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The Civil War
Chapters 11.1 – 11.3
Confederates Fire on Fort
Sumter
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The Confederate States of America quickly
began taking over federal institutions in their
states
March 4, 1861 – Lincoln is inaugurated
March 5. 1861 – Fort Sumter faces trouble
Lincoln decided not to fire, but not to give in
either
April 12, Jefferson Davis chooses war over
peaceful secession
Virginia Secedes
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News of Fort Sumter’s fall united the North
Lincoln’s call for troops had the opposite effect
on the “upper” Southern states
In May, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina
followed Virginia
The western counties of Virginia seceded from
the state and re-joined the union
Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri
were the only slave states to remain in the
Union
War Lines
Americans Expect a Short War
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Both sides expected a short and “glorious” war
The Union had enormous advantages over the South
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The Confederacy also had some advantages over the
North:
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More fighting power
More factories
Greater food production
More extensive railroad system
Lincoln’s leadership
“King Cotton”
First-rate generals and a strong military tradition
Highly motivated soldiers
The South’s tradition of limited government hurt its
chances
War Strategies
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The Union devised a 3-part plan
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Blockade southern ports
Union riverboats and armies would move down the
Mississippi River
Union armies would capture the Confederate capital in
Richmond, VA
Northern newspapers called the strategy the
Anaconda plan
The Confederacy’s strategy was mostly defensive
The Battle of Bull Run
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July 21 – first major bloodshed occurs at the
battle of Bull Run
Two groups of inexperienced troops ran crossed
paths
General Thomas J. Jackson earned the
nickname, Stonewall Jackson from this battle
Confederate reinforcements arrived and forced
the Union soldiers to retreat
Union Armies in the West
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Lincoln now called for 500,000 volunteers and appointed
George McClellan to lead the Union army
Feb 1862 - Ulysses S. Grant led a Union force into
western Tennessee
Grant captured Fort Henry and Fort Donelson
April 6, 1862 – Grant fights the Confederates in the
battle of Shiloh
Grant re-organized his troops and counter-attacked
The Battle of Shiloh taught many important lessons
April 29, David G. Farragut captured New Orleans
A Revolution in Warfare
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The use of ironclad ships changed the face of
war
March 9,1862 the Monitor vs. the Merrimack
The inventions of the rifle and the minie’ ball
were even deadlier than ironclads
Rifles were more accurate than muskets
The minie’ ball was a newer, more destructive
bullet
These new technologies gradually changed
military strategy
The War for the Capitals
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McClellan’s cautious nature made the
Union’s plan to capture Richmond falter
Spring 1862, McClellan finally began
moving towards Richmond
Robert E. Lee took control of the
Confederate forces
Lee moved against McClellan in the Seven
Days’ Battles
Antietam
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August 29 – Lee wins major victory in the
Second Battle of Bull Run
A Union corporal discovered Lee’s battle plans in
a field they had camped at
September 17, the battle of Antietam
Clash became the bloodiest single battle in
American history
Although the battle ended in a draw, McClellan
failed to finish them off
November 7, 1862 – Lincoln fired McClellan
The Politics of War
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Despite the South’s requests, Great Britain
decided to remain neutral
1861, the Confederacy sent James Mason and
John Slidell to try again to get British and
French aid
Union forces (led by Captain Wilkes) stopped the
ship and arrested the two men
Lincoln released the prisoners and claimed
Wilkes acted without orders
Proclaiming Emancipation
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Lincoln didn’t believe the federal government had
the power to abolish slavery from where it already
existed
Lincoln began to see emancipation as a weapon
of war
Jan. 1, 1863 – Lincoln issued his Emancipation
Proclamation
The Proclamation had immense symbolic
importance
Not all Northerners approved of the Proclamation
Confederates were outraged by the Proclamation
Both Sides Face Political
Problems
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Both sides dealt with difficulties unifying all of their
people
Lincoln dealt with disloyalty forcefully:
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Sent troops into MD after Baltimorians attacked a Union troop
Suspended Habeas Corpus in many states
More than 13,000 suspected Confederate sympathizers in the
Union were arrested
Seized telegraph offices
Many of those arrested were Copperheads
Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney declared
Lincoln had gone far beyond his constitutional powers
Lincoln’s actions set new precedent for presidents during
wartime
Conscription
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Both sides eventually moved away from
volunteer armies, and towards conscription
The Confederates drafted all able-bodied white
men between 18 and 35
The Union drafted white men between 20 and
45
1863 – Many in NYC began to protest the draft
July 13-16: Anti-draft mobs rampaged through
the city
African Americans Fight for
Freedom
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The Civil War began as a “white man’s war”
1862, Congress passed a law allowing African
Americans to serve in the military
By war’s end, nearly 10% of the Union forces
were African American
African American soldiers still suffered from
discrimination
1864, Fort Pillow Massacre
Many slaves waited anxiously for the coming
Union troops
The War Affects Regional
Economies
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The Confederacy soon faced a food shortage
Food prices skyrocketed
The Union blockade caused shortages of other
products as well
On the other hand, most northern industries
boomed
Wages did not keep up with prices
Northern women experienced many social
changes
1863, Congress passed the nation’s first income
tax
Soldiers Suffer on Both Sides
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Army camps bred many diseases
Both armies received very low food rations
The United States Sanitary Commission was set
up
Clara Barton often cared for the sick on the
front lines
Prisons, like Andersonville, had worse
conditions than even army camps
Prisons in the North were only slightly better