1. HERITAGE OUTREACH PROGRAM
THE CIVIL WAR

2. OVERVIEW
The American Civil War was fought between 1861 and 1865, between the states of the North and South.
Battles were predominately fought by volunteer Citizen–Soldiers committed to defending their respective beliefs.
Next to the Revolutionary War, historians say the Civil War was the single most formative event in our nation’s history.

3. Union Casualties 110,070 combat related deaths
250,152 disease or other related deaths
360,222 total deaths

4. Confederate Casualties
94,000 combat related deaths
164,000 disease or other related deaths
258,000 total deaths

5. WHAT CAUSED THE WAR?
Slavery was a controversial issue in the political climate of the 1860s.
Abraham Lincoln was elected to the presidency in November on a platform that severely restricted the expansion of slavery. This deepened the nation’s political divide.
Following the election of Abraham Lincoln, the state of South Carolina seceded from the Union. Other states followed.

6. DID YOU KNOW... The Civil War began in April, 1861 at Fort Sumter.
The first volunteers were only enlisted for 90 days.
The Civil War lasted much longer than initially expected.
After Ft. Sumter was attacked, president Lincoln asked for 75,000 volunteers to help preserve the union. Gov. Andrew Curtin (the gov. of Pennsylvania) asked for 13,000 volunteers from Pennsylvania, within 3 days, thousands of men lined up at Harrisburg to join the army. With no where to send them, they decided to make a training site right in Harrisburg Pennsylvania and called it Camp Curtin after the Governor. With Harrisburg being centrally located and having trains run in north, south, east and west, it became one of the largest Union training sites, training over 300,000 Union Soldiers.
FIRST DEFENDERS: On the morning of the 12th of April, 1861, the Executive of Pennsylvania received a telegram in these words: "The war is commenced. The batteries began firing at four o'clock this morning. Major Anderson replied, and a brisk cannonading commenced. This is reliable and has just come to the Associated Press. The vessels were not in sight."* This startling intelligence, flashed along the lines of telegraph, across the Alleghenies, was soon heard in the remote corners of the Commonwealth. Threatnings and defiance, from Southern leaders, had long since ceased to intimidate; but when they fired upon the Flag, its import could not be mistaken. It meant war, and the appeal to arms was at once accepted by the masses of the North, however much they deprecated the alternative.
Three days later, on the 15th of April, the President of the United States issued his proclamation calling out the militia of the several States to the number of seventy-five thousand men. On the afternoon of the same day, the Secretary of War telegraphed to the Executive, that a call had been made on Pennsylvania for sixteen regiments. Two regiments were wanted within three days. A sudden dash upon the Capital was already strongly threatened. The city was entirely unprotected, and at the mercy of the assailants.
The President's call, accompanied by an appeal from the Executive, was telegraphed to every part of the Commonwealth, urging men to come forward, in companies and squads, with all possible dispatch, to the defence of the imperiled Capital. Aside from the city of Philadelphia, there were few militia companies fully armed and equipped; and of these, few contained even, the minimum number of (32) men. As the intelligence, of the appeal for men, spread through the towns and villages of the interior, the officers of the few organized companies, hastily called their men together, and tendered their services to the Governor.
Among the first thus promptly to respond, were the:
Ringgold Light Artillery, Captain M'Knight, of Reading; Logan Guards, Captain Selheimer, of Lewistown; Washington Artillery, Captain Wren, of Pottsville; National Light Infantry, Captain M'Donald, of Pottsville; and Allen Rifles, CaptainYeager, of Allentown.

7. Camp Curtin Named after Gov. Andrew Curtin
Railroad system in Harrisburg made it the logical choice
Largest Union training site in the Civil War
General Lee’s target after Gettysburg

8. MOBILIZATION OF THE MILITARY & INDUSTRY
After most of the militia in the North and South were on active duty, both sides turned to conscription. (Today known as the draft.)
The Civil War draft law was based on the legal obligation to serve in the military, with quotas for each state.
The sheer bulk of manufacturing needed to maintain armies had a significant impact on American industry and economy.

