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LIKE A PLAGUE UPON THE EARTH: A HISTORY OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR 1894-1898 By James Anderson
The War that broke out in April of 1894 cost thousands if not millions of lives. The economy of Europe, North America, Asia, and practically the entire world was vastly altered in those four years of bloodshed. Some countries saw their economies ruined while others benfited from the war. It saw the introduction of drigables, the first widespread use of machine guns, not to mention modern rifles. Land and Naval warfare were forever changed. New state of the art warships, such as the battleship and the use of submarines became dominant at sea. It was the last war to see the use of cavarly. On the more sinister side, it also saw the use of chemical warfare(namely gas), the destruction of cities, widespread killing of civilians and unfortuantly, the first of what would latter be called 'death camps'.
The War that raged for four years saw the rise of world powers that would dominate the world for the next 50 years. Politics were also changed. In some countries monarchs gave way to democracy, while others gave way to anarchy and dictators. Nothing was quite the same after. Many people agree that although a world war was inevitable (at least for another 20+ years), the aftermath of this war would unleash 3 more wars like it. By the time a peace finally settled over the world in 2000, so many people had died that many wonder how the hell the world survived total destruction.
There were many causes that sparked this war, from alliances being formed and broken, an arms race that saw the development of weapons that would bring so much calamity upon the world, to politics, to the people in general, many agree that one event led to the war, although many did not see it at the time. This event altered the world in such a way that countries that became enemies would have ended up friends had the event went the other way. That event was the Union defeat during the American Civil War. Because of this, many generations of people suffered for the next 136 years.
LIKE A PLAGUE UPON THE EARTH: A HISTORY OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR 1894-1898 By James Anderson
American Civil War 1861-1864
The American Civil War began on April 12th, 1861 with the firing on Ft. Sumter by the Confederate Forces under the command of Gen. PTG Beaurguard. This blood-less victory for the Confederates started a war that would consume the whole nation and cost hundreds of thousands of lives. Union President Abraham Lincoln put out a call for 75,000 volunteers to put down the rebellion. This proclamation in turn led to the remaining states that would make up the Confederacy to seceed from the Union.
The months following the firing of Ft. Sumter saw hundreds of thousands of men flock to the recruting offices of both the north and south in order to raise troops in defense of their countries. The first major battle that was fought was on July 21st, 1861 at Manassas. The three armies that fought there were amateurs and losses were light compared to future battles. The result of this Confederate victory saw the south gain confidance while the north plunged into despair. The rest of the year saw two more Confederate successes, both in Missouri. Wilson's Creek, fought on August 10th, saw the defeat of then Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon's Army of the West to a combined southern force under Generals Sterling Price and Ben McCulloch. Lyon himself almost was killed in the fighting, but a last minute change of plans saved him. After the victory, Price wanted to march on the capital and gain Missouri for the Confederacy, but Ben McCulloch refused and Price marched north without him or his troops. In the end, Price won a stunning victory against a Union garrison at Springfield, Mo. At that point, it seemed to the Federal authorities that the south was going to gain its freedom. Had they know that the south would do just that 2 years latter, it might have shorten the war sooner. But in the spring of 1862, that would all change.
