Transcript Slide 1
The Civil War
Civil War
War between the Northern
(Union) and Southern
(Confederate) states
1861 - 1865
“From Bull Run to Antietam
Causes of the Civil War
1. Regional differences between the
industrial North and the agrarian
South
2. Question of slavery in the territories
3. Compromise of 1850 and the KansasNebraska Act inflame passions
4. Abraham Lincoln is elected President
5. Lower South secedes
6. Confederacy attacks Fort Sumter
Strengths of South
Most officers were Southern
Defensive position
Fighting to preserve their
way of life and right to selfgovernment
Strengths of North
Twice the railroad tracks
Twice as many factories
Balanced economy
More money
Government, Army and Navy
Larger population
Strategy of North
• Naval blockade of southern ports
ordered by Lincoln
• Would stop South from shipping cotton
to Europe and from receiving goods
from Europe
• Gain control of the Mississippi River to
divide the South
• Anaconda Plan
South’s Strategy
• Prepare and wait (wanted to go
in peace); defensive war
• War of attrition – wear down
enemy; failed to realize that the
North had more resources
• But…the North had stopped
exports of cotton and Europe
turned to Egypt and India
Jomini’s Art of War
• The standard textbook taught to all
trained military leaders of the Civil
War
• Emphasized the importance of
position and maneuvering your
troops
• Battles were seen as unnecessary if
you were able to capture important
points (the high ground)
• Try to force enemy from his
position from your BETTER
position
Tactics and Technology
• Generals trained in European warfare of
having masses of troops charge
• New rifles and artillery were more accurate
and deadly; bullet shaped ammunition and
rifling
• Artillery could fire shells and canisters
• Commanders were slow to change
tactics
Why the techniques didn’t
work….
• Both sides tried to use these techniques at
the beginning of the Civil War
• Both sides had the same strategy and knew
the drills cold
So…a New Style of Fighting Developed
• There was a lot of shooting
but not a lot of aiming!
• The element of surprise
became important
• The troops advanced though
“minie” balls, sulfurous
smoke, and loud noise from
cannon fire,
• Hand-to-hand combat was
important after the ammo ran
out
The Divisions of the
Civil War Army
• Cavalry
• Artillery
• Infantry
Johnny Reb and
Billy Yank
• The “common
man” soldier
• Enlisted and
usually infantry
• Generally aged
17-25
• Died by the
thousands
Who were these
common soldiers???
•If a Northerner: Could not pay
someone to fight for them
•If a Southerner: Did not own
20+ slaves
•Died by the thousands on both
sides throughout the war
•Paid the ultimate price for their
convictions
The Union’s Strategy
1. Defend Washington with the Army of the
Potomac and try to capture Richmond
2. Gain control of the Mississippi River and
split the Confederacy in half
3. Blockade the South (Anaconda)
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The Confederacy's
Strategy
Turn back every Union advance until the
British or French joined their side
Fight defensively
Make the people of the North weary of
fighting
Force Lincoln to negotiate
“A war of attrition”
The Campaign of 1861
• “Our battle summer…”
• A short and painless
war
• 90-day enlistments
were common
• “ A short vacation from
the plow”
• “An excursion party to
the Sunny South”
The First Battle of Bull Run
(Manassas)
• July 21, 1861
• General Irvin McDowell-North
• General P.G.T. Beauregard-South
• Railroad used to move troops
• Sightseers watch; North flees
• Casualties: North 2900; South 2000
The First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas)
• Took place north of
Richmond, VA
• Congressmen, reporters,
socialites, and curiosity
seekers came to watch the
“show”
• Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson
became Confederate hero
• Fierce gun fire surprised both
sides
The Union Panics and
Retreats…
• Spectators in carriages and with picnic
lunches were trampled by troops and
peppered with gunfire
• A Confederate win
• Washington DC is VERY
close by
• “What if……????????”
