Download File - Ms. Albu`s Class Site

DOC #1 The Early Battles of the War – The Eastern “Theatre”
By the 1850s, the gradual shift in the balance of political power toward the more populous North,
coupled with the growth of the new anti-slavery Republican Party, had made slaveholders and
Southern politicians fear for their place within the Union and for the future of slavery. Positions
hardened as Republicans asserted the sanctity of majority rule, slaveholders perceived a growing threat
to their way of life, and abolitionists—both black and white—sought to end slavery. Abraham
Lincoln's election to the Presidency in 1860 on a platform of preventing the extension of slavery to the
territories propelled the states of the Deep South to secede from the Union and to form a new
confederacy for the defense of slavery. The Confederate shelling of Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on
April 12, 1861, prompted Lincoln to call for 75,000 volunteers from the states to put down the
"rebellion" and preserve the Union by force. Slave states that had refused to secede over slavery—
Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas—realized that they could not avoid entering the
war. Compelled to choose sides, they joined the Confederacy. The line was now firmly drawn between
those who would save the Union and those who would leave it.
At the beginning of the war, Northern goals were to suppress the insurrection and reclaim Southern
loyalty to the Union, not to conquer the vast territory of the South militarily. Gen. Winfield Scott's
"Anaconda Plan" eschewed a war of conquest for a war of strangulation: blockade the Southern ports
and secure the Mississippi River in order to suffocate the Southern economy and bring its leaders to
terms. Scott's military strategy conflicted with the politically motivated strategy created by loud public
demands for a quick military victory that would end the war. This political strategy prevailed at first,
amid cries of "On to Richmond!"
However, the Union defeat at First Manassas showed that the Confederates could not be speedily
crushed and that it would be costly to to defeat them. Scott's Anaconda Plan gained more credence.
The Manassas debacle demoralized the Union army temporarily and roused suspicion that it could not
win in Virginia, which was an attitude that would affect its confidence for the rest of the war. Northern
resolve to see the war through to the end, however, stifled after the rout at Manassas.
For the Confederates, First Manassas gave tangible form to the fight for a Confederate nation and
raised hope for European recognition, in addition to proving that Union invasion could be repelled.
With the beginning of the war still fresh in their minds, and expectations that fighting would be intense
but short, Union troops were eager for action. Cries of “On to Richmond” echoed across the hills
surrounding Washington as the troops advanced on Confederate forces near Bull Run, approximately
30 miles southwest of the northern capital. President Lincoln believed an attack on a smaller
Confederate unit would boost morale and clear a path to Richmond, where he hoped to capture the
Confederate capital. A quick end to the war would save the Union and avoid severe damage to the
economy. The inexperienced Union troops, however, encountered determined Confederate soldiers
who refused to give up their ground. On July 21, 1861, a Virginia brigade led by Thomas J. Jackson
blocked the Yankee advance like a stone wall. Jackson became a southern war hero and the nickname
“Stonewall” Jackson stuck. The counterattack by the Southerners effectively pushed back the Union
troops. Many Yankee soldiers even dropped their guns and supplies in their hasty retreat.
The impressive win at Bull Run greatly boosted the Confederates soldiers’ confidence—and egos.
Southerners bragged about their victory and believed they had proven their military superiority. A
feeling of pride swept through the south and many thought the war was over. Southern enlistment
numbers dropped sharply, and plans to advance through northern territory to capture Washington were
slow to materialize. Although the victory over the Union army at Bull Run was a mighty success, it
would later be discovered that it actually harmed the cause of the Confederacy. The humbling defeat at
Bull Run required the Union army to regroup. The Yankees made plans for a longer and more difficult
struggle. Congress authorized the enlistment of 500,000 troops. This time, however, they were signed
to three year agreements to make sure there was enough manpower to survive an extended war.
