Download Early Stages of the Civil War

Early Stages of the Civil War
Northern Advantages
1. Union had far more railroads, canals and roads,
making it easier to move supplies and men.
2. The Union produced more than 90% of the country’s
weapons, clothing, shoes and iron, providing the
North with more supplies.
3. Union was able to raise more money.
Southern Advantages
1. Southerners thought that their rural way of life would
give them an advantage over the North, many were
hunters and were familiar with weapons.
2. The South had a history of producing great military
leaders. A larger amount of the Mexican War
veterans came from the South.
3. Most of the battles were fought on Southern land,
giving the Confederates an advantage since they
were more familiar with the terrain.
Union Strategies
 President Lincoln sought advice on how to win the war
from the Mexican War General Winfield Scott, who
planned a strategy in three parts.
1. First was a blockade of the Atlantic and Gulf
coasts of the Confederacy, which is the shutting
off of an area with troops and ships in order to
keep people and supplies from moving in or out.
2. Second part of the plan was to capture territory
along the Mississippi River, which would
weaken the South by cutting its states in two.
3. Third was the Anaconda Plan. The Union would
attack the South from the east and west.
Confederate “Strategies”
1. The Confederacy believed that it only had to defend
its territory until the North got tired and gave up
2. Southerners believed its soldiers would fight harder
for their land and way of life.
3. South believed that Britain would assist them in the
war since its textile mills depended on Southern
cotton.
 The British allowed the South to build several of
its warships in British shipyards, but did not send
soldiers.
Early Battles of the Civil War
 Lincoln sent 35,000 troops to the south from Washington DC to
invade Richmond, Virginia, the capitol of the Confederacy. On
their way, Union and Confederate troops met at a small stream
called Bull Run near the town of Manassas Junction, Virginia.
 First Battle of Bull Run
o Most troops on both sides were new to war.
o Early on, fighting was in favor of the Union.
o Most Confederate soldiers began to turn back, but
General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson ordered his men to
hold their place.
o More Confederate troops arrived, turning the battle in
their favor.
o Casualties
 Union lost 3,000
 Confederacy lost 2,000
 Battle of Antietam
o Fought on September 17, 1862 near Sharpsburg,
Maryland.
o Robert E Lee was the Confederate general at Antietam.
o An important victory for the Union.
o After this battle, Britain ended its support for the
Confederacy.
New Kind of War
 New technology used
o Rifles could shoot farther and more accurately.
o Railroads quickly moved troops and supplies.
o Submarines were used by the Confederacy.
o Both sides used an early version of the hand grenade.
o The ironclad was an iron-covered ship.
 These new technologies led to higher casualties, however
medical knowledge had not advanced as well, leaving soldiers
to die from disease and infection
Life During the War
 Mathew Brady took photographic pictures of the casualties on
the battlefield. He also took pictures of their time at camp
outside of battle.
 Average age of a Civil War soldier was around 25, however,
drummer boys as young as 12 sometimes went into battle to
fight.
 Soldiers might march as much as 25 miles a day while carrying
50-60 pounds of supplies in backpacks.
 The Union blockade prevented the supplies from getting to the
Confederate soldiers, making the war especially hard on the
South.
 Food soldiers often ate were
o beans
o bacon
o pickled beef
o salt pork
o hardtack
 Soldiers often hunted meat or raided local farms.
 Volunteers to fight in the war decreased as it dragged on,
forcing both the Union and Confederate governments to pass
draft laws, which required men of a certain age to serve in the
military if they are told to serve.
o In the North, men could pay $300 to avoid fighting in the
war.
o In the South, slaveowners with 20 or more slaves could
pay for a substitute to take his place.
o The draft was not popular because it favored the wealthy
 “A rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight.”
 Losses
o Total of about one million soldiers were killed or wounded.
o Disease was the most common cause of death.
 Doctors did not know how to prevent germs from
infecting wounds.
 Emancipation Proclamation
o Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January
1, 1863.
o Was a statement that freed all slaves in the Confederate
states at war with the Union.
“Slaves within any State…in rebellion against the United States, shall be
then…and forever free.”
o Did not end slavery in the border states or in Confederate
land that Union forces already controlled.
o Since Union forces did not control these areas, most
African Americans remained enslaved.
