Download Civil War Leaders (12-7-16) File

Civil War Leaders
Lincoln
Union – North
Ulysses S. Grant
Confederacy - South
Robert E. Lee
Jefferson Davis
Expert Information:
The Civil War showcased some of the finest military leaders in American military history.
Colonels, generals, and lieutenants all at some point are given the opportunity to lead men on the
field of battle. It is their job to make the correct decisions to best ensure the welfare of their
men, and the success of their mission. However, in war men lose their lives and the correct decision
is not always made. This is why successful military leaders are held up so highly in our society,
because time and time again they were a success in both facets of their job leading men in the most
chaotic of settings, the field of battle.
The Civil War resulted in almost half as many deaths as the total of all other American wars
put together. One in every five military men in the Civil War died in service. Of the 620,000 men
who died, 340,000 were from the North and about 280,000 were from the South. Of the
survivors, the last Union soldier, Albert Woolson, died in 1956, at the age of 109; the last
Confederate soldier, Walter Williams, died in 1959, at age of 117.
President Abraham Lincoln led the North (Union). Lincoln stood 6’4” tall, and was considered by
most a very unattractive man. The 16th President of the United States grew up the son of poor
Midwestern farmers. He was a very intelligent individual. Before the presidency that would make
him one of the most revered individuals in American history, Lincoln made his keep as a lawyer. He
was married to Mary Todd Lincoln, a Southerner. He had four sons. Two of them died young, one
while he was in the White House. Lincoln’s steadfast leadership during the Civil War was crucial to
his ultimate goal of preserving the Union.
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Lincoln throughout the war had to go through several military leaders to do the job as he
saw fit. At the beginning of the war he appointed General Irvin McDowell to lead the Union
forces. McDowell was a graduate of West Point, a veteran of the Mexican War, and an instructor
at West Point when the war ended. He lost his command, however, at the first major battle of the
war – Bull Run. McDowell had told the President that when the Confederate soldiers saw the Union
army, and it came time to fight, they would retreat and the war would end with one single battle.
He greatly underestimated the Confederate army, and it was his men who would retreat on that
day. Lincoln relieved McDowell from his command and chose General George B. McClellan as the new
commander of the Union army.
General George B. McClellan (Union) was a West Point graduate, a Mexican War veteran,
and an engineer by trade. He was superior as a troop trainer and supply technician. Lincoln had
issues with McClellan due to his lack of aggressiveness in battle. At the Battle of Antietam,
McClellan had General Robert E. Lee on the run but did not follow Lee and completely defeat the
Confederate army. Lincoln was furious with McClellan and fired him. Later, McClellan ran against
Lincoln in the election of 1864 and lost.
General George C. Meade, the Union leader at the Battle of Gettysburg, was a West Point
graduate, Mexican War veteran, and an Indian fighter. Meade was of course successful at
Gettysburg, but the losses were so heavy at this battle Lincoln still searched for an adequate
leader. After much trial and error, Lincoln finally found his man in Union General Ulysses S.
Grant. Grant was a West Point graduate and a Mexican War. Grant’s views on war were simple, find
your enemy, get your enemy, strike hard and as often as you can, and move on. Grant believed in
total warfare – a war not only against your enemy, but all things that support your enemy as
well. This meant destroy everything: burn homes, burn crops, kill animals, destroy railroads, and
businesses.
One of the Union’s most able generals and supporter of Grant was William T. Sherman.
Sherman was a West Point graduate, a Mexican War veteran, a lawyer, and a banker. Grant ordered
Sherman to inflict “all the damage you can against their war resources.” Sherman marched through
Georgia and the Carolinas destroying a path 60 miles wide and 300 miles long. Later Grant and
Sherman met near Richmond, Virginia and forced Robert E. Lee to surrender.
