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161-523: An internal force of soldiers with a policing role, called the "Regulators", was eventually formed to counter the Raiders' theft and violence, which eventually led to an extreme prison riot that resulted in the capture and trial of the Raiders' leaders in the early summer of 1864. On July 11, 1864, six of the Raiders' leaders were hanged, concluding the group's control of the Confederate prison. Even so,

322-679: A centralized federal government in Richmond, Virginia , and enacted the first Confederate draft on April 16, 1862. By 1865, the Confederacy's federal government dissolved into chaos, and the Confederate States Congress adjourned , effectively ceasing to exist as a legislative body on March 18. After four years of heavy fighting, nearly all Confederate land and naval forces either surrendered or otherwise ceased hostilities by May 1865. The most significant capitulation

483-462: A crossguard and a clip point . The knife pattern is still popular with collectors; in addition to various knife manufacturing companies, there are hundreds of custom knifemakers producing Bowie knives with different types of steel and variations in style. The early history of the Bowie knife is complicated by murky definitions, limited supporting documentation, and conflicting claims. The Bowie knife

644-413: A Bowie knife in any altercation, regardless of self-defense or other mitigating excuse: That if any person carrying any knife or weapon known as a Bowie knife ... or any knife or weapon that shall in form, shape, or size resemble a Bowie knife, on a sudden encounter, shall cut or stab another person with such knife or weapon, whether death ensues or not, such person so stabbing or cutting shall be guilty of

805-507: A booming business making and selling these knives out of his shop in Washington, Arkansas . Black continued to refine his technique and improve the quality of the knife as he went. In 1839, shortly after his wife's death, Black was nearly blinded when, while he was in bed with illness, his father-in-law and former partner broke into his home and attacked him with a club, having objected to his daughter having married Black years earlier. Black

966-646: A breakdown in POW exchanges in 1863. The surplus had led to overcrowding in Confederate-run POW camps across the northern part of the Confederacy, particularly in the Richmond camps. As a result, the Confederacy needed to create a large Southern prison that could handle a considerable population of inmates. Andersonville, Georgia, was chosen as a strategic location for the Confederacy's new prison due to its small location and close proximity to fresh water and

1127-544: A carved handle that belonged to a Texan family sold for $ 60,000 in auction. Among the many variations on Bowie knives (discussed or shown by Flayderman or Peterson) are Bowies with interchangeable blades, push daggers, double-ended Bowies, folding Bowies, Bowies with a cork screw or other accessories, Bowie bayonets, combination Bowie/pistols, a Bowie with a saw-toothed back and Confederate Bowies with D-guards. Some were works of fine art. A giant folding Bowie, almost 7 feet (2.1 meters) in length and weighing 34 pounds (15 kg)

1288-558: A downed aircraft. Shortly after similar knives with a metal hollow handle appeared allowing small survival items to be stored inside the handle. Bowies are still popular to this day as evidenced by the plethora of factory-made and custom-made bowie-style knives available to sportsmen and collectors. Jim Bowie was posthumously inducted into the Blade magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame at the 1988 Blade Show in Atlanta , Georgia in recognition of

1449-431: A felony, and upon conviction thereof shall be confined in the jail and penitentiary house of this State, for a period of time not less than three years, nor more than fifteen years. Even Texas passed legislation in 1871 prohibiting the carrying of a Bowie knife "on or about one's person" in public places, a law which remained in place until 2017. Although many jurisdictions worldwide have knife legislation regulating

1610-407: A gauntlet of inmates who were given clubs and allowed to hit the offenders as they ran by. In some cases, the Raiders running the gauntlet were able to escape with just a few blows to the head, but a few were beaten so badly that they died as a result of their injuries. While most of the convicted Raiders received non-lethal punishments, six members, who were considered the group's leaders, were given

1771-406: A good place to sleep, and then beating and robbing them. Another of the Raiders' favored techniques involved sending out teams of spies to track down prisoners suspected of having valuables which could be traded to camp guards. After determining that a prisoner had something of value, the Raiders would wait for him to fall asleep and would then raid his tent. If the prisoner awoke during the robbery,

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1932-538: A mixed group of Spanish and South American pirates , the carrying of knives similar to the early Bowie knife is mentioned: Amongst these [weapons], were a large number of long knives – weapons which the Spaniards use very dexterously. They are about the size of a common English carving knife, but for several inches up the blade cut both sides. After the Vidalia Sandbar fight, Bowie was a famous man, and

2093-573: A normal government, the expression of popular will". Fremantle went on to write in his book Three Months in the Southern States that he had: ...not attempted to conceal any of the peculiarities or defects of the Southern people. Many persons will doubtless highly disapprove of some of their customs and habits in the wilder portion of the country; but I think no generous man, whatever may be his political opinions, can do otherwise than admire

2254-420: A panel of historians emphasized in 2011, "while slavery and its various and multifaceted discontents were the primary cause of disunion, it was disunion itself that sparked the war." Historian David M. Potter wrote: "The problem for Americans who, in the age of Lincoln, wanted slaves to be free was not simply that southerners wanted the opposite, but that they themselves cherished a conflicting value: they wanted

2415-426: A point to relieve stress on the blade during use. One characteristic of Bowie knives is the clip point at the top of the blade, which brings the tip of the blade lower than the spine and in line with the handle for better control during thrusting attacks. As the goal is to produce a sharp, stabbing point, most Bowie knives have a bevel ground along the clip, typically 1/4 of the way, but sometimes much further running

2576-462: A presidential proclamation issued April 15, 1861. It called for troops to recapture forts and suppress what Lincoln later called an "insurrection and rebellion". Mid-war parleys between the two sides occurred without formal political recognition, though the laws of war predominantly governed military relationships on both sides of uniformed conflict. Once war with the United States began,

2737-486: A railroad. Originally about 16 acres (65,000 m), the camp was later expanded to 26 acres (110,000 m). The entire camp was surrounded by a 15 foot (4.6 m) high stockade , with large guard towers known as "pigeon roosts" located every 30 yards. Located about 15 feet (4.6 m) from the stockade was a smaller fence called the "dead line" (so termed because any prisoner who crossed this fence would be shot). Its creators built Andersonville not for quality but with

2898-628: A sectional balance in the Senate but not in the House of Representatives , as free states outstripped slave states in numbers of eligible voters. Thus, at mid-19th century, the free-versus-slave status of the new territories was a critical issue, both for the North, where anti-slavery sentiment had grown, and for the South, where the fear of slavery's abolition had grown. Another factor leading to secession and

3059-477: A simple riveted wood scale handle. Bernard Levine has reported that the first known Bowie knife showed a strong Mediterranean influence insofar as general lines were concerned, particularly the shape of the traditional Spanish folding knife ( navaja ), then often carried by immigrants to Mexico and other territories of the Old Southwest . In an 1828 account of the capture of a pirate schooner carrying

3220-556: A statement supporting or recognizing the Confederacy. In November 1863, Mann met Pope Pius IX and received a letter supposedly addressed "to the Illustrious and Honorable Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America"; Mann had mistranslated the address. In his report to Richmond, Mann claimed a great diplomatic achievement for himself, but Confederate Secretary of State Judah P. Benjamin told Mann it

