THE CIVIL WAR (1861 TO 1865)

THE CIVIL WAR BEGINS April 12th, 1861 – Confederate troops attacked a federal outpost at Fort Sumter, in Charleston, South Carolina Union troops surrendered after 34 hours of cannon blasts No one was killed, but the Civil War began *Union = North (blue uniforms) *Confederacy = South (gray uniforms)

ADVANTAGES NORTH SOUTH More industry Exports to Europe doubled Larger population Better banking system Better network of roads, canals, and railroads Strong military tradition Brilliant officers (military commanders) Large farms to supply food for its troops Knowledge of the wilderness, weaponry, and horseback riding

UNIFORMS (DO NOT COPY) UNION (NORTH) CONFEDERACY (SOUTH)

COTTON DIPLOMACY Confederate President, Jefferson Davis, believed that Great Britain would support the Confederacy because it needed the South’s raw cotton to supply its booming textile industry

GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT Union general who developed a two-part strategy that took advantage of Union strengths: ONE – destroy the South’s economy with a naval blockade of southern ports TWO – gain control of the Mississippi River to divide the South

UNION AND CONFEDERATE ARMIES Both armies relied on volunteers Most soldiers were inexperienced Discipline and drill turned raw volunteers into an efficient fighting machine Confederate troops rose up to defend their lands and way of life

FIRST BATTLE OF BULL RUN July 1861 - First major battle of the Civil War Confederate victory that shattered the North’s hopes of winning the war quickly Rebel (Confederate) forces led by Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson held firmly in place against advancing Union troops

GENERAL GEORGE B. McCLELLAN Union general who assembled a highly disciplined force of 100,000 soldiers called the Army of the Potomac Hesitated to attack Confederate forces in Virginia in 1862 because he overestimated the size of their army

GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE Became commander of Confederate forces in June 1862 Graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point He was willing to take risks and make unpredictable moves to throw Union forces off balance

SECOND BATTLE OF BULL RUN August 1862 - Stonewall Jackson’s Confederate forces crushed Union General John Pope’s army Major accomplishment = most of the Union forces were forced to retreat

BATTLE OF ANTIETAM September 17, 1862 at Antietam Creek in Maryland This was the bloodiest single-day battle of the Civil War and in U.S. military history Union suffered 12,000 casualties; Confederates suffered 13,000 casualties Shifted control of the Civil War from the South to the North; Union gained an edge over the Confederacy General McClellan refused to use reserve soldiers at Antietam because he thought General Lee was gathering reserves for a counterattack *(Do not copy) – More soldiers were killed and wounded during this battle than the deaths of all Americans in the American Revolution, War of 1812, and the Mexican-American War combined

BATTLE OF ANTIETAM (PAINTING)

NAVAL BATTLES Union had a large fleet and experienced naval commanders North’s industry allowed Union to keep building ships Union navy found it difficult to maintain its blockade on southern ports since it had to patrol thousands of miles of coastline Britain provided the South with ironclads – ships heavily armored with thick metal plating made of iron Both sides used ironclads which marked the end of the use of wooden warships powered by sail and wind

MERRIMACK (CONFEDRACY) VS. MONITOR (UNION)

WAR IN THE WEST The goal of the Union army in the West was to gain greater control of the Mississippi River April 1862 – The Battle of Shiloh – gave the Union greater control of the Mississippi River valley General Ulysses S. Grant was the Union commander

BATTLE OF SHILOH (PAINTING)

GENERAL ULYSSES S. GRANT President Abraham Lincoln was disappointed in the cautious and hesitant General George McClellan, so he turned to Grant to lead the western campaign Grant was bold and restless and wanted to be on the offensive He was qualified to lead an army since he proved his strength in battle during the Mexican-American War

ULYSSES S. GRANT (PHOTO)

SIEGE OF VICKSBURG May 1863 in Vicksburg, Mississippi Grant’s troops and Union Admiral David Farragut’s fleet shelled the Confederate city repeatedly and cut off food supplies Significance of the battle = gave Union total control over the Mississippi River, which was a turning point during the war *(Do not copy) – As food ran out in Vicksburg, residents and soldiers had to eat horses, rats, and dogs. Once the Confederates surrendered, Grant sent food to the city

