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“Civil War”
Part 1- Sections 1&2
Narrator
Robert E. Lee
General Thomas Jackson
Major Robet Anderson
Jefferson Davis
Confederate Soldier
George Pickett
Southerner
Abraham Lincoln
General George McClellan
General McDowell
Winfield Scott
Union Soldier
General John Pope
General Hooker
General Beauregard
General Burnside
General Meade
Northerner
Narrator- After Abraham Lincoln took over as President in 1861 he addressed the nation
about the condition the country was in. South Carolina had already seceded from the
nation and Lincoln was determined to get it back.
Abraham Lincoln- Southerners are our fellow countrymen. I do not desire to have a
war. My only desire is that we keep the union together. I am not an abolitionist and have
absolutely no intention of ending slavery. I want to make it clear that the federal
government intends to keep all of its property in the south.
Major Robert Anderson- President Lincoln, I write you this message from Fort Sumter
in South Carolina. I fear that the southerners are going to try to take the fort from us. I
am requesting you to send more soldiers and weapons.
Lincoln- I do not want to send any soldiers because it will look like I am in favor of a
war. I hope to solve this crisis in a peaceful manner. I hope to reunite the United States
without any loss of life, however I will send supplies to Fort Sumter incase the
Confederates do attack.
General Beauregard- I am a Confederate general. All land in South Carolina now
belongs to the Confederate States of America. This includes Fort Sumter, which is
occupied by Union troops. If they do not leave we will have to attack. We are going to
surround the fort with soldiers and cannons. I demand Major Anderson to surrender.
Anderson- I will not surrender. This fort is property of the federal government and it
will not be given up.
General Beauregard- I have news that Lincoln is sending supplies for the Union
soldiers inside Fort Sumter. I think Lincoln wants to start a war. We will not wait for the
supplies to arrive. I am ordering an attack on Fort Sumter.
Narrator- On the second day of the bombing a union soldier came out of the fort with a
white surrender flag. Not a single person had been killed but the Confederates celebrated
by raising their flag at Fort Sumter. President Lincoln soon heard this news in
Washington D.C.
Lincoln- The Confederates have taken over Fort Sumter. They have started a war that I
had hoped we could avoid. We have to request volunteers to fight. I am guessing that
victory will be ours within two weeks. The south does not have the will to fight.
Jefferson Davis- As the President of the Confederate States of America I am requesting
the help of 100,000 men who want to preserve our independence from the United States.
They are planning to come to the south and fight to force us to remain part of their
country. I expect that if we get enough volunteers we will win this war very quickly.
Narrator- After news spread to other southern states that Lincoln planned to send troops
to South Carolina for a war many of them decided to secede. Virginia, North Carolina,
Arkansas, and Tennessee seceded from the Union soon after the Confederates took over
Fort Sumter. The state of Virginia broke in two because half the state wanted to secede
and half didn’t want to. The new part was named West Virginia. They favored the north
while Virginia favored the Confederacy and seceding.
Jefferson Davis- I want to move the capital of the Confederate States to Richmond,
Virginia. I think this would be the best place for it. It is close to Maryland, which is a
slave holding state that has not seceded. My hope is that Maryland will secede because it
is so close to Washington D.C. If Maryland secedes then the capital of the Union might
fall as well.
Lincoln- It is very important that we keep Maryland from seceding. I am going to send
military troops there to make sure that the people don’t favor the south. If Maryland
secedes we will lose the capital of Washington D.C. Our capital is only 100 miles away
from the Confederate capital in Richmond.
Southerner- We need to fight to preserve our way of life. The north is trying to end the
way we live just like we knew Lincoln would do. We have an advantage in this war
because it is being fought on our own soil. We know the land better than the troops from
the north. We also have more to fight for than they do.
Northerner- We need to fight to save the country like President Lincoln said. If we
move now the war will be over soon. The south doesn’t have the factories they need to
make weapons. They also don’t have as many railroads as we have so they cannot move
troops or supplies as quickly as we can. We also have the south outnumbered so it will
be impossible for us to lose.
Lincoln- I am putting General Winfield Scott in charge of the Union armies. I believe
that he has developed a plan that will help us win this war in a short amount of time. Mr.
Scott, could you please share your plan with us?
