Download Commanding Generals

Major Battles of the
Civil War
Review: The Anaconda Plan
The Anaconda Plan is the name widely applied to the strategy
used in the North for subduing the seceding states.
► At the start of the war, the Union developed this plan that used
a naval blockade of the Confederate coastline to stop any
military and commercial shipments that would aid the
Confederate cause.
1. Blockade the coast of the South to prevent the export of
cotton, tobacco, and other cash crops from the South and to
keep them from importing much needed war supplies.
2. Divide the South by controlling the Mississippi River to cut the
South off from the west.
3. Capture Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederate
States of America.
4. Divide the South by capturing the Tennessee River Valley and
marching through Georgia to the coast.
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“King Cotton” Plan
► The
King Cotton Plan is the name widely
applied to the strategy used in the South for
defeating the North in the Civil War.
1. Go on the defensive
2. Hold onto as much territory as possible until
the North tired of fighting
3. Sometimes take on the offensive to D.C. to
persuade the North they couldn’t win the war
Lincoln suspends Habeas Corpus
What is Habeas Corpus?
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In Latin, this means "you have the body."
The Writ of Habeas Corpus is a tradition that gives a
person a right to appear before a judge before being
imprisoned.
Lincoln suspended this right in April of 1861.
 What would the outcome of this suspension be?
 Which Constitutional amendment and right is being violated?
 What motivated Lincoln to suspend this right?
1st Battle of Bull Run
(Manassas Junction)
July 21, 1861
Commanding Generals
Confederate Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard (on left)
Union Gen. Irwin McDowell (on right)
Battle Of Bull Run
July 21, 1861
► Is
this a Northern or
Southern soldier?
► At
the Battle of Bull
Run, both sides had
the same blue
uniforms.
Why would this be
problematic?
Wealthy and elite civilians from Washington, DC
came to picnic and watch the battle. They are
expecting a quick and easy victory by the Union
Army. They were in for a surprise!
Part of the Union Army under Gen. Burnside crossed this
bridge and met the Confederate Army. A battle took place
on the open fields with the Union driving back the enemy.
Hero of the Battle
► Gen.
Thomas Jackson
arrives on the
battlefield and refuses
to retreat. He earns
the nickname
“Stonewall.”
Why would this nickname be fitting
for Thomas Jackson based on his
actions at the battle?
With a spine-tingling yell (rebel yell), the Confederates charged
the Union (Yankee) troops. The troops retreat in a panic and
don’t stop running until they get back to Washington, D.C.,
along with some very scared civilians. If the Confederates had
pursued the Union Army, they might have captured the North’s
capital. But they retreated to Manassas Junction. So ended the
first major battle of the war with a Confederate victory.
Battle of the Ironclads
March 9,1862
The Monitor (U) V. The Merrimack (C)
The Monitor (U) and the
Merrimack (C)
► The
two ironclads
(armed naval vessels)
battled for hours off
the coast of Virginia
without a winner.
► Cannonballs just
bounced off the hulls
of the ships.
Submarine Warfare
“The CSS Hunley”
Submarine Warfare
The CSS Hunley of the Confederate States of America
attacked the USS Housatonic of the Union. It was the first
submarine to sink a ship in warfare.
► The two naval vessels made history when the Hunley,
attached a torpedo to the hull of the U.S.S. Housatonic and
detonated it.
► The Housatonic sank just off of Charleston, and the crew of
the Hunley became the first submariners in history to sink an
enemy ship. But for some reason, the Hunley also sank to the
bottom and didn't come up.
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The Hunley demonstrated both the advantages and
the dangers of undersea warfare.
The Hunley (C) attacking the
Housatonic (U).
The crew members of the Hunley were
given a funeral 140 years (2004) after
the Hunley sank.
Battle of Shiloh
(Pittsburg Landing)
April 6 & 7, 1862
Commanding Officers
► Left-Confederate
General Albert S.
Johnston
► Below- U.S. General
Ulysses S. Grant
This battle was fought in southwestern Tennessee.
► General Major Ulysses S. Grant was encamped at Pittsburg
Landing on the west bank of the river.
