Download End of the War study guide Key

Study Guide: The End of the Civil War
Directions: Use your notes and textbook pages 208-226 to complete this study guide. You need to
complete it on notebook paper.
Vocabulary: define the words below.
-desert: to leave the war/army without permission with no intention of returning to fight. Quit the fight to go
home and take care of families. Illegal; CSA paid men to find deserters and return them to the army.
Conscription: draft; requirement for male age 18-35 to spend three years in Confederate Army
Decree: formal statement; order
Distillers: people to used grain to make whiskey when there was not enough grain for people to use for food.
Women protested this in NC because the sale of alcohol made from grain was driving the price too high for citizens
to buy it for food.
“total war”: Sherman’s philosophy that sought to destroy military targets and civilian morale by destroying the
property of civilians in the CSA and the infrastructure of the south (RR, businesses, gov’t , etc…)
tax-in-kind: farmers had to give up some of their harvest to support the troops; took food that families needed for
themselves.
Terms: Identify the following and explain the role of each in the Civil War.
-54th Regiment : Massachusetts regiment of free African American soldiers who are
known/credited for their bravery when leading the charge on Ft. Wagner.
-Appomattox Court House: location of Lee’s surrender to Grant at the end of the Civil War on
April 9, 1865
Emancipation Proclamation: decree by President Abraham Lincoln (Union) that set all slaves free in the states in
rebellion with the USA. Confederate states only/ border states not included in E. Proc.
Battles/Military movements: The 5 W’s (who won, what happened, when it occurred, where the battles
were fought, and why the winner was successful)
-Sherman’s March to the Sea: Sherman led a march across the CSA where he & his troops
destroyed everything in their path; created “total war” on the south by burning homes,
businesses, tearing up RR tracks, to make it so the CSA could not supply their troops and to
destroy morale of CSA citizens. Marched through GA, SC, and NC; stopped in NC at battle of
Bentonville and forced to move northwest instead of finishing mission to Atlantic coast.
Remembered as one of most resented parts of Civil War for southerners due to the
destruction of the region.
-Siege of Vicksburg: Battle where Ulysses Grant captured the last Confederate-held port on
the Mississippi River; thus completing the goal of encircling the south according to the
Anaconda Plan. CSA now cut in half and unable to supply itself. Considered the turning point
of the war.
Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam (or Sharpsburg) on September 17, 1862,
climaxed the first of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's two attempts to carry the war into the
North. About 40,000 Southerners were pitted against the 87,000-man Federal Army of the
Potomac under Gen. George B. McClellan. And when the fighting ended, the course of the
American Civil War had been greatly altered. More men were killed or wounded at Antietam
on September 17, 1862, than on any other single day of the Civil War. Federal losses were
12,410, Confederate losses 10,700. Although neither side gained a decisive victory, Lee's
failure to carry the war effort effectively into the North caused Great Britain to postpone
recognition of the Confederate government. The battle also gave President Abraham Lincoln
the opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, which, on January 1, 1863, declared
free all slaves in States still in rebellion against the United States. Now the war had a dual
purpose: to preserve the Union and end slavery.
-Battle of Bentonville: March 19, 1865; Last major battle of the war; bloodiest battle in NC
and important because it forced Sherman (u) to change direction and stop the destruction in
NC. Union won b/c outnumbered: 20,000 Confederate troops to 60,000 Union troops.
-Battle of Gettysburg: Deadliest battle in Civil War; shattered Lee’s hope of ending the war
quickly. Confederates retreated to VA. At Gettysburg on July 1, 2, and 3, 1863, more men
actually fought and more men died than in any other battle before or since on North American soil.
Main Idea Questions: Answer in complete sentences
1. What was the military technology at the time of the Civil War? How did this impact the
war?
 minie’ ball bullet: smaller, hollow-based bullet that could far more quickly and easily be rammed
into the bore, expanding when the weapon was fired to catch in the rifling and be shot spinning out
of the barrel. That spin made the mini ball, like other, more expensive and unwieldy rifle bullets, a
highly precise and far traveling projectile. They could reach a half-mile or more, and an average
soldier could easily hit a target 250 yards away.
