Download Chapter 19: The Civil War

Chapter 19: The Civil War
Ch. 19.1: The War Begins (pp. 580-584)
Lincoln gives his inaugural address on March 4th, 1861. By that time seven states had seceded or
left the Union. Lincoln pledged to not end slavery in the South. However, he did speak of saving the
Union.
Confederate government officials began taking over federal mints, arsenals, and forts. The
Confederacy had hopes of taking over Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina, so they surrounded
it with troops. When the Union or U.S. troops inside the fort ran low on supplies President Lincoln sent
them more. At this point South Carolina demanded that the U.S. troops left the fort, but the troops
refused. On April 12, 1861 Confederate guns opened fire on Fort Sumter and the Civil War began. The
bombing went on for 34 hours straight before the Union troops surrendered. There were no casualties.
After the attack on Fort Sumter President Lincoln asked for 75,000 volunteer troops. The Union
army had only 16,000 troops at the time.
North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Arkansas soon joined the seven states already in the
Confederacy. Richmond, Virginia was designated as capital of the Confederacy.
The border states of Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri were all deeply divided, but
eventually voted against secession. The people of western Virginia who were loyal to the Union set up
their own state government in 1863.
ADVANTAGES
NORTH
Larger Population, more soldiers
More factories & shipyards
Better network of railroads
Able to raise more money
SOUTH
Many skilled officers, including Robert E. Lee
Needed only to defend its land, fighting a
defensive war
More experience with guns, horses, outdoors
MILITARY STRATEGIES
UNION (NORTH)
CONFEDERACY (SOUTH)
Developed by General Winfield Scott:
1. Defend own territory, defensive war.
1. Set up a naval blockade along the Atlantic
Coast, hurting the Southern economy.
2. Gain control of the Mississippi River,
dividing the Confederacy and cutting it
communications.
2. Wear down the Union’s will to fight
They hoped to take the Union capital, Washington
D.C.
They tried to gain Britain as an ally through cotton
diplomacy.
Many northerners also wanted to attack the
Confederate capital of Richmond, VA.
Ch. 19.2: The War in the East (pp. 585-589)
Many northerners wanted Union troops to attack the Confederate capital of Richmond and stop the
Rebel Congress from meeting. Lincoln listened and ordered an attack.
In July of 1861 roughly 35,000 troops led by General Irvin McDowell met 35,000 Confederate
troops in the First Battle of Bull Run/Manassas.
Results of the First Battle of Bull Run (July 1861):
1. The Union is forced to retreat back to Washington D.C.
2. The Union’s hopes of winning the war quickly and easily were gone.
3. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson became a legend for the South
Lincoln still hoped to capture Richmond he sent his new commander General George B.
McClellan to do the job, but McClellan waited for too long. General Robert E. Lee was in charge of the
Rebel troops in Virginia. During June-July 1862 in a series of skirmishes known as the Seven Days’
Battles Lee forced McClellan and the Union troops to retreat again. Casualty numbers were high for both
sides.
Lincoln then ordered General John Pope to attack Richmond. Again Lee and the Rebels forced the
Union troops to retreat at the Second Battle of Bull Run. By August of 1862 nearly all Union troops
were out of Virginia.
Lee moved 40,000+ troops north into Maryland and planned an attack. However, his battle plans
were found by Union troops, so they planned a counterattack. On September 17, 1862 the two armies met
in the Battle of Antietam. Both sides had high numbers of casualties; it was the bloodiest single-day
battle of the war. The Union won a key victory. Lee was forced to retreat back to Virginia.
THE WAR AT SEA
UNION (NORTH)
CONFEDERACY (SOUTH)
*The Union controlled the sea throughout the war.
The South used small, fast ships called runners
to outrun large Union ships & reach trading
The Union navy blockaded the South, cutting
ports. Their trade still suffered greatly.
off trade & hurting the economy. But the
blockade was difficult to keep up because it
The Confederates captured a Union warship
covered thousands of miles of coastline.
into an ironclad called Virginia. In March
1862 the Virginia easily sank 2 wooden
The Union ironclad Monitor won a key naval
Union warships.
battle by forcing the Confederate ironclad
Virginia to retreat, which kept the blockade
going.
Ch. 19.3: The War in the West (pp. 590-593)
The Union strategy in the West focused on controlling the Mississippi River. From bases on the
Mississippi the Union could attack the South’s communication and transportation networks.
Ulysses S. Grant was the most important Union general in the West. By the spring of 1862 Grant
and the Union controlled most parts of the states of Kentucky and Tennessee. Grant advanced his troops
into southern Tennessee. It was there that they met Confederate forces at a church called Shiloh.
Results of the Battle of Shiloh (April 6-7, 1862)
1. The confederates were forced to retreat
2. The Union had greater control of the Mississippi River Valley
3. One of the first major battles of the war
Union naval leader David Farragut captured the South’s largest city New Orleans in April 1862.
He then moved up the Mississippi taking Baton Rouge, LA and Natchez, MS also. The only confederate
stronghold left on the Mississippi River was Vicksburg, MS. Vicksburg’s high bluffs made it easy for the
Confederates to defend. General Grant surrounded the city setting up six-week siege. Starving soldiers
and civilians inside the city were forced to eat horses, dogs, and rats. Finally, on July 4th, 1863 the South
surrendered. The Union then had complete control of the Mississippi River.
