Chapter 21The Furnace of Civil War

1861-1865

My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or

to destroy slavery.

-Abraham Lincoln, 1862

First Battle of Bull Run• First major battle of war• Occurred at Manassas Junction, a railroad

center in northern Virginia• Union troops, under

General Irvin McDowell, unprepared

• Confederate reinforcements arrived (1st time troops moved by train)

• Thomas J. Jackson, leading company of Virginians, rallied his troops, earning the nickname, “Stonewall”

• Disastrous Union defeat• Effects

– Union casualties: 2900; Confederate casualties: 2000– Convinced the North that a long war was inevitable– Gave the Confederacy false confidence

Ulysses S. Grant

David G. Farragut

War at Sea• The Blockade– Union established blockade of all Southern ports in April 1861,

successfully sealing off all but 2 southern ports by 1862– South resorted to blockade runners to get through the blockade

• New Orleans (1862)– David G. Farragut was given command of Union naval force and

set out to take control of city– Intense barrage– Farragut’s ships slipped into New Orleans, where Union forces

captured the city– Capture of New Orleans put the South’s largest city, and a center

of trade, in U.S. hands– Cut off flow off goods down the Mississippi River

Monitor vs. Merrimack• Confederates reconditioned an old

U.S. warship, renaming it the Virginia– Plated with old iron railroad rails– Threatened Union blockade– Destroyed two wooden ships in

Chesapeake Bay• Union ironclad, the Monitor (‘Yankee

cheese box on a raft’), arrived in March 1862 to challenge the Confederate ship– Battle lasted four hours, with neither

ship gaining the advantage– Presence of the Monitor prevented the

South from breaking the Union blockade• First battle of ironclad ships in world

history– Doomed wooden warships

War in the West• Forts Henry and Donelson (1862)

– General Ulysses Grant in command of Union forces– Seized control of Ft. Donelson on the Cumberland River and Ft. Henry, the

Confederacy’s main fort on the Tennessee River– Placed all of Kentucky and most of western Tennessee in Union hands– When asked by Confederate general for terms, he demanded “unconditional and

immediate surrender”, earning himself the nickname “Unconditional Surrender” Grant• Shiloh (1862)

– Grant moved to cut South’s rail line at Corinth, Mississippi– Confederates launched surprise attack near Shiloh Church near Pittsburgh Landing– Confederates were winning, but Grant was able to bring in reinforcements from the

river– Grant forced Confederate surrender, resulting in a Union victory– Bloodiest single battle of the war up to that point (worse was to come) with 13000

Union casualties and 11000 Confederate casualties• Murfreesboro (1864)

– General Braxton Bragg led Confederate army against Union’s General William Rosecrans– Union lines attempted to cut Confederate rail lines at Chattanooga but fell back– Battle ended with no winner, but Union reinforcements forced Bragg to retreat

War in the East• Peninsular Campaign (1862)

– General George McClellan planned to attack in Virginia where James and York Rivers form a peninsula, then move to Richmond

– Moved too slowly, allowing Confederates to strengthen position, and Confederate General Joseph Johnston inflicted heavy losses

• Seven Days’ Battles (6/1862)– General Robert E. Lee assumed command and led

attacks against McClellan in Virginia– Forced McClellan to retreat– Losses totaled more than 30,000 casualties and

Lincoln ordered McClellan back to Washington • Second Battle of Bull Run (8/1862)

– Lee moved to attack McClellan’s retreating army– Met near Manassas Junction– South won again, coming within 20 miles of

Washington, D.C.

Antietam• General Robert E. Lee decided that it was time to invade the North

– Believed that victory on Union soil would convince U.S. to negotiate peace and help gain European intervention

– Hoped victory would help Peace Democrats win upcoming Congressional elections• Lee ordered troops to gather near Sharpsburg, Maryland

– McClellan had no idea where Confederate army was– Discovered Lee’s plans wrapped around a bundle of cigars in an abandoned camp– Pursued Confederate army

• Battle began at Antietam Creek in September 1862– Also called Battle of Sharpsburg– Union had 75000 troops with 25000 in reserve; Confederacy had 40000 troops

• Union victory at great cost– Bloodiest single day of the Civil War with 12000 Union casualties and 14000

Confederate casualties• Importance

– British decided to delay decision on support of Confederacy– South lost best chance for international recognition– Lincoln decided that the time had come to end slavery in the South

Antietam

Emancipation Proclamation• Question of Slavery

– Democrats opposed ending slavery– Republicans divided on the issue

• Feared alienating Border States• Believed restoring Union should be first priority

– Many convinced by mounting casualties and length of war that South needed to be punished

• Emancipation Proclamation– Effective January 1, 1863– Freed slaves in states at war with the Union

• Did not end slavery in Border States• Did not free slaves in Confederate areas under

