Portal:American Civil War

Winfield Scott Hancock (February 14, 1824 – February 9, 1886) was a career U.S. Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service in the Mexican–American War and as a Union general in the American Civil War. Known to his Army colleagues as “Hancock the Superb,” he was noted in particular for his personal leadership at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. One military historian wrote, “No other Union general at Gettysburg dominated men by the sheer force of their presence more completely than Hancock.” As another wrote, “his tactical skill had won him the quick admiration of adversaries who had come to know him as the ‘Thunderbolt of the Army of the Potomac.'” His military service continued after the Civil War, as Hancock participated in the military Reconstruction of the South and the Army’s presence at the Western frontier.

After the Civil War, Hancock’s reputation as a soldier and his dedication to conservative constitutional principles made him a quadrennial Presidential possibility. His noted integrity was a counterpoint to the corruption of the era, for as President Rutherford B. Hayes said, “[i]f, when we make up our estimate of a public man, conspicuous both as a soldier and in civil life, we are to think first and chiefly of his manhood, his integrity, his purity, his singleness of purpose, and his unselfish devotion to duty, we can truthfully say of Hancock that he was through and through pure gold.” This nationwide popularity led the Democrats to nominate him for President in 1880. Although he ran a strong campaign, Hancock was defeated by Republican James Garfield by the closest popular vote margin in American history.

The U.S. state of Texas declared secession from the United States on February 1, 1861, and joined the Confederate States of America on March 2, 1861, replacing its governor, Sam Houston, when he refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy. During the subsequent American Civil War, Texas was most useful for supplying soldiers for Confederate forces and in the cavalry. Texas was mainly a “supply state” for the Confederate forces until mid-1863, when the Union capture of the Mississippi River made large movements of men, horses or cattle impossible. Some cotton was sold in Mexico, but most of the crop became useless because of the Federal naval blockade of Galveston and other ports.

Although one of the original members of the Confederate States of America, much of Texas was settled after the Civil War. However, Confederate Heroes Day is an official state holiday, and the month of April is recognized by the Texas Senate as Confederate History Month. Although not an official holiday, April 26 is, among Southern historical organizations within the state, often observed as Confederate Memorial Day. On the South Lawn of the state capitol in Austin is a Confederate mounument, and several other memorials to individual Texas Confederate units are nearby. In addition, most Texas county courthouse grounds feature a Confederate memorial.

Sarah Malinda Pritchard Blalock (1842, Avery County, North Carolina – 1901, Watauga County, North Carolina) was a female soldier during the American Civil War. Despite originally being a sympathizer for the right of secession, she fought bravely on both sides. During the last years of the war, she was a pitiless pro-Union marauder, tormenting the Appalachia region. She is one of the most remembered female warriors of the Civil War.

After North Carolina’s region of Appalachia was occupied by the Confederates, Sarah couldn’t tolerate the mandatory separation from her beloved soldier husband, the fervent unionist — who was nicknamed “Keith”. She followed him by joining the CSA’s 26th North Carolina Infantry, disguising herself as a young male soldier named Samuel Blalock.

Eventually, they escaped by crossing the enemy lines and joining the Union partisans in the mountains of western North Carolina. From this point onwards, Sarah and Keith harassed their native region vengefully against the local supporters of the Confederate States of America.