1862 and Stalemate
• The British and the French did not join the
Southern cause
• Lincoln evokes the wartime powers given
to him by the Constitution (the loss of the
writ habeas corpus) cut the heads of the
“copperheads”
• Robert E. Lee takes over the Confederate
Army
The Battle of Shiloh (Tennessee)
• A surprise Confederate attack by General Joseph
Johnston’s 4000 Rebel troops
• Grant was reportedly still drunk from the night
before
• The bloody battle lasted throughout the next day
• 11,000 Southern losses and 13,000 Northern losses
• Mass graves were dug… “Shiloh was a horror”
Lessons from Shiloh (April
1862)
• The war would be a long one and a bloody
one
• Both sides would suffer great losses
• Fraternization between the two sides
ceased between battles
• The idea of the “summer battle” was no
longer boasted about by either side
War in the East
• Monitor and the Merrimack
• Merrimack was wooden ship
with iron plates bolted on
• Merrimack damaged three
wooden ships
• Wooden navies now obsolete
War in the West
• General George McClellen led Northern
Army; ordered to build and train the
army
• General Ulysses Grant led Northern
Army in the West to try to seize the
Mississippi River
Forts Henry and Donelson
•Used gunboats
•Forts in Tennessee and fell to
Grant
– Nashville fell to federal troops
•Grant moved farther south
toward Mississippi
Mississippi River
• Naval squadron under David Farragut
seized New Orleans for the Union
• He captured Baton Rouge, La and
Natchez, MS
• Took Memphis, TN on June 6, 1862
• Only Vicksburg, MS and Port Hudson, LA
remained for the North to capture to split
the Confederacy
Peninsular Campaign
•Confederates destroyed
Merrimack to keep it from being
captured by the North
•McClellan was too cautious
•Moved army east of Richmond
•Heavy casualties in the Battle of
Seven Pines
George McClellan
Robert E. Lee
Trained at West Point, he
takes command at the
Battle of Seven Pines
Well liked by his troops
Served as President of
Washington and Lee
University after the war
The South Goes on the
Offensive…
• General RE Lee
now in Charge!!!!
• Second Battle of Bull Run
– Stonewall Jackson attacks
from the rear and General
Lee from the front
– Another Confederate
Victory!
The War at Sea
• Union sailors assigned to the blockade had
many long, boring days at patrolling sea
waiting for action
• Confederate sailors however on
commerce-raiding ships destroyed or
captured more than 250 northern
merchant ships and $15 million in ships and
cargo
The Union’s Ironclad
• The Union Monitor was an odd shaped
ship “that resembled a cake tin riding on a
platter”.
The Confederate's Ironclad
• The Confederate
Merrimac
(Virginian) was an
old battleship that
had been armed
with iron plates
that covered it in
the shape of a tent
The Clash of the First Ironclads
•On March 9,
1862 the two ships
battled for 5 hours
•Technically a
draw
•The Merrimack
had to withdraw
for repairs so it
became known as
a Union win
Battle of Antietam
• Lee invaded Maryland, hoping for
European support
• McClellan delayed after getting battle plans
of Lee; Sept. 17, 1862
• North lost 12,000 and Lee 14,000;
retreated to VA; As Lee withdrew,
McClellan did not attack
• Bloodiest one-day battle of war
The Battle of Antietam
• President Davis was not happy with Lee’s
defensive victory’s and wanted him to
make a major push north
• His army of 40,000 met McClellan’s
80,000 men at Antietam Creek near
Sharpsburg, VA
• McClellan found Lee’s
battle plans, due to a fatal
stroke of bad luck
• The Rebel forces lost
25% of their men
Life Behind the Lines
Southern Constitution
Recognized states’ rights
and slavery
Needed to build loyalty of
southerners
Fewer resources than North
Draft
Required military service
Law required 3 years service
for white men from 18 to 35;
later moved to 50
Large slave owners excused;
wealthy hired substitutes
Economy
Confederate government regulated commerce and
railroads
Farmers paid 10% of produce to war effort
Income tax imposed
Borrowed slaves for labor
Help from Europe
No recognition (official
acceptance of government)
Great Britain built privateers
for the Confederacy
Europe decided to wait and see
who would win
Politics in the North
Strained relations with Great
Britain
North removed Slidell and Mason
from British ship, the Trent, and
then had to free them
Demanded $19 billion for damages
by privateers from Great Britain
Republicans
1862, passed Pacific Railroad
Act: gave land and money to
companies for construction of
railroad from Nebraska to
Pacific Coast
Homestead Act: free land
Tariff to protect industry
Economy of North
Federal income tax
Internal Revenue Act of 1862: tax on certain items such as
liquor, tobacco, medicine, and ads
Created national currency: greenbacks
Wartime Actions
Delaware secure
Maryland: arrested disloyal representatives
Missouri: supported uprising to overthrow pro-Confederate
state government
Kentucky: martial law
Northern Draft
1863, military service for
white males 20 to 45.
