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1.The War Begins
-Lincoln is elected in 1860 and the 7
southernmost states secede from the
Union and form the Confederate States
of America
• Confederate soldiers started taking
over federal forts in the South
-Fort Sumter was a federal fort in SC and
Confederates demand its surrender
• Lincoln tries to resupply fort with food
rather than surrender
-On April 12, 1861, South fires on and
captures the fort – “First shots of the
Civil War”
-After the attack, Lincoln called for troops
from all states in the Union to serve for 90
days
• Upper South decides to leave the Union
(VA, AK, NC, TN) for a total of 11 states
-Western portion of Virginia secedes from
Virginia and joins Kentucky, Missouri,
Maryland, and Delaware as Border States
By the time Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated,
only two federal forts remained in Union hands,
with Fort Sumter, South Carolina being of the
utmost importance. One day after Lincoln’s
inauguration, he received word from Major
Robert Anderson, commander of Fort Sumter,
that the Confederacy had demanded he
surrender the fort and that he was running out
of supplies. Lincoln decided to resupply the fort
with food rather than send troops to reinforce
the fort or surrender the fort – thus forcing the
South to make the next move. At 4:30 a.m. on
April 12, 1861, Confederate President Jefferson
Davis ordered the attack on Fort Sumter. The
Confederates bombarded the fort for 33 hours
until Major Anderson finally surrendered.
“Having defended Fort Sumter for thirty-four hours, until the quarters were entirely
burned, the main gates destroyed by fire…the magazine surrounded by flames…four
barrels and three cartridges of powder only being available, and no provision but pork
remaining, I accepted terms of evacuation…and marched out of the fort…with colors
flying and drums beating…and saluting my flag with fifty guns.”
Major Robert Anderson
2. Strategies-Union
-The first General in Chief of the Union
Army, Winfield Scott, developed the plan
for Union victory, known as the Anaconda
Plan
• The North would gradually strangle the
South and force them to surrender
-Anaconda Plan consisted of three major
parts:
1) Blockade the South to keep them from
getting supplies from foreign nations
2) Capture the Mississippi River to divide
the South in half
3) Capture Richmond, the Confederate
capitol and destroy the Southern
government
• Many northerners thought the plan was
too slow and wanted an all-out invasion of
the South instead
-This strategy, however, would become
essential to the Union victory
General Winfield Scott
suggested that the Union
blockade Confederate ports
and send gunboats down the
Mississippi River to divide the
Confederacy. The South, thus
separated, would gradually
run out of resources and
surrender. The plan would
take time, but it would defeat
the South with the least
amount of bloodshed.
2. Strategies-Confederacy
-South’s goal was its own survival as a
nation, thus its strategy was to “prepare
and wait” on the enemy – to fight a
defensive war
• Southern army stayed in South, chose
battlefields, waited on North to attack
Early in the war, Confederate President
Jefferson Davis imagined a struggle similar to
the Revolutionary War. His generals would pick
their battles carefully, attacking and retreating
when necessary and avoiding large battles
that might risk heavy losses. Davis believed
that is the South waged a defensive war of
attrition in this manner, it would force the Union
to spend its resources until it became tired of
the war and agreed to negotiate. This idea
outraged many Southerners, who believed
themselves superior fighters. According to the
1861 Richmond Examiner, “The idea of waiting
for blows, instead of inflicting them, is
altogether unsuited to the genius of our
people.” Southerners despised the idea of
defensive war so much, that soldiers in battle
would often charge on the offensive and suffer
large numbers of casualties.
-Southerners hoped to wage a war of
attrition – wearing down the North until
they grew tired of the war and allowed the
South its independence-Sound familiar???
-Confederacy also wanted to gain help from
Britain and France who depended heavily
on southern cotton exports for their
textile factories
• Issue of slavery made both nations
question supporting the Confederacy
-Trent Affair occurred in 1861, when 2
Confederate Ambassadors aboard a British
ship were taken captive by the Union,
almost leading Britain to declare war on
the U.S.
3. Advantages-Union
-The overall northern advantage in the
Civil War was resources
-Had more material goods due to
North’s focus on manufacturing
• Had most of nation’s factories and
produced most of its clothing and iron
• North also had over 70% of the
nation’s telegraph and railroad lines
-Had more manpower due to the
constant flow of immigrants to the
North
• There was no immigration in South due
to slave labor and the lack of jobs
-Had an already working government,
the strong leadership of Abraham
Lincoln, and a powerful navy
In 1860, the Northern population numbered over 22
million people, with new immigrants coming into
northern ports each day to work in northern industry.
The South, on the other hand, had only 9 million total
people with 1/3 of those being enslaved. Likewise,
the North possessed 90 percent of the United States’
factories and produced more than 90 percent of the
countries clothing and iron, both essential for
supplying armies. The South had 50 percent fewer
rail lines than the North and only had one line that
went from the western part of the Confederacy to
the eastern area, making it easy for the North to cut
off critical supplies of food and goods to the
Southern people and its armies.
