Battles of the Civil War

1. Battles of the Civil War

2. Great Bull: A Great Awakening The Union’s war strategy had three steps: • Surround the South by land and sea to cut off its trade 2. Divide the Confederacy into sections so they could not help each other 3. Capture Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy and destroy the rebel government

3. Bull Run • In July of 1861, Union troops met in Washington to march to Richmond. They expected an easy victory. • The Confederates had been warned about the Union’s attack by Rose Greenhow, a spy. (She smuggled the message inside a little girl’s curls.)

4. Bull Run • At first, Union victory seemed certain. But Confederates refused to give way. • They said General Jackson and his Virginian army stood like a stone wall. Giving the nickname “Stonewall Jackson.” • Jackson urged his men to let out a rebel yell, which unnerved inexperienced Union soldiers.

5. Battle of Bull Run • The Battle of Bull Run was a smashing victory for the South. For the North, it was a shocking blow. • Lincoln and his generals now realized that ending the rebellion would be neither quick nor easy.

6. Women in the War • In both the North and the South, as men went off to war, women to their places on the home front. • Women worked in factories, nurses, teachers, government workers.

7. Women in War Women also served the military as: • Messengers • Smugglers • Spies • Guides • nurses

8. Civil War Battles In 1861, the Union navy launched it blockade of southern ports. The Confederacy asked Britain to help protecting its ships. The British refused. As a result, the South could not export its cotton to Europe nor import much needed supplies.

9. Battle of Antietam • In September of 1862, General Robert E. Lee did the unexpected. He sent his troops across the Potomac River into Maryland.

10. Battle of Antietam General Lee hoped that a victory might persuade Maryland to join the Confederacy.

11. Battle of Antietam • All day long, the Union’s troops led by General McClellan pounded Lee’s badly outnumbered troops.

12. Battle of Antietam Although Antietam was a Union victory, the battle was the deadliest battle of the war Union: 70,00 troops 2,100 killed 10,300 wounded Confederates: 52,000 troops 2,770 killed 11,000 wounded

13. The New Realities of War • During the Civil War, improved weapons made killing from a distance much easier • Unfortunately, medical care was not as advanced as weaponry.

14. The New Realities of War • Doctors had no understanding of how infections spread. • Surgeons did not wash their hands between patients • Far more soldiers died of disease and infection than from battle

15. Battle of Gettysburg- The Emancipation Proclamation: On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln declared slaves in all Confederate states to be free.

16. The Draft By 1862, both sides had run out of soldiers. The Confederacy and the Union passed draft laws. Under both laws, a drafted man could avoid the army by paying a substitute to take his place.

17. Battle of Vicksburg • Vicksburg, Mississippi sat high on a bluff in a hairpin turn of the Mississippi River The South could easily defend it with a few well placed cannons. An army, on foot, would be needed to attack Vicksburg

18. Battle of VicksburgGeneral Grant and the Union troops battled for six weeks before finally taking control of Vicksburg • In May of 1863, General Grant battled his way to Vicksburg. The North wanted to seize control the Mississippi River. • For six weeks, the two armies battled over control of the city.

19. Battle of Vicksburg • Low on food and supplies, Vicksburg surrendered. • The Mississippi was a Union waterway and the South was divided

20. Problems on the Confederate Home FrontAs the war raged on, life in the south became grimImported good disappeared from stores and crops could not be sold

21. Problems on the Confederate Home Front • Invading Union armies destroyed crops so the people of the south often went hungry. • Northern troops cut railroad lines, making it difficult to move food and supplies

22. Problems on the Confederate Home Front By 1864, southern troops were receiving letters with pleas from their families: “We have nothing in the house to eat. I don’t want you to stop fighting those Yankees….but try and get off and come home and fix us all up some….” It was hard to ignore such pleas. Many soldiers deserted the army and went home.

23. Fort Wagner: African Americans Join the War • In 1862, Congress voted to allow African Americans to join the Union army • About 180,000 African Americans joined. Many had been former slaves.

24. African Americans Join the War The 54th Massachusetts Regiment Massachusetts was one of the first states to organize a black regiment

25. African American After three months Of training, they were sent to South Carolina to take part in an attack on Fort Wagner

26. African Americans in the War The assault of Fort Wagner was an impossible mission. To reach the fort, troops had to cross 200 yards of open beach. Nearly half of the 54th regiment was killed

27. African Americans in the War • Black soldiers often received little training, poor equipment, and less pay than white soldiers. • If captured, they risked death or enslavement

28. Total War • General Grant believed: “The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard and as often as you can, and then keep moving.”

29. Total War In May, 1863, Grant invaded Virginia with a force of more than 100,000 men After clashing with Lee’s troops, he lost more than 18,00 men in two days of battle

30. Total War • By the time his forces reached Petersburg, VA, Grant’s losses equaled Lee’s entire army • The difference was that Grant had reinforcements and Lee did not

31. Total War • General Sherman left Tennessee for Georgia with orders to “inflict all the damage you can against their war resources.” • The Union trooped destroyed crops, killed livestock, burned homes, and ripped up railroad lines

32. Total War • After burning Atlanta, Sherman marched his army towards Savannah. • He promised to “make Georgia howl.”

33. Total War • As they marched through Georgia, Sherman’s troops destroyed everything they found of value: • Fields were trampled or burned • Houses were robbed • Hay and food supplies were burned • Roads were lined with dead horses, hogs and cattle that they could not carry away

34. The End at Appomattox • For nine months, Grant’s forces battled Lee for control of Richmond. • On April 2, 1865, Union troops finally broke the Confederate line and marched into Richmond

35. The End at Appomattox • Grant’s soldiers quickly moved to surround Lee’s army. • General Lee told his officers, • “There is nothing left for me to do but go and see General Grant, and I would rather die a thousand deaths.”

36. The End at Appomattox • On April 9, 1865, General Lee, in full dress uniform arrived in the village of Appomatox Courthouse to surrender to Grant

37. The End at Appamatox Grant’s terms of surrender were generous: • Confederate soldiers could go home if they promised to no longer fight 2. Confederate soldiers could take their horses and mules home with them for spring plowing

38. End at Appamattox • Confederate officers could keep their sword and weapons • Grant ordered food sent to Lee’s starving army

39. End at Appamattox As General Lee returned to his headquarters, Unions troops began to shoot their guns and cheer wildly! General Grant ordered his troops to stop, saying, “The war is over. The rebels are our countrymen again!”