Chapter 19

The Civil War 1861-1865

Section 1 The War Begins

NORTH

THE UNION

SOUTH

CONFEDERACY

Lincoln Faces a Crisis• Fort Sumter, South Carolina

– First battle of the Civil War on April 12, 1861, attack on union

• 34 hours of bombardment, Union surrender.

• Lincoln declared

south in rebellion.

Choosing Sides• Border States:

– Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri.

• The Division of Virginia – New state of West Virginia joined the Union in

1863.

• Confederate capital– Richmond, Virginia.

• Neither side prepared for war.– Both depended on

volunteers.

• Border states joined both sides.• Families and Friends Divided

The Volunteer Spirit

North V.S. SouthAt the beginning of the war, the North had

several key advantages over the South.

What advantages or disadvantages do you think existed?

North• North had several advantages

• Population size is larger = more soldiers• Factories & shipyards• Better transportation• Ability to raise more money

Northern Strategies• Union General Winfield Scott’s two part strategy.

– To destroy the South’s economy through naval blockade of southern seaports.

– Gain control of the Mississippi • River to divide the Confederacy and cut its

communications.

The South• Advantages for the South

–The South had many skilled military officers.–The South needed only to defend itself until

the North grew tired of the war.• In contrast, the North had to defeat southern

forces and occupy large areas of enemy territory.

Southern Strategy• Defend its territory and to wear down the

Union’s will to fight.– Its offensive plan focused on taking

Washington D.C.• Cotton Diplomacy

– They tried to win foreign allies– Great Britain didn’t bite.

SECTION 2The War Begins

Two Armies Meet• First Battle of Bull Run.

– First major clash after the attack on Ft. Sumter took place in July 1861.

– Manassas Junction, Virginia.

Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.

CONFEDERACY

VICTORY

War Leaders at start of the War

Union commanderGeorge B. McClellan.

Confederate commander Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee• Most talented officer on either side.• A graduate of West Point.• Served in the Mexican War.• Engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers.• Led the Federal troops against the raid on

Harper’s Ferry and captured John Brown.• Lincoln had even asked Lee to command the

Union Army.• He was against slavery and southern secession.• When Virginia left the union, Lee resigned from

the U.S. Army and went home to Virginia.

More Virginia Battles• Seven Day’s Battles- Five separate battles;

Lee (Confederacy) force McClellan (Union) to retreat from the area around Richmond.

• Second Battle of Bull Run- Lincoln ordered a direct attack on Richmond. • Lee (Confederacy) was able to push most of the Union

forces out of Virginia.

Lee now decided to take the war into the North. This decision was highly debated.

CONFEDERACY VICTORY

CONFEDERACY VICTORY

Seven Days’ Battle

Second Battle of Bull Run

The Battle of AntietamConfederate leaders hoped a victory on northern soil might break the Union’s spirit and convince European

powers to aid the South.

September 4, 1862: 40,000 Confederate soldiers entered Maryland. McClellan found a copy of Lee’s

battle plans which he used to prepare a counterattack.

The Battle of Antietam• September 17, 1862 the two armies met along

Antietam Creek, Maryland.– Lasted for hours; 12,000 Union causalities and 13,000

Confederate.– Bloodiest single-day battle of the war.

• Union finally wins a key victory.• Stopped Lee’s northern advance, Lincoln

disappointed he was allowed to retreat.

PICTURES…PICTURES …. PICTURES……

UNION VICTORY

The Battle of Antietam

Very few pictures exist from actual battles. Here Federal troops at Fair Oaks prepare for battle in the Peninsular Campaign in June 1862.

At the Battle of Antietam the Confederate troops of Robert E. Lee were forced to withdraw. Following the battle President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation formally declaring all slaves to be free. This picture shows President Lincoln with Allan Pinkerton and Major General McClernand at Antietam after the battle.

Airplanes did not exist, yet. Armies used balloons to observe battles from the sky. Here Professor T. S. Lowe observes a battle from his balloon the Intrepid

The War at Sea

• North had most of the U.S. Navy’s small fleet and enough industry to build more ships.

• Union Navy blockaded the South, cutting off southern trade and hurting the economy.

• A new type of warship, the Ironclad is developed.

Who controlled the sea? Why?

The NORTH - UNION

The Battle of the Ironclads• South

- Virginia: a captured union ship, built into an ironclad.

• North– The Monitor: a new ironclad, with a revolving gun

turret.

WHO DO YOU THINK WON?

UNION VICTORYThe Monitor forces the Virginia to retreat. North continues the

blockade.

Section 3 The War in the West

• Union strategy in the west focused on controlling the Mississippi River; to cut off food production as well as communication and transportation.

General Ulysses S. Grant

• He was the most important figure in the war in the West.– West Point graduate.– Served in the Mexican War.

* Lincoln said, “I can’t spare thisman, he fights!”

– In 1864 was made commanderof the Union army.

Battle of Shiloh

• April 6, 1862 Grant advances south along the Tennessee River & is caught by surprise.

• After being reinforced during the night, Grant is successful in his counterattack.

• **The Union now had won greater control of the Mississippi River Valley!

Fighting for the Mississippi River

• Two forts guarded the approach to New Orleans; essential in taking over the River.

• Union commander Farragut• Unable to destroy the forts,

he decided to sail boldly past them.• He was successful in taking New

Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana

and Natchez, Mississippi.• Only Vicksburg stood in the

Union’s way!