In 1862, Union forces under the command of General Ulysses S. Grant, a future president, opened the campaign in the west like a thunderbolt. First Ft. Henry fell to Union gunboats, then Grant marched overland, besieged Ft. Donelson, repelled a Rebel attack, and forced the surrender of 15,000 men under Simon Buckner. After these two victories, Federal forces under Don Carlos Buell threatened Nashville and after a few quick engagments with Albert Sidney Johnston's Army of Western Kentucky, occupied it in early march. To the west, Nathaniel Lyon's 20,000 man Army of the West came roaring down from Missouri. It chased Price out of Missouri, and kept going. In response, Rebel General Earl Van Dorn combined Price's army with that of Ben McCulloch's. These troops, along with some reinforcments, brought the rebel force to 18,000 men. The two forces clashed at Fayetteville on March 12th, 1862. In the ensuing fight, both sides fought well and suffered accordingly. Officer casualties were unusually high. On the federal side, Lyon lost two division commanders: Franz Sigel and Samuel Curtis. The Rebels lost Generals McCulloch, McIntosh, and the army commander, Earl Van Dorn, who were among the slain. Total casualties numbered 6,000 men. Although the federals won the battle, the rebels gained a tactical victory in the sense that Lyon had to withdraw his battered army to Bentonville, Ark in order to resupply his men and gain reinforcements. As bloody as Fayetteville had been, it failed in comparison to the huge battle that was taking place in Tennessee: Shiloh.
LIKE A PLAGUE UPON THE EARTH: A HISTORY OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR 1894-1898 By James Anderson After the fall of Nashville, TN in the wake of Grant's victories at Ft. Henry and Donelson, the ranking Confederate General in the west, Albert S. Johnston, decided to withdraw and concentrate his scattered troops at Cornith, Ms. One of the controversies that evolved out of this decision was the order to evacuate as many troops as possible from Island No. 10. As many as 5,000 men were withdrawn from the island, leaving only a force of 1500 men to defend it. Meanwhile. Union forces were moving down middle Tennessee.
Don Carlos Buell's troops occupied Nashville while Grant's army moved to Pittsburgh Landing. Grant established a forward base, complete with a supply depot to support operations in the area. The Army of Tennessee, as it was called, had seven divisions totaling some 35,000 men. Grant hopes to link up with Buell and with their combined armies, march on Cornith. Unfortuantly for him, A.S. Johnston had other ideas.
Johnston had been busy gathering troops for an all out attack on Grant's forces. Drawing reinforcments from around the area, Johnston gathered some 42,000 men. Also, in the wake of the federal victory in Arkansas, Price's army (Van Dorn was killed at Fayetteville) was dispached across the Misissippi River to Vicksburg. Then they were rushed to Cornith to join Johnston's forces. Because of this, Johnston had to delay his march by several days. On April 6th, Johnston advanced. With Price's men added, his army increased to some 54,000 men.
After a greuling 2 day march, Johnston struck on the morning of April 8th. He caught Grant by suprise. The bluecoats struggled to defend their encampments, only to have rebels soldiers overrun them. After about two hours of fighting, the federal line halted and dug in. Johnston realized that he needed to shift his forces and drive Grant away from the landing. Again, the rebel assault was fierce. The union line finally buckled and grant's right fled back to the landing. There, many of them were rallied and put back into the fight. Meanwhile, Grant's left and center, gradually gave ground and fell back to the landing. With the arrival of Lew Wallace's men and Buell's army, Grant's men reorganized and waited for the rebel assault.
Johnston, by this time, had been seriously wounded. The fact that he carried a tourniqut and that his personal doctor was with him, saved his life. Handing over command to PTG Beauguard, Johnston is evacuated to Cornith. Beauguard, aware of the approach of darkness, orders one final assault to take place. This would involve Price's army and the combined corps of Hardee and Polk. The result was that Grant's army was pushed back farther away from the landing, which prevented buell's army from joining. But, unfortunatly for the rebels, the two federal gunboats saved the day by lobbing shells into the tired rebel ranks, devastating them. By nightfall, the rebel army withdrew out of range of the gunboats. By the time the rebels reorganized, Buell's army had crossed the Tennessee farther up and had joined Grant's men. The following day they attacked the rebels and after an all day slug fest, finally drove them back to their starting point. A little latter, the rebels retreated back to Cornith. The Union had won, but at a terrible price. Some 16,000 federal troops were either killed, wounded, missing, or captured. Rebel losses were just as high. They lost 14,000 men killed, wounded, or missing. The affects of this battle would have far reaching results.
