American Identity during the Civil War
The American Identity during the Civil War was violent and terrible. The war divided the country and even many of its people,with friends and family fighting on opposite sides. The slavery issue was central in dividing the country. It was the main root of the growing economic and cultural differences that grew and raised tension in the country in the antebellum years. As the years of the war went by, the fighting got more and more bloody and savage, with the Union Army resorting to total war to destroy the Confederacy by burning the South and taking away their means and desire to continue fighting. The Civil War was a serious threat to the Union but in the end, after years of death and destruction, and with a Union victory, the threat of secession was dealt with and over and the United States would stay united.
The "Firefly" engine on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. National Archives
"Pine Cottage" the winter quarters for these soldiers. National Archives
"Dictator" a 13-inch mortar near Petersburg, Va., October 1864. Photographed by David Knox.
Dead from both armies at Gettysburg Battlefield, Pennsylvania, July 1863. Photographed by Timothy H. O'Sullivan. National Archives
Amputation, Gettysburg, July 1863. National Archives