Transcript Civil War: 1861-1865 - Amherst County High School

Civil War: 1861-1865
A Nation Torn in Two
What is a Civil War?
• A war between organized groups within the
same nation (i.e. North vs. South)
Preview
• In the 1860 presidential election Abraham Lincoln
(Illinois) ran as the Republican candidate.
• The Democratic Party split over the issue of slavery.
Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas
(Illinois) as their candidate, while Southern Democrats
chose John C. Breckinridge (Kentucky) to run for
president.
• Because of the split in the Democratic Party, Abraham
Lincoln easily won a majority of electoral votes and
became the sixteenth president of the United States.
The South reacts
• Several Southern states refused to accept
Lincoln’s election as president, because they
feared he would try to abolish or at least further
restrict slavery.
• In late 1860 and early 1861 South Carolina,
Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana,
and Texas voted to secede or withdraw from the
Union.
The South reacts
• In February 1861 these states established a new
nation called the Confederate States of America.
• They chose as president of the Confederacy
Jefferson Davis, who was serving as one of
Mississippi’s two United States senators at the
time of the state’s secession.
The lines are drawn
• In April 1861, President
Lincoln refused to evacuate
(remove) federal troops from
Fort Sumter, an American
fort located in the harbor at
Charleston, South Carolina.
• When Confederate forces
fired on Fort Sumter, the Civil
War (1861-1865) began.
• Following the Confederates’
attack on Fort Sumter,
President Lincoln called on
the states to provide 75,000
soldiers to put down the
rebellion in the South.
The lines are drawn
• While the Northern states immediately
responded to Lincoln’s call for troops, the
slave states of Virginia, North Carolina,
Tennessee, and Arkansas refused to take up
arms against their sister Southern states and
instead voted to secede and join the
Confederacy.
An Overview of War
• The secession of southern states triggered a long
and costly war that concluded with Northern
victory, a restoration of the Union, and
emancipation (the freeing) of the slaves.
• The survival of the United States as one nation
was at risk, and the nation’s ability to bring to
reality the ideals of liberty, equality, and justice
depended on the outcome of the war.
• More Americans died in the American Civil War
than in any other war in the nation’s history.
• Approximately 620,000 Americans died during
the four years of fighting, including 360,000
men who died fighting for the Union and
260,000 Confederates.
Civil War
• One-third of the soldiers who fought for the
Union Army were immigrants, and nearly one
in 10 was African American.
• Black Union soldiers refused their salaries for
18 months to protest being paid lower wages
than white soldiers.
• Harriet
Tubman led a
raid to free
slaves during
the Civil War
Lincoln was shot at—and almost killed—
nearly two years before he was
assassinated.
• Before William
Tecumseh Sherman
became a great
Union general, he
was demoted for
apparent insanity
• General Ulysses S. Grant wasn’t the bloodiest
general of the war—Robert E. Lee was
Both before and during the Civil War,
Abraham Lincoln pushed to send freed
slaves abroad.
• Robert E. Lee’s
Virginia estate was
confiscated by the
Union and turned
into a cemetery
during the war.
Privates weren’t cannon fodder during the
Civil War—generals were.
• More men died in the
Civil War than any
other American
conflict, and twothirds of the dead
perished from
disease.
WAR
DEATH
American Revolution
4,435
War of 1812
2,260
Mexican War
13,283
Spanish American
2,246
World War I
116,516
World War II
405,399
Korea
33,746
Vietnam
58,152
Up until the Vietnam War – the
number killed in the Civil War
was greater than all US wars
combined.
~620,000
So? Like, if I was a soldier in the Union Army,
what are the chances I’d of died?
