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Civil War Notes
4.24.12
Main 2 reasons for the Civil War is
a. Slavery
b. States Rights
Union- Abe Lincoln
Confederates- Jefferson Davis
Union Generals- Ulysses S. Grant
William Tecumseh Sherman
Confederate Generals- Robert E. Lee
Stonewall Jackson
Strategies for Victory
Union Plans
a. Blockade the South with the Navy
b. Seize Richmond, VA the Confederate
Capitol
c. Seize control of the Mississippi River
Confederate Plans
a. Fight a defensive war in the North
b. Wear down the North’s armies
c. Used money and aide from Europe
Battle of Bull Run
Star of the Battle- Stonewall Jackson
Biggest Moment- the Union soldiers ran off
Turning Point- Stonewall Jackson and his
army from Virginia stood their
ground and fought
Who won? The Confederates
The South took over a Union battleship and put
iron all over the ship and renamed it The
Virginia. This ship was able to destroy many
Union battleships. The boat became known as
an Ironclad ship.
The North created an ironclad ship and called it
the Monitor.
Battle of Antietam
- Neither side won the battle of
Antietam.
- McClellan (Union) was relieved of his
duties by President Lincoln b/c he
didn’t continue to fight on
- Union Soldiers found Lee’s battle
plans
- 23,000 Union and Confederates were
killed or wounded
Battle of Fredericksburg
- Robert E. Lee led the Confederates to
victory
Battle of Chancellorsville
- Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson
was able to easily defeat the Union in
3 days
- Stonewall Jackson was shot by his
own people and he later died.
Battle of Shiloh
- Ulysses S. Grant led the Union troops
to victory over the Confederates
- It was the bloodiest battle of the Civil
War
Star- Ulysses S. Grant
Turning Point- Was when Grant would
not quit and re-enforcements came to
help
Biggest Moment- Union had its first
victory over the Confederates and was
able to move to gain control of the MS
River
The Union was able to gain control of Memphis,
Tn and New Orleans, LA which gave them
control of the MS River
Lincoln’s Goal
- To keep the United States together
Emancipation Proclamation
- Freed all slaves in areas that were
captured by Union.
- This was enacted by President
Abraham Lincoln.
- No slaves actually gained their
freedom until after the Civil Warm
African American Contributions
- Black troops got half the pay of white
soldiers
- They served in all black units
- They performed non-combat jobs
- Eventually they got equal pay from
the War Department
- Eventually they would find their way
to the battlefields to fight
54th Massachusetts Regiments fought with
African American Soldiers and were successful
in battles
Sergeant William Carney won the first Medal of
Honor for African Americans
¼ of the slave population in the South had
escaped to FREEDOM!!!
The Hard Life of Soldiers
- Most soldiers were under the age of
21
- They slept on the ground in the rain
and snow
- The South drafted boys from age 1750
- New technologies such as cone shaped
bullets and larger cannons were taking
shape
- Most emergency hospitals were
created on the battlefield and many
soldiers limbs were amputated and
most soldiers died from disease and
infections
Robert E. Lee (Confederate General)
commanded the army of Northern Virginia
Ulysses S. Grant (Union General) commanded
the army of the Potomac
William Tecumseh Sherman (Union General)
invaded Atlanta, Georgia and burned the entire
city to the ground. The reason he burned the one
of the largest cities in the south was b/c he
wanted to break the South’s spirit.
After he burned down Atlanta he moved across
the whole state of Georgia burning a path 300
miles long from Atlanta to Savannah, GA.
“Sherman’s March to the Sea.”
This march killed the South’s spirit to wage war.
During the time of the Civil War each state in
the South printed its own money.
Ulysses S. Grant (Union) moved his army from
Shiloh to Corinth, MS chasing Confederate
Soldiers.
Grant took his army to Jackson, MS and
defeated Confederate forces on his way to
Vicksburg, MS.
The Fall of Vicksburg
- The Siege of Vicksburg began in 1863
and many citizens of the town dug
into caves in the sides of hills to avoid
Union Cannon fire.
- The Union surrounded the town and
did not let anyone in or out of the
town. That meant no supplies for the
citizens.
- Many of the citizens ate rats, squirrels,
and other rodents b/c no supplies were
allowed into the town by the Union.
- The Union starved out the town until
it surrendered on July 4, 1863. To this
day the city of Vicksburg does not
celebrate July 4th.
- This was a major victory for the
Union b/c they now controlled the MS
River from top to bottom.
Battle of Gettysburg
- Robert E. Lee took his army north to
Pennsylvania and he was met by
General Meade (Union) at a town
called Gettysburg.
- The battle went back and forth
between the two sides until Lee and
the army of Northern Virginia made a
mistake.
- Lee sent General Pickett
(Confederate) to charge the Union
Lines and his entire group of soldiers
were killed. This charge is know as
“Pickett’s last Charge”
- This charge created a hole in the
Confederate lines and the Union
pushed forward and many
Confederate Soldiers retreated.
- The Union won the Battle of
Gettysburg and the Confederates that
were left retreated back into Virginia
with Robert E. Lee.
In 1864 Abraham Lincoln is re-elected which
causes more tension in the US
In May of 1864 Grant and his army had began a
drive to the capitol of the Confederacy in
Richmond, VA
In the meanwhile Lee was able to get victories at
Spotsylvania, the Wilderness of Virginia, and
Cold Harbor. About 60,000 Union soldiers were
killed or wounded.
At the Battle of Petersburg General Lee and
General Grant’s army met on the battlefield.
The Union would claim victory as the
Confederates re-treated.
Lee and his army surrendered to Grant at
Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865
Lee wore a formal dress uniform while Grant
had a dingy old uniform.
Conditions of the Surrender
a. Confederate soldiers had to give up their
guns
b. Soldiers with horses could keep them
c. Each officer was allowed to go home
with no bother from US authorities
d. Confederate soldiers were given food