Chapter 15

Crucible of Freedom: Civil War, 1861-1865

Key Issues• Mobilizing for War• IN Battle, 1861-62• Emancipation Transforms the War,

63• War and Society, N & S• The Union Victorious, 64-65

Mobilizing For War: Recruit & Conscript • N (16Th troops) & S unprepared

• N: 1/3 officers joined Confederacy, L as yokel, no direct taxes in decades, never drafted

• S: no tax structure, no navy, only 2 gunpower factories, poorly equipped, unconnected railroad

• Had to overcame these deficits in 2 yrs; expanded central gov’t power

Mobilizing For War: Recruit & Conscript • 2M men served in N; 800Th in S

• S: 1st conscription law in Apr ’62– Age limit changed fr. 18 to 17 up to 50 fr.

35: – serve 3 yrs.Changed to duration of war– Antagonized the South; loophole of

substitute closed in ’63– 20 Negro Law: exempt rich men

• S: solid munitions by ’62 due to Josiah Gorgas

Mobilizing For War: supplies & food • S: lack supplies & food due to focus on

tobacco & cotton; Union overran livestock & grain-raising districts

– Impressment Act “63: officers take food as prescribed prices & impressed slave labor

• N: No problems w/ food & supplies• N: Enrollment Act “63: age 20-45

– Exemption: high officials, ministers, sole supporters of widows & orphans; substitution & commutation ($300 fee)

Mobilizing For War: Financing the War • In ’61 N raised income tax, S small property tax: not

enough• Both turned to war bonds (loans fr. Citizens to be

repaid in specie)– S: $15M; N $150M

• Specie scarcity led N&S to paper money– N: Legal Tender Act $150M greenbacks (treasurer Salmon

Chase)– S: never legalized paper $; no confidence; then printed

more ($1B) that led to inflation of 9TH% (Christopher Memminger)

• N: Republicans pushed for Nat’l Bank Act in ’63: fed chartered & issue nat’l bank notes; shows greater political cohesion during war

Mobilizing For War: Leadership S. advantage of strong leaders• Pres. Jefferson Davis: experience, West Pointer,

knack for making enemies– 5 Secretaries of War in 5 yrs.

N. disadvantage: political liability• Lincoln: W. manners; yokel; inexperienced in neither

Senate nor cabinet– Caught between Conservative & Radical; he

communicated w/ both• Radical Republicans berated him not making

emancipation a war goal & for eagerly admitting rebel states into Union

Mobilizing For War: J Davis & his VP Alex Stephens (GA)

S. advantage of strong leaders• Davis goal: secure victory & secure

independence• A. Stephen adhered to Conf.

Constitution: protect slavery & states’ rights; no protective tariff & no internal improvements

Mobilizing For War: Lincoln & N. Democrats • L demanded strong gov’t to win war

• N. Democrats resisted centralized gov’t• L better at controlling his foes than Davis

– N. Democrats apposed L led Republicans to unify behind L: Union stronger politically

– S. Democrats & Whigs suspended rivalries but no unity behind Davis who couln’t get votes to pass measures

Mobilizing For War: Securing the Union’s Borders L: guarded DC bordered by VA & MD (slaves);

dispatched fed troops to MD & suspended writ of habeas corpus (p.443) citing state of rebellion in Constitution Art.1.9

• Fed could now arrest Marylanders w/out formally charging them w/ specific offenses…causing MD & DL to reject secession:

• Arming of Union sympathizer in KT (slave but Unionist legislature, successionist governor): KT declared U

• MO declared Unionist, WV admitted in ’63• Union held key rivers in KT & MO

In Battle, 61-62 1st modern war due to reliance on• railroads• telegraph• mass-produced weapons• joint-army-navy tactics• iron-plated warships• rifled guns & artillery• trench warfare

In Battle, 61-62 : Armies, Weapons, StrategiesUnion advantage:

• 22M people in ’61 vs. 9M (1/3 slaves) in S.