General Robert E. Lee
Overall Commander of
Confederate Army
2nd in class at West Point
without any demerits
Offered command of
Union Army, but
declined due to loyalty
to Virginia
LT. General Stonewall
Jackson
3. Advantages-Confederacy
-The overall southern advantage in the
Civil War was its military
-Had a strong military tradition, with 7
of the 8 major military colleges of 1860
located in the South
• Provided the most well-trained
military officers to the Confederacy
-Had the home-field advantage, with
the majority of battles being fought in
the South
Considered by many
historians to be the
most gifted tactical
commander of the
Civil War
• Knew the land and had friendly civilians
to provide food and shelter
Lt. General James
Longstreet
Lee’s 2nd in Command
54th of 56th in class at
West Point
Developed Idea of
Trench Warfare
-Suffered less casualties than the
North in almost every battle and won
most of the early battles
-Had a greater motivation to fight –
fighting for their ‘independence’
4.Reasons Both Sides Fought
-Primary motivation for the North and
Lincoln in fighting the Civil War: Preserve
the Union and keep the country together
• Wanted to stop the South and keep the
Union and Constitution intact
-Lincoln believed slavery was wrong but did
not believe he had the Constitutional
authority to end it
• When the North needed more motivation
midway through the war, Lincoln made the
war one to end slavery
-Primary motivation for the South in
fighting: Secede from the Union and gain
their ‘independence’ from the North
“If I could save the Union without freeing
any slave I would do it, and if I could save
it by freeing all the slaves I would do it;
and if I could save it by freeing some and
leaving others alone I would also do that.”
~President Abraham Lincoln 1862~
• Believed their goals were like those of
the American Revolution
-Sought to free themselves from a
government that they believed overtaxed
them and sought to end their way of life
by ending slavery
5.Raising Armies on Both Sides
-Both sides began supplying their armies
through volunteers, but had to turn to
conscription by 1862 and 1863
• Drafting men into military service
-Southern draft age ranged from 17 to 50 by
the end of the war
• People could pay for a substitute and planters
with more than 20 slaves were exempt
-Northern draft age ranged from 20 to 45
• Could also hire substitutes or pay $300.00
not to be drafted at all
-Frustration over northern draft practices
came to a boil in the New York Draft Riots of
1863
The Confederacy originally drafted all able• Irish immigrants angered because fighting to
bodied men from age 18 to 35, but would
free slaves that would take jobs
have to change the ages to 17 to 50 as the
-African Americans served in the Union army in war drew to a close and they were low on
troops. Draft practices were unfair and
segregated units led by white officers and
many poor southerners began to exclaim
received less pay
that this was a “rich man’s war and a poor
-Most famous regiment was the 54th
man’s fight”. By the end of the war, despite
Massachusetts, who took 40% casualties at
their protests, over 90% of southern men who
Fort Wagner
were eligible to serve had done so.
Only 46,000 Union draftees actually went into military service. The rest of the 2 million
soldiers that fought for the Union were volunteers. In 1863, the frustration over the northern
draft came to a boil in the New York Draft Riots. Irish immigrants were enraged that they
were being drafted to fight a war to free slaves that would eventually take their jobs, while
wealthy whites avoided the draft altogether. For four days in July of 1863, mobs of
immigrants attacked draft and newspaper offices, homes of antislavery leaders, welldressed men on the streets, and African Americans. By the time federal troops were able to
end the chaos, 100 people were dead.
“The only regiment I ever looked upon during the war was the 54th Massachusetts
on its departure for the South. I can never forget the scene as Colonel Shaw rode at
the head of his men. The very flower of grace and chivalry, he seemed to me
beautiful and awful, as an angel of God come down to lead the host of freedom to
victory."
John Greenleaf Whittier
The most famous regiment of African American soldiers in the North was the 54th
Massachusetts, formed by Frederick Douglass and led by Robert Gould Shaw. Over 40% of the
regiment was killed at the Union assault on Fort Wagner in July 1863.
6.Financing the War on Both Sides
-North had the financial advantage
during the war, controlling the national
treasury, collecting tariffs, and possessing
reserve money in banks to loan the
government
• Over time, northerners withdrew their
money from banks; banks left with little
money to loan the government
-US government finally issued greenbacks,
paper money that kept the nation going
-Also passed the first income tax to raise
money for the war
-South had no money to buy bonds and only
small banks to loan the government money
• Wanted to tax trade to raise money, but
Union blockade ended that hope
• Tried to pass property taxes, but
landowners refused to pay
-Ended up printing paper money and causing
inflation (a rise in prices)
7.Suppressing Opposition in the
North
• Many northerners sympathized with the
South and criticized the war
-To control opposition, Abraham Lincoln
suspended the writ of habeas corpus in
the Border states and declared martial
law
• Could hold Confederate sympathizers and
spies in prison without a trial
-Especially targeted members of the
Copperhead group – northern democrats
who advocated peace with the South
Lincoln was willing to take political and
constitutional risks to preserve the Union.