In late 1861, Lincoln appointed General George McClellan to lead a major Union force called the
Army of the Potomac. Lincoln believed that McClellan, a well-liked and passionate leader, would be
able to drill the Union troops into battle-ready shape. McClellan worked on raising the morale of his
troops and preparing them for war. But the red-haired general was overly cautious and believed that
the Confederate army heavily outnumbered him. He expanded the training for the Yankee troops for
several more months. The Union army’s inactivity worried Lincoln. The Commander-in-Chief wanted
to engage the enemy and move ahead with his plans to capture Richmond and divide the Confederacy
by marching through Georgia and the Carolinas.
Lincoln finally ordered McClellan to advance. The general formulated a plan to bypass the difficult
terrain of Virginia and use a water route to approach Richmond. The capital city rested on the western
portion of a narrow peninsula formed by the James and York Rivers. The Peninsula Campaign called
for McClellan and about 100,000 troops to slowly work their way up the James River toward
Richmond. In the spring of 1862, as the Union soldiers moved along the eastern coastline toward the
peninsula, fighting in the area moved to the water. The USS Monitor and the Confederate Merrimack
participated in history’s first fight between armored ships. The powerful ironclads battled to a
standstill when the Merrimack began taking on water and returned to Norfolk.
The Union’s naval technology and perseverance secured the waterway for the North and helped the
Yankees capture Yorktown. McClellan proceeded up the river where he was scheduled to meet up
with reinforcements before attacking the capital. Lincoln, however, diverted the reinforcements to
attack Stonewall Jackson’s regiment that was raising havoc in the Shenandoah Valley and threatening
the security of Washington, D.C.
With the unexpected change in plans, McClellan’s group stalled near Richmond. The delay gave
Robert E. Lee time to launch an attack on the Union troops. The Seven Days’ battles took place
between June 26 and July 2, 1862 and eventually forced McClellan back to the coast. More than
10,000 Union soldiers died and nearly 20,000 Southerners lost their lives in the week-long fighting.
Once again, the Confederacy pinned an embarrassing loss on the North and forced Union leaders to reevaluate their plans.
Lincoln grew tired of McClellan’s leisurely pace and intense focus on capturing Richmond without
demolishing the army protecting it. The president realized that to win the war, enemy forces had to be
dismantled. McClellan’s vision of war as a chess game featuring more strategy than fighting, did not
appeal to Lincoln or Congress. Consequently, the president relieved the general of his authority and
placed him under General Henry Halleck.
Many historians believe that if McClellan had not surrendered his position outside Richmond and had
captured the city when he had the chance, the war might have ended, the Union might have been
saved, and slavery might have remained as it was before fighting began. Up to that point, Northerners
were still fighting to save the Union, not to eliminate slavery. However, by losing another battle to the
South, the war was prolonged. Lincoln, who was determined to make the Confederacy pay for the
damage it had caused to the Union, focused more attention on freeing the slaves and began work on
the Emancipation Proclamation. This was issued after the Battle at Antietam.
DOC #2: Turning Points:
Key Battles 1863: Antietam, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Sherman’s March to the Sea (Georgia)
Battle of Antietam: In 1861, General McClellan was temporarily fired by Lincoln due to a lack of
success near Richmond Virginia. Now in charge of Union troops in Virginia, General Halleck decided
to pull back his forces. Robert E. Lee took advantage of the Yankee regrouping to quickly advance his
men north. The group overpowered General John Pope’s regiment and forced them to retreat from
Bull Run, the same site where 13 months earlier Union forces suffered their first Civil War defeat.
Reeling from the incompetence of his military leaders, Lincoln again turned to McClellan to get the
Union army back on track. As Lee boldly moved his Confederate forces northward, McClellan gained
information from captured Confederate communications that provided details of Lee’s position. In the
fall of 1862, McClellan revised his strategy and eventually cornered Lee and approximately 40,000
Confederate troops between the Potomac and Antietam Creek. McClellan maneuvered his men to end
the battle and capture Lee. He still had reserves available and Union troops arrived by the hour to lend
their support. But darkness fell and McClellan held his positions. When morning broke, Lee
anticipated an aggressive attack from the Northerners but none ever came. An entire day passed and
McClellan still refused to order his men to advance on the trapped Southerners. As night fell, the
Confederate soldiers scampered across the Potomac and back into Virginia.