• 3.5 times white men of military age• 90% of all US industrial capacity• 2/3 of all railroad tracksUnion disadvantage: must force S

back into Union; S fought for independence

In Battle, 61-62 : Armies, Weapons, Strategies

Union disadvantage: • Few troops for frontline due to

defend long supply lines; The S. used slave labor

• Had to move troops & supplies long distances: sabotage, bad roads & weather,

In Battle, 61-62 : Armies, Weapons, StrategiesRifle changed tactics:

• 50’s improvement: bullet whose powder not clog internal grooves

• Had to be reloaded after each shot, but Springfield or Enfield riffles hit target at 400 yards fr. 80

• Defending force can now fire several instead of 1 or 2 rounds before closing w/ the enemy

• Harder to get close enough for bayonet• Turn to trenches for protection against rifle fire• W/ riffles, foot soldiers more effective than

cavalry

In Battle, 61-62 : Armies, Weapons, Strategies• Rifle changed tactics but high casualties from duration rather than rife efficacy

• Surprise attack was more effective– Ex: Fredericksburg in ’62 Conf. struck Union

w/ high casualties– Ex: in Gettysburg ’63 Union shredded

charging Confederates• Battles: traded volleys, charged,

countercharged, loser withdraws

In Battle, 61-62 : Strategies• N had Anaconda plan devised by

Winfield Scott– Blockcade southern coastline & to thrust,

like a huge snake, down the Miss River– Goal: to seal off & sever the Confedera– Failure to follow snake plan due to lack of

troops & navy flotillas– To secure border slave states, troops were

in KT & MO, later in TN; sealed off Western theater, but major conflicts were in easter in ‘61

In Battle, 61-62 : Stalemate in the East• S: moved capital fr. Montgomery, AL to Richmond & encamped in Manassas Junction (25miles fr. DC)

• First Manasas (1st Battle of Bull Run)– Gen. Irvn McDowell v. P.G.T.

Beauregard– Amateur armies, bloody chaos;

watched by well dressed picnickers– Aided by last minute reinforcements,

Beauregard routed larger Union army

In Battle, 61-62 : Stalemate in the East• After Bull Run, McDowell was replaced by G.B. McClellan as commander of the Potomac Army

• McClellan’s goal: maneuveur Conf. into futile attack on his army in order to avert a destructive siege of Richmond; hope to admit Conf. into Union w/ slavery intact

• Lincoln’s plan of victory: simultaneous, coordinated attacks on several fronts to exploit manpower & resources

In Battle, 61-62 :McClellan refused to attack• w/ 100Th men at penisula, 5 miles to Richmond, McClellan refused to attack w/out further reinforcement

• During his delay, Robert E.Lee took command of Conf. Army in N. VA

– Contrast w/ McClellan, Lee was bold & willing to accept high casualties

– Lee attacked McC. In ’62 in Seven Days’ Battles: Conf. lost 2x as many men as N., but McC kept sending L panicky reports

– Lincoln ordered McC to call off campaign

In Battle, 61-62 :2nd Bull Run• McC out of the picture, Lee & Stonewall

Jackson boldly struck north• 2nd Bull Run: Conf. routed Union under

John Pope• Lee, bolder now, crossed Potomac &

attacked w. MD, to relieve pressure fr. Richmond, hoping Fr. & Br. to recognize Conf.

– But McC met him at battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg) & victory for N.; Lee called off invasion

In Battle, 61-62 :Emancipation Proclamation• Antietam = bloodiest day of entire war w/ 24Th casualties

• Victory at Antietam led Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamati

– Free all slaves under rebel control• McC, “the slows” was replaced by Ambrose

Burnside, who proved his incompetence by sacrificing his army in futile charge up the heights in Fredericksburg

• The war in the east has become a stalemate

In Battle, 61-62 : War in the West• Union fared better in the West• Ulysses S. Grant: competent, W.Pointer,

Mex war vet; heavy drinker, failed in business & farming

• Grant gained controlled of MO & KT, 2 border states, then took TN, then attacked Miss at Corinth

• Grant, encamped at Shiloh (20miles fr. Corinth), was surprised by Albert Johnston & PGT Beauregard & lost; but then counterattacked w/ reinforcement & won. The bloodiest battle until Antietam

