Richmond in the American Civil War 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 effort, and the terminus of five railroads. The Union made many attempts to invade Richmond. In the Peninsula Campaign of 1862, General George McClellan moved up the James River, almost to the suburbs of the city, but was beaten back by Robert E. Lee in the Seven Days Battles. In 1864-5, General U.S. Grant laid siege to nearby Petersburg, whose evacuation
Sex in the American Civil War history "Women and the Civil War: Their Heroism and Their Sacrifice" prominently featured an entire chapter on the female soldiers of the war. Although it establishes the fact that women warriors were clearly objects of curiosity for the American public, Moore significantly softened and romanticised their experiences in order to make them more palatable to a general audience. For instance, Moore refers to one particular female soldier as an “American Joan of Arc”, attempting to frame her wartime exploits within a recognisable paradigm of holy war and divine inspiration. Regardless of generally warm popular opinion, however, female soldiers actually faced