Civil War: 1861-1865

A Nation Torn in Two

Major Events

What is a Civil War?

• A war between organized groups within the same nation (i.e. North vs. South)

Preview• In the 1860 presidential election Abraham Lincoln

(Illinois) ran as the Republican candidate.• The Democratic Party split over the issue of slavery.

Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas (Illinois) as their candidate, while Southern Democrats chose John C. Breckinridge (Kentucky) to run for president.

• Because of the split in the Democratic Party, Abraham Lincoln easily won a majority of electoral votes and became the sixteenth president of the United States.

The South reacts

• Several Southern states refused to accept Lincoln’s election as president, because they feared he would try to abolish or at least further restrict slavery.

• In late 1860 and early 1861 South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas voted to secede or withdraw from the Union.

The South reacts

• In February 1861 these states established a new nation called the Confederate States of America.

• They chose as president of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis, who was serving as one of Mississippi’s two United States senators at the time of the state’s secession.

The lines are drawn • In April 1861, President

Lincoln refused to evacuate (remove) federal troops from Fort Sumter, an American fort located in the harbor at Charleston, South Carolina.

• When Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter, the Civil War (1861-1865) began.

• Following the Confederates’ attack on Fort Sumter, President Lincoln called on the states to provide 75,000 soldiers to put down the rebellion in the South.

The lines are drawn • While the Northern states immediately

responded to Lincoln’s call for troops, the slave states of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas refused to take up arms against their sister Southern states and instead voted to secede and join the Confederacy.

An Overview of War

• The secession of southern states triggered a long and costly war that concluded with Northern victory, a restoration of the Union, and emancipation (the freeing) of the slaves.

• The survival of the United States as one nation was at risk, and the nation’s ability to bring to reality the ideals of liberty, equality, and justice depended on the outcome of the war.

• More Americans died in the American Civil War than in any other war in the nation’s history.

• Approximately 620,000 Americans died during the four years of fighting, including 360,000 men who died fighting for the Union and 260,000 Confederates.

Civil War

• One-third of the soldiers who fought for the Union Army were immigrants, and nearly one in 10 was African American.

• Black Union soldiers refused their salaries for 18 months to protest being paid lower wages than white soldiers.

• Harriet Tubman led a raid to free slaves during the Civil War

Lincoln was shot at—and almost killed— nearly two years before he was

assassinated.

• Before William Tecumseh Sherman became a great Union general, he was demoted for apparent insanity

• General Ulysses S. Grant wasn’t the bloodiest general of the war—Robert E. Lee was

Both before and during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln pushed to send freed

slaves abroad.

• Robert E. Lee’s Virginia estate was confiscated by the Union and turned into a cemetery during the war.

Privates weren’t cannon fodder during the Civil War—generals were.

• More men died in the Civil War than any other American conflict, and two-thirds of the dead perished from disease.

WAR DEATH

American Revolution 4,435

War of 1812 2,260

Mexican War 13,283

Spanish American 2,246

World War I 116,516

World War II 405,399

Korea 33,746

Vietnam 58,152

Up until the Vietnam War – the number killed in the Civil War was greater than all US wars combined.

~620,000

So? Like, if I was a soldier in the Union Army, what are the chances I’d of died?

• Chance of dying: About 1 in 4……

Union Army

• 1 out of 65 men killed in action• 1 of 56 died from wounds• 1 of 13.5 died of disease• 1 of 10 wounded in action• 1 of 15 captured or reported missing• 1 of 7 captured died in prison

Inmate at Andersonville Prison

Civil War:

Major Figures

Abraham Lincoln

Back Story

• Grew up in a one room log cabin in Kentucky• Mother died of milk sickness when he was 9• Lincoln’s sister, Sarah, died while giving birth

in her 20s• 1830 – moved from Kentucky to Illinois fearing

milk sickness• Lincoln’s first romantic interest died of

typhoid• Lincoln married Mary Todd in 1842

• Of the 4 children they had, only one made it to adulthood; Robert

• Lincoln suffered from melancholy (clinical depression)

Abraham Lincoln

• Elected President in 1860; served as President during the Civil War

• Member of the Republican Party• Came from humble beginnings, grew up in a

poor family on the western frontier• Self-educated; became a country lawyer• Illinois State Legislature; House of Rep. for one

term; failed twice at becoming a Senator

• Embodied the anti-slavery movement and campaigned on ending slavery

• Sought to “preserve the Union” during the Civil War by any means necessary

• Issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederacy

Jefferson Davis

• Born June 3rd, 1808 in Kentucky• Military History:

– Attended US Military Academy (1828)– Served in the frontier– Health forced him to resign in 1835– Fought in Mexican War – Wounded at Buena Vista

• Political History– US Senator from Mississippi from 1835 to 1845– US Congressmen from 1845 to 1846– US Congressmen from 1857 to 1861– Withdrew from Senate when Mississippi seceded– On February 18, 1861 - made President of the

Confederacy

Davis During the War

• Failed to raise sufficient money to fight the Civil War and could not obtain recognition and help for the Confederacy from foreign gov.