9. WHERE DID THE WAR TAKE PLACE?
The American Civil War took place in the United States.
Battles and skirmishes were fought in 30 separate states.
The battlefields were primarily located in Southern states.
Gettysburg-PA- (U-23,049), (C-28,063)
Chancellorsville- VA(U-17,278) (C-12,821)

10. WHO WERE THE POLITICAL LEADERS OF THE CIVIL WAR?
United States President was Abraham Lincoln.
Confederate States President was Jefferson Davis.
UNION PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN
CONFEDERATE PRESIDENT JEFFERSON DAVIS

11. WHO WERE THE MILITARY LEADERS?
The commanding general of the United States Army was Ulysses S. Grant.
The commanding general of the Confederate States Army was Robert E. Lee.
UNION GENERAL ULYSSES S. GRANT
CONFEDERATE GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE

12. THE SOUTH - CONFEDERACY
The Southern states were deeply rooted in agriculture and an old-fashioned aristocratic society.
One quarter of the twelve million people in the South were African–American slaves.
A relatively small number of landowners and businessmen owned the vast majority of the region’s wealth.

13. THE SOUTH - CONFEDERACY (CONT.)
The majority of people in the South lived near poverty as subsistence farmers or laborers.
The cotton and tobacco industries kept the South potent as an economic force.
Southern states staunchly supported the idea of states’ rights; this political belief stated that individual states had the legal right to override federal law and policy.

14. THE NORTH - UNION
The densely populated Northern states were highly industrialized, abounding with factories and extensive railroad networks.
In 1860, the monetary value of goods manufactured in New York City alone was greater than the total value of everything manufactured in all the Southern states.

15. THE NORTH - UNION (CONT.)
Several Northern states were strongly opposed to the institution of slavery.
Some Northerners were indifferent on the subject of slavery.
There was a strong sense of unity and loyalty to centralized government.

16. TACTICS & TECHNOLOGY
The Civil War was a time of amazing technological innovations in the area of rifled and repeating muskets, land mines, communications, transportation and medicine.
Tactics failed to keep up with the improvements in technology.
Battles were still fought on a linear battlefield with armies facing one another on opposite ends of the field.
The range and accuracy of the rifled muskets made fighting at close distance very deadly.

17. SOLDIER UNIFORMS - UNION
The uniform of the Union Soldier consisted of a dark blue wool coat and lighter blue wool trousers.
Union Soldiers were issued a black felt Hardee hat or forage cap.
The Union waist belt had a brass buckle emblazoned with US for United States and a small leather pouch designed to hold percussion caps to ignite the musket.
The ankle-high Brogan shoe was the standard issue footwear for Union Soldiers.

18. SOLDIER UNIFORMS - UNION
Eagle Breast Plate
Worn by the Union infantry on their shoulder straps
Usually worn on the strap of their cartridge box

19. SOLDIER UNIFORMS - CONFEDERATE
Confederate Soldiers wore wool jackets that were shell, sack or frock style; and commonly colored gray or butternut. Cadet gray uniforms were used primarily in the Army of Northern Virginia.
Shoes were hard to come by, and many Soldiers were forced to go barefoot.
Headgear of a Southern Soldier was more varied than even his uniform, consisting of the kepi style or variations of a wide brimmed felt or straw hat.

20. WEAPONRY OF THE WAR
.58 caliber model 1861 Springfield musket
The most common weapon used by Soldiers of the Civil War was the muzzle-loaded rifled musket.
For the Union it was the .58 caliber Model 1861 Springfield musket.
For the Confederates it was the .58 caliber Pattern 1853 British Enfield or a variety of CSA produced, US captured or personal weapons.
The cone shaped bullets fired by these muskets would look enormous by today’s standards.
Pattern 1853 British Enfield

21. WEAPONRY OF THE WAR
Rifling in the barrel would cause the bullet to spin like a football when it left the rifle
Bullet was much more accurate and could shoot further then its predecessors

22. WEAPONRY OF THE WAR Civil War hand grenade
Grenade would land on the plunger which would cause the grenade to activate

23. WEAPONRY OF THE WAR
Grape Shot was devastating to infantry units when it was fired upon them
Cannon would act as a large shot gun
Could also fire glass, rocks, wood, or anything else that could cause damage

24. EQUIPMENT & ACCOUTERMENTS
Union and Confederate Soldiers carried their ammunition and supplies in leather accouterments that hung from the shoulders or around the waist.
A cartridge box was worn over the right hip and used to carry the Soldiers ammunition.
Confederate Soldiers carried a combination of Southern produced, imported, US, or personally owned accouterments and equipment.
The rifle bayonet was carried in a scabbard on the belt and was designed to fit on the muzzle of the musket for close fighting.

