America: The Story of Us-

Civil War

Fort Sumter was located in the harbor of Charleston, SC. underthe command of Major Robert Anderson. Lincoln decided to send supplies rather than give it to the Confederates.

As they seceded from the Union, the Southern states took over most of the federal forts inside their borders. President Abraham Lincoln had to decide what to do about the forts that remained under federal control. Major Robert Anderson and his garrison held on to Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, S.C., but they were running out of supplies.

Opening Shots

Although there were no casualties during the bombardment, one Union artillerist was killed and three wounded (one mortally) when a cannon exploded prematurely when firing a salute during the evacuation.

Lincoln Calls Out the Militia1. Asked for 75,000 militiamen to volunteer for 90 days to put down the uprising 2. Citizens of North

responded with enthusiasm

3. Robert E. Lee resigned from Union to fight for the

Confederacy 4. He could not turn his back on his birthplace, home,

or children

With Virginia on its side, the Confederacy had a much better chance for victory because it was wealthy and populous. The Confederacy moved its capital to Richmond, Va., in May of 1861.

Choosing Sides1. Four original border states played a key role in

the outcome of the war2. Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky,& Missouri3. They were states that bordered

states where slavery was illegal 4. Provided a buffer between US and

Confederacy Maryland was of critical importance because losing it would cut off Washington, DC, the nation’s capital, from the rest of the Union.

Kentucky’s rivers made it important because they provided an invasion route for the North and barrier for the South.

Bull Run was a small creek that was located north of Manassas, Virginia, a railway center southwest of Washington, D.C. On July 21, 1861, Union and Confederate troops clashed in the first real battle of the Civil War. The battle turned into a convincing Confederate victory, and General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson received his famous nickname for standing tall “like a stonewall” in the face of the battle.

The First Battle ofBull Run

Stonewall Jackson standing tall during the first Battle of Bull Run.

After standing their ground in the face of battleduring the Union charge, the Rebels soonReceived 9,000 reinforcements which turnedthe tide of the battle their way. The disorganizedUnion retreat back to Washington meant defeatfor the Union troops.

People in the North now realized that this warmight be much more difficult than they thought.

1. What new kind of bullet has brought the Civil War to a deadlock?

  the minié ball

Lead minié balls changed battle field tactics because they could shoot more accurately than round balls. When they entered the body they flattened out which caused more serious damage to the body. More soldiers died from infections after being shot than by the wounds themselves.

2. The minié ball is used in both the North and the South.

3. In total the North makes 1/2 billion minié balls to use in their 2 million muskets supplied to their men.

4. The Civil War was the first modern war because it was the first war after the Industrial Revolution.

5. Grooves in the inside of the barrel give the minié ball improved accuracy and range. In impact the bullet flattens out.

6. But for all the minié ball’s technical edge, the army still uses traditional military tactics.

7. By the time of the North’s final victory, over 600,000_are dead, 2%  of the nation’s entire population. Almost 1/2 of the dead remain unidentified.

8. In August of 1862, General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate army is readying to launch a wide ranging assault against Union forces in Virginia.

9. Southern soldiers are fighting for Southern Independence, traditions, and its way of life. The prosperity is built around a single crop cotton, known as white gold. The South accounts for 2/3 of the World’s supply of cotton.

10. Robert E. Lee took command of the Army of Northern Virginia.

• Lee was a major in the U.S. marines when the war broke out

• Lincoln offered Lee command of the Union forces but Lee refused saying he could not turn his back on his birthplace, his home, and his children.

• He became commander of the Army of Northern Virginia on June 1, 1862, when Gen. Joseph E. Johnston was wounded at the Battle of Seven Pines

11. The South defeated the North at the Second Battle of Bull Run in Manasas, Va., in June of 1862. Determination and local knowledge gave them their  greatest victory in the war to date.

• Union troops suffered another humiliating defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run

• Union General John Pope was relieved of command and General George McClellan took command of the Army of the Potomac

12. President Abraham Lincoln was fighting a new kind of war that Southern leaders didn’t get.

13. The railroad gave the North an advantage because they could  transport troops and supplies much quicker to the battle field. The railroad became a weapon of war.

