Download Chapter 21 The Furnace of Civil War 1861-1865

Chapter 21
The Furnace of Civil War
1861-1865
My paramount object in this struggle is
to save the Union, and is not either to
save or to destroy slavery.
-Abraham Lincoln, 1862
First Battle of Bull Run
• First major battle of war
• Occurred at Manassas Junction, a railroad
center in northern Virginia
• Union troops, under
General Irvin McDowell,
unprepared
• Confederate reinforcements
arrived (1st time troops moved
by train)
• Thomas J. Jackson, leading
company of Virginians, rallied
his troops, earning the nickname,
“Stonewall”
• Disastrous Union defeat
• Effects
– Union casualties: 2900; Confederate casualties: 2000
– Convinced the North that a long war was inevitable
– Gave the Confederacy false confidence
David G. Farragut
Ulysses S. Grant
War at Sea
• The Blockade
– Union established blockade of all Southern ports in April 1861,
successfully sealing off all but 2 southern ports by 1862
– South resorted to blockade runners to get through the blockade
• New Orleans (1862)
– David G. Farragut was given command of Union naval force and
set out to take control of city
– Intense barrage
– Farragut’s ships slipped into New Orleans, where Union forces
captured the city
– Capture of New Orleans put the South’s largest city, and a center
of trade, in U.S. hands
– Cut off flow off goods down the Mississippi River
Monitor vs. Merrimack
• Confederates reconditioned an old
U.S. warship, renaming it the
Virginia
– Plated with old iron railroad rails
– Threatened Union blockade
– Destroyed two wooden ships in
Chesapeake Bay
• Union ironclad, the Monitor
(‘Yankee cheese box on a raft’),
arrived in March 1862 to challenge
the Confederate ship
– Battle lasted four hours, with neither
ship gaining the advantage
– Presence of the Monitor prevented
the South from breaking the Union
blockade
• First battle of ironclad ships in
world history
– Doomed wooden warships
War in the West
• Forts Henry and Donelson (1862)
– General Ulysses Grant in command of Union forces
– Seized control of Ft. Donelson on the Cumberland River and Ft. Henry, the
Confederacy’s main fort on the Tennessee River
– Placed all of Kentucky and most of western Tennessee in Union hands
– When asked by Confederate general for terms, he demanded “unconditional and
immediate surrender”, earning himself the nickname “Unconditional Surrender”
Grant
• Shiloh (1862)
– Grant moved to cut South’s rail line at Corinth, Mississippi
– Confederates launched surprise attack near Shiloh Church near Pittsburgh Landing
– Confederates were winning, but Grant was able to bring in reinforcements from the
river
– Grant forced Confederate surrender, resulting in a Union victory
– Bloodiest single battle of the war up to that point (worse was to come) with 13000
Union casualties and 11000 Confederate casualties
• Murfreesboro (1864)
– General Braxton Bragg led Confederate army against Union’s General William
Rosecrans
– Union lines attempted to cut Confederate rail lines at Chattanooga but fell back
– Battle ended with no winner, but Union reinforcements forced Bragg to retreat
War in the East
• Peninsular Campaign (1862)
– General George McClellan planned to attack in
Virginia where James and York Rivers form a
peninsula, then move to Richmond
– Moved too slowly, allowing Confederates to
strengthen position, and Confederate General
Joseph Johnston inflicted heavy losses
• Seven Days’ Battles (6/1862)
– General Robert E. Lee assumed command and
led attacks against McClellan in Virginia
– Forced McClellan to retreat
– Losses totaled more than 30,000 casualties and
Lincoln ordered McClellan back to Washington
• Second Battle of Bull Run (8/1862)
– Lee moved to attack McClellan’s retreating army
– Met near Manassas Junction
– South won again, coming within 20 miles of
Washington, D.C.
Antietam
• General Robert E. Lee decided that it was time to invade the North
– Believed that victory on Union soil would convince U.S. to negotiate peace and
help gain European intervention
– Hoped victory would help Peace Democrats win upcoming Congressional
elections
• Lee ordered troops to gather near Sharpsburg, Maryland
– McClellan had no idea where Confederate army was
– Discovered Lee’s plans wrapped around a bundle of cigars in an abandoned
camp
– Pursued Confederate army
• Battle began at Antietam Creek in September 1862
– Also called Battle of Sharpsburg
– Union had 75000 troops with 25000 in reserve; Confederacy had 40000 troops
• Union victory at great cost
– Bloodiest single day of the Civil War with 12000 Union casualties and 14000
Confederate casualties
• Importance
– British decided to delay decision on support of Confederacy
– South lost best chance for international recognition
– Lincoln decided that the time had come to end slavery in the South
Antietam
Emancipation Proclamation
• Question of Slavery
– Democrats opposed ending slavery
– Republicans divided on the issue
• Feared alienating Border States
• Believed restoring Union should be first
priority
– Many convinced by mounting casualties
and length of war that South needed to
be punished
• Emancipation Proclamation
– Effective January 1, 1863
– Freed slaves in states at war with the
Union
• Did not end slavery in Border States
• Did not free slaves in Confederate areas
under Union control (New Orleans, etc.)