McClellan had successfully prevented the Confederates from carrying out their mission, but again the
general failed to claim a victory on the battlefield. And, even worse, he allowed Lee to escape to
rebuild his army for another day. Lincoln angrily dismissed McClellan from his command for a second
and final time. Although he was furious that the Union army did not destroy the Confederate
regiments, Lincoln played up the fact that the Southerners were forced to retreat. He took the
opportunity to announce to the public the Emancipation Proclamation.
Southern forces continued to tally victories. But during a battle at Chancellorsville, Virginia, in 1863,
the Confederate army suffered a severe blow—Stonewall Jackson was mistakenly shot by his own
men when he returned from a reconnaissance mission. The loss of Jackson’s exceptional leadership
and battlefield experience forced the Confederate army to re-evaluate its strategy.
Battle of Gettysburg: After Antietam, Lincoln appointed a series of generals to lead the Army of the
Potomac, and each commander was just as successful in failure as his predecessor. In late June, 1863,
General George Meade was handed the reins of the army. He and Lee were friends and served together
during the Mexican War. When Lee heard of Meade’s promotion, he knew he was up against a
formidable opponent. Meade took command of nearly 100,000 men at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
where the soldiers were battling 76,000 Confederate troops. For three days, between July 1 and July 3,
momentum shifted from the South to the North and back to the South.
On July 3, when Union guns went silent and Confederate soldiers thought they had the upper hand,
Southern General George Pickett led a charge against Union lines. However, as the Confederates
marched closer and closer, Union forces sprang back to life and annihilated the advancing divisions.
The Union suffered more than 23,000 casualties, the South 28,000. The Battle of Gettysburg became
the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. Later that year on a cold autumn day, President Lincoln visited
the site where so many men lost their lives. He was scheduled to dedicate the cemetery and offer a
short speech. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was quickly branded as “ludicrous” and “silly” by critics,
but it would become one of the most famous speeches ever spoken. (On Back)
In battles taking place in the west, Lincoln finally found a general he could rely on. General Ulysses S.
Grant was a hard drinking West Point graduate who was commonly stationed at remote frontier posts.
Grant’s first success in the Civil War happened in February, 1862, when he led the capture of Fort
Henry and Fort Donaldson on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers.
Battle of Vicksburg: After northern forces seized New Orleans, Grant led his army to attack
Vicksburg, Mississippi. The Confederacy used an area between Vicksburg and Port Hudson, Louisiana
to transport cattle and other supplies from the west to southern cities. After intense fighting, Grant
seized Vicksburg on July 4, 1863. Less than a week later, he dealt the Confederates a significant blow
with the capture of Port Hudson. Grant’s victories coupled with the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg
shifted the tide of momentum in the Union’s favor. The change of events forced England and France
to cancel major contracts to supply weapons and ships to the South.
March to the Sea, Georgia: By the summer of 1864, the North had General Lee on the ropes several
times but they could never deliver the knockout punch. As Union forces continued to chase Lee and
his company throughout the Upper South, General William Tecumseh Sherman marched his troops
through Georgia to the sea. In his wake he left Confederate cities and towns in ruins so Southerners
would not have anything left to use against the Union troops. Sherman burned down everything in
sight, farms, homes, plantations, businesses, etc. This was known as ‘total war.’
Sherman told Grant that if a regiment of Northern soldiers could march through the south,
Confederates would realize that the Union could do whatever it wanted. Sherman’s march marked the
beginning of the end for the Confederacy. The South’s resistance began to weaken as Confederate
soldiers grew weary of being outnumbered. On December 22, 1864, Sherman captured Savannah,
Georgia, and in February overpowered southern troops in Columbia, South Carolina.
