 President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to serve in the army against the South.  The Northerners thought the war would be over in about ninety days.

 The Union rushed to attack the Confederate capital, Richmond. Residents of Washington DC came out to watch the parade of soldiers and brought picnics to watch the battle.

Virginia General Irvin McDowell led the Union army toward Richmond, Virginia. General Beauregard’s Confederate troops intercepted them. CICERO © 2010

The battle lasted about five hours. General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson continued to fight until reinforcements arrived.

 rebel yell rebel yell When the Rebels charged with a terrifying “rebel yell,” the Union soldier ran back to Washington D.C.

7 Jefferson Davis Jefferson Davis appointed General Robert E. Lee as the Commander of the Confederate Army.General Robert E. Lee President Lincoln appointed General George McClellan as the Commander of the Union Army. McClellan was too cautious and was not aggressive in his battles against the Confederate Soldiers. George McClellan Robert E. Lee

CICERO © 2010 The Battle of the Ironclads also is known as the Battle of the Monitor and the Merrimack. This battle was off the Virginia shore. It was the first naval battle between two ironclad ships, the Union’s USS Monitor and the Confederacy’s CSS Virginia/Merrimack. March 9, 1862

 Neither ship could sink the other!  The Union kept the Merrimack from leaving the harbor and destroying Northern ships.  Marked a new age in Naval warfare- metal covered ships.

Antietam September 17, 1862 Lee planned to take Maryland. Two Union soldiers found a copy of Lee’s plans! McClellan was cautious and waited 4 days to attack.

The armies met in a corn field along Antietam Creek, Maryland. Antietam was the single bloodiest day in American history! Deaths Confederate: 10,318 casualties (of 38,000 engaged) Union: 12,401 casualties (of 75,000).

McClellan had forced Lee’s army South but had failed to take the opportunity to destroy the Rebel army. Lincoln fired McClellan and hired Burnside.

The War So Far What is the war about? Preserving the Union or Freeing the Slaves?

Reasons a Victory was Needed:  Lincoln wanted to show that his government was strong and could support or “back up” the proclamation.  Lincoln didn’t want it to appear that his government was weak, and that he was asking the slaves to rebel against their masters.

Emancipation – The act of freeing

His first challenge was that the U.S. Constitution did not prohibit slavery. Individual states could outlaw slavery, but not the U.S. Government.

Lincoln used his background as a lawyer to come up with a solution more or less based on the following questions that I would like you to answer:

Question: How did slave owners legally consider their slaves (and horses, buildings, etc…)?

Answer: Slaves were considered to be property.

Question: What happens to property that armies capture from their enemy during a war? Image courtesy Library of Congress

Answer: The property captured (called contraband) belongs to the army that captured it and its government.

The war was no longer just about preserving the union, it was also about freeing the slaves. Most Europeans did not like slavery. Therefore, now that the war was about freeing the slaves, they decided not to get involved with the Confederacy and just stayed out of it.