LIKE A PLAGUE UPON THE EARTH: A HISTORY OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR 1894-1898
By James Anderson
Following the bloodbath at Shiloh, both sides rested their men and reorganized the armies. On the Federal side, Major General Henry Hallack took over command of Grant's and Buell's armies. Pulling some strings at a higher level, Halleck had Grant replaced as commander of the Army of Tennesee with George Thomas. Halleck poured men and supplies into Pittsburgh Landing. When Island No.10 fell to John Pope's Federal Army of Mississippi, Halleck brought him to Pittsburgh Landing as well. After a month of preparations, Halleck's forces had grown to 100,000 men.
The rebels also gathered more men and supplies. With Johnston being wounded, command fell to Beauguard. Beauguard reorganized the army into four corps under Hardee, Bragg, Breckinridge, and Price. Hardee and Bragg's corps contained men from Polk's corps which was broken up since their commander's death at Shiloh. With reinforcments coming from Mississipi, Alabama, Georgia, and other places, Bearegard managed to increase the army's strength to 60,000 men. He also ordered the construction of earthworks, fortifications, and forts to help defend Cornith from the attack he knew was coming.
On May 10th, nearly a month after Shiloh, Hallleck marched his huge army to Cornith. After a couple of days, they arrived before the town. Halleck, after looking over the situation, decided to besiege the town. The Siege of Cornith, as it was known, would last for a month, and several battles would erupt between the two forces. Out of these battles, only one would see carnage that could compare to Shiloh: The Battle of Farmville, fought on May 22nd, 1862. This battle was the result of Halleck trying to pry the rebels loose. On that day, the task of doing that fell to John Pope's Army of Mississippi, some 25,000men. Opposing Pope's army was Price's corps supported by Breckinridge's corps. Together, these two corps numbered about 30,000 men. Pope pushed forward his lead units and drove rebel pickets out of the town. Price brought up his corps and after arranging them into a battle line, attacked. The fighting raged for several hours untill Breckinridge brought up his corps and hit Pope from the side. Pope, seeing that his army was in danger of being routed, ordered a withdraw back to his original line. This victory gave the rebels a morale boost that they desperatly needed. Casualties on both sides were high: the federals had 4,000 men dead, wounded, missing, or captured. The rebels had 3,000 men killed, wounded, or captured.
A few days after Farmville, Halleck decided to assault cornith itself. Many of his officers told him that assaulting the works would only bring unecessary casualties, but Halleck did not listen. On May 25th, Thomas's Army of the Tennessee and Buell's Army of Ohio attacked. Facing them were Hardee's corps, Bragg's corps, and Breckinridge's corps, which had been moved from the left to the center. Thus, some 70,000 union soldiers faced off against 45,000 rebel soldiers. After a huge artillery bombardment, the federal soldiers charged across a field of fire that would only be surpassed by Fredericksburg. Rebel soldiers fired as fast as they could, yelling, 'shiloh! shiloh!' remembering the defeat there. After about 5 hours of unrelenting carnage, Halleck finally ordered the assault to stop, but the damage was done. Some 9,000 union soldiers littered the field. Rebel losses were around 1,000 men. The fallout from this failed assault was that Halleck was replaced and sent back north for reassignment. In his place was put U.S. Grant, who ordered the army to withdraw back to Shiloh to reorganize and replan. On June 2nd, 1862, the federal army marched back to Shiloh, leaving the field to the rebels. Beuregard sent a wired communication to Jeff Davis, informing him of his victory. Southerns rejoiced in the fact that the yankee invader had been turned back. Davis, who did not like Beauregard, had to swollow his pride and send his thanks. Davis also sent a communication which permantly made Beauregard the commanding general of the Army of Mississippi. Although the rebels had gained a sigh of relieve in the west, in the east, a powerful federal army was marching to Richmond's doorstep.
