Chapter 11 – The Civil War

Section NotesPreparing for WarFighting EruptsThe War behind the LinesThe War ContinuesThe Final Phase

Video

ImagesThe Civil WarAfrican American Union SoldiersAndersonvilleWomen on the Home Front

Quick FactsThe GeneralsCauses and Effects of the Civil WarVisual Summary: The Civil War

MapsSecession, 1860–1861The War in the West, 1861–1863The War in the East, 1861–1863Three Days at GettysburgThe Battle for VicksburgFinal Campaigns, 1864–1865

The Civil War

History Close-upThe New Weapons of War

Preparing for War

The Main Idea

The attack on Fort Sumter led both the North and the South to prepare for war in earnest.

Reading Focus

• How did the fall of Fort Sumter lead to war?

• Why did many northerners and southerners eagerly rush to war?

• Why was the loyalty of the border states important, and how did Lincoln obtain it?

• What were the Union and Confederate goals and strategies for the war?

The Fall of Fort Sumter

• Crisis at Fort Sumter

– Commander Robert Anderson sent the message to Lincoln that Confederate leaders were demanding surrender or would attack.

– Low on supplies, Fort Sumter remained in Union hands. The fort was very symbolic to both sides.

– Lincoln would not surrender the fort, but would send food and other nonmilitary supplies.

– Jefferson Davis would decide whether to attack and go to war or allow the symbol of federal authority to remain.

• The attack on the fort

– Davis ordered a surprise attack before the supplies could arrive.

– On April 12, 1891, the Confederate artillery opened fire on the fort, and an outgunned Fort Sumter surrendered the next day.

The Rush to War

Response in the North

• Lincoln calls for 7500 volunteers

• 90 days’ service to put down the rebellion

• Lincoln’s political enemy Stephen Douglas supports the action, “There can be no neutrals in this war, only patriots—or traitors”

• Northerners rush to enlist

Reaction in the South

• With call for volunteers, the eight remaining Union slave states now forced to choose a side

• Union slave states refused to provide troops to fight against fellow southerners

• Confederate states ready to call up men

• First Virginia, then Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina secede

The Border States Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, & Missouri

Maryland critical—Washington, D.C., at risk surrounded by Confederate territory. Martial law declared and new elections held to ensure pro-Union state legislature

Missouri important—strategic access to the lower Mississippi River. Divided loyalties but never enough secessionist support to withdraw from the Union

Kentucky necessary—the Ohio River border left the Union open to the threat of invasion. The governor refused to take sides, but the state sided with the Union after Confederate troops invaded in September 1861.

These divided loyalties meant citizens fought on both sides.

Goals and Strategies

Union Goals

• Needed to be carefully defined

• War could not center around the dispute over slavery—border states pushed to secede

• Fight for patriotic reasons—to save the Union

Confederate Goals

• South wanted to be left alone with slavery unchanged

• Prepared to defend themselves against invasion

• Felt northerners would soon tire of war and withdraw

Goals and Strategies

The North’s

Strategy

• Larger population = more available soldiers

• With more factories, could produce war supplies

• General Winfield Scott’s plan—slowly seal the South off from the rest of the world—Anaconda plan

• Newspapers pushed “On to Richmond,” an attack on the Confederacy for a quick end to the war.

• Ardent support for the cause made up for lack of resources

• Fighting for freedom and their homeland—¾ of the population did not hold slaves

• They were convinced of their military superiority— many army officers were southerners.

The South’s Strategy

Goals and Strategies

Southerners were convinced that France and Great Britain wanted a guaranteed supply of cotton and counted on this cotton diplomacy as a foreign-policy tool.

The Confederacy embargoed cotton to force the issue of recognition as an independent nation when the English and French hesitated.

Cotton diplomacy failed for many reasons: - The British resented the attempt at blackmail. - Southern cotton was stockpiled from the year before. - Higher prices encouraged other countries to grow the crop. Both sides continued to try to gain/block foreign involvement throughout the conflict.

Fighting Erupts

The Main Idea

Widespread fighting occurred during the first two years of the Civil War.

Reading Focus

• What factors made the major battles in the war so bloody?

• How did the Union carry out its strategy in the Mississippi Valley?

• What led to the Confederate successes in the war in the East?

• Why did the Confederate forces invade the Union, and with what result?

