Download chapter sixteen the civil war, 1861–1865

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
THE CIVIL WAR, 1861–1865
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
This chapter covers that deadliest challenge to community and identity, a civil war. Both sides
began the war underestimating its seriousness, scope, and duration. Northern generals such as
Grant and Sherman recognized the advent of a more modern warfare and fought accordingly.
The entire American community went to war, except ironically, the southern planter elite. As
American men and women served in the military or in many community-support organizations or fled to the Union lines, their lives were changed. The North’s advantage of population
and industry made it only a matter of time before they achieved victory. Lincoln prepared a
generous reconstruction plan that he hoped would rebuild a sense of union and loyalty. Lee’s
surrender in April of 1865 was marred by the assassination of Lincoln later that same month.
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
After reading the chapter and applying the study methods recommended, students should be
able to:
1. Describe how each community, North and South, connected to their boys at war including
a comparison of the two communities.
2. Outline the immediate outbreak of the war from Ft. Sumter to Bull Run including war
expectations and relative strengths of both sides.
3. Summarize the actions of Lincoln and the Republican leaders in conducting and financing
the war.
4. Summarize the actions of Davis and the various Confederate leaders in conducting the
war including the issue of a southern nationalism.
5. Discuss the major strategies, battles, and outcomes for both North and South from 1862 to
1865.
6. Explain what the war and various acts and amendments meant for black Americans.
7. Making Connections: (Chapters Eleven, Fifteen and Sixteen). Describe the difficulties the
South had combining the state’s rights view, their societal structure and antagonism to the
North into a coherent southern nationalism.
CRITICAL THINKING/READING SKILLS
AMERICAN COMMUNITIES: Mother Bickerdyke Connects Northern Communities to their
Boys at War: What was the problem in the Cairo, Illinois Camp? Who was Mother Bickerdyke
and how did she build community? What lack did her services illustrate in terms of the War
Department? What other roles did she fulfill? How successful was she?
COMMUNITIES MOBILIZE FOR WAR: What similarities were there between the North and
South as they mobilized for war? How were their shortcomings apparent in the early months
of the war?
218
Fort Sumter: The War Begins: Why was Fort Sumter the site of the beginning of the Civil
War? What actions did both the North and South take that brought on the war? Identify:
Ft. Sumter, Charleston, P.G.T. Beauregard, Mary Boykin Chestnut.
The Call to Arms: What type of initial military preparations did each side make and how
realistic were they? What type of relief organizations did each side develop? How was
Chester, PA. an example?
The Border States: What were the border states and what actions did they take after Ft.
Sumter? Why was the northern most tier particularly strategic? What was the situation in
each of these Northern tier states and what actions did Lincoln take in each to ensure it
would stay in the Union? What was the Supreme Court reaction to Lincoln’s actions? How
did this affect the Confederacy?
The Battle of Bull Run: How were the events and outcome of Bull Run sobering and
prophetic? How lethal was the Civil War in comparison to other American Wars?
The Relative Strengths of North and South: What were the strengths of both sides?
Which advantages proved decisive? What parallels to the Revolution did Southerners
expect to see?
THE LINCOLN PRESIDENCY: How did Lincoln see his responsibility as president in relation
to the war?
Lincoln as Party Leader and War President: What problems did Lincoln face with his
Cabinet? What was the issue with Chase and the Radical Republicans? What was Seward’s
reaction? What actions did Lincoln take as president and why were they necessary as far
as Lincoln was concerned? What was the significance of Lincoln as commander in chief
and why did he feel his role was different than during a foreign war? What executive
actions did Lincoln take?
The War Department: How did the War Department deal with the challenge of the war?
Taxes and The Greenback Dollar: What was the origin of the greenback? How did Lincoln
see the job of the president when it came to economic policy? What methods were used by
the Union to finance the war? How did the greenback encourage centralization of the
federal government?
Politics and Economics: The Republican Platform: What programs did the Republicans
enact? What does this reveal about their origins? What effects did these measures have?
Diplomatic Objectives: What were the diplomatic aims of the North and South? Why did
the King Cotton strategy of the South not work out as planned? Why did Lincoln caution
Seward with “one war at a time” relative to the actions of Britain and France?
THE CONFEDERACY: Why was the Confederacy an even greater challenge to Davis than the
Union was to Lincoln? How well did Davis do?
Jefferson Davis as President: What were Davis’s prior experiences and how did he
compare to Lincoln? What structural problems did he face compared to Lincoln’s? How
did Davis’s leadership style compare to Lincoln’s?