Could pay $300 or hire a
substitute to serve
Opposition to War
Riot over draft: 100 died in New York City
Copperheads (Democrats): said freed slaves would
take jobs
13,000 imprisoned for opposition
Writ of Habeas Corpus
Legal protection requiring that a court determine if a
person is lawfully imprisoned
Constitution allows suspension during a rebellion
13,000 Americans imprisoned without trial;
newspaper editors and elected state officials
Emancipation
Jan. 1, 1863, Lincoln
issued the Emancipation
Proclamation
Freed slaves in areas of
rebellion against the
government
Effect of Proclamation
Inspired southern slaves to
escape to the protection of
Union troops
Encouraged African
Americans to serve in the
Union army
Contraband
Seized possessions would
be kept by the enemy;
included slaves
Used to build fortifications,
etc.
1863, used to fight South
African American
Soldiers
By 1865 180,000 African
Americans had enlisted
Served in all-black regiments
1863 54th Massachusetts
Infantry, under Colonel Robert
Gould Shaw attacked Fort
Wagner; lost half his men
Hardships of War
South’s economy: food
shortage
Men at war; women worked
Inflation
Army deserters
North’s Economy
Industry boomed
Women worked
Some products were shoddy
and fell apart
Prison Camps
Andersonville, Georgia
Held 35,000 Northerners,
kept in a fenced open area
100 died a day of starvation
or exposure
Commander hanged later
Medical Conditions
1 out of 4 soldiers died
Women cared for sick
Clara Barton: “angel of battlefield”
American Red Cross
Disease killed more than guns
The Tide of War Turns
Battle of Fredericksburg
General McClellan replaced
with Ambrose Burnside
Burnside attacks Lee in VA
by charging into
Confederate gunfire
Union casualties 13,000
Battle of
Chancellorsville
Burnside resigns
Joseph “Fighting Joe”
Hooker takes over for North
Lee split forces to counter
Hooker approaching from
the rear; builds fires in camp
Lee and Jackson
Chancellorsville
May, 1863; On the second
day, Stonewall Jackson
attacked on right of Hooker
Jackson scouting at night
and is hit by own troops;
arm amputated; died
1863….
The Battle of Chancellorsville
• General Lee had 60,000 troops
• General Hooker had more than
double that amount
• Lee took a chance and divided his
army and took Hooker by surprise
• Known as Lee’s last great
victory although the South
technically lost more men
• The Confederates mourned
the loss of Stonewall Jackson
The Siege of Vicksburg
• Vicksburg an important trading
center was high on a rocky cliff
on the Mississippi River
• City was considered impassable
• General Grant created a new plan…assault
the society and the civilians who live nearby!