3381-436: A terse history two years after James' death. Sixteen years after James' death someone (assumed to be James' brother John) slightly amended Rezin's explanation to include a blacksmith. Rezin's grandchildren named a different blacksmith. A later Bowie claimed that the information attributed to John was a lie and that John probably never saw the document, etc. In the mid-20th century, a Bowie knife book author took liberties with

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3542-537: A view that has been disproven by the overwhelming historical evidence against it, notably some of the seceding states' own secession documents . The principal political battle leading to Southern secession was over whether slavery would be permitted to expand into the Western territories destined to become states. Initially Congress had admitted new states into the Union in pairs, one slave and one free . This had kept

3703-545: A weapon. With the advent of affordably priced, reliable revolvers in the US (including surplus ex-Civil war handguns), the popularity of the Bowie knife declined sharply after 1865. While still quite popular, newer Bowie designs began to incorporate much shorter blades of seven or eight inches, a length more suited to butchering and skinning game animals. By the turn of the century, the most mass-produced Bowies were being sold as all-purpose outdoor hunting/camping knives. Despite this,

3864-482: Is a pattern of fixed-blade fighting knives created by Rezin Bowie in the early 19th century for his brother James Bowie , who had become famous for his use of a large knife at a duel known as the Sandbar Fight . Since the first incarnation, the Bowie knife has come to incorporate several recognizable and characteristic design features, although in common usage the term refers to any large sheath knife with

4025-466: Is an indication of modern construction. ) Bowie knives often had an upper guard that bent forward at an angle (an S-guard) intended to catch an opponent's blade or provide protection to the owner's hand during parries and corps-a-corps. Some Bowie knives had a notch on the bottom of the blade near the hilt known as a "Spanish Notch". The Spanish Notch is often cited as a mechanism for catching an opponent's blade; however, some Bowie researchers hold that

4186-546: Is etched on many different designs (including folding knives) of the era. The British disguised the origin of their products, operating the "Washington", "Philadelphia", "Boston", "Manhattan", "America", and "Columbia Works" in Sheffield. They stamped "US", "NY", etc. on their blades. The Sheffield "factories" were warehouses that collected the work of area craftsmen. The smelters, forgers, grinders, silversmiths, carvers, etchers ... were individuals or small businesses. During

4347-403: Is not well defined. By the mid-20th century most included some combination of blade length and blade shape. In the mid-19th century, when the popularity of the knife was at its peak, the term was applied to a wide range of blades. Absent a consensus definition, it is impossible to clearly define the origin of the knife. To complicate matters, some American blades that meet the modern definition of

4508-557: Is popularly credited with inventing the "Arkansas toothpick", no firm evidence exists for this claim. Knives made in Sheffield , England, were quick to enter the market with "Bowie knives" of a distinctive pattern that most modern users identify with the true form Bowie. The Sheffield pattern blade is thinner than the Black/Musso knives, while the false edge is often longer, with a more oblique and less pronounced clip edge. While

4669-415: Is sometimes confused with the " Arkansas toothpick ", possibly due to the interchangeable use of the names "Arkansas toothpick", "Bowie knife", and "Arkansas knife" in the antebellum period. The Arkansas toothpick is essentially a heavy dagger with a straight 15–25 inches (38–64 cm) blade. While balanced and weighted for throwing, the toothpick can be used for thrusting and slashing. Although James Black

4830-479: Is today mostly purchased by collectors or edged weapon enthusiasts. The Bowie remains popular with collectors . In addition to various knife manufacturing companies there are hundreds of custom knife makers and bladesmiths producing Bowies and variations. The Bowie knife dominates the work produced by members of the American Bladesmith Society . Collecting antique Bowie knives is one of

4991-457: Is too great, save that of honor". The message stated that if the French or British governments made their recognition conditional on anything at all, the Confederacy would consent to such terms. European leaders all saw that the Confederacy was on the verge of defeat. The Confederacy's biggest foreign policy successes were with Brazil and Cuba . Militarily this meant little. Brazil represented

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5152-606: Is true, that fight was not fought with a blade meeting the modern definition). That Sandbar Fight received national publicity (accounts in Philadelphia, New York, and the Niles' Register of Washington, D.C.) within months of the event. James Bowie prominently wore a large knife after the Sandbar fight. The Bowie family provided a variety of conflicting knife histories. James Bowie left nothing. His brother Rezin Bowie provided

5313-575: The General Assembly from Jefferson City. The executive committee of the convention called the members together in July, and declared the state offices vacant and appointed a Unionist interim state government. The exiled governor called a rump session of the former General Assembly together in Neosho and, on October 31, 1861, it passed an ordinance of secession . The Confederate state government

5474-590: The Jim Crow laws through activities such as building Confederate monuments and influencing the authors of textbooks . The modern display of the Confederate battle flag primarily started during the 1948 presidential election , when the battle flag was used by the Dixiecrats . During the civil rights movement , racial segregationists used it for demonstrations. A consensus of historians who address

5635-581: The Old Southwest of the mid-19th century. However, accounts of Bowie knife fighting schools are based on fiction; newspapers of the era in the region contained advertisements for classes in fencing and self-defense. Bowie knives had a role in the American conflicts of the nineteenth century. They are historically mentioned in the independence of Texas, in the Mexican War, the California gold rush,

5796-656: The civil strife in Kansas , the Civil War and later conflicts with the American Indians. John Brown (abolitionist) carried a Bowie (which was taken by J. E. B. Stuart ). (p 117) John Wilkes Booth (assassin of Abraham Lincoln ) dropped a large Bowie knife as he escaped. (p 158) " Buffalo Bill " Cody reportedly scalped a sub-chief in 1876 in revenge for Custer (the Battle of Warbonnet Creek ). An illustration of

5957-730: The "dead line". Contributing to the fearsome conditions were the Andersonville Raiders, who used theft, murder, and terror to obtain goods and power within the prison. "The Raiders", as they were called within the camp, were known throughout Andersonville for their harsh tactics and vicious behavior towards their fellow inmates. According to John McElroy , the Raiders used various methods to get what they wanted, ranging from "sneak thievery to highway robbery". The group's most common method of stealing food and goods involved looking out for "promising subjects" in crowds of new prisoners, tricking their targets by pretending to help them find

6118-709: The "peoples most identical to us in Institutions", in which slavery remained legal until the 1880s and the abolitionist movement was small. Confederate ships were welcome in Brazilian ports. After the war, Brazil was the primary destination of those Southerners who wanted to continue living in a slave society, where, as one immigrant remarked, Confederado slaves were cheap. The Captain–General of Cuba declared in writing that Confederate ships were welcome, and would be protected in Cuban ports. Historians speculate that if

6279-502: The 19th-century equivalent of today's mass-produced handgun or ' Saturday night special ', particularly in the states of the Old Southwest . In 1837, just one year after Bowie's death at the Alamo, Alabama legislators passed laws imposing a $ 100 transfer tax on 'Bowie' knives and decreeing that anyone carrying a Bowie knife who subsequently killed a person in a fight would be charged with premeditated murder. Louisiana and Virginia prohibited

6440-454: The 21st century agree on the centrality of slavery in the conflict, they disagree sharply on which aspects of this conflict (ideological, economic, political, or social) were most important, and on the North 's reasons for refusing to allow the Southern states to secede. Proponents of the pseudo-historical Lost Cause ideology have denied that slavery was the principal cause of the secession,

