Secession and the Civil War

Secession and the Civil War Once Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 presidential election (1), it was only a matter of time before many of the slave states began seceding from the Union. South Carolina was the first state to take the momentous step of secession on December 20, 1860. (2)

Secession and the Civil War Mississippi followed shortly afterwards when a specially-called state convention to deal with secession was convened in Jackson. Of the 99 delegates that appeared at the convention, 84 voted to secede from the Union. On January 9, 1861, Mississippi became the 2nd state to secede from the United States. (3)

The Civil War Begins Five states (Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Florida, and Texas) (4) soon followed to form the Confederate States of America. (5) One of the main goals of the U.S. government was to maintain federal property that was located on newly seceded land. Especially important to the Union (the name for the Northern Army (6)) was Fort Sumter (7), a military base located in the harbor close to Charleston, South Carolina. (8)

The Civil War Begins Once South Carolina seceded from the Union, Confederate soldiers (the name of the Southern troops (9)) began surrounding the important military installation previously owned by the United States. Any time that a relief ship tried to restock Fort Sumter, the Confederate soldiers would fire upon it to chase it off There were still dozens of Union troops, many with their families, stationed at Fort Sumter at the time of secession.

The Civil War Begins Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard (10) visited the fort, which had now been surrounded by land and water on all sides by Confederate soldiers, in order to encourage the Northern troops to surrender the fort. The Union soldiers declined the invite to surrender. On April 12, 1861, (11) the first shot of the Civil War was fired at Fort Sumter. The Union soldiers in the Fort quickly ran out of ammunition to fight. Their food supplies were critically low as well.

The Civil War Begins The siege of Fort Sumter lasted just 34 hours. (12) On April 14, 1861 (13) the Union forces at Fort Sumter surrendered. The Civil War had begun. Quickly following the beginning of hostilities, the final four southern states seceded from the Union: Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas. (14)

The Civil War Begins With the win at Fort Sumter, the Confederate Army firmly believed that they would triumph in the war between the states. Two main reasons led to this confidence: The quality of the Confederate military leaders The power and money that was provided by King Cotton. (15)

The Civil War Begins Despite the loss in the opening battle of the War, the Northern side also believed that it would be victorious for a few of reasons: They had a much larger supply of natural resources and people than the South. They had a much stronger industrial base They had many more miles of railroads and telegraph lines as well. (16)

The Civil War Begins Mississippi and its surrounding area proved to be an important strategic location on the Western side of the fighting during the Civil War for a few of important reasons (17). The important rail road junctions at Corinth and Meridian King Cotton Union commanders realized that gaining control of the Mississippi River was vital to winning the Civil War. (18) To achieve that, Union forces began making its way into the state at a variety of points.

The Civil War Begins In fact the first major battle on the western side of the war occurred as Confederate forces tried to keep the massive Union army, under the control of Ulysses S. Grant (20), from advancing on the important railroad town of Corinth (19). On April 6th, 1862, (22) the Confederate army, under the leadership of General Albert Sidney Johnston (21), launched a surprise attack against the Northern forces that had made camp 20 miles north of Corinth on the banks of the Tennessee River at a small town called Shiloh. (23) 11

The Civil War Begins The surprise attack nearly decimated Grant’s army as Johnston and the Confederates unleashed a furious fight on the unsuspecting Northerners. During the fight, however, the Confederates suffered a major loss as Johnston was shot in the leg and killed, probably by one of his own soldiers on accident. (24) The Union forces regrouped by the end of the first day’s fighting to stave off a complete loss. 12

The Civil War Begins Johnston’s death and the size of the Union army (25), which had received reinforcements later in the day, eventually fought back the Confederate forces on April 7th. The Rebels retreated back to Corinth having surprised Grant’s forces but not completely destroying them. By the end of day 2, 3,477 soldiers of both sides were killed. (26) 13

The Civil War Begins The vast size of the Union Army allowed it to overtake many strategic locations along the Mississippi River and throughout Northern Mississippi. Important ports on the River at Memphis and New Orleans had fallen to the Northerners by the end of 1862/beginning of 1863 (27). If the Union could capture the port at Vicksburg, then it would have complete control of the Mississippi River. (28) 14

The Civil War Begins From June to December, 1862, several Union attempts to overrun Vicksburg were thwarted by the Confederate army in Mississippi, which was under the direction of John C. Pemberton. (29) The fierce defense of Vicksburg was also aided by the swampy terrain to the north. (30) 15

The Civil War Begins Grant, along with General William T. Sherman, finally made a break through in April of 1863. (31) Before capturing Vicksburg, Grant moved east to Jackson in order to cut the Confederate supply lines. (32) With the U.S. flag now flying over the state capital again, the Northerners made their way west towards the River. By the end of May, Grant and Sherman had surrounded the city, cutting the residents and soldiers there off from any supplies The siege lasted for two months until Pemberton surrendered the port city to the Union on July 4th, 1863. (33) 16

The Civil War Begins The loss at Vicksburg was compounded for the Confederacy as its most accomplished General, Robert E. Lee, (35) lost the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania on the same day. (34) The Confederate losses at Vicksburg and Gettysburg in a 24-hour period in July 1863 marked the beginning of the end for the South. The “Great War” would last for two more years, but the overwhelming advantage in resources and people proved too much for the Confederacy to overcome. 17

The Civil War Begins The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 at the Battle of Fort Sumter. It ended four years later on April 9, 1865, (36) when Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to the Union general Ulysses S. Grant, at the courthouse in Appomattox, Virginia. (37) 18

The Civil War Begins 2,128,948 men fought for the Union. (38) 1,082,119 men fought for the Confederacy (39), of which nearly 80,000 were from Mississippi. (40) It is commonly accepted that up to 850,000 (41) men died in combat or from related injuries or illnesses. 27,000 Mississippians were among the dead. (42) 19