Interesting History - Little Known Facts About the Civil War

1. When Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipationdidn't have particularly warm feelings towards Mrs.
Proclamation he wasn't actually freeing ALL theLincoln so they declined the offer. Had they gone to
slaves, he was only freeing the slaves in theWashington, they likely would have been there that
rebellious states. It's interesting that he chose to freenight when Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's
the slaves in those states that he had the leastTheatre.
power to do so. It did however serve a political7. President Lincoln's son Robert Todd Lincoln was
purpose by adding a moral component to the Uniononce saved from falling under a train by famous
cause and also allowed blacks to join the Union Armyactor Edwin Booth. A few months later, Edwin
and Navy. By the end of the war as many asBooth's brother John Wilks Booth would assassinate
200,000 blacks had fought for the Union.President Lincoln.
2. Union General Major General Lovell H. Rousseau8. The first fatality in the Civil War was an accident.
once rounded up leading citizens during the UnionAfter two days of shelling by the Confederates on
occupation of Huntsville Alabama and each day placedFort Sumter causing heavy damage and many fires,
one of them on the Union trains traveling in and outthere were still no fatalities. After running short on
of the city to discourage Confederates fromsupplies, Union Maj. Robert Anderson agreed to
indiscriminately firing into the trains.surrender the fort, one of the stipulations being that
3. By the end of the war, Federal funds had paid forthey be allowed to salute the flag as they took it
an estimated 840,000 horses and more than 430,000down. The next day, during the 100 gun salute, a
mules. Confederates officers and mounted trooperssmoldering piece of cartridge landed on a pile of new
were required to provide their own horses althoughcartridges causing an explosion that killed Pvt. Daniel
they were reimbursed at a daily rate of forty cents.Hough and fatally injured another.
If the horse was killed, he was required to find a9. Ulysses S. Grant's wife Julia Grant was once taken
new one or he might be transferred to infantryprisoner by the Confederates. Julia and their
service.youngest son Jesse often traveled with Ulysses and
4. During the American Civil War, more men diedstayed in his camps so he could have "good
from disease than died from actual combat. Exacthome-cooked food". In December of 1862, Julia was
numbers are hard to come by especially on thecaptured by Confederate troops under the command
Confederate side since many of the records wereof Confederate Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.
lost or destroyed. Estimates, however, put the totalThis is believed to be the only wife of a Union
number of Civil War deaths at over 600,000 for bothGeneral to be taken prisoner. When her identity was
sides combined. Of that number, just over 200,000discovered, Forrest had her released immediately.
were from combat and the rest were from disease10. The first submarine to sink an enemy ship was
and other causes.the H.L. Hunley. On February 17, 1864, the
5. It was not a forgone conclusion that Robert E. LeeConfederate submarine, with a crew of 8 including
would command the Confederate States Army. InConfederate Lt. George Dixon, set off into the
many ways he sympathized with the North. HeCharleston Harbor to sink the Union ship U.S.S.
considered slavery wrong and supported theHousatonic. The sub was man powered by hand
preservation of the Union, yet he turned downcranks attached to the propeller shaft. They were
Lincoln's offer to command Union forces. In the end,successful in attaching an explosive to the U.S.S.
his loyalty to his state of Virginia was stronger thanHousatonic and detonating it, sending the ship to the
his loyalty to the Union.bottom, however, before it could return to port, the
6. On April 14, 1865, Lincoln invited Grant and his wifeH.L. Hunley sank to the bottom also killing its entire
to join he and Mrs. Lincoln in Washington. Mrs. Grantcrew.