Friday Fun Facts About The Civil War

Tom EgelhoffPublished: August 5, 2016

SHARPSBURG, MD - SEPTEMBER 15: Confederate infantry re-enactors participate in the Battle of Bloody Lane in Sharpsburg, Maryland. The Battle of Antietam was fought on September 17, 1862 and was the bloodiest battle in American history with more than 23,000 men killed, wounded, and missing in one single day. It marked the end of General Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North and led to Abraham Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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There are some who believe the USA is setting the table for another civil war. While a remote possibility I thought perhaps some facts from the first one might dissuade some people to saner thoughts.

Here is all you need to know about the Civil War and more.

Facts About The Civil War

If you were well off during the Civil War and were drafted you could pay $300 to get another person to go in your place. (Source)
The American Civil War began in 1861 with the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter and ended in 1865 with the surrender of all Confederate forces. (Source)
Lincoln got Britain and France on the American side to supply cotton and weaken the Confederacy. No nation ever formally recognized the Southern Rebels or the Confederacy. (Source)
Abraham Lincoln was way ahead of his time using air power. Yes, the Yankees had a Balloon Corps that were used at Bull Run, Yorktown, Fair Oaks and Vicksburg. (Source)
Who do we have to thank for the term sideburns? Why American Civil War General Burnside that had an impressive pair. (Source)
Rules of engagement during the Civil War had a code of honor that said no shooting while a solider was attending to the imperative call of nature also know as pooping. Not sure if “wiping them out” came from this. (Source)
You can’t keep a good woman down. Over 600 women dressed as men to fight along side their men folk. No report on bathroom preferences. (Source)
You might remember Sam Houston who won Texas independence from Mexico. He was removed from his post after his refusal to support the Confederacy during the Civil War. (Source)
In order to battle counterfeiters and reduced confidence in the dollar during the Civil War paper money was printed in a hurry but only worth fractions of a dollar. Denominations of 3¢, 5¢, 10¢, 15¢, 25¢ and 50¢ stamps were issued and used as cash. In 1876 these stamps were replaced with coins once again. (Source)
Generals Thomas and George Crittenden both fought during the Civil War. You guessed it. These brothers fought each other on opposite sides. Thanksgiving must have been a blast. (Source)
Even the Civil War had friendly fire. Southern General Stonewall Jackson was accidentally shot 3 times by his own men. Accidentally? Who knows? He died 8 days later of pneumonia not his wounds. (Source)