The Battle of Antietam was the bloodiest day of the Civil War for both Union and Confederate troops. Which side had the most casualties? EQ: What new technologies impacted the Civil War?

Objective and Scales: The student will be able to evaluate the war on different fronts as well as new technologies and weapons that impacted the war with 80% accuracy Where does today’s objective fit into the unit learning goal scale? Objective E and F How do you reach mastery of SCALE Everest for objective E and F? TOC: Page 121-New technologies and weapons

1. Soldier's Life Trained for up to 10 hours a day when not in battle Camp life was often miserable. Lack of clean water led to outbreaks of smallpox, typhoid fever, and other diseases Both sides built prison camps for captured soldiers (POW) Nearly 10% of soldiers who died in the war, died in prison camps POW’s were forced to eat rats to survive, many died of starvation or exposure

2. New technology/weapons New weapons made this war more deadly than any other New rifles and cannons where far more accurate and had greater range than old muskets and artillery B/C of this many soldiers were slaughtered by following order to cross open fields against deadly new weapons

Weapon Types Artillery Firearms larger than small arms Small arms Any weapon smaller than a canon and carried by a soldier Edged weapons Bayonets, sabers, swords, short swords, cutlasses, Bowie knives, pikes and lances

Napoleon Made from bronze until South ran out, then iron Max range-1700 yards Most effective at 250 yards Probably caused most causalities of all artillery pieces

Small Arms Classified by caliber; mode of loading (breech/muzzle) and maker Most used was.58 cal Springfield Musket and.69 cal Harper’s Ferry Rifle Both muzzle loading and fired mini ball These rifles changed infantry tactics Before, soldiers would be in mass groups and charge the enemy After, with greater accuracy and longer range (lethal at over ½ mile) frontal assaults were very deadly

Small Arms Musket Smoothbore Long-barreled shoulder arm Rifle Shoulder gun with spiral grooves cut into the inner barrel Carbine Short-barreled rifle Handguns Pistol Revolver

.58 cal Springfield Musket.69 cal Harper’s Ferry Rifle

Minie Ball Before – use of rifles was impractical because ammo was expensive and loading was time consuming 1848 – French army Capt. Claude F. Minie developed smaller, hollow-based bullet Easier loading, expanded upon firing and spun out of gun barrel. The spin made them more expensive but very accurate and far traveling – Harper’s Ferry Armory worker James H. Burton found a cheaper way to make the ball Became the standard bullet for both sides

Minie Ball

Edged Weapons Bayonets Swords Sabres Short Swords Cutlasses Bowie knife Pikes and lances

Edged Weapons Mostly served as decoration Out of about 250,000 wounded treated in Union hospitals only about 922 were injured from an edged weapon; most were from private disagreements Sabre Cavalry sword Lethal with trained mounted soldiers Volunteers created many lop-eared horses Sword Sign of officer’s authority Lance Deadly with trained troops Shortage in the South

North vs South Comparison North had a huge advantage over South in all artillery and higher percentage of rifled cannon to smoothbore cannon. Union had about 1,200 Napoleons produced for them; Confederacy produced between on their own. In small arms, the South depended on smuggled imports from England and France. South was at disadvantage in majority aspects of weapons simply because of the lack of material availability and technology.

3. Ironclads Both sides also made use of ironclads- warships covered with protective iron plates Cannon balls would bounce off the plates The most famous naval battle of the war occurred when two ironclads, the Union’s Monitor and the Confederacy’s Merrimack fought to a stalemate in March of 1862 Union ironclads played an important role in gaining control of the Mississippi River Delta

4. War in the East After the Union was defeated at Bull Run, Lincoln removed McDowell and put General George McClellan in command McClellan was a good organizer, but cautious He spent seven months training his army, but Lincoln grew impatient McClellan tried to take Richmond, but the Union in May of 1862 was unsuccessful again Robert E. Lee (Conf.) wanted to take advantage of the Union loss, with Richmond safe he wanted to invade the North He believed a win on Union soil could earn the South, European allies But…..what happens next COULD have changed things…

5. Antietam Union soldiers found a copy of General Lee’s battle plan for the battle of Antietam in Maryland Sergeant John Bloss and Corporal Barton W. Mitchell found a piece of paper wrapped around three cigars, it became evident it was Lee’s battle plan! McClellan now knew that Lee's forces were split into five parts and scattered over a 30-mile stretch McClellan’s caution got the best of him and he lost the advantage When he finally mobilized troops (18 hours), Lee was alerted and closed the gap between his scattered forces Antietam turned out to be the bloodiest day in the Civil War (almost 23 thousand), September 17th Antietam is considered a draw from a military point of view, but Lincoln and the Union claimed victory Lee’s retreat would give Lincoln the “victory” he needed before delivering the Emancipation Proclamation…a document that would change the ENTIRE war

6. The War in the West Lincoln’s army in the West would not be so cautious Ulysses S. Grant would lead the most successful armies Grant and McClelland were very different, Grant was risk taker. Under Grant Union forces made major advances, seizing control of most of the Miss. R Grant met Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston on April 6, 1862 at the battle of Shiloh Costly, but important for both sides Union forced the Confederate army to withdraw from the railroad center in Corinth, TN. 2 weeks later, David Farragut (U) entered the Miss. R from the Gulf and captured New Orleans, LA. By summer of 1862, Union controlled the entire Miss. River

Summary and Progress Chart Explain how new weapons impacted the Civil War using specific examples. Explain the outcome of Antietam and Shiloh. Complete progress chart for objective E and F