Transcript Early Years of the War

Early Years of the War
Ch 15 Sec 2
Terms and People
• ironclad – warships covered with
protective iron plates
• casualty – a person killed, missing, or
wounded in action
• George McClellan – very organized but
cautious Union General
• Ulysses S. Grant – Union General who
was very successful in the West
Both Sides seek an Advantage
• Both Sides seem an advantage early in
the war
• They look for strong leaders and new
technology
New Technology - Land
• New Guns – Rifles
• Better Cannons
• Generals slow to change tactics
– Thousands Die
New Technology – Sea
• New ships called Ironclads used
– Protected by iron plates instead of just wood
– Famous battle between the Union ship
Monitor and Confederate ship Merrimack
• First successful use of the submarine
– The Hunley
Leaders
• General George McClellan – very cautious
general, trained his men for seven months.
– Advanced toward Richmond
but paused to ask for
reinforcements
– Confederates reinforced
and pushed the Union back
on May 31, 1862
Leaders
• General Robert E. Lee – Confederate
General from Virginia.
– Sought a victory on Union soil,
split his army in two and
marched North
– McClellan found Lee’s battle
plan and attacked his main
force
Battle of Antietam
• September 17, 1862, Sharpsburg
Maryland – McClellan attacked Lee’s
troops
– Bloodiest single day battle of the war
– Lee lost a third of his men, 14,000 troops
– McClellen lost 12,000 troops
Leaders
• Ulysses S. Grant - most successful
General in the West, took chances
– Won battles along the Mississippi River
– Marched toward the railroad
town of Corinth Mississippi
Battle of Shiloh
• Surprise attack by the Confederate
general Albert Johnston
• Grant retreats a full mile before setting up
a defensive position.
• The Union is able to win after 11,000
Southern troops and 13,000 Northern
troops die
Western control
• The Mississippi river
is virtually under the
North’s control by the
end of 1862.