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The Civil War
The Struggle Begins
I. Strategies for Victory
Union Plans
1. First, the Union planned
to blockade southern
ports.
a. This would cut off the
South’s supply of
manufactured goods by
halting trade with
Europe.
A.
2. In the West, the Union
planned to seize control
of the Mississippi River.
a. Not allow the South to
supply its troops.
b. Separate the South into
2.
3. Seize Richmond, Virginia,
and capture the
Confederate headquarters
there.
B. Confederate Plans
1. Fight a defensive war and
hold out long enough so
the North would tire of
fighting.
II. Forward to Richmond
A. This battle cry was heard
all across the North. Sure
of a quick victory, they
called for an attack on
Richmond, the
Confederate capital.
B. Battle of Bull Run
1.
2.
In July, 1861, Union
troops set out from
Washington DC for
Richmond. (100 miles
away)
July 21, 1861 - Hundreds
of people came to watch
the battle on a hill top
overlooking Bull Run
3. Southern troops led by
General Thomas
“Stonewall” Jackson held
their ground. In the end,
the Union troops
retreated.
a. “Off they went…across fields, toward the woods,
anywhere, everywhere to escape. The farther they
ran the more frightened they grew…To enable
them better to run, they threw away their blankets,
knapsacks, canteens, and finally muskets,
cartridge-boxes, and everything else.”
C. The Confederates did not
press their advantage by
pursuing the fleeing
Union army.
1. They might have captured
Washington D.C.
D. Showed both sides
needed training.
III. The Union Blockade
A.
B.
The trade in southern
ports dropped by more
than 90%.
One method of breaking
the blockade was to try
the ironclad ships.
IV. Battle of the Ironclads
A. Confederates covered an
abandoned Union ship
named the Merrimac.
They covered it with iron
plates four inches thick
and renamed it the
Virginia.
On March 8, 1862, the
Virginia sank one ship,
ran another aground, and
forced a third to
surrender,
B. The Union countered
with the Monitor, which
had less firepower but
moved more swiftly.
1.
C. When they fought each
other, neither seriously
damaged the other.
D. Ironclad ships changed
naval warfare, and both
sides rushed to build more
of them.
E. The Union blockade held
throughout the war.
V. Lee Takes the Offensive
September 1862,
General Lee went on the
offensive and moved his
troops north into
Maryland.
1. Lee believed a southern
victory on northern soil
would be a great blow to
northern morale.
A.
2. Lee’s messenger lost his
battle plans and the North
found them.
Battle of Antietam
B. General McClellan,
commander of the Union
army, moved slowly and
finally attacked Lee on
September 17th. 24,000
Union and Confederate
soldiers were killed or
wounded.
C. Lee ordered his troops
back into Virginia.
D. North claimed victory.
Bloodiest single day in
American History with
23,000 casualties.
VI. Winning the Mississippi
The Northern war plan
called for winning
control of the
Mississippi River.
1. General Ulysses S. Grant
moved toward that goal.
A.
B. Battle of Shiloh
1.
2.
Shiloh is located where
the Tennessee River
empties into the
Mississippi River.
April 6, 1862: Grant
wins the battle and the
North gained control of
the northern Mississippi.
3. More Americans died in
one day at Shiloh than in
the American Revolution,
the War of 1812, and the
Mexican War combined.
C. The Fall of Vicksburg
1.
2.
By 1862, the Union
controlled New Orleans
and Memphis. This
meant they controlled
both ends of the
Mississippi River.
Vicksburg was still held
by the Confederates, and
they could shell boats
traveling between
Memphis and New
Orleans.
3. July 4, 1863 (Same day as
Gettysburg), Vicksburg
surrendered to Grant.
D. The Union had achieved two
of its military goals. First, its
blockade had cut off the
South’s trade with Europe.
Second, by taking control of
the Mississippi, the Union had
split the Confederacy in two.