SPONGE

1. What did the Battle of Bull Run show both the Union and the Confederacy? (p.491)

2. Which two battles in the East were stunning victories for the Confederacy? (p.493)

Chapter 17, Section 2

No Easy Victory

Chapter 17, Sections 2 and 3

Setting the Scene

At first, both Union and Confederate soldiers expected a quick victory, but the reality of war soon shattered this expectation.“I never saw so many broken down and exhausted men in all my life. I was sick as a horse, and as wet with blood and sweat as I could be... Our tongues were parched and cracked for water, and our faces blackened with powder and smoke.”It soon became apparent that there would be no quick end to the struggle. Both sides began to dig in for a long, difficult war.

• The North and South had different strategies for victory.

• The Union planned an aggressive campaign against the South, while the Confederacy planned to hold tight until the North lost its will to fight.

Strategies for Victory

• First, the Union planned to use its navy to blockade Southern ports, keeping the South from getting supplies.

• In the East, Union generals aimed to capture Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy.

• In the West, the Union planned to seize control of the Mississippi. This would divide the South into two parts.

Union Plans

• The South planned to fight until the war became unpopular and ended.

• The Confederacy counted on European money to help fight the war. Because cotton was important to Europe, the South believed that Europe would recognize and support the CSA.

Confederate Plans

• On July 21, 1861 Union troops set out from Washington D.C. to Richmond. Hundreds of civilians came to watch.

• Union and Confederate troops met at Bull Run Creek and quickly battled.

• At first, Union forces broke the Confederate lines, forcing Southerners to flee. One Massachusetts soldier cried,

Early Battles

“The war is over!”

• However, General Thomas Jackson refused to retreat. Confederate soldiers rallied to him and called him “Stonewall Jackson” from then on.

• In the end, it was the Union soldiers that panicked and retreated.

Battle of Bull Run

• The Battle of Bull Run showed both the Union and the Confederacy that their soldiers needed more training.

• After the shocking defeat, Lincoln appointed General George McClellan as commander of the Union army.

• Though McClellan was a superb organizer and trained his soldiers well, he refused to bring the army into battle. When he did, at last, inch his army toward Richmond, McClellan ordered a retreat as soon as he met Confederate forces.

The Cautious Union

• Early in the war, a few Confederate ships were able to escape the Union blockade, but as time went on the blockade limited trade to 10% of normal.

• The South responded by taking an old ship and covering it with iron plates, creating the first ironclad warship.

Naval Action

• Union cannonballs bounced harmlessly off the iron skin of the Virginia, which defeated 5 Union ships.

• The Union then made its own ironclad, the Monitor. The two battled, but could not harm each other.

• Ironclads changed naval warfare, but the South could not build enough to ever threaten the blockade again.

Naval Action

• By late 1862, General Lee had marched into Union territory to frighten the North.

• A lucky Union officer found Lee’s battle plans, but McClellan was again too cautious to take advantage of the situation.

• The two sides eventually clashed at Antietam, where 23,000 soldiers were killed or wounded in one day.

• Lee was not defeated, but did decide to move his forces back to the South.

• President Lincoln was so disappointed in McClellan that he fired him, and replace him with General Ambrose Burnside.

Antietam

• Two stunning Confederate victories came next: The Battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.

• At Fredericksburg (Virginia), the Confederates had excellent position. Burnside sent wave after wave of Union soldiers to attack - each one mowed down by Confederate cannons.

• This was one of the Union’s worst defeats.

Confederate Victories

• Months later, General Lee and Stonewall Jackson defeated Union troops in the forest near Chancellorsville.

• However, nervous guards shot Jackson one night as he approached his camp.

• Stonewall Jackson died several days later. It was a huge blow to the Confederacy.

Confederate Victories

• Union forces were more successful in the West.

• General Ulysses S. Grant captured fort after fort along the Mississippi River, but his forces were later pushed to the banks of the Mississippi at the Battle of Shiloh.

• When one of Grant’s soldiers approached the General to suggest a surrender, Grant’s stubborn face made the soldier change his mind.

Union Victories in the West

• Grant’s determination helped the Union achieve its goal of capturing the Mississippi.

• At the Battle of Shiloh, Grant beat back the Confederates in the bloodiest battle of the war.

• Meanwhile, Union boats captured western towns and forts, successfully splitting the Confederacy in two.

Battle of Bull Run

A Promise of Freedom

• At first, the Civil War was not a war against slavery. However, as thousands of escaped slaves rushed into the arms of Union troops, many northerners began to rethink the purpose of the war.

• Lincoln had to be cautious with the slavery issue while the four border states remained with the Union. He did not want them to shift their loyalty (and resources) to the South.

“If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the

slaves, I would do it; and if I could do it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I

would also do that.”

• By 1862, Lincoln added another goal to the Union’s plan: free all slaves in the Confederacy (not in the border states.)

• He hoped this would inspire the 3 million slaves working for the Confederacy to help the Union.

• Lincoln also personally hated slavery, and wanted to free slaves as long as it wouldn’t hurt the Union.

The Emancipation Proclamation

A Promise of Freedom

• Lincoln did not want to make his announcement until after a Union victory.

• After the Northern victory of Antietam, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.

• The Emancipation Proclamation added the abolition of slavery in the South to the Union’s war plans.

A Promise of Freedom

• Southerners saw the proclamation as a scandalous act meant to threaten their property.

• The proclamation won the respect of Europeans, making it less likely that they would help the South in the war.

• When the war began, thousands of free blacks volunteered to fight for the Union, but were not allowed to by law.

• However, by 1862, that law was repealed and escaped slaves were also allowed to fight.

• The army assigned them to all-black units, commanded by white officers.

African American Contributions

A Promise of Freedom

• At first, black troops served only as laborers, building roads and guarding supplies. They also received half pay.

• After much protest, black troops finally fought in more and more battles after 1863.

• By 1864 the 200,000 black soldiers in the Union army received equal pay.

• One of the most famous African American units was the 54th Massachusetts Regiment.

• In 1864, the 54th led an attack on Fort Wagner in South Carolina.

• Though half were killed, the regiment fought all the way into the fort, proving to their white comrades that African American soldiers could fight among the bravest of the brave.

Acts of Bravery

Behind Confederate Lines

• Despite the Emancipation Proclamation, slaves still had to work in the South until troops came to free them.

• Many slaves resisted the Confederacy by slowing down or refusing to work.

• Thousands of slaves freed themselves whenever the Union army came close by – by the end of the war 1/4th of the South’s slaves had run away to freedom.