Winfield Scott- My strategy to winning the war has three parts. If we succeed in these
three parts the war will not last long. First off I think we have to block the Confederate
ports so no ship will be allowed to bring them supplies. This will include everything they
need to make their economy work. Second, we have to take control of the Mississippi
River. This will cut off their other supply line. They won’t be able to move troops or
supplies up or down the river. The final thing we need to do is take over their capital city
of Richmond. In war, when one side loses their most important city they often surrender.
If we can take Richmond the war will surely come to an end.
Narrator- In July of 1861 the confederates under General Beauregard camped along a
Virginia stream called Bull Run. This worried President Lincoln because it was near
Washington D.C. He feared an attack on the capital and under the advice of General
Scott he sent General Irvin McDowell to Bull Run to meet the Confederates.
General Scott- We need to attack the Confederates at Bull Run and push them back
away from our capital city. If we defeat them here the war might be over.
General McDowell- I am ordering a charge of our 31,000 troops across Bull Run. There
are 35,000 Confederate troops waiting for us and we need to push them back.
General Thomas Jackson- I am a general of the Confederate army. We need to hold
our ground at Bull Run. I will not retreat no matter what.
Narrator- While Jackson stood in the middle of a bullet shower from the Union the
Confederate troops were getting pushed back until they saw the courage of their leader.
From that point on the Battle at Bull Run turned in the favor of the Confederates.
Confederate Soldier- Jackson is standing there like a stone wall. We cannot retreat! We
must fight back against the Union if we want to win this war.
General McDowell- The Union army is getting pounded! The Confederates are much
stronger than we thought. We need to retreat back to Washington D.C.
Narrator- Thomas Jackson would no longer ever be called by his first name Thomas but
because of the bravery he showed his men he earned the nickname “Stonewall Jackson”
and his place in history. The Confederates had won the first major battle of the war and
President Lincoln was so upset he got rid of General Scott and called on General George
McClellan to lead the Union army. He was known for his excellent ability to train
soldiers but he had his downfalls as well.
Jefferson Davis- I believe that it is important to have very good military generals for this
war. They are the ones who will make the important decisions on the battlefield. I would
like to choose Albert S. Johnston and Robert E. Lee to lead my armies.
Lincoln- I would like Ulysses (you-liss-ees) S. Grant and Robert E. Lee to lead my
armies. I no longer wish to have General Scott leading my armies. He has a good plan
for winning the war but he is much too strict for our soldiers. He cannot handle their
inexperience.
Robert E. Lee- President Lincoln, although I am not a slaveholder and I don’t believe
that succeeding was the right thing for southern states to do I cannot fight for your army.
My entire family and my home are in the south and I need to protect them. I am going to
fight with the Confederate States.
Lincoln- Because Robert E. Lee will not join my army I will have George McClellan
lead one of our armies. General McClellan is very good at training soldiers, which is
what we need because most of the soldiers in this war have no fighting experience.
General McClellan- I believe we need to go after the third part of General Scott’s plan
right away. We need to take over the Confederate capital city at Richmond, Virginia. It
is way to close to Washington D.C. and if we can take it over then the Confederates will
probably surrender.
Narrator- McClellan left with 100,000 troops for Richmond and won a few small battles
along the way against small Confederate armies. He came within 6 miles of Richmond
when he was surprised.
Robert E. Lee- The Union army is coming to try to take our capital. We have to push
them back before they get here. I want my entire army of 95,000 men to attack the Union
army outside of Richmond. I am ordering an immediate attack.
General McClellan- We have been taken over by a large Confederate army. I have
underestimated their strength. We need to retreat!
Narrator- McClellan retreats and his army stops when they get 25 miles away from
Richmond. They stay there resting while President Lincoln pushes for them to resume
the attack on Richmond. McClellan, again however, refused to attack every time he had
the chance.
Lincoln- That darned McClellan! He’s a coward! He needs to send his army back to
Richmond. That city is part of our plan to win the war. He doesn’t realize the
importance in capturing that city. If he won’t do it himself I will have to get him help. I
am ordering forces under General John Pope to meet up with McClellan and his army at
Bull Run. From there they can go together to Richmond.
