One of the many questions that I am frequently asked by other Westerners here in Korea, pertains to my status as a native Texan. On several occasions inquiring minds wanted to know my thoughts on the North versus South.
To their surprise, none of my ancestors had reached the shores of the New World by the time of the Civil War had commenced. In fact, once they landed, just about everyone on both sides of the tree migrated far West, to the Pacific coast. Thus, all I can really discuss is historical minutiae.
Devilish details
For instance, did you know that a number of the Indian Nations actually seceded from the Union and joined the Confederacy? In October of 1861 the Cherokees, Creeks, Seminoles, Choctaws and Chickasaws join “to make common cause with the South and share its fortunes.”
They even whipped up a honest-to-goodness Declaration of Independence.
Or how about this, George McClellan, who at one point was general-in-chief of the Union army, ran as a presidential candidate in 1864? As a Democrat. Against Lincoln. On an anti-war platform. And, with a firm desire to negotiate a treaty with the Confederacy.
That didn’t get many elementary schools named after him.
And like the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812, the last major battle of the Civil War also occurred after the ceasefire agreement had been signed. And fortunately for the stereotype, the Battle of Palmito Ranch took place in Texas.
From Russia with love
In the fall of 1863 Czar Alexander II of Russia sent two battleships to America. One to New York City and the other to San Francisco. These were sent as a symbol of support, of solidarity by Russia, as they themselves were fighting a war with the Polish. Lincoln is even reported to have said that he supported the Russian pacification of Poland, and justified his invasion of the South for similar reasons (e.g., “save the Union, free the peasants”).
The ships were also believed to have been sent to eventually help break the alliance between the South and England. Did you know that the English (including Lord Acton and Prime Minister William Gladstone) were generally staunch supporters of the rebellion?
The English were fans of the relatively cheap cotton they could purchase from the South and were not enthused with a rebranded Tariff of Abominations, enacted by the North, which increased the costs to import it. Thus, the British even built a modern fleet of naval ships for the CSN.
Perhaps the most interesting of these vessels was the CSS Alabama, which despite numerous battles, never saw the Northern coast.
Not quite the Oregon Trail
Believing they could unite with the fledging Bear Republic (California) - which itself was comprised of many Southerners whose desire to remain independent of the Northern tax man and worried Northern politicians - several regiments of Texas riflemen trekked across the wilderness of New Mexico and actually fought several real battles with Union soldiers in the northwest part of what was then a Territory.
However, even if they had won in New Mexico, the Union had sent several regiments to California, to prevent it from seceding and thus, would have probably have defeated the motley group of Texans.
In Exile
After Union troops arrested dissidents and those sympathetic to the rebellion and installed a puppet government, the remnants of Missouri’s original government fled to Texas and setup an interim capital in Marshall, in East Texas.
And despite being on the losing side of the war, Texas became the new home to displaced Southerners, who placed a simple sign on their former properties: GTT, Gone to Texas.
So where’d the Texans go? Mexico and Brazil, where they (along with other refugees) became known as the Confederados.
Other books detailing odd nuggets are:
33 Questions About American History
The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History
I Love Paul Revere, Whether He Rode or Not
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong