Anson Reed Butler's Civil War

The First Ironclad

Nov 24, 1859

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ironclad_Gloire
The first ironclad, the french La Gloire, goes on its maiden voyage. The warship cost 4,797,901 francs to build.

Lincoln is elected president

Nov 6, 1860

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/abraham-lincolns-top-hat-the-inside-story-3764960/
President Abraham Lincoln is elected president. The south threatened to secede if Lincoln won the 1860 presidential elections.

Lincoln is President

Period: Nov 6, 1860 to Apr 14, 1865

Abraham Lincoln is president.

Civil War Begins

Apr 12, 1861

http://www.cw-chronicles.com/blog/will-fort-sumter-be-attacked/
Confederate warships bombard Union soldiers at Fort Sumter, South Carolina on April 12, 1861. This marks the beginning of the Civil War.

Civil War

Period: Apr 12, 1861 to Apr 9, 1865

Anson's Wife

Dec 10, 1861

http://www.civilwarkids.com/
Anson R. Butler's wife writes a letter to him and tells him how much he is missed, and how sad the kids are, since he's gone.

Anson's Letters

Period: Dec 10, 1861 to Jan 13, 1864

The time period that Anson's letters were written.

Anson R. Butler

Sep 3, 1862

http://www.artofmanliness.com/2011/10/27/make-a-dining-room-table-by-thanksgiving/Anson writes to his wife and tells how things are on the front. He says that after a long march into camp, the troops were not given rations until well after dark. When they finally did get rations, the didn't have any silverware or any tables. They ate with their bare hands. After they ate, they set up their beds. They used straw for beds and didn't have pillows. After a good nights sleep, they got up the next day and built their own table, and got new straw for their beds.

St. Louis

Oct 23, 1862

<a href='' >http://explorestlouis.com/visit-explore/discover/itineraries/civil-war-history-in-st-louis/</a>
Anson's regiment stops briefly in St. Louis for supplies. People cheer it's arrival, and throw baskets of apples into the unit's transport boat. He doesn't expect to stay in St. Louis long, because there are rumors of the unit being sent to Helena, Arkansas. He apologizes for not being able to leave his unit in St. Louis and visit a relative named Fred. There's too little time.

Columbus Kentucky

Oct 27, 1862

<a href='' >http://parks.ky.gov/calendar/details/civil-war-days-at-columbus-ky/19140/</a>
Anson's Unit lands in Colubus and takes it without much of a fight. They stop and practice shooting their guns, because they are very close to a major battlefield (Belmont, Kentucky). He observes how heavily fortified the city is, and makes note of how much a fight the Confederate forces could have put up.

Sailing up the Ohio River

Oct 28, 1862

<a href='' >http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/426008/Ohio-River</a>
Butler tells of his experiences sailing up the Ohio River. He sees fortifications, and wrecks of Confederate ships. He also talks about how his unit had been issued new rifles, since the old ones they had were "not worth a cuss". He writes of how many Union ships he saw stuck on sand barges, and how much fun it was laughing at them.

Memphis

Oct 29, 1862

<a href='' >http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Hardtack</a>
Anson's regiment joins up with General Sherman's army in Memphis. Sherman's army recently captured the city. Sherman threatens to destroy the city if the confederates try to reclaim it. Butler tells how he had somewhat friendly talks with civilians from both sides.

Pillaging

Nov 14, 1862

<a href='' >http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=15348&term_type_id=3&term_type_text=Things</a>
Anson writes to his wife about how Sherman's army has ransacked, robbed, and burned every unloyal house they came across. He says the even he was forced to raid a cornfield. He also tells of his first encounter with Confederate soldiers, but all that happened was that his regiment's howitzer fired 3 shots and scared them away.

Camp Kirkwood

Dec 5, 1862

<a >http://www.iowahistory.org/museum/battleflags/info/assets/county_enlistments.pdf</a>
Anson writes home to his wife about where he is currently stationed, and about his recent guard duty there. He says that 10 men from each company make up the guard, and they rotate out frequently. Each man's shift is a whole 24 hours long, and many are getting sick from exposure to the elements due to the fact that they're not allowed off duty during rain. He says that the cabin roofs leak anyway.

Second Thoughts

Dec 25, 1862

<a href='' >http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/civilwar/soldiers/faudie.html</a>
Anson writes home to his wife about what is happening on the front. Sherman is ordering his men to burn everything, raid everything, and steal everything that they can. Anson doesn't like this strategy of warfare, and describes it as "Unchristian, unmanly, and barbaric". He says he would be "ten-fold a rebel if I were to judge them myself."

The man in charge

Mar 28, 1863

<a href='' >http://www.civilwarmed.org/</a>
Anson is put in charge of the manifest on a hospital boat he was stationed on a few days earlier.

Wages

Apr 4, 1863

<a href='' >http://www.ebay.com/bhp/civil-war-money</a>
Anson sends money that he aquired from his wages, pillaging, etc. back home to his wife. He sends a total of $7.00 home, which was alot of money back then.

Life on the boat

May 23, 1863

<a href='' >http://civilwarprisoners.com/</a>
Anson write to his wife about casualties from both sides. From the safety of his hospital boat, he watches as many as 7,000 Confederate prisoners walk by, and he watches as more and more of the wounded on his boat die, either from disease or bullet wounds.

The Battle of Gettysburg

Jul 1, 1863

http://www.nps.gov/gett/index.htm
The bloodiest battle in American history is fought on the first of July through the 3rd of July 1863. Both sides take apalling casualties, but the Union troops emerge victorious. A total of 57,485 soldiers died in the 3 day battle.

Vicksburg

Jan 13, 1864

<a href='' >http://www.nps.gov/vick/index.htm</a>
Anson's last letter in the database. He simply writes home to his wife about the colds and asks here how the children are doing. There isn't much more of importance.

Sherman's March

Nov 16, 1864

http://www.history.com/topics/shermans-march
From November 15 until December 21, 1864, Union General William T. Sherman led a 285 mile march through Confederate territory to the sea. Sherman employed a new "Total War" strategy, and burned every house, stole every cow, and raided every source of food that he could along the way. The march ended in 1864 when Sherman's force of 60,000 men took control of Savannah, Georgia.

Civil War Ends

Apr 9, 1865

http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/robert-e-lee.html
Robert E. Lee surrendered the last major Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865. This marks the end of the American Civil War.

President Abraham Lincoln is Assassinated

Apr 14, 1865

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/abrahamlincoln
John Wilkes Booth shoots Lincoln in the back of the head at Ford's Theatre, in Washington. Lincoln dies a few hours later.