He declared martial law in the state of
Maryland in order to keep the state from
seceding. Under martial law, the military
took control of the area, replaced civilian
authorities with military ones, and
suspended basic civil rights.
-Lincoln seized telegraph offices so no one
could send messages that would endanger
the Union
-Jefferson Davis originally denounced
Lincoln’s suspension of civil liberties
• Davis suspends some of the same rights in
the South to maintain order
“Your letter shows you to be a cowardly traitor. No traitor can be
my friend; if you cannot renounce your allegiance to the
Copperhead scoundrels and own your allegiance to the
Government which has always protected you, you are my enemy,
and I wish you were in the ranks of my open, avowed, and manly
enemies, that I might put a ball through your black heart, and send
your soul to the Arch Rebel himself.”
A Union Soldier in Response to a Copperhead Friend
8.Daily Life at Home and in War
• Southern economy suffered most from war
due to loss of manpower and a reduction in
supplies because of the Union blockade
-Shortages of food caused many soldiers to
desert the army to go home to care for
families
-Northern economy boomed from the
increase in war production in factories
• Women on both sides moved to workforce,
either in the government or on the farm
-Conditions for soldiers were terrible, with
disease running rampant in army camps
-Union created the US Sanitary Commission
to improve the conditions in camps and recruit
and train nurses
By the end of 1862, the South’s economy had
begun to suffer from the war. The collapse of
the South’s transportation system, the
blockade of Southern ports, and the
presence of Union troops in several
important agricultural regions led to severe
food shortages during the winter of
1862-1863.
• Medical care was terrible with no
anesthesia, no sterilization of instruments,
and common use of amputation
-Prison camps on both sides bred starvation
and sickness
-Worst camp was Andersonville, GA
Gaunt, hungry women, several wielding clubs,
another a smoking pistol, took to the streets of
Richmond, Virginia, on April 2, 1863, to protest
food shortages, hoarding, speculation, and
spiraling inflation in the Confederate capital.
Their anger turned into a street march and
attacks on commercial establishments. Several
eyewitnesses reported they heard a chant of
"Bread or blood!" The mob then began
attacking government warehouses, grocery
stores, and various mercantile establishments,
seizing food, clothing, and wagons. Only after
troops were deployed and authorities
threatened to fire on the mob did the rioters
disperse. More than 60 men and women were
arrested and tried for their actions during the
riot.
“As she raised her hand to remove her
sunbonnet and use it for a fan, her loose calico
sleeve slipped up and revealed the mere
skeleton of an arm. She perceived my
expression as I looked at it, and hastily pulled
down her sleeve with a short laugh. 'This is all
that's left of me' she said. 'It seems real funny,
don't it?. . .We are starving. As soon as enough
of us get together, we are going to the bakeries
and each of us will take a loaf of bread. That is
little enough for the government to give us after
it has taken all our men.‘”
“The sights and smells that assailed us were
simply indescribable-corpses swollen to
twice their size, asunder with the pressure of
gases and vapors…The odors were
nauseating, and so deadly that in a short
time we all sickened and were lying with
our mouths close to the ground, most of us
vomiting profusely.”
“As a wounded man was lifted on the
table, often shrieking with pain as the
attendants handled him, the surgeon
quickly examined the wound, resolved
upon cutting off the injured limb. Some
ether was administered and the body put
in position in a moment. The surgeon
snatched his knife from between his teeth,
wiped it rapidly once or twice across his
bloodstained apron, and the cutting
began. The operation accomplished, the
surgeon would look around with a deep
sigh, and then say - "Next."
Union soldier on
his release
from
Andersonville in
May, 1865
During the fourteen months Andersonville existed, more
than 45,000 Union soldiers were confined there. Of these,
almost 13,000 died from disease, poor sanitation,
malnutrition, overcrowding, or exposure to the elements.
Handicapped by deteriorating economic conditions, an
inadequate transportation system, and the need to
concentrate all available resources on its army, the
Confederate government was unable to provide
adequate housing, food, clothing, and medical care to
their captives.
The men were served by a small, muddy creek which
became "a mass of liquid excrement" as it was used as a
latrine outside the stockade by guards and inside the
stockade by prisoners, who were more and more stricken
with dysentery. Flies and maggots swarmed over the
entire area, spreading disease which claimed the lives of
up to 127 men a day. "Since the day I was born," said one
prisoner, "I've never seen such misery." Wrote Father
Hamilton of Macon, "I found the stockade extremely
filthy; the men all huddled together and covered with
vermin ... I found the Hospital almost as crowded as the
stockade. The men were dying there very rapidly from
scurvy ... diarrhea and dysentery ... they were not only
covered with the ordinary vermin but also maggots ...
they had nothing under them at all except the ground."
Wrote Eliza Andrews of Washington, Georgia: "It is
dreadful. My heart aches for the poor wretches, Yankees
though they are, and I am afraid God will suffer some
terrible retribution to fall upon us for letting such things
happen. If the Yankees ever should come to southwest
Georgia and go to Andersonville and see the graves
there, God have mercy on the land!“