Download File

The Civil War Begins
Bull Run to Antietam
Union Troops Move Towards Battle

Union troops moved south from Washington in
mid-July 1861



The men were inexperienced;
green
Led by Irvin McDowell
35,000 Union soldiers were to
cut the rail lines at Manassas,
VA and then march towards
Richmond.
Confederate Troops Mobilize

Confederate General P.T
Beauregard received news
of the Union’s movement
from a spy in Washington
D.C and positioned his
forces along Bull Run
Creek.

His troops, too, were
inexperienced.
The 1st Battle of the Civil War :
Bull Run/ Manassas



On July 21, 1861, the two forces ran into each
other.
People from the area gathered along the edges
of the field, picnicking, ready to be
entertained by battle.
McDowell sent his forces across the creek and
as they marched the Yankees sang “We’ll
hang Jeff Davis from a sour apple tree!”
Early in the Battle


The Yankees smashed into the Confederate
positions on the left, driving the Rebels back.
But the center of the Southern
line did not panic and
remained strong.

Led by Thomas J. Jackson who
would not move;
“standing like a stone wall”
Confederate Victory



In the late afternoon, Beauregard
counterattacked, bolstered with reinforcements,
ordered his men to charge, yelling like “furies”
at the Union line.
Terrified, the Union army fell to pieces.
Afraid the picnicking spectators and panicked
soldiers ran from the bloody field—the scene
was chaos.
1st Battle of Bull Run: Results



Confederate Victory
Union casualties: 2,896 men
Confederate causalities: 1,982 men
Impact:


In the North: this battle showed the reality of this
war (that this was going to be a long, bloody, hard
fight) and that the North was unprepared.
In the South: they grew complacent & relaxed; felt
that the war was over.
The War in the West


War in the west was focused on control of the
Mississippi River.
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant led the Union army in
the West.

Began gaining military forts in TN & headed to
cut off the C.S.A’s only east-west railroad link in
the lower South.
The Battle of Shiloh


April 6 & 7, 1862
On the Tennessee River

Shiloh was a
church in the
region of the
battle.
THE UNION
Grant & Buell
THE C.S.A
Johnston &
Beauregard
Confederate Surprise Attack


Confederate commander Albert Sidney Johnston
knew he was outnumbered and decided to attack
Grant’s force before reinforcements arrived.
As the Yankees were boiling coffee and frying
bacon for breakfast near a peach orchard, the
Confederate infantry rolled into their camps.
Battle of Shiloh: April 6th


Some Union troops ran away in the chaos, some
stayed to fight.
By afternoon, however, the Union’s backs were
pressed against the river and couldn’t retreat.


The Rebels continued to hit the Union lines.
Through the night, the terror continued until
finally the Confederates, exhausted (Johnston
was shot & killed), decided to wait until
morning to finish off Grant’s army.
Battle of Shiloh: April 7th

In the morning, however, Union commander Don
Carlos Buell arrived with reinforcements.



The Union counterattacked.
Outnumbered, the Rebels tried to strike back, but
were sent back retreating over the ground they
had taken the previous day.
The wounded and dead lay everywhere.
Shiloh: Results



Union victory
Union casualties: 13,000
Confederate causalities: 12,000
Impact:


Union success in the West was a moral boost and
opened up opportunities for Grant to capitalize on
(New Orleans taken later that spring.)
Shiloh’s violence shocked North and South and
brought a shocking realization to both sides that this
war would not end quickly.
Meanwhile in the East


After Bull Run, Lincoln
replaced McDowell with
George McClellan.
Lincoln encouraged
McClellan to move
towards Richmond not by
a direct frontal assault but
instead by moving up the
peninsula between the
James and York Rivers .
The Seven Day’s Battle




June 25-July 1, 1862
Outside of Richmond, Virginia
Lee vs. McClellan
The Union had been successful at pushing up
the peninsula towards Richmond, however, on
June 26th, Lee launched a surprise attack on
the Union’s right flank.

Heavy casualties
Gaines Mill at the Seven Day’s Battle



Worried, McClellan pulled his men back to
Gaines Mill.
The Rebels attacked at Gaines Mill, but could
not budge the Union line.
However, Stonewall Jackson’s reinforcements
appeared and gave the Rebels the power to
break through the Union line.

Costly for both sides, but especially the
Confederacy (8,000/4,000).
Malvern Hill at the Seven Day’s Battle




Rattled, McClellan abandoned the advance on
Richmond, retreating to a base on the James
River.
Lee pursued the retreating Union Army.
McClellan pulled his troops to the top of Malvern
Hill.
The Union waited and the Rebel troops pressed
up the hill.

The Union guns & cannons opened fire and the result
was a slaughter of the Rebel troops.
Seven Day’s Battle: Results

McClellan & the Union were safe, however so
was Richmond thanks to Lee.



Seen as a Confederate victory
Eventually, Lincoln ordered McClellan to
withdraw off the peninsula.
Union casualties: over 16,000
Confederate causalities: over 20,000 (1/4 of
his military force)
Impact of Seven Day’s Battle

Impact:
 Northern morale decreased
because of McClellan’s
retreat.


McClellan eventually
removed as commander and
replaced by John Pope.
Despite heavy casualties,
southern morale
skyrocketed.
2nd Battle of Bull Run



August 28-30, 1862
Union General John Pope (force of 75,000) vs.
the combined forces of Confederate leaders:
Lee, Jackson, and Longstreet (55,000).
Met once again on the open fields outside of
Manassas, Virginia.
Union Errors



The Rebels had better position and leadership.
Pope and the Union underestimated the
Confederate strength.
The battle was an absolute massacre for the
Union.


One Union soldier described it like being “swept by a
hurricane of death, and each minute seemed twenty
hours long.”
Pope & surviving Union troops retreated to
Washington.
2nd Battle of Bull Run Results


Confederate victory
Union casualties: 16,000 (including 4,000 taken
prisoner)

Confederate causalities: 9,000
Impact:


Pope relieved of his command and McClellan given
control of the Army of the Potomac again.
Lee, confident now, decided to carry the war into the
North (no longer fighting a defensive war).
The Rebels Push North….

In early September 1862, Lee invaded the North.



50,000 Confederate troops vs. 90,000 Union troops
under command of McClellan.
Lee wanted to encourage foreign aide on behalf of
the South with a big victory in the North.
The two forces met outside of Sharpsburg,
Maryland (on the border of North & South) on
Antietam Creek.
The Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg)

McClellan was not eager for battle, but had the
advantage.




Confederate soldiers had left behind a copy of Lee’s
orders at an abandoned campsite; a Union corporal
discovered them.
Lee, realized the was in trouble, but couldn’t retreat.
On September 17, 1862 the two forces collided.
Constant attacks and counterattacks by both
sides.
Antietam Results: A Bloody Day


Union victory (at high cost)
The 22,726 casualties from both sides make the
Battle of Antietam (Sept.17,1862) America’s
bloodiest single day battle in history.

Union casualties: 12,000+
Confederate causalities: 10,000+

Lee waited for a Union attack, but McClellan
never pursued the defeated Confederate troops.
Aftermath of Antietam



Disappointed that McClellan didn’t pursue Lee,
Lincoln removed McClellan in November (2nd
time) and replaced him with Ambrose Burnside.
Lee pushed back into the South.
Significance: called “One of the most decisive
battles in world history”



The South was never again so close to victory.
Foreign powers decided not to intervene in
support of the South.
Lincoln/North received a much needed victory.