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Confederate States Army
The Confederate Army was the army of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War (1861–1865).[1] In 1860, just after the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, Southern states began seceding (leaving) from the Union (the states of the United States).[1] On February 8, 1861, the Confederate States of America was formed with a constitution. In total, 11 states seceded from the Union.[2] Jefferson Davis became the president of the Confederacy. They then formed a volunteer army. After the Battle of Fort Sumter, Davis took charge of the army. After four years of fighting, the Confederate army was defeated by the Union army and surrendered. Anywhere from 750 thousand to 1 million soldiers fought for the Confederacy.
Soldiers[edit | edit source]
In both the Confederate army and the Union army, the average soldier was under age 30.[3] More than half of the Confederate soldiers were farmers. Those who were not yet 18 years old were often drummer boys. Some had little or no schooling while others had degrees from universities.[3] Many foreigners fought for the Confederacy. Soldiers came from countries such as Ireland, Germany, Great Britain, Canada and Mexico.[3] Some Native Americans fought in the Confederate Army, mostly in the west. African-American slaves were also allowed to become Confederate soldiers, but not until March of 1865 when a law was passed allowing black men to serve in the army.
End of the Confederate army[edit | edit source]
On April 2, 1865, Richmond, Virginia, the capitol of the Confederacy, fell to Union forces.[4] Jefferson Davis fled.[4] A week later, Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Union general Ulysses S. Grant.[4] But Lee did not surrender the entire Confederate army. There were still several other Confederate armies, some large, some small.[4] One by one they surrendered. A few did not surrender, they just quit fighting and went home.[4] On August 20, 1866, President of the United States, Andrew Johnson, announced the end of the Civil War.[4]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Confederate Army". HistoryNet. http://www.historynet.com/confederate-army. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
- ↑ "Confederate States of America". History. A&E Television Networks, LLC. http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/confederate-states-of-america. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Who Fought?". Civil War Trust. http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/warfare-and-logistics/warfare/who-fought.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Trevor K. Plante (Spring 2015Prologue Magazine). "Ending the Bloodshed: The Last Surrenders of the Civil War". The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2015/spring/cw-surrenders.html. Retrieved 4 July 2016.