• After several successful confrontations, he
settled down for a successful 7-month siege
• Vicksburg surrenders on July 4, 1863
Battle of Gettysburg
North at low point due to
losses
Lee weakened by blockade
and lack of supplies
Lee hoped North would give
up if he won in Pennsylvania
Lee’s Biggest Mistake
General James Longstreet,
Lee’s second in command
He advised Lee not to attack
the North’s strong position
But…Lee orders the attack
The Gettysburg Campaign
• Lee decided to threaten
Washington DC by way
of Pennsylvania
• At first everything went
his way, and he caught the Union soldiers
off guard
• General Meade was looking for Lee and
Lee was looking for a shoe factory
• They found each other in a little town
called Gettysburg
The 3-Day Battle Begins…
• The Rebels were on
Seminary Ridge and the
Union was on Cemetery
Ridge
• Lee attacked and almost
won on the first day but the Federal line held
• On day two, the Union held its place on Little
Round Top where they could shoot onto
advancing troops
• Remember…the advantage always rests with
the _________________?
July 1, 1863
General George Meade, new
Northern general
Northerners held hills south
of town; Cemetery Ridge
Southerners held Seminary
Ridge; field in between
July 2, 1863
Meade brings reinforcements
Little Round Top, undefended
Maine soldiers under Colonel
Joshua Chamberlain hold it and
then attack with bayonets
Saved Union army from retreat
Day Three: Pickett’s Charge
• Between 1:00 and 2:00,
General Longstreet was ordered
against his will to head across
“no man’s land”
• The “Billy Yanks” were waiting
on top of Cemetery Ridge
with reinforcements who were
loaded with rifles and artillery
• The “Johnny Rebs” were
slaughtered first by artillery and
then by minie balls
1. McPHERSON'S RIDGE
2. THE RAILROAD CUT
3. OAK HILL
4. OAK RIDGE
5. THE ELEVENTH CORPS LINE
The Results of Gettysburg
• The attack was a nightmare for the South that
lasted less than an hour but over 10,000 men
were dead wounded or missing
• 5 of 25 commanders were injured; the other
15 were killed and 2 Brigadier Generals were
killed.
• Southern morale was ravaged
• But a second attack never came…Lincoln was
furious.
• The South was never able to launch an
offensive campaign again
Actual Scene from after the
Battle
July 3, 1863
Lee opens with artillery
barrage
15,000 Confederates attack
Pickett’s Charge; cut up by
Northern artillery; ½
casualties
Gettysburg
Bloodiest battle of war
Union had 23,000 casualties
South had 28,000 casualties
July 4, 1863, Lee retreats to
Virginia
The Gettysburg Address
• Lincoln’s moving
speech is among the
most famous in U.S.
History
Gettysburg Address
Nov. 19, 1863
President Lincoln explained the meaning of the Civil
War
Freedom and equality belong to all
After Gettysburg…
• Southern Campaign
• The Tennessee Campaign
becomes more important as
General William Rosecrans
followed orders to push General
Braxton Bragg into northern
Georgia
• Union troops then attacked
Chattanooga one of the South’s
only important railroad centers
Vicksburg
North wanted control of the
Mississippi River
General Ulysses S. Grant
Several attacks failed
Began a siege in May 1863
Surrender July 4, 1863
Ulysses S. Grant
Turning Point
Gettysburg and Vicksburg
Mississippi River taken by
North, cutting Confederacy
in two
A New Birth of
Freedom
Grant Takes Command
Lincoln must win battles to
win the election of 1864
Grant plans to use North’s
superior population and
industry to wear down the
South
Battle of the Wilderness
May 5, 1864 in Virginia
Grant beaten, but moved
south anyway
No retreat
Battle of Spotsylvania
May 12, 1864
Northern losses were huge,
with bodies piled four deep
Again Grant moves his army
further south
Battle of Cold Harbor
June, 1864, armies met
eight miles from Richmond
Large Northern losses
Grant lost 7,000 Union
soldiers in less than one
hour
Siege of Petersburg
Grant moved around capital of
Richmond and attacks
Petersburg
In last two months, Grant lost
65,000 men
Lee has trouble replacing
casualties and waits
Sherman in Georgia
Sherman wanted to seize
Atlanta, a rail and industrial
center
98,000 Union men
Confederate General Joseph Johnston
General William Sherman
Battle of Kennesaw Mountain
Atlanta
Johnston wanted to delay
Sherman until after the Nov.
elections
Mid-July, Sherman is near
Atlanta
Johnston replaced with
General James Hood
Atlanta
Hood engaged Sherman in
several battles and lost
thousands of men
Sherman laid siege to the city
Sept. South’s army left Atlanta
The South’s
last true
victory…
Chickamauga
• A surprise awaited
Rosecrans, when Bragg
hit him hard at
Chickamauga just south
of Chattanooga
• The Confederate force
of 70,000 beat the
Union force of 56,000
one of the bloodiest
battle of the war
• The Rebels lost 18,454
and the Yankees 16,179
in the bloodiest two
days of the War.
