Adjusting to Total War

 Military tactic employed by the North to defeat the South so soundly, the separatist government would have no other choice to come back to the Union  Total war tested societies, economies, and political systems as well as military planners and civilians

 South had a passionate cause for the war; willing to defend slavery till the death  North resolve was a bit more mixed; not quite as distinguishable  Confederate soldiers were predicted to be better soldiers than the Yankees New land better → home court advantage Farm boys, used to riding and shooting  A majority of the Union soldiers would be farm boys as well

UNION ARMYCONFEDERATE ARMY  Trial and error in deciding what type of strategy to use  Take the capitol city of the Confederacy: Richmond  Anaconda Plan, suggested by Gen. Winfield Scott  Pres. Lincoln would decide on a two-front war  Good strategies, but lack of good military leadership  Choice of defensive or sudden offensive strategy  Pres. Davis chose a defensive strategy; best suited for the strengths and weaknesses of the South  BUT, this did not obliterate the possibility of invasion of the Union if necessary

 Both sides had more volunteers than positions  Control of militias  Problems with re-enlistment  Both enacted conscription/draft  Inefficient supply flow b/c of private industry

 Romanticized idea of war  ½ believed in cause  ½ were bribed or drafted  Both Northern and Southern armies were ill prepared  Training camps created units, rather than individuals  Poor uniforms and horrible food  South relied on exports, Northern blockade was effective  North had more men, but South had better trained men  North broke RR lines, increasing supply shortages  Diseases such as typhiod and dysentary killed more than actual combat  618,000 died (more than Vietnam, WWI, and WWII combined)

NORTHERN SUCCESSSOUTHERN FAILURE  Pres. Lincoln named commander and chief of army and navy  Bold in stretching the executive boundaries  Declared martial law  Suspended the writ of habeus corpus  Unified support in Congress, especially with war policies  Lincoln held the party together by persuasion, patronage, and flexible policy making  Pres. Davis named commander and chief of army and navy  Ineffective military leader and policy maker compared to Lincoln  Tenuous relationships with military generals  Lack of initiative and leadership in dealing w/ home front issues  No organized party to support him

 1 st Battle at Bull Run- July, 1861: humiliating Northern defeat b/c of leadership  Gen. George McClellan replaced weak leadership; started intense drills and training for Union troops  Western front victories; capture of Fort Donelson and Fort Henry  Battle of Shiloh- Southern counter attack; bloodiest battle of the war Union troops decimated in the 2 day battle

 Success on the western front, after Battle of Shiloh  Anaconda Plan was starting to gain some ground  Monitor vs. Merrimack  McClellan moved to assault Richmond, but never got reinforcements  Stonewall Jackson, took advantage of Union troops awaiting reinforcements Series of quick, lightening strikes

 Battle of Seven Pines, McClellan forces in two; shift in Confederate power → enter Robert E. Lee  Lee upstaged McClellan’s inadequacies  2 nd Battle of Bull Run, showcased Lee’s brilliance as a military leader  Battle of Antietam followed Bloodiest 1 day battle of the war 5,000 killed Over 18,000 wounded

 England and France dependent on South for 75% cotton  Halt of overseas trade when Confederate privateers raided and sank Northern ships  Because of surplus France and England failed to recognize the South

 Napoleon III considered recognition in return for support of France in Mexico, but would not support w/out Britain  U.S. threatened was w/ Britain b/c of loss at Antietam, declared hands off policy  Cotton shortage in South forced Britain to turn to Egypt and India