The Civil War and Reconstruction

1. The Civil War and Reconstruction Unit 8, Section Two: The Events of the Civil War

2. Fort Sumter The first shots of the Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, located in Charleston Harbor. Federal soldiers had been surrounded by Confederate soldiers, and on April 12, 1861, Confederate forces fired on the Fort. The Union soldiers surrendered and the war began. The next day, President Lincoln called for 75,000 Northern volunteers to put down the rebellion, which caused Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina to secede from the Union.

4. A Call to Arms Once the war officially began, thousands of Texans answered the Confederate call for volunteers. Even many Unionists began to support the war. By the end of 1861, over 25,000 Texans were in the Confederate army. Texas troops joined regiments from their hometowns or counties, and the units took the names of those who organized them. For example, Terry’s Texas Rangers was a group of soldiers organized by B.F. Terry, and that regiment fought in battles throughout the Civil War.

5. Reunion of surviving Terry’s Texas Rangers in Austin, Texas at a Monument to Civil War Veterans!

6. Hood’s Texas Brigade Another fighting force from Texas that was significant in the Civil War was John Bell Hood’s Texas Brigade. Hood’s Brigade fought at Gettysburg and during the Seven Day’s Campaign. Of course, you have heard his name before. Fort Hood in Killeen is named for John Bell Hood.

7. Important Texans in Government Texans were not just helping the fight on the battle field. Many Texans were important members of the new Confederate government. The Confederacy elected a president named Jefferson Davis, and many Texans served in his cabinet. John Reagan, from Palestine, Texas, served as the Postmaster General for President Davis, and Francis Lubbock was the personal assistant to President Davis during the war. Of course, Francis Lubbock was also known for being the ninth governor of Texas. Lubbock, Texas is named for his brother, Thomas, who was a Texas Ranger and soldier during the Civil War.

8. Lawrence Sullivan “Sul” Ross • He served as the 19th governor of Texas. He was a Confederate Army general during the Civil War and later the president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, now called Texas A&M University.

10. Getting Ready for War Most Texas troops were poor and ill-equipped for war. They needed all the supplies they could get. To get some supplies, Confederate troops surrounded Texas military bases, where all the U.S. officers quickly surrendered. Without a shot fired, the Confederacy confiscated over $1 million worth of military supplies. Texans also began opening factories to create weapons and ammunition.

11. Northern Advantages The North had many advantages over the South. First, they had a larger population, so they could recruit more soldiers to fight. Because they had more railroads, they could move troops and supplies more easily. They also had more factories with which to produce weapons and supplies, and an established national government ready to conduct and fund the war effort.

12. Southern Advantages The South had advantages of their own. They had many experienced war leaders who fought in the Texas Revolution and Mexican War. Also, many southerners were experienced at riding horses and using guns, since so much of the south was considered frontier. By the end of 1861, two thirds of the Texans in the Confederate army served as part of the cavalry. Texans were considered fierce and brave soldiers.

13. Confederate Plan for War The Confederacy planned to stay on the defensive and wear down the Union’s will to fight, since they felt that the South had more to fight for than the North. They believed that they could rely on getting extra supplies from foreign countries in Europe, especially Great Britain.

14. Northern Plan for War The Union planned on using a naval blockade to cut off the Southern seaports and keep them from receiving supplies from other countries. They also planned to take control of the Mississippi River so that it would cut the Confederacy in two and separate the food producing states of Texas and Arkansas from the rest of the South. Finally, they planned to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.

16. Major Battles Away from Texas Most of the major battles of the Civil War took place east of the Mississippi River. Important battles occurred at Richmond, Bull Run, Antietam, Vicksburg, along the Mississippi River Valley, and at Gettysburg (which was the beginning of the Confederacy’s defeat). Eventually, the North did succeed in splitting the Confederacy into two parts, making it difficult from supplies to be passed from West to East.

17. The New Mexico Campaign – Battle of Glorieta Pass While most Texas soldiers fought in the Eastern United States during the war, some fought closer to home in the New Mexico Territory. General Henry H. Sibley took three Texas regiments to seize the southwest – from New Mexico to California – for the Confederacy. They hoped to profit from numerous gold and silver mines. They had several battles in New Mexico against Union soldiers, but were eventually forced back to Texas after the lost Battle of Glorieta Pass on March 28, 1862, weakened by diseases and lack of food and water. The Union then had control of the southwest for the rest of the war.

18. Fighting at Galveston Island In an effort to cripple southern forces, the Union Army attempted to blockade the Texas Gulf Coast. They then tried to capture the Texas port of Galveston Harbor in the summer of 1862. To protect their ships and fight against northern forces, Commanders John Magruder and Thomas Green ordered the confederate soldiers to line some steamboats with cotton bales, making them in gunboats, later called cottonclads! This helped to protect the riflemen on board. The boats – the Neptune and the Bayou City – were able to hold off Union attacks and the Confederates were able to keep Galveston.