6601-455: The Bowie brothers received many requests for knives of the same design. Bowie and his brothers later commissioned more ornate custom blades from various knife makers including Daniel Searles and John Constable. George William Featherstonhaugh described them as, "These formidable instruments ... are the pride of an Arkansas blood, and got their name of Bowie knives from a conspicuous person of this fiery climate." According to an 1847 article,

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6762-501: The Bowie is often considered a uniquely American knife, most blades were produced in Sheffield England. Sheffield Bowies were sold with a wide range of etched or stamped slogans designed to appeal to Americans: "Death to Abolition", "Death to Traitors", "Americans Never Surrender", "Alabama Hunting Knife", "Arkansas Toothpick", "Gold Seeker's Protection"... American victories and generals were commemorated. "Bowie Knife"

6923-626: The Bowie knife is now part of the Old Washington Historic State Park which has over 40 restored historical buildings and other facilities including Black's shop. The park is known as "The Colonial Williamsburg of Arkansas". The University of Arkansas Hope - Texarkana opened their James Black School of Bladesmithing and Historic Trades in historic Washington in January 2020. The term "Bowie knife" appeared in advertising (multiple places) by 1835, about 8 years after

7084-449: The Bowie knife may pre-date Bowie. The Bowie knife derives part of its name and reputation from James Bowie , a notorious knife fighter , who died at the Battle of the Alamo . James Bowie left a very thin paper trail; in the absence of verifiable facts, his history was buried in unverifiable knife-fighting legend. Historians seriously entertain the possibility that Bowie fought only one personal knife fight (and, if Rezin Bowie's account

7245-412: The Bowie knife was originally designed to fill the need for a wearable, convenient, close-combat weapon – a short sword much shorter than the saber or other swords of the day, yet still possessing a heavy blade. This cleaver-like blade had enough weight to give the blade sufficient force in a slashing attack while permitting the use of cut-and-thrust sword fighting tactics. By this time the 'Bowie knife'

7406-500: The Bowie still retained its ability to serve as a close-in fighting knife. The USMC Ka-Bar of World War II fame is based on a Bowie design dating back to the classic Marbles Ideal camping/hunting knife first introduced in 1899. Since the 1960s, Bowie knives with sawteeth machined into the back side of the blade appeared inspired by the United States Air Force survival knife which is used by several branches of

7567-777: The British Coldstream Guards , who entered the Confederacy via Mexico, Fitzgerald Ross of the Austrian Hussars , and Justus Scheibert of the Prussian Army . European travelers visited and wrote accounts for publication. Importantly in 1862, the Frenchman Charles Girard 's Seven months in the rebel states during the North American War testified "this government ... is no longer a trial government ... but really

7728-529: The British merchant fleet. In mid-1862, fears of a race war (like the Haitian Revolution of 1791–1804) led to the British considering intervention for humanitarian reasons. John Slidell, the Confederate States emissary to France, succeeded in negotiating a loan of $ 15,000,000 from Erlanger and other French capitalists for ironclad warships and military supplies. The British government did allow

7889-419: The Confederacy asserted its independence and appointed dozens of diplomatic agents abroad. None were recognized by a foreign government. The US government regarded the Southern states as being in rebellion or insurrection and so refused any formal recognition of their status. The US government never declared war on those "kindred and countrymen" in the Confederacy but conducted its military efforts beginning with

8050-512: The Confederacy by counties in East Tennessee were checked by martial law. Although slaveholding Delaware and Maryland did not secede, citizens exhibited divided loyalties. Regiments of Marylanders fought in Lee's Army of Northern Virginia . Overall, 24,000 men from Maryland joined Confederate forces, compared to 63,000 who joined Union forces. Delaware never produced a full regiment for

8211-404: The Confederacy counted about one-fourth its population. They voted 43% for pro-Union candidates. The four states which entered after the attack on Fort Sumter held almost half the population of the Confederacy and voted 53% for pro-Union candidates. The three big turnout states voted extremes; Texas, with 5% of the population, voted 20% for pro-Union candidates; Kentucky and Missouri, with one-fourth

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8372-415: The Confederacy had achieved independence, it probably would have tried to acquire Cuba as a base of expansion. Most soldiers who joined Confederate national or state military units joined voluntarily. Perman (2010) says historians are of two minds on why millions of soldiers seemed so eager to fight, suffer and die over four years: Bowie knives A Bowie knife ( / ˈ b uː i / BOO -ee )

8533-504: The Confederacy on March 16, 1861, and appointed Dr. Lewis S. Owings as the new territorial governor. They won the Battle of Mesilla and established a territorial government with Mesilla serving as its capital. The Confederacy proclaimed the Confederate Arizona Territory on February 14, 1862, north to the 34th parallel . Marcus H. MacWillie served in both Confederate Congresses as Arizona's delegate. In 1862,

8694-585: The Confederacy pinned its hopes for survival on military intervention by the UK or France . The Confederate government sent James M. Mason to London and John Slidell to Paris. On their way in 1861, the U.S. Navy intercepted their ship, the Trent, and took them to Boston, an international episode known as the Trent Affair . The diplomats were eventually released and continued their voyage. However, their mission

8855-700: The Confederacy valiantly fighting for a just cause, emerged in the decades after the war among former Confederate generals and politicians, and in organizations such as the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Sons of Confederate Veterans . Intense periods of Lost Cause activity developed around the turn of the 20th century and during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s in reaction to growing support for racial equality . Advocates sought to ensure future generations of Southern whites would continue to support white supremacist policies such as

9016-418: The Confederacy, but neither did it emancipate slaves as did Missouri and West Virginia. District of Columbia citizens made no attempts to secede and through the war, referendums sponsored by Lincoln approved compensated emancipation and slave confiscation from "disloyal citizens". Citizens at Mesilla and Tucson in the southern part of New Mexico Territory formed a secession convention, which voted to join

9177-407: The Confederacy. The war itself began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces bombarded the Union's Fort Sumter , in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina . Background factors in the run up to the Civil War were partisan politics , abolitionism , nullification versus secession , Southern and Northern nationalism, expansionism , economics , and modernization in the antebellum period . As

9338-661: The Confederate New Mexico campaign to take the northern half of the U.S. territory failed and the Confederate territorial government in exile relocated to San Antonio, Texas. Confederate supporters in the trans-Mississippi west claimed portions of the Indian Territory after the US evacuated the federal forts and installations. Over half of the American Indian troops participating in the War from

9499-578: The Confederate States of America. The new provisional Confederate President Jefferson Davis issued a call for 100,000 men from the states' militias to defend the newly formed Confederacy. All Federal property was seized, including gold bullion and coining dies at the U.S. mints in Charlotte , North Carolina; Dahlonega , Georgia; and New Orleans . The Confederate capital was moved from Montgomery to Richmond, Virginia, in May 1861. On February 22, 1862, Davis

9660-431: The Confederate population, voted 68% for pro-Union. Following South Carolina's unanimous 1860 secession vote, no other Southern states considered the question until 1861; when they did, none had a unanimous vote. All had residents who cast significant numbers of Unionist votes. Voting to remain in the Union did not necessarily mean individuals were sympathizers with the North. Once fighting began, many who voted to remain in

9821-485: The Confederates "suffered a severe loss of confidence in themselves" and withdrew into an interior defensive position. By December 1864, Davis considered sacrificing slavery in order to enlist recognition and aid from Paris and London; he secretly sent Duncan F. Kenner to Europe with a message that the war was fought solely for "the vindication of our rights to self-government and independence" and that "no sacrifice

