Slavery during the American Civil War Slavery during the American Civil War Slavery played the central role during the American Civil War. The primary catalyst for secession was slavery, especially Southern political leaders' resistance to attempts by Northern antislavery political forces to block the expansion of slavery into the western territories. Slave life went through great changes, as the South saw Union Armies take control of broad areas of land. During and before the war, slaves played an active role in their own emancipation, and thousands of slaves escaped from bondage during the war. On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation, making
Richmond in the American Civil War a poker game. Robbie Robertson / The Band wrote 'The night they drove old Dixie down'. One lyric refers to, '...by May the 10th (1865) Richmond had fell, it was a time I remember oh so well'. On May 10, 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis, fleeing Richmond and having dissolved the Confederate government, was captured by Union forces in Irwinville, Georgia. Richmond in the American Civil War Richmond, Virginia, served as the capital of the Confederate States of America for almost the whole of the American Civil War. It was a vital source of weapons and supplies for the war