Civil War1861-1865

Background• 1860-slavery dominated American life

like no other issue in American history• North and South see each others as

enemies• Churches split into northern and

southern factions• Southern well-to-do families no longer

head up north for vacation

• Southern, wealthy families, pull their sons out of Harvard and Princeton an place them in the University of the South located in Sewanee, Tennessee

Southern schools drove out northern faculty!

Slave States

Slave StatesFree States

Territories

Lincoln v. Douglas

Election of 1860• Four candidates:

Lincoln: RepublicanDouglas: Northern DemocratBell: Constitutional Union PartyBreckenridge: Southern Democrat

Election of 1860

Lincoln 180 1,870,000

Douglas 12 1,380,000

Breckenridge 72 840,000

Bell 39 590,000

Candidate Electoral Votes Popular Vote

• What Southerners feared was now a reality – a man based on the idea of antislavery had won the presidency

• December 20, 1860 - South Carolina met in convention and unanimously adopted an ordinance of secession

Southern Secession• February 1861-

delegates from seven states met in Alabama to adopt a new constitution and elected Jefferson Davis president

• South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas

Upper South• The upper South was

undecided on secession, but the Confederacy needed them for economic and military reasons

• Republican party refused to do anything to bring these Southern states back in- they had won the election fair and square!

Northern Reaction• South did not have the constitutional right to

secede • Secession was a fancy name for a rebellion• Since act was unconstitutional , Northerners

believed it was their duty to put down the rebellion

• Federal authority in the South silently collapsed as these officials took the same position under the Confederacy

Forts in Confederate Territory• Two forts were built to

protect the U.S. against foreign enemies; Ft. Pickens in Pensacola, Florida and Ft. Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina

• Both garrison commanders retained allegiance to the Union and would not lower their flag!

Ft. Sumter• Reinforcements were

sent to Sumter but never made it because of gunfire from South Carolina

• Lincoln still wanted to wait until there was a covert act by the South

• But Sumter is short on supplies – Lincoln warns S.C. that he is only sending food, not weapons or men

• S.C. and the Confederacy felt pressure to prove that they were an independent nation– independent nations do not allow foreign troops on their soil!

S.C. decides to act before the ship arrives

April 12, 1861 – Confederates fire on Ft. Sumter

In 24 hours the fort was rubble – Major Anderson surrendered – but there were no deathsThe first shots of the civil war were fired

WAR!!!!

An Insurrection Exists!• April 15, 1861 –

Lincoln issued a proclamation that an insurrection existed in the boundaries of the U.S

• (by calling it an insurrection, rather than a war, the U.S. is not recognizing the legitimacy of the Confederacy – Rebellion, not a war)

• Lincoln called for 75,000 troops for 3 months

More States Secede• Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee,

and Virginia all joined the Confederacy = 11 states total

• Yet, the Confederate flag has 13 stars….???

• The Confederacy hoped Missouri and Kentucky would join, but they do not!

1st Flag of Confederate States of America (CSA)

Border States• These states were

key to both the Union and the Confederacy

• All stayed!• Maryland(surrounds

Washington, D.C.) and Kentucky(industry/resources) were the most important

Kentucky

Missouri

Maryland

Delaware

North: Advantages1. Had double the Confederacy’s population2. North out produced the South in corn and

wheat3. Twice as many horses as the South4. 9/10s of nation’s industrial capacity5. Twice as many railway lines

South: Advantages1. Union was on the offensive2. South was fighting for their

families and way of life3. Fought on their own terrain near

supply lines4. Just had to resist long enough to

win

Battles Begin• Battles generally

have two names:1. North – referred to

them by the names of creeks and rivers

2. South- referred to them by names of towns

First Battle:Bull Run• July 1861 – Union and Confederate troops

meet at Manassas junction• Most units had little organization, no

standard discipline or training, no standardized weapons or uniforms

• This made it difficult to tell who the enemy was!

• Neither army had a clear chain of command

• Under the guidance of Stonewall Jackson, the Confederacy got the upper hand and claimed victory when the Union troops ran away

• This battle let both sides know that it was going to be a long war

• Lincoln now called for 500,000 troops for five years

• For the remainder of 1861, there were no major battles because both sides had to gather better armies

First Modern War• The Civil War is often

referred to as the first modern war because of the use of the rifled musket

• Rifling allowed bullets to travel at a velocity of 3 to 5 times faster than previous muskets

• This lead to increased wounded and dead

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania• July 1863- meet their accidentally and a

battle developed• Union stood strong for three days, even after

Lee sent 1/3 of his army to attack dead center at Cemetery Ridge

• Great Union victory• Bloodiest battle of the war• Lee lost 1/3 of his army!

The HumanPrice of

War

Generals: Stonewall Jackson• Graduate of West Point, he

earned his generalship during the Mexican War

• Earned his name “Stonewall” after 1st Bull run

• Became a major general and took command of Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley

• Successful in many battles, he was Lee’s greatest Lieutenants until he was shot accidentally by Confederate fire at the retreat at Chancellorsville

• He died of pneumonia shortly after

Generals: Robert E. Lee• Graduate of West Point• 1st offered field command of

UNION troops by Lincoln – refused

• Lee was against secession and slavery, but felt too much loyalty to Virginia

• His defeat and retreat at Gettysburg constituted the turning point of the war

• Spent most of the war as commander of the Northern Virginia troops

• Became commander of all Confederate armies in Feb. 1865

Generals: Ulysses S. Grant• Graduate of West Point• Earned the title of

“unconditional surrender Grant”

• Had many victories in the West

• Became supreme commander of the Union forces March 1864

• He wore down Lee’s forces forcing Lee to surrender at Appomattox, Va. April 9, 1865

Generals: William T. Sherman• Graduate of West Point• Given command in

Kentucky in 1861• After Shiloh was

promoted to major general

• Captured Atlanta then began his “March to the Sea” to capture Savannah, Georgia (1864)

• Took command of U.S. army in 1869 after Grant became president

Emancipation Proclamation• To retain the loyalty of the border states Lincoln had

resisted demands of the radical Republicans for abolition

• He modifies his position to help the war effort by offering a moral reason for the Union to fight

• The Proclamation declared that slaves in all areas still in rebellion were “then, thencefoward, and forever free.”

• This actually freed no slaves for it applied only to areas in which the government exercised no control

Sherman’s March to the Sea• His army exceeded instructions by acts

of pillage• By bringing the war home to civilians

by destruction of goods, rather than life, Sherman is often as the first modern general

• Georgia• Sherman led 62,000 men without

supplies• Orders were to live off the country and

destroy war supplies, public buildings, railroads and factories

Start

The South Surrenders• Union soldiers

surround Lee in Virginia – no possible escape route

• Confederate troops desperate – many starving – North’s blockade and Sherman’s march worked by strangling the South through cutting off access to supplies

• April 9, 1865

Appomattox Court House, Virginia

Lincoln Assassinated!• 10:15pm on April 14,

1865 (Good Friday) Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth, a radical Confederate supporter, while watching a performance of Our American Cousin

• He was carried unconscious across the street where he died just before 7:30am the next morning

Booth’s Escape RouteBooth escaped to Virginia, but was caught in a barn near Bowling GreenHe refused to surrender, the barn was fired on but it is believed that he probably shot himself

Results of the War• 600,000 dead• South destroyed• Slavery ends with the Thirteenth Amendment,

December 18, 1865• Who will be responsible for deciding how to deal

with the rebellious South? Congress? The president?

• Will the new president, Andrew Johnson, a southerner, follow Lincoln’s Plan for Reconstruction?

• What will the status of the freemen be?