• Chance of dying: About 1 in 4……
Union Army
•
•
•
•
•
•
1 out of 65 men killed in action
1 of 56 died from wounds
1 of 13.5 died of disease
1 of 10 wounded in action
1 of 15 captured or reported missing
1 of 7 captured died in prison
Inmate at
Andersonville
Prison
Abraham Lincoln
Back Story
• Grew up in a one room log cabin in Kentucky
• Mother died of milk sickness when he was 9
• Lincoln’s sister, Sarah, died while giving birth
in her 20s
• 1830 – moved from Kentucky to Illinois fearing
milk sickness
• Lincoln’s first romantic interest died of typhoid
• Lincoln married Mary Todd in 1842
• Of the 4 children they had, only one made it
to adulthood; Robert
• Lincoln suffered from melancholy (clinical
depression)
Abraham Lincoln
• Elected President in 1860; served as President
during the Civil War
• Member of the Republican Party
• Came from humble beginnings, grew up in a
poor family on the western frontier
• Self-educated; became a country lawyer
• Illinois State Legislature; House of Rep. for one
term; failed twice at becoming a Senator
• Embodied the anti-slavery movement and
campaigned on ending slavery
• Sought to “preserve the Union” during the
Civil War by any means necessary
• Issued the Emancipation Proclamation in
1863
Jefferson Davis
President of the
Confederacy
Jefferson Davis
• Born June 3rd, 1808 in Kentucky
• Military History:
– Attended US Military Academy (1828)
– Served in the frontier
– Health forced him to resign in 1835
– Fought in Mexican War
– Wounded at Buena Vista
• Political History
– US Senator from Mississippi from 1835 to 1845
– US Congressmen from 1845 to 1846
– US Congressmen from 1857 to 1861
– Withdrew from Senate when Mississippi seceded
– On February 18, 1861 - made President of the
Confederacy
Davis During the War
• Failed to raise sufficient money to fight the Civil War
and could not obtain recognition and help for the
Confederacy from foreign gov.
• Charged with raising the army of the Confederacy –
constant battles with governors
• Most notable appointment was Robert E. Lee
(Commander of the Army of VA)
• His energy was a driving force behind the south’s
resistance
• Captured by federal troops in Irwinville, Georgia
• Imprisoned from 1865 to 1867 at Fortress Monroe,
VA
• Indicted for treason in 1866, released in 1867 on
$100,000 bond
• In 1868 – federal government dropped the charges
Grant
• Born April 27, 1822
• Commander of the Union Army
• Began his military career after graduating
from US Military Academy at West Point in
1843
• Fought in the Mexican-American War –
observed Zach Taylor and Winfield Scott
• Resigned from army in 1854 – rejoined when
war broke out in 1861
• Seized control of KY and TN at the Battle of
Shiloh
• Defeated Confederate armies at Vicksburg –
gave Union control of the Mississippi River
• After Battle of Chattanooga – name Lt.
General in command of all Union forces
• Fought a series of battles against Lee known
as the Overland Campaign – ended in a
stalemate
• Robert E. Lee surrendered to Grant at
Appomattox – collapse of the Confederacy
Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
• Born January 7, 1807
• Career military officer
• Top of his class at West Point Military
Academy
• 32 years of US military experience before
joining the Confederacy
• Lincoln asked him to lead the Union army but
chose VA (his home) – not for secession
himself
• Very skilled tactician (military strategy)
• Tasted victory at Fredericksburg,
Chancellorsville, Wilderness, Cold Harbor,
Seven Days Battle, 2nd Bull Run
• Suffered defeats at Antietam (1862) and
Gettysburg
• Surrendered to Grant on April 9th, 1865 at
Appomattox courthouse
• Remains an iconic figure in military history
• Urged southerners to accept defeat and unite
as Americans when some wanted to continue
the fight
Frederick
Douglass
Frederick Douglass
• Born February 1818
• Former slave who became a prominent
abolitionist
• Urged President Lincoln to recruit former
enslaved African Americans to fight for the
Union
• Stood as a living counter-example to
slaveholders’ arguments that slaves did not
have the intellectual capacity to function as
independent American citizens
Fall of Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter, S.C.