 African Americans in the War
o Early in the war, African Americans served as cooks,
servants and workers.
o Massachusetts 54th Colored Regiment
 a regiment of 600 to 1,000 African American
soldiers and was the first group of African American
troops organized for combat in the Union army.
 Led an attack at Fort Wagner in South Carolina and
lost 4 out of every 10 men.
 William Carney served as a sergeant in battle, was
seriously wounded, but never dropped the
regiment’s flag.
 The bravery of this regiment made the Union realize
that African Americans were capable of fighting.
 Nearly 200,000 African Americans fought for the
Union in the Civil War and 37,000 lost their lives.
 In June of 1864, Congress voted to give both black
and white troops equal pay.

Women in the War
o Women contributed to the war effort by
 Running farms and businesses while their husbands
were away
 Becoming teachers and office workers
 Becoming spies
 Belle Boyd was one of the most famous
Confederate spies.
 She continued spying even after being
arrested 6 times.
 Women in both the north and south commonly
worked as nurses and caregivers in hospitals.
 Clara Barton cared for soldiers on both sides
of the war.
 “While our soldiers stand and fight, I can stand
and feed and nurse them.”
 Was called the Angel of the Battlefield
 Organized the American Association of the
Red Cross to help victims of war and natural
disasters.
o Women dealt with shortages in supplies as well, making
the prices of them rise dramatically.
o Average Southern family’s monthly food bill rose from
$6.65 just before the war to $68 in 1863.
 Women in Richmond protested the rise of food
prices
o Women sewed clothing for the soldiers, rolled bandages,
sold personal possessions, and sent any food they could
spare to the armies.
War Goes On
 By 1863, soldiers on both sides of the war were extremely tired
of the war.
 Soldiers struggled with a lack of supplies, delays in pay,
sleeping exposed to the rain and the death of friends and family
members.
 Many men began refusing to go to war.
 Battle of Gettysburg
o one of the most important victories for the Union
o fought in Gettysburg, PA
o July 1, 1863, the Confederates, led by Lee, pushed Union
soldiers back, but missed an opportunity to pursue the
Union and follow up on their attack
o July 3, 1863, more than 150 Confederate cannons fired at
Union troops, which responded by firing their own
cannons. The sound was so loud, that it could be heard
140 miles away in Pittsburgh.
o Lee’s advance was stopped and he retreated back to
Virginia.
o Battle led to over 23,000 Union casualties and over
28,000 Confederate casualties.
o Gettysburg Address
 In November 1863, the Gettysburg battlefield was
made into a national cemetery to honor the men
that died there.
 Lincoln spoke at the ceremony, giving this famous
address, which was important for inspiring the
Union to keep fighting.
 Made it clear that a united country and the end of
slavery was worth fighting for.
 Battle of Vicksburg
o General Ulysses S. Grant led the Union forces at
Vicksburg, Mississippi.
o Forces began a blockade of the city in Vicksburg, MS.
o Union bombarded Vicksburg with cannon fire by land and
sea for 48 days.
o Many people in the town dug out caves in the hillsides to
protect themselves.
o Confederate soldiers and civilians faced starvation under
this Union blockade.
o July 4, 1863, one day after the Battle of Gettysburg
ended, the South surrendered at Vicksburg.
The War Comes to an End
 Sherman’s March to Sea
o William Tecumseh Sherman moved his army toward
Atlanta, Georgia, a major southern industrial and railway
center, and the city fell to the Union troops on September
2, 1864.
o Sherman believed in total war - the aim is to destroy not
just the opposing army, but the people’s will to fight.
o Sherman’s men ordered all to leave Atlanta and burned
nearly the entire city.
o In November, Sherman’s army began moving southeast
toward Savannah, Georgia
 Marched 300 miles in a 60-mile wide path,
destroying everything that would help the South to
fight, causing $100 million worth of damage to…
 Houses
 Railroads
 Barns
 Fields
 Savannah fell without a fight on December 21, 1864
 “I…present to you as a Christmas gift the city
of Savannah.” ~ Sherman to Lincoln
 Sherman’s men then moved north to South
Carolina, causing even more destruction.
