Download 1. Summary of TheCivilWar

The American Civil War
1861–1865
A Divided Nation
Comparing Northern and Southern Societies
The North’s population was three
times that of the South. Most other
countries recognized the Union as
the government in America.
However, Britain and France had
friendly relations with the
Confederacy (Cotton) and
considered aiding the South. The
North also was more affluent.
The South had about nine million
people, including about three million
slaves. The average Southerner was not
as wealthy as the average person living
in the North. About 90 percent of
American industry and railroads were
in the North. Reliance on slave labor
discouraged the creation of new jobs in
the South. This discouraged
immigration, and most immigrants
settled in the North.
The Leaders
Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth
President of the United States. He
opposed the expansion of slavery. A
Republican, Lincoln led the Union
during the Civil War. John Wilkes Booth
assassinated Lincoln in Washington,
D.C., on April 14, 1865.
Jefferson Davis was President of the
Confederate States of America. During the
Mexican War, he had been an officer in
the United States Army. Davis also had
served as the United States Secretary of
War. When the South surrendered, he was
charged with treason and prohibited from
running for public office again.
The Generals
Ulysses S. Grant
Robert E. Lee
William T. Sherman
Thomas Jackson
George Meade
James Longstreet
George B. McClellan
James E.B. Stuart
Strategies
Anaconda Plan
Union General Winfield Scott suggested the Anaconda
Plan to halt Southern trade. The plan would impose a
blockade. This would eventually enable the North to
control the Mississippi River. Meanwhile, the army
would divide and isolate sections of the South and
capture its vital cities and the capital in Richmond,
Virginia. Under General Ulysses S. Grant, the North’s
strategy kept pressure on General Robert E. Lee’s army
and constantly weakened their numbers. The larger
population of the North made this possible.
King Cotton
The Confederacy adopted a defensive strategy and
attempted to secure alliances with more powerful
countries such as Britain and France. To do that, the
South needed to show it could win the war. As a
result, the Confederate army attacked Union territory
to draw Union troops away from the South and to
impress potential allies. As the war continued, the
Southern strategy became one of evading the Union
army, prolonging the war, and inflicting casualties to
demoralize the North.
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Uniforms
At the beginning of the Civil War, states provided uniforms to soldiers; and the
uniforms were in a variety of colors. This led to massive confusion on the battlefield,
and often soldiers fired on their own men. As the war continued, both sides chose a
single color for their uniforms. The United States of America chose blue, and the
Confederate States of America chose gray.
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Major Battles of the Civil War
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Fort Sumter
April 12, 1861
The first shots of the Civil War were fired
at Fort Sumter. Major Robert Anderson of
the United States Army had moved his
troops to the base because he feared a
Confederate attack. In the early morning
of April 12, 1861, the Confederates
launched an attack. Northern troops under
Anderson’s command returned fire, but
were ineffective. The Confederacy
continued its attack with prolonged
gunfire, and the Union troops in the fort
surrendered a day later. One Confederate
soldier and four Union soldiers were
killed in the battle.
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South Carolina
Antietam
Maryland
September 17, 1862
The Battle of Antietam, also known as
the Battle of Sharpsburg, was fought
on September 16–18, 1862. It was a
confrontation between Union and
Confederate forces under Generals
George McClellan and Robert E. Lee.
Federal armies brutalized the
Confederacy; the combined casualties
were more than twenty-three thousand.
The Union pushed Lee and his troops
back to Antietam Creek, but the
stubborn Confederate general
counterattacked with all his troops. The
two sides fought to a standstill, and
both armies withdrew.
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The Emancipation Proclamation
January 1, 1863
President Abraham Lincoln issued the
Emancipation Proclamation. It was part
of a two-part plan that guaranteed
freedom to slaves in the Union and some
Confederate states. The Confederate
government claimed Lincoln could not
issue laws over states in which he had no
political control. The first plan, enacted
on September 22, 1862, freed slaves in
Confederate states that had not yet
rejoined the Union. The second part took
effect on January 1, 1863, applying to
specific states, but not to the border
states such as Maryland and West
Virginia.
