The War to Manassas

1. The War to Manassas Mr. White’s US 1 History Class

2. Union Advantages • More people and men • More factories and production • Controlled the Atlantic Ocean – naval power

3. Confederate Advantages • Only had to fight a defensive war; didn’t have to “win” the war, had to not lose • Better generals in the right positions, at the start • Soldiers were more accustomed to campaigning

4. Union Strategy – Anaconda Plan • Capture Richmond, Virginia – capital of the Confederacy • Control the Mississippi River and split Confederacy into two parts • Control the oceans and ports so that South couldn’t export cotton

6. Confederate Strategy • Mostly defensive in nature; defend territory • Attack when necessary • Sometimes they got a little too aggressive and attacked when they shouldn’t have

7. First Manassas/First Bull Run • First major battle of the war • Union troops left Washington, D.C., and met Confederate forces at Manassas • Many people came to the battle and tried to get a good view, some picnicked, thought it would be fun • Bloody battle; Confederate victory • Many knew the war would not be short, now

8. Union Victories in the Western Theater • Ulysses S. Grant - captures Forts Henry and Donelson along the Mississippi • Battle of Shiloh - bloody battle, again U.S. Grant • David G. Farragut - captures Baton Rouge and Natchez, closing in on New Orleans

9. George McClellan • Commander of the Union forces in 1861 and 1862 is George McClellan • Very good planner and army-builder – trains the men well • Reluctant to attack – Lincoln has to threaten him many times to get him moving

10. Peninsula Campaign • McClellan finally gets moving in March of 1862 • Attacks up the Virginia Peninsula, headed for Richmond • McClellan is cautious; always thinks he is outnumbered, and doesn’t attack • When Robert E. Lee takes command of Confederates, he pushes McClellan back off the Peninsula • Campaign is a failure – McClellan is fired

11. Confederate Invasion • Robert E. Lee is in command of the South; after winning at Peninsula, Lee decides to invade the North • Decides to go through Maryland • Thinks that Marylanders will rise up in support of the South • Wants to live off the Northern soil for a while • A victory in the North could end the war

12. Before Antietam • As Lee invades the North, McClellan actually captures a copy of Lee’s orders for movement – McClellan knows exactly where Lee’s men are • Still moves slowly! • McClellan at first thinks it might be a trick, but finally starts moving

13. Antietam • Union corners Lee at Antietam creek • McClellan still cautious, but manages to defeat Lee – doesn’t take advantage of the victory • Lee is forced to retreat back into the south

14. Emancipation Proclamation • Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation after the victory at Antietam • Frees slaves in any areas in rebellion after January 1st, 1863 • Does not free slaves in states not in rebellion (why?)

15. Effects of Emancipation Proclamation • War now takes on a moral tone for the North – before it was simply to restore the Union, now it will be to end slavery, as well • Other nations such as England and France will not enter a war to defend slavery • If Union wins, slavery will be ended, forever.

16. After Antietam • McClellan is again fired, then replaced by Ambrose Burnside, then Joe Hooker. • Both of these generals fail, and the Union has spent the first three years of the war trying to find a capable general

17. Lee’s Second Invasion • After some victories in early 1863 by the Confederacy, Lee decides to invade the North again, this time Pennsylvania • The Confederate and Union armies converge around a town called Gettysburg, Pennsylvania • General George Meade takes command of the Union armies

18. Gettysburg • First day – Lee’s men push Union troops back through the town and the Union forms defensive lines • Second day – Lee attacks the Union line on the sides, but the lines hold • Third day – Lee attacks the Union in the center, but the Union lines hold • Lee has been defeated; must retreat back into Virginia

19. Results • Lee’s army is badly damaged, and morale begins to drop • Meade, even though he did well at Gettysburg, is replaced by General Ulysses S. Grant • War will go on for two more years, but tide has turned for the Union

20. In the West • Vicksburg captured on the Mississippi by Grant (before he commands the Union) • General William Tecumseh Sherman marches his army through Georgia and South Carolina, destroying the South’s will to fight

21. Gettysburg Address • Ceremony was held to dedicate the cemetery in Gettysburg a few months after the battle • Lincoln spoke for two minutes (the main speaker spoke for two hours), but his speech is better remembered • Some say that Lincoln’s speech “remade” America

22. Confederacy Wears Down • Many soldiers start going home to help their families – lack of food, nobody to work • Confederate states didn’t work well together • Small peace movement starts in the Confederacy

23. Grant vs. Lee • Grant and Lee face off in Virginia • Grant’s strategy was to hold Lee’s army in place and continuously attack him; don’t let him maneuver • Lee’s army can’t sustain the large number of casualties that it takes now

24. Election of 1864 • Lincoln runs for re-election; McClellan runs for president as a Democrat • McClellan promises to work for peace with the Confederacy • Lincoln thinks he will lose the election, but doesn’t, and is re-elected President

25. Lee’s Surrender and the End of the War • Grant and Lee fight through trench warfare for several months • Lee finally decides to surrender his army • Lee Surrenders to Grant at Appomattox • War is over!