The Civil War, or "The War of Northern Aggression," had its origins in slavery and economic rivalry between a north that was becoming dominantly industrial and a plantation controlled south that was dominantly, and was firmly remaining, agrarian. We learned this in history class, and there is much truth in this simplification.

The Prelude to War:

• There was an historical precedent to secession, the secret New England Hartford Convention of 1814.
• I shall let Uncle Tom's Cabin speak for the "Peculiar Institution" itself.  Although I may be tarred and feathered for it (grin), I have put the entire text of Uncle Tom's Cabin up on this web site in HTML.  It is an excellent, and unbiased, view of slavery in the South and the underlying causes of the war.  Mrs. Stowe very accurately portrayed even the northern view towards blacks, which may surprise you.  Full Text of Uncle Tom's Cabin
• Slave Rebellion, was the fear of all slave owners.
• All farmers  in the South did not use slaves! (coming).  Two immediate examples: General Francis Marion, the beloved Swamp Fox, did not use slaves on his rice plantation.  He did not believe in the institution.  My Great Great Grandfather, Allen Jerry Gill, owned some 1500 acres, and farmed some 225 acres of black bottom land in Beaufort County with no slaves either (documented in the U.S. Census and Barnwell and Hampton Co. records).  Please submit other documented examples.
• These events finally led up to the secession  of several Southern states from the Union.
• Were we pre-ordained to lose, as some have claimed?  Perhaps not.  The South fought a defensive war.  Several times the north came close to ceasing the war effort.  Several cases of happenstance acted against us, including the death of Robert E. Lee's strategist and right arm man, Stonewall Jackson, at the hands of his own men (he trained them all too well!), and the loss of Lee's message before the battle of Antietam.  Had these not happened, some historians have argued that  Antietam would have been a different battle, and Jackson would never have let Lee enter battle at Gettysburg, nor pursue Pickett's Charge, nor have permitted Longstreet to not support Pickett.  Jackson was a master strategist, but with a difference from Lee.  Lee was a master defensive strategist.  Jackson was a master of offense.  Jackson once single handedly cleaned out the Shenadoah Valley at Lee's request!   Jackson was perhaps Lee's closest advisor, and his absence was sorely felt.  Had the Hunley not sunk, she would have struck terror in the hearts of Yankee sailors.  This section will be expanded.

Copyright ©1999, Dr. Frank Oliver Clark. These documents may be freely used for private purposes, and included in your own genealogy.  However, all of these documents are copyrighted and may not be sold, nor given to anyone who may attempt to derive profit from same. Please send any errors, corrections, conjectures, updates, etc. to Dr. Frank O. Clark.

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