Chronological History of the American Civil War

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of the historic hospital and features exhibits about the hospital and other hospitals in Civil War Richmond, as well as the practice of medicine in the 1860s.

Newspapers and Political Cartoons Tell the Story A few facts you might not know about the Great American Civil War. The newspaper business exploded in the years leading up to the Civil War aided by technology like the telegraph and mechanical printing press. By 1860, the country boasted some 2,500 publications. The Civil War was the most well-reported conflict in history, with many correspondents sending dispatches directly from the field. Now reaching a greater audience than ever before, mass-produced papers are sold for just a penny. Political cartoons published in pictorial newspapers provided both humorous diversion and sharp editorial critique. By poking fun at controversial issues, celebrating victories and casting blame for defeats, the images were an important part of how many Americans experienced and processed the war.

Mourning Practices A few facts you might not know about the Great American Civil War. Ever wonder why the old antebellum homes had wide doorways? It was not so ladies with those big hoop skirts can get through. Truth is centuries before and decades after the Civil War, including the war itself, doorways were wide, not because of the width of women’s skirts, but so coffins could be passed through, with a pallbearer on either side. During the Victorian era, the dead were either laid out in their parlors, or, as the Southerners preferred, in their bedrooms. There was no such thing as a funeral home; death was a part of life, and the dead remained in the house up until they were buried. The tradition of flowers around the coffin comes from the Victorians trying to hide the scent of the deceased. A lot of photographs from that era taken of sleeping children are of deceased sons or daughters. When a child died, often parents would have a photograph taken of the child. They wanted to preserve the memory for as long as possible. When a woman mourned for her husband in the 1860’s, she spent a minimum of two-and-a-half years in mourning. That meant little or no social activities: no parties, no outings, no visitors, and a wardrobe that consisted of nothing but black. Now, the husband on the other hand, when mourning for his wife, however, spent only three months in a black suit. A War by Any Name Is Still A War ... A few facts you might not know about the Great American Civil War. I guess since the beginning of countries, there has been internal fighting amongst their citizens for separation or control. The United States of America would be no different. Webster dictionary defines “civil war” as: a war between groups of people in the same country. They all had their own unique names, like the “English or Irish or Spanish Civil War.” Our civil war had many different names, too. Here are a few: The War Between the States, The War of the Rebellion, The War of Separation, The War for Southern Independence, The War for the Union, The Second American Revolution, The War of Northern Aggression, The Confederate War, Mr. Lincoln’s War, Mr. Davis’s War, The War of the Sections, The Brothers’ War, The War for States’ Rights, The War for Southern Rights, The War of the Sixties, The Yankee Invasion, The War for Separation, The War for Abolition, The War of the North and South, The War for the Union, The Confederate War, The War for Southern Freedom, The Second War for Independence, The War for Constitutional Liberty, The Great Rebellion and The War Against Slavery. Ex slaves called it, The Freedom War. And by 1865, it had taken on a name that it could not shake off, it was also called, The Lost Cause War.