1. The Call To Arms
Chapter 15
Section 1

2. Taking Sides in the War
Two days after Fort Sumter’s surrender, Lincoln declared a rebellion existed in the South.
To put down the rebellion, he asked the nation’s governors to raise 75,000 troops. Across the North, young men eagerly volunteered.
Support was so widespread that governors of Ohio, Indiana, and several other states begged to send more troops than the President had requested.

3. More States Secede
Tennessee governor refused to send one soldier to help Lincoln. The governors of Kentucky and Missouri made similar replies to Lincoln’s request. Maryland and Delaware did not respond at all.
The President’s call for troops led more southern states to secede. Virginia left in April, and in May, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina would also join the Confederacy.
The western counties of Virginia refused to secede. These counties did not support slavery. In 1863, these counties would enter the Union as West Virginia.

4. The Border States
Loyalties remained divided in the border states, slave states that did not secede.
Many people in states such as Kentucky, Missouri, and Maryland favored the South.
Kentucky and Missouri were important to controlling the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Washington would be surrounded by the Confederates if it could not hold Maryland.

5. The Border States
At first, Kentucky declared itself neutral, or not favoring with either side. Union generals wanted to occupy Kentucky but Lincoln refused. He feared that would push the state to secede.
When Confederate forces invaded Kentucky they decided to declared support for the North.
Fighting broke out amongst its people in Missouri. Lincoln sent troops to stop the fighting and Missouri sided with the Union throughout the war.

6. The Border States
In Maryland, southern sympathizers destroyed railroad and telegraph lines. So Lincoln placed eastern Maryland under martial law, a type of rule in which military is in charge and citizen’s rights are suspended.
Maryland officials and others suspected of disloyalty were jailed without trials.

7. Southern Advantages
Although outnumbered, the South had some distinct military advantages. To win, the North would have to invade and conquer the south. Confederates would be fighting on their own territory, with help from local people.
Most of the nation’s experienced military officers were southerners. The Confederacy’s three top generals were Albert Johnston, Joseph Johnston, and Robert E. Lee. They all resigned with the U.S. Army to fight for the South.

8. Northern Advantages
110,000 of the country’s 130,000 factories were located in the North.
The North had twice as much railroad track and almost twice as much farmland than the South did.
The North had a population advantage. Some two thirds of the nations people lived in states that remained in the Union, and in the South more than a third of the people were enslaved.
With more resources, the North was able to field, feed, and equip larger armies.

9. The Two Sides Plan Strategies
Union leaders hoped to win a quick victory. To isolate the Confederacy, Lincoln had the navy blockade southern seaports.
A blockade is a military action to prevent traffic from coming into an area or leaving it.
Lincoln hoped to cut off the South’s supply of manufactured goods and block overseas sales of cotton.

10. The Two Sides Plan Strategies
An important part of Northern strategy was to gain control of the Mississippi River, the South’s major transportation link. This would split the south in two.
The Union also planned to invade Virginia and seize Richmond, the Confederate capital.
The South’s strategy was simpler. They did need to invade, they only had to defend their land until northerners got tired of fighting.
The Confederates sought aid from Britain and other European nations. They hoped that Britain’s need for cotton would force them to support the South.

11. Americans Against Americans
The war broke families apart. Senator John Crittenden had two sons in the war fighting on different sides.
Four brothers of Mary Lincoln fought for the Confederacy.
Nearly half of the North’s troops were farmers. One fourth were immigrants.
75% of the South’s population of white males between 18 and 45 served in army.

12. First Battle of Bull Run
Union General Irvin McDowell marched into Virginia with 30,000 troops in hopes of capturing Richmond.
A Confederate army waited for the Union army at Manassas.
The armies clashed along Bull Run, a river just north of Manassas. At first the Union pushed forward, but a southern commander rallied his men to hold firm.
That commander was Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. Slowly the Confederates turn the battle in their favor.

13. First Battle of Bull Run
The poorly trained Union troops began to panic. Soldiers fled back to Washington D.C. The Confederates were too exhausted to pursue them.

14. Harsh Conditions
Soldiers spent most of their time in camp, not fighting. Camp conditions were often miserable, especially when wet weather created muddy roads and fields.
The lack of clean water was a major health threat. Outbreaks of smallpox, typhoid fever, and other diseases swept through the ranks of soldiers. It was not unusual for half the men in the regiment to be too sick to fight.

15. Prisoners of War
Both sides built prison camps for captured soldiers. Overcrowded prison camps became deathtraps. Nearly 10% of soldiers that dies in the war perished in prison camps.
Elmira Camp in New York was one of the worst. It was built to hold 5,000 prisoners but held 10,000. The camp cut rations to bread and water forcing prisoners to eat rats to survive.
Andersonville in Georgia was an open field fenced in. It was intended to hold 10,000 but held 35,000. As many as 100 prisoners died every day.