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HERITAGE OUTREACH
PROGRAM
THE CIVIL WAR
THE CIVIL WAR
OVERVIEW
•
The American Civil War was fought
between 1861 and 1865, between
the states of the North and South.
•
Battles were predominately fought
by volunteer Citizen–Soldiers
committed to defending their
respective beliefs.
•
Next to the Revolutionary War,
historians say the Civil War was the
single most formative event in our
nation’s history.
THE CIVIL WAR
Union Casualties
•
110,070 combat related deaths
•
250,152 disease or other related
deaths
•
360,222 total deaths
THE CIVIL WAR
Confederate Casualties
•
94,000 combat related deaths
•
164,000 disease or other related
deaths
•
258,000 total deaths
THE CIVIL WAR
WHAT CAUSED THE WAR?
•
Slavery was a controversial issue in
the political climate of the 1860s.
•
Abraham Lincoln was elected to
the presidency in November 1860
on a platform that severely
restricted the expansion of slavery.
This deepened the nation’s
political divide.
•
Following the election of Abraham
Lincoln, the state of South Carolina
seceded from the Union. Other
states followed.
THE CIVIL WAR
DID YOU KNOW...
•
The Civil War began in April,
1861 at Fort Sumter.
•
The first volunteers were only
enlisted for 90 days.
•
The Civil War lasted much
longer than initially expected.
THE CIVIL WAR
Camp Curtin
•
Named after Gov. Andrew
Curtin
•
Railroad system in Harrisburg
made it the logical choice
•
Largest Union training site in the
Civil War
•
General Lee’s target after
Gettysburg
THE CIVIL WAR
MOBILIZATION OF THE MILITARY
& INDUSTRY
•
After most of the militia in the North and
South were on active duty, both sides
turned to conscription. (Today known as
the draft.)
•
The Civil War draft law was based on the
legal obligation to serve in the military,
with quotas for each state.
•
The sheer bulk of manufacturing
needed to maintain armies had a
significant impact on American
industry and economy.
THE CIVIL WAR
WHERE DID THE WAR TAKE PLACE?
•
The American Civil War took place
in the United States.
•
Battles and skirmishes were fought
in 30 separate states.
•
The battlefields were primarily
located in Southern states.
THE CIVIL WAR
WHO WERE THE POLITICAL LEADERS
OF THE CIVIL WAR?
UNION PRESIDENT
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
CONFEDERATE
PRESIDENT
JEFFERSON DAVIS
•
United States President was
Abraham Lincoln.
•
Confederate States President
was Jefferson Davis.
THE CIVIL WAR
WHO WERE THE MILITARY LEADERS?
UNION GENERAL
ULYSSES S. GRANT
CONFEDERATE GENERAL
ROBERT E. LEE
•
The commanding general of
the United States Army was
Ulysses S. Grant.
•
The commanding general of
the Confederate States Army
was Robert E. Lee.
THE CIVIL WAR
THE SOUTH - CONFEDERACY
•
The Southern states were deeply rooted
in agriculture and an old-fashioned
aristocratic society.
•
One quarter of the twelve million people in the
South were African–American slaves.
•
A relatively small number of landowners and
businessmen owned the vast majority of the
region’s wealth.
THE CIVIL WAR
THE SOUTH - CONFEDERACY (CONT.)
•
The majority of people in the South lived near
poverty as subsistence farmers or laborers.
•
The cotton and tobacco industries kept the
South potent as an economic force.
•
Southern states staunchly supported the idea of
states’ rights; this political belief stated that
individual states had the legal right to override
federal law and policy.
THE CIVIL WAR
THE NORTH - UNION
•
The densely populated Northern states were
highly industrialized, abounding with factories
and extensive railroad networks.
•
In 1860, the monetary value of goods
manufactured in New York City alone was
greater than the total value of everything
manufactured in all the Southern states.
THE CIVIL WAR
THE NORTH - UNION (CONT.)
•
Several Northern states were strongly
opposed to the institution of slavery.
•
Some Northerners were indifferent on the
subject of slavery.
•
There was a strong sense of unity and loyalty
to centralized government.
THE CIVIL WAR
TACTICS & TECHNOLOGY
•
The Civil War was a time of amazing
technological innovations in the area of rifled
and repeating muskets, land mines,
communications, transportation and medicine.
•
Tactics failed to keep up with the
improvements in technology.
•
Battles were still fought on a linear battlefield
with armies facing one another on opposite
ends of the field.
•
The range and accuracy of the rifled muskets
made fighting at close distance very deadly.
THE CIVIL WAR
SOLDIER UNIFORMS - UNION
•
The uniform of the Union Soldier consisted
of a dark blue wool coat and lighter blue
wool trousers.
•
Union Soldiers were issued a black felt
Hardee hat or forage cap.
•
The Union waist belt had a brass buckle
emblazoned with US for United States and a
small leather pouch designed to hold
percussion caps to ignite the musket.
•
The ankle-high Brogan shoe was the standard
issue footwear for Union Soldiers.
THE CIVIL WAR
SOLDIER UNIFORMS - UNION
•
Eagle Breast Plate
•
Worn by the Union infantry on
their shoulder straps
•
Usually worn on the strap of
their cartridge box
THE CIVIL WAR
SOLDIER UNIFORMS CONFEDERATE
•
Confederate Soldiers wore wool jackets that
were shell, sack or frock style; and commonly
colored gray or butternut. Cadet gray
uniforms were used primarily in the Army of
Northern Virginia.
