1. CHAPTER 15: CIVIL WAR
ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How did people, places, and things affect the outcome of the Civil War?

2. Terms and People
border state – a slave state that did not secede
emancipate – to set free

3. After the attack on Fort Sumter, President Lincoln asked states to send troops to end what he called a “rebellion.” It did not appear that he thought the conflict would get bigger.
Some people think Lincoln’s dismissal caused more southern states to secede.
The western counties of Virginia refused to secede. These joined the Union as the state of West Virginia.

4. A key question for both sides was whether the border states would side with the Union or the Confederacy.
Possession of the border states was critical because it meant control of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.

5. Four border states did not secede:
Delaware
Delaware supported the Union.
Kentucky
Kentucky started out neutral. After it was invaded by southern troops, Kentucky supported the Union.
Missouri
President Lincoln used force to keep Missouri in the Union.
Maryland
Lincoln placed Maryland under martial law to keep it in the Union.

6. The North was confident that it would win the war by taking advantage of its resources. These included:
a larger population
more acres of farmland
more factories
more railroad tracks
The North was able to field, feed, and equip larger armies.

7. The Union had an advantage over the Confederacy in resources.

8. On the other hand, the South had the advantage of land
On the other hand, the South had the advantage of land. If the North wanted to seize southern land, northern troops would have to invade unfamiliar areas.
Also, the South had more experienced leaders. Three generals, including Robert E. Lee, had resigned from the U.S. Army to help the South.

9. The North planned a multipart strategy to defeat the South.
Blockade southern ports.
Seize Richmond.
Gain control of the Mississippi River and split the South in two.

10. The South had a simpler strategy.
Southerners believed that they only needed to defend their land until the northern armies got tired of fighting.
They also sought help from Britain and other European nations that relied on the South for cotton.

11. When the Civil War began, thousands of soldiers
Both sides had their plans, but challenges presented themselves at every turn.
When the Civil War began, thousands of soldiers
volunteered for the Union and
Confederate armies. Many families were divided.
Many of these soldiers were young and inexperienced.

12. Life in an army camp was harsh
Life in an army camp was harsh. Soldiers faced boredom, disease, and even death.
The camps were dirty and lacked clean water.
Many soldiers died from outbreaks of disease.
Thousands died from starvation or exposure in crowded prison camps.
Captured soldiers faced harsh conditions.

13. However, in the North, newspapers called for a quick end to the war.
Because many soldiers were unskilled, Union General Irvin McDowell wanted time to train his men.
However, in the North, newspapers called for a quick end to the war.
Union soldiers marched toward Richmond.
During the First Battle of Bull Run, Confederate General “Stonewall” Jackson and his men held firm.

14. During the battle, inexperienced Union soldiers panicked and then retreated. The Confederates were too exhausted to pursue them.
Bull Run was an early sign that the war would be long and costly for both sides.

15. The document freed slaves in areas that were fighting the Union.
After the Battle at Shiloh, On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
The document freed slaves in areas that were fighting the Union.
The Union had no power in these places.
Few slaves were freed at first.

16. Lincoln’s proclamation did not apply to the border states or to areas under Union control.

17. The proclamation was both criticized and praised.
Union soldiers supported it because it weakened the South.
White southerners said Lincoln was trying to start a slave revolt.
Abolitionists said it should be applied throughout the country

18. The Emancipation Proclamation had important effects.
The Civil War became a struggle for freedom.
African Americans united in support of the war.
Effects of the Proclamation
Britain did not support the South.

19. Following the Emancipation Proclamation, the Union allowed African Americans to serve in the military.

20. Many soldiers were former slaves who had escaped or were freed during the war.
African American soldiers faced extra risks.
When they were captured, they were not treated as prisoners of war.
African Americans captured in the South became slaves again or were killed.

21. Also, black and white soldiers were not treated as equals.
African American soldiers served in all-black army regiments under white officers.
The black soldiers earned less pay than the white soldiers.