Jefferson Davis was president of the Confederate States of America and led the South
(Confederacy). He grew up on a small plantation in Mississippi, attended West Point, and later
served in the Mexican War. Davis was tall (6’) and lean. He was a very intense person, hated
politics, and did not really want to be president of the Confederacy. He was devoted to the
secessionist cause and, therefore, agreed to serve the Confederacy in any capacity. But he was
never able to form a strong, single nation out of the eleven strongly independent states of the
Confederacy.
Confederate General Robert E. Lee came from one of the oldest, most distinguished
Virginia
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He was opposed to slavery and to secession. Lee was a man torn by his ideals, and his loyalty to his
home of Virginia. He was asked by Lincoln to command the Union forces, but after
much deliberation declined because he could not fight against his native Virginia. Instead he
became the commander of the Confederate Army.
Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard was a West Point graduate,
Mexican War veteran and an engineer by trade. While stationed in Charleston, South Carolina, he
gave the order to fire on Fort Sumter, the first shot of the Civil War.
General Albert S. Johnston, a Texan, was considered by both sides to be one of the finest
soldiers in the military. He was a West Point graduate, a Mexican War veteran, and a farmer by
trade, but he was not good at farming. He was the second highest-ranking Confederate officer.
Lee gave him command of the western part of the Confederacy. His orders were to keep the Union
from taking the Mississippi River. At the Battle of Shiloh, Johnston was shot in the leg. He kept
on fighting later bleeding to death after being defeated by Grant. Lee said upon hearing of his
death, “I have lost my left arm.” There was no way to replace this loss to the Confederacy, and as
a result the Union was able to take away the Mississippi River from the South.
Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson was a West Point graduate, a Mexican
War veteran and an instructor at the Virginia Military Institute. Jackson was a commander at the
first major battle of the war – Bull Run. At this battle it looked as though the Union would win
until Jackson and his regiment of Virginians refused to give way. Confederate General Bee shouted
to his men upon seeing Jackson, “Look, there is Jackson with his Virginians, standing like a stone
wall.” The nickname “Stonewall” stuck and continued to characterize Jackson’s personality. He
fought in many battles and was victorious. At the Battle of Chancellorsville his own men mortally
wounded Jackson. Upon hearing about Jackson’s death, Lee commented, “I have lost my right arm.”
Jackson’s death was a severe blow to the South and to Lee personally.
Confederate General George Pickett was a West Point graduate, a Mexican War veteran
and an insurance salesman by trade. Pickett commanded an infantry (foot soldier) division for Lee.
Pickett’s infantry division was the best General had. On July 3, 1863, in an infamous decision Lee
ordered Pickett to take his infantry and charge the center of the Union across an open field at the
Battle of Gettysburg. This decision was a disaster and one of Lee’s few military mistakes. Pickett
lost more than half of his division. He lost fifteen regimental commanders, two brigadier generals,
and six colonels. What was left of Pickett’s infantry division retreated and upon their retreat, Lee
was said to have uttered these words, “it’s all my fault, all my fault.” Pickett’s Charge and Lee’s
defeat at Gettysburg took one-third of Lee’s army, and was a turning point in the Civil War, giving
the momentum to the Union. Supposedly General Pickett was so upset with Lee that he refused to
ever talk to Lee again. The Confederacy was not ever able to recover from the losses at
Gettysburg. Difficulties continued until they finally lost the war.
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Answer the following questions from the Expert Information above. You may need to use a
sheet of paper if there is not enough room provided.
1. Who was the President of the Union, and who was the President of the Confederacy?
2. Who was General Lee referring to when he said, “I have lost my left arm”? Where was
this person from?
3. What General did Abraham Lincoln finally find to end the Civil War?
4. Who gave the order to fire on Ft. Sumter? What side did he fight on?
5. Describe Sherman’s March.
6. Who was the leader of the Confederate Army?
7. Describe Pickett’s Charge.
8. What was General Thomas Jackson’s nickname? How did he get this nickname, and at
what battle?
9. How did General Thomas Jackson die, and at what battle?
10. Why did General George B. McClellan get fired as leader of the Union Army?
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