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9982-679: The Constitution, which protected slavery, to be honored, and the Union, which was a fellowship with slaveholders, to be preserved. Thus they were committed to values that could not logically be reconciled." The first secession state conventions from the Deep South sent representatives to the Montgomery Convention in Alabama on February 4, 1861. A provisional government was established, and a representative Congress met for

10143-675: The Indian Territory supported the Confederacy. On July 12, 1861, the Confederate government signed a treaty with both the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indian nations. After several battles, Union armies took control of the territory. The Indian Territory never formally joined the Confederacy, but did receive representation in the Congress. Many Indians from the Territory were integrated into regular Confederate Army units. After 1863,

10304-500: The Raiders were able to build a tent that was large enough to fit over one hundred men, constructed mostly with stolen materials. Given the harsh conditions, overcrowding, and scarcity of basic items needed for survival within Andersonville, the Raiders' actions often resulted in dire consequences for their victims. When the Raiders stole from a person, they would put that person at risk of dying as an indirect or direct result of

10465-514: The Raiders were turned in. As a result of Wirz's actions, an internal police force, commonly known as "the Regulators", was quickly organized within the camp. The Regulators were not new to the camp, but they became significantly more powerful after Dowd's case was brought to Captain Wirz. According to McElroy, a small band of soldiers calling themselves the Regulators had previously existed within

10626-485: The Raiders' actions, as when a prisoner attempted to resist being robbed by the Raiders, and was murdered in the process. Another account of life at Andersonville describes one such occurrence: "one poor fellow came to an untimely death at their [the Raiders'] hands... because he showed resistance to their inhuman attempts". While resistance to the Raiders' actions could prove deadly, it also was sometimes effective. Victims – particularly new inmates – would often be awoken in

10787-436: The South's slavery-based economy. The convergence of race and slavery, politics, and economics raised South-related policy questions to the status of moral questions over, way of life, merging love of things Southern and hatred of things Northern. As the war approached, political parties split, and national churches and interstate families divided along sectional lines. According to historian John M. Coski: The statesmen who led

10948-464: The Spanish Notch is ill-suited to this function and frequently fails to achieve the desired results. These researchers, instead, hold that the Spanish Notch has the much more mundane function as a tool for stripping sinew and repairing rope and nets, as a guide to assist in sharpening the blade (assuring that the sharpening process starts at a specific point and not further up the edge), or as

11109-410: The U.S. by 1850, usually with a handle made from either hardwood, deer antler , or bone, and sometimes with a guard and other fittings of sterling silver. The James Black Bowie knife had a blade approximately twelve inches (30 cm) long, two inches (5.1 cm) wide, and 1 ⁄ 4 inch (0.64 cm) thick. The spine of the knife was covered with soft brass or silver, reportedly to catch

11270-480: The US Armed Forces. Each knife is manufactured in accordance with US Government specifications. It features a 5" 1095 carbon steel clip point sawback blade with a swedge, false top edge and fullers . The handle is made from natural leather with a stainless steel butt cap. The included natural leather sheath comes with a whetstone and leg tie. The sawteeth were intended to cut through the plexiglass canopy of

11431-404: The US, the heyday of the large Bowie knife was when cap and ball black powder arms were not exceptionally reliable and the single shot ones slow to load hence the need for a large knife such as what we call a Bowie as a weapon and for use as a camp knife. When reliable cartridge repeating firearms came along the size blade length and width was reduced because there was a less likely need for them as

11592-531: The Union accepted the majority decision, and supported the Confederacy. Many writers have evaluated the War as an American tragedy—a "Brothers' War", pitting "brother against brother, father against son, kin against kin of every degree". Initially, some secessionists hoped for a peaceful departure. Moderates in the Confederate Constitutional Convention included a provision against importation of slaves from Africa to appeal to

11753-584: The Union and Confederate sides as belligerents . In 1863, the Confederacy expelled European diplomatic missions for advising their resident subjects to refuse to serve in the Confederate army. Both Confederate and Union agents were allowed to work openly in British territories. The Confederacy appointed Ambrose Dudley Mann as special agent to the Holy See in September 1863, but the Holy See never released

11914-535: The Union victory at the Battle of Antietam , Lincoln's preliminary Emancipation Proclamation and abolitionist opposition in Britain put an end to these possibilities. The cost to Britain of a war with the U.S. would have been high: the immediate loss of American grain-shipments, the end of British exports to the U.S., and seizure of billions of pounds invested in American securities. War would have meant higher taxes in Britain, another invasion of Canada, and attacks on

12075-524: The Union. The federal government in Washington D.C. and states under its control were known as the Union . The Civil War began on April 12, 1861, when South Carolina's militia attacked Fort Sumter . Four slave states of the Upper South — Virginia , Arkansas , Tennessee , and North Carolina —then seceded and joined the Confederacy. On February 22, 1862, Confederate States Army leaders installed

12236-402: The United States . The Confederacy was formed on February 8, 1861, by South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. They adopted a new constitution establishing a confederation government of "sovereign and independent states". Some Northerners reacted by saying "Let the Confederacy go in peace!", while some Southerners wanted to maintain their loyalty to

12397-525: The Upper South. Non-slave states might join, but the radicals secured a two-thirds requirement in both houses of Congress to accept them. Seven states declared their secession from the United States before Lincoln took office on March 4, 1861. After the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter April 12, 1861, and Lincoln's subsequent call for troops, four more states declared their secession. Kentucky declared neutrality, but after Confederate troops moved in,

12558-639: The approach of Federal armies in mid-1862, the government's archives were readied for removal. As the Wilderness Campaign progressed, Congress authorized Davis to remove the executive department and call Congress to session elsewhere in 1864 and again in 1865. Shortly before the end of the war, the Confederate government evacuated Richmond, planning to relocate further south. Little came of these plans before Lee's surrender. Davis and most of his cabinet fled to Danville, Virginia , which served as their headquarters for eight days. During its four years,

12719-443: The camp; prior to Wirz's involvement, their actions were limited to beating Raiders who attacked other prisoners. However, after Wirz became involved, permission to organize a police force was given to the inmates, and the Regulators began to make arrests and hold the individuals they arrested until they were given a fair trial. The Regulators were also given additional powers beyond the ability to arrest and hold suspects. According to

12880-399: The concealed carrying of any Bowie knife, while Mississippi made such knives illegal when carried concealed or when used as a dueling weapon. In Tennessee, the use of Bowie knives to settle disputes on the spot so alarmed the wealthy classes composing the state legislature that in 1838 they not only made the concealed carrying of a Bowie knife a criminal felony, but also prohibited the use of

13041-415: The constant threats they also experienced from the camp's guards and the constant risk of death due to the conditions within the camp. They organized to bring their complaints to Confederate authorities, and they also formed an inner prison police force to defend against and capture the Raiders. The first organized resistance efforts within Andersonville involved small groups of prisoners - usually members of

13202-413: The construction of blockade runners in Britain; they were owned and operated by British financiers and shipowners; a few were owned and operated by the Confederacy. The British investors' goal was to acquire highly profitable cotton. Several European nations maintained diplomats in place who had been appointed to the U.S., but no country appointed any diplomat to the Confederacy. Those nations recognized

