Chapter 16: The Civil War

Magister RicardUS History

THE TWO SIDESChapter 16.1

Choosing Sides

• February 1861 – Confederacy is formed– Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas

join– Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware remain

in Union (slave-owning states)– Richmond, VA Confederate capitol

• Importance of Maryland – home of Washington, D.C.

• West Virginia secedes from VA, aligns with North

Comparing North and SouthNorth South

Larger population Smaller population of free men

Strong Industry (technology) Weak Industry, few factories (agriculture)

Better banking system Belief in state’s rights created lack of coherence

Had a strong navy Superior army and leadership

Large and efficient rail network Small, inefficient rail network

Would have to invade the South Fighting would be on home territory

Not a lot of support for the war Strong support for war

Abraham Lincoln – strong sense of vision Jefferson Davis – experienced soldier

War Aims and StrategyNorth South

Win the war, bring Southern states back Win war, recognition as independent nation

Slavery was not the main goal at outset Wanted to have say over their way of life

Blockade Southern ports Defend land, hold out until North tired

Gain control of Mississippi Hoped for Britain or France to press North to end war

Recapture Richmond, VA Initiate offensive attacks to keep North from regrouping

American People at War

• American vs. American, families vs. families– Graduates of West Point would square off against

one another• Average soldier was about 25; 40% were under

21• Volunteers were asked to enlist for 3 years• 1861 – Rebels had 112,000 soldiers; Yankees

had 187,000• Both sides expected quick war initially

EARLY YEARS OF THE WARChapter 16.2

First Battle of Bull Run

• July, 1861 – Union troops attacked smaller Confederate troops– General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson leads an

attack that turns back Union army– Union retreats back to Washington, D.C.– North is shocked; have strong doubts– Lincoln appoints General McClellan

War at Sea

• North started blockade of Southern ports• Could not contain all of 3,500 miles of

coastline• Blockade runners helped South obtain

supplies but South would be short on supplies• Monitor (N) vs. Merrimack (S) – first battle

between two metal covered ships (ironclads)

War in the West

• General Ulysses S. Grant captures Tennessee River area in February 1862

• Battle of Shiloh results in North victory– 20,000 dead over 2 days

• Union captures New Orleans April, 1862• North now has control of Mississippi River

War in the East

• McClellan trains Army of Potomac, but hesitant to go to battle

• Peninsula Campaign to retake Richmond failed• McClellan’s hesitancy lead to a Southern

victory lead by General Robert E. Lee• North was again shocked• Confederates attack Bull Run (again) and win

Battle of Antietam

• Confederate President Davis ordered Lee’s army to advance – Another victory could net support from Britain or

France and relieve Maryland• McClellan’s hesitancy helps Lee prepare• Bloodiest battle in American history– 6,000 dead, 17,000 wounded on Sept. 17th

• McClellan fails to pursue; is replaced by General Ambrose Burnside

A CALL FOR FREEDOMChapter 16.3

Emancipation?

• Lincoln wanted to contain, not end, slavery– Border states would be offended

• North was concerned over slavery as it aided South’s war efforts greatly– Slavery enabled a white to fight

• Emancipation Proclamation – freed all enslaved blacks in the South– Needed key victory like Antietam to time his

announcement (September 1862)– Officially signed in 1863

African Americans Help

• Emancipation Proclamation was meant to stir chaos in South– Britain and France withhold recognition of

Confederacy• Robert E. Lee encouraged blacks to enlist in South • Many enlisted in Union navy; but in 1862 allowed

to enlist in Union army as well– 54th

Massachusetts was led by white abolitionists; gained respect for their bravery

LIFE DURING THE CIVIL WARChapter 16.4

The Lives of Soldiers

• Lived in camps, sometimes with their families• Played games, sang songs, played baseball• Full of drills, bad food• Sometimes would socialize with the enemy• New rifles lead to greater accuracy, higher rate

of death on battlefield• Medical facilities were overwhelmed, poorly

organized

Women and the War

• Helped with medical care and tending to soldiers

• Collected food, clothing, medicine• Some worked as spies• Loretta Janeta Velazquez fought as a “man” at

Bull Run and Shiloh, spied for Confederacy• Clara Barton helped organize battlefield

medicine and founded American Red Cross

Opposition to the War

• North was divided; “Peace Democrats” feared social change – called Copperheads– Union losses created support for Copperheads– Lincoln suspended habeas corpus for anyone

interfering with war efforts• Volunteers decline– Confederacy invokes a draft in 1862– Union creates draft in 1863– Riots against the draft resulted in both places

War and the Economy

• Both North and South borrowed money, increased taxes, and printed money– Inflation resulted

• North was better equipped due to industrial economy– More trains, coal, iron, clothing– Innovative use of telegraph/Morse code

• Most Southern farmland was damaged in constant battles– Economy could not sustain itself with blockades and lost

crops

THE WAY TO VICTORYChapter 16.5

Southern Victories

• December 1862 – Lee’s entrenched soldiers defeat Burnside– Burnside resigns after loss at Fredricksburg

• May 1863 – Lee defeats General Hooker at Chancellorsville– Stonewall Jackson is wounded, arm amputated

and dies

The Tide of War Turns

• Hooker’s refusal to engage Lee got him replaced by General George Meade

• Armies met by accident on July 1st, 1863 at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania– Lee order’s Pickett’s Charge, it fails and Confederacy

suffers huge losses– Lee retreats to Virginia, Lincoln scolds Meade for not

finishing the job• Union captures Vicksburg, Mississippi – Seals off Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana

Final Phases of the War

• “I can’t spare this man, he fights.” Grant takes over command of Union army

• Two pronged attack– Grant attacks Lee in Virginia

• Seeks victory despite high casualties

– Sherman would advance from Tennessee to Atlanta• Total War – scorched earth policy; Atlanta to Savannah

PWNED

• Lincoln wins reelection in 1864 after North looks to be on verge of victory

Victory for the North

• Lincoln speaks of peace for 2nd term inaugural speech in 1865

• Grant seizes Petersburg, then Richmond falls• Lee surrenders to Grant at Appomattox Court

House on April 9th, 1865• Grant allowed Confederate soldiers to return

home• Jefferson Davis is captured in Georgia on May

10th

Results of the War

• Over 600,000 Americans died• Billions of dollars of damage, mostly to the

South• Bitter feelings lingered over the war between

the two regions• Federal government is strengthened while

state’s rights loses out• Slaves were freed, but were still not on equal

standing