Download War for the Union

War for the Union
The American Civil War
And Reconstruction, 1861-1877
IMMEDIATE CAUSES
• Election of Lincoln– the
slave states would not
accept the Republican
policy of preventing
further expansion of
slavery.
• Slavery – the moral issue
• States rights vs. power of
the federal government
The first States secede
The war begins - the firing on
Fort Sumter
Border States Critical
Missouri, Kentucky, Delaware, Maryland, and the western
part of Virginia all remained in the Union – force was used in
Missouri and Kentucky to prevent secession.
Suppressing Secession in Missouri
Nathaniel Lyon (left) was an
army captain in St. Louis in
1861. Learning that the
governor of Missouri planned to
ask the state legislature to vote
for secession, he mustered
militia troops from St. Louis,
transported them by rail to
Jefferson City, surrounded the
capitol building and refused to
allow the legislature to convene.
The governor and his
supporters fled to Arkansas.
Missouri Was “occupied” for the
rest of the war.
Brother against brother
The civil war in Missouri was
truly a bitter one, with
families divided and murders
often carried out under the
guise of “warfare.” Railroads
vital to Union armies had to
be guarded constantly from
“irregular” guerillas who were
half soldiers, half looters.
One Missouri county –
Callaway – declared itself
“neutral” in the war.
Callaway families disowned
sons who joined to fight.
The Prisoner Issue
A monument in
Palmyra Missouri lists
the names of 10 men
executed by a Union
firing squad. The
issue still causes
divisions among
people in the area.
Because the Confederate states were “in rebellion,” the question arose as
to how prisoners were to be treated – as traitors? When a Missouri
commander executed 10 irregular prisoners (retaliating for attacks on the
trains), the Confederate government threatened to begin executing Union
prisoners. Both governments agreed informally to abide by “prisoner of
war” rules, but this was violated more than once
A continental war
Railroads would play a
critical role in the war – all
supplies to the armies
moved first by rail, then
by wagon, finally on foot
or mule to the troops on
the lines.
Both armies used huge
numbers of troops and
civilian workers (or
slaves) to extend rail lines
as the armies moved
north or south
Disaster at Bull Run
Union over-confidence in victory was shattered in July
1861, when its Army of the Potomac met the Confederates
at Manassas, Virginia – and were soundly beaten. The
Union supply wagons, and some regiments, fled north,
crossing the small stream known as Bull Run in such a
panic that the event was later called “the great skedaddle.”
Better Luck near Columbus KY
Events in MO-KY aided
Lincoln when a small
force under US Grant
fought a rebel force
and began to open the
Mississippi River.
It was the beginning of
Grant’s rise in the new
Union Armies.
Unconditional Surrender
In February 1862, Grant captured Forts Henry and Donelson, in
Tennessee, demanding the “unconditional surrender” of the
Confederate forces – the war was no longer “a lark.”
Imprisonment of “Copperheads”
Lincoln himself stirred controversy when ordered that
prominent pro-South speakers (who urged soldiers to desert
rather than fight) arrested and held without trial. The
Supreme Court later ruled Lincoln’s action a violation of law.
The Republican Economic Program
In order to please the voters of the North, and pay for the war Lincoln’s
government worked with Congress created new laws to stimulate
economic growth:
•A “transcontinental Railroad Act” gave large tracts of land to railroads
for each mile of new track they laid down.
•A Homestead Act gave land to settlers in return for farming and
improving the land.
•A Currency Act issued Federal paper money, backed by gold, while a tax
on other paper money drove it out of existence.
•A higher tariff was placed on imported goods.
•Special grants of land to fund agricultural colleges in the states.
These laws helped businesses in the north grow, and over time helped
create a larger class of factory workers. None of this could have been
passed by Congress had the southern senators and representatives not
withdrawn with their states.
Union Strategy
Having failed to break the rebellion with one decisive battle, the
Union Army employed a complex strategy for victory. The plan
was devised by General Winfield Scott (a hero of the Mexican
War. Known as the Anaconda Plan, because Scott wanted to
“strangle the enemy like a giant snake,” the plan called for:
•Using the navy to blockade the southern coast (cutting off aid).
•Taking control of the Mississippi River by occupying New
Orleans and taking by force key cities along the river.
•Gaining control of Tennessee from which armies could march
south on Alabama and Georgia.
•Controlling the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, to deny the
Confederates the grain there.
•Seizing Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital.
Corruption in the Army
Although confident that their armies
could overwhelm the South, the
Union military was hampered by
lack of experienced generals and by
corruption – newly enrolled
regiments from the various states
were often commanded by
“political” officers who had paid
bribes for their posts.