• Charged with raising the army of the Confederacy – constant battles with governors

• Most notable appointment was Robert E. Lee (Commander of the Army of VA)

• His energy was a driving force behind the south’s resistance

• Captured by federal troops in Irwinville, Georgia• Imprisoned from 1865 to 1867 at Fortress Monroe,

VA• Indicted for treason in 1866, released in 1867 on

$100,000 bond• In 1868 – federal government dropped the charges

Grant

• Born April 27, 1822• Commander of the Union Army• Began his military career after graduating

from US Military Academy at West Point in 1843

• Fought in the Mexican-American War – observed Zach Taylor and Winfield Scott

• Resigned from army in 1854 – rejoined when war broke out in 1861

• Seized control of KY and TN at the Battle of Shiloh

• Defeated Confederate armies at Vicksburg – gave Union control of the Mississippi River

• After Battle of Chattanooga – name Lt. General in command of all Union forces

• Fought a series of battles against Lee known as the Overland Campaign – ended in a stalemate

• Robert E. Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox – collapse of the Confederacy

Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee

• Born January 7, 1807• Career military officer• Top of his class at West Point Military Academy• 32 years of US military experience before

joining the Confederacy• Lincoln asked him to lead the Union army but

chose VA (his home) – not for secession himself

• Very skilled tactician (military strategy)• Tasted victory at Fredericksburg,

Chancellorsville, Wilderness, Cold Harbor, Seven Days Battle, 2nd Bull Run

• Suffered defeats at Antietam (1862) and Gettysburg

• Surrendered to Grant on April 9th, 1865 at Appomattox courthouse

• Remains an iconic figure in military history• Urged southerners to accept defeat and unite

as Americans when some wanted to continue the fight

Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass

• Born February 1818• Former slave who became a prominent

abolitionist• Urged President Lincoln to recruit former

enslaved African Americans to fight for the Union• Stood as a living counter-example to

slaveholders’ arguments that slaves did not have the intellectual capacity to function as independent American citizens

Major Events

Fall of Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter, S.C.

• After Lincoln became president, one fort became very important to the south – Fort Sumter (remained under federal control)

• Fort Sumter was in a strategic location– Control the fort = control the harbor and access to

Charleston• March 1861 – commander of the fort major

Robert Anderson sent word to Washington they were running low on supplies

• North didn’t want to lose the fort but without supplies it would fall quickly

• Lincoln hesitated because he did not want the remaining 8 slave states to secede

• Lincoln decides to resupply the fort• April 6th, 1861 – Lincoln sent word supplies

were in route to Governor Pickens• Pickens tells General Beauregard

(Confederacy) who then orders the federal troops to evacuate – refused

• 4:30 am on April 12, 1861 – Confederate forces open fire of Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter

• For 34 hours the Confederates bombarded Sumter

• Anderson and his men formally surrender on April 13th

• On April 15th Lincoln announced the existence of a rebellion “too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course”– Called for 75,000 troops

Reactions to Fort Sumter

• After Fort Sumter – Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia secede

• Richmond named as the Confederate capital• Remaining slave states: Delaware, Kentucky,

Maryland, and Missouri remain with the Union

• Mountainous regions of NW VA remain with the Union – became WV in 1863

North vs. South

• Bigger Population – more soldiers

• Better economy (85% of nation’s industry) – increased supplies

• Most railroad lines in north – move troops & supplies easier

• Most of US Navy remained loyal to Union

• Only had to fight a defensive war – protect the South (~750,000 square miles)

• Excellent military leadership (i.e. Robert E. Lee)

North South

First Battle of Bull Run

Bull Run

• July 21, 1861 – 35,000 Confederates met Union troops 30 miles outside D.C.

• Confederates led by General Joseph Johnston and Union by General McDowell

• Confederates are going to dig in on high ground behind a creek called Bull Run

• Battle started favorably for the Union• Confederate General Stonewall Jackson

stopped the Union assault

• Jackson’s men charged Union lines yelling “woh-who-ey!” – known as the rebel yell

• Union forces forced to retreat• Southern victory caused most people to

realize that the war would last longer than just a few months

• Lincoln now put General McClellan in charge of the Union army

Shiloh

Battle of Shiloh

• During 1862 – Confederates won most major battles in the East (Union had poor Generals)

• In the West – Union fairing much better under General Grant

• Marching towards Mississippi – Grant rested his men near Shiloh; waiting for reinforcements

• Confederate generals Johnston and Beauregard nearby

• SURPRISE ATTACK!!!!• Union troops, not expecting an attack – found

1000s of Confederate troops attacking them on April 1862 – Battle of Shiloh

• Confederate forces pushed Grant’s men back to the Tennessee River

• Confederate commanders believe that could finish off Grant’s army the next morning

