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what do you know about this war battles, famous events, etc and if you have any relatives did they fight for the North or the South and if you are from europe how do you feel about this war

No, I don't know of any relatives who fought in the Civil War, but I probably do have a few. Well, my mom told me that this war was over more than just slavery, it was because the north refused to help the south before the Civil War, so that was the reason the south lost, it didn't have the needed supplies. So if I fought in the Civil War, I would diffenetly fight for the south.
-Words from a Kentucky girl.

Ditto, I'm from Kentucky to, but i'm a boy. I would also fight for the South W00t Conferderate States of America.

My mom's side of the family came to america a little after it I think, and my dad's side is from Mississippi so I'm sure someone was in it. But I love the south I didnt like some of the things they wanted and am glad they lost.

Spoken by a Good old Georgia Boy.

I don't have any relatives who fought in the Civil War, but I do know a lot about it. We studied it in American Past last year in junior high.

Basically, The United States was divided (though not legally, just some sort of imaginary separation) into two sides, the North and the South. The North produced certain goods and were plentiful, but the South had some economic problems. The South didn't trust Lincoln, and when he was elected as president, they started seceding from the United States to form their own country, the Confederate States of America. They soon elected Jefferson Davis as their president and became separated from the Union as a different country.

I've been to Gettysburg on a field trip and I've seen all the memorials for the generals. It's hard to imagine that a war was faught there. During our trip, we learned how far the Confederate soldiers had gotten to crossing the Union line. It was only about 5 or 6 feet. A memorial stands there as well.

Here are some photos:


^ This is a picture depicting the feirce battle. You can easily see the panic here.


^ Here is a picture of the field now.


^ I walked through this cemetary and saw this memorial. The little white boxes show the names of the soldiers that are buried there. If the body was too badly mangled to be identified, their gravestone would simply say "unknown".


^ Another memorial, I don't remember which.

If you're looking for more information on the Civil War, here is a great site that explains battle strategies and more: http://americancivilwar.com/getty.html

Excellant basic information on the Civil War, Kari! My mom was close enough, though.

.....If the south won, there would still be slavery.

The Civil War at first was fought at least for the North to preserve the union and for the south it was states rights but the underlining cause of the war was slavery. The south lost the war because their economy was based on agriculture and the north was a industry giant that had most of the railroads and factories the south could not compete with this. They also lost the war because the North had 20 Million people living in it and the south had 9 million living in it and about 5 million of that were slaves.
Also the south hoped that Britan would come on their side and help them but once Lincoln made this a war to get rid of slavery Britan would never support the south since Britan had abolished slavery many years before. Also the souths economy was hurting really bad by 1864 inflation prices arose on goods and the south could no longer hold their own againist the North.

words of a Vermonter

Actually, while I would definitely be pro-Union if I lived during the Civil War, and WOULD fight for the Union, I have to disagree on this point. Most historians, regardless of their regional origins in the U.S., agree that, had the south won the Civil War, a few things would likely have happened:

1. There would be gradual emancipation in the south, and an abolishment of slavery. Attitudes towards "the peculiar institution", in the south, were already changing by the 1860s...except amongst the most fundamentalist, rabid hard-liners who supported the old plantation system.*

2. By the mid twentieth century, the Union and the Confederacy would have reunited as one country (as it was felt that the south, in the remaining years of the 19th century, would have had difficulty establishing and maintaining an independent and fuctional economy. Or, if they did not, they would at least have become strong allies...and then it is also likely that, in that scenario, Texas would soon have seceded from the Confederacy, and struck out on its own (and this might also have been possible with California and possibly Oregon in the U.S. - both of which were barely states at the time).