 The Gatling gun saw only limited use in the Civil War, the conflict did test this weapon, perhaps the
first successful true machine gun used in warfare. The Gatling gun was a hand-crank-operated
weapon with 6 barrels revolving around a central shaft. The cartridges were fed to the gun by gravity
through a hopper mounted on the top of the gun. 6 cam-operated bolts alternately wedged, fired, and
dropped the bullets, which were contained in steel chambers. Gatling used the 6 barrels to partially
cool the gun during firing. Since the gun was capable of firing 600 rounds a minute, each barrel fired
100 rounds per minute.
 Submarines: The Hunley's weapon was also a spar torpedo. The South hurled it into battle over and
over. Crews died again and again during dives. Finally, in 1864, the Hunley sank the ironclad Union
sloop Housatonic. But it never came back to the surface. That was the first time a sub destroyed an
enemy ship. It was also the last until this century. The Union made only one submarine. They called
it the Intelligent Whale, but they didn't use it in combat. Perhaps that was a tribute to the Whale's
intelligence. They also bought a French submarine, the Alligator. They lost it at sea in 1862.
 Ironclads: Basically, an "ironclad" was a steam-propelled warship fitted with plates of iron armor.
2. How did the draft work?
 Requirement for any healthy male age 18-35 to spend three years in Confederate Army; called
conscription. Not optional; illegal to leave army
3. Was the draft for all men? Could African Americans serve? Explain why or why not?
 All men did not have to serve in the army according to the draft. Planters with more than 20
slaves were exempt; doctors, lawyers, and state officials didn’t have to serve. Wealthy people
could hire someone to fight in their place. Small farmers and their sons forced to go
themselves.
4. How did the women contribute to the war effort? Give examples.
 Women served as spies, soldiers, teachers and nurses. In the north they took men’s places in
factories & in the south many ran the plantations.
5. Explain the Emancipation Proclamation. Was it effective? Who was free?
 This was a decree by President Lincoln stating decree all slaves free in the states in rebellion
with the USA were free. Confederate states only/ border states not included in E. Proc. It was
not effective to free the slaves because Confederate officials ignored the decree. However, it
was effective in making the war about slavery & rights in addition to getting the southern
states back in the Union. It made England support the Union and allowed African Americans to
fight in the Union army. The citizens of the north and Union soldiers now had a new reason to
fight and troop morale was higher. Lincoln issued it to weaken the south’s ability to fight the
war.
6. What did Governor Zebulon Vance do to try and help North Carolinians? Explain.
 Governor Vance called on the Confederate army to fight harder to retake coastal towns. He
protested aspects of conscription and the tax-in-kind.
7. What were the problems that the soldiers had in their daily lives? What resulted from these
problems?
 Life was unpleasant; they had to live with rain, mud and cold weather. Camps were dirty with
garbage and latrines polluting water. Contaminated water made soldiers sick. Soldiers rarely got the
chance to bathe so lice and fleas were common to soldiers. Medical care was crude and supplies
were scarce. Soldiers often went hungry.
8. Explain “rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight.” Use details to support your response.

Wealthy men could pay their way out of the draft which left poor men to fight in the war. Also, it was the
wealthy politicians and abolitionists that called for the war.
9. How did many North Carolinians feel about the war after the Battle of Gettysburg?
 Some of them began to call for peace to end the war.
10. What was the reason for the Gettysburg Address? What was the message?

To dedicate it as a national cemetery for the soldiers killed there and to remind people to honor those dead
by continuing to fight for the cause of equality and preservation of the Union.
11. Where did Lee surrender? Explain the terms of the surrender.
 Appomattox Court House; Lee signed the agreement & Grant agreed not to take prisoners of war and to let
Confederate soldiers keep their horses and return to their farms
12. Who was John Wilkes Booth? What impact did he have on the country at the end of the Civil War?
 He was a Confederate sympathizer who assassinated President Lincoln shortly after the war
was over.
13. Describe two outcomes of the Civil War on North Carolina.




NC had the highest death toll of any Confederate state. Nearly 20,000 killed in battle and another 20,000
from disease.
Slaves were eager to start free lives; moved to different areas within NC or out of the state.
Farmers found themselves in poverty
Businesses, land, farms, railroads, and property were destroyed