• A fog began to cover
much of the top half of
Lookout Mountain at
10:00am that morning,
obscuring the view of
the participants of the
battle and the men in the
Chattanooga Valley.
• It was this
meteorological
phenomena that gave
the fighting on its
nickname, "The Battle
Above the Clouds."
“The Battle
Above the
Clouds”
“The Rock of Chickamauga”
• The Union forces fled
back to Chattanooga in
part because of General
George H. Thomas, a
Federal soldier who had
remained loyal to the
Union
• Thanks to Thomas, the
North was able to retire
in good order to the
fortifications of
Chattanooga
The Rock of Chickamauga
Let rebels boast their Stonewall brave
Who fell to fill a traitor's grave,
We have a hero grander far,
The Union was his guiding star,
The "Rock of Chickamauga."
When foot by foot, stern Rosecrans
Round grim Lookout, with bold advance,
Pressed back the rebels from their lair,
Our Thomas was the foremost there,
The "Rock of Chickamauga."
-William B. Hamilton-(Lt., 22nd Michigan Infantry, Co. F)
Grant’s “Total War”
• Lincoln promoted General
Grant to the rank of Lt.
General
• Gave him total command
of the Union forces
• He called off the
“gentlemen’s war
• Make war not only on the
Confederate army but on
the Southern people as
well
Sherman’s March to Atlanta
- 1864
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ringgold Gap
Dalton
Rocky Face Ridge
Resaca
Adairsville
New Hope
Church
•
•
•
•
Pickett’s Mill
Dallas
Kolb’s Farm
Kennesaw
Mountain
• Peachtree Creek
• Jonesborough
Grant’s Right Hand Man…
William Tecumseh Sherman
• Was he mentally
ill?
• Was he a brilliant
strategist?
• How did his plan to
cut through Georgia
work?
• How did Atlanta fit
into his plan?
The March to the Sea
Some thought Sherman was
mentally unstable
He ordered Atlanta burned
Cut a 300-mile long path of
destruction
Captured Savannah in Dec.
The Election of 1864
Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, Vice
President, Republicans
Former General McClellan,
Democrat (Lincoln had relieved him
of his command!)
Capture of Atlanta helped Lincoln
win reelection
Thirteenth Amendment
Passed by Congress in
February, 1865
Ratified by the states and
became law on Dec. 18, 1865
Ended slavery in the U.S.
End of the War
Sherman moved through
South Carolina, burning
most houses
Did not destroy North
Carolina
Appomattox
April 9, 1865 Lee met Grant
and surrendered
Grant offered food and
ordered celebration by
Northern troops ended
Effects of the War
Both sides suffered great
losses; more than half a million
people died
Union preserved
Slavery abolished
Lincoln’s Assassination
April 14, 1865, John Wilkes
Booth shot Lincoln while he
was watching a play
Lincoln died the next day and
Booth was killed in Virginia
John Wilkes Booth
The Death of a President
• Did not live to see the
peace he helped to create
– Conspirators and southern
sympathizers plotted against
the president
– Died in office on April 14,
1865
Lincoln’s Rocking Chair
at Ford’s Theatre
Bed in which Lincoln Died
Lincoln Laying in State
Funeral Procession
Funeral Hearse
John Wilkes Booth
Other Conspirator’s
How would the South be
Treated After the War??
•Welcomed Back??
•Or…paid back???
•Find out in Chapter 15…
–Reconstruction!!!