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The Civil War
GA Studies
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Why It’s Important
The Civil War transformed the U.S. It
devastated the economy of the South while
contributing to the rapid economic growth
of the North & West. While African
Americans gained their freedom, a legacy
of bitterness between the North & South was
left behind that lasted for generations. The
war also established the power of the
federal government over the states.
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The Two Sides
• By February 1861, 7 states had left the
Union and formed the Confederacy
• Calling themselves the Confederate
States of America, they elected
Jefferson Davis, a MS senator, as
president and Alexander Stephens
(GA) as vice-president.
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The Two Sides
• Within weeks of Lincoln’s inauguration,
Confederate troops captured several
southern garrisons including Fort Pulaski in
Savannah
• The Confederate army then demanded the
surrender of Fort Sumter (SC), but the Union
general there refused
• On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces fired
upon Fort Sumter and the Union surrendered
it
• This action caused VA, NC, TN, & AR to join
the Confederacy
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The Two Sides, cont.
• These four new states brought much
needed soldiers, animals, industry &
food to the Confederacy
• The Confederacy chose Richmond, VA
as its capital (only 100 miles from Union
capital of D.C)
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Border States
• 4 states that still allowed slavery
remained in the Union: MO, KY, MD, &
DE
• The people of these states were
divided over which side to support
• Because MO, KY, & MD had strong
support for the South, they teetered on
the brink of secession
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Border States – Their importance
• Missouri had strategic location on Mississippi
River and could control major routes to the
West
• Kentucky controlled the Ohio River
• Delaware was close to Philadelphia (an
important Northern city)
• Maryland was close to Richmond & D.C.
(secession by MD meant D.C. would be
surrounded by Confederacy)
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Border States, cont.
• Lincoln had to be cautious with Border
States to avoid antagonizing them out of
the Union
• Because he used his power to have people
arrested for supporting secession &
supported rebellion against the prosecession govt. of MO, thousands of people
in the Border States left to join the armies of
the South, but the Border States remained in
the Union
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Secession from the South
• Not all Southerners agreed with
secession
– Pockets of Union support existed in
eastern TN & western VA
– People of the Appalachian region
generally opposed secession
– 48 western VA counties who wanted to
secede from VA & rejoin the Union
eventually organized themselves as a
separate state called West Virginia and
were admitted the Union in 1863
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Comparing North & South:
Northern Strengths
• Larger population to support war effort
• More industry & more abundant resources
• Better banking system to raise money for
war
• More ships (older ships)- most member of
navy supported Union
• Larger & more efficient railway network
• Abraham Lincoln was unexpected great
war leader
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Comparing North & South:
Northern Weaknesses
• North would have to invade & hold
South – large area with hostile people
• Public opinion in North was divided
over war – support for war was shaky
• Many thought South had good
chance to win
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Comparing North & South:
Southern Strengths
• White population was extremely supportive
of war
• Fighting in familiar territory
• Fighting for their way of life
• Military leadership was far superior
– People had strong tradition of military service
– Large pool of officers from military colleges
– Jefferson Davis (West Point graduate &
experienced soldier) was leader of Southern war
effort
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Comparing North & South:
Southern Weaknesses
• Smaller population of free men from which
to build army
• Few factories to make weapons & supplies
• Produced less than ½ as much food as North
• Less than ½ the amount of railroads & fewer
trains than North
– Made food, weapon, & supply delivery difficult
• State’s Rights beliefs hampered war effort
– Individual states refused to give Confederate
government enough power to fight war
effectively
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War Goals & Strategies: North
• Main goal at beginning was to win the war
& bring Southern States back to Union
• Ending slavery was not major goal at first,
but this changed as war went on
• Plan included 3 major strategies
– Using superior Navy, North would blockade
(close) Southern ports (to prevent supplies from
entering & south from earning money from
cotton exiting
– Gain control of MS River (cutting supply lines &
splitting Confederacy)