In Battle, 61-62 : War in the West• Focus on Shiloh left New Orleans vulnerable

to Union– Benjamin Butler & David Farragut N. Orleans,

Baton Rouge, Natchez by land-sea attack• Union flotilla took Memphis via Miss River;

control most of the river now• Union drove Conf. out of TX & NMex; secured

MO River; scattered Conf (include 3 Cherokee regiments) in Arkansas

• Union (w. volunteers) then turned on Indians (Dakota Sioux v. Minnesota) & Indian wars erupted in AR, NV, CO, NM(Kit Carson overwhelmed the Apaches & Navajos)

In Battle, 61-62 : The Soldiers’ War• Underaged boys & 250 women disguised

as men volunteered• Union food: beans, bacon, salt pork,

pickled beef, hadtack• Conf.: bacon & cornmeal; often ran out

of food, blankets, clothes, socks, & shoes

• Both: poor santitation, lice, ticks, fleas, rodents, diseases. A sergeant describe “laying around in the dirt & mud, living on hardtack, facing death in bullets & shells, eat up by wook-ticks & body-lice”

In Battle, 61-62 : The Soldiers’ War• ¾ of soldiers served in infantry, which

suffered most casualties• Riffle ineffective due to lack of

experience, training, & terrain barriers• Most died from facing one another until

one side fell back• Letters home reflected motivation

– Conf. equated slavery to liberty– Union: some for anti-slavery, some changed

their mind after seeing horror of it in the S.

In Battle, 61-62 : the Naval War• N’s 40 active warships v. 1 in S• By 1865, US had largest navy in

world• Union captured ports & reduced S’s

int’l trade, which it relied on for war• S. better as commerce raider• The S. can’t match N’s naval power

In Battle, 61-62 : the Diplomatic War• Napoleon III (Fr) dreamed of colonial Mex & welcomed US division

• Upper class Fr & Br liked the S• S hoped Br will side w/ S due to its needs of cotton,

Br had Egypt & India as supplier• S dispatched James Mason & John Slidell to Br & Fr,

Union captain boarded vessel Trent (Br) and captured the 2 as prisoners

– Br exploded & Lincoln returned prisoners• Br built commerce raiders, Florida & Alabama

– Charles Francis Adams protested, so Br bought these rams for its own navy

• L’s Emanciaption Proclam. After Antietem neutralized all European interference

Emancipation Transforms the War 1863• Save the Union as official goal but emancipation of slaves was thrust to the forefront after only 2 years

Confiscation to Emancipation• Slaves fled behind Union line = contraband

(enemy property)• Confiscation Act in ’61: can seize all property

used in military aid of rebel• L was cautious due to Union slaveholders (TN,

WV, LA, sections of VA) & proslavery Democrats, who fear blacks competing for jobs in N

• Rad Republicans (Thaddeus Stevens): “free every slave, slay every traitor, burn every Rebel mansion…to preserve the temple of freedom”

• 2nd Confiscation Act in ’62: can seize property of all persons in rebellion, free escaped slaves, employ blacks as soldiers

Confiscation to EmancipationThen the Proclamation in ’63: great

military tactic as it• mobilized European liberals• pacified Radical & Democrats• pushed border states to

Emancipation (MD & MO)

Crossing the Union Line• By ’65 ½ M slaves in Union• Slaves as pawns in attacks & counter

attacks• One slave fr. NC celebrated his freedom

12 times• Freemen worked for Union as cooks,

teamsters, laborers, scouts, spies, • Faced fierce prejudice among Yankee

soldiers• ’65 Congress created Freemen’s Bureau:

relief, education & employment of former slaves

Black Soldiers in the Union Army• ’61 Union refused black soldiers• ’62 Union generals formed black

regiments; especially in N. Orleans, Sea Island (SC), GA

• Large scale enlistment after Proclamation

• Frederick Douglas linked black military w. citizenship

• By war’s end, 1/10 of Union were blacks (186,000)

Black Soldiers in the Union Army• Suffered far higher mortality rate than

white troops due to labor detachments or garrison (disease-ridden) duty

• Confed sent black prisoners back to slavery or executed them (Gen Nathan Bedfore Forrest massacred many blacks in TN)

• Unequal pay: $13/mo+$3.50 allowance vs. $10/mo w/ clothing deduction

• Congress equalized pay in ’64• Grant wrote “they make good soldiers”

Slavery in Wartime• 3M of slaves in S during war time; • Whites, fearful of revenge, tightened slave

patrols, moved plantations to safer place in TX or upland region, spread scare stories

