Robert E. Lee Jefferson Davis Stonewall Jackson William Sherman Ulysses Grant

Chapter 14

Two Societies at War

SecessionCivil War = War between the States by southerners and War of Rebellion by northernersDec. 20, 1860 – So. Carolina secedes from Union; followed by Miss., Florida, Alabama, Georgia, & Lo., primarily because of the election of LincolnBuchanan said immediately secession was illegal, but fed. gov’t lacked authority to restore union by forceSecessionists met in Feb. 1861 & proclaimed a new nation – the Confederate States of America & named Jefferson Davis as President

Ft. Sumter

April 14th, 1861 - 1st shots of Civil War fired on Ft. Sumter – federal arsenal in Charleston Harbor

South Carolina demanded surrender – Lincoln called in state militia to put down insurrection

After South Carolina took Ft. Sumter, 4 more slave states joined Confed. (11)

Objectives and Strategies

NorthLincoln wanted unconditional surrender

Anaconda Plan: 3 prong attack – 1.) blockade coastline 2.) control Miss. River 3.) take Richmond

McClellan marched toward Richmond too slowly & Confederates launched counterattack

Southern StrategyJefferson Davis wanted to fight defensive war & avoid taking westMilitary stalemate = achieve goal of southern independenceSouth needed to protect its coastline, solicit other countries help; they believed need for cotton would encourage Euro countries to help themCotton from India replaced cotton grown in Confederacy

Civil War: 1861-1865North/South Advantages

NorthFactories to produce war materialsMore people to draftCentral government in place that supported war financiallyBetter roads & railroads to move troops & suppliesLincoln portrayed secession as an attack on popular gov’t – demanded unconditional surrender

SouthFought defensive war onlyDefended homes & families/ knew land betterLacked central gov’t; it financed 60% of expenses w/ unbacked paper money - inflationBetter generals; better marksmen – more military experienceLinked confederate cause with that of American Rev; fighting against tyranny

Civil War – 1861-62Both sides believed war would last less than 3 monthsJuly 21st, 1861: Battle of Bull Run – Confederate forces routed Union forces; Lincoln replaced / McDowell w/ McClellan1862 – McClellan attacked Richmond unsuccessfully & Army of the Potomac had to retreat1862 – 2nd Battle of Bull Run – Lee & Jackson again rout Yanks & move north into Maryland Sept. 17th, 1862 – Antietam – Lee was outnumbered 87k to 50k; Union victory; considered bloodiest single day in military history; 4800 dead, 18,500 wounded (3000 soon died): total

North Redefines War1862 – Lincoln & others accepted F. Douglass’s argument & redefined war as struggle against slaveryThousands of slaves escaped & sought refuge in NorthJuly 1862 – 2nd Confiscation Act declared “forever free” all fugitive slaves & all slaves captured by Union ArmyJanuary 1st, 1863 – Emancipation Proclamation; Union troops become agents of liberation

The Turning Point: 1863Grant’s 6 week siege of Vicksburg - ends w/ so. Surrender on July 1st, 1863; Grant cut off Louisiana, Arkansas, & Texas from rest of Confederacy; 100’s of slaves deserted plantationsBattle of Gettysburg – July 1-3, 1863 = turning point in war; momentum goes to North as southern hopes of foreign recognition gone w/ these military defeats; south launched Pickett’s charge – complete disaster as no. used new rifle-muskets & easily mowed down attackers;Meade’s losses @ Gettysburg = 23k, Lee’s = 28kSouth would never again invade north“King Cotton” no longer diplomatic weapon as British manufacturers found new sources in India & Egypt

The Union Victorious, 1864-1865Soldiers & Strategy:

Lincoln -@ 1st refused to use blacks for military service; relented as resistance to conscription & arguments if blacks to benefit from Union victory they should share in fighting/dying.1864 - Lincoln put Ulysses S. Grant in charge of all Union forces Grant relied on technology & directed war @ entire society; terrorized civilian population to crush so. will to resist; changed def. of conventional warfare

Election of 1864 Sherman’s March to the Sea

June, 1864 – Repub. convention endorsed Lincoln’s war measures, demanded Confed. surrender, & called for constitutional amendment to abolish slavery Andrew Johnson nominated vice-presidentSept., 1864 – Atlanta surrendered to Sherman & instead of following confed. Army to Tenn., he cut mile wide path of destruction to Savannah to devastate Georgia & score psychological victory Sherman destroyed farms, railroads, supplies – burned fields & homes; 1865 Sherman invaded So. Carolina to vent his rage upon state where secession had begun

Appomattox – April 9th, 1865 End of Civil War

April 9th, 1865 – Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, VirginiaThe Civil War cost over 600k livesThe financial costs has been figured at around 10 billion dollars5 days after Appomattox, on April 14th, 1865 Lincoln assassinated by John Wilkes Booth