Robert E. Lee- I have heard that Lincoln has ordered for McClellan’s men to meet with
another army led by John Pope at Bull Run. If we can beat them there we can fight each
army separately. We have to move quickly!
General John Pope- I am waiting for McClellan’s army to get here but I don’t think they
are going to arrive before General Lee’s army does. I know they are on their way and
will be here any minute. They have us outnumbered.
Narrator- General Lee’s forces arrive at Bull Run and attack Pope’s Union army. The
Union army is outnumbered because McClellan failed to arrive on time. They are forced
to retreat back to Washington D.C.
General Lee- We have the Union on the run. I think if we follow them to Washington
D.C. and take their capital we can get them to surrender. We will surely be able to
convince our French and British allies that we are fighting a winnable war and they will
come to our aid. They will fight on our side because we provide them with so much
cotton and other resources that we produce in the south. I am taking 45,000 soldiers into
Maryland. I will split my forces and have Stonewall Jackson go to capture the arsenal at
Harper’s Ferry.
Narrator- The Union army was hot on the trails of General Lee but didn’t know if they
could defeat such a large force until one of the Union soldiers found out that Lee had split
his army in two.
Union Soldier- General McClellan, you have to see what I just found. It was lying here
on the ground where the Confederates had camped in recent nights.
McClellan- What is it? It looks like three cigars wrapped together.
Union Soldier- There is a note around it sir. I think you will want to read it. It tells of
the Confederates plans.
McClellan- The Confederates have split their army. One army is heading to Harper’s
Ferry and the other is going to try to take Washington D.C. Now we have them
outnumbered. We should attack now but I’m not sure the time is right.
Narrator- Although General McClellan had the chance to attack he once again chose to
wait. It wasn’t long before Robert E. Lee learned that McClellan knew his army had split
apart.
Robert E. Lee- General McClellan will want to fight us while our army is split. He
probably thinks that we will run but I think we should stay here and fight him so we can
continue on to the United States’ capital at Washington D.C.
McClellan- The time has come. I am ordering my army of 90,000 men to attack the
Confederates under Robert E. Lee at Antietam (ant-eat-um) Creek in Maryland. We have
to force them farther away from our capital.
Narrator- The fighting lasts for one day. It is the single bloodiest day of the entire Civil
War. More than 26,000 soldiers were killed or wounded in the one day of fighting.
General Lee- We cannot afford to lose any more soldiers. I am ordering a retreat. We
will have to disappear into Virginia.
McClellan- We cannot follow the retreating army. We have had too much damage of
our own to continue on after them. We need to regroup and prepare for more fighting.
We accomplished our goal of sending them farther away from the capital.
Abraham Lincoln- The time has come for me to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
We entered this war with the goal of keeping the Union together. That was our ONLY
goal. I did not intend to end slavery. I still have not changed my goals. I am however,
emancipating, or freeing all slaves that live in the southern states that have succeeded
from the Union. The emancipation will go into effect on January 1st unless the southern
states decide to rejoin the Union.
Intermission- Mr. Paul’s Questions:
1. Why did Lincoln wait until after the Battle at Antietam to issue the
Emancipation Proclamation?
2. What were the 2 main reasons that he issued the Emancipation Proclamation?
3. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
4. Is Abraham Lincoln an Abolitionist? Why or Why not?
Jefferson Davis- We will never surrender to you and join the Union again. You cannot
scare us by your proclamation. You cannot control slaves that don’t even exist in your
country. The only reason you are doing this is because you know you will lose the war
and you want us to rejoin the Union. That is the only way you will avoid losing this war.
Abraham Lincoln- I am also going to allow for African Americans to fight in the war
for the Union. You have a chance to fight for your brothers and sisters in the south who
are bonded in slavery.
Narrator- Over 200,000 African Americans join the war but they face racism in the
Union army. Most of them never see the battlefield but are used only to dig trenches,
cook, pull wagons, and other laboring jobs. The African American armies were almost
always led by white men. The most famous one was the 54th Massachusetts Volunteers.
They were remembered for their brave fighting.
Abraham Lincoln- I am tired of having a coward for a General leading our armies.
General McClellan has waited six weeks since the Battle of Antietam and he has not
pursued General Lee’s army. He has given them time to grow and get stronger. I must
replace him with General Ambrose Burnside.