Union control (New Orleans, etc.)– Transformed the war into a conflict to end

slavery– Ended any real chance for Britain to accept

Confederacy

African American Soldiers• Emancipation Proclamation allowed blacks to enlist in the

Union army– 180,000 blacks served in Union army during the Civil War (about 9%)– 10,000 to 15,000 blacks served in the Navy (about 10 to 12%)

• 54th Massachusetts – One of the 1st African American regiments organized– Extreme heroism proved that African Americans were good soldiers

• African American Contribution– Afforded blacks right to prove patriotism and claim citizenship– African American soldiers received 22 Congressional Medals of Honor

• Confederate Soldiers– Did not enlist slaves until last year of war– Slaves were forced to provide labor for war-connected activities

54th Massachusetts

The Tide of War TurnsBattle of Vicksburg

• Strategic Location– Vicksburg located on east bank of Mississippi River– It was last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi– Union victory would cut the Confederacy in two

• Grierson’s Raid– Troops under leadership of Ben Grierson conducted series of raids to distract

Confederates from Vicksburg– Grant moved quickly into position south of city, then moved east to capture

Jackson– Ordered troops to live off the land by foraging

• Siege of Vicksburg– Grant attacked in May 1863– Defenses were so strong that Grant was forced to lay siege to the city – cutting it

off from food and supplies while under constant bombardment – until defenders surrendered (Confederates forced to eat rats and mules)

– July 4, 1863 the city surrendered, cutting the South in two parts and giving the Union complete control of the Mississippi River

Road to Gettysburg• Battle of Fredericksburg (12/1862)

– General Ambrose Burnside replaced the fired McClellan for Union army (McClellan had allowed Lee to regroup after Antietam)

– Burnside launched attack against Confederates in Fredericksburg, Virginia

– Confederates held superior position in hills above the town (Confederates called it “Burnside’s Slaughter Pen”)

– Union losses totaled more than 12,000 men to minimal Confederate losses

– Burnside was replaced by General Joseph Hooker• Battle of Chancellorsville (5/1863)

– Hooker moved troops in an attempt to get better position against Lee at Fredericksburg

– Lee divided his forces and attacked Hooker’s troops at Chancellorsville

– Stonewall Jackson – Lee’s ‘right arm’• Led group to reconnoiter the enemy position and was shot by Confederate

patrol when returning to camp• Left arm was amputated but Jackson died 8 days later, probably from

infection (some say from pneumonia)– Union forced to retreat

Gettysburg• Robert E. Lee planned another attack on northern soil after

success at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville• Lincoln replaced Hooker with General George Meade• Confederate troops converged on Gettysburg, Pennsylvania,

hoping to intercept a shipment of shoes• Union army (by accident) positioned themselves atop a

ridge• Took place over three days - July 1, 1863 to July 3, 1863– Confederates pushed Union troops out of Gettysburg, and main

forces for both armies rushed to the scene– 92,000 Union soldiers faced 76,000 Confederates– Outcome was in doubt until the very end of the battle

Pickett’s Charge• Lee ordered massive assault on July 3, 1863• General George Pickett and General A.P. Hill took 15,000 men in

an attempt to break through the Union line• 5th Alabama Battalion participated in the charge, losing @ 48% of

men• Union troops stationed

on Cemetery Ridge opened fire, killing 7,000 men in less than half an hour

• Remaining troops were overpowered by Union forces

Effects of Gettysburg• Marked the turning point of the

war• Broke the heart of the

Confederate cause• Last real chance for the South to

win the war• Along with loss at Vicksburg (the

following day), scale of diplomacy tipped conclusively to the North– Britain stopped sale of Laird rams– France killed sale of six naval vessels

to the Richmond government

Chickamauga and Chattanooga• Confederate army forced out of Chattanooga by General William

Rosecrans and his army• Confederates regrouped near Chickamauga Creek in north Georgia• General Braxton Bragg’s forces attacked Union army and Rosecrans

was forced to retreat back to Chattanooga• Confederacy laid siege on Chattanooga• Grant was transferred to eastern Tennessee theater to organize

Union forces• Union won series of engagements in November 1863 at Missionary

Ridge and Lookout Mountain, forcing Confederate retreat• Chattanooga was restored to Union control, paving the way for an

invasion into Georgia – the heart of the Confederacy• Grant was made general in chief of entire Union army and

promoted to Lieutenant General (a rank not held since George Washington)

Sherman’s March to the Sea• William Tecumseh Sherman given task of conquering Georgia in 1864• Captured Atlanta in September and burned the city in November• Led troops out of Atlanta toward Savannah• Total War

– Purpose was to destroy South’s ability and desire to wage war (“make Georgia howl”) by waging war on their homes and families

– Sherman allowed his soldiers only a knapsack, blanket, gun, and canteen – no food

