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American Civil War
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American Civil War
Facts and Fictions

James R. Hedtke

Historical Facts and Fictions


Copyright © 2018 by ABC-CLIO, LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior
permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data


Names: Hedtke, James R., author.
Title: American Civil War : facts and fictions / James R. Hedtke.
Description: Santa Barbara, California : ABC-CLIO, 2018. | Series: Historical
facts and fictions | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018018948 (print) | LCCN 2018022589 (ebook) | ISBN
9781440860744 (eBook) | ISBN 9781440860737 (hardcopy : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: United States—History—Civil War, 1861–1865—Juvenile literature.
Classification: LCC E468 (ebook) | LCC E468 . H447 2018 (print) | DDC 973.7— dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018018948
ISBN: 978-1-4408-6073-7 (print)
978-1-4408-6074-4 (ebook)
22 21 20 19 18 1 2 3 4 5
This book is also available as an eBook.
ABC-CLIO
An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC
ABC-CLIO, LLC
130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911
Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911
www.abc-clio.com
This book is printed on acid-free paper
Manufactured in the United States of America
To my daughters, Lisa, Kristi, and Lori. Thank you for your boundless
love and the immense joy you have brought into my life.
Contents

Prefaceix
Acknowledgmentsxi
Introductionxiii

1. The Main Reason the Southern States Seceded from


the Union Was States’ Rights 1
2. Edmund Ruffin Fired the First Shot at Fort Sumter 23
3. Black Regiments Fought in Combat for the Confederate
States of America 41
4. There Were No Female Combat Soldiers in the Civil War 61
5. Lincoln Freed the Slaves 79
6. The Gettysburg Address Was Written on a Train 101
7. Grant Was a Butcher 121
8. Civil War Medicine Was Barbaric 143
9. Freed Slaves Were Promised 40 Acres and a Mule 163
10. Lincoln’s Assassination Was the Result of a Conspiracy 187

Bibliography211
Index217
Preface

Even though the American Civil War ended more than 150 years ago, it
still fascinates and intrigues the American public. Authors have written
more books about the Civil War than any other event or conflict in
American history. Bibliographers estimate that writers have produced over
50,000 books and pamphlets about the struggle between the states. On
average, one book on the Civil War has been published every day since the
end of the conflict in 1865. The Pew Research Center for the People &
the Press conducted a survey in 2011 that revealed that 56 percent of
Americans thought the Civil War was still relevant to American politics.
Another 36 percent of the respondents believed the war was a histori-
cally important event. The Civil War still commands the attention of the
American people.
In their works, authors have written about almost every conceivable
topic and aspect of the Civil War. The purpose of this work is relatively
unique. This book will expose and debunk 10 popular misconceptions
related to the Civil War. A misconception is a false or mistaken view,
opinion, or idea based on incorrect facts or faulty reasoning. Each chapter
will examine the misconceptions through the same analytical lens and
separate fact from fiction. The chapter will describe the misconception
and explain how it arose and became ensconced in the American popular
memory. Primary sources and documents will be used to demonstrate
the rise and spread of the misconception. The author will then provide
the reader with historical facts, primary sources, and documents that
will correct the misconception and establish an accurate account about
what happened during the war. Each chapter will conclude with a short
x Preface

bibliography that allows readers to delve deeper into the misconception


and search for the historical truth on their own.
The misconceptions examined in this work cover a diverse set of topics,
from why the Southern states left the Union to the plot to assassinate
Abraham Lincoln. Most of the misconceptions are still widely embraced
by Americans and remain controversial topics discussed at venues ranging
from Civil War roundtables to the American political arena.
Chapter 1 examines the controversial debate of why Southern states
left the Union in 1860–1861. Were lost-cause advocates correct in argu-
ing that states’ rights were the most important cause of secession?
The Civil War commenced in April 1861, when Southern forces bom-
barded Fort Sumter at Charleston, South Carolina. Chapter 2 critically
revisits Edmund Ruffin’s claim to have fired the first shot of the Civil War
from a battery on Morris Island on the morning of April 12, 1861.
Did African American regiments fight for the Confederacy? Were all
combat soldiers men? These questions serve as the focus for chapters 3
and 4.
Ask any grade-school student who freed the slaves, and he or she will
answer, “Abraham Lincoln.” Is this accurate? Chapter 5 provides the
answer to this question.
The Gettysburg Address is an iconic American speech that helped to
guide and reshape the nation. Did Lincoln really write the speech on the
train while traveling to Gettysburg? Chapter 6 tackles this enduring and
popular misconception.
Chapter 7 investigates the misconception that General Ulysses S. Grant
was a mediocre commander who won battles through the cruel and need-
less sacrifice of his troops.
Chapter 8 looks at the use and practice of medicine during the Civil
War and examines whether it was cruel and barbaric or state of the art for
its time.
Did the U.S. government promise “40 acres and a mule” to the freed
people during or after the Civil War? Chapter 9 explores the origins and
historical facts behind the controversial idea of reparations for slavery.
Was there a grand conspiracy led by Confederate leaders to assassinate
Lincoln? Did Union leaders conspire to kill the president? Chapter 10
examines and evaluates the prominent conspiracy theories about Lincoln’s
death.
The work concludes with a selected, general bibliography that cites
important resources that the reader can use for further research on the
American Civil War.
Acknowledgments