The Major Battles Begin

• Union army not ready to fight

– With 90-day volunteer enlistment nearly over, the decision was made to send troops to Manassas Junction to attack.

• First Battle of Bull Run

– The chaotic battle ended hope for a short war.

– Stonewall Jackson earned his nickname and Confederate infantry charge caused Union troops to stampede.

– There were 2,000 Confederate and 2,900 Union casualties.

• Results

– Lincoln called for a million more volunteers to serve for three years.

– Replaced McDowell with General George McClellan, who set about creating a real army out of the volunteer force

The Major Battles Begin

• Top generals on each side trained at West Point.

• Old instructional methods based on infantry and cavalry charges, but with new weaponry these tactics led to huge casualties

• Increased range and accuracy with bullet-shaped ammunition and rifling

• Shrapnel replaced cannonballs, and fragments mowed down troops.

Tactics and Technology

• Observation balloons were used to direct artillery fire, and camouflage was used to disguise tents and guns from view.

• The telegraph allowed for quick communication.

• Railroads were used to move large numbers of troops.

New Devices of

War

The Fight for the Mississippi Valley

Ironclads were used by the Union to take the Mississippi Valley.

Ulysses S. Grant captured Forts Henry and Donelson, opening the western Confederacy and leaving the Mississippi River vulnerable to attack. Grant continued south to the railroad center of Corinth, Mississippi.

The bloody Battle of Shiloh was a Confederate loss, but there were over 23,000 total casualties. Grant realized the Union would be saved only by complete conquest.

New Orleans fell to Admiral Farragut, and he continued up the Mississippi River to capture Baton Rouge and Natchez. Only Vicksburg remained in Confederate hands.

The War in the East

General McClellan

• Hesitant commander with 100,00-man Union army designated to attack Richmond

• Fought a series of battles on the peninsula but always delayed action

• Lincoln held troops back to defend Washington

• Confederates attacked in a series of clashes, and McClellan retreated after four victories in five battles.

2nd Battle of Bull Run

• Overly cautious McClellan waited outside Richmond.

• Lincoln turned to John Pope with his 50,000 troops in northern Virginia.

• Robert E. Lee lured Pope into battle and defeated him.

• Lincoln put McClellan back in command, telling his cabinet members, “We must use the tools we have.”

• Smaller Confederate forces more effective and led by better commanders

The Union Is Invaded

Union morale was low after defeats in Virginia and the Confederates determined to attack on Union soil, hoping to gain an early peace.

Battle of Antietam– McClellan caught up with Lee’s troops at Sharpsburg, Md.– A savage single day of fighting left 23,000 dead.– Lincoln’s order to “destroy the rebel army” was ignored.– McClellan allowed the rebels to retreat into Virginia.– He was relieved of command.

The Battle of Fredericksburg– Ambrose Burnside named new Union commander– Marched massive army toward Richmond– Attacking Confederates head-on left 13,000 Union dead.– The battle was a disaster for the Union.

The War behind the Lines

The Main Idea

The Civil War created hardships, challenges, and opportunities for people in the North and the South.

Reading Focus

• How did the Emancipation Proclamation affect the Civil War?

• How did African Americans contribute to the war effort?

• What was life like in the military?

• What similarities and differences existed on the home front in the North and South?

The Emancipation Proclamation

• Attitudes about the war changed with increased casualties– No longer about just saving the Union, the South needed to be

punished for the bloodshed of the war.

– Lincoln convinced to use constitutional power to end slavery, denying the South the labor needed to continue the war

• Emancipation Proclamation issued on January 1, 1863– It freed the slaves in all areas in rebellion against the U.S.

– Abolitionists were upset slavery continued in the Union.

– Riots broke out with increased competition for jobs in the North.

– Supporters felt it would shorten the war.

• Overseas reaction– The British felt Lincoln should have freed all of the slaves.

– With war now about ending slavery, Britain would side with the Union.

African Americans and the War

In the South, African American farm and plantation labor released white males for the war effort. Slaves performed many non-combat jobs in the Confederate army.

Escaped slaves worked for the Union army in various jobs.They formed Union army regiments in Louisiana, South Carolina, and Kansas, serving in segregated units. Initially used for labor and guard duty, when allowed into battle they fought heroically. The 54th Massachusetts Infantry was the most famous unit.