Diplomatic Hopes: What diplomatic hopes did not materialize for the South? Why did
“cotton diplomacy” fail?
219
The Sinews of War: How did the C.S.A. fund the war? What failures did they have? How
did their efforts compare to the North? What did the South enact to raise manpower for
the military? How was their substitute/exemption system alike and/or different from the
North’s? Why did it particularly reinforce the phrase of the time, “It’s a rich man’s war but
a poor man’s fight.”
Contradictions of Southern Nationalism: What were the contradictions of southern
nationalism?
THE FIGHTING THROUGH 1862: What were the strategies that governed the moves of the
North and South? How did political considerations affect decisions? What were the significant
victories for North and South through 1862?
The War in Northern Virginia: What was the northern strategy and why was it chosen?
How did it actually work out? What was the southern strategy and how did politics affect
it? What was the result?
Shiloh and the War for the Mississippi: What was the overall significance of the Battle of
Shiloh and the victories on the Mississippi? What Confederate states were cut off?
The War in the TransMississippi West: What was the extent of the war in the West? How
did the Indian Territory become involved? Identify: Henry H. Sibley, Colorado Volunteer
Infantry Regiment, Glorieta Pass, Pea Ridge, Fort Gibson, Mankato, “Long Walk.”
The Naval War: What was the main naval strategy of the North? How successful was it?
What were ironclads and how significant were they to the war’s outcome? What was the
Union’s most successful operation?
The Black Response: What was the black response to the capture of Port Royal in the Sea
Islands? What was Union commander Benjamin Butler’s reply to Southerners citing the
Fugitive Slave Law? What percentage of blacks reached Union lines by the war’s end?
THE DEATH OF SLAVERY: How did the war affect slavery and, Northern policy toward it?
The Politics of Emancipation: What was Lincoln’s policy toward slavery and why did he
change it in the Emancipation Proclamation? What was Horace Greeley’s reaction to the
Proclamation and Lincoln’s famous reply? What did Lincoln expect to happen as a result
of the Proclamation? Why did Lincoln issue it when he did and what did it actually do?
What were the responses of officials like Seward? How did African Americans react? What
was the Thirteenth Amendment and who helped lobby for it?
Black Fighting Men: What was the experience of black volunteers and later of black
soldiers? Where did the African Americans come from that made up the units in the Union
Army? How many were there in total? What kinds of reactions did black troops get from
different groups? How were they treated in the Union Army? What changes occurred in
northern states and major cities?
THE FRONT LINES AND THE HOME FRONT: What was the experience of the ordinary
soldier at the front lines and the type of help from the home front?
The Toll of War: Why was the toll of the Civil War so high? How many deaths were due
to disease?
Army Nurses: How did Army nurses help the war effort? What attitude change was
required? What was the United States Sanitary Commission and how significant was it to
220
the war effort? What policies did the Commission insist on? What types of organizations
were there in the South?
The Life of the Common Soldier: What were experiences common to soldiers on both
sides of the Civil War? What was the desertion rate on both sides? What was the AWOL
problem?
Wartime Politics: How did the Democrats in the North react to the need for unity under
Stephen Douglas’s leadership? How did it change by 1862? What were the views of the
Peace Democrats and Clement Vallandigham. in particular? How did Lincoln respond to
them? What split was there in the Republican Party?
Economic and Social Strains in the North: What were the major economic and social
strains in the North? What areas were prosperous? What was the extent of wartime profiteering? How did the Democratic Party try to take advantage of social tensions over the
substitute provision in the draft law? How many men that were called to serve actually
did? What happened to the rest that were called?
The New York City Draft Riots: What were the causes and extent of the draft riots? Who
was involved in the rioting and what group were they aiming at? What was the result?
The Failure of Southern Nationalism: Why was unity difficult for the South? What draft
exemptions and substitution systems caused problems? What economic and social problems increased as the war went on? What riots broke out in some southern states in 1863?
How was the planter ruling class affected? What was the extent of peace sentiment and
who led the group?
THE TIDE TURNS: What elements of the war changed by 1863? What is the concept of total
war?
The Turning Point of 1863: Why was 1863 a turning point in the war for both North and
South? What was the significance of the Battle of Chancellorsville? What was Lee’s
purpose in moving north into Union territory? What was the result at Gettysburg and why
was it significant as a turning point? How was Pickett’s charge symbolic of the Confederate effort? What happened at Vicksburg and what was its significance?
Grant and Sherman: Why were Grant and Sherman examples of a new type of warfare?
What was Grant’s plan and how was it carried out? What was the most famous example
of the new type of total war?