*It is important for Americans, in ALL QUARTERS of the country, to come to terms with a few FACTS: a) no matter what the resultant issues, the Civil War was precipitated due to slavery...EVERY causative issue was tied back to it directly or indirectly; b) racism was hardly confined to the south...there were many northerners who had no love for blacks either...some were openly hostile towards (and about) them. Some Union soldiers even stated, openly, that they had no desire or interest in fighting for, or DYING for, "Sambo"; c) our understanding of the American Civil War is clouded by time and by sectional feeling. Most modern Americans, let alone anyone else in the world (since, in truth, the American Civil War was in many respects a world conflict) have little understanding of the real lives of Americans at the time, and their belief systems. We bumble along thinking we have a pretty good understanding of it...but we don't. Not even most professional historians do.

Being an American Civil War living historian, I have a special perspective on the Civil War, and especially the common soldier and his life, and of New Jersey and its people and soldiers in particular (I represent, in general, New Jersey soldiers, and have studied them in depth).

this war's after effects are still being felt today with racism and a certain organiztion came out of the war being the KKK (bunch of losers) also some southerns hate people from the north even after the south lost

OK, this should clear things up. Who here has heard the song "The Night They Drove 'Ol Dixie Down." That is a great song but it is Pro-South ( yeah) my favorite line from the whole song was " Like my father before me I worked the land." "Like my brother above me I took a rebel stand." "He was 18 proud and brave, then a Yankee put him in his grave." I'm not trying to flame here but I love the south and I would proudly die for it. I dislike the north. ( Sry Northeners )

I don't think this topic was made to flame or bash either side. It was made to discuss the war.
Though I live in the North, I've never favored any side. I just felt sorry for the soldiers and innocent bystanders who were killed during the war and during the times of slavery. It's sad, no matter which side the soldiers were from. I believe one of the generals was shot and killed by one of his own men.

This is not a Civil War song. It may have the Civil War, from the southern point of view, as a theme, but that is a sticky issue. I mean, Robbie Robertson, the member of The Band (the band that performed this song) who wrote it, wasn't even FROM the south.

We DO need to keep this thread clear of any sectionalistic rancor. Kari's right...it's for discussing what we know about the Civil War, not the emotionalisms in a song that was inspired, according to Robbie Robertson himself, by his traveling through the South and listening to the malcontent of southerners who were not even close to being alive during that terrible conflict.

I had about 11 family members fight in the Civil War for the Texas infantry. They were for the South, and were part of the McMahon Irish family, as well as dirt poor. My grandmother actually has a picture of all of them at her home, and is going to make me a copy of it.
Second what I know about the war, is that like all history it has been tweaked in the history books. Yes, slavery was part of it, but was not the reason for it. The originol purpose of the Civil War was Nullification which was a states ability to reject Federal laws. It was a states rights VS Federal rights battle. Slavery was part of it because Slavery would be something that was going to be outlawed and the Federal government disagreed with the concept of Nullification which would have meant that the Federal government was pretty much useless because any state could just say “We don’t wanna do this” . The South wanted Nullificationbecause they relied on high tariffs on goods to keep their economy ,which was soley based on Cotton and other goods relating to the textile (and agricultural) industry , from collapsing because of cheap imported cotton that the North would use for its factories if it could. Sooooo with that we have Lincolon being elected whom is an abolitionist who wanted to see slavery outlawed (although never outlawed slavery in the “South”) and mounting tensions due to Missouris admission as a slave state, and I believe it is South Carolinas rejection of a federal Tariff helped fuel tensions eventually leading up to the ultimate question: Can a state secede from the Union, which the Confederate states. There you have the Civil War, and yes Slavery was a big part of it, but also was the States rights VS Federal rights which encompasses slavery. Also the South knew, and understood that they could not keep slavery forever so the whole "if the South won there would still be slavery" is false.
Other then that the Civil war is fascinating and I love it ^_^! Been to Gettysburg of course, and we stayed in an old house that was there when the battle took place! Was sooo great! My favorite battle is Picketts Charge (part of Gettysburg)
Blehh...I am really tired so there are probably a lot of spelling errors in here so please forgive me, I'll correct this later!

I don't have any personal Ties to the civil war but I have a friend of mine who's great great grandfather was a high ranking officer for the south.