13363-575: The courage, energy, and patriotism of the whole population, and the skill of its leaders, in this struggle against great odds. And I am also of opinion that many will agree with me in thinking that a people in which all ranks and both sexes display a unanimity and a heroism which can never have been surpassed in the history of the world, is destined, sooner or later, to become a great and independent nation. French Emperor Napoleon III assured Confederate diplomat John Slidell that he would make "direct proposition" to Britain for joint recognition. The Emperor made

13524-586: The danger of cutting oneself while butchering and skinning the carcass. The first knife, with which Bowie became famous, allegedly was designed by Jim Bowie's brother Rezin in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana and smithed by blacksmith Jesse Clifft out of an old file. Period court documents indicate that Rezin Bowie and Clifft were well acquainted with one another. Rezin's granddaughter claimed in an 1885 letter to Louisiana State University that her mother (Rezin's daughter) personally witnessed Clifft make

13685-435: The diary of a prisoner named John Ransom, Captain Wirz gave the internal police force permission to set up a court and put offenders on trial. Wirz also gave the Regulators full permission to administer any punishments they deemed necessary, from more minor penalties such as lashings or public humiliation, to death by hanging. Most of the Regulators' arrests of suspected Raiders took place between June 29 and July 10, 1864, when

13846-468: The dual priorities of preventing escape and enabling as many prisoners as possible to be housed within the new camp. No wooden barracks were built; prisoners were required to live in self-built tents. At its height in August 1864, the camp housed over 30,000 Union prisoners of war. Conditions at Andersonville were among the worst of all Civil War prison camps; the camp was extremely overcrowded and starvation

14007-651: The early 1900s, the Alfred Williams EBRO Bowie knife became a big seller in the US. The EBRO trademark was purchased by Adolph Kastor & Sons of New York from Joseph Wostenholm & Sons in Sheffield. Alfred Williams specialized in selling knives to the US market, and as such, his knives destined for the US market bore the EBRO importer stamp on them along with Alfred Williams' name. Original Alfred Williams Bowie knives now sell for substantial amounts in auction. One unique Alfred Williams Bowie knife with

14168-679: The end of transatlantic enslavement of Africans; by 1833 , the Royal Navy patrolled middle passage waters to prevent additional slave ships from reaching the Western Hemisphere. It was in London that the first World Anti-Slavery Convention had been held in 1840. Black abolitionist speakers toured England, Scotland, and Ireland, exposing the reality of America's chattel slavery and rebutting the Confederate position that blacks were "unintellectual, timid, and dependent", and "not equal to

14329-548: The entire top-edge. This is referred to as a false edge as from a distance it looks sharpened, although it may or may not be. Regardless of whether or not the false edge is sharp, it serves to take metal away from the point, streamlining the tip and thus enhancing the penetration capability of the blade during a stab. The version attributed to blacksmith James Black had this false edge fully sharpened in order to allow someone trained in European techniques of saber fencing to execute

14490-460: The family that had cared for him in his old age, Daniel Webster Jones . However, Black had been retired for many years and found that he himself had forgotten the secret. Jones would later become Governor of Arkansas. The claims regarding James Black and his knives have been challenged by historians and knife experts. Little can be either proven or disproven; Black was found mentally incompetent before his claims were published. The birthplace of

14651-639: The form of a carved wooden model in December 1830. Black produced the knife ordered by Bowie, and at the same time created another based on Bowie's original design but with a sharpened edge on the curved top edge of the blade. Black offered Bowie his choice and Bowie chose the modified version. Knives such as this, with a blade shaped like that of the Bowie knife, but with a pronounced false edge, are today called "Sheffield Bowie" knives, because this blade shape became so popular that cutlery factories in Sheffield , England were mass-producing such knives for export to

14812-513: The formation of the Confederacy was the development of white Southern nationalism in the preceding decades. The primary reason for the North to reject secession was to preserve the Union, a cause based on American nationalism . Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 presidential election . His victory triggered declarations of secession by seven slave states of the Deep South , all of whose riverfront or coastal economies were based on cotton that

14973-458: The glorious cause of southern independence. They demanded that their own states join the cause. Scores of demonstrations took place from April 12 to 14, before Lincoln issued his call for troops. Many conditional unionists were swept along by this powerful tide of southern nationalism; others were cowed into silence. Historian Daniel W. Crofts disagrees with McPherson: The bombardment of Fort Sumter, by itself, did not destroy Unionist majorities in

15134-399: The group or provide assistance in exchange for compensation. The group was centrally organized around its six most important members, known as the "chieftains": Charles Curtis, John Sarsfield, Patrick Delaney, Teri Sullivan (or W.R. Rickson, according to other sources), William Collins, and A. Munn. According to Futch, each of the leaders had henchmen who were organized into groups named after

15295-567: The guard, can be used for cutting meat. Arkansas culturalist and researcher Russell T. Johnson describes the James Black knife in the following manner and at the same time captures the quintessence of the Bowie Knife: "It must be long enough to use as a sword, sharp enough to use as a razor, wide enough to use as a paddle, and heavy enough to use as a hatchet." Most such knives intended for hunting are only sharpened on one edge, to reduce

15456-435: The higher-end forms of knife collecting with rare models selling as high as $ 200,000. Even mass-produced Sheffield Bowies from the 19th century can sell in the range of $ 5,000US to $ 15,000US. The Bowie knife has been present in popular culture throughout the ages, ranging from the days of the Western dime novels and pulps to Literary Fiction such as the 1897 classic vampire novel Dracula by Irish author Bram Stoker. Despite

15617-412: The hilt, on which a small guard is placed. The Bowie knife, therefore, has a curved, keen point; is double-edged for the space of about two inches [5 cm] of its length, and when in use, falls with the weight of a bill hook . Most later versions of the Bowie knife had a blade of at least 8 inches (20 cm) in length, some reaching 12 inches (30 cm) or more, with a relatively broad blade that

15778-440: The historical facts. Some documents were misquoted, some reported facts cannot be confirmed, etc. Others incorporated the errors into their accounts of both Bowie and his knives. With no solid definition and conflicting accounts of knife history, many were credited with the invention or improvement of the blade. The historical Bowie knife was not a single design but was a series of knives improved several times by Jim Bowie over

15939-721: The hundreds of thousands. Secessionists argued that the United States Constitution was a contract among sovereign states that could be abandoned without consultation and each state had a right to secede. After intense debates and statewide votes, seven Deep South cotton states passed secession ordinances by February 1861, while secession efforts failed in the other eight slave states. The Confederacy expanded in May–July 1861 (with Virginia , Arkansas , Tennessee , North Carolina ), and disintegrated in April–May 1865. It

16100-513: The impact that his design made upon generations of knife makers and cutlery companies. Custom knife maker Ernest Emerson originally used a Bowie knife in his logo and manufactures a folding Bowie known in his line-up as the CQC13. A Bowie knife appears on the shoulder sleeve insignia of the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team , headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas . From the mid-1800s to

16261-503: The knife for her father. This knife became famous as the knife used by Bowie at the Sandbar Fight , a famous 1827 duel between Bowie and several men including a Major Norris Wright of Alexandria, Louisiana . The fight took place on a sandbar in the Mississippi River across from Natchez, Mississippi , and is the only documented fight in which Bowie was known to have employed his Bowie knife design. In this battle, Bowie

