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Which brings to my mind Gen. Stand Wattie. What happened to Richmond after the CSA was defeated, was it dismantled? If not, should it havd been and why? (I'm not a miliary guy, I"m curious.)
Which brings to my mind Gen. Stand Wattie. What happened to Richmond after the CSA was defeated, was it dismantled? If not, should it havd been and why? (I'm not a miliary guy, I"m curious.)
There wasn't much left to dismantle. In the closing stages of the war Jefferson Davis and pretty much everyone else in Richmond fled the city. Troops were ordered to burn the warehouses, armories and destroy the bridges and rail lines in and out of the city to prevent the Union from capturing them. The problem was that the fires burned uncontrolled and destroyed about 25% of the city, including the majority of warehouses and manufactury. When the Union occupied the city and reconstruction began, it took almost 20 years for the city to be restored to its pre-war height.
Which brings to my mind Gen. Stand Wattie. What happened to Richmond after the CSA was defeated, was it dismantled? If not, should it havd been and why? (I'm not a miliary guy, I"m curious.)
General Stand Wattie was of the Trans-Mississippi Confederacy (west of the Mississippi River). He commanded the Indian forces from the Nations, primarily the Cherokee. The fate of Richmond (Virginia), and that of General Stand Wattie (in what is now Oklahoma), were separated by a whole buncha miles...
Like the saying goes, I might have been born at night, but I wasn't born LAST NIGHT! (In more politically-correct terms, "Please rephrase your question...")
General Stand Wattie was of the Trans-Mississippi Confederacy (west of the Mississippi River). He commanded the Indian forces from the Nations, primarily the Cherokee. The fate of Richmond (Virginia), and that of General Stand Wattie (in what is now Oklahoma), were separated by a whole buncha miles...
Like the saying goes, I might have been born at night, but I wasn't born LAST NIGHT! (In more politically-correct terms, "Please rephrase your question...")
-- Nighteyes (Choctaw)
I believe Watie was the last Confederate General to surrender, wasn't he?
You might just want to re-consult that map of yours, my friend. The Tennessee River comes nowhere near Montgomery. The Alabama River does, but until the 1960's it was only navigable for a short distance above the Mobile River Delta.
You know what, you're right. I was thinking Montgomery was closer to where Birmingham is - my bad. Pretty sad for someone born in Alabama.
But in the same way Montgomery was difficult to approach, it was also difficult for the Confederates to reach and defend. Neither one of the railroads coming out of Montgomery was matching in gauge. Once the tracks reached Georgia, they changed gauge again. Plus, Alabama was still a desolate state, at least a third of it was undeveloped and still owned by the federal government in 1860.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NJGOAT
5. In addition to the port, Richmond was also the terminus point of 5 major railroads allowing people and products from throughout the CSA to easily move to and from Richmond. The other benefit of being a rail terminus was that telegraph lines at the time primarily ran along established rail corridors. This made Richmond a major communications hub as virtually all telegraph traffic to other southern cities was routed through Richmond.
And how many of those railroads made physical interchange at Richmond? Not a single one. Cargo had to be offloaded, moved through the city, and then reloaded onto another train. It was not exactly easy or efficient.
As for Charleston.. They were in a solid position in terms of railroads. The entire 5' gauge network of the Confederacy was linked to Charleston. South Carolina had the most developed rail network of any southern state. All of its major cities and industries were linked efficiently, and there were no breaks in gauge. There were direct links to Atlanta, Wilmington (the other Confederate port open the end of the war), and other smaller industry centers. Even Montgomery, Alabama was reachable with only one break of gauge.
Plus, Charleston was an open break in the Union blockade. Ships could essentially come and go unmolested. However, the city was pretty much leveled by Union artillery fire in 1864. What remained was destroyed by an earthquake in 1865. However, had Charleston served as capital, no doubt it would have been reinforced significantly with more effort to keep away federal forces.
