Questions:

1) Why did the North try so hard to hold onto their Southern neighbors?

       -Regardless of the differences, it was plain to see that more than half of the US economy was supported by the South. The North would go through with a civil war before letting half of their income secede.

2) How did the navy's role in the civil war, shape the way the navy was in future wars?

        -See additions to timeline

3) How did the war affect the landscape and environment?

      - Disease

          "Whenever a predominantly rural people are suddenly and densely brought together in encampments and cities, as they were in 1861, they exchange pathogens and, lacking immunities, many sicken, and many die."

      - Death

          "In Mississippi, an extreme example, nearly half the white men aged fifteen to forty-five were dead or missing by the summer of 1865. "

      - Animals

            "Many of the horses and mules that survived epidemic disease were maimed and killed by the thousands in battle."

      - Cities and towns

             "Petersburg, Virginia, famous for its handsome brick warehouses, was frightfully wrecked during the siege of 1864-1865. Atlanta, most famously burned. So did Columbia, South Carolina, and, finally, Richmond itself."

Introduction:

    Since the foundation of the United States of America, there have always been crucial differences between the North and South. The north, with its frigid temperatures and rough and rocky terrain has always differed in climate from it's southern neighbors. This is just the beginning of the contrast between the North and South. With the climate so drastically different, the way of life was obviously going to follow in the same route. The north survived with small, family farms and close-knit towns, while the south had such fertile ground that they could spread out the population and increase the size of farms, eventually becoming plantations. Because of the unsustainable land use in the South, the once productive earth was being continuously drained.  Fortunately there was always more land, and with it an incoming number of hands to harvest the crops. Slavery was a necessary evil in the South for many years. The north had done away slavery early on because the land was not right for the African slaves to survive in due to the harsh temperatures. Also, the North did not require that many people to work the land. The country could not survive long with such a division in life, and in the mid 1800's, the Civil War, a war that brought about the abolishment slavery in the South broke out, and changed the course of our country's history forever.

Conclusion:

    What is noted as the bloodiest battle in the history of the United States, was a war that was fought brother against brother, neighbor versus his own. The Civil War is a landmark that changed the course of our country, and brought change to every corner of our land. The reasons were economic and social differences between the north and the south, states rights versus federal rights, slavery against non-slavery, election of Lincoln, and the abolitionist's movement growth. Each played a major role in the war, the most noted perhaps, slavery against abolitionists, state rights against the government, and the huge economic and social extremes. In every war there are underlying tones, and it is important that one reason doesn't cast its shadow on all the other reasons that this war was fought over. Although, it lead to the abolishment of slavery, it must still be noted that there were other reasons than just the "heroism" of the northern abolitionists. The southern land was valuable for our country's agriculture, and the north did not want to let that go, also the issue of state versus central government played a huge role in the cause of the war. In any case, there are different ways to view any historical moment, and in the case of the civil war, it is important not to overlook each of the motives that our country had.

Additions to the timeline:

June 24, 1861- Naval expedition from Fort Monroe to Back River, Va., by Lieut. Crosby and 300 men. Nine sloops and schooners of the Confederates burnt, and one schooner with bacon and corn captured.

February 7-10, 1862 Lieut. Phelps, of Foote's flotilla, commanding the gunboats Conestoga, Tyler, and Lexington, captured Confederate gunboat Eastport and destroyed all the Confed. craft on the Tennessee River between Fort Henry and Florence, Ala.

December 5, 1863 - Fight between the U. S. gunboat Marblehead and Confederate. batteries on Stono River, S. C. Confederates defeated.

November 11, 1864 - U. S. S. Tulip destroyed by boiler explosion off Ragged Point, Va. 49 officers and men killed (all of crew but 10).

June 5, 1865 - The Confederate ironclad Missouri, in Red River, surrenders to Lieut.-Comdr. W. E. Fitzhugh.

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