LIKE A PLAGUE UPON THE EARTH: A HISTORY OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR 1894-1898
By James Anderson
While Federal forces recoiled after the setback at Cornith, in the east, they were on the move. After the Union defeat at Bull Run, the federal army stationed in and around Washington were given a new commander: George McClellan. Under McClellan's leadership, the Army of the Potomac, as it was known, began to drill and train. By October, that army was ready, but its commander was not. McClellan relied on his spies, who were operating under the Pinkerton Detective Agency, were giving him reports of a rebel host that far outnumbered him. Therefore, McClellan and his army lingered for several months until at last, in February of 1862, Lincoln issued a warning: either move your army to attack Richmond, or be replaced.
McClellan, who by this time loathed Lincoln and called him 'a gorilla', decided upon a bold plan. His army, some 100,000 men would board transports and protected by the navy, sail down the Potomac River and land at Ft. Monore on the Virginia Peninsula and march north west to take Richmond. Meanwhile, another force under Erwin McDowell, some 35,000 men, would march down from the north and take Fredricksburgh and threaten Richmond from the north. While this was going on, three smaller federal commands would operate in the Valley. The three commanders, Fremont, Banks, and Shields, were to coordinate their movements in the hope that they would be able to drive the Rebel force under Stonewall Jackson out of the Valley.
The first of these movements began in early march, with James Shield's division marching down the Valley. He had some 10,000 men with him and was heading toward Winchester. Stonewall Jackson, who had 5,000 men on had, decided to attack him. The resulting battle, which was fought on March 25th, at Kernstown, resulted in a Union victory. Jackson withdrew down the Valley, licking his wounds. He would not be heard from again for some time. Another unexcpected rebel strike was the emergance of the ironclad Merrimack, or Virginia, as the southerns labeled her. On March 8th, the rebel craft struck at the union blockade squadron and inflicted damage to them by sinking the Congress and Cumberland. Then she turned her guns on the Minnesota, which ran aground. The rebels realized that they could not get to the Minnesota, so they withdrew back to their home port and decided to come out and finish her the next day. When the Virginia did return, they found the Union ironclad Monitor waiting for them. The resulting fight was one for the ages. This single naval battle changed the course of naval warfare in a single day. By April 1st, McClellan had started to land his troops at Ft. Monroe. Soon he would be ready to advance toward Richmond.
LIKE A PLAGUE UPON THE EARTH: A HISTORY OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR 1894-1898
By James Anderson
As McClellan was disembarking his men at Ft. Monroe, in the Valley, Federal forces were having a hard time locating, let alone confronting Jackson. Banks's army occupied Winchester, but failed to move further south. Other federal forces spread out so far that for any one of them to support each other would take several days march. By the time April was done, Fremont and his army was marching down the valley toward McDowell. There, they found Jackson waiting for them.
Stonewall had not been idle that April. He had withdrawn back into the Valley to recup. After recieving some reinforcements from Richmond, he decided to wait for the federals next move that came in early May with Fremont advancing down the valley toward McDowell. On May 8th, Jackson, with 10,000 men, layed a trap for the advance guard of Fremont's army. Fremont had 20,000 men under his command, but at mcdowell he only had 6,000.
Fremont himself was himself not at mcdowell, but the federal officers there, milroy and Schenck decided that being outnumbered, the best thing to do was attack. The resulting fight was fierce for its side, but in the end, Jackson was victorious. Losses one both sides were moderate. Jackson suffered less than 300 men, while the federals suffered 500. In the Aftermath, Jackson marched his men toward Winchester and a confrontation with Banks. Fremont, meanwhile, retreated back toward strasburg in order to link up with Banks. This he failed to do.
Jackson, meanwhile, linked up with General Ewell's division and advanced toward Winchester. In the way was a detachment of federal troops at front royal. They stood no chance. Jackson quickly surrounded them and after about a couple of hours of fighting, some 800 federals surrendered. Jackson pressed on toward Winchester and a meeting with Banks.