180,000 African Americans served in Union armies, taking part in 200 battles. More than 38,00 died serving the Union.

Life in the Military

• Conditions were poor, tents were crowded, and the ground muddy or dusty depending on the weather.

• Camp rations were good, but while on the march soldiers relied on hardtack and coffee.

Wartime medicine

• Disease was responsible for most deaths, and various epidemics swept through the camps.

• Sanitary Commission worked to improve conditions.

Camp life

• Prisoner exchanges ended in 1863, and both sides were guilty of inhumane treatment of prisoners.

• Most notorious camps—Andersonville and Elmira

Prison camps

Life on the Home Front

Southern Home Front

• Shortages made life difficult.

• There were few factories, and food production dropped because of war.

• War was fought on credit, and inflation resulted.

• High prices and shortages led to food riots.

• Soldiers deserted to take care of their families.

• Poor men were patriotic, but their families came first.

Confederate Draft

• Needed to maintain the army

• Confederate Congress enacted 1st military draft in American history—April 1862

• Unpopular conscription contradicted states’ rights

• Governors of Georgia and North Carolina tried to block the draft.

• Slaveholders were exempted from the draft.

• Some areas were placed under martial law.

Copperheads and the Union Draft

No shortages, but the Union needed to draft more soldiers

Union draft law allowed the wealthy to hire substitutes or pay a $300 fee—making the war a poor man’s fight.

Antidraft riots fueled an existing antiwar movement, called Peace Democrats by supporters, Copperheads by critics.

Vocal critics who opposed the war, the draft, or emancipation were arrested and jailed without trials. This was possible because Lincoln suspended habeas corpus across the entire country, saying he was willing to violate the constitution in order to save the nation.

Women in the Civil War

Southern Women• Spied for the Confederacy

• Took over farms, stores, and plantations

• Worked in the few factories and made ammunition for the troops

• Formed societies to make bandages, shirts and bedclothes

• Acted as volunteer nurses before Confederate Congress passed law allowing them to be hired as army nurses

Northern Women• Stepped into jobs so men

could go fight

• Produced huge amounts of food with the aid of new farm equipment

• Female teachers went south to educate former slaves after the war

• Became the first women to hold federal clerical jobs

• Served in the Union army as nurses and volunteered to work in hospitals

The War Continues

The Main Idea

Important fighting occurred in all sections of the country as well as at sea.

Reading Focus

• In what ways was the war at sea an important part of the Civil War?

• What were each side’s goals in the West and how were events there influenced by the rest of the war?

• What three major battles took place in 1863, and why was each important?

• Why was the fighting around Chattanooga, Tennessee, important to the outcome of the war?

The Civil War at Sea

• Confederates hoped to destroy the Union blockade with a captured Union ironclad ship, the Merrimack, rebuilt and renamed the Virginia.

• Union attacked with new vessel, the Monitor. The first battle between ironclads had no winner, but it changed naval warfare.

Blockade Runners

• Boats built for speed that brought cotton out and silk, soap, pepper, and other goods into the Confederacy

The Monitor and the Merrimac

• Confederates used unconventional tactics to combat stronger Union navy.

• Had 29 commerce raider ships roaming the oceans, successfully attacking Union merchant ships and disrupting the North’s foreign trade

Confederate Raiders

The War in the West

• California and the territories

– Kansas was admitted as a free state in 1861, and six more western territories were added. Lincoln appointed pro-Union officials to head the governments.

– The draft was not enforced in the West, but California supplied volunteers and territorial mines provided vast amounts of gold and silver.

– The Battle of Glorieta Pass secured the west for the Union. • Native Americans and the war

– War divided the Cherokee and the other nations over the issues of loyalty and slavery, and they fought on both sides.

– Cherokee leader Stand Watie was the last Confederate general to surrender at war’s end.

Three Major Battles

Battle of Chancellorsville• General Joseph Hooker was in

command of Union army.

• Lee sent Stonewall Jackson in a surprise attack, nearly destroying the Union army on the first day.

• Battle was General Lee’s greatest victory, defeating a force twice its size. Lee determined to invade the North again, hoping a victory there would end the war.

• Lee marched north, and Lincoln replaced Hooker with General George Meade.

• Confederates on the lookout for a rumored shoe supply skirmished with Union cavalry.