25. SUBSISTENCE & DIET
The three mainstays of the Civil War diet were hardtack, salt pork and coffee.
Hardtack always arrived in the Soldiers’ hands rock hard. It usually needed to be soaked in water or coffee to be edible.
Salt pork was notorious for being tough, leathery, and hard to digest. It was sometimes covered with mold on arrival.
Soldiers valued coffee as a commodity that could be traded for Southern tobacco.

26. Salt Pork Also known as White Bacon Consisted mainly of fat
Very salty, and didn’t get spoiled as fast as other meats

27. THE SOLDIER’S ROUTINE
Soldiers found that their lives were filled with sheer boredom that stretched for weeks or months at a time.
Spare time was spent collecting firewood and foraging for food and water.
Soldiers occupied themselves by writing letters home or by playing games like checkers, cards or baseball.
Mail was considered a luxury. It never kept up with armies on the move, so weeks or even months could pass without a word from home.

28. PERSONAL EFFECTS
Veterans hardened by endless days of marching and long campaigns in the field clung to a few sentimental items.
A pocket–sized sewing kit called a housewife is a good example of an item that Soldiers would carry from home.
Other items worthy of precious space in haversacks might be stationary with patriotic graphics, playing cards, a pipe, a diary, or photographs of family members.

29. BENEFITS
A private during the Civil War was paid $13 a month in the Union Army and $11 per month in the Confederate Army.
This meager income didn’t offer the Soldier much to spend on luxuries.
Base Pay: 1,587.90; BAH w/ Dependent: ; Family Sep: 250; BAS: ; Hazardous Duty Pay: 150; Hostile Fire Pay = $

30. POLITICS, ECONOMY & CULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES
By 1861, America was deeply divided geographically, politically, economically and culturally.
There were thirty–four states in the United States at the beginning of the War and thirty–six by the end.
The United States would be permanently altered by the struggle.

31. DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE MILITARY
The scale of the Civil War was unprecedented in America.
In 1860, the pre–war strength of the United States Army was roughly 16,000 strong.
By the end of the War, the strength of the United States Army would reach 1,200,000 and 1,064,000 for the Confederate Army.
In the 1860s, the idea of allowing African– Americans to serve in the military was progressive and controversial.
In 1863, fourteen states offered African– American men the opportunity to serve their state and country by enlisting in the military.
A total of 427,286 Pennsylvanians served in the Union forces, including 8,600 African-American volunteers.  This number includes enlistees responding to President Lincoln's calls for Volunteers for the Union army, recruits, drafted men, substitutes, and recruits for the regular U. S. Army for a total of 362,284 men. Adding the 25,000 Pennsylvania militia men who were called out in 1862, brings the grand total to 387,284 men, who served in 270 regiments and several detached companies of the Volunteer Army. Adding the 40,002 Pennsylvanians who enlisted in the United States Navy raises the total to 427,286.

32. HOMEFRONT & FAMILY
Civilian aid societies and the Sanitary Commission did what they could to bring better food, newspapers and Bibles to camps. A few comforts from home meant a lot to Soldiers.
Licensed merchants, known as Sutlers, followed the army to sell food, stationary, stamps, tobacco, or other items to Soldiers that could ease their hard life.

33. LESSON ASSESSMENT
When was the Civil War fought and where did it take place?
What were the main differences between the politics, economy and culture of the Union (North) and the Confederacy (South)?
What effect did technology have on the War?
What did Soldiers wear during the War? How did their clothing make them feel?
How did fighting tactics develop during this time period?

34. CRITICAL THINKING
What impact did technology have on the battlefields of the Civil War?
How did industry impact the outcome of the Civil War?