The Civil War 1861 – 1865

1. The Civil War1861–1865

2. The “Anaconda Plan” The Union’s strategy: • Naval blockade from Louisiana to Virginia • Control of the Mississippi River • Capture Richmond, the Confederate capital Confederate strategy: fight a defensive war to protect themselves from attack Cartoon about the “Anaconda Plan”

3. Advantages & Disadvantages: The Union Advantages: • Industry and railroads • Larger population • Established government • Strong political leadership (Lincoln) Disadvantages: • Offensive war • Lack of skilled military leaders • Long supply lines A Massachusetts factory

4. Advantages & Disadvantages: The Confederacy Advantages: • Defensive war on home turf • Motivated to protect their way of life • Strong military tradition and outstanding leaders Disadvantages: • Weak economy • Smaller population • Fewer railroad and telegraph lines Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson

5. War Aims: North and South • The North: At first - to preserve the Union • The South: protecting the idea of states’ rights, as well as protecting the South from “Northern aggression” Abraham Lincoln Jefferson Davis

6. Recruiting Soldiers • Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers for three months’ enlistment • Response was overwhelming • Union also encouraged enlistment with bounties • Both sides thought the war would end quickly New Yorkers line up to enlist

7. Bull Run (First Manassas) • First major battle of Civil War • About 25 miles from Washington, D.C. • “Stonewall” Jackson became famous for standing like a “stonewall” • Confederate victory • Union troops flee back to Washington D.C. • Both sides realized they both needed more training Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson

8. Shiloh (War in the West) • Union forces led by Ulysses S. Grant who was trying to gain control of the Mississippi River • Confederate attack nearly wiped out Union forces on first day • Grant counterattacked the next day • Union victory • One of the war’s bloodiest battles A view of Shiloh after the battle

9. Ironclads • Confederates built the Merrimack from a sunken Union ship • Union quickly built the Monitor • Monitor and Merrimack fought to a draw in first battle between ironclads • Showed the development of naval technology in the Civil War A painting of the battle

10. New Technologies in Warfare • Minie ball • Submarine • Heavy artillery • Aerial reconnaissance • Gatling gun • Trench warfare • Led to numerous casualties and made a soldier’s life difficult and dangerous A Gatling gun

11. Lee Takes Command • Robert E. Lee takes command of Confederate army • Lee proves an able commander throughout the war Gen. Robert E. Lee

12. Antietam (Maryland) • Attempt by Lee to invade the North for the first time • Single bloodiest day in American history • Lincoln will issue the Emancipation Proclamation after this “victory”

13. Prelude to Emancipation • At first, Lincoln did not believe he had the authority to end slavery • However, every slave working on a plantation allowed a white Southerner to fight and helped the Confederate war effort • Lincoln saw emancipation as a strategic issue as well as a moral one Slaves on a South Carolina plantation, 1862

14. Advantages to Emancipation • Cause “union” in the North by linking the war to abolishing slavery • Cause disorder in the South as slaves were freed • Kept Britain out of the war Lincoln discussing emancipation with his cabinet

15. The Emancipation Proclamation • Lincoln announced proclamation after Antietam • Took effect on January 1, 1863 • Freed slaves only in “territories in rebellion” • No slaves were actually freed • Lincoln had to be cautious – concern about losing the resources of the border states A cartoon celebrating emancipation

16. Women Warriors and Heroes • Some women posed as men in order to fight • Many women served as nurses • Women also acted as spies for both the Union and the Confederacy

17. Manpower for the War • Mostly volunteer army at first • Draft laws were passed to sustain troop levels • In the North, draftees could hire substitutes or pay $300 to opt out • Wealthy plantation owners were also exempt from fighting • “A rich man’s war, but a poor man’s fight”

18. New York Draft Riots • July 1863 • Rioters mainly poor whites and Irish immigrants • Opposed to fighting a war to free slaves • More than 100 people killed • Northerners were also upset by the income tax passed to support the war Rioters loot a New York store

19. African American Enlistment • Congress allowed black enlistment in 1862 • 54th Massachusetts commanded by Colonel Shaw • Half of 54th killed in assault on Ft. Wagner • Helped spur further enlistment and showed the courage of black soldiers Col. Robert Gould Shaw Memorial to the 54th Massachusetts

20. Andersonville • Confederate POW camp in Georgia • 32,000 prisoners jammed into 26 acres • One-third of all prisoners died • Superintendent was executed as a war criminal

21. Civil War Medicine • Infection often deadlier than the wounds • Amputations more common • Anesthesia widely used • More soldiers died of disease than bullet wounds A surgeon at the Camp Letterman field hospital at Gettysburg prepares for an amputation

22. Chancellorsville, Virginia • Jackson’s forces surprised Union troops • Confederates won unlikely victory • Jackson hit by “friendly fire” and died a week later • Lee pressed on to Pennsylvania A painting of the battle

23. Impact of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania • Confederates lost 28,000men (one-third of army) • Union lost 23,000 men(one-quarter of army) • Town overwhelmed by dead and wounded soldiers • Lee unable to rebuild army • Turning point of the war – war will now go in favor of the Union • This is the farthest north the Confederates will ever get A Confederate soldier lies dead at “Devil’s Den”

24. Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi • Key to total Union control of the Mississippi River • Several attempts by Grant to take the city failed • Grant blockaded and bombarded the city for two months • Vicksburg fell on July 4, 1863 Union troops surround Vicksburg during the siege

25. The Gettysburg Address • Lincoln invited to attend cemetery dedication • At the time, Lincoln’s two-minute speech was considered great by some, a failure by others • “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…” The only known picture of Lincoln (lower center) at the Gettysburg Cemetery dedication

26. Sherman’s “March to the Sea” • Sherman sought to break the South’s ability to make war • Captured Atlanta in September 1864 • Led the March to the Sea from Atlanta to Savannah • Part of Grant’s plan for “total war” – destroy anything that could be used for war Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman

27. Lincoln’s Second Inaugural • Lincoln defeats McClellan in the election of 1864 • In his inaugural address he promises to heal the country and show “malice towards none”

28. Surrender at Appomattox • Lee realized his position was hopeless • Asked to meet with Grant • Met in Appomattox on April 9, 1865 • Lenient surrender terms An artist’s rendition of the meeting