The American Civil War

In the history of the United States, among the single most defining phenomenon has, for the longest time, been the bloody American Civil War that saw the death of hundreds of thousands of lives. As the war morphed into a freedom struggle for the enslaved at the time, the issue of emancipation took center stage. Parties involved incorporated the European settlers, the native Americans, and the African Americans (both the free and the enslaved). The involvement of most Northerners was purposely motivated by the drive to preserve the Union before the war took this other direction of liberation for the parties that sought freedom.

Concurrently, women got themselves engaged in the battle, too, taking up different roles in this period of war partially because of a shortage of men qualified for service in the military. Conservatives in favor of keeping the Union endeavored to form a nation-state. The creation of which would necessitate the formation of a government to preserve the existence of the country founded. The then deputy president for the confederacy, Alexander Stephens’ proclamation in a speech, pointed out the root cause of secession calls as being racism and slavery as a result of the white supremacist sentiment that had a mighty prevalence in the year 1861. He also noted these two elements as the foundation for the formation of the Confederate Nation.

To the war parties who took part in the struggle, it was a chilling and mystifying time for them as most would admit. Casualties overwhelmed the short supply of hospitals and nurses by a large margin. Conditions in these facilities were depressing that most volunteers often gave up almost soon after they’d started offering assistance. These helpers were women mostly. They had come from all corners of the Union, leaving the comfort of their homes.

In a sense, music played a most notable role in the Civil War as songs were used to commemorate the period and the journey as a whole, lamenting the lives lost and uniting the servicemen and women throughout the collective sacrifice.