Civil WarEssay Preview: Civil WarReport this essayAlphaAlphaThe first Greek alphabet alpha symbolizes the beginning of an event. Here, of course, we are talking about the beginning of the Civil War. Conventional history claims that the American Civil War started on April 12, 1861 at the bombing of Fort Sumter. Is it true? We CW buffs probably would not quite satisfy with this answer, and we know there were armed hostile incidents happening long before Ft. Sumter, and we shall examine them here.
Carl Von Clausewitz, author of “On War”, said that war is the extension of politic. The South had long making threat that they would secede if the country elected the Lincoln as President. The North dismissed them. After all, the Southerners had been “talking” secession for the last 40 years since the 1820 Missouri Compromise. Too many cry wolves. Meanwhile, the South thought that the North wouldnt fight. “I could wipe all the blood with my handkerchief” proclaimed Leroy Walker, who later served as the first Confederate Secretary of War. “They are shopkeepers and factory workers. What do they know about soldiering?” The South believed that one southerner could easily beat 10 Yankees. So both sides underestimated the others determination.
The drumming of war cry were beating slowly in the background. In the month of November 1860, events began to heat up. Lincoln got elected on the 6th. South Carolina called for a Convention. New York stock market dropped its price. Maj. Anderson was ordered to Ft. Moultrie. Georgia voted a million dollars to arm the State. In December, South Carolina seceded on 20th. Anderson secretly moved the Federal garrison to Ft. Sumter at night on 26th. US Revenue Cutter William Aiken surrendered to S. Carolina State force on demand. Please notice that President Buchanan took the “do nothing” policy. Taking a ship is clearly an act of war, according to the Northern viewpoint, but the same act would become the defense of a new Country from the Southern viewpoint. But if the Federal chose not to fight back, there would be no “conflict.” So you could see that a series of “incidents” happened, but the Federal under Buchanan did not respond.
The tempo of war drum increased in January 1861. South Carolina prepared for war / defense, organizing troops and guarding the wharfs and ships, and seized Ft. Johnson in Charleston Harbor. Federal organized militia to defend the D.C. Capital. Cooler heads tried to stop this run-away train. Sen. Crittenden tried his last compromise bill but went nowhere. Federal War Department cancelled the order of their former boss, Sec of War, Floyd, to remove guns from Pittsburgh to Southern forts. State troops seized Ft. Pulaski, 10 miles east of Savannah, Georgia. The Deep South began to seize Federal forts and arsenals. Alabama took US Arsenal at Mount Vernon, AL. On the next day, Alabama seized Ft. Gaines and Ft. Morgan, the gateway to Mobile Bay. State troops from Florida occupied US Arsenal in Apalachicola, and Ft. Marion in St. Augustine. At Pensacola, Florida, Federal defenders of Ft. Barrancas fired at an invading force. The twenty men fled. On the 9th, the second State, Mississippi, seceded.
On 1/9/1861 at the Charleston Harbor, artillery shots were fired by a young Citadel cadet named George E. Haynsworth (of South Carolina), at the unarmed Federal relief ship of Ft. Sumter, Star of the West, from a battery on Morris Island about a thousand yards away. Most of the shots missed, but a ricochet struck the fore-chains. Some historians considered this incident as the first shot of the Civil War. But it takes both sides to make a fight. Since the unarmed Star of the West merely retreated and Buchanan turned the other cheek, the War Between the States was postponed. At Ft. Moultrie, Confederate Lieut. Colonel Rowell Ripley, ordered his cannoneers to get ready, expecting Ft. Sumter returning fire. But Maj. Anderson restrained from the temptation. Anyway, Ft. Moultrie fired, but the shot fell a half-mile short on Sumter. But Anderson did not respond.
On 1/10, the third State, Florida, seceded. The next day, Alabama seceded. Mass meetings continued North and South. The drum beat faster. On 1/12 Florida occupied Ft. Barrancas and its barracks, Ft. McRee and the Pensacola Navy Yard. Louisiana State troops took Ft. Pike, near New Orleans. To prevent seizure, Federal troops reinforced Ft. Taylor at Key West, Florida, an important Navy base. The demand to surrender Ft. Pickens to Florida was refused several times. Frederal defenders held the fort successfully. On 1/19, Georgia seceded. Mississippians seized Ft. Massachusetts and other installations on Ship Island. 1/21, Five southern Senators gave farewell speeches in the Capitol, including Jeff Davis. Rumors flew everywhere on the northern Navy Yards got attacked. Georgia seized US Arsenal at Augusta. 1/26, Louisiana seceded, and Federal forts and Arsenals were seized, including Ft. Macomb. Georgia
Consequently, what was the relationship of the U.S. to other nations? Did the Anglo-Americans feel the same as the U.S. did? A study at the University of Louisiana in the 1800s concluded that a number of factors could affect the U.S.-UK relationship:
• The U.S. has not only been a powerful ally in Europe, but also played a leading role in the development of various military technologies and technologies, like electronic warfare and the electromagnetic pulse. • The use of military equipment has been central to American economic growth, leading to significant increases in military power. • The United States also produces some of the largest military surplus that American military workers can obtain. • The economy has grown at a faster rate, reaching a record high as a share of global economic output. • The military industry is highly competitive.
In another chapter, the War Crimes Commission has concluded that,
In order to ensure effective deterrence, all other measures have to be evaluated along a broad basis, including evidence of criminal intent, and, at any given time, there can be no basis for believing that one of these measures is intended to be a deterrent to a specific class of persons.
Can the U.S. government prosecute criminal criminals and terrorists for war crimes? Well, there may be cases where it can. In one case where the U.S. had a government prosecution of alleged war crimes, the United States had its headquarters in the Army barracks in Norfolk, Virginia, near Norfolk, which is located close to Fort Myer, California. The U.S. Federal Court had previously ruled in a case called Waukesha v. Virginia (1803) that “any criminal who had engaged in any one of the following acts in violation of the constitution or law is a criminal; he is within the jurisdiction of the Constitution or law of the United States.” In an effort to prove the use of the Patriot Act to track down these individuals from the future for war crimes, the government did pursue the criminal charges, while also seeking some type of indictment. However, the defendant could face prosecution for crimes unrelated to the war.
How can the U.S. government not just criminalize “terrorists”? There is something that is going to change for the better. That is to say, they may have to start over and prosecute the same crimes over and over again. What will be the best course?
• At the time of the invasion of Iraq, American forces were engaged in many of the operations against Al-Qaida. The forces that helped to carry out the attacks included: United States marshals, troops, artillery, machine guns, ground troops – all of which used their experience in protecting the Iraq battlefields to conduct assaults on the country from its soil. Additionally, the Iraqi army had to build and maintain a special compound on the beach of Fallujah for this operation. As this had happened a number of times during the Iraq War, the United States had to use its military experience and expertise in security operations against “terrorists.” The Iraqi army used those techniques to attack the American troops stationed in Fallujah fighting against “terrorist” elements of the Al-Qaeda movement.
The best course does not exist yet. For example, the U.S. would need to engage in military operations, deploy special forces, recruit special reserve forces … the number of forces that would need to be trained