Running head: WILDERNESS AND THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
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WILDERNESS AND THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: FROM EUROPEAN CONTACT TO
THE CIVIL WAR
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WILDERNESS AND THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
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Figure 1: The American Civil War Museum. From
https://acwm.org/sites/default/files/1991.7.4_jones.jpg
The American civil war emerged between 1861 and 1865 in what was viewed as the
determining factor of how the United States would look like after the war. This came after the
revolution movement which staged the regions between 1776 and 1783 in an effort to create the
United States. The emergence of war was caused by the gaps left by the revolution movement
majorly, the equality of men rights. The issue of slavery was also at the core of the war. The fight
against slavery was however achieved but this came at the expense of over 600,000 lives being
lost.
As time moved on, the forces against the slavery got more support and peace started
getting its way back to the United States. The process of the civil war took the route which can
be viewed as a gradual positive turn of events. The American Civil War was indeed a great war
but this came to pass and the long painful journey for the US to be slave free nation was realized.
This write-up, therefore, seeks to justify the positive changes throughout the war through the
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American Museum images recorded during the period of the war. The study will analyze the
images to give a clear picture of the events during the Civil War in America.
Figure 2: Gardner, Alexander, 1862. , Antietam, Md. Confederate dead by a fence on the
Hagerstown road.. From http://cdn.loc.gov/service/pnp/cwpb/01000/01097_150px.jpg
Figure 2 portrays a sorrow state of the Africa Americans during the onset of the Civil
War. From the image, it is clear that the treatment given to the black race was completely
inhumane and lived in poor conditions. The image shows the road to their residents being
pathetic. Such conditions led to the fight as they wanted fair and equal treatment just as their
fellow humans, the whites. It is through the living conditions depicted by the above image that in
most cases raises the question of which key traits actually define human nature globally (Levine
et al. 2017).
The image also shows that the forces who were for slavery and oppression were too
strong at the initial stages of the war. The men in the picture, all of them are dead showing that
they were overpowered and had no other support. They were outnumbered as most of the native
men had been wiped out by the infectious diseases, such as small box. This was due to the poor
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living conditions which made them more vulnerable to such diseases. The plantation seen on the
picture is only the forest. This is an indication of the weak state of the Native American who had
lived poorly to an extent that they could not even plant food crops near their homes.
Figure 3: Henri Lovie, 1862. The Camp of the Contrabands on the Banks of the Mississippi, Fort
Pickering, Memphis, Tenn. From http://www.civilwarshades.org/wp-content/themes/civil-warshades/images/contraband2.jpg
Figure 3 shows the enslaved African Americans who had took refuge to the contraband
camps within the army camps. This came after they were initially overpowered in the war then
they sought other means of surviving as they fight for their rights in the United States. There was
a change from this as many are seen still surviving unlike in the initial war stages as shown in the
first image where all men in the war zone were dead. To continue fighting, they needed to find
means of surviving rather than dying. Indeed, a “living dog is better than a dead lion” (Levine et
al. 2017). This was the only way they could retreat and sought best approach to win the war.
The image shows that even the places thought to have good living conditions were still
dirty and crude. However, this was a better place compared to the first conditions where the
natives resided. Despite these conditions, the camps became the centers for freedom and running
away from slavery. They took refuge to camps not only to avoid death but also to prepare
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themselves for the next live with the hope of the war coming to an end. The picture shows some
of the African Americans in the camp learning to work. This shows that the intensity of the war
had reduced and people saw hope of survival and peace being restored and they needed to
prepare to continue their lives.
Figure 4: Smith, William Morris, 1865. District of Columbia. Company E, 4th U.S. Colored
Infantry, at Fort Lincoln. From http://cdn.loc.gov/service/pnp/cwpb/04200/04294_150px.jpg
Figure 4 shows what can be termed as innovation among the African Americans
during the civil war. This was the time when huge number of blacks had been freed from slavery
and they joined their forces with those who were newly freed. For the success of any struggle,
there must be a solid foundation somewhere (Levine et al. 2017). The coming together of the
freed slaves gave the natives a great boost to continue fighting against the slavery and unfair
treatment.
The picture depicts a totally improves condition to the African Americans. They
have presentable clothes, an indication that poverty was no longer a great deal. After every
darkness, light is revealed (Levine et al. 2017). This was the same case to the African Americans
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as they at the end of the painful journey to free themselves from slavery, the light (peace) was
revealed to them as shown in the above picture. They seem to be stronger than never before with
firearms. This shows that the war against slavery was moving positively and that the natives had
received a significant boost which would see the Civil War come to an end with slavery being
abolished in the United States. The building behind the black forces is another indication of a
new beginning to the African Americans. Unlike in the first two scenes presented, the buildings
here are modern. This shows that at last, there was equality in the United States
Figure 5: Unknown author, 1865. Unidentified African American soldier in Union uniform with
wife and two daughters. From http://cdn.loc.gov/service/pnp/ppmsca/36400/36454_150px.jpg
This paper sought to justify the positive changes that occurred within the period of
the American Civil War, from the presented artifacts, the Civil War went through stages of
improvements with the fighting forces encountering different issues which lead to changes as
discussed in the three panels. The changes in the civil war occurred gradually as the forces went
through various transformation and others joining their counterparts to fight for the same course.
The end result of this was peace at last where families could sit together and live happily as
evident in figure 5.
The consistency in the fight against slavery by the natives contributed much to the
changes in the civil war in America. Despite being overpowered by those states who were for
slavery, they ran to hide in army camps and continued to fight as they grow big in their groups
and eventually, those who fought for slavery surrendered and the United States became slave
free state.
The struggle for freedom from slavery by the African Americans was indeed a
painful journey, many were rendered homeless, lost lives and infected with various diseases in
the journey but they eventually found what they were fighting for. This was achieved with great
determination and focus to end the oppression at whatever the cost.
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References:
Gardner, Alexander, (1862). , Antietam, Md. Confederate dead by a fence on the Hagerstown
road. Retrieved from: http://cdn.loc.gov/service/pnp/cwpb/01000/01097_150px.jpg
Henri Lovie, (1862). The Camp of the Contrabands on the Banks of the Mississippi, Fort
Pickering, Memphis, Tenn. Retrieved from: http://www.civilwarshades.org/wpcontent/themes/civil-war-shades/images/contraband2.jpg
Levine, R., Elliott, M., Gustafson, S., Hungerford, A. & Loeffelholz, M. (2017). The Norton
anthology of American literature. (Vol. A) New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Levine, R., Elliott, M., Gustafson, S., Hungerford, A. & Loeffelholz, M. (2017). The Norton
anthology of American literature. (Vol. B) New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Smith, William Morris, (1865). District of Columbia. Company E, 4th U.S. Colored Infantry, at
Fort Lincoln. Retrieved from:
http://cdn.loc.gov/service/pnp/cwpb/04200/04294_150px.jpg
The American Civil War Museum. Retrieved from:
https://acwm.org/sites/default/files/1991.7.4_jones.jpg
Unknown author, (1865). Unidentified African American soldier in Union uniform with wife and
two daughters. Retrieved from:
http://cdn.loc.gov/service/pnp/ppmsca/36400/36454_150px.jpg