The 1864 Election: How did the war complicate the presidential election? Who were the
candidates for each party? Why did Lincoln think he was going to be defeated? What
happened to change it? What were the election results in general and specifically among
soldiers? What was significant about the results?
Nearing the End: What was Grant’s strategy? What was happening to Lee on the battlefield and the South at home in 1864 and 1865?
Appomattox: What actions did Grant take at Appomattox? What happened to the Confederate government at Richmond? What was Davis intending to do when he was captured?
Death of a President: Who assassinated Lincoln and why did he do so?
CONCLUSION: How did the war affect postwar society and the unity of America?
221
KEY TERMS/VOCABULARY
Identify the following terms:
1. Edward Beecher
2. Mother Bickerdyke
3. Women’s Central Association of Relief
4. United States Sanitary
Commission
5. Frederick Law Olmsted
6. contrabands
7. Fort Sumter
8. P.G.T. Beauregard
9. Richmond, Virginia
10. border states
11. writ of habeas corpus
12. guerrilla battles
13. John J. Crittenden
14. Battle of Bull Run
15. defensive war
16. Robert E. Lee
17. William Seward
18. Salmon P. Chase
19. Edwin M. Stanton
20. financing the war
21. Jay Cooke
22. Legal Tender Act of 1862
23. National Bank Act
24. Morrill Tariff Act
25. Union Pacific Railroad
Company
26. Central Pacific Railroad
Company
27. Homestead Act
28. Morrill Land Grant Act
29. Department of Agriculture
30. Laird rams
31. Maximilian
32. Benito Juarez
33. “cotton nabob”
34. cotton diplomacy
35. Confederate Congress
draft of 1862
36. Union Congress draft of
1863
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
General Winfield Scott
Anaconda Plan
George B. McClellan
Peninsular Campaign
Seven Days
John Pope
Antietam
Ulysses S. Grant
Albert Sidney Johnston
Shiloh
Vicksburg
David Farragut
Henry H. Sibley
Glorieta Pass
Quantrill’s Raiders
Kit Carson
blockade
Alabama
Merrimac and the Monitor
Port Royal
Benjamin Butler
Contraband Relief
Association
Elizabeth Keckley
William Tecumseh
Sherman
colonization scheme
radical republicans
Horace Greeley
Emancipation Proclamation
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Susan B. Anthony
Thirteenth Amendment
Robert Fitzgerald
Fifth Massachusetts
Cavalry
Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Colored Infantry
Robert Gould Shaw
army segregation
222
73.
74.
75.
76.
77.
78.
79.
80.
81.
82.
83.
84.
85.
86.
87.
88.
89.
90.
91.
92.
93.
94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
99.
100.
101.
102.
103.
104.
105.
106.
107.
108.
109.
110.
War technology
Andersonville
army nurses
Clara Barton
Walt Whitman
War Democrats
Copperheads
Clement Vallandigham
Knights of the Golden
Circle
Sons of Liberty
McCormick reaper
union organizers
substitution
New York Draft Riots
civilian relief program
food riots
Alexander Stephens
Heroes of America
Red Strings
Joseph Hooker
ChancellorsviUe
Thomas Jackson
Gettysburg
Pickett’s Charge
Joe Johnston
New England Freedmen’s Aid Society
Freedmen’s Bureau
Gettysburg Address
John Bell Hood
March to the sea
Special Field Order 15
Election of 1864
Battle of Cold Harbor
Confederate draft
Hampton Roads
Appomattox Court
House
Ford’s Theater
John Wilkes Booth
STUDY SKILLS ACTIVITIES
1. Major Battles of the Civil War Chart: Use the chart on p. 224 as students read Chapter
Sixteen to help students focus on major events of the Civil War. After completing the chart,
have students answer the essay prompt.
a. What were the three major battles that brought about a conclusion to the Civil War?
b. Why did the Union win the Civil War?
2. Make Connections: Have students list the programs enacted by the Republican Party
during the war and review previous chapters that discuss Henry Clay’s American System.
Ask students to find similarities in the programs and connect the information.
3. Cooperative Learning: Divide students into groups of three. Students design a magazine
cover, write the “Table of Contents” page, and write a short “Message From the Publisher”
paragraph. The title is “Man or Woman of the Civil War.” Use issues of Newsweek, Life,
Time, People, and others as models. Make this a timed assignment. Have the next class
judge which magazine cover is the best.
4. Compare and Contrast: Apply the information from the textbook, the graph titled Comparative Resources, North and South, 1861 the map Comparative Transportation Systems, 1860 and
the section in Chapter Sixteen History and the Land. Have students discuss:
“The South never had a chance to win the Civil War.”