• some slaves torn between loyalty & freedom• Robert Smalls, a slave, turned over a Confed

steamer• Union liberated about 10Th slaves on the Sea

Islands, became haven for black refugees• Defied system by fleeing or sabataging • But Confed. was desperate & armed 300Th

slaves but war ended 3 weeks later

Year of 1863 began badly• Burnside’s defeat in Federicksburg, VA

in ’62 continued into 1863• Burnside’s successor, Joseph Hooker,

w/ 2x as many Conf. soldiers lost to R.E. Lee & Stonewall Jackson (died here) at Chancellorsville, VA.

• In W, Grant had difficulty taking Vicksburg

Turning Point in 1863• N upswing began w/ Lee’s decision to invade the

North w/ 75Th men down the Shenandoah• Conf. looking for shoes saw Union in town & both

called for reinforcement• Gettysburg,PA: the war’s greatest battle

– Lee’s 75Th vs. Meade’s 90Th

– Pickett’s charge: massive infantry line of 15Th moved in to be met by Union fire & rifled weapons: Conf. bodies litered field

– Lee lost 1/3– 50Th men lost between Union & Conf., who retreated:

Union kept Lee from invading N.• Grant had success in Vicksburg, cut off Ark, LA, TX

War’s Economic Impact: NN’s economy unevenly affected• Damaged shoe industry: lost S. market• Cotton-textile industry hurt War benefited • producers of arms & clothing• Railroad (US Military Railroads): largest

– N. route: Omaha to S. Francisco due to Republican Congress

– US gave large land grants (60M acres) & loans ($20M) to Union Pacific & Central Railroad

War’s Economic Impact: rich in N• Homestead Act (’62): give 160 acre for

settling after 5 yrs.• Morrill Land Grant in ’62: gave states

proceeds of public lands to fund the establishment of universities (agriculture & mechanic arts): Michigan State, Iowa State, Purdue Uni…etc

• War benefited the rich: corrupt contractors, Cyrus McCormich hit jackpot by investing in pig iron ($23/lb to $40)

War’s Economic Impact: the poor in the N• Wages lagged 20% behind, but

• Prices for finished goods rose due to inflation, tariffs

• Men lost barganing power for high wages because women & boys entered work force for ½ of pay.

• Workers formed national unions to no avail

– being accused of unpatriotic & army troops were used to put down protests

War’s Economic Impact: The S• Wrecked S.’s railroads, sank cotton production,

reduced wheat & corn• Agricultural shortage exacerbates S’s inflation

– Salt in NY $1.25 but in S is $60.00• Food shortage also due to concentration on cotton,

impress fr. Cilivians whose husbands were absent• Lack of factory-made goods led to home production

by women• Women fled as refugee• N traded food for cotton: Union’s policy “to feed an

army and fight it at the same time”– Middlemen got rich

Dealing w/ Dissent in the S• Dissent in S: Alexander Stephens (VP),

Zebulon Vance (Gov of NC), & Joseph Brown of Ga attacked J. Davis as despotic

– Although J Davis hardly suspend habeas corpus

• Nonslaveholding farmers in the Appal Mt loyal to Union: resented 20-Negro exemption

Dealing w/ Dissent in the N• Lincoln faced Democratic opposition of

centralized power & emancipation• Democrats mobilized antidraft by woeing

farmers of S. background, urban working class, recent immigrants

– Led to violent eruption in NY: Irish roamed streets for 4 days • Lynched dozen blacks & injured hundreds, burned draft

office, homes of Republicans, & Colored Orphan Asylum

– Squashed by federal troops; suspended habeus corpus

– Fear of labor competition by blacks

Dealing w/ Dissent in the N• N still had freedom of speech, press, &

assembly• Court ruled that a civilian can’t be tried in

military court when civilian one is open• Clement L. Vallandigham: an Ohio Peace

Democrat apposed suspension of Habeus Corpus & proposed an armistice

– Was jailed for duration of war, but Ohio Dem. Nominated him for gov, so L banished him to TN. Valland. Escaped to Canada

The Medical War• Women volunteered in US Sanitary

Commission• 3,200 served in Union as nurses

– Dorothea Dix as head of nursing corps– Clara Barton showed up w/ wagon of

supplies at Antietam• She founded the American Red Cross in 1881

• S. nurses: Sally Tompkins, Belle Boyd, Stonewall Jackson, Louisa May Alcott

The Medical War: deaths by diseases• 2:1 ratio of death by diseases to battle

• Miasm theory of diseases facilitated sanitary measures

• Only beginning to investigate germ theory in the 60’s

• Prison camps became death camps, especially in the S.

