Download Texas and the Civil War

Texans Go To War
Ch. 15 Section 2
Civil War Begins
• The Civil War begins in April 1861 at Fort
Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South
Carolina.
• Confederate forces fire on a Union fort in
the harbor, and war begins.
• Beauregard vs. Anderson – Friends yet
enemies.
In its declaration of secession, Texas stated that it intended to go to war
to preserve a southern way of life that made racial distinctions, in part,
by maintaining blacks in a condition of servitude.
Many Texans Become Soldiers
• Thousands of Texans joined the
Confederate army immediately.
• In April 1862, the Confederate Congress
passed the Conscription Act.
• Texas German immigrants objected to
fighting against the Union.
The two highest-ranking Texans in the Confederate
army were Albert Sidney Johnston and John Bell Hood.
Most Texans Support the South
• After the war began, most Texans who
previously had been against secession
now supported the Confederacy.
• About 60,000 Texans joined the armed
forces of the Confederacy.
5TH TEXAS VOLUNTEER INFANTRY, CO. K
Some Texans Aid the Union
• About 2,000 Texas Unionists, including 50
African-Americans, took up arms for the
Union. Mexican-Americans served on
both sides of the war.
• Texas Unionists who did not want to fight
on either side left Texas.
Major Battles of the Civil War
Chapter 15 Section 2
Union “Anaconda” Plan
• 1. Capture Richmond, Virginia
– Capital of Confederacy
• 2. Blockade Southern ports
– Prevent trade with other countries
• 3. Capture the Mississippi River
– Cut Confederacy in half
– Cut off trade routes from New Orleans and
Texas
Texas-Mexico Trade Routes
Texas was economically important to the Confederacy because
the Confederacy was able to conduct foreign trade through
Mexico by way of Texas. (See p. 142.)
Ft Sumter
• April 12, 1861
• Charleston Harbor – Charleston, S.C.
• Union surrendered the fort
Significance of Ft. Sumter
• Led to the secession of Virginia,
Arkansas, Tennessee, and North
Carolina
• First military action of the war
First Battle of Bull Run
• July 21, 1861
• Manassas, Virginia
– 30 miles from Washington, D.C.
• Confederates won the battle, but failed
to chase the Union army
• 4,700 killed/wounded/captured
Significance of Bull Run
• First major battle of the war
• Morale boost for the South.
• War would not go exactly as either side
expected
Battle of Shiloh
• April 6-7, 1862
• Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee
– near Shiloh Church
• Confederates drove Union back the
first day, but Union won the battle the
second day
• 24,000 K/W/C
Significance of Shiloh
• Texas General Albert Sidney Johnston killed.
– Considered one of South’s best Generals
– Fought at Battle of San Jacinto
• Showed that this would be a long and
bloody war
• Showed the determination and skill of
Ulysses S. Grant as a Union commander
Battle of Gettysburg
• July 1 - 3, 1863
• Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
• Gen. Robert E. Lee led Confederate
forces into the North. Union army
defeated the Confederates in a costly
battle.
• 46,000 K/W/C
Significance of Gettysburg
• Turning point of the war
• Confederate invasion of the North
failed.
• Huge morale defeat for the South
• Combined with the defeat at Vicksburg
the next day, the South was never able
to recover.
Vicksburg
• May 18 - July 4, 1863
• Vicksburg, Mississippi
– high on a bluff above Mississippi River
• Confederates surrender after 47 day
Union siege of the city
• 36,000 K/W/C
Significance of Vicksburg
• General Ulysses S. Grant took control of
the Mississippi River.
• Split the Confederacy in half, and cut off
important trade routes through New
Orleans and Texas.
Texans on the Attack
• The Confederacy’s first objective was to
overtake Union garrisons and supplies.
• Texas launched a preventative strike on
Union Forces in New Mexico.
• The New Mexico Campaign failed and was
abandoned in July 1862.
Battle of Galveston
• Union ships blockaded Texas ports.
• Cotton was transported through Mexico
and sent to Europe in exchange for war
supplies.
• In October 1862 Union forces attacked
and captured Galveston.
• Texas Confederate forces retook
Galveston in January 1863.
Texans Defend Sabine Pass
• Confederate soldiers defeated Union
forces at Sabine Pass.
• Dick Dowling and the Davis Guards played
a major role by capturing 350 soldiers and
two boats.
• The Battle of Sabine Pass was an
important Confederate victory, foiling the
Union’s major campaign against Texas.
"There is no parallel in ancient or modern warfare to the victory of
Dowling and his men at Sabine Pass considering the great odds
against which they had to contend" Jefferson Davis
The Battle of
Sabine Pass
September 8, 1863
In the fall of 1863, Confederate
forces under the command of
Lt. Richard Dowling turned back
a much larger Union invasion
force at the Battle of Sabine
Pass.
Forces Battle over Brownsville
• Hoping to cut off the overland supply
line, the Union focused on
Brownsville, Texas.
• In November 1863, Confederate
troops drove back a Union attack on
Brownsville.
Red River and Beyond
• Union forces captured New Orleans.
• With 25,000 troops, they moved
toward East Texas.
• A smaller Confederate army met the
Union forces 25 miles from the Texas
border in one of the bloodiest
campaigns.
Red River and Beyond
• Hood’s Texas Brigade and Terry’s Texas
Rangers served bravely.
• Terry’s Texas Rangers served in more
battles than any other cavalry regiment in
the Civil War.
• General Robert E. Lee called Hood’s men
his “finest soldiers.”
Battle of Palmito Ranch
• General Robert E. Lee surrendered to
General Ulysses S. Grant at
Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia on
April 9, 1865.
• The last land battle of the Civil War took
place on May 13, 1865, at Palmito
Ranch near Brownsville.
• Texans learned from their prisoners that
Lee had surrendered a month earlier.