To what extent and why do you agree or disagree with the statement?
5. Role Playing: Require students to read from the Documents Set, Chapter Sixteen, from the
diaries and journals of Civil War nurses. Ask students to assume the role of a Civil War
soldier. Write a letter to the nurse and explain his or her significance to the soldier.
6. Writing Skills: Utilize the writing prompt at the end of Chapter Sixteen. NOTE TO
TEACHERS: Basically for this essay the student has to comb the chapter for the advantages and disadvantages that were possessed by both sides in the Civil War. Students may
refer to the graphs, charts, and maps. Southerners were convinced that northern and European dependence upon cotton would bring about economic pressures that would insure
victory in any war against the Union. They also believed that the rich military tradition of
the South was a powerful asset against northern farm and factory boys in uniform. At the
same time the South failed to recognize the economic advantages of the North. Students
need to analyze both sides of this equation and present a strong thesis, which explains
how the various factors operated to create a Union victory. Remind them to continue their
use of substantial amounts of evidence from outside sources and from the documents.
223
Major Battles of the Civil War
Date:
add
month/day
Battles
Ft. Sumter
1861
1st Bull Run
1861
Peninsular Campaign
1862
Pea Ridge
1862
Monitor/Merrimac
1862
Glorieta Pass
1862
Shiloh
1862
New Orleans
1862
Seven Days
1862
Antietam
1862
Fredericksburg
1862
Chancellorsville
1863
Gettysburg
1863
Vicksburg
1863
Chattanooga
1863
Brownsville
1863
Wilderness
1864
Spotsylvania
1864
Cold Harbor
1864
Atlanta
1864
March to Sea
1864
Petersburg
1865
Richmond
1865
Appomattox
1865
Location
224
Generals:
Union/CSA
Outcome
Strategic
and/or
Political
Significance
MAP SKILLS/CRITICAL VIEWING ACTIVITIES
1. Comparative Transportation Systems, 1860
a. What sections of the country had most of the transportation systems?
b. How much more railroad mileage did the North have compared to the South?
2. Major Battles in the East, 1861–1862
a. What were the prizes in Northern Virginia?
b. What had McClellan achieved in the Peninsular Campaign?
c. What Peninsula land area was involved?
3. Major Battles in the West, 1862–1863
a. Why was Cairo, Illinois a major Union staging point and camp?
b. What type of war did Grant wage and which areas did he gain?
c. Why were Forts Donelson and Henry, Shiloh, Memphis and Vicksburg so significant?
d. How well was the “Anaconda” strategy working?
4. The War in the Trans-Mississippi West
a. What was the significance of the Battle of Glorieta Pass?
b. Where was fighting concentrated?
5. The Turning Point, 1863
a. What did Lee hope to accomplish after Chancellorsville?
b. What two victories did the Union gain?
c. What did the Union totally control?
6. Sherman’s Campaign in Georgia, 1864
a. What areas did Grant and Sherman continuously hit?
b. Which city did Sherman capture?
7. The Final Battles in Virginia, 1864–1865
a. What pioneer movement did Sherman and Grant apply in 1865?
b. Which defensive positions of Lee did Grant close in?
c. Where was Appomattox Court House?
8. Major Battles of the Civil War - An outline map is provided for reinforcement.
9. Winslow Homer: Locate the painting by Winslow Homer in Chapter Sixteen.
a. Why did this painting help establish the reputation of Winslow Homer?
b. What appears to be happening in the painting?
c. Compare this painting to the paintings of the American Revolution.
10. Photographic Analysis: Glance through Chapter Sixteen and locate photographs of the Civil
War. This is the first war captured in this manner.
a. Compare the photography by Thomas C. Roche to the painting by Winslow Homer.
b. How did the reality of war affect the public?
c. What questions do the photographs raise in your mind?
d. Compare the photography of the Civil War to the photography of the Korean War or
the War in Vietnam.
11. Enrichment Activity: Several videos are available: Glory, Gettysburg, Gone With the Wind, and
Ken Burns’ Civil War. Ask students to view Glory, Gettysburg, or Gone with the Wind and to
research the historical accuracy of each.
225
READING QUIZ
MULTIPLE CHOICE:
1. Lincoln’s action relative to Fort Sumter in April of 1861 was to
a. send military supplies and naval reinforcements.
b. send a relief force to take in food only.
c. do nothing and see what the South would do.
d. negotiate behind the scenes.
