Official Record of the War of the Rebellion

War of the Rebellion

 

            The Cornell University Library has done an outstanding job making the official military transcripts for both the Union and Confederate armies available. The account details correspondence between the Secretary of War and other military personnel, setting forth the actions taken by each in the moves in and around the war itself.

            In here, you see an account set forth by Maj. Robert Anderson, and the then Secretary of War J.B. Floyd. The detail concerns Anderson’s evacuation of Fort Moultrie to the more defendable Fort Sumter. Anderson took it upon himself to evacuate the Fort due to an inability to hold the position, feeling sure he would lose many lives as well; he decided to leave behind a small garrison, destroying carriages and ammunition and spiking the guns so they could not be used against him in the inevitable taking of the Fort by the Confederacy. His fears were well placed, as a few nights later the fort was taken and all of the public property seized to be used by the occupying forces.

            The accounts further detail the events of Charleston Harbor in 1860. The reports offer only the militarily cold description of what happened. More of a step by step approach as opposed to the letters and correspondence between soldiers and their loved ones at home. Reading this one gets a sense of chivalry between the opposing forces as each was afforded the luxury of time in waiting to receive further orders from the War department. As is the case in the taking of Fort Moultrie, where the remaining men were dispatched without harm, but their properties kept, again in the seizing of the Charleston Arsenal when Capt. F.C. Humphreys was surrounded by armed troops by Col. John Cunningham of the 17^th Regiment Infantry South Carolina. Captain Humphreys asks to remain in the accommodations with his men until they receive further orders, and ask that he be allowed to salute his flag, which has one star for each state still in the Union.

            While in Volume 10, you have the accounts that took place in Kentucky, Tennessee, N. Mississippi, N. Alabama and S.W. Virginia. These start out claiming the need for the post service to keep pace with the armies advance, and questioning why some reports went unanswered concerning troop strength and positions, and the fact that the Tennessee River had submerged Fort Henry. Again, most are in the cold militarily direct, format. While lacking some of the emotion displayed in personal letters that show the conditions of the time and the mindset of the soldiers the reports offer an insight of why troops were being shuffled from place to place, the delay in orders being received and the steps taken to remedy this problem.

            While reading the accounts set forth which show not only the actions made of one’s own volition but the procedural steps that ensue in any time of strife and uncertainty they also revealed the advantageous and adversarial role the land scape played. It also shows the kind of trepidation that each side had for the spilling of blood, some were less willing to go into messy situations while others were bent on destruction and ruin. While reluctance seemed to dominate some of the action, it was a testament to the resolve of the core ideas of each side. Both willing to fight for what they believe, I was surprised to see a chivalrous side to the war as one typically does not think this about war struggles.