What We Can Remember, Learn 150 Years After the Civil War Began

COMMENTARY | On April 12, 1861, the pre-dawn sky above Fort Sumter saw cannon fire fly through the air, beginning the war to tear America apart. As America marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, people are presented with the opportunity to remember, learn, and teach.

After the firing on Fort Sumter by Confederate troops, momentous events continued throughout April of 1861.

President Lincoln issues a proclamation calling up soldiers, calls for special session of Congress

On April 15, President Lincoln issued a proclamation. In it he asked "for the militia of the several States of the Union, to the aggregate number of 75,000, to suppress said combination and execute the laws."

He also asked for a special session of Congress, but not right away.

"I hereby convene both Houses of Congress for the 4th of July next, to determine upon such measures as the public safety and interest may demand," the proclamation stated. It wasn't a formal declaration of war, but would be viewed as such, especially in the South.

With the time delay before Congress met, major decisions would be made, command structure established, and the war effort well underway before Congress could officially weigh in. That's a tactic taken by presidents up to the present day. Although it would be hard to make Congress wait almost three months now, military action is often taken before consultations with members of the legislative branch occur.

Virginia secedes from the Union

On April 17, 1861, the Virginia House of Delegates voted to secede from the United States of America. Virginia wasn't the first state to do so, but it was the most important. And because it followed so quickly on the heels of the attack on Fort Sumter, it could not be ignored. War was coming, and Virginia needed to choose a side.

More rational delegates at the Virginia Secession Convention argued against leaving the Union. They felt the threat against slavery from the North wasn't as strong as others contended. They also discounted the prevailing wisdom that more states added to the Union would mean the end of slavery, arguing that it was a Southern institution and protected by the U.S. Constitution.

With the attack on Fort Sumter and Lincoln's call to arms, Virginia felt compelled to join the states already declaring themselves not party to the U.S. Constitution. The die was cast; there would be no turning back from war.

Robert E. Lee asked to command Union forces, refuses, resigns

Robert E. Lee graduated from West Point second in his class in 1829. Throughout his military career he excelled. In 1852, Lee became superintendent of West Point. After Fort Sumter was attacked and war assured, Lee was offered command of the Union Army. Lee was given the offer April 18, and he turned it down.

On April 20, 1861, Lee resigned his commission and moved his family from Arlington, Va., to Richmond, the eventual capital of the confederacy.

"I cannot raise my hand against my birthplace, my home, my children," Lee states. His allegiance to Virginia was stronger than his sense of duty to the United States.

Lee proved to be even more capable than expected, often winning battles with troop units inferior to their counterparts in numbers and training.

The insurrection of Lee foreshadowed other conflicts between presidents and generals. although none rose to the level of mutiny. Most notably General Douglas MacArthur and President Harry S. Truman. The recent flap over the remarks by General Stanley McChrystal is a less dramatic example.

States' rights then and now

April 1861 proved to be a pivotal month in American history. Southern states contended that matters such as slavery are in the realm of states' rights, using the same arguments we hear today. From civil rights to Roe v. Wade to education, when the phrase states' rights is used, it's often out of desire to restrict rights rather than enhance them.