Download Civil War PPT



1861-1865

Abraham Lincoln was
inaugurated on March 4,
1861

Read his First Inaugural
Address & determine the
following how the following
groups might have
reacted:
o Secessionists
o Non-secessionists
o Compromise proponents
o Unionists
o Abolitionists

Lincoln was morally opposed to
slavery & did not support its spread
(Crittenden Amendments)

However, he said that he would not
interfere with the institution where
it was already legal (1st Inaugural
Address)

He also asserted his authority over
all US territory in states that had
seceded from the Union (1st
Inaugural Address)

South Carolina’s Fort Sumter needed food & supplies

Lincoln informed SC’s governor that he was sending
provisions in an unarmed ship
o Confederate forces attacked the fort before the ship could reach it
o The American commander surrendered the next day
o While no one was killed, it did mark the beginning of the war
o Lincoln requested 75,000 volunteers to help suppress the rebellion
o Four more states seceded

Some in Virginia were
opposed to secession
o People in the western
counties of VA chose a
new governor & applied
for statehood in the Union
(WV – 1863)

Debate was also strong
in Tennessee

States – SC, MS, FL, AL, GA,
LA, TX, VA, NC, TN, AR

Constitution – Emphasized
states’ rights & the protection
of slavery in any newly
acquired territories

President – Jefferson Davis

Capital – Richmond, VA

Refers to slave states that
remained loyal to the Union
during the Civil War
o Included DE, MD, KY, MO, &
eventually WV

Following a confrontation in
Baltimore, the area was
occupied & habeas corpus
was suspended
o Confederates could be
arrested & jailed without
charges indefinitely

The initial Union strategy was
developed by General Winfield
Scott
o Known as the Anaconda Plan
o Called for a blockade of southern
ports & the capture of the
Mississippi River
o Lincoln did attempt to establish a
blockade, but did not have the
manpower to capture & control the
Mississippi River

“Home Court” Advantage
o Most of the fighting took place in
the South, forcing North to travel
& maintain long supply lines

Concrete War Aims
o The South was fighting to
preserve their way of life
o The North was fighting to
preserve the Union

Leadership
o Many of the best officers in the
US army fought with the
Confederacy

Southern society in 1861
was very stratified
o Great Planters – 1% of the
population: 20+ slaves
o Small Farmers – 35-45% of
the population: 0-5 slaves
o Landless Whites – 20-25%
of the population
o Slaves – 35% of the
population

Southern cotton was traded to
European nations
o 75% of all cotton used in British
textile mills came from the
American South

Southerners hoped that Britain &
others would intervene

Why did King Cotton fail?
o By 1861, British factories had a
surplus of cotton
o During the war, they were able to
depend upon Egyptian & Indian
cotton
o The Emancipation Proclamation
redefined the war

The first major battle of the Civil
War was fought on July 21,
1861
o Union – Irvin McDowall
o Confederate – P.G.T. Beauregard

Union forces were initially
successful until Confederate
reinforcements arrived under the
command of Thomas
“Stonewall” Jackson

Union troops retreated in chaos

Casualties at Bull Run
totaled 4,878 men
 Union – 460 killed
 Confederate – 387 killed

Union forces & civilians
feared that an attack on
Washington, DC was
imminent

Both sides realized that
the war was going to be
longer & deadlier than
anticipated

As a result of his loss at
Bull Run, Lincoln replaced
McDowell with George
McClellan who was named
general-in-chief of all the
Union armies
o Able to transform the troops
into a disciplined army
o Remained cautious as fighting
continued in the East

Took place on April 6-7, 1862

Union forces were led by
Ulysses S. Grant who
planned an attack on a
railroad junction near the
Mississippi / Tennessee
border

Confederate forces then
staged a surprise attack on
Grant’s army

Confederate forces were
successful until Union
reinforcements arrived
the next day

