The United States Civil War By Rick Redinger ED 417

Why we fought North Manufacture based South Agriculture based North had abundance of workers South needed slave labor

Why we fought (cont’d) North wanted western expansion not to include slavery South wanted western expansion to include slavery

Why expansion was an issue As the U.S. expanded westward, new states added Senate and Congress representation to an already close North/South split The addition of all non-slave or all slave states would tip the balance Neither the North or the South wanted to lose influence in the Federal Government

A Nation Divided Tensions were high and the country was clearly becoming divided between the North and the South The situation would soon explode

The Civil War Begins April 12, 1861, 4:30 am. General Pierre Beauregard leads a Confederate group with fifty cannons that opens fire on Fort Sumpter, South Carolina. The only war fought on American soil by Americans had begun

THE UNION 1861 Abraham Lincoln is President The Capitol is in Washington DC Consists of states north of approx. 39’ latitude

THE CONFEDERACY 1861 Jefferson Davis is named President Richmond, Virginia becomes the Capitol City Consists of 11 states south of approximately 39’ latitude

The United States Civil War Over three million people fought against their own countrymen Over 600,000 persons died

Bull Run July 1861 Union troops are repelled at Bull Run, 25 miles south of Washington, DC Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson acquires the nickname “Stonewall”

A future President is made February 1862 General Ulysses S. Grant captures two Tennessee forts in a ten day span, earning the nickname “Unconditional Surrender” Grant Soon after the war he would become President of the United States of America

Naval History is made 1862 Confederate ironclad Merrimac sinks two wooden Union ships then battles ironclad Monitor to a draw Naval warfare is forever changed, making wooden ships obsolete

“Damn the torpedoes…” April 1862 Flag Officer David Garragut takes New Orleans, the South’s largest seaport Sailing through a rebel minefield he utters “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead”.

The Bloodiest Day in History September 17, 1862 General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate troops are stopped at Antietam, Maryland By nightfall over 26,000 men are dead, wounded, or missing The was the bloodiest single day of this, or any, war in United States history

Emancipation Proclamation January 1, 1863 Union President Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all slaves in the Confederate states free and emphasizing their enlistment in the Union army The war becomes a revolutionary struggle to abolish slavery

South loses a leader May 10 the Confederates suffer a huge blow when “Stonewall” Jackson dies 6 days after suffering injuries at the battle of Chancellorville, Virginia The fatal wounds were accidentally inflicted by his own troops

Battle of Gettysburg The tide of the war turns for the North as the South suffers a defeat at Gettysburg This was the northernmost battle of the war

Lincoln meets Douglas August 10 President Lincoln meets with abolitionist Frederick Douglas who pushes for full equality for Union “Negro troops”

Cemetery Dedication November 19, 1863 President Lincoln delivers a two minute speech dedicating a Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania This would forever be known at The Gettysburg Address

Grant’s march to Richmond May 1864 General Grant takes an army of 120,000 Union troops toward Richmond to attack General Robert E. Lee’s troops, now numbering 64,000 Major battles ensue at Wilderness and Spotsylvania, Virginia leading up to the battle at Cold Harbor

Grant’s error General Grant makes tactical error while attacking well fortified Cold Harbor resulting loss of 7000 troops in twenty minutes

Sherman takes Atlanta September 2, 1864 Union General Sherman captures Atlanta November 15 before his march to the sea he destroys Atlanta’s warehouses and railroad yards

March to the Sea December 21, 1864 General Sherman arrives at Savannah, Georgia leaving a 300 mile path of destruction over 60 miles wide in his wake Sherman offers President Lincoln Savannah as “a Christmas present”

The 13th Amendment January 31, 1865 Congress approves the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, to abolish slavery It is sent to the states for ratification

Richmond Abandoned April 2, 1865 Grant breaks through Lee’s troops at Petersburg, Virginia Confederates abandon Capital at Richmond

Confederate Surrender April 9, 1865 General Robert E. Lee surrenders his troops to General Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia

Lincoln Assassinated April 14, 1865 At 10:13pm while watching the third act of the play “Our American Cousin” with his wife Mary, President Lincoln is shot and killed by John Wilkes Boothe

The War Ends May 1865 The remaining Confederate troops surrender reuniting a country after four years and 620,000 deaths