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Gettysburg
Pennsylvania
July 1-3, 1863
The Battle of Gettysburg began as the
Battle of Vicksburg was ending.
Confederate General Lee forced federal
troops, under General George C. Meade’s
command, to lose ground as the
Confederate forces attempted to take the
city. Lee planned several attacks,
including attacks at Peach Orchard and
Devil’s Den. The Union army fought
back, repelling Confederate attacks and
sending them back to Culp’s Hill. Lee
was relentless and sent his army back into
battle, but to no avail. He eventually
began a retreat toward Williamsport.
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The Gettysburg Address
November 19, 1863
Abraham Lincoln delivered this famous speech
on November 19, 1863, to a crowd gathered at
the dedication of Soldier’s National Cemetery
in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The speech
contains only two hundred seventy-two words,
but it is considered one of the greatest speeches
in American history.
“that from these honored dead we take increased
devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full
measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that
these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this
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.”
Abraham Lincoln
Sherman’s March to the Sea
November 15-December 20, 1864
As the Union army moved through
the South, they destroyed train tracks
by heating the rails and bending them
into a bow. This became known as
“Sherman’s Neckties”
Union General William T. Sherman
already had captured Atlanta, but he
wanted to leave sixty thousand troops
there while he marched the rest of his
army to the Atlantic Ocean through
Savannah, Georgia. During this time,
Confederate General John Hood had led
troops in a raid on Tennessee, leaving
Sherman’s soldiers to face fewer than
five thousand Confederate soldiers.
Sherman’s troops burned buildings and
infrastructures along the way,
destroying many towns and cities.
Sherman’s troops defeated the depleted
Confederate army and took Savannah
on December 22, 1864.
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Surrender at Appomattox
Virginia
April 9, 1865
General Lee surrendered his Confederate army at Appomattox
Court House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865. Lee’s army had
diminished, which contributed to Union General Grant’s many
victories near the end of the war. In a sign of respect, Grant
allowed Lee to keep his sabre and horse.
Assassination of Lincoln
April 14, 1865
President Abraham Lincoln was
assassinated at the end of the Civil War. He
was killed on April 14, 1865, while
attending a play at Ford’s Theatre in
Washington, D.C., with his wife and two
other people. Lincoln was watching Our
American Cousin when John Wilkes Booth
shot him in the back of the head.
Booth was a loyal Confederate, and he
thought the Confederacy could triumph if
Lincoln were dead. Booth jumped off the
balcony and broke his ankle, but managed to
escape the theater. Lincoln died of his fatal
wound
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The Trial and Execution of the Conspirators
The conspirators in the assassination of President
Lincoln were Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David
Herold, George Atzerdot, Michael O’Laughlen,
Samuel Arnold, Edman Spangler, and Dr. Samuel
Mudd. They were tried in a military tribunal court
because the government deemed the nature of the
case required the use of this court. A majority vote
would result in a guilty verdict, while a two-thirds
majority would result in a death sentence.
All eight were found guilty. Surratt, Powell,
Herold, and Atzerdot were sentenced to death by
hanging. O’Laughlen died in prison. President
Andrew Johnson pardoned Arnold, Spangler, and
Mudd.
Legacy of the War
The Civil War was the bloodiest war in American history. It has been referred to as
“The War Between the States,” “The Brother’s War,” and the “War of Northern
Aggression.” More than 600,000 Americans lost their lives, and countless others
were wounded severely. The Civil War led to passage of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth ,
and Fifteen Amendments to the United States Constitution. These amendments
outlawed slavery, granted African Americans United States citizenship, and granted
African-American males the right to vote. Although equal treatment under the law
for African Americans would not be enforced until almost a hundred years later, the
Civil War abolished slavery and established the supremacy of the federal
government.