20. The Battle of Sabine Pass The Union did not want to leave Galveston in Confederate hands. Union soldiers planned to invade Texas along Sabine Pass, then march to Houston and capture Galveston. There were only 45 soldiers guarding Sabine Pass at Fort Griffin, and they were attacked by about 4,000 Union soldiers on September 8, 1863. The Confederate soldiers fought hard and won the Battle of Sabine Pass. The Union soldiers retreated, but the South captured 300 northern soldiers before their escape. This battle helped the South regain some confidence lost in previous battles.

21. Lieutenant Richard Dowling was the charge of the 45 Confederate soldiers that defeated Union forces at Sabine Pass. Almost all 45 men were Irish Texans.

22. The Coast and South Texas Two months after the Battle of Sabine Pass, the North attempted again to attack Texas and cut off their trade with Mexico. Union forces captured Brownsville in November of 1863, then Matagorda Island, Indianola, and the Rio Grande City. After Union troops in Brownsville were called back to fight elsewhere, the border town was quickly recaptured by the South.

23. The Red River Campaign The reason the Union troops left Brownsville was so they could take part in the Red River Campaign. The Union planned on invading northern Texas by sailing along the Red River in the spring, when the river was deep enough for boats. On April 8, 1864, nine thousand Confederate soldiers met over 27,000 Union men along the banks of the Red River, close to Louisiana. Amazingly, the Confederate forces pushed back the northern men, sending them retreating back towards Arkansas!

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25. The Wartime Economy Texas probably suffered less than any other Confederate state because of our distance from the heart of the war. Still, the Civil War period was not an easy time for Texans. Texans dealt with shortages of medicine, foods, and supplies because those items were more needed by fighting soldiers. Women and children ran the farms and plantations while the men went off to war. Crop production increased in Texas in order to meet the demand of the Confederate army.

26. The Draft Though thousands of men volunteered at the beginning of the war, more were needed. In April of 1862, the Confederate Congress passed a draft, or requirement of military service. All white males between the ages of 18 to 35 had to serve. Later, it was broadened to the ages of 17 to 50. Still, there were loopholes. Men with certain jobs were exempt. You could also buy your way out or provide the army with a substitute. Many often complained that the conflict was a “rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight.”

27. Unionists in Texas After the draft was passed, many Unionists refused to fight for either side. Often, German Texans and Mexican Americans remained neutral, but were forced to flee Texas to avoid the draft. Some Unionists were considered traitors to the Southern cause. Many areas with a large Unionist population were placed under martial law, or rule by the military, and many Unionists were attacked for their beliefs.

28. Unionists Conflicts in North Texas There was a large population of Unionists in North Texas. In October of 1862, 150 suspected Unionists were arrested and tried by Confederate soldiers in an unauthorized court. By the end, a mob of angry Texans took over and 40 of the suspected Unionists were hanged in Gainesville, Texas. Many men in nearby counties were also killed.

29. The End of the Civil War After the Battle of Gettysburg and the fall of Vicksburg in July of 1863, Union forces headed south. From that point on, the Confederate army was mostly on the defensive and greatly outnumbered. In April of 1865, the Union army surrounded Confederate General Lee’s army near the town of Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia. With no options left, Lee surrendered to Union terms on April 9, 1865, ending the American Civil War.

31. Battle at Palmito Ranch The end of the war reached Confederate troops in Brownsville, Texas by May of 1865. Hundreds of soldiers headed home, but many were urged to stay and continue to fight. On May 12th, Union troops moved to occupy Brownsville, but the Southern troops attempted to defend their stance outside of Brownsville at the Battle of Palmito Ranch. The Confederates won, capturing more than 100 Union troops. It was the last land battle of the Civil War and a Confederate win, but the South had already lost the war.

32. Consequences of the War – Loss of Life Over 620,000 Americans lost their lives in the Civil War, making it the deadliest conflict in U.S. history. About 90,000 Texans served, and thousands were killed or wounded. Many who survived suffered serious injuries, such as the loss of an arm or leg.

33. Consequences of the War – The Economy Though very few of the Civil War battles were fought in Texas, the economy was left devastated. Due to the war, the cotton trade had nearly stopped. The deaths of so many men placed hardships on businesses, farms, and plantations. Many Texas politicians fled to Mexico for fear of being prosecuted, and so the government collapsed. No one knew who would keep order. It took many months for Union forces to come in and restore order.

35. Slavery in Texas after the Civil War Most of the slaves in Texas did not want the south to win, as the saw the war as a battle over slavery. In 1863, before the end of the war, President Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation. It stated that slaves were free in the Confederacy, and as the Union army advanced into Confederate states, slaves were freed. Still, the 250,000 freed slaves in Texas were uncertain about what would happen next.