The major campaigns in the central and western portions of the Confederate states in 1864 included Chattanooga, Franklin/Nashville, Atlanta and, Sherman's march to Savannah. In the east, Sherman pursued Gen. Johnston up to North Carolina and Grant's Overland and Wilderness Campaigns in 1864 led to the Petersburg Seige culminating with Appomattox in 1865. Most think that the War Between the States ended with the surrender of Lee at Appomattox but in actuality Gen. Johnston surrendered to Sherman on April 26th and Gen. Forrest did not surrender until May.
Alabama seceded in January 1861 but there was actually about a 60/30 split between those in favor and those opposing secession in the state. Actually, six Union regiments were formed from Alabama volunteers while 32 regiments went to fight for the Confederate Army (plus additional artillery). The Alabama Governor Andrew Moore supported the secession and seized Federal property in the state and readied Alabama for War. In addition to portions of the north part of the state supporting the Federals, the Wiregrass as well as the panhandle of Florida and south Georgia were strongholds of Union sympathizers.
After agriculture, railroad was the next largest part of the Alabama antebellum economy with goods transport routes from Mobile to Montgomery and then north to Birmingham and Tennessee as well as east to Atlanta. Railroads drove the economy. Railroad track gauges were not standard in the pre-War years. From Selma to Montgomery there was a narrower gauge whereas the track from Montgomery to Atlanta was standard gauge. This required material moving east-west to be offloaded in Montgomery and cargo transferred to other railcars; this logistical process drove the local Montgomery economy. When Jefferson Davis traveled from Mississippi to Montgomery for his inauguration, he had to travel from Biloxi to Memphis to to Atlanta and back west to Montgomery. It is thought this issue with transport around Alabama was one factor considered in moving the capitol of the Confederacy from Montgomery to Richmond, this and the local bouts with yellow fever and malaria.
The largest battle in Alabama was the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864. This again emphasized the importance of Alabama in the transport of goods for the Confederacy as Mobile was a center of blockade running. There were two battles in Alabama in 1865, the Battle of Tuscaloosa when the University of Alabama was burned to the ground and then the battle for the Arsenal in Selma in April. The Selma arsenal provided ironclad parts, guns, rifled cannons, and ammunition. The Union forces tried three previous times to take Selma but in 1865, a large command under Maj. Gen. Wilson was commissioned by Sherman and drove into Alabama. They burned Selma and the Arsenal munitions factory after they defeated a severely overmanned and outgunned Confederate Home Guard defense of 2000 led by Gen. Forrest at Ebenezer Church. This crippled the Confederate weapons manufacturing and hurt the Alabama manufacturing sector and economy postwar.
1865 saw start of the Occupational Reconstruction under Alabama Governor Watts who was the 18th governor for the state and the last wartime governor. He had conscripted the cadets at the University of Alabama during the War and had wanted to continue the resistance when the Armies of the Confederacy were surrendering in April of 1865 but was arrested and removed from office in May of that year. Governor Parsons was the 19th governor of Alabama, a friend and associate of President Johnson and was from New York. President Johnson supported states being empowered to rebuild themselves as part of his Reconstruction plans but, Johnson was impeached by a Republican Congress which initiated their own Reconstruction which went on for eight painful years.
In a summary, Jayson indicated the book provided a detailed account of the last days of the War in Alabama and provided a better understanding of the period after Appomattox. The author is critical of the Alabama political leadership post-1865. McIlwain also takes to task the "Lost Cause" historical narrative which Jefferson Davis and many of the Confederate leaders and peoples espoused. The book also lacked detailed maps.
No comments:
Post a Comment