Henry Toole Clark
Henry T. Clark was the governor of North Carolina during some of the most climactic years of the Civil War. He ran as a democrat, yet was never actually elected. He was speaker of the North Carolina Senate, and when the previous governor died, he took his position, soon after North Carolina succeeded after the Battle of Fort Sumter. The state is known for having lost the most soldiers in all the war, and Clark is considered responsible for this as well as the mentality of the state at the time for trying to contribute as much as possible to the southern cause, despite the relatively mall amount of battles actually fought in North Carolina. Important to the foreign relations of the Confederacy, he exported many good to countries such as England to raise money for the effort, as well setting up more long-term trade agreements. By 1862, he had retired, although without leaving his mark, making him an important character in the history of the Civil War. Clark was part of an elite ruling class of the South, gained through the power held in his many acres of plantation lands and many slaves. This economic power made him and his family quite conservative.
"North Carolina History Project : Henry Toole Clark." North Carolina History Project : Encyclopedia. Web. 06 Dec. 2009.
Daniel Harvey Hill
Hill was an accomplished general who went to West Point in upstate New York. Despite being born in South Carolina, he spent much of his career in North Carolina. He saw his first action in the Mexican American War, where he became well known for his ability to command. He soon became a general afterward, and was put under General Bragg, where he made his first political enemies. He viewed Bragg as incompetent and unable to make good decisions that would benefit the Confederacy. Jefferson Davis was a good friend with Bragg, and this created a feeling of resentment between the two. He was soon let off from his position, and led a group of volunteers on the coast of the Carolinas, where he sat out the war. His legacy consisted of the Battle of Big Bethel, Yorktown, and Seven Pines, leading historians today to believe that he was an unused asset of the Confederate Army, that could have added in strategic advances into the North. However, the political controversy around him made this unlikely to happen. The main issue that happened between Bragg and Hill, is that Hill wanted to pursue the recently defeated Union soldiers, thinking then was the time, but Bragg gave it no second thought, and remained in the South.
"Daniel Harvey Hill Biography." The American Civil War Home Page. Web. 06 Dec. 2009.
"General Daniel Hill." Web. 06 Dec. 2009.
Ambrose Burnside
Although General Ambrose Burnside was not a Confederate, but a Union General, he still played a pivotal role in the state’s history of the time. In fact, it from his mutton chops that the word sideburns comes from. Some of the most important objectives of the union army were achieved through this man. It is interesting to look at something through the perspective that would not normally be linked with it. The campaign lasted all of one year, bust captured many major ports, helping to cut off the Confederates from their outside resources and support. Possibly one of the characters about him that he is most famous for, despite his remarkable facial hair, his is true inability to control men, mostly linked to a lack of experience. Luckily for him, and unluckily for the North Carolinians, this trait did not become evident until later campaigns in Virginia. At the battle of Roanoke, he managed to take part in one of the most important battles of the North Carolina Campaign. The body of water surrounding it was the largest body of water in the inter-coastal waterway (the area of shallow water between the mainland and the outer banks). This directly connected to the northern ports of North Carolina, as well as indirectly impeded the shipment of goods from the major southern ports.
Barrett, John G. "Sherman's Carolina campaign: February-March 1865." The Civil War Battlefield Guide, 2nd ed. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 1998. 405+. General OneFile. Web. 1 Dec. 2009. .
General Braxton Bragg
General Braxton Bragg was a famous general from North Carolina that actually saw much of his Civil War action outside of the state, but still left a noticeable influence behind. In fact, Fort Bragg, one of the country’s largest military forts, is today stationing the 82nd Airborne. Tennessee was one of his most frequent areas of campaign, along with other border states, including Kentucky. At first beginning in the New Orleans, Louisiana militia, he soon went up the ranks of the Confederate Army to become a general. He spent much of his time in Pensacola, Florida, where he gained control of his own army (aptly named the Pensacola Army), where his main responsibility was to install discipline. He later was put in control of the army of Mississippi as other generals began to die during major conflicts, until he was General of the Tennessee Army, ending his gain in power. He soon began to take control of Tennessee through numerous battles, including one in which he captured 5,000 union soldiers. This gathered fame soon ended once he decided to invade Kentucky, which later became known as a military blunder for the Confederacy. Despite bringing union troops out of the general area, it ended up not being worth the total expense.
North Carolina: December 1864-February 1865." The Civil War Battlefield Guide, 2nd ed. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 1998. 401+. General OneFile. Web. 1 Dec. 2009. http://find.galegroup.com/gps/start.do?prodId=IPS&userGroupName=mlin_n_merhs.
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