Reconstruction

The recontruction era is the time after the American Civil War when the American people rebuilt America into a new nation.

Confederate for the Last Time

This photograph was taken by Matthew Brady, a northern photographer. It is a picture of Confederate General Robert E. Lee after the war in his Confederate uniform for the last time.

Appomattox Court House

This is where the Confederacy surrendered. Once the discussion of the Confederacy's surrender between Confederate General Robert E. Lee and Union General Ulysses S. Grant was complete, 5 years of bloody, painful American Civil War had come to an end. Many Confederate soldiers were dissappointed about the Confederacy's surrender. Many surviving soldiers from both sides had to walk miles to reach their homes and families again.

Tragedy of the American Civil War

These are pictures of dead soldiers from the American Civil War. When the Confederacy surrendered and the Union won the war, the American people started to rebuild America. But, they mourned for the remainder of their lives for all the friends and family killed in the American Civil War. America has never recovered from it's Civil War wounds and it never will. In 2005, the U.S. decided that the American Civil War was the bloodiest and worst war in American history. That's right, worse than the French and Indian War, American Revolution, Territorial Wars, War of 1812, Mexican War, World War 1, World War 2, Cold War, Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War, and even the present ongoing Iraq War. To my readers, do not abandon the American Civil War, for the soldiers who were killed in this great conflict still live within us.

Caleb Leland

Caleb Leland was a Confederate soldier from New Orleans. He fought in the Army of Tennesee. He fought very well at the battle of Gettysburg on Culp's Hill. Caleb died on July 3, 1863 at Gettysburg in a deadly shootout with his identical twin brother, Jed Leland that occured at Barlow's Knoll. Caleb Leland was also known as "Rebel Caleb". Major General Braxton Bragg, who was the commander of the Army of Tennesee, claimed "He was a true southerner. He fought and died for dixie."

Jed Leland

Jed Leland was from New Orleans and was a Union soldier in the Army of Potomac. He was famous and poular in the Union army. Jed fought very well at Culp's Hill at the battle of Gettysburg. He died on July 3, 1863 at Gettysburg in a shootout with his identical twin brother, Caleb Leland, who was a Confederate soldier. The deadly shootout between the brothers took place at Barlow's Knoll. Commander of the Army of Potomac, Major General George Meade claimed "He was the greatest soldier I ever had." Jed Leland was also called "Yankee Jed".

