The First YearFort Sumpter to the

end of 1861

Fort Sumpter

• A federal fort in Charleston Harbor – SC– Surrounding by Confederate batteries– Major Robert Anderson tells Lincoln the fort needs

to be re-supplied or he will have to evacuate the fort

Fort Sumpter

Fort Sumpter

Lincoln’s Dilemma1. Evacuate and it would

recognize the Confederacy2. Strengthen the fort and

look aggressive

Confederacy’s Dilemma1. Allow re-supple and look

weak2. Attack and they would

have fired the first shot of the war

Fort Sumpter

• April 12, 1861– South starts shelling Fort

Sumpter– 34 hours until Anderson

surrenders the fort– April 15, 1861 > Lincoln

calls for 75,000 volunteers

Fort SumpterImages of what Fort Sumpter looks like today

Fort Sumpter

• April 17, 1861– Virginia secedes• Richmond becomes the Confederate capital• Arkansas, NC, Tennessee secede

– Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, Delaware remain with the Union

– Lincoln never recognizes the Confederacy throughout the war > refers to it as an “insurrection”

Advantage/Disadvantage

• Population:- Advantage = North

* 22 million in the North vs. 9 million in the South (which included 3.5 million slaves)

* more Northerners crossed lines ad helped the South than Southerners leaving for the North

Advantage/Disadvantage

• Manufacturing: – Advantage: North

• North had 92% of the nation’s industry• North had almost all know supplies of raw materials• Most of the nation’s food crops were raised in the North• South’s main crop was cotton

– Southern leaders believed that the desire of Great Britain ad France for cotton would force them to aid the South > trade for manufactured goods

• South barely managed to produce enough food for the war

Advantage/Disadvantage• Transportation

- Advantage: North * North had more than

22,000 miles of railroads vs. 9,000 miles in the South

* Northern lines linked together, South had separate lines

* North had better roads and water systems

* North had 40 naval ships > South couldn’t defend cotton trade (Northern blockade)

* North owned close to half nation’s gold > use to obtain more credit

Advantage/Disadvantage

• Culture– Advantage: South

• South had better soldiers– Use to outdoor living, more familiar with horses and firearms than the Northern “city

boys”

• South had sympathy from Europeans– Compared to the American Revolution– South more clearly defined goals to fight for (higher morale in troops)

• Geography– Advantage: South

• South was fighting a defensive war > war dictated an offensive strategy by the North

• Better lines of communication• Knew the land better• 2,000 miles of coastline for smuggling

Advantage/Disadvantage

• Military Leadership– Advantage South

• President Jefferson Davis graduated from West Point and served in Mexico and as Secretary of State

Advantage/Disadvantage

• Robert E. Lee > fought in Mexico, asked to run Union army after secession

• Pierre G. T. Beauregard • Albert Sydney Johnston• Joseph E. Johnston >

couldn’t get along with President Davis

• Thomas Stonewall Jackson > one of the greatest that the South had…fought in Mexico

War Aims

• North– Invade the South and

destroy the Confederate gov’t

– Build up navy to blockade Southern coastline

– Fight to “preserve the Union”

– Destroy Southern confidence

• South– Act and develop as an

independent nation– Fight on the defensive– Fight to protect home

from Northern invaders

War Aims• The Anaconda Plan

– Designed by General Winfield Scott (Northern Chief of Army) > left post on Nov. 1861 after designing the Anaconda Plan

– Planned to “snake” around the South with 4 major parts to the plan

1. Blockade the seacoast2. Seal off inland borders3. Drive down the Mississippi River

to split the South4. Send in the army to invade the

South

– Original criticism was that plan was too slow > no one was ready to admit that it would be a long war (militia only called up for 90 days)

Dividing Up The Sides

• Lincoln, the Constitution, and his Cabinet– From the beginning

Lincoln would exceed his power to “preserve the Union”

• “It became necessary for me to choose whether, using only the existing means….I should let the government fall at once into ruin or whether, availing myself of the broader powers conferred by the Constitution in time of insurrection, I would make an effort to save it, with all its blessings, for the present age and prosperity.”

