Unit 6: A Nation Divided

and Rebuilt1846-1877

In this Unit…

• Chapter 15: The Nation Breaking Apart• Chapter 16: The Civil War Begins• Chapter 17: The Tide of War Turns• Chapter 18: Reconstruction

Why It Matters Now

The Civil War represented the greatest threat to the survival of the American republic in our history. Why we fought, how the Union won, and how we rebuilt the nation remain enduring matters of

discussion and debate.

Chapter 16: The Civil War BeginsLesson 1: War Erupts

In this Chapter…

• Lesson 1: War Erupts• Lesson 2: Life in the Army• Lesson 3: No End in Sight

Essential Question

What events, leaders, and strategies shaped the early years of the war?

Key Question

What were the strategies of the North and the South?

Vocabulary• Fort Sumter: Union fort in the harbor of

Charleston, South Carolina• Confederacy: Nation formed by Southern

states• Robert E. Lee: Confederate general,

commander of the Army of Northern Virginia

• Anaconda Plan: Union strategy to defeat the Confederacy

Expectations• Southerners expected a short war that they

would easily win

• Northerners expected the same!

• Americans slowly realized the war would be long and difficult.

First Shots at Fort Sumter• South took control of

the Union’s federal forts• Fort Sumter ran out of

supplies• If Lincoln sent

supplies… he risked war• If Lincoln surrendered

the fort… he would be giving in to the rebels

• He decided to send supplies and notify the Confederacy

• Confederate leaders decided to attack the fort before the supplies arrived

• April 12, 1861• Confederate troops open fired• 34 hours of shooting• Union troops surrendered• No one was killed

• This marked the start of the Civil War

Lincoln Calls out the militia• Lincoln asked Union states to provide 75,000

militiamen for 90 days to put down the uprising• A militia is a group of individuals who are civilians that are

called for in emergency situations• The Northern states responded with enthusiasm• The upper South responded with defiance• Soon additional states seceded• Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas

• Not all slave states seceded• Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri

States Choose Sides• = Union States = Confederate

State• = Slave State not seceding = Territory/Not

State••

Preparing for Battle• Virginia was very important to the South• Rich• Populous (many people)• Confederacy moved their capital to Richmond• Home of Robert E. Lee• Lee resigned from the US army and joined the Confederacy

• After Virginia seceded• People wondered about the border states• Their locations and resources were important• All stayed with the Union• Later, the western counties of Virginia broke away and

formed the new state of West Virginia and joined the Union• In total: 24 Union states and 11 Confederate states

Planning StrategiesConfederacy

• Started with a defensive strategy

• Hoped to gain allies with Great Britain and France because of their dependence on cotton• They did not join

• Did invade the North a couple times

Union• Strategy was offensive

• Invade and conquer• Anaconda Plan

• Designed to strangle the South’s economy like a giant anaconda snake squeezing its prey• Naval blockade of the

South’s coastline• Control the Mississippi

River (would split the Confederacy in two)

• Capture Confederate capital (Richmond, VA)

Anaconda Plan

Comparing North and SouthConfederacy

• Strengths• Large area• Good generals• Soldiers were fighting to

protect their homeland• Weaknesses

• Small population• 5.5 million free; 3.5

slaves• Few factories• Fewer railroads• No naval power

Union• Strengths

• Large population (22 million)• 85% of nation’s factories• 70% or nations railroads• Strong navy

• Weaknesses• Depended on long supply lines• Fewer good military leaders• Soldiers were fighting an

offensive war

First Battle of Bull Run• People called for an attack on Richmond, VA• The Union army would have to defeat the Confederate troops at

Manassas, VA first• July 16, 1861

• Union forces marched to Manassas• Troops were joined by hundred of spectators who expected a quick and

entertaining battle• Union forces attacked at Bull Run• Confederate troops were driven back• But….• A regiment led by Thomas J. Jackson stopped the Union troops• “There is Jackson standing like a stone wall!”• Nicknamed “Stonewall” Jackson

• Confederate troops charged while letting out the “rebel yell”• Union soldiers ran for their lives and spectators were shocked

• Confederacy won• Casualties

• 2,700 for the North• 2,000 for the South

• It became obvious that this would be a deadly war.

Battle of Bull RunSome showed up as early as 3 am

to tailgate in their coach-and-fours, drink champagne, and grill

cucumber sandwiches.

Lessons of Bull Run• Three points became clear• The fighting would be bloody• The war would not be over quickly• Southern soldiers would fight fiercely to defend the

Confederacy• After Bull Run, Lincoln realized the 90-day militias

were no match for Confederate forces• He sent them home and called for a real army of

500,000 volunteers for 3 years• He appointed George McClellan as Commander of

the Union army

Key Question

• What were the strategies of the North and the South?

Chapter 16: The Civil War BeginsLesson 2: Life in the Army

In this Chapter…

• Lesson 1: War Erupts• Lesson 2: Life in the Army• Lesson 3: No End in Sight

Essential Question

What events, leaders, and strategies shaped the early years of the war?

Key Question

What difficulties did soldiers face?

