How did the American Civil War Actually Happen? (Part 2) - All Important Battles of 1861

How did the American Civil War Actually Happen? (Part 2) - All battles of 1861

At this point in time, neither side wanted the war to last long. In fact, some in the South had actually hoped that the attack on Fort Sumter would scare the Union into diplomacy instead of armed conflict. The Confederates knew they were greatly outnumbered and were smart enough to recognize the obstacles they’d need to overcome to beat the North, however, they weren’t the only ones with concerning weaknesses

♦Consider supporting the Channel :

♦Music by Epidemic Sound

♦Script & Research :
Skylar J. Gordon

#History #Documentary #america

[Knowledgia]

The next parts are in the making! What do you think it was the most important event in 1861 during The Civil War?

[Abdus_VGC]

General Winfield Scott was such a great and under appreciated figure, he first routed Mexico, then gave Union an upper hand before retiring, and he was a Virginian. He gave union an upper hand and his genius led union to capture the largest city of confederacy New Orleans without even firing a shot. That crippled the confederacy from the get go!

Such a genius! Give him his credit due!

[Jisstifer]

The flag that flew over fort sumter during the bombardment is now housed in the museum in Charleston. It's amazing to think about what all that flag saw.

[javiervll]

I love learning about American history 🇺🇸. Here in Spain 🇪🇸, we study in History class especially the time of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, the American Revolutionary War, the American Civil War and the Spanish-American War of 1898.

[firingallcylinders]

"You people of the South don't know what you are doing. This country will be drenched in blood, and God only knows how it will end". -William T Sherman when he heard the news Sumter was fired on.

[oliversherman]

Imagine going on a picnic on an active battlefield to watch the fighting 😂

[tablosaf]

Finally, after 86 years of waiting :D

[aaronfleming]

The Battle of Bull Run nicely illustrates the numerous significant advantages the rebels had early in the war...although those reasons have little to do with superior generalship or fighting prowess.

Both sides were building armies from scratch, but it was much more difficult to train an army to go on the march in enemy territory than to train an army to remain on the defense in friendly territory. That's why we hear phrases about McDowell's army "inching forward".

Tactically, it was also much more difficult to keep units in cohesive formation while moving across rugged terrain on the battlefield. Moving from column to line and advancing was hard enough, and became even more difficult under fire.

Tactically, the weapons of the day gave a significant advantage to the defender. Attackers crossing hundreds of yards of open ground came under cannon fire long before they could respond with muskets, and attacking artillery would have to unlimber and deploy within range of defenders already prepared to blast them with counter-battery fire.

Operationally, Bull Run is also illustrative of the advantage of interior lines of communication. It's no mistake that Beauregard was waiting for McDowell at Manassas Junction...that was precisely where he could receive reinforcements from Johnston by rail, giving the Confederates an enormous advantage of speed over the Union army which, as we noted already, was "inching forward" over dirt road while rebel reinforcements poured in by rail.

As the war goes on, we'll see one rebel offensive after another fall apart when it faces the same problems. Jackson's Romney campaign, Zollicoffer's Mill Springs campaign, Bragg's Kentucky campaign, Lee in Maryland in '62 and Pennsylvania in '63...all disasters, for all the same reasons that Union offensives floundered in '61.

[NordicHyperborean]

Let’s get even more Civil War been wanting this era hit hard for a long time now!

[jonathanmendoza]

This is the best american civil war documentary...precise ..simplified.. informative.

[Michael_Brock]

The early to mid union generalship is just a litany of incompetent general after incompetent general. With a few striking exceptions.

[JamesTempest]

Been waiting on this one for awhile, appreciate it

[papazataklaattiranimam]

The secession of the Southern states (in chronological order, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina) in 1860–61 and the ensuing outbreak of armed hostilities were the culmination of decades of growing sectional friction over slavery. Between 1815 and 1861 the economy of the Northern states was rapidly modernizing and diversifying. Although agriculture—mostly smaller farms that relied on free labour—remained the dominant sector in the North, industrialization had taken root there. Moreover, Northerners had invested heavily in an expansive and varied transportation system that included canals, roads, steamboats, and railroads; in financial industries such as banking and insurance; and in a large communications network that featured inexpensive, widely available newspapers, magazines, and books, along with the telegraph.

By contrast, the Southern economy was based principally on large farms (plantations) that produced commercial crops such as cotton and that relied on slaves as the main labour force. Rather than invest in factories or railroads as Northerners had done, Southerners invested their money in slaves—even more than in land; by 1860, 84 percent of the capital invested in manufacturing was invested in the free (nonslaveholding) states. Yet, to Southerners, as late as 1860, this appeared to be a sound business decision. The price of cotton, the South’s defining crop, had skyrocketed in the 1850s, and the value of slaves—who were, after all, property—rose commensurately. By 1860 the per capita wealth of Southern whites was twice that of Northerners, and three-fifths of the wealthiest individuals in the country were Southerners.

[brewtank]

Super well produced I’m upset there’s no pt 3 up lol

[Steven-dtnu]

I have been to the battle of Wilson's Creek. Also had many family members fight in the Civil War. Very interesting time period for our country.

[Squatch_needs_no_heroes]

This is so good. I watched the Burns doc a million years ago, I wish it had been like this.

[virgiljones]

My dad grew up in Georgia born in 1932. When he was a kid there were 5 people in the town where he grew up who were born slaves and a ton of folks who's parents were born slaves! My dad died in 2014 and his life ovelaps with my son's who is 15. All this crazy owning people justified by the creation of rasism still has an impact on who we are as a nation. Its amazing how an educated man like Ron DiSantis and Nicky Haley deny the need for education on this topic....amazing! This all didnt happen a long time ago folks just a few generations!

[albertmisic]

It's surprising. Confederation army was better if we look through the aspect of officers. They had better than North. But they didn't have enough man and industrial capacity for longer war duration. North had five times more man for recruitment and ten times stronger economy. That's like Bulgaria get into war with Spain.

[Royalchess]

Well- researched and well-commentated!

[autodidactcognitive]

I was finally waiting for this video a sequel to first part.