Jefferson's anonymous words. In 1861, this served as a catalyst to succession.

Everything went downhill once Missouri was admitted into the Union. The Federal Government attempted to govern every thing that was done within that newly created state, much to the dismay of the southern governmental representatives. Arguments upon arguments began within the Senate, as well as between the state legislatures. And then it happened... Secession...

On December 20, 1860, the State Legislature of South Carolina voted to secede from the Union. Over the next several months, other states followed, and formed the Confederate States of America.

On April 20, 1861, the words of war were over. The Confederate States of America fired upon and took Fort Sumter, South Carolina, beginning the half decade of struggle and conflict. The Southerners had a sheer determination to win -- after all, this was for their own independance. However, the Northerners, who were less happy to be involved in a war, held a distinct upper hand due to the North's industrial plants. Believing this to be an easy war, both sides met for the first time out side of Manassas Junction, Virginia, where the Union suffered an embarassing defeat.

For now both sides realized the consequences of what had been done - and both sides began to understand what they were in for.

Over the next several years, President Lincoln changed his primary military leaders several times, until U.S. Grant took the reigns. However, President Jefferson Davis's primary military leader, Robert. E. Lee, remained constant throughout the war.

Slavery becomes an issue...

Slavery did not become an issue until 1863, when Union President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclimation, which "freed the slaves in the states of rebellion". There are several misconceptions to this document. Firstly, slavery was not totally abolished until the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Consitution. The Emancipation Proclimation only held to the "states of rebellion", which means all of the Federal States were still allowed to own and sell slaves. At one point during the war, Lincoln even admitted that if he could keep the union together without freeing one slave, he would do so.

All end all...

At the end of the war, over 650,000 Americans were killed in the Civil War. This number is higher than the number of Americans killed in every war combined. Today we face the issue of "selective amnesia of history", in which politicians and civil rights groups are trying to delete the history of the civil war because of the misconceptions that are taught. Hopefully, this trend will end, else it may be possible that there could even be a 2nd Civil War in the United States -- only this time many more will perish.