2. Which one of the following is NOT one of the four border slave-holding states that stayed
in the Union?
a. Tennessee
c. Kentucky
b. Maryland
d. Missouri
3. Lincoln defied the decision of the Supreme Court as given by Chief Justice Taney because
he was determined to hold
a. Tennessee.
c. Kentucky.
b. Maryland.
d. Missouri.
4. Which one of the following is NOT a reason that the four border states remaining in the
Union was such a severe blow to the South?
a. They could have added 45 percent more population.
b. 80 percent manufacturing capacity could have been added.
c. They were slave states still in the Union.
d. They grew 50 percent of the cotton.
5. During the war, Lincoln saw his major role as
a. party leader to keep Republicans together.
b. commander in chief to lead and unify the nation.
c. diplomatic negotiations with European powers.
d. directing economic policy to fund the war.
6. Which one of the following was NOT passed by the U.S. Congress during the war?
a. Morrill Tariff Act
c. Wade-Davis Act
b. Legal Tender Act
d. Homestead Act
7. If you were to argue that the South lost the war because of its own shortcomings, which
one of the following would NOT be an effective argument?
a. southern planters’ unwillingness to give up privilege
b. lack of relief organizations at the home front
c. the states’ rights views of the Confederacy
d. resistance of governors to unifying militias
8. Which one of the following was NOT part of the northern strategy, the Anaconda Plan?
a. blockading the South by sea
b. limiting or minimizing casualties
c. invading the South in key states like Virginia
d. taking control of the Mississippi
9. The Battle of Glorieta Pass was significant for keeping this area in the Union:
a. the Far West
c. Kansas and Missouri
b. Indian Territory
d. the Great Plains
226
10. As symbolized by the successes of this Confederate raider, the Union blockade was not
initially successful.
a. Monitor
c. Merrimac
b. Atlanta
d. Alabama
11. The Union act that freed all the slaves was the
a. Emancipation Proclamation.
b. Contraband Confiscation Act
c. Thirteenth Amendment
d. Sherman Decree of Field Order 15.
12. Which one of the following has the LEAST in common with the other three?
a. Milliken’s Bend
c. Fort Pillow
b. Pea Ridge
d. Fort Wagner
13. Which one of the following has the LEAST in common with the other three?
a. Elizabeth Keckley
c. Dorothea Dix
b. Clara Barton
d. Mary Boykin Chestnut
14. Alexander Stephens was to the southern peace faction as this person was to the northern one:
a. Salmon P. Chase
c. Clement Vallandigham
b. William Seward
d. John J. Crittenden
15. Riots in the Confederate states were mainly caused by
a. inequities of the draft and urban tensions.
b. shortages of food and high inflation rates.
c. the draft exemption for wealthy slaveowners.
d. low prices for cotton.
16. The 1864 election was evidence of the support for Lincoln’s policy of
a. a negotiated peace with the South.
b. demanding unconditional surrender for the South.
c. limited warfare and slow methodical blockade.
d. freeing the slaves.
CHRONOLOGY AND MAP QUESTIONS:
17. Which one of the following lists the correct chronological order of events?
(1) Battle of Gettysburg
(3) Atlanta falls
(2) Monitor and Merrimac
(4) Antietam
a. 4,2,1,3
b. 2,4,3,1
c. 2,4,1,3
d. 3,4,1,2
18. Which one of the following did NOT occur in 1861?
a. Fort Sumter falls and war begins.
b. the Homestead Act is passed.
c. The U.S. Sanitary Commission is established.
d. the first Battle of Bull Run is fought.
19. Which one of the following did NOT occur in April of 1865?
a. Lincoln assassinated
c. Lee surrenders
b. Richmond falls
d. Ft. Pillow massacre
227
20. The North had almost this much railroad mileage compared to the South in 1860:
a. three times
c. eight times
b. five times
d. ten times
21. The Peninsular Campaign concentrated on this area:
a. major ports along the Mississippi
b. northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C.
c. Texas
d. Florida, Georgia and Alabama
22. The Battle of Glorieta Pass helped hold the Far West for the Union. This battle took place
in
a. Indian Territory.
c. Texas.
b. California.
d. New Mexico.
SHORT ESSAY:
23.
24.
25.
26.
Why was Fort Sumter important for both the North and the South?
How did the National Bank Act further undermine states’ rights?
Is it reasonable to speak of a southern nationalism?
Why did Lincoln take a relatively soft stance on slavery despite having strong personal
feelings on the matter?
EXTENDED ESSAY:
27. Why is 1863 considered the turning point of the Civil War?
28. What was Lincoln‘s goal in issuing the Emancipation Proclamation?
29. Describe how the power of the federal government was extended throughout the Civil
War.
228