The Civil War

1. The Civil War April, 1861 – April/June, 1865

2. ENTRY #13 • To Secede, or not to Secede…that is the Question. Look back at your notes and at Chapter 6... Come up with two or three reasons why SC and six other states SHOULD have seceded. Then come up with two to three reasons why they SHOULD NOT have seceded. Finally, pick a side and say which arguement(s) made you decide for or against secession.

3. The Civil War April, 1861 – April/June, 1865

4. The Confederacy Forms South Carolina secedes in December, 1860, after the Election of Lincoln Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida secede (leave the Union) in February, 1861, forming the Confederate States of America, complete with a new constitution.

5. Fort Sumter After the South Carolina militia fires on Ft. Sumter (April 12, 1861), four more states - Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina - secede from the Union. (Note: the western part of Virginia chooses not to secede, and WVa. is born – a state in 1863) President Lincoln calls for 75,000 volunteers to fight the Confederacy’s “insurrection.” The Civil War has begun.

6. Union Confederacy Advantages More people (22 million vs. 5.5 million free southerners) More Industry, food supplies, and transportation – the Union controlled more than 85% of US manufacturing, 65% of US farmland, and 70% of the railroads. More firearms and supplies of coal and iron A small, but well-organized, Navy A strong, well-established central government (vs. south’s tradition of states’ rights) Able military leaders (especially Robert E. Lee) They are fighting a defensive battle, whereas the Union would have to conquer an area as large as Western Europe. High troop morale- fighting for a cause, for its survival Shorter supply lines

7. The South’s Plan Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis’ plan was to strike quickly and decisively in an effort to do enough damage to erode the Union’s will to fight. Use their cotton to assist their diplomatic efforts to get foreign support for their “war of independence”..

8. Union Strategy: The Anaconda Plan The Anaconda plan, devised by Union general-in-chief, Winfield Scott, has two parts: 1. Use the Navy to blockade Southern ports and cut off essential supplies 2. Capture the Mississippi River, and divide the Confederacy in half. -Basically to strangle the Confederacy like a snake. Opponents to the Anaconda plan favored immediately raising and training an army of 500,000 to take Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia quickly and decisively.

9. Bull Run (a.k.a. Manassas) July, 1861 First true battle of the Civil War 30,000 Union forces march from Washington, DC to attack Confederate forces near Manassas, Va. A surprising Confederate victory, which ends the illusion that this will be a short war and promotes the myth of rebel invincibility in battle Union troops return to Washington in panicky and disorderly retreat

10. Monitor v. Merrimack (the Virginia)March, 1862 First fight between two iron clad war ships. Ended in a draw. So what?

11. Shiloh April, 1862 Bloodiest Battle to date 25,000 people die in 2 days (in the American Revolution 4,500 died) Union Victory (sort of) Commanded by General Grant, who is leading the North’s campaign for control of the Mississippi River

12. AntietamSeptember, 1862 Union general finds Lee’s battle plan to invade the north and Union army intercepts Confederate forces at Antietam Creek in Sharpsburg, Maryland 23,000 dead in 1 day-the bloodiest day of the war Lee retreats to Virginia, but Union army (led by General George McClellan) fails to pursue his weakened army

13. FredericksburgDecember, 1862 Battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862…Burnside's strategy depended upon an unopposed crossing of the Rappahannock. Tired of General McClellan’s caution and inaction, Lincoln replaces McClellan with Ambrose Burnside, who quickly attacks Lee’s Army at Fredericksburg, Virginia A huge Union loss

14. Stalemate The first two years of the war end in a bloody stalemate; during this time period victory for either side seemed equally possible.

15. The Civil War Part 2: 1863-1865 The Union Push

16. The Emancipation Proclamation Lincoln is looking for a way to both hurt the South and to isolate them diplomatically. He wants to emancipate the slaves but he needs a victory to do it or else he looks weak. Antietam is this victory

17. The Emancipation ProclamationJanuary 1, 1863 This proclamation frees (in the eyes of the Union) all of the slaves in areas under control of the Confederacy as of January 1, 1863 (but not in lands already under Union control), as those lands are taken by the Union. Was partly a diplomatic move, further convincing Great Britain and France to stay out of the war. To northerners, redefined the war as about slavery….to the south, it ended the possibility of negotiations to end the war By War’s end more than 180,000 freed African American volunteers will serve in the Union military

18. VicksburgSpring, 1863 In pursuing the Anaconda plan, Grant besieges Vicksburg in order to gain control of the full length of the Mississippi River On July 4, after 7 weeks of siege and bombardment, the defenders, starving, surrender the city and 29,000 soldiers. Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas are cut off from the rest of the Confederacy.

19. GettysburgJuly 1-3, 1863 The turning point of the war in the East Lee goes on the offensive again and invades Pennsylvania at Gettysburg Over three days Robert E. Lee is defeated, a good part of the Confederate army is destroyed, and Lee retreats to Va. He will never again have the strength to invade the North. Bloodiest battle of the War – 50,000 casualties

20. The Gettysburg Address November 19, 1863 Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. Source: Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, edited by Roy P. Basler. The text above is from the so-called "Bliss Copy," one of several versions which Lincoln wrote, and believed to be the final version. For additional versions, you may search The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln through the courtesy of the Abraham Lincoln Association.