– Transformed the war into a conflict to
end slavery
– Ended any real chance for Britain to
accept Confederacy
African American Soldiers
• Emancipation Proclamation allowed blacks to enlist in the Union
army
– 180,000 blacks served in Union army during the Civil War (about 9%)
– 10,000 to 15,000 blacks served in the Navy (about 10 to 12%)
• 54th Massachusetts
– One of the 1st African American regiments organized
– Extreme heroism proved that African Americans were good soldiers
• African American Contribution
– Afforded blacks right to prove patriotism and claim citizenship
– African American soldiers received 22 Congressional Medals of Honor
• Confederate Soldiers
– Did not enlist slaves until last year of war
– Slaves were forced to provide labor for war-connected activities
54th Massachusetts
The Tide of War Turns
Battle of Vicksburg
• Strategic Location
– Vicksburg located on east bank of Mississippi River
– It was last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi
– Union victory would cut the Confederacy in two
• Grierson’s Raid
– Troops under leadership of Ben Grierson conducted series of raids to
distract Confederates from Vicksburg
– Grant moved quickly into position south of city, then moved east to
capture Jackson
– Ordered troops to live off the land by foraging
• Siege of Vicksburg
– Grant attacked in May 1863
– Defenses were so strong that Grant was forced to lay siege to the city –
cutting it off from food and supplies while under constant bombardment
– until defenders surrendered (Confederates forced to eat rats and
mules)
– July 4, 1863 the city surrendered, cutting the South in two parts and
giving the Union complete control of the Mississippi River
Road to Gettysburg
• Battle of Fredericksburg (12/1862)
– General Ambrose Burnside replaced the fired McClellan
for Union army (McClellan had allowed Lee to regroup
after Antietam)
– Burnside launched attack against Confederates in
Fredericksburg, Virginia
– Confederates held superior position in hills above the
town (Confederates called it “Burnside’s Slaughter Pen”)
– Union losses totaled more than 12,000 men to minimal
Confederate losses
– Burnside was replaced by General Joseph Hooker
• Battle of Chancellorsville (5/1863)
– Hooker moved troops in an attempt to get better
position against Lee at Fredericksburg
– Lee divided his forces and attacked Hooker’s troops at
Chancellorsville
– Stonewall Jackson – Lee’s ‘right arm’
• Led group to reconnoiter the enemy position and was shot by
Confederate patrol when returning to camp
• Left arm was amputated but Jackson died 8 days later,
probably from infection (some say from pneumonia)
– Union forced to retreat
Gettysburg
• Robert E. Lee planned another attack on northern soil after
success at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville
• Lincoln replaced Hooker with General George Meade
• Confederate troops converged on Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania, hoping to intercept a shipment of shoes
• Union army (by accident) positioned themselves atop a
ridge
• Took place over three days - July 1, 1863 to July 3, 1863
– Confederates pushed Union troops out of Gettysburg, and main
forces for both armies rushed to the scene
– 92,000 Union soldiers faced 76,000 Confederates
– Outcome was in doubt until the very end of the battle
Pickett’s Charge
• Lee ordered massive assault on July 3, 1863
• General George Pickett and General A.P. Hill took 15,000 men in
an attempt to break through the Union line
• 5th Alabama Battalion participated in the charge, losing @ 48%
of men
• Union troops stationed
on Cemetery Ridge
opened fire, killing 7,000
men in less than half an
hour
• Remaining troops were
overpowered by Union
forces
Effects of Gettysburg
• Marked the turning point of the
war
• Broke the heart of the
Confederate cause
• Last real chance for the South to
win the war
• Along with loss at Vicksburg (the
following day), scale of diplomacy
tipped conclusively to the North
– Britain stopped sale of Laird rams
– France killed sale of six naval vessels
to the Richmond government
Chickamauga and Chattanooga
• Confederate army forced out of Chattanooga by General
William Rosecrans and his army
• Confederates regrouped near Chickamauga Creek in north
Georgia
• General Braxton Bragg’s forces attacked Union army and
Rosecrans was forced to retreat back to Chattanooga
• Confederacy laid siege on Chattanooga
• Grant was transferred to eastern Tennessee theater to organize
Union forces
• Union won series of engagements in November 1863 at
Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain, forcing Confederate
retreat
• Chattanooga was restored to Union control, paving the way for
an invasion into Georgia – the heart of the Confederacy
• Grant was made general in chief of entire Union army and
promoted to Lieutenant General (a rank not held since George
Washington)
Sherman’s March to the Sea
•
•
•
•
William Tecumseh Sherman given task of conquering Georgia in 1864
Captured Atlanta in September and burned the city in November
Led troops out of Atlanta toward Savannah
Total War
– Purpose was to destroy South’s ability and desire to wage war (“make Georgia
howl”) by waging war on their homes and families
