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The Civil War Begins
I. The Civil War began on April 12th, 1861. The North fought to preserve
the Union while the South fought for its independence.
II. The war cost more American lives than any other war in history.
A. Civil War - 620,000 (420 per day for 4 years)
B. WWII
- 292,000
/ 15 million total
C. WWI
- 126,000
/ 8 ½ million total
D. Vietnam
- 55,000
E. Korea
- 33,000
F. Iraq
- 1,000 as of 9/04
III. The Confederate States of America consisted of 11 states with their own
constitution. Their constitution was very similar to the U.S. Constitution
with just a few exceptions:
A. Congress could not interfere with slavery
B. No tariffs on imports
C. No government money for transportation
development
D. President could serve 1 – 6 year term
E. States were supreme (confederacy)
Jefferson Davis
IV. Jefferson Davis was the President of the Confederate States of America.
The capital was in Richmond, VA.
Battles
1. Fort Sumter: First Battle of the Civil War

After the first Southern states had seceded,
they began seizing federal forts inside their
borders. Ft. Sumter was on a small island at
the mouth of the Charleston River. The
confederates ordered the Union soldiers at the
fort to surrender. When they refused the
Confederates attacked the fort easily taking it
over.
South
Carolina
2. Bull Run 1861: First Large Fight

In the first large battle of the war the
Confederates defeated a largely untrained Union army just west of
Washington D.C. .
 Both sides need more training
 The war was not going to be short or painless
3. Antietam 1862

Robert E. Lee takes the offensive by
marching into Maryland. The Union
counter attacked meeting the Confederates
in Antietam, Maryland. In a daylong battle
over 24,000 Union and Confederate
soldiers were killed or wounded. Lee’s
troops slipped back into Virginia by night.
Neither side won the battle.
4. Emancipation Proclamation 1862

Lincoln decided to free all of the slaves in the
Confederates States. This did not include the four slave
states that were loyal to the Union. The Proclamation
stated that all the slaves that were living in states that were
currently rebelling were free. Once the Union Army
conquered these states the slaves were set free.
 Emancipate: to free
 The Proclamation helped America gain support
from Europe and Free African Americans
 African Americans were allowed to join the
military
5. Shiloh

General Ulysses S. Grant was sent to take control of the
Mississippi River. They were on their way to the place
where the Tennesse River meets the Mississippi when
they were attacked by the Confederates at Shiloh,
Tennessee. Grant was able to gain a victory over the
Confederates.
 Massive Casualties: more men die in one day at Shiloh then in the
whole Revolutionary War.
 Grant eventually gains control of the Mississippi River blocking
Confederate supply boats.
6. Vicksburg

Grant attacks the fort that controlled the Mississippi River between New
Orleans and Memphis. It took six weeks to get the soldiers at Vicksburg to
surrender.
 Divide and Conquer: The Union was able to split the Confederacy
in half.
7. Gettysburg
8. The Wilderness
9. Appomattox Court House: Robert E. Lee Surrenders for the Confederacy