Southern forces continued to deteriorate as Union troops conquered more Confederate cities. Then, on
April 3, 1865, Grant ordered more than 100,000 troops to surrounded Lee and his 30,000 men outside
Richmond. The decorated Confederate leader realized the end was near and resistance was futile. On
April 9, 1865, Lee and Grant met at Appomattox Court House to agree to the terms of surrender. Per
Lincoln’s orders, the Union’s only requirement was to have the Confederate soldiers lay down their
arms.
After fours years of fighting and 600,000 soldiers killed—totaling nearly as many lives lost than all
American wars combined—the Civil War finally ended. One out of every four Confederate soldiers
died or suffered debilitating injuries while one in ten Union troops lost their lives. The year following
the surrender, Mississippi allocated one-fifth of its budget to buy artificial limbs for its veterans. The
South, which lost one-fourth of its white male population between the ages of 20 and 40, vowed to
rebuild its land and remember its heroes.
DOC #3 African American Soldiers
"Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button,
and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pockets, and there is no power on earth which can
deny that he has earned the right to citizenship in the United States." Frederick Douglass
These words spoken by Frederick Douglass moved many African-Americans to enlist in the Union
Army and fight for their freedom. With President Abraham Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation
Proclamation in 1862, the Civil War became a war to save the union and to abolish slavery.
Approximately 180,000 African-Americans comprising 163 units served in the Union Army during the
Civil War, and many more African-Americans served in the Union Navy. Both free AfricansAmericans and runaway slaves joined the fight.
On July 17, 1862, Congress passed two acts allowing the enlistment of African-Americans, but official
enrollment occurred only after the September, 1862 issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. In
general, white soldiers and officers believed that black men lacked the courage to fight and fight well.
In October, 1862, African-American soldiers of the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteers silenced their
critics by repulsing attacking Confederates at the battle of Island Mound, Missouri. By August, 1863,
14 Negro Regiments were in the field and ready for service. At the battle of Port Hudson, Louisiana,
May 27, 1863, the African-American soldiers bravely advanced over open ground in the face of deadly
artillery fire. Although the attack failed, the black solders proved their capability to withstand the heat
of battle.
On July 17, 1863, at Honey Springs, Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, the 1st Kansas Colored fought
with courage again. Union troops under General James Blunt ran into a strong Confederate force under
General Douglas Cooper. After a two-hour bloody engagement, Cooper's soldiers retreated. The 1st
Kansas, which had held the center of the Union line, advanced to within fifty paces of the Confederate
line and exchanged fire for some twenty minutes until the Confederates broke and ran. General Blunt
wrote after the battle, "I never saw such fighting as was done by the Negro regiment....The question
that negroes will fight is settled; besides they make better solders in every respect than any troops I
have ever had under my command."
The most widely known battle fought by African-Americans was the assault on Fort Wagner, South
Carolina, by the 54th Massachusetts on July 18, 1863. The 54th volunteered to lead the assault on the
strongly-fortified Confederate positions. The soldiers of the 54th scaled the fort's parapet, and were
only driven back after brutal hand-to-hand combat.
Although black soldiers proved themselves as reputable soldiers, discrimination in pay and other areas
remained widespread. According to the Militia Act of 1862, soldiers of African descent were to
receive $10.00 a month, plus a clothing allowance of $3.50. Many regiments struggled for equal pay,
some refusing any money until June 15, 1864, when Congress granted equal pay for all black soldiers.
African-American soldiers participated in every major campaign of 1864-1865 except Sherman's
invasion of Georgia. The year 1864 was especially eventful for African-American troops. On April 12,
1864, at Fort Pillow, Tennessee, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest led his 2,500 men
against the Union-held fortification, occupied by 292 black and 285 white soldiers. After driving in the
Union pickets and giving the garrison an opportunity to surrender, Forrest's men swarmed into the fort
with little difficulty and drove the Federals down the river's bluff into a deadly crossfire. Casualties
were high and only sixty-two of the U.S. Colored Troops survived the fight. Many accused the
Confederates of perpetuating a massacre of black troops, and the controversy continues today. The
battle cry for the Negro soldier east of the Mississippi River became "Remember Fort Pillow!"