– Capture Richmond, the Confederate capital
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War Goals and Strategies: South
• Primary goal was to gain recognition as
independent nation
• This would allow them to preserve traditional
way of life, and slavery
• Their defensive strategy:
– Hold onto as much territory as possible until the
North got tired of fighting and recognized their
independence
– South expected Britain & France to pressure
North to end war so cotton supply could be
restored
• Offensively threaten D.C & other Northern
cities to persuade North they could not win
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American Against American
• Many families & friends were divided
during the war by conflicting loyalties
• Sometimes family members would
face each other in combat
• Both sides eventually had to force men
to go to battle by the process of
conscription (draft)
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The Soldiers
• Most were inexperienced & many were
young
• Average age of recruit was 25, but 40%
were 21 or younger (some as young as 16)
• Soldiers came from all parts of country & all
walks of life, but mostly from farms
• Union did not allow African Americans to
serve at first, but they did serve later
• By summer of 1861:
– Confederates (often called Rebels) numbered
112,000
– Union (often called Yankees) numbered 187,000
– By end of war, about 850,000 men fought for
Confederacy, and 2.1 million men fought for
Union
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False Hopes
• When war began, both sides expected a
brief conflict & early victory
– Southerners believed the North lacked the
conviction necessary to win
– One Northern paper predicted a win for the
North within 30 days
• Some leaders saw the situation differently
– William Tecumseh Sherman wrote, “I think it is to
be a long war—very long—much longer than the
politician thinks.”
• Sherman’s prediction would be correct
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Major Battles - Antietam
• Union Leader-George B. McClellan
• Confederate Leader- Robert E. Lee
• The South had been experiencing some
success before this point in the war
• Confederate States President, Jefferson
Davis, hoped that if the South kept winning
Britain and France would join their efforts
• Davis asked Lee to lead an offensive into
Maryland
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Antietam, cont.
• 2 Union soldiers found a copy of Lee’s orders
for his army (wrapped around 3 cigars)
• With the details of the plan in hand,
McClellan was able to strategically plan for
battle
• McClellan took his time allowing most of
Lee’s troops to rally near Sharpsburg, MD
• After the single bloodiest day of the war
(6,000 were killed, 17,000 wounded) Lee
withdrew & Union claimed victory
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Results of Antietam
• After Antietam, the Northern army
gained confidence in their ability
• The battle also marked a change in
the Northern war aims
• President Lincoln used the battle to
take aim against slavery
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Emancipation Proclamation
• Sept. 22, 1862 -Issued by Abraham
Lincoln five days after the Battle of
Antietam
• Lincoln wanted the Confederate
States to end the war, return to the
Union, and end slavery
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Emancipation Proclamation
• Lincoln stated that unless the South
surrender by January 1863, “all slaves in
states or districts in rebellion against the
United States will be thenceforth and forever
free”
• The South had a choice:
– Surrender and keep their slaves
– Don’t surrender and the institution of slavery
would be ended
– Confederate leaders chose to continue to fight
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Major Battles - Gettysburg
• In June, 1863, Lee moved north with an
army of 75,000
• Union General Hooker wanted to advance
on Richmond, but Lincoln told him his main
objective should be to attack Lee’s army
• Hooker began to make excuses for not
attacking the Confederate forces, and was
replaced by General George Meade
• Meade’s mission was to find & fight Lee’s
forces while protecting Washington &
Baltimore from Confederate attack
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Major Battles - Gettysburg
• The two armies met by accident on July 1,
near the small town of Gettysburg, PA
• The battle began when Union cavalry
surprised Rebel infantry raiding the town for
shoes
• The North was outnumbered, and retreated
to a line of hills south of the town where they
established strong positions & prepared to
defend the town
• Although the South launched a strong
attack, this strategic placement helped the
North launch a strong counterattack which
saved their position
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Gettysburg Address
• At a ceremony dedicating a cemetery at
Gettysburg, Lincoln gave a two minute
speech which became known as the
Gettysburg Address.
• In this speech, Lincoln declared that the
dead in the war shall not have died in vain,
our nation would see new birth of freedom
& the government of the people, by the
people, and for the people would not perish
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