Last year, at the CWI conference in Gettysburg, I took part in a general question and answer panel, where the audience could pretty much ask anything they wanted. One of the questions was something along the lines of "What was the most important year of the Civil War." Fair enough - we all pondered the question and added our two cents - 1863 and 64 probably won the contest for reasons you can surely imagine. And then, our panel moderator, the ever-astute Peter Carmichael, pointed out the obvious that was right under our collective noses. 1865, the year the war ended, was clearly the most important to those who were fighting it. Pete made a good follow-up point: we historians tend to over-analyze things.But in the spirit of over analysis - I ask you the same question. What was the most important year? You had better explain yourself, too.
K
1861-The year its started. We dismiss this year because we accept the outbreak as inevitable, but what if it was not? If it was the consequence of a series of decisions that might have been different, then 1861 is critical. If the South won, the beginning of the end of the Union would be the most important year. I think this question infers that the person asking want to know, 'What is the most important year (that explains how it all turned out).
ReplyDelete1863, specifically before July 4. The losses at Gettysburg and Vicksburg changed everything.
ReplyDelete1864- Grant is promoted to Lieutenant General of the U.S. Army, wheels right toward Richmond instead of left toward Washington after the Union tactical defeat at the Wilderness and sets in motion a chain of events leading to Lee's surrender at Appomattox.
ReplyDeletePersonally I could go back and forth. I do not believe that Gettysburg/Vicksburg was the ultimate turning point - I think it underestimates the political questions and causes people to overlook the hard fighting of 1864. That being said, for now I would say 1863 is the most important year.
ReplyDeleteLook at the federal situation at the start of 1863 and at the end. Significant changes altered the landscape. At the start of 1863, Grant was stalled before Vicksburg, the Army of the Potomac was recovering from disaster, and the Army of the Cumberland was stalled in middle Tenessee. At the end of the year, the Mississippi had been conquered, the Army of the Potomac had at least earned a significant victory and stopped Lee's run of achievements, and the Army of Tenessee had been thrown back from Chattanooga.
By the end of 63, Scott's anaconda plan was set up for its final blow. The Mississippi was in Union hands and the Union army had cleared Tenessee and stood poised to strike out into the heart of the Confederacy and end the war. A big change from start of year to the end.
This is great - keep 'em coming. I will respond with my own two cents shortly :)
ReplyDeleteI vote for 1862 for many reasons. Joe Johnston was wounded at Fair Oaks and Robert E. Lee took command of the ANV. McClellen was chased away from Richmond and Pope lost at Manassas. Both Combined to nearly wreck the Fedreal moral among soldiers and citizens alike. Antietam was fought and was barely good enough to allow Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, changing the overall goals of the Northern war effort. I do not mean to ignore the West or the elections of 62, but militarily it was in the East that the war was prolonged and could not be won by either side soon. 1862 made it necessary for later events to take place. So to me it is the most important year.
ReplyDeleteI would say 1862. The Confederate victories were not followed up with, and the near defeat of Lee at Antietam could have been the end of the war in the East. Also, around that time, the freedom of hundreds of thousands of slaves were just weeks away. That, in and of itself, would eventually lead to a great increase of Northern manpower...both military-wise and in the labor force. Also by this time, Northern gun makers were making solid breakthroughs on repeating rifles and artillery.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your great responses. I am going to take a different tack and try to think as people would have thought about things then - without the benefit of knowing how things turned out. Which means, I am going with a toss-up of 1861 and 1865 - the years the war began and ended. I think if I had been around then, those would have been pretty important years.
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