– Forced them to live off the land• Path of Destruction

– Burned 60 mile wide swath from Atlanta to Savannah– Destroyed everything they could not use or take with them

• Christmas Gift for Lincoln– Mayor of Savannah surrendered as Sherman approached– Sherman spared the city– Telegraphed Lincoln, offering the city of Savannah as a “present for Christmas”

Party Politics in the North• Congressional Committee on Conduct of War

– Created in 1861 to investigate allegations of misconduct– Formed by ‘radical’ Republicans who resented Lincoln’s expansion of

presidential power– Leading critic of Lincoln was Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase

• War Democrats– Supported Civil War– Hoped to restore Union to prewar conditions, including slavery

• Peace Democrats– Wanted to seek terms with the South– Did not support the war or Lincoln

• Copperheads– Violently opposed Civil War– Openly obstructed war effort – attacked draft, Lincoln, emancipation– Mustered considerable political strength in parts of Midwest– The Man Without a Country was inspired by Ohio Copperhead Clement

Vallandigham and helped stimulate devotion to Union

Election of 1864• Republican Party joined with War Democrats and

temporarily became known as the Union Party• Lincoln nominated, but barely• Andrew Johnson, a Tennessee War Democrat, was chosen

as Lincoln’s running mate• Democrats nominated General George McClellan• Lincoln’s reelection looked doubtful until a series of

Northern victories – Mobile Bay, Atlanta, etc. – boosted voter confidence

• Many Northern soldiers were allowed to come home to vote

• Lincoln won 212 electoral votes to McClellan’s 21, but the popular vote was much closer (McClellan received 45%)

Grant vs. Lee• Wilderness Campaign (1864)

– Grant fought series of campaigns against Lee in Virginia– Both sides suffered huge casualties (Union & Confederates both suffered @ 50,000)– Woods caught fire during battle

• Spotsylvania (1864)– Grant attacked Lee’s forces– Lasted 11 days, with soldiers fighting hand-to-hand combat– Confederate lines held

• Cold Harbor (1864)– Grant moved forces against Lee’s army, which occupied an almost impregnable position– Union soldiers advanced, many with their names and addresses pinned to their backs– Grant’s army was beaten badly (stated that “I regret this assault more than any one I have

ever ordered”)– Resulted in an outcry against Grant (people called him “Grant the Butcher”)

• Siege of Petersburg (1864-1865)– Grant hoped to cut the only remaining rail line to Richmond– Confederates had dug trenches to protect city– Union put the city under siege and forced a surrender at the Battle of Five Forks

Union Victories Sweep the South• Battle of Mobile Bay (1864)– David Farragut took ships past the forts defending Mobile Bay– Mine (called torpedoes) blew up a Union ship, bringing the

advance into the bay to a halt right in front of the forts’ guns– Farragut cried, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” and with

his own ship, led the way– Confederate fleet destroyed, eliminating the last Southern port in

the Gulf of Mexico• Nashville (1864)– Union army destroyed the Confederates– Completed Union conquest of Tennessee

The War Ends• Peace Talks– Confederate leaders attempted to negotiate peace between the

“two countries” in February 1865– Lincoln met with Confederate representatives aboard a Union ship

off the coast of Virginia– Lincoln refused to accept anything short of Union and

emancipation• Appomattox Courthouse– Confederate forces under leadership of Robert E. Lee were

cornered by Union troops led by Grant at Appomattox Courthouse– Richmond had fallen into Union hands– Lee said, “There is nothing left for me to do but go and see…

Grant, and I would rather die a thousand deaths– Grant offered generous terms of surrender on April 9,1865

Lincoln, the Martyr• Five days after Lee’s surrender at

Appomattox Courthouse, Lincoln was shot in the back of the head by John Wilkes Booth while attending a play at Ford’s Theater– Booth was part of a conspiracy that

planned to kill not only President, but also Vice President and Secretary of State

– Booth killed; other conspirators charged and convicted (4 were hanged)

• Impact of Lincoln’s Death– South, originally glad at Lincoln’s death,

eventually realized what a catastrophe it was

– Reconstruction became painful ordeal for the South

The Cost of War• Death Toll

– Over 600,000 men died in action or of disease– More than 1 million killed or wounded

• Damages– $15 billion(+) direct monetary cost of war– Continuing costs of pensions and interest on debt from war– Intangible costs included dislocations, wasted energies, lowered ethics, burning

hates, etc. incalculable• Federal Power

– Power of federal government over states strengthened– States’ rights crushed– Ideas of nullification and secession buried forever– Preserved the idea of democracy as a “long enduring” concept

• Inspiration to Other Countries– English Reform Bill of 1867 made Great Britain a true political democracy– Right of life, liberty, pursuit of happiness guaranteed to people around the world,

but especially to former slaves