The battle was the
bloodiest in American
history up to that time
o Casualties totaled 23,4746
o Union – 1,754 killed
o Confederate – 1,728 killed

Took place on September 17,
1862

Confederate forces were led by
Robert E. Lee who invaded
Maryland in hopes of gaining
needed supplies & European
recognition of the Confederacy

It was the first major battle to
take place on Northern soil

Tactically, the battle was
a draw

Strategically, it was a
Union victory as it
stopped Lee’s invasion

The battle was the
bloodiest single day of
fighting in the war
 Casualties totaled 24,000
 Union – 2,108 killed
 Confederate – 1,546 killed

Antietam was also an
important diplomatic
victory

Lincoln reconsidered his
views concerning the war
& slavery

As the war continued & the
death tolls rose, Lincoln
drafted a proclamation to
free the slaves

Five days after the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln issued
the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation
o Freed the slaves residing in states in rebellion against the
Union
o Allowed Lincoln to maintain the support of the border states
while pushing them closer to emancipation
o Transformed the Union war aims
o Further divided the Northern Democrats
• Copperhead Democrats – Wanted an immediate end to the war &
saw Lincoln as a tyrant
• War Democrats – Demanded an aggressive policy towards the
Confederacy & supported Lincoln

Made all men, aged 20-45,
eligible for the draft
o Established a quota of new
troops due from each
congressional district
o Draftees could hire someone else
to serve in his place –
substitution
o Draftees could also pay $300 to
avoid service – commutation
o Rich man’s war, poor man’s fight

The largest draft riots took
place over three nights in
NYC in July 1863

Working class white men
targeted:
o Wealthy white men
o African Americans
o Supporters of the war

At least 120 civilians were
killed & about 2,000 more
were injured
 Early
in 1863, Union
prospects seemed dim
– Confederacy
defeated a much larger
Union force at
Chancellorsville, VA
 May
o Confederates did suffer a
setback when Stonewall
Jackson was mistakenly
shot by his own troops
of 1863 – Lee
proposed an invasion of the
North
 Summer
o Were able to seize much
needed food & supplies as
they moved through Union
territory
– Engaged with Union
troops led by George Meade
at Gettysburg, PA
 July
 The
fighting at Gettysburg took place over three
days
o Union troops took up a defensive position along what
was called Cemetery Ridge
o Confederate troops attacked both flanks of the Union
line
o The largest attack came on July 3 when troops under
the command of George Pickett moved to the center
• Pickett’s famous “Last Charge” proved to be a tremendous
defeat for the Confederates

The three days at
Gettysburg were the
bloodiest engagement of
the Civil War
o Total casualties – 50,000+
o Union – 3,155 killed
o Confederate – 4,708 killed
• Nearly 1/3 of the
Confederacy’s general officers
were killed, wounded, or
captured

Took place from May-July 1863

After a 4 month siege, Union forces were finally able to
capture the city

Soon after, they took control of the entire Mississippi
River

Together, the Union victories at Gettysburg & Vicksburg
are considered to be turning points in the war

Atlanta fell to Union troops
led by William Tecumseh
Sherman in September
1864
o Ordered that all military &
government building be burned

The victory helped Lincoln
win re-election that same
year
o Challenged by Democratic
candidate George McClellan as
well as radicals in his own
Republican party

Following Lincoln’s
victory, Sherman began
his march to Savannah,
GA
o Moved at a rate of 10 miles
per day, cutting a path of
destruction 10 miles wide

Sherman’s ‘March to
the Sea’ is often
credited with breaking
the South of its will to
fight

The battles involving Grant &
Lee continued into 1865

As Lee retreated from
Petersburg in March 1865, he
had few supplies & only 35,000
men

Grant’s troops pressed on,
finally forcing Lee to surrender
at Appomattox Courthouse on
April 9, 1865
 Five
days after Lee’s
surrender, President
Lincoln was shot while
attending a play at Ford’s
Theatre in Washington,
DC
 He
died the next day