– Sherman allowed his soldiers only a knapsack, blanket, gun, and canteen – no
food
– Forced them to live off the land
• Path of Destruction
– Burned 60 mile wide swath from Atlanta to Savannah
– Destroyed everything they could not use or take with them
• Christmas Gift for Lincoln
– Mayor of Savannah surrendered as Sherman approached
– Sherman spared the city
– Telegraphed Lincoln, offering the city of Savannah as a “present for Christmas”
Party Politics in the North
• Congressional Committee on Conduct of War
– Created in 1861 to investigate allegations of misconduct
– Formed by ‘radical’ Republicans who resented Lincoln’s expansion of
presidential power
– Leading critic of Lincoln was Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase
• War Democrats
– Supported Civil War
– Hoped to restore Union to prewar conditions, including slavery
• Peace Democrats
– Wanted to seek terms with the South
– Did not support the war or Lincoln
• Copperheads
–
–
–
–
Violently opposed Civil War
Openly obstructed war effort – attacked draft, Lincoln, emancipation
Mustered considerable political strength in parts of Midwest
The Man Without a Country was inspired by Ohio Copperhead Clement
Vallandigham and helped stimulate devotion to Union
Election of 1864
• Republican Party joined with War Democrats and
temporarily became known as the Union Party
• Lincoln nominated, but barely
• Andrew Johnson, a Tennessee War Democrat, was chosen
as Lincoln’s running mate
• Democrats nominated General George McClellan
• Lincoln’s reelection looked doubtful until a series of
Northern victories – Mobile Bay, Atlanta, etc. – boosted
voter confidence
• Many Northern soldiers were allowed to come home to
vote
• Lincoln won 212 electoral votes to McClellan’s 21, but the
popular vote was much closer (McClellan received 45%)
Grant vs. Lee
• Wilderness Campaign (1864)
– Grant fought series of campaigns against Lee in Virginia
– Both sides suffered huge casualties (Union & Confederates both suffered @ 50,000)
– Woods caught fire during battle
• Spotsylvania (1864)
– Grant attacked Lee’s forces
– Lasted 11 days, with soldiers fighting hand-to-hand combat
– Confederate lines held
• Cold Harbor (1864)
– Grant moved forces against Lee’s army, which occupied an almost impregnable
position
– Union soldiers advanced, many with their names and addresses pinned to their
backs
– Grant’s army was beaten badly (stated that “I regret this assault more than any one
I have ever ordered”)
– Resulted in an outcry against Grant (people called him “Grant the Butcher”)
• Siege of Petersburg (1864-1865)
– Grant hoped to cut the only remaining rail line to Richmond
– Confederates had dug trenches to protect city
– Union put the city under siege and forced a surrender at the Battle of Five Forks
Union Victories Sweep the South
• Battle of Mobile Bay (1864)
– David Farragut took ships past the forts defending Mobile Bay
– Mine (called torpedoes) blew up a Union ship, bringing the
advance into the bay to a halt right in front of the forts’ guns
– Farragut cried, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” and with
his own ship, led the way
– Confederate fleet destroyed, eliminating the last Southern port in
the Gulf of Mexico
• Nashville (1864)
– Union army destroyed the Confederates
– Completed Union conquest of Tennessee
• Peace Talks
The War Ends
– Confederate leaders attempted to negotiate peace between the
“two countries” in February 1865
– Lincoln met with Confederate representatives aboard a Union ship
off the coast of Virginia
– Lincoln refused to accept anything short of Union and
emancipation
• Appomattox Courthouse
– Confederate forces under leadership of Robert E. Lee were
cornered by Union troops led by Grant at Appomattox Courthouse
– Richmond had fallen into Union hands
– Lee said, “There is nothing left for me to do but go and
see…Grant, and I would rather die a thousand deaths
– Grant offered generous terms of surrender on April 9,1865
Lincoln, the Martyr
• Five days after Lee’s surrender at
Appomattox Courthouse, Lincoln was
shot in the back of the head by John
Wilkes Booth while attending a play at
Ford’s Theater
– Booth was part of a conspiracy that
planned to kill not only President, but also
Vice President and Secretary of State
– Booth killed; other conspirators charged
and convicted (4 were hanged)
• Impact of Lincoln’s Death
– South, originally glad at Lincoln’s death,
eventually realized what a catastrophe it
was
– Reconstruction became painful ordeal
for the South
• Death Toll
The Cost of War
– Over 600,000 men died in action or of disease
– More than 1 million killed or wounded
• Damages
– $15 billion(+) direct monetary cost of war
– Continuing costs of pensions and interest on debt from war
– Intangible costs included dislocations, wasted energies, lowered ethics,
burning hates, etc. incalculable
• Federal Power
–
–
–
–
Power of federal government over states strengthened
States’ rights crushed
Ideas of nullification and secession buried forever
Preserved the idea of democracy as a “long enduring” concept
• Inspiration to Other Countries
– English Reform Bill of 1867 made Great Britain a true political
democracy
– Right of life, liberty, pursuit of happiness guaranteed to people around
the world, but especially to former slaves