Vocabulary• Enlist: To join the armed forces• Hygiene: Conditions and practices that often

promote health

One American’s Story“I am glad that Jim has not joined any

[regiment] and I hope he never will. I would not have him go for all my pay; it would be very improbable that we could both go through this war and come out unharmed. Let him come here and see the thousands with their arms and legs cut off, or if that won’t do, let him go as I did the other day through Frederick hospitals and see how little account a man’s life and limbs are held in by others.- Major Peter Vredenburgh

Civilians Become Soldiers• Majority of soldiers were 18-30 years old

• Some were as young as 11• Some were as old as 83

• On both sides, men rushed to enlist• German and Irish immigrants also joined• At the beginning, African Americans were not allowed to

fight• Throughout the war

• About 2 million served in the Union Army• Less than 1 million served in the Confederate Army

• Volunteers were sent to training camp• Union soldiers were given blue uniforms• Confederate soldiers wore gray or yellowish-brown• Clothing, shoes, and food grew scarce as the war went on

A New Kind of War• Advances in military technology brought many

casualties• Medical technologies were poor and filthy

conditions spread disease• Camps were dirty and smelled of garbage and latrines

• Soldiers often did not bathe or wash their clothing• Flea infestation• Poor hygiene spread disease• Doctors often performed surgery without washing

their hands

• Because of these conditions, more men died from disease than on the battlefield

Civil War Prison Camps• War was difficult for all soldiers, but the worst for

prisoners• Prisoners faced terrible conditions• Many died of sickness and exposure to severe weather• Little shelter• Drinking water could come from a creek that was also a

sewer• Others died from starvation and disease

Changes in Military Technology

• Improvements had huge effects on the war• Rifles and Minié Balls• Rifle has a grooved barrel that spins the bullet• Minié ball expands upon firing• Could shoot farther and more accurately than muskets

• Changes in Naval Warfare• Ironclads were warships covered with iron• Faster and better protected• Famous Ironclad Battle• Union’s the Monitor fought Confederate’s the Merrimac• Neither side won

• Despite new technology, neither side was able to defeat the other in the first two years of the war

Key Question

What difficulties did soldiers face?

Chapter 16: The Civil War BeginsLesson 3: No End in Sight

In this Chapter…

• Lesson 1: War Erupts• Lesson 2: Life in the Army• Lesson 3: No End in Sight

Essential Question

What events, leaders, and strategies shaped the early years of war?

Key Question

What were some important victories of the North and South?

Vocabulary• Ulysses S. Grant: Union general who won

battles in the west• Battle of Shiloh: Bloody battle in

Tennessee won by Grant• William Tecumseh Sherman: Union

general at the Battle of Shiloh• Battle of Antietam: Battle in Maryland

that ended Lee’s first invasion of the North

Union Victories in the West• George McClellan was the current Union

general in the East• The Union had just lost at Bull Run• McClellan restored the soldiers’ confidence and

spent time organizing and training them• He was reluctant to attack Richmond and spent

more time training the troops• Ulysses S. Grant was the current Union

general in the West• Grant’s strategy: “Find out where your enemy is.

Get at him as soon as you can. Strike at him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.”

• In February 1862, Grant used ironclads to capture to Confederate river forts in Tennessee

• The Union gunboats could now travel as far as Alabama by river

The Battle of Shiloh• Grant followed troops into Mississippi• Confederates surprise attacked Union troops near Shiloh

Church• This was the fiercest fighting in the war so far• Union general, William Tecumseh Sherman, had 3 horses shot

out from under him• Each side believed they would win in the morning• Terrible thunderstorms during the night• During the night, Union reinforcements arrived• Grant led an attack at dawn and forced the Southern troops to

retreat• Casualties

• Union: 13,000 (about 1/5 of the 65,000)• Confederate: 11,000 (about ¼ of the 41,000)

• Many people in the North wanted Lincoln to fire Grant because of the high casualties

The Fall of New Orleans• April 25, 1862: Union fleet led by Admiral Farragut

captured New Orleans (the largest city in the South)

• Farragut’s ships had to run through cannon fire and dodge burning rafts in order to reach the city

• This was a heavy blow to the South• “New Orleans gone – and with it the Confederacy. Are we

not cut in two? – Mary Chesnut (South Carolinian)• The Union was well on its way to achieving their goal of

cutting the Confederacy in two• Confederacy still controlled the heavily armed fort

at Vicksburg

Lee’s Victories• June 1862: Lee takes charge of the army of

Northern Virginia• June 25-July 1, 1862- Seven Days’ Battle

• Sent men to spy on General McClellan who reported their position• Lee attacked McClellan’s army for a week• The number of casualties was horrific• Union: 15,849• Confederacy: around 20,000

• Although the Confederates suffered more losses, the Union was forced to retreat

• The Union plan to capture Richmond had failed• Confederates won again at Bull Run

• Union troops were pushed back to Washington• Lee had ended the Union threat to Virginia• Renewed the Confederate hopes of winning the war

Lee Invades the North• Because of recent victories, Lee decided to go on

the offensive• Invaded Maryland in September 1862• Reasons:• Hoped a victory in the North would force Lincoln into

peace talks• Invasion would give Virginian farmers a rest during

harvest season• Confederates could plunder, or steal from, Northern farms

for food• Show that the Confederacy could win the war, which could

convince European nations to side with the South

Battle of Antietam• Lee drew up a plan for his invasion of the North• A Confederate officer accidentally left a copy of

the battle plans wrapped around 3 cigars at a campsite

• Union troops passed through and found the plans• The captured plans gave McClellan a chance to

stop Lee• McClellan went on the attack, but moved slowly• September 17, 1862 at Antietam Creek, Maryland• Lee and McClellan clashed• Bloodiest day in American history

Battle of Antietam“Again and again… by charges and counter-charges, this

portion of the field was lost and recovered, until the green corn that grew upon it looked as if it had been struck by a storm of bloody hail… From sheer exhaustion, both sides, like battered and bleeding athletes, seemed willing to rest.” - John B. Gordon (Confederate officer)

• Neither side had gained any ground by nightfall• The only difference was that 23,000 men were dead or

wounded• Lee lost almost ¼ of his army, withdrew to Virginia• The cautious McClellan did not follow, missing a chance to

finish off the crippled Southern army• Lincoln was so frustrated that he fired McClellan

Key Question

What were some important victories of the North and South?

Essential Question

What events, leaders, and strategies shaped the early years of the war?