16422-407: The late 19th and 20th centuries, the Bowie knife served usefully as a camp and hunting tool, as well as a weapon, and is still popular with some hunters and trappers in the present day. However, as today's campers and backpackers generally rely on prepared lightweight foods, and have little or no use for a large knife as a weapon or for butchering wild game animals, the traditional Bowie pattern knife

16583-544: The leaders, such as "Collins's Raiders" and "Curtis's Raiders". As a result of their widespread thievery, the Raiders were well stocked and enjoyed considerably better living conditions than their fellow prisoners. They possessed a variety of weapons, ranging from axes to bowie knives . They were also well fed, which gave them a major advantage when it came to fighting; many of their victims were suffering from malnutrition, and consequently were considerably weaker and less able to defend themselves. In addition, for living quarters,

16744-404: The length of a blade one may own or carry, certain locales in the United States have legislation restricting or prohibiting the carrying of a "Bowie knife". Most of these laws were characterized at the time as 'anti- dueling ' laws. However, in this context, the term dueling had degenerated from its original 18th century definition (a rarely used social custom among the wealthy classes) into

16905-415: The main offenders were tried and hanged. The Regulators were able to round up most of the Raiders by attacking them at their headquarters; while the Raiders put up considerable resistance, they were overthrown by the Regulators. In his diary, Ransom notes that the first night of arrests were successful because, "thirty or forty of the worst characters in camp had been taken outside". Ransom also notes that it

17066-401: The maneuver called the "back cut" or "back slash". A brass quillon , usually cast in a mold, was attached to protect the hand. The Bowie knife's design also lends itself to use as a hunting knife for skinning or butchering game. The curved top clip bevel of the blade, when suitably sharpened, may be used to remove the skin from a carcass , while the straight portion of the blade edge, toward

17227-399: The middle of the night with a knife to their throat, with their attackers threatening to cut their throat if they moved. Nevertheless, some victims succeeded in defending themselves from these attacks and escaping. John McElroy describes one such event, in which a young man was attacked by eleven Raiders but managed to escape by hitting one of his attackers in the head with a spade; the attacker

17388-407: The most severe punishment: death by hanging. The six leaders – Sarsfield, Collins, Curtis, Delaney, Munn, and Sullivan – were executed on July 11, 1864 by method of hanging, on a set of gallows that was built that day. On the way to the gallows, Curtis escaped from his rope ties and fled, but was caught by the police and returned to the gallows. Each man was given time to say some last words before he

17549-542: The name Bowie after the Bowie knife because, in his words, "it cuts both ways". In the first-person shooter video game Team Fortress 2 , the Sniper character has an unlockable weapon named the Bushwacka, which is styled after a Bowie knife. Because of its widespread use and deadly effect when used in hand-to-hand fighting, it has been argued by some historians that the Bowie knife was seen by upper-class Americans as

17710-419: The opponent's blade in the course of a knife fight, while a brass quillion protected the hand from the blade. In 1831 Bowie returned with his James Black Bowie knife to Texas , and was involved in a knife fight with three men armed with firearms, who had been hired to kill him by the man he had spared in his 1829 fight. According to reports of the time, Bowie used his knife to kill all three men: one assassin

17871-428: The ordinance of secession. In the 1860 election "Constitutional Democrat" Breckenridge had outpolled "Constitutional Unionist" Bell in the 50 counties by 1,900 votes, 44% to 42%. The counties simultaneously supplied over 20,000 soldiers to each side of the conflict. Representatives for most counties were seated in both state legislatures at Wheeling and at Richmond for the duration of the war. Attempts to secede from

18032-540: The origins of the American Civil War agree that the preservation of the institution of slavery was the principal aim of the eleven Southern states (seven states before the onset of the war and four states after the onset) that declared their secession from the United States (the Union ) and united to form the Confederate States of America (known as the "Confederacy"). However, while historians in

18193-426: The other harsh conditions within the camp. In contrast to the well-fed, well-stocked, and well-organized Raiders, the prisoners' physical capabilities for resistance, and their abilities to sustain a motivated, organized resistance effort, were significantly weakened. However, by mid-June 1864, the prisoners decided that they could no longer tolerate the Raiders' terrorization and control over Andersonville in addition to

18354-408: The other members of the squad would come to their rescue. McElroy also describes a similar situation in which a victim would scream "Raiders!" and the prisoners around him would attack the robbers. However, in order to defeat the Raiders, the prisoners would have to become more organized, and would also need some sort of backing from the Confederate authorities. On June 29, 1864, a prisoner named Dowd

18515-530: The other three candidates (Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas and John Bell ). Support for these three collectively, ranged from significant to outright majority, running from 25% in Texas to 81% in Missouri. There were minority views everywhere, especially in the upland and plateau areas of the South, particularly concentrated in western Virginia and eastern Tennessee. The first six signatory states establishing

18676-438: The popular image of Count Dracula having a stake driven through his heart at the conclusion of the story, Dracula is actually killed by his heart being pierced by Quincey Morris 's Bowie knife and his throat being sliced by Jonathan Harker 's kukri knife. Bowie knives appeared in the classic works of Americans Harriet Beecher Stowe and Mark Twain , Englishman Charles Dickens , and Frenchman Jules Verne . The Bowie knife

18837-625: The populous counties along the Ohio and Pennsylvania borders rejected the Confederacy. Unionists held a Convention in Wheeling in June 1861, establishing a "restored government" with a rump legislature , but sentiment in the region remained deeply divided. In the 50 counties that would make up the state of West Virginia , voters from 24 counties had voted for disunion in Virginia's May 23 referendum on

18998-466: The prisoners would still live in horrid conditions after this, ending with more than 13,000 soldiers dying in the prison by the end of the war. Formally called "Camp Sumter", Andersonville (as it was later named by prisoners) was established in February 1864 in the small town of Andersonville, Georgia . The camp was established in response to a surplus in prisoners-of-war (POWs) that was the result of

19159-461: The pro-Confederate claimants in Kentucky (December 10, 1861) and Missouri (November 28, 1861) and laid claim to those states, granting them Congressional representation and adding two stars to the Confederate flag. Voting for the representatives was mostly done by Confederate soldiers from Kentucky and Missouri. Some southern unionists blamed Lincoln's call for troops as the precipitating event for

19320-422: The raiders would threaten him with death if he tried to resist. The Raiders were well organized and had many members who performed a variety of tasks. It is unclear exactly how many members the group had; some sources put membership at 50, while others propose numbers as high as 500. The best estimate is that the Raiders consisted of at least 100 regular members, as well as a number of others who would do favors for

19481-579: The reputed event showed a Bowie knife. (p 171) Brigham Young , president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), used to carry a Bowie knife with him, and dreamed about killing ex-Mormon apostates with it; for this reason, it has a significance to the DezNat ( alt-right LDS) community online, who link it to the concept of blood atonement in Mormonism . Historically, in

19642-587: The rest of those who died at the camp. Their execution marked the end of the Raiders' reign over Andersonville. Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America ( CSA ), commonly referred to as the Confederate States ( C.S. ), the Confederacy , or the South , was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 5, 1865. The Confederacy

19803-411: The robbery. For example, according to former prisoner Warren Goss, in an autobiography of his time spent at Andersonville, the indirect effect of the Raiders "[s]tealing blankets from boys unaccustomed to hardships was downright murder", because the victim would then be exposed to the "chill dews of evening and the frequent rains... and was sure to sicken and die". Death could also result more directly from

