UNIT 7: MILITARY CONFLICT

1. UNIT 7: MILITARY CONFLICT LESSON 7.5: THE CIVIL WAR Part 3: The Early Stages

2. Warm up • What do you know about the Emancipation Proclamation?

3. Introduction • Both the North and the South developed strategies to win the Civil War. Both sides, however, experienced military setbacks and high casualties early in the war. President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and put ending slavery at the heart of the Union war effort.

4. The First Battle of Bull Run • In the early days of the Civil War, Lincoln was under pressure to strike quickly against the South to end the conflict. • At Bull Run in northern Virginia, a Union attack on Confederate forces at first seemed to go well. • Then, Confederate reinforcements, led by Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, arrived • Union General McDowell decided to fall back. His retreat quickly turned to panic. • The Union defeat at Bull Run made it clear that the North needed a large, well-trained army to defeat the South!

5. Mobilizing the Troops • Excitement about the war inspired many Northerners and Southerners to enlist. • However, as the war dragged on, and more casualties occurred, fewer men enlisted. • This forced both sides to turn to conscription. • In 1862 the South began its draft for all white men between the ages of 18-35. • Exemptions were made for government workers, teachers, and planters with at least 20 slaves. • The North tried to enlist men by offering a bounty, or sum of money as a bonus to people who signed for up to three years. • Congress passed the Militia Act in 1862 empowering Lincoln to call up the state militias into federal service. • In 1863, Congress introduced the national draft.

6. The Naval War • President Lincoln wanted to blockade all Confederate ports to hurt the South’s economy. By early 1862, the Union navy had blockaded all ports on the Atlantic coast except Charleston, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina. • Union ships found it difficult to stop all the blockade runners- or small fast ships- that the South used to smuggle goods past the Union blockade. • These ships allowed some of its cotton to reach Europe in exchange for supplies to fight.

7. The Naval War • The south also attacked Northern merchant ships with warships. Two of the warships had been built by Britain. The damage done by these ships strained relations between the USA and Great Britain. • As its ships closed Southern ports, the Union began to prepare to take over New Orleans to control the southern Mississippi river. • In April, 1862, David Farragut led Union forces and bombarded Confederate forts in the lower Mississippi river. He then captured New Orleans.

8. The War in the West • The Union was victorious in several battles in the west. Union General Grant seized Fort Henry and Fort Donelson on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. • This put Kentucky and most of western Tennessee under Union control. • Grant continued down the Tennessee to attack Corinth, Mississippi. Confederate troops attacked Grants forces at Shiloh. Grant turns the surprise attack into a Union victory when he mounted an offensive and forced the Confederates to retreat. The battle resulted in heavy casualties. • Lincoln: “I cannot spare this man; he fights!”

9. The War in the West • Confederate General Braxton Bragg and his troops attempted to invade Kentucky. • Union General Buell stopped them at Perryville. Lincoln then ordered Buell to capture Chattanooga and cut off the railroad there. • This would deprive Confederate Forces of vital food supplies. • Buell’s slow progress caused Lincoln to replace him with General Rosecrans. • Braggs forces attacked near Murfreesboro, but when reinforcements arrived, Bragg retreated.

10. The War in the East • Union General McClellan launched the Peninsular Campaign to take Richmond. • McClellan advanced cautiously and allowed his troops to separate, giving General Johnston’s Confederate forces the chance to attack and cause heavy casualties. • Robert E. Lee attacked the Union army in the Seven Days Battle, forcing a Union retreat.

11. The Battle of Antietam • Lee’s forces then attacked Union army defending Washington, leading to the Second Battle of Bull Run. • Lee’s army then crossed into Maryland. • McClellan’s troops took position at Antietam Creek

12. The Battle of Antietam • Antietam was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War up to that point. • A Confederate defeat convinced Lincoln that it was time to end slavery in order to justify the amount of human loss. • 5 days later, he announced that the Emancipation Proclamation would free all enslaved persons in states of rebellion. • This turned the Civil War from a war to preserve the Union, to a war of liberation!

13. Activity • First Battle of Bull Run • Emancipation Proclamation “Primary Source Doc”

14. reflection • In your Journal, summarize what you have learned about the early stages of the Civil War. • What was the significance of the first Battle of Bull Run? • How did the battle of Shiloh influence general grants reputation? • Why did lee decide to invade the north? • What is the significance of the Battle of Antietam?