War Upon the Land: Nature as an Agent to War.

   If asked early in the semester what topics I expected to cover through the duration of this class; I would have said the obvious, such as military campaigns, political ploys, social standards, and prominent figures among other topics. However, I did not expect to focus on the nature of the land as a physical agent to military strategy in the South. Quite simply it is not the first thing that comes to mind when preparing for a discussion about the chaos that was, Civil War and Reconstruction. Needless to say; the topic that “War Upon the Land” places focus on is certainly worthy of attention and discussion.

   Within the same frame of time that war upon the American homeland commenced; the nation had taken to measures that tried to tame nature in a way. For instance dams were being built to control waterways as a means of shipment of goods; the Transcontinental Railroad would change the way travelers viewed time in relation to their travels, and farmers would become reliant upon taming the land for the production of their crops. It serves as no surprise that the premise of Brady’s book would consist of measures taken by those in war to use the land against their opposition. 

   Use of the land by the South did not necessarily have to involve any real work as opposed to the North. The Confederate army was without a doubt familiar to the land, and in a sense had a home field advantage. One could only imagine the struggles for union soldiers had in dealing with the terrain of the South. A track through the swampland's would be enough to deprive an army of many resources  and indeed it did. As for actually using the land intentionally for benefit to their cause; it was the Union who would cause a literal “War Upon the Land” as a maneuver to starve out their Confederate combatants. Home field advantage would really be no advantage at all if you are unable to have adequate supplies or food. Sherman's "March to the Sea" is the a prime example of how the Union destroyed land in the South as a means to deprive the Confederacy of important needs during their military campaigns. 

   

   In the future, when discussing the impact of military conflict; I will now understand to include this specific aspect of the war into my writings and discussions. It illustrates not only an advantage of the Confederate Army, but also its demise in some forms. Brady illustrates how man can alter nature for its benefit, while also not undermining natures importance to us all.