@simonfarmilo

Simon Farmilo (B.A. History) is an American Civil War writer and member of the American Civil War Roundtable (UK).

 United Kingdom
substack.com/@simonfarmilo
Joined August 2023
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Captain Henry Wirz. One of the few executed following the end of the American Civil War. As commandant of the stockade at Confederate Sumter Prison in Andersonville, Wirz was convicted of conspiring to “impair the health and destroy the lives” Cont...
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Sadly, on both sides of the battle lines, many who were held in prison camps often experienced extreme hardship. The ill-treatment of PoWs would remain an emotionally charged topic for decades after the war.
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of Union PoWs under his supervision. The mortality rate in the camp ran at c. 29% of all inmates (c. 13,000 deaths). Captain Wirz was hanged in Washington on the 10th of November 1865. Cont...
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How did the Confederacy go about financing the American Civil War? Taxes: c5% came from levies on income, property, sales and profits. Printing money: c60% was raised through issuing paper treasury notes (contributing to devastating inflation). Cont...
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Bonds: various issued schemes (including the Erlanger cotton loan of 1863) raised the remaining c35%. Ultimately, with most Southern capital tied up in land and slaves, the Confederate congress lacked the critical financial infrastructure to fund its war with the Union.
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Latest post on Substack: simonfarmilo.substack.com/
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The Trent Affair. A time of crisis for U.S.-British relations during the American Civil War. On the 8th of November, 1861, Union warship USS San Jacinto stopped the British Royal Mail packet ship RMS Trent and detained four of its passengers off the coast of Cuba. Cont…
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Tensions grew significantly after the British put forth an ultimatum, seeking an official apology and the commissioners’ immediate release. 11,000 additional British troops were deployed to Canada in anticipation of a potential conflict.
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The crisis subsided once Lincoln decided to let Mason and Slidell go. His administration conceded that the San Jacinto Captain, Charles Wilkes, should have sought legal process for the arrests rather than acting out of his own volition. No apology was given.
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When the American Civil War arrived on Europe’s doorstep. On the 14th of June, 1864, the USS Kearsarge caught up with the Confederate commerce raider Alabama while it was seeking repairs in the French port of Cherbourg. Cont...
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She lost 21 sailors, but the majority of its crew were rescued by the USS Kearsarge. Confederate Captain Raphael Semmes was picked up by a British yacht, the Deerhound, and taken to safe harbour in England.
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The anticipated showdown finally took place on the 19th of June, with French citizens lining the coast to witness the battle. The Alabama was sunk, but not before firing some 370 rounds in an intense one-hour exchange. Cont.
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By that point in the war, the Alabama had become the most successful raider in the Confederate fleet, taking 65 Union merchant vessels as prizes. Faced with a neutral port, the Kearsarge could not attack until the Alabama emerged from French waters. Cont.
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The Confederate submarine, the H.L. Hunley. Its first trial run resulted in five of its crew drowning. The second crew of eight drowned too. Cont. in comments...
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Unfortunately, all eight members of the third crew would also drown after the H.L. Hunley sank due to the close proximity of the torpedo explosion.
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Finally, volunteers were sought for a third crew who would go on to successfully torpedo and sink the Union ship USS Housatonic in Charleston’s outer harbor in February, 1864. Cont...
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Residents down from Washington setup a picnic area to watch the first battle of the American Civil War. The First Battle of Bull Run, as it became known, ended in a panicked retreat for the Union Army. Many picnickers were caught up in the chaos on the road back to Washington.
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