Civil War Facts – Facts You Should Know About the Civil War

The Civil War Facts

The North expected to win because they had more men to fight, 22 million in the North versus 7 million in South. There were more factories in the North to make guns and bullets. The north had more railroads for transporting guns and supplies.

The South expected to win because Northerners did not know their way around the South, where most of the fighting would take place. Southern farmers were already skilled marksmen and riding horses. They were fighting to save a way of life.

While General Robert E. Lee opposed slavery and secession. He led the Confederate Army out of loyalty to Virginia, his home state.

During the battle of Chancellorsville, at least one Union soldier discovered he was a victim of corrupt government contractors when he found that rifle cartridges were filled with dirt instead of gunpowder.

Confederate General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson got his nickname during the first Battle of Bull Run. During battle, his men noted he stood “like a stone wall.” And he was later accidentally shot and killed by his own men.

To prevent escape at Camp Douglas in Chicago, prisoners were not allowed to wear clothes and even blankets were taken away. Many confederates froze to death.

Only two people were conviction of war crimes after Civil War. Confederate Capt. Henry Wirz was tried and executed after the war for murder and conspiracy associated with his command at Andersonville, an infamous prison. Confederate guerrilla Champ Ferguson was the second one.

There were about 200,000 desertions from the Union ranks and more than 120,000 from the Confederate sides. Approximately 85,000 Union men fled to Canada. Of the 76,000 deserters who were caught, almost all were returned to duty. Officially, 141 were executed.

At the battle of Shiloh, on the banks of Tennessee River, more Americans fell than in any previous American wars combined. There were around 23,700 casualties.

African American in the beginning of the war made up smaller than one percent of the population in the north. By the end of the war, however, they made up at least 10% of the army. An estimated 180,000 African American men enlisted to fight for their country.