Civil War Quotes

If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could do it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would do that. I have here stated my purpose according to my official duty, and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men, everywhere, could be free.

Instead of friends, I see in Washington only mortal enemies. Instead of loving the old flag of the stars and stripes, I see in it only the symbol of murder, plunder, oppression, and shame.

Duty is ours; consequences are God's.

It will be all right if it turns out all right.

I can only say that I am nothing but a poor sinner, trusting in Christ alone for salvation.

That living specimen of gall and hatred, that individual.

In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be wrong.

A question settled by violence, or in disregard of law, must remain unsettled forever.

The solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

I done told you twice already goddammit no!

I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah.

If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong.

They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist...

Wherever the enemy goes let our troops go also.

I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are.

Now he belongs to the ages.

The contest is not over, the strife is not ended. It has only entered on a new and enlarged arena.

In the name of the constitution of Texas, which has been trampled upon, I refuse to take this oath. I love Texas too well to bring civil strife and bloodshed upon her.

The greatest curse that can befall a free people, is civil war.

My experience through life has convinced me that, while moderation and temperance in all things are commendable and beneficial, abstinence from spirituous liquors is the best safeguard of morals and health.

I did not come here for the purpose of surrendering my command.

We may be annihilated, but we cannot be conquered.

My trust is in the mercy and wisdom of a kind Providence, who ordereth all things for our good.

The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep's for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty. Plainly, the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of liberty.

We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.

**** it, holler them across.

Stand by General Burnside as you have stood by me and all will be well.

A battery of field artillery is worth a thousand muskets.

Virginians! With me! Who will come with me!?

We failed, but in the good providence of God apparent failure often proves a blessing.

Slavery can never be abolished.

Obedience to lawful authority is the foundation of manly character.

In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free.

Well, it made you famous.

Lee's army will be your objective point. Wherever Lee goes, there you will go also.

The better part of one's life consists of his friendships.

the better angels of our nature

A war between Europeans is a civil war.

Let us strive on to finish the work we are in.

You cannot be a true man until you learn to obey.

It was not war, it was murder.

The scenes on this field would have cured anybody of war.

The state of Europe is so bad that I cannot see any future in Europe other than its Islamization or a civil war

There's the devil to pay.

If you don't have my army supplied, and keep it supplied, we'll eat your mules up, sir.

There have never been so many civil wars as in the Kingdom of Christ.

There are times when a corps commander's life does not count.

My chief concern is to try to be an humble, earnest Christian.

With firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right.

The true grandeur of humanity is in moral elevation, sustained, enlightened and decorated by the intellect of man