The Battle of New Market Heights, Virginia (Chaffin's Farm) became one of the most heroic
engagements involving African-Americans. On September 29, 1864, the African-American division of
the Eighteenth Corps, after being pinned down by Confederate artillery fire for about 30 minutes,
charged the earthworks and rushed up the slopes of the heights. During the hour-long engagement the
division suffered tremendous casualties. Of the sixteen African-Americans who were awarded the
Medal of Honor during the Civil War, fourteen received the honor as a result of their actions at New
Market Heights.
In January, 1864, General Patrick Cleburne and several other Confederate officers in the Army of the
Tennessee proposed using slaves as soldiers since the Union was using black troops. Cleburne
recommended offering slaves their freedom if they fought and survived. Confederate President
Jefferson Davis refused to consider Cleburne's proposal and forbade further discussion of the idea. The
concept, however, did not die. By the fall of 1864, the South was losing more and more ground, and
some believed that only by arming the slaves could defeat be averted. On March 13, the Confederate
Congress passed General Order 14, and President Davis signed the order into law. The order was
issued March 23, 1865, but only a few African-American companies were raised, and the war ended
before they could be used in battle.
In actual numbers, African-American soldiers comprised 10% of the entire Union Army. Losses
among African-Americans were high, and from all reported casualties, approximately one-third of all
African-Americans enrolled in the military lost their lives during the Civil War.
DOC #4 - The Economy During the Civil War And Women
The Civil War affected northern and southern economies differently. When the war began, the north,
with its large factories and well-established companies, generated a great deal of the country’s
business. After the first volleys of battle, the north experienced a slight depression due to the
uncertainty of the war and the loss of southern business associations. However, after the initial shock
passed, the northern economy flourished. The federal government moved quickly to plan for its
financial future. Congress increased excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol, tariffs were created to protect
manufactures from foreign competition, and an income tax was introduced for the first time in the
history of the nation.
Congress also passed a series of measures that were long desired by the north but consistently killed
by southern opposition. In 1862, the Homestead Act provided 160 acres to settlers who agreed to farm
the land for five years. Also passed was the Morrill Land Grant Act which offered states land,
approximately 30,000 acres for each Congressman, to support agricultural colleges. In 1863, the
National Banking Act was authorized by Congress to stimulate the sale of government bonds and to
establish a uniform currency. Banks that joined the National Banking System could issue reliable
paper money and buy government bonds. The system functioned until 1913 when it was replaced by
the Federal Reserve System.
As Northerners prospered, Southerners experienced an abundance of financial difficulties. The
blockades ordered by Lincoln cut off money generated from the import and export goods. Since the
South relied heavily on revenue from the sale of cotton and tobacco, the backbone of their financial
system collapsed. In many instances, Southerners were forced to recycle goods because they had no
way to receive new products. For example, as the condition of railroad tracks declined, Southerners
were forced to pull rails from one line to repair another. Metal items, like the weights from windows,
were melted down to create bullets for the troops.
The harsh times did not deter citizens from trying to improve the conditions. When hundreds of
thousands of men were called to duty, women in the north and south stepped up to take their places in
the farms and factories. Many women also trained as nurses to tend to the growing number of injured
soldiers.