• After Lincoln became president, one fort
became very important to the south – Fort
Sumter (remained under federal control)
• Fort Sumter was in a strategic location
– Control the fort = control the harbor and access to
Charleston
• March 1861 – commander of the fort major
Robert Anderson sent word to Washington
they were running low on supplies
• North didn’t want to lose the fort but without
supplies it would fall quickly
• Lincoln hesitated because he did not want the
remaining 8 slave states to secede
• Lincoln decides to resupply the fort
• April 6th, 1861 – Lincoln sent word supplies
were in route to Governor Pickens
• Pickens tells General Beauregard
(Confederacy) who then orders the federal
troops to evacuate – refused
• 4:30 am on April 12, 1861 – Confederate
forces open fire of Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter
• For 34 hours the Confederates bombarded
Sumter
• Anderson and his men formally surrender on
April 13th
• On April 15th Lincoln announced the existence
of a rebellion “too powerful to be suppressed
by the ordinary course”
– Called for 75,000 troops
Reactions to Fort Sumter
• After Fort Sumter – Arkansas, North Carolina,
Tennessee, and Virginia secede
• Richmond named as the Confederate capital
• Remaining slave states: Delaware, Kentucky,
Maryland, and Missouri remain with the
Union
• Mountainous regions of NW VA remain with
the Union – became WV in 1863
North vs. South
North
• Bigger Population –
more soldiers
• Better economy (85% of
nation’s industry) –
increased supplies
• Most railroad lines in
north – move troops &
supplies easier
• Most of US Navy
remained loyal to Union
South
• Only had to fight a
defensive war – protect
the South (~750,000
square miles)
• Excellent military
leadership (i.e. Robert
E. Lee)
First Battle of Bull Run
Bull Run
• July 21, 1861 – 35,000 Confederates met
Union troops 30 miles outside D.C.
• Confederates led by General Joseph Johnston
and Union by General McDowell
• Confederates are going to dig in on high
ground behind a creek called Bull Run
• Battle started favorably for the Union
• Confederate General Stonewall Jackson
stopped the Union assault
• Jackson’s men charged Union lines yelling
“woh-who-ey!” – known as the rebel yell
• Union forces forced to retreat
• Southern victory caused most people to
realize that the war would last longer than just
a few months
• Lincoln now put General McClellan in charge
of the Union army
Shiloh
Battle of Shiloh
• During 1862 – Confederates won most major
battles in the East (Union had poor Generals)
• In the West – Union fairing much better under
General Grant
• Marching towards Mississippi – Grant rested
his men near Shiloh; waiting for
reinforcements
• Confederate generals Johnston and
Beauregard nearby
• SURPRISE ATTACK!!!!
• Union troops, not expecting an attack – found
1000s of Confederate troops attacking them
on April 1862 – Battle of Shiloh
• Confederate forces pushed Grant’s men back
to the Tennessee River
• Confederate commanders believe that could
finish off Grant’s army the next morning
• Fighting at Shiloh reached an intensity level
not yet seen in war
• Grant’s officers advised him to retreat –
refused
– “No, I propose to attack at daylight and whip
them”
• Fresh Union troops arrived during the night
• Grant’s April 7th surprise counterattack led to
another day of fierce fighting
• By afternoon – Confederates defeated and
retreat
• Union suffered 13,000 deaths, Confederacy
10,000
After the Battle of Shiloh, Union troops
advance towards New Orleans
By May 1862 – Union had achieved
“victory” in the west
South has now lost 50,000 square miles of
territory, 1,000 miles of navigable rivers,
two state capitals, and its largest city
Southern moral began to weaken
Antietam
Battle of Antietam
• General Lee went on the offensive in
September 1862
• South needed a big victory in order to get
recognition from foreign governments
(namely Britain)
• On September 4, 1862 – Lee began crossing
the Potomac River into Maryland with 40,000
men
• During the march, Lee lost around 5,000 men
to exhaustion, hunger, and disease
