File:A bird's-eye view of our Civil War (1897) (14563503278).jpg

Identifier: birdseyeviewofou00dodg (find matches)
Title: A bird's-eye view of our Civil War
Year: 1897 (1890s)
Authors: Dodge, Theodore Ayrault, 1842-1909
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Publisher: Boston, New York, Houghton, Mifflin and Company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

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measures wereat once put in play. And as the National administra-tion, until the succeeding March, was still Democratic,the South reaped many advantages from the weakness,and in some instances outright dishonesty of United Statesofficials. Compromises were attempted. But matters had gonetoo far. Before New Year of 1861 had dawned. SouthCarolina had set up as an independent power. The otherSouthern States in turn passed ordinances of secession, a 4 BIRDS-EYE VIEW OF OUR CIVIL WAR. Confederacy was formed, and Nortli and South were openlyarrayed against each other. But it must be remembered that while slavery had beenat the root of the trouble, the actual casus belli was theact of secession, to maintain and to prevent which our CivilWar was really waged. As the struggle grew in intensity,the final extirpation of slavery became an element in thecalculations of the North, and even a means of encouragingits people. But at the outset the contest was solely a Warfor the Union. ^ ^ T a: rf J^^
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n. THE OPENING SITUATION. A BIRDS-EYE view of Our Civil War shows athreefold division of military operations. Themightier conflicts had their scene in the States borderingon the East or on the West of the Alleghany Mountains.Most minor hostilities were waged on the outskirts of theConfederacy. Many of the latter had so little, if any,bearing upon the general result, that they may be brieflydismissed from sight without aflecting an intelligent view ofthe whole. Some bore a weighty share in our eventualsuccess. It will be remembered that, in a general way, the offen-sive was ours, the defensive the Confederate share of thestruggle. But as the best defense is often a vigorous at-tack, so the Confederates waged sometimes an offensive-defensive warfare, as in the case of Lees incursions acrossthe Potomac in 1862 and 1863, or Braggs march to theOhio river in 1862. But the general policy pursued bythe Confederates was formulated by Jefferson Davis whenhe said that all we ask is to be let alo

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