• Fighting at Shiloh reached an intensity level not yet seen in war

• Grant’s officers advised him to retreat – refused– “No, I propose to attack at daylight and whip

them”• Fresh Union troops arrived during the night• Grant’s April 7th surprise counterattack led to

another day of fierce fighting• By afternoon – Confederates defeated and

retreat• Union suffered 13,000 deaths, Confederacy

10,000

After the Battle of Shiloh, Union troops advance towards New Orleans

By May 1862 – Union had achieved “victory” in the west

South has now lost 50,000 square miles of territory, 1,000 miles of navigable rivers, two state capitals, and its largest city

Southern moral began to weaken

Antietam

Battle of Antietam

• General Lee went on the offensive in September 1862

• South needed a big victory in order to get recognition from foreign governments (namely Britain)

• On September 4, 1862 – Lee began crossing the Potomac River into Maryland with 40,000 men

• During the march, Lee lost around 5,000 men to exhaustion, hunger, and disease

• Union troops lost track of Lee and his troops for 4 days

• Luckily – two Union soldiers happened upon a copy of Lee’s battle plans wrapped around a discarded pack of cigars

• McClellan now able to plan a counterattack• With 75,000 troops, McClellan met Lee at

Antietam Creek in Maryland

Antietam

• Troops at the Battle of Antietam fought the bloodiest single-day battle in US military history– Confederates – more than 13,000 causalities– Union – more than 12,000 causalities

• Lee and his troops retreat back to VA but McClellan neglects to chase the crippled army

• Lincoln fires McClellan from his position

Aftermath of Antietam

• Although it was not a resounding Union victory – confidence was raised in the North

• Major Confederate offensive had failed• General Lee CAN be defeated in the minds of

northerners• Southern defeat cost the Confederates any

hope of support from European countries

With Union victory at Antietam, Lincoln gains political support to move forward with his plans of freeing the slaves

Issues the preliminary draft of the

Emancipation Proclamation

Emancipation Proclamation• Lincoln lacked Constitutional

authority to abolish slavery• As commander and chief, did have

the power to institute military measures

• July 1862 – Lincoln informed cabinet of new military order

• As of a certain date, all slaves living in the areas still in rebellion against the US would be free

• Only applied in Confederate states – relieved concerns about status of slaves in border states

• After Union victory at Antietam – Lincoln issued the proclamation

Gettysburg

Battle of Gettysburg

• After several victories in VA, Lee decided it was time to invade the North again– VA needed a break

• In June 1863 Lee crossed into Pennsylvania• Lincoln urged General Hooker to attack Lee

before they could regroup – failed to do so and was replaced by General Meade

• By end of June, 75,000+ Confederate soldiers near Gettsyburg

• Confederate troops organized a raid to seize shoes – unaware the Union had positioned themselves on the high ground

• July 1, 1863 – first shots of the battle fired• Confederates pushed back the Union line –

however Lee knew his troops were in trouble as long as the Union held the high ground

• With northern reinforcements on the way, Lee had to act – attacked Union left flank on July 2nd trying to capture a dome-shaped hill (Little Round Top)

Battle of Gettysburg

• July 3rd, Lee ordered 15,000 men under George Pickett to rush Union center – Pickett’s Charge

• Less than half of the Confederates reach the top

• Bad weather prevented Meade from pursuing Lee – retreated back to VA

• Union lost 23,000 and Confederates 28,000

Gettysburg Address• November 19, 1863 –

Lincoln dedicated a national cemetery at the Gettysburg battlefield

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation….”

Vicksburg

Battle of Vicksburg

• While Meade was winning Gettysburg – Grant was in the west

• Grant knew that gaining full control of the Mississippi River required taking Vicksburg

• In May 1863 – Grant hatched a risky plan• Marched into enemy territory and bottled up

a Confederate force – Raced west to trap the other enemy force inside Vicksburg

• For 6 weeks General Grant laid siege to the city – preventing any reinforcements from arriving

• “Siege of Vicksburg”• City’s defender ate mules and rats to survive

• July 1863 – General Grant and General Pemberton (Confederacy) met under an oak tree to discuss surrender

Confederates surrender Vicksburg

Surrender at Appomattox• General Sherman’s army pushed north through the

Carolinas why Grant’s troops battered Richmond• April 2nd, 1865 – Union troops overrun Richmond

(Confederate Capital)• Lee’s army half the size of Grant’s• Lee attempted to flee west but was cut off by Grant• With less than 30,000 soldier, no supplies – Lee

asked for surrender

• April 9th, 1865 – Grant met Lee in a house in Appomattox, VA

• Terms of surrender– Confederate officers could keep side arms– All soldiers would be fed and allowed to keep

horses and mules– NO ONE tried for treason