•
Shoes were hard to come by, and many Soldiers
were forced to go barefoot.
•
Headgear of a Southern Soldier was more
varied than even his uniform, consisting of the
kepi style or variations of a wide brimmed felt or
straw hat.
THE CIVIL WAR
WEAPONRY OF THE WAR
•
The most common weapon used by
Soldiers of the Civil War was the
muzzle-loaded rifled musket.
•
For the Union it was the .58 caliber
Model 1861 Springfield musket.
•
For the Confederates it was the .58
caliber Pattern 1853 British Enfield
or a variety of CSA produced, US
captured or personal weapons.
•
The cone shaped bullets fired by
these muskets would look enormous
by today’s standards.
THE CIVIL WAR
WEAPONRY OF THE WAR
•
Rifling in the barrel would cause the
bullet to spin like a football when it
left the rifle
•
Bullet was much more accurate and
could shoot further then its
predecessors
THE CIVIL WAR
WEAPONRY OF THE WAR
•
Civil War hand grenade
•
Grenade would land on the plunger
which would cause the grenade to
activate
THE CIVIL WAR
WEAPONRY OF THE WAR
•
Grape Shot was devastating to
infantry units when it was fired upon
them
•
Cannon would act as a large shot
gun
•
Could also fire glass, rocks, wood, or
anything else that could cause
damage
THE CIVIL WAR
EQUIPMENT & ACCOUTERMENTS
•
Union and Confederate Soldiers carried their
ammunition and supplies in leather
accouterments that hung from the shoulders or
around the waist.
•
A cartridge box was worn over the right hip and
used to carry the Soldiers ammunition.
•
Confederate Soldiers carried a combination of
Southern produced, imported, US, or personally
owned accouterments and equipment.
•
The rifle bayonet was carried in a scabbard on
the belt and was designed to fit on the muzzle of
the musket for close fighting.
THE CIVIL WAR
SUBSISTENCE & DIET
•
The three mainstays of the Civil War diet
were hardtack, salt pork and coffee.
•
Hardtack always arrived in the Soldiers’
hands rock hard. It usually needed to be
soaked in water or coffee to be edible.
•
Salt pork was notorious for being
tough, leathery, and hard to digest. It
was sometimes covered with mold
on arrival.
•
Soldiers valued coffee as a
commodity that could be traded for
Southern tobacco.
THE CIVIL WAR
Salt Pork
•
Also known as White Bacon
•
Consisted mainly of fat
•
Very salty, and didn’t get spoiled as
fast as other meats
THE CIVIL WAR
THE SOLDIER’S ROUTINE
•
Soldiers found that their lives were filled with
sheer boredom that stretched for weeks or
months at a time.
•
Spare time was spent collecting firewood and
foraging for food and water.
•
Soldiers occupied themselves by writing letters
home or by playing games like checkers,
cards or baseball.
•
Mail was considered a luxury. It never kept
up with armies on the move, so weeks or
even months could pass without a word
from home.
THE CIVIL WAR
PERSONAL EFFECTS
•
Veterans hardened by endless days of
marching and long campaigns in the field
clung to a few sentimental items.
•
A pocket–sized sewing kit called a housewife
is a good example of an item that Soldiers
would carry from home.
•
Other items worthy of precious
space in haversacks might be
stationary with patriotic graphics,
playing cards, a pipe, a diary, or
photographs of family members.
THE CIVIL WAR
BENEFITS
•
A private during the Civil War was
paid $13 a month in the Union
Army and $11 per month in the
Confederate Army.
•
This meager income didn’t offer
the Soldier much to spend
on luxuries.
THE CIVIL WAR
POLITICS, ECONOMY & CULTURE
IN THE UNITED STATES
•
By 1861, America was deeply
divided geographically, politically,
economically and culturally.
•
There were thirty–four states in the
United States at the beginning of
the War and thirty–six by the end.
•
The United States would be
permanently altered by
the struggle.
THE CIVIL WAR
DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE MILITARY
•
The scale of the Civil War was unprecedented
in America.
•
In 1860, the pre–war strength of the United
States Army was roughly 16,000 strong.
•
By the end of the War, the strength of the
United States Army would reach 1,200,000
and 1,064,000 for the Confederate Army.
•
In the 1860s, the idea of allowing African–
Americans to serve in the military
was progressive and controversial.
•
In 1863, fourteen states offered African–
American men the opportunity to serve their
state and country by enlisting in
the military.
THE CIVIL WAR
HOMEFRONT & FAMILY
•
Civilian aid societies and the
Sanitary Commission did what
they could to bring better food,
newspapers and Bibles to camps.
A few comforts from home meant a
lot to Soldiers.
•
Licensed merchants, known as
Sutlers, followed the army to sell
food, stationary, stamps, tobacco,
or other items to Soldiers that could
ease their hard life.
THE CIVIL WAR
LESSON ASSESSMENT
1. When was the Civil War fought and where did it
take place?
2. What were the main differences between the
politics, economy and culture of the Union
(North) and the Confederacy (South)?
3. What effect did technology have on the War?
4. What did Soldiers wear during the War? How
did their clothing make them feel?
5. How did fighting tactics develop during this
time period?
THE CIVIL WAR
CRITICAL THINKING
1. What impact did technology have
on the battlefields of the
Civil War?
2. How did industry impact the
outcome of the Civil War?