• Union troops lost track of Lee and his troops
for 4 days
• Luckily – two Union soldiers happened upon a
copy of Lee’s battle plans wrapped around a
discarded pack of cigars
• McClellan now able to plan a counterattack
• With 75,000 troops, McClellan met Lee at
Antietam Creek in Maryland
Antietam
• Troops at the Battle of Antietam fought the
bloodiest single-day battle in US military
history
– Confederates – more than 13,000 causalities
– Union – more than 12,000 causalities
• Lee and his troops retreat back to VA but
McClellan neglects to chase the crippled army
• Lincoln fires McClellan from his position
Aftermath of Antietam
• Although it was not a resounding Union
victory – confidence was raised in the North
• Major Confederate offensive had failed
• General Lee CAN be defeated in the minds of
northerners
• Southern defeat cost the Confederates any
hope of support from European countries
With Union victory at Antietam,
Lincoln gains political support to
move forward with his plans of
freeing the slaves
Issues the preliminary draft of the
Emancipation
Proclamation
Emancipation Proclamation
• Lincoln lacked Constitutional
authority to abolish slavery
• As commander and chief, did have
the power to institute military
measures
• July 1862 – Lincoln informed cabinet
of new military order
• As of a certain date, all slaves living
in the areas still in rebellion against
the US would be free
• Only applied in Confederate states –
relieved concerns about status of
slaves in border states
• After Union victory at Antietam –
Lincoln issued the proclamation
Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
• After several victories in VA, Lee decided it
was time to invade the North again
– VA needed a break
• In June 1863 Lee crossed into Pennsylvania
• Lincoln urged General Hooker to attack Lee
before they could regroup – failed to do so
and was replaced by General Meade
• By end of June, 75,000+ Confederate soldiers
near Gettsyburg
• Confederate troops organized a raid to seize
shoes – unaware the Union had positioned
themselves on the high ground
• July 1, 1863 – first shots of the battle fired
• Confederates pushed back the Union line –
however Lee knew his troops were in trouble
as long as the Union held the high ground
• With northern reinforcements on the way, Lee
had to act – attacked Union left flank on July
2nd trying to capture a dome-shaped hill (Little
Round Top)
Battle of Gettysburg
• July 3rd, Lee ordered 15,000 men under
George Pickett to rush Union center – Pickett’s
Charge
• Less than half of the Confederates reach the
top
• Bad weather prevented Meade from pursuing
Lee – retreated back to VA
• Union lost 23,000 and Confederates 28,000
Gettysburg Address
• November 19, 1863 –
Lincoln dedicated a
national cemetery at
the Gettysburg
battlefield
“Four score and seven
years ago our fathers
brought forth on this
continent, a new
nation….”
Vicksburg
Battle of Vicksburg
• While Meade was winning Gettysburg – Grant
was in the west
• Grant knew that gaining full control of the
Mississippi River required taking Vicksburg
• In May 1863 – Grant hatched a risky plan
• Marched into enemy territory and bottled up
a Confederate force – Raced west to trap the
other enemy force inside Vicksburg
• For 6 weeks General Grant laid siege to the
city – preventing any reinforcements from
arriving
• “Siege of Vicksburg”
• City’s defender ate mules and rats to survive
• July 1863 – General Grant and General
Pemberton (Confederacy) met under an oak
tree to discuss surrender
Confederates surrender Vicksburg
Surrender at Appomattox
• General Sherman’s army pushed north
through the Carolinas why Grant’s troops
battered Richmond
• April 2nd, 1865 – Union troops overrun
Richmond (Confederate Capital)
• Lee’s army half the size of Grant’s
• Lee attempted to flee west but was cut off by
Grant
• With less than 30,000 soldier, no supplies –
Lee asked for surrender
• April 9th, 1865 – Grant met Lee in a house in
Appomattox, VA
• Terms of surrender
– Confederate officers could keep side arms
– All soldiers would be fed and allowed to keep
horses and mules
– NO ONE tried for treason