21. Ulysses S. Grant A complete failure as a Civilian and a drunk… But man respected by his soldiers, and a man who has won battles In early 1864, Lincoln makes him the 4th man to serve as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Grant will fight a war of attrition and simply outlast Lee’s army

22. Total War Definition: a war in which every available weapon is used and the nation's full financial and physical resources are mobilized, or devoted to the war effort A war against civilian, as well as military, targets in order to weaken the enemy’s will to fight and economy as much as their armies Grant’s leadership will include a strategy of waging total war

23. Sherman’s March to the Sea In May, 1864, William Tecumsah Sherman and 100,000 troops march from Chattanooga, Tenn., through the state of Georgia, to the sea. Goal: A campaign of deliberate destruction, meant to break the South’s will and capability to fight. They destroy everything in their path, burning Atlanta to the ground in September, entering Savannah in December, and finishing the campaign in February by setting fire to the city of Columbia, SC (capital of SC and cradle of the Confederacy)

24. Sherman’s march destroys much of the South's physical and psychological capacity to wage war. Sherman's men destroying a railroad in Atlanta

25. Grant Heads Toward Richmond Meanwhile, in the East, Grant leads Union forces against Lee’s army in a series of horrifying and ferocious battles. His ultimate goal: Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate Capital. Petersburg is the last Confederate stand between Grant’s forces and Richmond…The Siege of Petersburg Through months of heavy losses on both sides and along 30 miles of entrenched lines, the Union finally forces Lee to retreat, abandoning both Petersburg and Richmond on April 2, 1865 (Richmond is set aflame by retreating Confederates)

26. Richmond–Petersburg Campaign A series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not a classic military siege, in which a city is usually surrounded and all supply lines are cut off, nor was it strictly limited to actions against Petersburg. The campaign was nine months of trench warfare in which Union forces commanded by Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assaulted Petersburg unsuccessfully and then constructed trench lines that eventually extended over 30 miles from the eastern outskirts of Richmond, Virginia, to around the eastern and southern outskirts of Petersburg. Petersburg was crucial to the supply of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's army and the Confederate capital of Richmond. Numerous raids were conducted and battles fought in attempts to cut off the railroad supply lines through Petersburg to Richmond, and many of these caused the lengthening of the trench lines, overloading dwindling Confederate resources. - Wikipedia, Siege of Petersburg

27. Appomatox Court House April 9, 1865 Robert E. Lee surrenders to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia 170,000 Confederate troops are still fighting throughout the south, and it will take until June for the last of the Confederate generals to surrender

28. While enjoying a celebratory night at the theater, Lincoln is assassinated on April 14, 1865, a month after his Second Inauguration and five days after Lee’s surrender. He will not live to see the ratification of The Thirteenth Amendment, outlawing slavery in the United States in December, 1865.

29. New form of ammunition- The Minie Ball, which was easier/faster to load, and which expanded under pressure to fill the rifle’s grooves Improvement of range and accuracy of small arms and cannon through Rifling - the process of making grooves in the barrel of a gun or firearm, which imparts a spin to a projectile, thus increasing its distance, as well as the accuracy of the weapon. 19th century weaponry meets 18th century fields tactics…a disaster

30. The Gatling Gun While it was not used widely, the Civil War did test the Gatling Gun, the first true machine gun successfully used in warfare

31. Disease often resulted from Unsanitary Conditions in Camps, Hospitals, and Prison Camps Women and children often joined their husbands/dads in camps, doing laundry and cooking meals Women added to the war effort by providing medical care for injured soldiers…One such woman, Clara Barton, will go on to found the American Red Cross

32. ENTRY # 14 Look back at your notes and create a Timeline of the six most important events of the Civil War. Explain how each event is a turning point.

33. On the Homefront

34. How are Things Changing?In the Union… Industrialization in the increases to meet war demands The first income tax The first conscription (draft) The first draft riot The sale of bonds and issuance of paper currency

35. Civil Rights Many people do not support the war, such as the “Peace Democrats” (aka “Copperheads”) Lincoln suspends the right of Habeas Corpus. Now he can jail people “suspected of disloyalty to the Union” without a specific reason and for almost any period of time.

36. The Homestead Act, 1862 The Homestead Act encourages the farming of the Great Plains by making land available at Very Low Prices – first 160 acres free, if the Homesteader lived on the land for 5 years and made improvements to the land. Daniel Freeman's Homestead Application, Proof of Improvements, and Certificate of Eligibility

37. In the South The Anaconda plan brings about hardship for the South. The blockade quickly destroys the southern economy. The South is forced to depend on their own farms and factories for food and supplies, made more difficult by the waging of war nearby Southern wealth has been wrapped up in slaves and land. Without markets for cash crops, these assets are useless Inflation makes matters worse Confederate leadership faces criticism for conscription, private property seizure, and suspension of habeas corpus