Louisiana:

The History of an American State

Chapter 10 Louisiana’s Civil War: Crisis and Conflict Study Presentation

©2005 Clairmont Press

Section 1: The Road to War

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: –What events led Louisiana to join the Confederacy?

The Road to War

• states’ rights: belief that states had the right to overrule federal government; they could leave the Union • Louisianans hoped the Missouri Compromise and Compromise of 1850 would preserve slavery and the Union • most believed that a war would only last a few weeks

The Election of 1860

• Northern and Southern Democrats could not agree on a candidate for president – four candidates in all ran in election • Abraham Lincoln , Republican, was the winner • Southerners believed he was an abolitionist; he said he would not interfere with slavery where it existed • Lincoln did not get one vote in Louisiana • talk of secession began to spread • many Louisianans believed if slavery was ended their way of life would end

Heading to War

• Lincoln swore to protect the Union • many southerners believed that states had the right to leave the United States • Dec. 1860: South Carolina seceded • Jan. 1861: Louisiana seceded • Leaving the Union would cause hardship in Louisiana: – sugar plantations depended on sugar tariff – ports in Louisiana depended on trade with the north • Governor Moore sent state militia to take Ft. Jackson and Ft. St. Philip and federal arsenal in Baton Rouge

Secession

• January 26, 1861: Secession Convention votes to leave the Union • few leaders voted against the move • Louisianans Judah P. Benjamen and John Slidell were leaders in the new Confederacy • April 12, 1861: war began in Charleston, SC at Ft. Sumter

Building an Army

• 5,000 Louisiana men volunteered (enlisted) in the new Confederate army • most believed the war would be short • Camp Moore was first training camp for Louisiana soldiers • disease and poor nutrition killed many before a battle was fought • bounty: money paid to get soldiers to enlist • conscription: (draft) required men to enlist • wealthy men could pay someone to serve in their place; slaveowners with 20+ slaves did not have to enlist

Gathering Supplies

• parishes, wealthy individuals and soldiers supplied weapons and equipment • Louisiana had few factories • salt was used to preserve meat for soldiers • women’s groups sewed uniforms and cartridge bags

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Section 2: The War in Louisiana

ESSENTIAL QUESTION:

–Which Civil War battles were fought in Louisiana?

The War in Louisiana

• first Louisiana volunteers fought with General Lee in Virginia • “ Louisiana Tigers ”: famous company of fighters from LA • Few troops were left to defend LA ; most were fighting in other parts of the South

The Fall of New Orleans

• New Orleans was important port for LA and confederacy • Confederate leaders believed that US would not attack the city • defenders guarded the river at Ft. St. Philip and Ft. Jackson • Admiral David Farragut: US Navy leader; led 47 ships to take New Orleans • cotton, sugar, tobacco, molasses set ablaze in their warehouses • May 1, 1862: New Orleans occupied by US troops

Baton Rouge Falls

• May 7, 1862: Baton Rouge falls to Union forces • Confederates were unable to retake the city • December 1862: state capitol burned resulting in the loss of many state records

Battles Along the Bayous

• Fall 1862, Union General Butler ordered seizing of goods from rich plantations in Bayou Lafourche and Bayou Teche • many supplies taken for use by the Union

Taking the Mississippi River

• Anaconda Plan : designed to split Confederacy – if the Union could take the Mississippi River, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas would be cut off from the rest of the Confederacy • Vicksburg and Port Hudson were Confederate strongholds and would have to fall for the plan to work

Vicksburg

• Late 1862: Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant led attack on Vicksburg • Plan was to surround the city and cut off its supplies • Fell on July 4, 1863 to Union army

Port Hudson

• Confederate fort south of Vicksburg • controlled a large bend in the Mississippi River • siege lasted 45 days led by • heat, mosquitoes, lice and lack of food caused problems for soldiers • July 9, 1863: Confederate troops surrender after they learned that Vicksburg had fallen • Union controlled the Mississippi River from that point on

The Red River Campaign

• Final military plan of the Union in Louisiana • Union wanted to take over Shreveport and cut off sale of cotton to Mexico and Europe • • Union Gen. Banks was pushed back by Confederate Gen. Taylor Bailey’s dam : new invention to help move Union gunboats in shallow water

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Section 3: Civilian Life

ESSENTIAL QUESTION:

–What was life like for civilians during the Civil War?

Civilian Life

• Union hoped to end the war sooner by making life miserable for civilians • Union policy was to destroy anything of value to Confederates • some soldiers looted and vandalized against orders; some were told to destroy and pillage • Jayhawkers: usually poor white men who hid out in swamps; sometimes helped the Union, but some robbed neighbors • Needy Confederate soldiers often stole from nearby families

Shortages and Sacrifices

• Union blockade stopped trade outside the Confederacy • shortages of all materials • one newspaper printed his paper on the back of wallpaper • problems included short supply of goods, high prices, worthless money • women helped “make-do” by making acorn coffee and hand-weaving cloth

Freeing the Slaves

• Confiscation Act: gave Union troops right to take any Confederate property • former slaves began to follow the Union army • some ex-slaves helped Union army or helped Union-run plantations • so freed slaves joined Union army • • Louisiana Native Guard: regiments of African-Americans in Union army Emancipation Proclamation : law which freed slaves and outlawed slavery

Life in Occupied New Orleans

• New Orleans was occupied by Union troops for most of the war • General Benjamin Butler in charge • Order No. 28: women who insulted Union troops would be dealt with harshly • seized property of citizens who did not sign oath of loyalty to the Union • Butler replaced by Gen. Nathaniel Banks in late 1862 – he reopened closed churches

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Section 4: Wartime Governments

ESSENTIAL QUESTION:

–How was Louisiana governed during the Civil War?

Wartime Governments

• Two state governments: Confederate and Union-Occupied

Government in Union-Occupied Louisiana

• President Lincoln wanted to show that Confederate areas could easily return to the Union • Once 10% of population signed oath of loyalty, elections could be held • Only those who signed the oath could vote • Feb. 1864: Michael J. Hahn elected governor of Union occupied LA – replaced military governor

Government in Confederate Louisiana

• capital was moved 7 times during the war to avoid capture • raised funds by selling bonds, income tax, and tax-in-kind (10% of crops given to state government) • Gov. Henry Watkins Allen known for making sure citizens and soldiers had basic food and water and lessened suffering of the people

The War Ends

• April 9, 1865: General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Confederate Army at Appomattox Courthouse , Virginia • Confederate forces west of the Mississippi surrendered in June

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