In the Far Western theater the Union controlled the Southwest. A union victory at Pea Ridge also
gave them control of the border state of Missouri. Although Pro-Confederate forces remained active in
Kansas and Missouri throughout the Civil War.
Siege-the act of surrounding and attacking a fortified place
Ch. 19.4: Life During the War (pp. 594-599)
President Lincoln supported freeing slaves if it helped the North win the war. However, the
constitution did not give the President the power to end slavery in the U.S. A union victory at the Battle
of Antietam gave Lincoln the opportunity to announce the Emancipation Proclamation. The
Proclamation freed all slaves in areas controlled by the Confederacy. It went into effect on January 1,
1863. Slaves were encouraged to escape to freedom when the Union army was nearby. Some thought
Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation had gone too far. Abolitionists believed it had not gone far enough,
they wanted all slaves freed.
At the start of the war African Americans were not allowed to serve in the Union army. In July
1862 they were allowed to serve as laborers. Also, in 1862 escaped slaves, or contrabands, were allowed
to serve in a Union unit from South Carolina. By the spring of 1863 African American units were fighting
in the field for the Union army. The most famous all-black unit was the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. In
July 1863 they played a key role in the attack on Fort Wagner in South Carolina. They also played an
important role in getting equal pay for black soldiers.
About 180,000 African Americans served with the Union army during the Civil War. African
Americans served bravely although they faced death or slavery if they were captured. President Lincoln
praised African American soldiers for their contributions.
The issue of ending slavery upset many northerners. Northern Democrats who sympathized with
the South, objected to abolition, and wanted the war to end were known as Copperheads. President
Lincoln worried that Copperheads threatened the Union’s war effort. He tried to stop them by suspending
habeas corpus, the constitutional right to protection from unlawful imprisonment. Union officials put
many anti-war northerners into jail without evidence or a trial.
In March 1863 Congress passed a law allowing men to be drafted in military service for the Union
army. However, you could pay $300 in order to avoid the draft. In July of 1863 draft riots targeting
African Americans and draft officials broke out in New York City. Rioters killed more than 100 people
before being stopped by Union soldiers.
Many problems arose in the South during the Civil War. The Union’s naval blockade created a
shortage of supplies for Confederate soldiers. A decrease in trade caused the value of Confederate money
to drop rapidly, while prices of goods like food and medicine increased. This drop in the value of money
and increase in prices is called inflation. By the end of the war, many southerners could not afford
necessities like bread or clothes. In the spring of 1863 food riots broke out in several cities, including
Richmond.
The Confederacy put a military draft into place in 1862, but those who owned 20 or more slaves
could avoid military service. Many southerners cried, “Rich man’s war, poor man’s fight.”
Civilians at home during the war worked in factories or farms and plantations. Women often filled
the jobs that were left by husbands who were off at war. Many women also provided medical service
during the war. Dorothea Dix headed more than 3,000 nurses in the Union army. Clara Barton delivered
supplies and medicine to the battlefield. Her work formed the basis of what is called the American Red
Cross today. Sanitation and disease were major problems for soldiers. Twice as many soldiers died from
disease as did from combat.
Military prisoners suffered greatly during the war. Arguably, the worst prison was the
Confederate-run Andersonville prison in Georgia. Thousands of Union soldiers were held there with no
shelter and very little food.
Ch. 19.5: The Tide of the War Turns (pp. 600-605)
In May of 1863 the Confederates suffered a huge loss when General Stonewall Jackson was shot
in battle and then died.
After a pair of Confederate victories in Virginia, General Lee decided to again attack on Union
soil. Lee hoped another victory would turn the tide of the war. In June 1863 Lee marched his men into
southern Pennsylvania. In Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Lee’s troops found Union troops waiting for them.
Results of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863)
1.
50,000 + casualties,
2. Lee and Confederate army forced to retreat to Virginia. South would never attack on Northern soil
again
3. Union gained more hope that they could win the war soon
On November 19, 1863 President Lincoln spoke at the new Gettysburg cemetery. His speech is
known as the Gettysburg Address. In his short speech he spoke of liberty, equality, and democratic
ideals. Lincoln dedicated himself and the rest of the North to winning the war and saving the Union.
Lincoln was impressed with General Grant success in the West, so he brought him to the East and
made him command of the Union army. In 1864 Grant’s union troops fought a series of battles with Lee’s
southern troops throughout Virginia. Grant was forcing the Confederates to run low on soldiers and
supplies, but he could not capture the Confederate capital of Richmond.
Meanwhile in the South General William Tecumseh Sherman marched south from Tennessee
into Georgia with 100,000 Union troops. Along the way they were destroying railroad track, bridges,
telegraph lines, factories and anything else along the way. This destruction of civilian and military
resources is known as total war. By the end of 1864 Sherman had marched 250 miles, through the entire
state of Georgia, and he had captured the cities of Atlanta and Savannah. Sherman’s March hurt the
South’s economy and helped bring the war to an end.
By April 1865 Sherman and his troops had marched through South Carolina into North Carolina.
Grant had forced Lee and his men to retreat to Richmond. Union troops began to move into the
Confederate capital. Soon Lee was surrounded. Trapped and with no other choice General Lee
surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia. The surrender on April 9, 1865
ended the war. The Union had won, but many things were left to be solved. 620,000 lives had been lost
during the 4 year war.