Download - Thomas C. Cario Middle School

The
Civil
War
8-4.5 Focus Question:
What were the military strategies used by the
Confederacy and Union during the Civil War?
A Civil War is any war between two opposing groups
in a state or nation. There have been many civil wars
throughout history. In the United States, the term
most commonly refers to the American Civil War
fought in the 1860s. This conflict was also called, “The
War Between the States”, “The War of Secession”,
“Mr. Lincoln’s War”, and many others.
At 4:30 in the morning on April 12 in
1861, the Civil War would begin in
Charleston’s Harbor.
Confederate forces would fire upon Fort Sumter
which was occupied by Union troops.
Union troops were outnumbered and
were running out of supplies.
Union commander, Major Anderson was low on ammunition,
fires were burning out of control, and his men were hungry and
exhausted. Satisfied that they had defended their post with
honor, enduring over 3,000 Confederate rounds without losing a
man, Anderson raised his white flag and agreed to surrender the
fort the next day on April 13th.
After the surrender of Fort Sumter, seven
months passed as both sides developed
war strategies.
Union Army—
The army of the United
States during the Civil
War, also referred to as
the “Northern Army” (it
was comprised mostly of
soldiers from Northern
states). The Union Army
outnumbered the
Confederate Army (see
below) almost 3 to 1, with
over 2 million men serving
throughout the war. The
Union also had the
advantage of railroad lines
and superior industry.
Confederate
Army—An army formed in
1861 (after several states in the
South seceded from the Union) to
defend the Confederate States of
America from the United States.
Over 1,000,000 men enlisted or
were drafted into the army, which
included nearly every young,
able-bodied man who was
available. Led by effective leaders
such as Robert E. Lee, the
Confederate Army put up a good
fight, but was unable to overcome
huge disadvantages in size and
materials.
Although the Union had many advantages at
the start, they knew they would be facing a
determined enemy.
Union General Scott came up with a plan called the
Anaconda Plan, named after the large snake that coils
around its prey and suffocates it.
There were three parts to the Union’s
Anaconda Plan
• Use their superior Naval
power to blockade at sea.
The Confederacy would
be unable to get supplies
by sea.
• Next, Union troops would
split the Confederacy by
travelling down the
Mississippi and capturing
New Orleans
• Third, Union Armies
would capture the
Confederate capital of
Richmond, Virginia.
Another key part to the defensive strategy of
the North was to destroy the transportation and
communication systems of the Confederacy
thus crippling morale
The Southern strategy was to fight a
defensive war.
The South would need to
break the Naval blockade of
its harbors.
It also would need to fight off
any Union invasions.
The Confederacy was also
hoping to line up some
foreign allies, like France or
Great Britain to help them
fight the war. Foreign allies
never came to the South’s
aid.
Although much of the Civil War was fought in
Virginia and along the Mississippi region, South
Carolina would see some fighting during the
war.
The Confederacy suffered a major setback on
the morning of November 7, 1861, when the
Union captured Port Royal
Union troops controlled Port Royal, Beaufort, Hilton Head
and several of the Sea Islands. Rice plantation owners
fled, leaving behind thousands of slaves who had refused
to leave.
The Union now had a place to set
up a blockade along the SC coast.
Charleston, the second largest city in the Confederacy,
became a target.
The blockade devastated Southern trade and supplies
reaching the Confederate Army.
Many Confederate blockade runners managed to slip
past Union ships since they were smaller and faster
and could travel in shallow waters. They helped
enable trade and supply the Confederate forces with
supplies.
The Union Army would try to capture
Charleston by land.
Their attempt to capture
Charleston, South Carolina, is
thwarted when the
Confederates turn back an
attack at Secessionville, just
south of the city on James
Island. 1000 Confederates beat
back 4500 Union soldiers at
the Battle at Secessionville.
Now the Union came at Charleston by
the sea with all of its Naval power.
Armored ironclads, armored wooden ships would bombard the city
of Charleston for 567 days until Charleston surrendered in 1865. The
54th infantry regiment, an all-black group of volunteers, fought
courageously for the Union at Fort Wagner near Charleston Harbor.
The Confederate forces had a new
weapon- the submarine.
It was hoped the Hunley could be used to get supplies
and for battle. During the siege of Charleston, the
Confederates used the Hunley to sink a Union ship
with a torpedo. The Hunley sank, for reasons that are
still a mystery.
Northerners and Southerners both
thought the war would be over in a
matter of months.
But the war dragged on for years while the death toll
climbed and both sides refused to surrender.
After the bloody
Battle of Antietam in
Virginia, President
Lincoln would issue
the Emancipation
Proclamation.
The Proclamation did
not free all the
slaves. It only freed
the slaves in the
Confederate States.
The Union victories at the Battles of
Gettysburg and Vicksburg would turn
the tide of war in the North’s favor.
Now they would strike the final blow with a brilliant
but ruthless General named General Sherman.
Sherman’s March to the Sea
The Union would
unleash Sherman
with his strategy
of Total War. It
was a strategy to
completely
destroy an
enemies supplies
and morale.
Sherman’s Army
would destroy,
burn, and
terrorize
everything in
their way.
After Sherman's forces captured
Savannah, they turned back and came
for South Carolina.
Sherman would say about
the rebel state South
Carolina that started the
war, “ I almost tremble at
her fate, but feel she
deserves all that seems in
store for her.”
Sherman’s path of destruction led them
to Columbia where most of the city was
destroyed with cannon fire or fires that
burned most the city.
Sherman marched through Winnsboro, Camden,
and Cheraw on his way to North Carolina leaving
destruction in his path.
The Final Days
After months of desperate fighting in Virginia and
the loss of the Confederate Capital of Richmond,
Confederate General Robert E. Lee would surrender
on April 19, 1865 to General Ulysses Grant .
Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured
fleeing Richmond and imprisoned for 3 years.
The Final Days
The Civil War started in 1861 and ended in 1865. It
would be remembered as one of the bloodiest wars in
American history with more than 600,000 deaths.
The South was devastated by the Civil War.
Charleston
after the War