The War & women’s rights• In N & S, women took jobs vacated by men

– Offices, mills, factories, fieldwork (plowing, planting, harvesting)

• Anna E. Dickinson (PA): hospital volunteer and lectured about suffering of soldiers; Republican begged her to campaign for them

• Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony in ’63 organized Woman’s Na’tl Loyal League

– Gathered 400Th signatures, called to abolish slavery via amendment, promoted women suffrage

The War didn’t change women’s rights• Volunteers got no pay

• Workers got paid less than men did• War didn’t change view on women’s

sphere– Though war added “organized care for

wounded” to sphere– Nurses classified as domestic

• Failed to capitalize on rising sentiments against slavery: politicians saw little value in woman sufferage

The Union Victorious• By ’64, Union not closer to taking

Richmond & rebels still controlled most of Lower South

• William T. Sherman: attacked fr. TN into GA (Atlanta) & later Savanah, & SC

– Boost N. morale & helped L reelected

The Union Victorious: Eastern ‘64• Grant = Union commander = coordinated attacks on

all fronts (like L) • Grant sustained offensive attack on Lee & suffered

reverses but forced Lee to retreat– In Wilderness near Fredericksburg, VA– Spotsylvania– Cold Harbor: lost 7Th men in 1 hour

• He countered Lee down Shenandoah Valley by ordering Philip Sheridan, who controlled it

• He orders William T Sherman GA against Joseph Johnson, whom J Davis replaced w/ John B Hood

– Hood lost an arm in Gettysburg & a leg in Chickamauga– Attacked Sherman but lost

The Election of 1864: L vs Radicals• Radicals resented L for delaying

emancipation • dismissed his plans on restoring TN, LA,

& ARK to the Union• Insisted that Congress not prez. Have

the power to set requirements for readminsion

• Saw L’s reconstruction plan as too lenient

• Nominated Treasury Salmon P. Chase

The Election of 1864: L vs Democrats• Democrats angry ‘cause L made emancipation a war goal

• Peace Demo (Copperhead) wanted armistice & negotiation between N& S

• Demo. Nominated Gen George McClellan, who distanced fr. copperhead

• L benefited as Radicals isolated Peace Demo by electing prowar Demo (TN) Andrew Johnson

• L won w/ 55% of pop. Vote & 212/233 electoral votes

• L’s convention endorsed amendment to abolish slavery & passed in 1865

Sherman’s March Through GA• Hood lost Atlanta & retreated to TN

hoping Sherman would chase him• Sherman marched across GA to

Savanah doing TOTAL war• Thousands of slaves followed Union• Destruction was part of vital strategy

($100M of properties)• Gutted capital of SC—Columbia• Moved on to NC & AL• Total of 400 miles

Toward Appomattox• Sherman’s march & reduced Conf’s

morale• Grant attacked Petersburg, s. of

Richmond, reinforced by Sheridan (Shenandoah victor)

– April 2, Sheridan smashed rebel flank at the Battle of Five Forks

– Lee tried to escape but was caught• Met Grant in a private home in village called

Appomattox Courthouse in VA– J Davis fled the city but was captured in GA

Lincoln Assasinated• Grant turned down theater date w/

Lincolns• April 14 L was shot by proConfederate

actor John Wilkes Booth– Booth shouted “sic semper tyrannis”

• L died the next day• 8 accomplish: 4 hung, 4 imprisoned,

Booth was shot

The Impact of the War• 620,000 soldiers died• Ruined S. economy’• Whole US became industrial power as slavery

ended• Politic: “more perfect Union”• States’ rights still there but not extreme

– Never again exercise antibellum range of power• Nat’l power: abolished slavery; imposed

income tax; Sanitary Commission• 3.5 M slaves liberated

Conclusion• a