► Johnston’s men attack the Union troops in the early
morning mists and drive them back.
► The Confederates achieved considerable success on the
first day, but were ultimately defeated on the second day.
► Union reinforcements arrive and help defeat the Rebels.
►
Battle of Shiloh Video
The Battle of Shiloh is the bloodiest two
day battle of the war with over 20,000
casualties.
So many dying and wounded men
crawled to this pond for water that the
pond turned red with the blood of the
fallen heroes.
Battle of Antietam
(Sharpsburg)
Sept. 17, 1862
Sharpsburg, MD
The battle was fought near here by Antietam Creek.
Commanding Officers
General Robert E. Lee,
CSA
General George B.
McClellan, Union
Battle Plans Found!
► Gen.
What would you have done
with these battle plans had
you found them?
Lee plans to
attack into the North
near Sharpsburg to get
supplies and recruits.
► Four days before the
battle, a Union scout
finds Lee’s plans
wrapped around 3
cigars.
► Gen. McClellan does
nothing with this
•The Army of the Potomac, under the command of George McClellan,
mounted a series of powerful assaults against Robert E. Lee’s forces near
Sharpsburg, Maryland, on September 17, 1862.
•At one point, The Union Army was well entrenched in a lane but the
Confederates came around the side and fired. There were so many dead
Union Soldiers, you could walk down the lane and never touch the ground.
The battle raged on most of the day with no clear winner.
Antietam was the bloodiest single day battle in
American military history with 6,000 dead and
17,000 casualties.
.
Battle of Antietam Video
President
Lincoln later
visits the
battlefield.
General
McClellan is
fired after his
inability to
destroy the
Army of
Virginia.
The Emancipation Proclamation
After the Battle of Antietam, President Lincoln decides it is
the right time to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
Though it freed only the slaves in the Southern states, it kept
England and France out of the war.
Emancipation Proclamation
“If my name ever goes into history, it will be for this
act.”—Lincoln, 1863
•The Emancipation
Proclamation was issued by
President Abraham Lincoln on
January 1, 1863.
• It declared that "all persons held
as slaves … shall be then,
thenceforward, and forever free“
•The careful planning of this
document, with Lincoln releasing it
at just the right moment in the war,
ensured that it had a great positive
impact on the Union efforts and
redefined the purpose of the war.
•The Emancipation Proclamation
continues to be a symbol of
equality and social justice.
Emancipation Proclamation cont.
► President
Lincoln shook many hands on New Year’s
Day of 1863 as a reception was held to
commemorate the official signing of the
Emancipation Proclamation.
► Diplomats, cabinet members and army officers filed
past the president, and when he finally left the
reception he noted that his arm was very stiff.
► As the document was presented, Lincoln remarked,
“Now this signature is one that will be closely
examined and if they find my hand trembled, they
will say “he had some compunctions (second
thoughts).” But anyway, it is going to be done!”
Battle of Gettysburg
July 1-3, 1863
Union General George Meade (left)
Meade’s headquarters on the battlefield (right)
Con. Gen. Robert E. Lee (left)
Lee’s headquarters on the battlefield (right)
Gen. Lee’s army was trying to regroup in the town of
Gettysburg. Meade’s army was looking for Lee’s
army when they collided just west of Gettysburg.
“All roads lead to Gettysburg.”
July 1st
The two armies first met just west of Gettysburg, PA.
The Confederates drove the Union army back and
through the streets of Gettysburg where they take up a
defensive position along Cemetery Ridge.
July 2nd
The fighting takes
place at the northern
end of the battlefield
near Culp’s Hill and at
the southern end
around the Wheatfield,
Peach Orchard, Devil’s
Den, and Little Round
Top.
Devil’s Den
Modern View
Dead Confederate Sharpshooter in Devil’s Den
Little Round Top
Front View of Little Round Top
The Confederates tried unsuccessfully to attack
this hill by a frontal assault. When that did not
work, they tried to go around to the back to
outflank them.
Wartime Photo of Little Round Top
The Backside of Little Round Top
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (left) led the 20th
Maine of which his brother Thomas (right) was also
a part of.