19964-465: The same company or squadron – forming together in defense against the Raiders. The groups would agree that if one of their members were attacked, he would scream out an agreed-upon code word; the other members of the group would then come to the victim's defense and would scare away the attackers. For example, members of the Plymouth Squad would yell "Plymouth!" when being attacked, and all of

20125-405: The same assurance to British Members of Parliament John A. Roebuck and John A. Lindsay. Roebuck in turn publicly prepared a bill to submit to Parliament supporting joint Anglo-French recognition of the Confederacy. "Southerners had a right to be optimistic, or at least hopeful, that their revolution would prevail, or at least endure." Following the disasters at Vicksburg and Gettysburg in July 1863,

20286-464: The sandbar brawl, while James Bowie was still alive. From context, "Bowie knife" needed no description then, but the spelling was variable. Among the first mentions was a plan to combine a Bowie knife and pistol. Cutlers were shipping sheath knives from Sheffield England by the early 1830s. By 1838 a writer in a Baltimore newspaper (posted from New Orleans) suggested that every reader had seen a Bowie knife. The Bowie knife found its greatest popularity in

20447-449: The secession movement were unashamed to explicitly cite the defense of slavery as their prime motive ... Acknowledging the centrality of slavery to the Confederacy is essential for understanding the Confederate. Southern Democrats had chosen John Breckinridge as their candidate during the 1860 presidential election, but in no Southern state was support for him unanimous, as they recorded at least some popular vote for at least one of

20608-481: The second wave of secessions. Historian James McPherson argues such claims have "a self-serving quality" and regards them as misleading: As the telegraph chattered reports of the attack on Sumter April 12 and its surrender next day, huge crowds poured into the streets of Richmond, Raleigh, Nashville, and other upper South cities to celebrate this victory over the Yankees. These crowds waved Confederate flags and cheered

20769-588: The state legislature asked for Union troops to drive them out. Delegates from 68 Kentucky counties were sent to the Russellville Convention that signed an Ordinance of Secession. Kentucky was admitted into the Confederacy on December 10, 1861, with Bowling Green as its first capital. Early in the war, the Confederacy controlled more than half of Kentucky but largely lost control in 1862. The splinter Confederate government of Kentucky relocated to accompany western Confederate armies and never controlled

20930-499: The state population after 1862. By the end of the war, 90,000 Kentuckians had fought for the Union, compared to 35,000 for the Confederacy. In Missouri , a constitutional convention was approved and delegates elected. The convention rejected secession 89–1 on March 19, 1861. The governor maneuvered to take control of the St. Louis Arsenal and restrict Federal movements. This led to a confrontation, and in June federal forces drove him and

21091-501: The states' militia to muster under his command. The stated purpose was to re-occupy U.S. properties throughout the South, as the U.S. Congress had not authorized their abandonment. The resistance at Fort Sumter signaled his change of policy from that of the Buchanan Administration. Lincoln's response ignited a firestorm of emotion. The people of both North and South demanded war, with soldiers rushing to their colors in

21252-686: The tribal governments sent representatives to the Confederate Congress : Elias Cornelius Boudinot representing the Cherokee and Samuel Benton Callahan representing the Seminole and Creek . The Cherokee Nation aligned with the Confederacy. They practiced and supported slavery, opposed abolition, and feared their lands would be seized by the Union. After the war, the Indian territory was disestablished, their black slaves were freed, and

21413-530: The tribes lost some of their lands. Montgomery, Alabama , served as capital of the Confederate States from February 4 until May 29, 1861, in the Alabama State Capitol . Six states created the Confederacy there on February 8, 1861. The Texas delegation was seated at the time, so it is counted in the "original seven" states of the Confederacy; it had no roll call vote until after its referendum made secession "operative". The Permanent Constitution

21574-554: The upper South. Because only three days elapsed before Lincoln issued the proclamation, the two events viewed retrospectively, appear almost simultaneous. Nevertheless, close examination of contemporary evidence ... shows that the proclamation had a far more decisive impact. ...Many concluded ... that Lincoln had deliberately chosen "to drive off all the Slave states, in order to make war on them and annihilate slavery". The order of secession resolutions and dates are: In Virginia,

21735-517: The white man...the superior race." Frederick Douglass , Henry Highland Garnet , Sarah Parker Remond , her brother Charles Lenox Remond , James W. C. Pennington , Martin Delany , Samuel Ringgold Ward , and William G. Allen all spent years in Britain, where fugitive slaves were safe and, as Allen said, there was an "absence of prejudice against color. Here the colored man feels himself among friends, and not among enemies". Most British public opinion

21896-513: The years. The earliest such knife, made by Jesse Clift at Bowie's brother Rezin's request, resembled Spanish hunting knives of the day, and differed little from a common butcher knife . The blade, as later described by Rezin Bowie, was 9 + 1 ⁄ 2  in (24 cm) long, 1 ⁄ 4  in (6.4 mm) thick and 1 + 1 ⁄ 2  in (3.8 cm) wide. It was straight-backed, described by witnesses as "a large butcher knife", and having no clip-point nor any handguard , with

22057-458: Was "a mere inferential recognition, unconnected with political action or the regular establishment of diplomatic relations" and thus did not assign it the weight of formal recognition. Nevertheless, the Confederacy was seen internationally as a serious attempt at nationhood, and European governments sent military observers to assess whether there had been a de facto establishment of independence. These observers included Arthur Lyon Fremantle of

22218-548: Was Confederate general Robert E. Lee 's surrender on April 9, after which any doubt about the war's outcome or the Confederacy's survival was extinguished. Confederate President Davis's administration declared the Confederacy dissolved on May 5. After the war, during the Reconstruction era , the Confederate states were readmitted to the Congress after each ratified the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution outlawing slavery. Lost Cause mythology , an idealized view of

22379-548: Was a common cause of death. The overcrowding, coupled with unsanitary conditions, caused illnesses to flourish within the camp. When food was available, prisoners would often suffer from diseases caused by contaminated food and water. Dysentery , scurvy , and gangrene became prolific as a result of the harsh conditions and poor quality of food. In addition to the severe health issues, records indicate that guards often behaved sadistically, sometimes killing prisoners regardless of whether they were breaking camp rules or crossing over

22540-568: Was a staple in The Alamo movies of 1960 and 2004 ; the first three Rambo movies, First Blood (1982), Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), and Rambo III (1988); the film Crocodile Dundee (1986) and its sequel Crocodile Dundee II (1988); and Friday the 13th (1980). The Bowie knife is also Ghostface 's signature weapon in the Scream franchise (1996). The famous singer and musician David Bowie (born David Robert Jones) took

22701-561: Was adopted there on March 12, 1861. The permanent capital provided for in the Confederate Constitution called for a state cession of a 100 square mile district to the central government. Atlanta, which had not yet supplanted Milledgeville , Georgia, as its state capital, put in a bid noting its central location and rail connections, as did Opelika, Alabama , noting its strategically interior situation, rail connections and deposits of coal and iron. Richmond, Virginia ,