The Secretary of War, Simon
Cameron (left) disgraced the new
Lincoln government when it was
learned he had given arms-andequipment contracts to his cronies.
Embarrassment in St. Louis
The defeat at Bull Run was followed by uproar in St. Louis when
John Charles Fremont, Union commander of the region (and
Republican presidential candidate in 1856) suspended all
“unfriendly” newspapers, declared martial law, and announced he
would free all the slaves in Missouri. Lincoln ordered Fremont to
withdraw his statement, a move that divided Republicans.
Dissension in the Cabinet
Lincoln’s difficulties continued
when some in his own cabinet
tried to take command of the
government. William Seward, his
secretary of state, suggested that
the nation might re-unite if the
U.S. “found itself” in a war with
Britain or France. Seward also
offered to handle “all the affairs
of government” for Lincoln, an
offer that Abe politely declined.
Seward, Chase, and others
believed that they might be
president in 1864 if defeats
continued in “Lincoln’s war.”
The “Young Napoleon”
Lincoln’s greatest danger may well
have been a threat from his own
military. George McClellan was barely
35 when appointed to command the
Army of the Potomac after Bull Run.
Respected for his military knowledge,
he was called by some the “American
Napoleon” (and enjoyed acting the role,
as the picture shows). Some urged
McClellan to seize control of the
government during the crisis of the war.
McClellan certainly wanted to run for
president in 1864.
March on Richmond
In March, 1862, McClellan
transported his Army of the Potomac
by sea to Urbanna, a port on the
coast of Virginia. From there he
planned to march west to Richmond
and end the war by bombarding it
into surrender. He may well have
won with his superior numbers and
heavy artillery. But Robert E. Lee
(right), placed in command of the
Confederate Army of Virginia,
outmaneuvered McClellan in a series
of brilliant moves and forced him to
retreat. Lincoln never trusted
McClellan again.
War in the West
In 1861 and 1862, the Union
armies made some
progress in the west. New
Orleans was invaded and
occupied, and an army
seized Fort Donelson,
opening the door into
northern Alabama. But the
northern troops also lost
battles in Missouri and
Kentucky. At Shiloh, the
two armies fought to a
bloody draw, with heavy
losses for both sides.
Grant – the Unexpected Hero
As McClellan and other generals failed,
Ulysses S. Grant emerged as a leader of
troops and winner of battles. Forced to
resign from the army in 1854 because of
drunkenness, Grant was an unlikely hero.
But he commanded troops well, could
execute complex maneuvers, and always
attacked. When personal enemies urged
Lincoln to dismiss Grant. Lincoln said “I
can’t spare this man, he fights." Because
he demanded (and got) the “unconditional
surrender” of Confederate troops at Fort
Donelson, Grant became known as
“Unconditional Surrender” Grant. He was
eventually to be given command of the
entire army.
War on the River
By seizing major ports on the Mississippi River, the Union
cut the connection between the heart of the Confederacy
and Texas, a major source of troops for their armies. Beef
from Texas, grain from Arkansas, and rice from Louisiana,
all important for feeding the army, were also reduced.
Contraband Slaves
Pressed by anti-slavery forces in
his own party to use the war to
end slavery, Lincoln adopting a
wait-and-see policy. He wrote a
northern editor that if he “could
save the Union without freeing
any slave,” he would. “If I could
save it by freeing all the slaves, I
would do it; and if I could save it
by freeing some and leaving
others alone, I would also do
that.” Lincoln said he personally
did not like slavery but that his
first responsibility as president
was to “preserve the Union.”
Important events in
relation to slavery
• Lincoln permitted slaves to be “confiscated” if they were found to
be “working in the service of the rebellion” – in other words if they
dug trenches or hauled supplies for the Confederate troops, etc.
The legal status of these “contraband” slaves was unclear; were
they free?
• Learning of the “contraband policy” thousands of slaves fled
northward, hoping to reach U.S. troops and surrender “into
freedom.” Not sure what to do, Union officers fed and employed
contraband slaves to work for the U.S. Army.
• 1862 – after a victory at Antietam, Lincoln announced the
Emancipation proclamation. This left the slaves in the border states
in slavery and freed only the slaves in the Confederate areas “still
in rebellion.” The decision did not please abolitionists, nor some
leaders in the Republican Party.
The War Continues
Meanwhile the war continued. One
general after another took
command of the Army of the
Potomac and marched south to
seize Richmond, only to suffer
defeat after defeat.
The Confederacy worried about
Grant’s growing success in the
west and pressed Robert E. Lee,
their best general, to consider
invading Pennsylvania and
Maryland in order to threaten
Washington DC.