The 20th Maine was the extreme left flank of the
Union army. If the Confederates had gotten by
them, the Union line would be flanked. The 20th
Maine fended off several attacks from the charging
rebels.
1st: 20th Maine at Little Round Top
2nd: 20th Maine Fend off Rebels Video: Gettysburg the Movie
July 3rd
General Lee decided that
since his attacks on both
ends of the Union lines
have been unsuccessful,
he will attack the center
of the Union line.
► To lead the charge,
General Lee chooses
General George Pickett’s
Division.
► This becomes famously
known as, “Picketts’s
Charge.”
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The charge begins with Confederate cannon fire
aimed at the center of the Union line on
Cemetery Ridge.
General Pickett’s men had to cross a
mile of open field to reach the dense
area of trees on Cemetery Ridge.
This picture is a close view of the copse of
trees the Confederates set their sights on
reaching.
This monument depicts the 28th North Carolina
breaching the wall on Cemetery Hill. The
Confederates were stopped and Pickett’s charge
ended in failure.
Pickett’s
Charge
Video
The battle was over as Lee’s
army limped back to Virginia,
never to attack into the North
again…
On Nov. 19, 1863 President Lincoln helps
dedicate a cemetery at Gettysburg to
honor the brave men who gave their
lives. He gives the Gettysburg Address.
The Gettysburg Address
► In
a two-minute speech called the
“Gettysburg Address,” President Lincoln
beautifully expressed what war came to
mean:
“It is for us the living… to be here dedicated to the
great task remaining before us… that these dead
shall not have died in vain-that his nation, under
God, shall have a new birth of freedom-and that
government of the people, by the people, for the
people shall not perish from the earth.”
Gettysburg Address Video
Siege of Vicksburg
May-July 4, 1863
► Maj.
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s armies converged on
Vicksburg, investing the city and entrapping the
Confederate army under Lt. Gen. John Pemberton.
► This was the culmination of one of the most
brilliant military campaigns of the war.
► With the loss of Pemberton’s army and this vital
stronghold on the Mississippi, the Confederacy
was effectively split in half.
► Grant's successes in the West boosted his
reputation, leading to his appointment as Generalin-Chief of the Union armies.
Siege of Vicksburg Video
The Shirley House
*Notice the bombproof shelters*
•The only surviving wartime
home in the national park,
the Shirley House stood in
an area of
intense shelling.
• The 45th Illinois Infantry
used the home as its
headquarters during the
siege
• Members of the unit dug
hundreds of bombproof
shelters around the house
to try to shield themselves
from Confederate artillery
fire.
•Union forces also used the
home as a smallpox
hospital in 1864.
Wartime and Modern Views of
the Vicksburg Waterfront
Vicksburg Video
The Anaconda Plan….
The Union now controls all the Mississippi River. Part
One of the Anaconda Plan is now complete.
Boats Along the Waterfront
Siege of Petersburg
June 15, 1864-April 2 1865
Siege of Petersburg Cont…
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The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles
around Petersburg, Virginia.
Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg,
it was not a classic military siege, in which a city is usually
surrounded and all supply lines are cut off, nor was it strictly limited
to actions against Petersburg.
The campaign was nine months of trench warfare in which Union
forces commanded by Grant assaulted Petersburg unsuccessfully
and then constructed trench lines that eventually extended over
30 miles.
Petersburg was crucial to the supply of Confederate General Robert
E. Lee and his army, as well as the Confederate capital of
Richmond.
Lee yielded to the overwhelming pressure—the point at which
supply lines were finally cut and a true siege would have begun—
and abandoned both cities in April 1865, leading to his retreat and
surrender at Appomattox Court House.
Map of Petersburg
Earthworks ……
A military earthwork is defined as
any primarily earthen structure
erected for a military purpose.
•During the Civil War, earthworks
were called entrenchments,
trenches, rifle or shelter trenches,
rifle pits, parallels, earthen
defenses, or breastworks.
The Tunnel Entrance
Miners dug a tunnel underneath the Confederate line and
blew it up.
