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The civilest part of the Civil War

Phil Edwards | April 25, 2024
The civilest part of the Civil War

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This post currently has 30 comments.

  1. @colonelb

    April 25, 2024 at 3:42 pm

    Another moment of civility happened many evenings on the battlefields when the fighting had stopped after dusk. See, the north and south had embargoed each others' products, and as a result the north had coffee, but the south had tobacco. So there were many an evening where the two sides would call a temporary truce and trade coffee for tobacco and vice versa, perhaps share a cup and a smoke and a story or two, before returning to their respective camps for the next day's fighting. War is strange that way.

    Cheers

  2. @QuestionMan

    April 25, 2024 at 3:42 pm

    The biggest question through which ANY contention ought to be filtered is "who gets to decide?" In this case, who gets to decide what IS civil? What answer can be divined without establishing THAT primary metric? Seems like THAT is the great issue facing every creature capable of contemplating it. Who gets to decide?

  3. @JohnBrownsBody64920

    April 25, 2024 at 3:42 pm

    It's interesting to compare Grant and McClellan. While McClellan was seen as not taking enough risks and not being active enough in the war, Grant was seen as bloody and overly violent. While Grant was definitely more active in the war than a lot of other generals in the US Civil War, he definitely took it personally hard. He drank a lot (even for those days).

  4. @herzogsbuick

    April 25, 2024 at 3:42 pm

    There is no justification for war. There is no justification for slavery, either, but two wrongs do not make a right. 160 years later and there are still grudges. That's what violence creates. It balkanizes people, and they end up holding on to their ideas even more tightly, with even less critical thought, with even more resistance to change.

    I just found your channel and have enjoyed several of your videos, I just couldn't disagree with your conclusion here more. Looking forward to more

  5. @chrishill6276

    April 25, 2024 at 3:42 pm

    The war didnā€™t set out to free slaves. That idea only came later. The initial reason was to prevent the south setting up a separate country. May have even been an illegal act on the unions part. Bet I get some stick over this comment.

  6. @mikemcaulay9507

    April 25, 2024 at 3:42 pm

    As you noted, the idea of civility in the context of war is messy at best. What does civility mean, and how much do the causes and nature of the war transform it? War is no more monolithic, than the disagreements between individuals. And even then, a war can be viewed as very different things by each side. And isnā€™t civility about those things we can agree upon as worthy of honoring, even within the context of an armed conflict? So what are the conditions that allow for this type of agreement and yet still exists in a situation where the parties have resorted to violence?
    In one sense, I think the old idea of honor between combatants is at the heart of this kind of thing. It suddenly put me in mind of the Princess Bride and the fight scene between Andre and Cary Elwes. I put down my sword and you put down your rock and we kill each other as God intended. What a line.

    What a difficult leap from something as measurable as temperature to finding the most civil point in a war.
    All that said, I enjoyed seeing you wrestle with some of that and come out the other side with some genuine insights.

  7. @vincentleinweber6907

    April 25, 2024 at 3:42 pm

    Fun Fact about the name Francis Lieber: "Lieber" is german for "nicer". As in "My new boss is nicer than I initially thought!"
    The etymology of the name might be something else, could be from Leber (liver) or Liefer (to deliever). But anyway, interesting video as always =)

  8. @RandyVazquez

    April 25, 2024 at 3:42 pm

    This is not too far from me. Iā€™m stationed in Williamsburg, and so Iā€™ve been studying a LOT about the civil and revolutionary war we had on this land. Good video! Iā€™ve been watching for about 2 weeks now. After today, Iā€™m officially subbed šŸ™‚ thanks for the refreshing content!

  9. @willmoore8708

    April 25, 2024 at 3:42 pm

    Interesting ideas. Had a problem with the suggestion that the abolition of slavery should have been part of strategy from the beginning. A noble notion, except Lincoln rightly knew that if he did that on the outset, the North would have immediately lost all the border states and the South would win within a year. Even Mac's "civilized position" wouldn't have freed a single slave. You know as well as any serious person that history is not two dimensional for mere mortals. Leave that parlor game to the gods.

  10. @8151630

    April 25, 2024 at 3:42 pm

    You were soooo close, but you failed at seeing the point: The pursuit of justice cannot be civil, it will ALWAYS involve the discomfort of a loud and privileged minority.

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