But no matter what, Richmond and Virginia in general would have been held to the last man. As has been said, it was an invaluable industry center. Plus defending Virginia kept federal troops out of the Carolinas and Georgia, which were major sources of war material and supplies.
NJG, Great posts in this thread. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge.
I think most of the warehouses torched, housed tobacco (?) Confederates didn't want such a valuable commodity falling into hands of the Union army. Subsequently, a strong, sudden wind got ahold of the warehouse flames. For whatever it's worth, Richmond is Burning (Nelson Lankford), is a good read on the final days of Richmond as Confederate capital. Good pace, but still comprehensively covers the story.
Strangely, I don't think there was a single photo taken of Lincoln in the collapsing Confederate capital (?) There are a lot of shots of the burned buildings tho.
I think if you look at what Richmond was at the time, the choice becomes pretty obvious. Virginia was the only true industrial center in the south and was easily the largest economic center in the CSA. Basically, it didn't matter if the capitol was in another city, without Richmond the CSA didn't stand a chance.
Some points to ponder:
1. Richmond and Virginia overall were the "whitest" of the CSA states. Richmond's old Whig dominated political society also embodied the ideals of the "Southern Gentleman" and southern culture. Richmond also had large white immigrant populations primarily Irish Catholics and Germans, many of whom had business contacts in Europe. Further, Virginia was the classical "home" of the Founding Fathers and the CSA identified itself with what they viewed as the original ideals of the country.
2. Richmond was one of the largest milling centers in the country producing over $3 million in annual revenues from its flour and meal mills. This made Richmond the only area in the CSA able to produce volume food to feed the army in the field without relying on extensive scavenging.
3. The Tredegar Iron Works was the second largest foundry in the country with dozens of facilities spread throughout Richmond. This iron works produced all of the iron and metal used by the CSA for everything from ships to machinery to muskets to cannons.
4. Richmond was a major port city with regular ship service to locations across the Atlantic seaboard as well as direct service to Europe. Richmond also contained the second largest slave market in the country, second to only New Orleans.
5. In addition to the port, Richmond was also the terminus point of 5 major railroads allowing people and products from throughout the CSA to easily move to and from Richmond. The other benefit of being a rail terminus was that telegraph lines at the time primarily ran along established rail corridors. This made Richmond a major communications hub as virtually all telegraph traffic to other southern cities was routed through Richmond.
You've got it.
Ironically, I was just reading about Tredegar Iron Works last night. As you said, one of the largest in country pre-Civil War, and the largest is the Confederacy during the Civil War. The owner of Tredegar held tremendous political power, as a result.
Additionally, the woolen factory next to Tredegar produced most of the uniforms for the Confederacy for much of the war.
....And how many of those railroads made physical interchange at Richmond? Not a single one. Cargo had to be offloaded, moved through the city, and then reloaded onto another train. It was not exactly easy or efficient.
As for Charleston.. They were in a solid position in terms of railroads. The entire 5' gauge network of the Confederacy was linked to Charleston. South Carolina had the most developed rail network of any southern state. All of its major cities and industries were linked efficiently, and there were no breaks in gauge. There were direct links to Atlanta, Wilmington (the other Confederate port open the end of the war), and other smaller industry centers. Even Montgomery, Alabama was reachable with only one break of gauge.
Plus, Charleston was an open break in the Union blockade. Ships could essentially come and go unmolested. However, the city was pretty much leveled by Union artillery fire in 1864. What remained was destroyed by an earthquake in 1865. However, had Charleston served as capital, no doubt it would have been reinforced significantly with more effort to keep away federal forces.
But no matter what, Richmond and Virginia in general would have been held to the last man. As has been said, it was an invaluable industry center. Plus defending Virginia kept federal troops out of the Carolinas and Georgia, which were major sources of war material and supplies.
Considering how the war actually progressed, Richmond seems to have been a better choice than Charleston! But the proximity of Richmond to Washington probably guaranteed that VA would be a major theater of war.
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