• Both sides rushed troops to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

The Battle of Gettysburg• Overconfident after his great

victory, Lee pushed his troops into battle here against the advice of James Longstreet.

• Half the men in Pickett’s Charge perished, and Lee finally gave up the fight and retreated back to Virginia.

The Siege of Vicksburg• General Grant began the Union

siege of Vicksburg in May 1863.

• With constant shelling of the city, citizens were forced to dig into hillsides to try to escape the barrage.

• After forty-eight days, the city surrendered. Four days later the last Confederate fort on the Mississippi surrendered as well.

The Chattanooga Campaign

The string of Confederate losses ended with Braxton Bragg’s victory at the Battle of Chickamauga. But the retreating Union army discovered the road to Chattanooga had been left unprotected, and they fled to the city.

Bragg pursued, but the Union soldiers were ready to defend the city. Confederate troops prepared to starve them out.

Grant arrived and opened a supply line to feed the trapped Union troops. The siege ended, and the Union won the two battles that followed. This gave the Union control of the railroad center at Chattanooga and would allow Grant access to Georgia, the heart of the Lower South.

The Final Phase

The Main Idea

Southerners continued to hope for victory in 1864, but military and political events caused those hopes to fade.

Reading Focus

• What tactics did Grant use against Lee to change the course of the war?

• How did the election of 1864 affect Confederate hopes for victory in the Civil War?

• How did the actions of Sherman and Grant help bring the war to an end?

Grant versus Lee

• General Ulysses S. Grant

– Lincoln gave him command of Union armies in March 1864, and Grant made William Tecumseh Sherman commander on the western front of the war.

– Grant wanted to take advantage of the Confederate shortages of men and supplies to end the war before the November election.

– Ordered Sherman to “get into the interior of the enemy’s country as far as you can and inflict all the damage you can against their war resources”

• General Robert E. Lee

– South could not win the war, but a new president might accept southern independence in return for peace.

– Lee planned to make the cost of fighting so high for the North that Lincoln would lose the upcoming election.

Fierce Fighting

During the Battle of Cold Harbor men pinned their names and addresses on uniforms for identification. With this loss and after failing to capture the rail center at Petersburg, Grant began a siege of that city to put pressure on Richmond.

Wilderness and

Spotsylvania

Grant kept his troops on the attack, winning the Battle of the Wilderness and pushing south. The Battle of Spotsylvania cost many casualties on both sides, but Grant continued toward Richmond.

Cold Harbor and

Petersburg

Meanwhile, Sherman won the Battle of Atlanta and laid siege to Atlanta’s defenses. He took the city after closing down the last railroad line, one month before the Union presidential elections.

Sherman on the move

Confederate Hopes Fade

Democrats nominated George McClellan and adopted a party platform calling for an immediate end to the war.

Southerners found new hope, but the Republicans tried to broaden Lincoln’s appeal by picking Tennessee’s Andrew Johnson for the ticket. Lincoln expected to lose the election.

Sherman’s capture of Atlanta allowed Lincoln to easily defeat McClellan. Congress passed the 13th Amendment ending slavery, and the war seemed nearly over to all but die-hard secessionists. Lincoln announced his intention to be forgiving, but the bloody war continued.

The War Comes to an End

Sherman’s March• After the election,

Sherman marched across Georgia in what came to be known as the March to the Sea.

• Sherman cut a swath of destruction 300 miles long and 50–60 miles wide.

• After taking Savannah, Sherman turned north through South Carolina, destroying civilian property all along the way.

The fall of Richmond• Lee only had 35,000

defenders at Petersburg, and they were low on supplies.

• Grant decided not to wait for Sherman’s troops.

• Instead, he broke through Lee’s defenses at Petersburg and went on to take Richmond.

• Lee tried to escape with his few remaining troops, but Grant blocked their way.

Surrender at Appomattox

Lee and Grant• With Union forces

surrounding them, Lee decided to surrender.

• Grant presented the terms of the surrender to Lee. Extremely generous for such a bloody conflict, Lee’s troops merely had to turn over their weapons and leave.

• Grant announced, “The war is over. The rebels are our countrymen again.”

The war is over• News of Lee’s surrender

brought joyful celebrations in the north.

• Lincoln requested “Dixie” be played at the White House.

• The last of the Confederate forces surrendered on May 26, 1865.

• Sadly, President Lincoln would not live to see the official end of the war.

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