22862-572: Was against the practice, with Liverpool seen as the primary base of Southern support. Throughout the early years of the war, British foreign secretary Lord John Russell , Emperor Napoleon III of France, and, to a lesser extent, British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston , showed interest in recognition of the Confederacy or at least mediation of the war. Chancellor of the Exchequer William Gladstone attempted unsuccessfully to convince Palmerston to intervene. By September 1862

23023-472: Was already being made in a variety of sizes, with the optimum blade length similar to "that of a carving knife". The blade design was described as: Back (spine) perfectly straight in the first instance, but greatly rounded at the end on the edge side; the upper edge at the end, for a length of about two inches [5 cm], is ground into the small segment of a circle and rendered sharp ... The back itself gradually increases in weight of metal as it approaches

23184-468: Was beaten severely by two Raiders, and had some of his valuables (including a watch and money) stolen. After his attack, Dowd went immediately to the front gate of the prison in order to confront the Confederate guards and demand justice. His complaints caught the interest of Andersonville's commandant, Captain Henry Wirz . After hearing Dowd's story, Wirz announced that he would cut off all rations until

23345-557: Was chosen for the interim capital at the Virginia State Capitol . The move was used by Vice President Stephens and others to encourage other border states to follow Virginia into the Confederacy. In the political moment it was a show of "defiance and strength". The war for Southern independence was surely to be fought in Virginia, but it also had the largest Southern military-aged white population, with infrastructure, resources, and supplies. The Davis Administration's policy

23506-509: Was composed of eleven U.S. states that declared secession ; South Carolina , Mississippi , Florida , Alabama , Georgia , Louisiana , Texas , Virginia , Arkansas , Tennessee , and North Carolina ; they warred against the United States during the American Civil War . With Abraham Lincoln 's election as President of the United States in 1860, a portion of the southern states were convinced that their slavery-dependent plantation economies were threatened, and began to secede from

23667-550: Was cultivated by slave labor. They formed the Confederate States of America after Lincoln was elected in November 1860 but before he took office in March 1861. Nationalists in the North and "Unionists" in the South refused to accept the declarations of secession. No foreign government ever recognized the Confederacy. The U.S. government, under President James Buchanan , refused to relinquish its forts that were in territory claimed by

23828-771: Was formed by delegations from seven slave states of the Lower South that had proclaimed their secession. After the fighting began in April, four additional slave states seceded and were admitted. Later, two slave states ( Missouri and Kentucky ) and two territories were given seats in the Confederate Congress. Its establishment flowed from and deepened Southern nationalism, which prepared men to fight for "The Southern Cause". This "Cause" included support for states' rights , tariff policy , and internal improvements, but above all, cultural and financial dependence on

23989-491: Was hanged. Munn expressed great remorse for his acts and hoped that God would show him mercy; Collins pleaded for mercy from the crowd and claimed that he was innocent; and Sarsfield gave a long speech in which he, too, expressed some regret. Delaney and Curtis, however, showed no contrition; Delaney went so far as to say that he would "rather be hanged than live here [in Andersonville]". All six were buried separately from

24150-439: Was inaugurated as president with a term of six years. The Confederate administration pursued a policy of national territorial integrity, continuing earlier state efforts in 1860–1861 to remove U.S. government presence. This included taking possession of U.S. courts, custom houses, post offices, and most notably, arsenals and forts. After the Confederate attack and capture of Fort Sumter in April 1861, Lincoln called up 75,000 of

24311-406: Was knocked down and his fellow Raiders retreated. It was common for the Raiders to retreat as soon as they realized a form of significant resistance was at hand. While resistance had the potential to be successful, the camp's prisoners needed the motivation to fight the Raiders, and this proved to be a major barrier. The prisoners were suffering from widespread disease, starvation, and the effects of

24472-627: Was made for presentation to an American congressman who offered to engage in a knife duel (a dispute between Roger Atkinson Pryor and John F. Potter ). A few huge Bowies up to 9 feet (2.7 meters) long were created for exhibition. Over the years many knives have been called Bowie knives and the term has almost become a generic term for any large sheath knife. During the early days of the American Civil War , Confederate soldiers carried immense knives called D-Guard Bowie knives. Many of these knives could have qualified as short swords and were often made from old saw or scythe blades. The Bowie knife

24633-554: Was nearly decapitated, the second was disemboweled, and the skull of the third man was split open. Bowie died at the Battle of the Alamo five years later and in death both he and his knife became an American legend. The fate of the original Bowie knife is unknown; however, a knife bearing the engraving "Bowie No. 1" has been acquired by the Historic Arkansas Museum from a Texas collector and has been attributed to Black through scientific analysis. Black soon had

24794-400: Was no longer able to continue in his trade. Black's knives were known to be exceedingly tough, yet flexible, and his technique has not been duplicated. Black kept his technique secret and did all of his work behind a leather curtain. Many claim that Black rediscovered the secret of producing true Damascus steel . In 1870, at the age of 70, Black attempted to pass on his secret to the son of

24955-485: Was one and a half to two inches (3.8 to 5.1 cm) wide and made of steel usually between 3 ⁄ 16 to 1 ⁄ 4  in (4.8 to 6.4 mm) thick. The back of the blade sometimes had a strip of soft metal (normally brass or copper ) inlaid which some believe was intended to catch an opponent's blade while others hold it was intended to provide support and absorb shock to help prevent breaking of poor quality steel or poorly heat-treated blades. (A brass back

25116-402: Was set up much like a typical court, including a judge and jury of the offenders' peers. Of those who were convicted by the court, many were given relatively light sentences, such as "setting in the stocks , strung up by the thumbs, thumb screws , head hanging, etc." Another of the lesser punishments was the running of the gauntlet . Those sentenced to this punishment were forced to run through

25277-467: Was stabbed, shot, and beaten half to death but managed to win the fight using the large knife. Jim Bowie's older brother John later claimed that the knife at the Sandbar Fight was not Clifft's knife, but a knife specifically made for Bowie by a blacksmith named Snowden. The most famous version of the Bowie knife was designed by Jim Bowie and presented to Arkansas blacksmith James Black in

25438-500: Was that "It must be held at all hazards." The naming of Richmond as the new capital took place on May 30, 1861, and the last two sessions of the Provisional Congress were held there. As war dragged on, Richmond became crowded with training and transfers, logistics and hospitals. Prices rose dramatically despite government efforts at price regulation. A movement in Congress argued for moving the capital from Richmond. At

25599-505: Was unable to control substantial parts of Missouri territory, effectively only controlling southern Missouri early in the war. It had its capital at Neosho, then Cassville , before being driven out of the state. For the remainder of the war, it operated as a government in exile at Marshall, Texas . Not having seceded, neither Kentucky nor Missouri was declared in rebellion in Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation . The Confederacy recognized

25760-426: Was unsuccessful; historians judge their diplomacy as poor. Neither secured diplomatic recognition for the Confederacy, much less military assistance. The Confederates who had believed that " cotton is king ", that is, that Britain had to support the Confederacy to obtain cotton, proved mistaken. The British had stocks to last over a year and been developing alternative sources. The United Kingdom took pride leading

25921-467: Was very difficult to protect the captured Raiders from being lynched , rather than being given a fair trial as promised. Estimates of how many Raiders were arrested vary from source to source, but the number is likely to be somewhere between 75 (according to what Ransom believed) and 150 (as estimated by McElroy). After the Raiders' arrests, as promised by Captain Wirz, the offenders were put on trial for their crimes against their fellow prisoners. The court

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