22. The most famous battle in which African Americans participated occurred at Fort Wagner.
Although the Union force was overpowered, they fought bravely.
Many African Americans also supported the Union cause as army cooks, wagon drivers, and hospital aides.

23. Giving information to Union armies
In the South, many enslaved African Americans did what they could to hurt the Confederates.
Working slowly
Damaging equipment
Giving information to Union armies

24. The Emancipation Proclamation changed the focus of the Civil War and, thus, the future of the United States.
The fight was now about abolishing slavery.
After the war, the Thirteenth Amendment banned slavery throughout the nation.

25. The pain created by the Civil War did not only affect soldiers and slaves.
In the North and the South, men and women from all walks of life had to cope with the pains of war.

26. Not all northerners supported a war to end slavery.
In addition to dividing the nation, the Civil War caused divisions within the North and South.
Not all northerners supported a war to end slavery.
Not all white southerners supported a war to defend slavery or secession.

27. In the South, support for the war varied from state to state.
Georgia and North Carolina opposed the war.
South Carolina objected to officers from other states leading its troops.
Regions with large slaveholding plantations supported the war more than poor back-country regions.

28. Northerners were also divided over the war.
Many opposed the Emancipation Proclamation.
Some believed the South had a right to secede.
Others blamed Lincoln and the Republicans for forcing the war.
Those who opposed the war were strongest in Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana.

29. Desertion was a major problem on both sides.
Both sides instituted a draft to meet the need for troops.
Location
Who Served
Time
North
White men ages 20 to 45
3 years
South
White men ages 18 to 35 (later changed to 50)

30. Poor men could not avoid the draft.
Both sides allowed draftees to hire substitutes to serve in their place. Wealthy people often avoided the draft.
Poor men could not avoid the draft.
This led to violent riots in the North.

31. The war was costly for both sides
The war was costly for both sides. The South was less able than the North to bear these costs.

32. Congress levied the first income tax in August 1861.
The Union took two major steps to pay the costs of fighting the war.
Congress levied the first income tax in August 1861.
The Union printed $400 million of paper money. This led to inflation, or a general rise in prices.

33. Women on both sides contributed to the war by:
joining the armies
becoming spies behind enemy lines
taking over businesses and farms
working in factories
The war gave women the opportunity to take on careers from which they had been excluded, such as teaching.

34. Two key battles in 1863 turned the tide of the war for the Union—Gettysburg and Vicksburg.

35. The first decisive battle took place in the tiny town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
The battle started when Union soldiers discovered Confederates raiding a shoe factory.
General Lee lost nearly one-third of his troops in the three-day battle.

36. The South also suffered a major loss in Vicksburg.
For six weeks, Grant laid siege to the town.
Residents hid in caves and ate rats to keep from starving.
In July 1863, the Confederates gave up.

37. In November 1863, 15,000 people gathered at Gettysburg to honor the soldiers who died there.
In his Gettysburg Address, Lincoln looked ahead to a final Union victory.
“We here highly resolve that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.”
Gettysburg Address

38. In 1864, President Lincoln gave command of all Union forces to General Ulysses S. Grant.
Grant’s huge army began hammering at the Confederates in a series of battles.
The Confederates under Lee began running out of men and supplies, but Grant had a steady stream of both.

39. Meanwhile, General William Tecumseh Sherman led another Union army toward Atlanta.
Sherman was a tough soldier who believed in total war.
Sherman’s troops captured Atlanta, and Sherman ordered it to be burned.

40. From Atlanta, they moved east, destroying everything in their path.
This is known as Sherman’s March to the Sea.

41. On April 9, 1865, General Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House.
Grant offered Lee generous terms.
The Confederates had only to give up their weapons and leave in peace.

42. The Civil War was the bloodiest conflict the United States has ever fought with over half a million lives lost.

43. The Civil War had two key results.
It reunited the nation.
It put an end to slavery.
However, African Americans did not begin to experience full freedom for another 100 years.