 Union soldiers captured Richmond, VA on April 3, 1865.
o Lee’s army of 55,000 was tired and starving and Grant’s
force of about 113,000 trapped them
 Lee and Grant met in a farmhouse in Appomattox Court House,
VA on April 9, 1865 to discuss terms of Lee’s surrender.
o Grant allowed Lee’s men to go free.
o Southerners could keep their own weapons and any
horses they still had.
o Grant offered food from Union supply for Lee’s men.
o Grant so highly respected Lee, that when the Southern
general returned to his men, Grant silenced Union
soldiers who were cheering, explaining that “The war is
over; the rebels are our countrymen again.”
 Results of the war
o About 620,000 soldiers died during the Civil War
o Towns, farms and industries were ruined, mostly in the
South.
o Families were torn apart by the struggle.
Reconstruction
o Assassination of President Lincoln
o John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln at Ford’s Theater on April
14, 1865, being the first president to ever be assassinated
 Booth supported the Confederacy
o Vice President Andrew Johnson became the new
president after Lincoln’s assassination
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o
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o
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 Wanted to carry out Lincoln’s plan for
Reconstruction
 Refers to the time of healing and rebuilding of
the country after the war
13th Amendment
o Abolished, or ended, slavery throughout the nation
o Took effect on December 18, 1865
Confederate states would be readmitted into the Union
o These states had to pledge to obey federal laws and to
deal fairly with the newly freed African Americans
Black Codes
o Southern laws that denied African American men the right
to vote or act as jurors on a trial
o Under the Black Codes, African Americans
 Could not own guns or land
 Could not take certain jobs
 Were sometimes arrested and fined if they were out
of work
 Lived lives very similar to how they did while they
were slaves
Reconstruction Act of 1867
o 20,000 federal troops were sent to the South to maintain
order, supervise elections and to prevent discrimination
against African Americans (lasted for about 10 years)
o Required Southern states to write new state constitutions
giving African American men the right to vote
o Also prevented former Confederate leaders and military
officers from voting or holding elected office
Freedmen’s Bureau was established to help the 4 million
freedmen, or former slaves, after the war.
o Built hospitals and schools in the South
o Hired African American and white teachers from the North
and South
o African Americans became elected officials for the first
time
Tensions in the South were caused by
o Carpetbaggers
 Northerners who moved South to start businesses.
They were given this name because they carried
their belongings in suitcases made from carpet.
o
o
o
o
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 Accused of profiting from the hardships in the South
o High taxes
o New offices that some African Americans had earned
New Amendments
o 14th Amendment was ratified in July 1868
 Gave African Americans citizenship and said that no
state could deny the equal protection of the law to
all citizens
o 15th Amendment was ratified in March 1870
 Gave all male citizens the right to vote
 Did NOT give voting rights to women
Johnson tried to block the passage of several laws that granted
rights to African Americans because he felt that the laws were
unlawful because they were passed without the representation
of the Southern states in Congress
o Angered by this, Republicans in Congress tried to
impeach Johnson
 To bring charges of unlawful action against an
elected official by the House of Representatives
 Johnson avoided being removed from office by one
vote in May 1868.
By 1870, all Southern states met the Reconstruction
requirements and were readmitted to the Union
Whites in the South tried to prevent blacks from voting in
several ways
o Voting booths were set up far from African American
communities
o Often changed locations of the boots without informing
African Americans
o Poll taxes were required in some states in order to vote –
which African Americans usually could not pay
o Reading tests were given before they could vote
o “Grandfather Clause” said that blacks could vote if their
father or grandfather had voted before 1867, which kept
most African Americans from voting since they had not
gained the right to vote until 1870.
Jim Crow Laws
o These Laws enforced segregation or separation of blacks
and whites
o Sharecropping was forced upon African Americans, so they
were forced to return to the plantation where they worked as
slaves because they could not find work elsewhere
o They rented land from the landowners and paid their rent
with a portion of their crops
o They then used the rest of their crop to pay for their food,
clothing and the equipment they needed to farm
o The cost of this was usually higher than the pay they
received
o Public schools were established in the South and many
industries were expanded during Reconstruction
o It would take many decades for African Americans to gain the
freedoms that Reconstruction hoped to guarantee.