•During the Siege of
Petersburg Union troops
led by General Ulysses S.
Grant tunneled under the
Confederate trenches and
detonated the mine.
•When set off, the
resulting explosion killed
about 300 soldiers
Diagram of the tunnel
The crater left form the
explosion.
Gen Lee, realizing that he can’t hold out at
Petersburg, will try to head east to join up with the
Confederate Army in North Carolina.
With the end of the Siege of Petersburg, Richmond
surrenders on April 3 and the Confederate government
escapes. Much of Richmond is destroyed. Part II of the
Anaconda Plan is now complete.
More Destruction
A Stereoscopic View of the ruins
Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia
April 9, 1865
Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia
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On the evening of April the 8th, 1865 General Robert E. Lee and
the remnants of his once-proud Army of Northern Virginia
arrived in Appomattox County one step ahead of the pursuing
Federal Army.
Lee's hope was to reach Appomattox Station on the South Side
Railroad where supply trains awaited.
The majority of Lee's forces were setting up a temporary camp
one mile north of Appomattox Courthouse -- the small town
lying between the Confederates and the station.
After much time passed, Lee knew he was “checkmated” by
federal advances and that he had no other options left.
The disconsolate Lee sent word to Grant that he was prepared
to surrender the Army of Northern Virginia.
Surrender at Appomattox
The tired and exhausted commanders
would meet one last time!
It would be in the front parlor of the Wilmer McLean
home that the surrender would take place.
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Maj. Wilmer McLean might well have said, as tradition has it, "The [civil]
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The Civil War began on Wilmer McLean’s farm in Manassas Junction,
Virginia, with the First Battle of Bull Run. A Union shell exploded in his
kitchen. Wilmer McLean moved to get away from the conflict, yet almost
four years later his new home, near Appomattox Court House, Virginia,
was the agreed location for General Robert E. Lee to surrender to
General Ulysses S. Grant on APRIL 9, 1865.
War began in my front yard and ended in my parlor."
Gen. Lee would sit to the left at this table and Gen.
Grant would sit to the right as they discussed the
terms of surrender.
It was near here where the Confederate soldiers
stacked their weapons and were paroled to fight no
more.
Appomattax Courthouse Video
The North Carolina Monument at
Appomattox
North Carolina soldiers were the
last to surrender at Appomattox.
With Gen. Lee’s defeat, the war in the
East is over. But Gen. William T. Sherman
and his army have been reeking havoc in
the West from Atlanta to the sea. He will
turn North and sets his sights on the
Carolinas!
Sherman’s “March to the Sea”
► Sherman
decides to conduct “Total War.”
► He will leave his supplies and live off the land
as he marches through the south, all the way
to the Atlantic Ocean.
► His first target: Atlanta
► The fall of Atlanta had virtually assured the reelection of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln that
November, and the tide of war further shifted
in favor of the Union.
Atlanta was a busy railroad hub for
the South. This is the Atlanta Depot.
Atlanta Depot after Sherman
Atlanta in ruins.
Atlanta
Confederate Palisades at Atlanta
Sherman’s Army marched the entire way
from Atlanta to Savannah and through the
Carolinas.
Sherman’s Tactics Video
Sherman divides his 60,000 man army
into 2 wings, the left and the right.
Each wing took a different road to
Savannah, cutting a 60 mile wide path
of destruction…
Defenses at Savannah
Sherman enters Savannah
Destruction at Savannah
Sherman Destroys Columbia,
SC
Battle of Bentonville
► This
March 19-20, 1865
was the last full-scale action of the Civil
War in which the Confederate army was able
to mount a tactical offensive.
► This major battle, the largest ever fought in
North Carolina.
► It was the only significant attempt to defeat
the large Union army of Gen. William T.
Sherman during its march through the
Carolinas in the spring of 1865.
The Harper House was turned into a
hospital during the battle.
The Confederacy’s Last Stand Video
In this tiny cabin on April 26, 1865, Gen.
Joe Johnston surrendered to Gen.
William Sherman.
This ended the Civil War.