Siege of Vicksburg

• In spring of 1863, General Grant blocked southern forces from aiding Vicksburg.

• He then surrounded the city with his troops.– The siege lasted about six weeks.

• As supplies ran out, the people survived by eating horses, dogs, and rats.

• Confederates surrendered July 4, 1863 giving the Union control of the River. Important Date!!

http://www.history.com/videos/the-union-siege-of-vicksburg

The Far West

• Fighting also took place in Arkansas, Missouri, along the Texas coast, and in New Mexico.

• Battle of Pea Ridge- Union victory gave them the upper hand in Missouri but pro-confederate units (territories and American Indians) remained active in the region throughout the war by raiding forts and towns.

Life During the War• President Lincoln felt that slavery strengthened

and supported the South. – What should he do??

• Lincoln decided to issue a military order freeing slaves ONLY in areas controlled by the Confederacy;

*Union victory at the Battle of Antietam was the victory he needed for his plan.

Emancipation Proclamation

• The loss of slave labor hurt the southern economy and the Confederate war effort.

• The order was highly debated.

African Americans and the War

• Many African American units contributed the Union war effort; 180,000 served.

“Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters, U.S.;…and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, and there is no power on earth which can

deny that he has earned his right to citizenship.”

-Frederick Douglass

• 54th Massachusetts Infantry- most famous unit, consisting of mostly free African Americans, played a key role in the attack on South Carolina.

Problems in the North• Copperheads- Northern Democrats who sympathized

with the south, objected to abolition, and wanted the war to end.– Lincoln saw these men as a threat to the war!– He suspended the right of habeas corpus: the constitutional

protection against unlawful imprisonment.• Union officials could now put their enemies in jail without

either evidence or trial.

• March 1863 – A draft also caused problems in the north; riots mostly of immigrants afraid of losing their jobs to free African Americans.– More than 100 people killed before Union troops stopped the

violence.

Southern Struggles

• The North’s naval blockade took a heavy toll on southerners; lack of food and supplies.

• Value of Confederate money fell as exports dropped.

• The price of supplies went way up; food riots.• The Confederacy government

also disagreed on many issues;

the draft.

Life on the Home front

• People too young or old to fight in the war worked in factories and farms.

• Women provided medical care; Clara Barton worked at

Field hospitals and her

work formed the basis

of the American Red

Cross.

Women Efforts

• The efforts of women at these hospitals were very important.

• They were uncomfortable and unhealthy.• About twice as many Civil

War soldiers died of disease

than died in combat.

Military Prisons

• Andersonville Prison, in

southwest Georgia.• Thousands of Union soldiers

were held there with no shelter

and little food.• About 150 people died there

a day.

The Tide of the War Turns

• May 1863: Lee defeated a much larger Union force in Chancellorsville, Virginia.

• General Stonewall Jackson – Accidentally shot by his own troops…oops.

“Jackson lost his left arm, but

I have lost my right.”

- Robert E. Lee

Lee’s Headed North• Victories at Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg,

VA encouraged Lee to launch another offensive into Union territory– Is this a good idea?!?

• Goals:– Break the North’s will to fight– Capture much needed supplies for his army– Turn the tide of the war in the Confederacy’s favor.

Battle of Gettysburg

• July 1, 1863• Troops accidentally

met in a small town in Pennsylvania, called Gettysburg.

Pickett’s Charge

Pickett’s Charge

• 14,000 Confederates took part in the charge through the field up Cemetery Ridge.– Disaster!!

• Fewer than half of the men made it to the top of the ridge; all of those who made it to the top were either captured or killed.

• Only 6,500 returned to the Confederate rear.• Many people feared for Lee’s sanity!!• Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle

of the Civil War; Union 23,000 and Confederate 28,000.

Lee Escapes… Again

• A rain storm allowed cover for Lee to retreat back to Virginia. – Ha!

• Lincoln was upset…• The same day that Gettysburg

was won by the Union, General Grant Captured Vicksburg in Mississippi -- Importance?

• Lincoln was impressed by Grant; made him commander of the Union army.

Gettysburg Address

Grant’s Drive to Richmond

• The Wilderness Campaign A series of battles launched by the North from May through June in northern and central Virginia.

• Union suffered incredible losses with twice as many casualties, but Grant continued on b/c he knew he was getting reinforcements and Lee wasn’t!

• Grant was winning the war, but had yet to capture Richmond. This was discouraging to Lincoln.

Sherman’s March to the Sea• Lincoln needed a victory to help him win re-election in 1864.• Sherman’s victories’in the south providedthe key victory.

*Total War Verycontroversial war tactic. Destroyall railroads, industries,farms, homes, crops, livestock, fences,etc, etc. (military andcivilian resources)

General Sherman

• After defeating Atlanta, he continued his march to the sea to Savannah.

• He used total war to ruin the south’s economy and its ability to fight.

• Burned plantations, and freed slaves.

The South Surrenders

• Grant was finally able to break Confederate defenses and forced Lee to retreat from Richmond.

• Grant was able to

cut Lee’s escape and

trap him at a small

town called

Appomattox

Courthouse.

The South Surrenders

• April 9, 1865 Lee signed surrender documents.

• The Civil War had deep and lasting effects as the country tried to heal and rebuild.

• Almost 620,000 Americans lost their lives in the four years of fighting.

• Most costly conflict in American history.

Lincoln’s Assassination

• April 14, 1865 – John Wilkes Booth fatally shoots President Lincoln at a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C

.