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The Civil War witnessed a will to destroy and a spirit of intolerance
that conflicted with Americans' self-image as a tolerant people
committed to compromise. Not only did the conflict see the use
of shrapnel and booby traps, it reportedly saw a few southern
women wear necklaces made of Union soldiers' teeth. In a notorious
1862 order, Union General Ulysses S. Grant expelled all Jews from
his military department on the grounds that they were speculating
in cotton.
While Grant was driving toward the Mississippi from the north,
northern naval forces under Captain David G. Farragut (1801-1870)
attacked from the south. In April 1862, Farragut steamed past
weak Confederate defenses and captured New Orleans. In New Orleans,
Union forces met repeated insults from the city's women. Major
General Benjamin F. Butler ordered that any woman who behaved
disrespectfully should be treated as a prostitute. Reaction in
the North was mixed. Southern reaction to "Beast" Butler
was predictably harsh.
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