Confederate+States+of+America

toc =__The Confederate States of America__= The South's secession had been talked about for a long time, and the North just thought of as a game of politics. It was formed in 1861-5 and had 11 southern states that came together to become their own country. They then came to be known as the Confederate States of America. The flag changed throughout the war, and they had their own seal to represent themselves. The Union (United States of America) said it was illegal and would not recognize them as The Confederacy. The war was ended when The CSA (Confederate States of America) was officially ended when CSA generals: Robert E. Lee and Joseph Johnston surrendered in April 1865 and in May the CSA's president was captured.

Creation
The CSA was created to preserve southern slave states way of life. They believed that without slavery they would not be able to survive. To decide what the southern states would do they all met in Montgomery, AL and Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia all came. Their first order of business was to find a president to represent their "country", and they picked Jefferson Davis. He was a war veteran and an American politician who was from Mississippi, he was a hard worker but wasted time on insignificant things. When Lincoln took office he didn't want war, he just wanted to negotiate as friends and keep the country together. Soon the CSA became threatened by the Union and thought that war would be the only solution to keep their way of life. The war began on April 12, 1861 at Fort Sumter, SC.

The Confederate States War
Generally speaking the CSA's war strategy was offensive-defensive, and the North pushed on offensively. Offensive-defensive strategy was protecting their land but if an opportunity came up they would proceed offensively. One of the main reasons that the Confederacy did so well was because of General Robert E. Lee. He was a young man who was successful in war and attended west point second in his class with very good grades. He was from Virginia, had no slaves, and was known to have been opposed to secession but still served in the Confederacy. Considering the large difference in numbers, you would have thought that the confederacy would have no chance but they put up a great fight. They were very successful in the beginning of the war and towards the end they didn't have the numbers to go any longer and so Lee surrendered on April 6, 1865.

Jefferson Davis was a great leader and achieved a lot with only a little to work with(had a very small amount of troops, clothes, and artillery). He was born in Christian County, and went to school in Lexington, Kentucky at Transylvania University. His education didn't end there, he attended the United States Military Academy. After that he was in the Mexican War and got injured, after this he became involved in politics. He served as Mississippi's senator and as a congressman before being elected as President of the Confederate States of America on February 22, 1862 in Richmond, Virginia (Confederacy's Capital).

At the beginning of his presidency he had a very difficult time of raising money for the troops. This was because judges kept on hindering the military issues by bringing them in court frequently. Even with so many setbacks (a small amount of troops, lack of uniforms, at times little to no food, and artillery) he had many triumphs. Some of his triumphs were the recruiting of Robert E. Lee, getting more troops, giving the south a real chance at winning the war, and much more. When he got word that the Confederacy would lose he fled Richmond. He was then caught on May 10, 1865 in Irwinville, Georgia. After his capturing he was put in prison in Virginia from 1865-1867. He died (out of jail) on December 6, 1889 in New Orleans.

**Appomattox Court House: The Surrender and Battle**
Lee was running out of supplies and was going to get some in Lynchburg to get them. On Lee's way to get the supplies he ran into Grant, and the Battle of Appomattox began. Lee pressed on but the entry of the Union's infantry stopped Lee in his tracks. This led Lee to surrender on April 9, 1865. It was estimated that about 700 lives were lost. The terms were made at the Appomattox Court House; the terms were that the Confederacy had to give up all weapons, pledge peace, and give their loyalty.

**The End of the Confederacy**
The Fall of the Confederacy can't be put to one day but when the CSA started to run out of men, infantry, and supplies it wasn't looking good for them. When Jefferson Davis (heard that the Confederacy was going to lose he fled his home in the CSA's capital and was caught on May 10, 1865 in Georgia. The surrender was on April 9, 1865 by General Robert E. Lee in Appomattox County. The CSA pledged peace and loyalty and then the fighting was done. The United States of America has remained peaceful with itself ever since.


 * Resources**[[image:CSA_Map.jpg width="435" height="345" align="left"]]

- Garraty, John A. __The Story of America.__ Austin, Texas: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1994.

-Mr. Larson's Powerpoints

-"The Confederate States of America". __Infoplease.com.__ 2000-2008. 19 October 2008. 

-"Confederate States of America". __Sonofthesouth.net.__ 2003-2008. 19 October 2008. 

-"Jefferson Davis 1808-1889: President of the Confederate States of America". __Americancivilwar.com.__ 1994. 22 October 2008. 

-"Appomattox Court House" __Nps.gov.__ 26 October 2008. 