Lee became to develop a plan for
such a campaign.
Given command of the Army of the
Potomac in 1862, Joseph Hooker
told a friend that the nation “needed
a dictator.” Hearing this, Lincoln
wrote Hooker that he would “risk the
dictatorship” once Hooker actually
won a victory. Meeting Lee at the
Battle of Chancellorsville, Hooker
was utterly defeated.
Confederate Raiders at sea
Built in England for the
Confederacy, the CSS
Alabama sailed the Atlantic
for nearly 2 years, attacking
and destroying Union ships.
Relations with Britain
deteriorated over the
damages caused by this ship.
The Alabama was finally cornered
and sunk by the USS Kearsarge
in June 1864.
Northern ships meanwhile
reduced imports into the
southern states to bare 5% of
what they had had in 1860.
New methods - war ships
The Monitor
One innovation that came during the Civil War was
the introduction of “iron-clad” ships. The battle
between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia
(built from the old USS Merrimac) was a draw, but a
new age in ship warfare had begun.
Life in the Camps
Photographs of US and CSA army camps were usually staged
carefully, with neat rows of tents and neatly dressed soldiers. In
fact, disease ran rampant in the camps and more soldiers died
of illness than were killed in battle. Conditions did not improve
until Lincoln authorized an Army Sanitary Commission.
The Lot of Prisoners
Conditions in the Civil War era prisons was even worse than in
the camps. Union prisoners in the south suffered from
starvation in camps like Andersonville (above). Confederate
officers at Andersonville were later tried for “war crimes.”
Draft Riots
As the war continued and the armies needed more men,
both the Union and the Confederacy eventually turned
to using a “draft” to obtain soldiers. In New York, anger
over the inequalities of the draft caused bloody riots.
Grant Moves South
Out west, General Grant led his armies down the
Mississippi in order to seize Vicksburg Mississippi.
Once Vicksburg fell, the Union would have full control of
the Mississippi River.
Slaughter at Gettysburg
Lee’s invasion of Pennsylvania
in June 1863 became the turning
point of the war. Encountering
the Union Army at Gettysburg,
Lee intended to defeat his
enemy, push east and seize
Washington, thus forcing
Lincoln to sue for peace.
However, Gettysburg ended in a
bloody three days that forced
Lee to retreat to Virginia. A few
days later, Grants seized
Vicksburg in Mississippi.
Outnumbered and forced to
stand and defend, the
Confederacy slowly declined.
Prisoners
Although both sides exchanged prisoners at first,
Confederate unwillingness to treat Black soldiers as
prisoners led to overcrowded prisoners in the South.
Death Knell of Dixie
With Vicksburg taken,
Grant – now in command
of all the armies of the
Union – devised a “grand
plan” for ending the
Army. Giving control of
the western armies to
William Sherman, Grant
ordered Sherman to
invade George and take
Atlanta. Grant went east
to travel with the Army of
the Potomac as it invaded
Virginia one more time.
Marching Through Georgia
In full command of 3 armies, Sherman (left) marched
toward Atlanta. General Joseph Johnston, his opponent,
could not stop the Union troops, which outnumbered him
by 3 to 1.
Atlanta Burns
Taking control of Atlanta in September 1864, Sherman re-supplied
his troops and prepared to march east into the Carolinas. To
prevent the city and rail yards being used to form an army behind
him, Sherman ordered much of Atlanta burned in November. When
residents protested this, he replied “war is hell.”
Lincoln elected to a second
term
The end of the Confederacy
• By 1865, the 13th amendment is ratified
by all but three states (NJ, DE, KY)
• Desertion became epidemic - 12% total for
Confederacy, 9 % Union by war’s end.
• Belief that “cause was hopeless” led to
high inflation in the South.
• Destruction of the crops in Georgia, and
the Carolinas made it impossible to feed
Lee’s army.
Grant vs. Lee
In Virginia, Grant pushed the Army of the Potomac to the
outskirts of Richmond. Several battles with Lee had produced
a stalemate between the armies, but Lee could not send aid
against Sherman, who was destroying the Carolinas. Food for
Lee’s troops dwindled and by the beginning of 1865, Lee’s
army was facing starvation.
Richmond Taken
His army facing ruin from starvation and lack of supplies,
Lee was forced to retreat from Richmond in April 1865.
Grant’s army then seized the city and destroyed much of
it. Lee was forced to surrender his army a week later. The
war was effectively over.
Lincoln is assassinated
Acting with a handful of supporters, John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln
on April 14, 1865. How the “reconstruction” of the South may have
proceeded had Lincoln lived is uncertain. Because of the killing, the
north favored a harsher treatment.