Chronological History of the American Civil War

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Stanley is possibly the only man to serve in both armies and one navy in the American Civil War… The Welsh journalist and explorer would go on to lead an expedition to Africa in search of explorer, David Livingstone and found him in Tanzania in 1871; he and Livingstone together tried to find the source of the Nile River. Role of the Horse during the war A few facts you might not know about the Great American Civil War. A much forgotten yet vital part of the Civil War era was the horse. Horses and other draft animals had about a 7-month life expectancy during the Civil War. As many as 300,000 horses died. More than 3,000 horses were killed at Gettysburg alone. General Stonewall Jackson’s (CSA) horse, Little Sorrel, lived to the age of 36. Ulysses S. Grant’s (U.S.) favorite horse was a Thoroughbred named Cincinnati and, according to Grant, was one of the most magnificent horses that he had ever seen. Cincinnati was ridden by only a select number of Grant's friends, one of them being President Abraham Lincoln. Traveller, a gray Saddlebred gelding, was the favorite horse of General Robert E Lee (CSA) and was probably the most famous horse that participated in the Civil War. General Nathan Bedford Forrest (CSA) had the privilege of having the most horses shot out from under him… 29! Bounty Jumpers A few facts you might not know about the Great American Civil War. “Bounty jumpers” were men who enlisted in the Union or Confederate army during the American Civil War only to collect a bounty and then leave. The draft of 1863 allowed individuals to pay a bounty to someone else to substitute for himself, and fight in their place rather than be drafted. This “fee” usually was $300, but if a state where state and local governments also adding to bounties, the total could amount to $1000. Bounty jumpers commonly enlisted numerous times in the army, collecting many bounties in the process. The record for bounty jumping was held by John O’Connor. He admitted to hiring himself out 32 times before being caught. He received a 4-year prison term. Another bounty jumper became particularly famous. Adam Worth became an international thief, with the theft of Thomas Gainsborough's painting “Duchess” being his most famous crime. He would become known as the “Napoleon of Crime,” a label Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would borrow when creating his Sherlock Holmes series of books and the character Professor Moriarty, whom Doyle loosely based on Worth. Due to the number of bounty jumpers taking advantage of being substitutes for those drafted, the Confederate Congress withdrew the law-making substitutions possible in December 1863. In October 1864, President Lincoln selected John Summerfield Staples as his “substitute” and offered him a bounty of $500. Staples saw little action during the year he served as the president’s representative, primarily working as a clerk and prison guard. He mustered out in September 1865. Punishment could be hard for a bounty jumper, as they were more likely to receive death sentence than those deserters who left due to homesickness, or to help the family farm, or simply as a lark against authority.

John Brown's Raid A few facts you might not know about the Great American Civil War. John Brown’s (pictured)

actions prior to the Civil War was as an abolitionist, and the tactics he chose, still make him a controversial figure today. He is sometimes memorialized as a heroic martyr and a visionary and sometimes criticized to be a madman or a terrorist. October 16, 1859, John Brown had set his final plan in motion to free all slaves, by arming them with weapons taken from the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. Strange as it seems, the first civilian killed by the abolitionist John Brown and his cohorts at Harper’s Ferry was a “free black man.” African American baggage handler Heyward Shepherd was mortally wounded, ironically becoming the first casualty of John Brown’s Raid.