The huge armies created a massive demand for clothing, shoes, and blankets. Companies raced to keep
up with production orders and turned to machines to lend support. Since most of the manufacturing
industry was located in the north, and tight blockades choked Southern trade, Yankee businessmen
grew wealthy while Confederate farmers grew hungry. With each passing day, the war slowly
squeezed the life from the once proud southern states. Even though women weren’t legally allowed to
fight in the Civil War, it is estimated that somewhere around 400 women disguised themselves as men
and went to war, sometimes without anyone ever discovering their true identities. Bonnie Tsui is the
author of She Went to the Field: Women Soldiers in the Civil War, which tells the stories of some of
these women. I spoke with the San Francisco-based writer about her research into the seldomacknowledged participation of women in the Civil War.
How did Women join the Civil War?
Honestly, the lore is that the physical exams were not rigorous at all. If you had enough teeth in your
head and could hold a musket, you were fine. The funny thing is, in this scenario, a lot of women
didn’t seem any less manly than, for example, the teenage boys who were enlisting. At the time, I
believe the Union had an official cutoff age of 18 for soldiers, but that was often flouted and people
often lied. They had a lot of young guys and their voices hadn’t changed and their faces were smooth.
The Confederacy never actually established an age requirement. So [women] bound their breasts if
they had to, and just kind of layered on clothes, wore loose clothing, cut their hair short and rubbed
dirt on their faces. They also kind of kept to themselves. The evidence that survived often describes
them as aloof. Keeping to themselves certainly helped maintain the secret.
When the women were found out, did it provoke an uproar?
Even in the cases where these women were found out as soldiers, there does not actually seem to be
much uproar. More or less, they were just sent home. The situations in which they were found out
were often medical conditions; they were injured, or they got sick from dysentery or chronic diarrhea.
Disease killed many more soldiers than bullets did. You’re sitting in camps among all these people
who are in close quarters. There wasn’t a lot of knowledge then about bacterial infection and
particularly in close quarters there wasn’t much chance to prevent it.
What was the motivation on the part of the women you studied? Did it seem pretty much the
same as the men?
It absolutely did. I think by all accounts, the women seemed honestly to want to fight in the war for the
same reasons as men, so that would range from patriotism, to supporting their respective causes, for
adventure, to be able to leave home, and to earn money. Some of the personal writings that survive
show that they were also running away from family lives that were really unsatisfying. You can
imagine that perhaps they felt trapped at home or weren’t able to marry and felt that they were
financial burdens to their families. If you profile the substantiated cases of these women, they were
young and often poor and from farming families, and that is the exact profile of the typical male
volunteer. If you think about that, girls growing up on a farm would have been accustomed to physical
labor. Maybe they even would have worn boys’ clothing to do farm chores. But then there are also
some cases in which women follow their husbands or a brother into battle, and so there are at least a
couple of those cases in which female soldiers were on record of enlisting with their relative.
What duties did the women perform?
They did everything that men did. They worked as scouts, spies, prison guards, cooks, nurses and they
fought in combat. One of the best-documented female soldiers is Sarah Edmonds—her alias was Frank
Thompson. She was a Union soldier, and she worked for a long time during the war as a nurse. You
often can’t really draw a delineation between “civilian workers” and battle, because these people had
to be in battle, tending to soldiers. They were often on the field or nearby trying to get to the wounded,
so you could argue that it was just as dangerous for them to work as nurses as to be actively shooting
and emptying gunfire.
What is another one of your favorite stories from your research?
One of my favorite stories of the Civil War era is of Jennie Hodgers, and she fought as Albert Cashier.
She enlisted in Illinois and she fought the entire Civil War without being discovered and ended up
living out the rest of her life as a man for another fifty years. She even ended up receiving a military
pension and living at the sailors’ and soldiers’ home in Illinois as a veteran. The staff at the home kept
her secret for quite sometime, even after they discovered that she was a woman. Even though it seems
pretty outstanding that women were disguising themselves as men and going off to fight, it seems like
actually they were accepted amongst their peers. This kind of loyalty to your fellow soldier in battle
did in certain cases transcend gender. It’s pretty amazing; there was a lot of respect.
African Americans in the war:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8-GzX4Jz_w
women in the civil war:
the civil war: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RySHZ1s05D0