The Battle of Wilson's Creek

The battle of Wilson's Creek occured on August 10, 1861 and was located in Missouri. At the beginning of the war, Missouri declared that it would be an "armed neutral" in the conflict and not send materials or men to either side. On April 20, 1861, a secessionist mob seized the Liberty Arsenal increasing Union concern in the state. The neutrality was put to a major test on May 10, 1861 in what became known as the Camp Jackson Affair. Governor Claiborne F. Jackson had called out the state militia to drill on the edge of St. Louis in Lindell Grove. The governor had clandestinely obtained artillery from the Confederacy and smuggled it into the militia encampment--referred to as "Camp Jackson." Capt. Nathaniel Lyon was aware of this shipment and was concerned the militia would move on the St. Louis Arsenal. He surrounded the camp with Union troops and home guards, forcing the surrender of the militia. He then blundered by marching the militia men through the streets to the arsenal. A crowd gathered, some angry and pressing against the procession. Taunts and jostling eventually led to gunfire and many deaths, mostly civilians but also including several militia and soldiers. A day later, the Missouri General Assembly created the Missouri State Guard to defend the state from attacks from perceived enemies, either from the North or South. The governor appointed Sterling Price to be its general.
Fearing Missouri's tilt to the South, William S. Harney, the Federal commander in Missouri, struck the Price-Harney Truce on May 12, 1861, which affirmed Missouri's neutrality in the conflict. Governor Jackson declared his support for the Union. However, Harney was replaced by Lyon (who was promoted to general), and Abraham Lincoln made a specific request for Missouri troops to enter Federal service. Jackson withdrew his support. On June 12, 1861, Lyon and Jackson met in St. Louis to resolve the matter. The meeting ended with Lyon saying:
“
This means war. In an hour one of my officers will call for you and conduct you out of my lines."[2]
”
Lyon quickly captured the capital and pursued Jackson, Price, and the now exiled state government across Missouri in skirmishes such as Battle of Boonville on June 17, 1861 followed by the Battle of Carthage on July 5, 1861. In light of the crisis, the elected delegates of the Missouri Constitutional Convention that had rejected secession in February reconvened. On July 27, the convention declared the governor's office vacant and then selected Hamilton Rowan Gamble to be the new provisional governor.
By July 13, 1861, Lyon's army was encamped at the city of Springfield, Missouri, and consisted of approximately 6,000 men. His force was composed of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Missouri Infantry, the 1st Iowa Infantry, the 1st and 2nd Kansas Infantry, several companies of Regular Army infantry and cavalry, and three batteries of artillery.
By the end of July 1861, the Missouri State Guard was camped about 75 miles (120 km) southwest of Springfield and had been reinforced by Confederate Brigadier General Benjamin McCulloch and Arkansas state militia Brigadier General N. Bart Pearce, making the mixed Missouri/Arkansas/Confederate force over 12,000 strong. They developed plans to attack Springfield but General Lyon marched out of the city on August 1 in an attempt to surprise the Southern forces. The armies' vanguards skirmished at Dug Springs, Missouri on August 2. The Union force emerged as the victor, but Lyon learned he was outnumbered more than two-to-one and retreated back to Springfield. McCulloch, now in command of the Missourian army, gave chase. By August 6, his force was encamped at Wilson's Creek, ten miles (16 km) southwest of the city.
Outnumbered, Lyon planned to withdraw northwest to Rolla to reinforce and resupply, but not before launching a surprise attack on the Missourian camp to delay pursuit. Union Colonel Franz Sigel, Lyon's second-in-command, developed an aggressive strategy to split the Union force and strike McCullough in a pincer movement. He proposed to lead 1200 men in a flanking maneuver while the main body under Lyon struck from the north. Lyon approved, and the Union army marched out of Springfield on the rainy night of August 9, 1861, leaving about 1000 men to protect supplies and cover the retreat. The success of the Union strategy was dependent on the element of surprise. McCulloch was also planning a surprise attack on the city, but the rain caused him to cancel his plan.
According to the United States Census, 1860, Christian County, Missouri had a total population of 5491 with 229 slaves; and Greene County had 13,186 with 1668 slaves.

At about 5:00 a.m., at first light on the morning of August 10, the Union force attacked. The Missourians were caught by surprise. Lyon's force overran the enemy camps and took the high ground at the crest of a ridge which would become known as "Bloody Hill." Early Union hopes for a rout were dashed, however, when the artillery of the Pulaski Arkansas Battery unlimbered and checked the advance, which gave Price's infantry time and cover to organize lines on the south slope of the hill.
Sigel's plan was initially successful: his flank routed the Missouri cavalry but collapsed when McCulloch's force counterattacked at the Sharp farm. Uniforms had not yet been standardized so early in the war, and McCulloch's men were wearing uniforms similar to Sigel's. The Union soldiers believed McCulloch's approaching lines were Union reinforcements and did not recognize them as the enemy until it was too late. The flank was utterly devastated by the counterattack, and Sigel and his men fled the field.
With the rout of Sigel's flank, the momentum of the battle shifted in the Missourians' favor. Lyon, already shot twice, became the first Union general to be killed in the war; he was shot in the heart on Bloody Hill, at about 9:30 a.m., while rallying his men for a countercharge. Major Samuel D. Sturgis assumed command of the Union army. While still in a defensible position atop the hill, Union supplies were low and morale was worsening. By 11:00 a.m., the Union forces had already repulsed three separate Confederate charges. Ammunition and men were nearly exhausted, and Sturgis retreated rather than risk a fourth Confederate attack. The winner of this battle was the Confederate army. Also, the Union lost one of their generals, major general Nathaniel Lyon, who was killed on the battlefield by gunfire.

I found this work on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wilson%27s_Creek