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8B Social Studies
Chapter 16 – Part 4
Torn By War (1861 – 1865)
“Brother against Brother”
IV. Hardships of War (p. 466-470)
-
civilians – people who were not in the army
- worked on farms and labored in factories to support the war effort
- used their mules to move troops and supplies
- tended the wounded
- as hardships increased, so did opposition for the war
A.
The Blue and the Gray (p. 466)
Union: blue uniforms – were called blues or Billy Yanks (Yankees)
Confederate: gray uniforms – called grays or Johnny Rebs (Rebels)
1. The Test of Battle
- Soldiers were young (mostly under 21)
- Long hours of drilling and marching
- Slept on the ground even in rain and snow
2. Deadly Weapons
- Cone shaped bullets replace musket balls and were 2x more accurate
- New cannons could hit targets miles away
- casualty – a soldier who is killed or seriously wounded
- In one battle, Union troops pinned their names on their uniforms so their
bodies could be identified when the battle was over
3. Crude Medical Care
- Surgeons routinely cut off the injured arms and legs of wounded men
- Minor wounds became infected
- No medicine, half died of infections
- Pneumonia and Malaria killed more men than guns or cannons
4. Prison Camps
- At Andersonville, a prison camp in Georgia, 1/3 Union soldiers died of
starvation or disease
B.
Discord in the North (p. 467)
- Some called for a peace conference to work out a compromise. Supporters of the
war called these people Copperheads – Northerners who thought the South
should be able to leave the Union
- Others wanted to save the Union but opposed the way Lincoln was conducting
the war
- Border states openly supported the South
1. Filling the Ranks
- Union was giving $100 bounties (payments) to men to enlisted
- Raised to $300 but still was a shortage
- 1863,Congress enacted the Draft Law - All able bodied males between 20 and
45 were to serve if called
- To avoid the draft they could pay the government $300 or hire someone to go
in their place
- Many couldn’t afford $300
- Saw the war as a “rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight.”
2. Riots in the Cities
- Northerners believed they were being forced to fight to end slavery
- Riots broke out
- Worst riot in New York City, July 1863
- Lincoln moved to stop the riots and disloyal practice by suspending Habeas
Corpus – the right to have a hearing before being jailed
- People protested, Lincoln pointed them to the Constitution which game him
power to deny rights when in the case of rebellion or invasion
C. Trouble in the Confederacy (p. 468)
- Thousands opposed the war
- Jefferson Davis faced problems creating a strong federal government
- Many believed in the idea of states’ rights
- Resisted paying taxes to a central government
- Did not fully cooperate on military and other matters
- Georgia threatened to secede from the Confederacy at one point
- Shortage of soldiers
- Draft Law (South) - Men who owned or supervised more than 20 slaves did not
have to serve
- Caused resentment among the small farmers who owned few or no slaves
- Thought it unfair they had to fight to preserve slavery and the slave owners did
not have to fight
- Toward the end, South was unable to replace soldiers killed or wounded in battle
or thousands who deserted
- Robert E. Lee urged Confederacy to let enslaved serve. Confederate congress
agreed but the war ended before any did
D. War Boosts the Northern Economy (p. 468)
1. Raising Money in the North
- 1861, Congress passed first Income Tax Law
- Workers required to pay a small part of wages
- Union issued bonds (borrowed money) to help support the war efforts
2. Rising Prices
- Despite taxes and bonds, the Union did not have enough money for the war
- North printed Greenbacks - paper money
- Led to inflation – a rise in prices caused by an increase in the amount of
money in circulation
- As money supply increased, value decreased
- Merchants charged more (almost double) for goods
3. Economic Boost
- War helped North’s economy
- Because many farmers went to fight, machines for planting and harvesting
were needed
- Farm production increased during the war
- Wartime demand for clothing, shoes, guns, and other goods brought a boom
to industry
- Profiteers – a person who takes advantage of an emergency to make money
(they overcharged the government for goods desperately needed for the war)
E. Hard Times in the South
- Trouble raising money for war
- Confederate Congress passed an Income Tax law
- Tax in Kind – required farmers to turnover 1/10 of their crops to the government
- Government took crops knowing southern farmers has little cash to spare
1. The Economy Suffers
- South also printed paper money
- Wild inflation set in
- By 1865, one Confederate dollar = 2 cents in gold
- Cotton trade (main source of income) suffered
- Jefferson Davis halted shipments to Britain thinking Britain would side with the
South to get the cotton.
- Britain purchased cotton from Egypt and India instead
2. Effects of the Blockade
- Union blockade hurt South
- Severe shortages
- 1865, famine stalked the Confederacy
- prevented most deliveries of weapons from Britain
- South scoured the land for guns and unused bullets
- Hurried to build weapons factories but shortages continued
- Union armies ripped up railroad tracks
F. Women at War (p. 470)
- As Northern economy geared up for war production, women took factory jobs
1. Soldiers and Spies
- Some disguised themselves as soldiers and fought in battle
- Others served as spies
2. Nursing the Wounded
- Doctors didn’t want them there but being swamped with wounded, they
changed their attitudes
- Dorothea Dix – famous for her work reforming prisons and mental hospitals
became Superintendent of Nurses for the Union Army
- Clara Barton – Civil War nurse, founder of the American Red Cross, kept
records on hundreds of wounded and helped families trace those missing
- Sojourner Truth – antislavery leader, worked in Union hospitals and in camps
for freed slaves
- Sally Louisa Thompkins (South) opened a hospital in Richmond, VA. Treated
1,333 patients and only 73 died.