The North had doublethe railroad mileage of the South.

14. The North has 24,000 miles of track compared the South’s 9,000 when the war began.

15. The North added 4,000 miles of track during the war while the South only added 400 miles.

16. Lincoln mobilized the entire industrial mite of the North during the war.

17. Production of clothing doubled, pitch fork manufacturers began making swords, and the number of patents doubled.

18. A simple device, the telegraph, will transform how the war is fought and won. It becomes the first tool of mass communication.

19. Lincoln put all telegraphs in the North under military command.

20. Lincoln sent almost 1000 telegrams during the war.

21. As battle field causalities mount on both sides, the carnage triggers a revolution in battle field medicine. Three quarters of all surgeries were amputations.

22. If a bullet doesn’t kill you, infection can with gangrene as the greatest killer.

23. Twice as many soldiers die from infected wounds and disease as on the battlefield.

24. Large numbers of women sign up as battlefield nurses, including Clara Barton, who will later become the founder of the American Red Cross.

25. The spread of portable cameras means for the first time gory images of the battlefield can now reach every home.

26. A new technique, embalming, allowed dead bodies of soldiers to remain fairly well preserved for viewing back home.

27. President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, which abolished slavery in the rebellious Southern states.

Calls for Emancipation1. Abolitionists urged Lincoln to free all

enslaved persons2. Frederick Douglas

a. Moral and practical reasons b. Make war a war against slavery

3. Lincoln criticized for being too cautious

4. Feared Constitution didn’t give power to emancipate slaves 5. Did not want to anger four border states

Frederick Douglas, an escaped slave, was a strong voice for abolition for many years before the Civil War. He urged Lincoln to free all slaves on moral as well as practical reasons. Lincoln did not want to anger the border states nor divide the nation any further. Douglas wanted Lincoln to make the war a war against slavery.

“If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it. If I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that.”

A. Lincoln

Lincoln decided in the summer of 1862 to emancipate slaves in the Confederacy, hoping it would weaken the South. After the Union victory at Antietam, Lincoln decided to act

C. The Emancipation Proclamation1. Lincoln’s first priority was always to preserve the union 2. January 1, 18633. Freed very few slaves4. Lincoln thought it would weaken the

South but wanted to wait until North was in a position of strength5. Symbolic measure6. Civil War became a war to preserve the

Union AND to free slaves

Emancipation’s Affect on South’s Ability to fight the War

• Southerners had a dependence on slave labor• It freed all slaves in Confederate territory and had a

tremendous impact on the public, but freed very few slaves.

• Some slaves did provide labor for Confederate army but are not allowed to serve which freed up more whites to serve in the army

• Not having slaves would make it difficult to provide food for troops as well as civilians

• Lincoln only freed slaves in South because he saw it as a military action and wasn’t sure if Constitution gave him power.

Response to the Proclamation1. Abolitionist were

thrilled2. People in the North were angered because

they didn’t feel it went far enough. Wanted all slaves freed, including border states. No. Democrats thought it would prolong the war.

3. Most Union soldiers welcomed it because it gave them a reason to fight.

4. White southerners reacted with rage because slaves ran away and joined the Union army.

African-American Soldiers1. Emancipation Proclamation declared that

African-Americans would be welcomed in armed services, and so they rushed to enlist

2. Frederick Douglas argued for recruitment3. 180,000 Black soldiers served4. All Black regiments with white officers 5. Given worst jobs and paid less

28. By the end of the war, almost 200,000 blacks signed up to fight for the North.

The 54th Massachusetts1. Fought without pay

2. Most famous black regiment in War 3. July 1863, led a heroic attack on Fort

Wagner in South Carolina

4. African-American soldiers were usually shot or sent to slavery if captured

29. The Union Army became a force fighting to end slavery.

30. General William Sherman uses a tactic known as Total War to defeat the South.

General William Tecumseh Sherman waged total war on the South as he marched through Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina in the fall of 1864. He destroyed anything that helped support the South’s war efforts during his campaign.