Dividing Up The Sides

• Lincoln, the Constitution, and his Cabinet– Lincoln did on several occasions exceed his constitutional powers

1. Lincoln increased the size of the army without Congressional approval2. Lincoln withdrew $2 million for military purposes without

Congressional approval3. Lincoln anti-Unionists jailed and arrested, giving no reason (Habeas

Corpus)4. Nearly 15,000 Americans were jailed and remained in jail until the

wars end without a trial5. Lincoln censored some anti-Union newspapers and had editors and

publishers arrested6. Lincoln sets up military courts to try Confederate sympathizers 7. Lincoln had private letters and telegrams opened by military

authorities

Dividing Up The Sides

• Lincoln, the Constitution, and his Cabinet– Lincoln showed his genius

when setting up his Cabinet: “KEEP YOUR POLITICAL ENEMIES CLOSE WHERE YOU CAN KEEP AND EYED • William Seward (State)• Edwin Stanton (War)• Salmon P. Chase (Treasury)

Events Leading to Bull Run• “On to Richmond”

– War cry of the North– Belief that 1 major battle would

win the war– Both sides were not ready for

war– The only way for the North to

win the war was to go on the offensive

– Pressure from “outside” sources forced both sides into war• First year of the war was for

training troops under the Anaconda Plan.

Events Leading to Bull Run

• Northern Optimism– Early and quick victories by

General George McClellan in June, July 1861• Philippi > small victory blown

out of proportion by press• Rich Mt > opened up western

Virginia to the Union • Early victories allowed Union

leaders to plan an attack at Manassas Junction, behind Bull Run Creek by Union General Irwin McDowell

Events Leading to Richmond• Complications in Virginia

– Union General Benjamin Butler and his troop were stopped at Big Bethel by a small Confederate force• Butler became inactive

– Harper’s Ferry > 16,000 Union troops vs. 9,000 Confederates• Union Major General Robert

Patterson was suppose to engage Confederate General Joseph Johnston in mid-July

• Goal was not to allow General Johnston to reinforce Confederate General Pierre G.T. Beauregard at Bull Run

• Patterson never engaged Johnston

Events Leading to Bull Run

• July 16, 1861– Union General Irwin

McDowell and 35,000 soldiers start out from Washington to attack Confederate General Pierre G.T. Beauregard and 20,000 Confederates at Bull Run Creek (Manassas, VA)• Only thing between

Richmond and McDowell was Beauregard

Bull Run to the End of 1861

• The Aftermath– Confederates were content with their victory @

Bull Run > did not pursue the retreating Union army because they were disorganized• Union lost 2896 killed, wounded, or missing• South lost 1982• Both sides realized it would be a long war

– Key to victory would be to train troops more thoroughly– General Joe Johnston was put in charge of Confederate

armies/general McClellan replaced general McDowell as head of Union armies

Bull Run to the End of 1861

• The Aftermath– Strategy of both sides changed

• North spent summer and spring planning (Lincoln and Winfield Scott)– Planned for a 3 front war (Anaconda Plan)

1. Army of the Potomac (largest Union army in the East) would keep pressure on Richmond

2. Push down the Mississippi > Split the South and isolate Texas3. Blockade Southern ports

– South hoped the British and/or French would form an alliance with the Confederacy» French turned their attention towards conquering land in Mexico

Bull Run to the End of 1861

• After Bull Run the Confederates bunkered down on the hills outside of the DC– Built Quaker Guns (wooden

guns as decoys) to control the Potomac River outside of DC

– Confederate General Joe Johnston sent Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson to the Shenandoah Valley (protect the food source for the South)

Bull Run to the End of 1861• Union General McClellan

dedicated 1861 to creating a new army– He would remain in DC until the

army took on a military form (companies with 1000 men in each)• Regiments would consist of

volunteers enlisted for 3 years

– McClellan was extremely cautious• Placed Allen Pinkerton in charge of

military intelligence• Pinkerton consistently over-

estimated the Confederate strength > making McClellan over cautious

Bull Run to the End of 1861

• Ball’s Bluff– Union reconaissance stumbled on Confederate

force > poorly lead and routed• Congress sets up the Joint Committee on the Conduct

of the War• Set up to look at how the generals conducted battles• Baffled that North could lose

– Nov 1861 > Winfield Scott resigned and Lincoln made McClellan the General-in-Chief of all Union armies

Bull Run to the End of 1861

• War starts in the West before the East– Union General John C.

Fremont > starts the construction of gun boats

– Union General Ulysses S. Grant in charge of large scale forces

Bull Run to the End of 1861

• Confederate General Albert Sydney Johnston given overall command of Confederate forces in the west– Has 2 forts built (Henry and

Donelson)to hold rivers (Tennessee River and Cumberland River) and protect control of Mississippi

– Drew the attention of Grant