SIEGE OF VICKSBURG (PAINTING)

BATTLES IN THE FAR WEST The Union halted several attempts by Confederate armies to control lands west of the Mississippi early in the war Many Native Americans joined the Confederacy because they hoped southern leaders would give them more independence March 1862 – Battle of Pea Ridge (Arkansas) – Union successfully defended Missouri

EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION September 22, 1862 - This was an order issued by Lincoln that called for all Confederate slaves to be freed Lincoln believed abolition of slavery would help the North win the war The proclamation stated that African-Americans should have the same rights of life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that were stated in the Declaration of Independence He announced the proclamation after the Union victory at Antietam since the Union was in a position of strength Many northern Democrats did not like the proclamation since they feared freed slaves would take white jobs at lower wages

EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION (PAINTING AND TEXT)

AFRICAN AMERICANS Many free African-Americans and escaped slaves formed their own units in the Union army If blacks were captured by the Confederacy, they were killed or sold into slavery 54th Massachusetts Infantry – African-American unit led a heroic charge on South Carolina’s Fort Wagner; over half were killed, wounded, or captured In 1864, Lincoln proposed that African-American soldiers should be given the right to vote

CHARGING FORT WAGNER (PAINTING)

HABEAS CORPUS Copperheads = Americans from the Midwest who sympathized with the South and opposed abolition; they believed the war was unnecessary Lincoln saw the copperheads as a threat, so he silenced them by suspending the right of habeas corpus Habeas corpus = constitutional protection against unlawful imprisonment Lincoln jailed enemies of the Union without trial

LIFE FOR SOLDIERS AND CIVILIANS Many criticized the Northern draft of 1863 because they felt it favored the rich by allowing them to buy their way out of serving Some Northerners opposed the Civil War because they felt it was too long and was costing too many lives Some prisoners of war (POWs) were often held without shelter and given little food Northern civilians incapable of fighting took over jobs left vacant by soldiers Many women provided medical care for soldiers * (Do not copy) - Clara Barton – founder of the American Red Cross; she organized the collection of medicine and supplies to deliver to Union soldiers on the battlefield

BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG November 1862 - Lincoln replaced McClellan with General Ambrose E. Burnside for the attack on Fredericksburg, VA because he felt McClellan was not daring enough General Lee forced Burnside’s men to retreat since the Union army was delayed by crossing the Rappahannock River Lincoln then made General Joseph Hooker the commander of the Army of the Potomac, but he was defeated by Lee at Chancellorsville, VA McClellan, Burnside, and Hooker all proved to have poor timing and were not aggressive enough

BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG (PAINTING)

BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG July 1863 - Major turning point - key battle in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania that turned the tide of the war against the Confederacy The North gained control of Little Round Top (large hill that would have given troops an aerial advantage), which gave them a better position than the South Lee and his troops retreated and it was the last time that he launched an attack in the North After 3 days, 75,000 Confederate soldiers and 90,000 Union soldiers had fought during the battle, each side losing around 25,000 men

BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG (PAINTING)

BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG (PAINTING)

LINCOLN’S GETTYSBURG ADDRESS November 19, 1863 Lincoln gave this famous speech at a ceremony of the Gettysburg battlefield cemetery He praised the bravery of Union soldiers and renewed his commitment to winning the Civil War He wanted to remind Americans that the reason the war was being fought was to preserve liberty, equality, and democracy

GETTYSBURG ADDRESS (PAINTING)

CAPTAIN AMERICA, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, SPIDER-MAN

GENERAL WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN Union general who believed in total war – destroying civilian and military economic resources He destroyed southern railroads, industries, farms, plantations, bridges, livestock, and freed slaves His capture of Atlanta, GA convinced Union voters that the North was making progress in the war, so Lincoln was reelected

THE SOUTH SURRENDERS AT APPOMATTOX COURTHOUSE April 1865 – Grant had surrounded Lee’s army in Virginia Confederate troops were running low on supplies and battle-weary April 9, 1865 – Lee surrendered to Grant at the Appomattox Courthouse, VA; The Civil War was over Legacy of the war - Slavery was abolished and all slaves were freed as a result of the Emancipation Proclamation, 620,000 Americans were killed, southern homes and jobs were destroyed, hostility remained