There are many people I need to thank for their direct or indirect con-
tributions to this book. I never would have completed this work without
their help and encouragement.
My wife, Judy, is my best friend and a steadfast supporter of all my
endeavors. Her belief in me is as unwavering as her love. She is the inspi-
ration behind everything I do and write. Though I have done extensive
research on the American Civil War, the one true thing I know is our love
for each other.
My daughter, Lori Bollinger, took on the arduous of reading my hand-
writing and turning it into a typed manuscript. She undertook this mis-
sion while raising two boys and working fulltime. This work would still
be words on yellow legal pads without her help.
Jolyon Girard has been a colleague, friend, and mentor for almost 45
years. He is the individual who introduced me to the editorial staff at
ABC-CLIO. He is a loyal friend and an outstanding teacher and writer.
His counsel, advice, and editorial assistance have been key ingredients in
my success as a scholar.
Cabrini University has been my second home for 45 years. I would like
to express my appreciation to my colleagues in the History and Political
Science Department: Darryl Mace, Courtney Smith, Nancy Watterson,
and Joseph Fitzgerald. Their advice, suggestions, and support have been
invaluable to me. It is an honor to be a member of the Cabrini University
faculty, a group of individuals who have dedicated their lives to providing
their students with an education of the heart.
xii Ac k n o w l e d g m e n t s

I especially want to thank the late Dr. David Dunbar. Dr. Dunbar was
an exceptional teacher and a noted researcher in the field of molecular
biology. His brilliant career came to an abrupt end when he died in a
tragic automobile accident in May 2016. David was an avid student of the
Civil War and always taught the medical segment of my Civil War course.
I wrote the chapter on Civil War medicine in his memory.
Anne Schwelm and her talented staff at Cabrini University’s Holy
Spirit Library provided invaluable help in procuring primary and second-
ary sources used in this book. Cabrini ITR personnel answered all of my
technical questions in a timely and courteous manner.
Several authors have informed my knowledge of the Civil War and
have served as models for my writing style. I am indebted to Bruce Cat-
ton, Shelby Foote, James McPherson, and Gary Gallagher for their iconic
works on this pivotal time in American history. Their passion for the sub-
ject matter and ability to craft a compelling narrative about it have served
as an inspiration to me.
Michael Millman at ABC-CLIO has provided me with excellent direc-
tion and advice on this project. Eswari Maruthu, the editorial project
manager, did an outstanding job guiding the manuscript through revi-
sions to final publication.
Finally, I would like to thank the brave soldiers who fought in the Civil
War to preserve the United States and set enslaved persons free. There
would be no book without their noble service and sacrifices.
Introduction

The Civil War remains the pivotal event in American history. This con-
flict answered the two great questions that had dominated American pol-
itics since the Revolutionary War: slavery and secession. In January 1865,
Congress passed the 13th Amendment, prohibiting the institution of slav-
ery in the United States and its territories. The question of secession was
definitively answered on the great battlefields of this war. The Northern
victory established the Union as permanent and indestructible. The Civil
War also launched the quest for equality in American society. The struggle
for equality is still a prominent theme in the American political arena in
the 21st century.
Abraham Lincoln’s election to the presidency in November 1860
served as the spark that lit the fires of Southern secession. The Republican
candidate for president embraced his party’s antislavery platform. Lincoln
and the Republicans would prohibit slavery in American territories but
allow it to remain in the places where it already existed. The hope of the
Republicans was to contain slavery to where it already existed and to place
the institution on “the road to ultimate extinction.”
Many Southerners saw the Republican antislavery platform as the
last step before abolition. They warned their Northern countrymen that
they would leave the Union if a Republican was elected president. For
Southerners, a Republican victory would mean that the North controlled
the federal government and would have the political power to eventually
abolish slavery in the states as well as the territories.
The presidential election of 1860 was a sectional contest. Lincoln’s
name did not appear on the ballot in 10 Southern states. He received only
xiv I n tr o d u cti o n

1.4 percent of the popular vote and zero electoral votes from the slave
states. Southern presidential candidates John Breckenridge (D, KY) and
John Bell (Constitutional Union, TN) dominated the slave-state electorate.
Lincoln garnered only 39 percent of the national vote but won 180 electoral
votes, all from the free states. Lincoln won the majority of the votes in the
electoral college and became the 16th president of the United States.
After Lincoln’s election, many Southern state legislatures called con-
ventions to consider secession. Slaveholders feared that the election of a
Republican president coupled with Northern control of the federal gov-
ernment would spell doom for the institution of slavery. The South Car-
olina Convention voted unanimously on December 20, 1860, to enact
an ordinance to secede from the Union. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama,
Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas followed the lead of South Carolina. By
February 1, 1861, seven slaveholding states from the Deep South had left
the United States.
In February 1861, the seceded states met in Montgomery, Alabama.
The delegates to the convention created a new government, the Confed-
erate States of America. They also elected Jefferson Davis of Mississippi
as the first and only president of the C.S.A. The new constitution of the
C.S.A provided protection for the institution of slavery.
President Buchanan was a lame-duck president and made no military
effort to keep the seceded states in the Union. His relative inaction was a
calculated attempt to allow politicians the opportunity to develop com-
promises to preserve the Union. Buchanan also believed that secession
was Lincoln’s problem, and the incoming president should have a clean
slate so he could deal with the issue unencumbered by previous commit-
ments. All attempts at compromise failed because Lincoln and the Repub-
licans would not allow slavery into the territories. Lincoln believed that
any compromise that allowed slavery in the territories would be a betrayal
of Republican campaign promises and make a mockery of the democratic
election process.
Lincoln’s inauguration took place on March 4, 1861, under heavy
security in Washington, D.C. The Confederacy seized federal forts,
installations, and buildings in the seceded states. By March 5, only Fort
Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, and three coastal forts in Florida
remained in Union hands. Fort Sumter was the most important of these
forts because it controlled the entrance to one of the most important ports
in the Confederacy.
The commander of Fort Sumter, Maj. Robert Anderson, informed
Lincoln that he could only hold the fort if the government reinforced it
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