General Burnside- We have to get back to our main plan and go after Richmond,
Virginia. I still believe that if we can take over their capital city we can end the war
shortly.
General Lee- The Union army is finally coming for us. We will wait in Fredericksburg,
Virginia so they don’t have a chance to get to Richmond. They will have to cross our
path first.
General Burnside- There is the Confederate army. They are across the river. Let’s get
over there and fight them.
Narrator- General Lee was ready and waiting for the Union forces. He had built his
army up to 73,000 soldiers. They held off the Union forces for several weeks.
General Burnside- We are not moving the Confederates back at all. Both sides are
losing too many men. We have to retreat and set up a new plan. I am ordering for our
army to retreat. I have been a failure and I wish to resign. I will no longer be in charge
of the Union army.
Abraham Lincoln- I am replacing General Burnside with General Joseph Hooker. I
want him to go after Robert E. Lee’s forces.
General Hooker- We have to go after the Confederates in Chancellorsville, Virginia.
That is where I believe Robert E. Lee has taken his troops. I am ordering for our army to
attack him there.
General Lee- The Union soldiers are attacking us again. We will have to defeat them
once again. Oh no! Stonewall Jackson has been hit. He looks to be hurt. Are you okay?
Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson- I have been hit in my left arm. I think it needs to be cut
off. I will lie on my deathbed and shout orders. I will never stop fighting for the
Confederates until I die. Drive the Union army back!
Narrator- Stonewall Jackson died in the middle of the battle while on his deathbed
yelling orders.
Robert E. Lee- Stonewall Jackson had lost his left arm but now I have lost my right arm
man. We must fight and win this battle for Stonewall Jackson!
Narrator- They do win the battle after much fighting. General Hooker’s army of nearly
138,000 is almost destroyed. Lee decides the time is right to try to end the war.
Robert E. Lee- We have them on the run! We need to follow them and attack. We can
force the Union army into surrender and then our independence will be won. The
Confederate States of America will never die!
Lincoln- I can’t believe that General Hooker lost another battle for us! I have to replace
him with General George Meade. He will meet up with the Union troops in southern
Pennsylvania.
Narrator- While Confederate soldiers are searching for supplies they run into the Union
army. They fire shots and notify General Lee of what they have found. This takes place
at Gettysburg on July 1, 1861.
Lee- Follow them. We can defeat them in a battle. We cannot let them get away.
General Meade- We need to flee to the high ground so when they attack we have an
advantage. If we can make it to the top of that ridge our chances of winning will be much
better.
Lee- They have taken the high ground. Their line spans 3 miles long. We have to attack
them from the sides. If we do this their troops in the middle will not be any use to them.
We can split into two groups and attack from both sides.
Narrator- An entire day goes by and the Union army holds their ground on top of the
ridge. General Lee grows impatient and orders George E. Pickett to lead a group of
Confederates on a charge up the hill towards the middle of the Union line.
Pickett- I want all 13,000 of you men to charge up this hill with everything you have.
We are about 1 mile from the Union line. We will be fired upon the entire way up but
when we reach the top we will force them to retreat. We can end the war if we do this.
General Meade- They are charging at us up the middle of the hill. Direct your fire at
them. If any of them make it to the top kill them immediately or take them captive if they
surrender. We will not let them take this hill.
Narrator- The charge up the hill is a complete failure. 7,000 men are killed or wounded.
Only a few make it to the top and they are quickly killed or captured. The fighting
continues for 2 more days and on July 4 Lee orders for his army to retreat to Virginia.
45,000 soldiers in all were killed or wounded. Meade refused to chase them.
Abraham Lincoln- I wanted General Meade to follow them. We had the war won if you
would have followed them. They were too weak to continue fighting. Now they are
going to be able to get reinforcements and we will have to start all over again. We need
to remember our fallen soldiers who fought bravely at Gettysburg. These Union soldiers
died so that we could preserve our country and live out the true meaning of our
creed…That all men are created equal.
Narrator- The battle at Gettysburg was a major turning point in the war. Although both
sides lost a large number of soldiers the Confederates were affected the most because
they didn’t have as many soldiers to fight. They had no resources because the Union was
blocking them and they were really worn down.