The Civil War South/Gray • Army of the Potomac –
Main Northern Army • Army of Northern Virginia
– Main Southern Army • Yankees – Nickname of
northern soldiers – Billy Yank
The Confederacy • Seven states that
seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America (Feb, 1861) – South Carolina,
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas
• Adopted a Constitution • Jefferson Davis was
chosen as the President
• Alexander Stephens – Vice President
• Lincoln did not want to start the war
• Confederates fire on the fort while supplies are being brought in
• Fort is surrendered by the Union
• First shots of the Civil War • Arkansas, Tennessee,
North Carolina and Virginia now join the Confederacy
Call for Arms • Whole communities
joined the war • Both sides were
convinced that it would be a quick victory
• Men wanted to be a part of the action – Sounded like a great
adventure to many
• Both sides had to turn away men at first
Border States • Slave states that remained
in the Union during the Civil War
• Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, West Virginia
• Lincoln’s goal was to keep them in the Union
• Why do you think these states are important?
• Most of the Southern factories, population, and food were in these states
• Surround Washington D.C.
• Initially had better generals and soldiers – Country boys
• Strong motive – defend their way of life
• Small population – 6 million
• Underdeveloped economy – King Cotton
• New and weak government
• Strong Central Government (Lincoln)
• Trouble finding good generals
• Secretary of War
• Senator representing Mississippi
• Was considered more experienced and prepared than Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
• Many doubted his ability as a leader
– Due to a lack of experience
• Eventually proved to be a strong leader and war planner
Robert E. Lee • Considered the top officer
in the U.S. army • Lincoln asked Lee to
command the Union army • Lee decided to stand by
Virginia and join the Confederates – “If Virginia stand by the old
Union, so will I. But if she secedes…then I will follow my native state with my sword and, if need be, my life”
• Lee would become commander of the Confederate army
Strategies for Victory
ports – Gain control of the
Mississippi river and divide the South in half
• Hold tight until the North got tired of fighting
• Believed that European countries may help recognize the Confederacy
• Continue to sell cotton to Europe
Union Confederates
Battle of Bull Run
• Union hoped a quick strike against the Confederates would end the war
• PICNICS!!
• Confederates easily defeated the Union
• Made it clear that the rebellion would not easily be crushed
George McClellan
• Overly CAUTIOUS!!!
• Popular with the men
• “If General McClellan does not want to use the army, I would like to borrow it for a time”
– Abraham Lincoln
• Lee took the offensive and marched his troops into Maryland
• Union troops found Lee’s battle plans – McClellan still hesitated
• 23,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were killed or wounded
• Confederates retreated back to Virginia
• Union claimed it as a victory
Emancipation Proclamation
• Declared slavery illegal in rebellious states – Not in the border
states…why?
• Took resources away from the South
African-Americans in the War
• Inequalities – Paid less
– Menial tasks (build forts, guard forts and supply lines)
• By the end of the war, 200,000 African Americans served – 40,000 lost their lives
54th Massachusetts Regiment • Recruited and put together by
Frederick Douglas • Extreme bravery at Fort Wagner • Won the respect of other
soldiers and people in the North • Most popular African American
regiment of the Civil War
Soldier Life • Most soldiers were under
21 – Nearly ½ 18 and under – 100,000 15 and under
• Old tactics used with new technology – Rifles and cone shape
bullets (Minnie ball) – Improved cannons with
better range
• On average ¼ of all soldiers were killed or injured in battle
• By the end of the war, 1 out of 8 Civil War soldier deserted (ran away)
Medicine and the Civil War
• Amputation was the surgery that was most often used
• Doctors did not know that germs caused infection
• Diseases spread rapidly
Drafting Soldiers
• Confederates instituted the first military draft in U.S. history in 1862 – Exempted one white
man for every 20 slaves – Could hire substitutes
for $300.
• North implemented a similar draft called the Enrollment Act of 1863. – Heavy protest from
immigrants – Why?
Nickname given to Northerners who opposed the war
• New York Draft Riots – White workers attacked
free blacks – Nearly 100 were killed
• Union soldiers were brought in to stop the riot
Consequences of the War on the North
• Established the first income tax to pay for the war
• Large increase in the demand for clothing, shoes, guns and other industrial products
• Inflation – Large increase in the price of goods
Consequences of the War on the South
• Loss of the cotton trade
• Huge shortage of goods for civilians
• Shortage of food and supplies to soldiers
• Inflation
• Much of the fighting took place in the South – Destruction of
Southern property
• Had to take jobs in industry and farms – Supplied clothing,
medicine, and food to the soldiers
• Forbidden to enlist in the Union and Confederacy
• Beginning of the nursing occupation – It was not acceptable
to have women treat patients prior to the Civil War
Fall of Vicksburg
• Vicksburg was the last part of the Mississippi that the South had
• Ulysses S. Grant eventually takes control of Vicksburg
• Gave the Union control of the Mississippi River
• Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas were now split from the rest of the Confederacy
Ulysses S. Grant
• Failed in business • Given command of the
Union army in the Eastern theatre
• Eventually brought to the West to fight Lee
• Became the general that Lincoln had been looking for
• Would become the 18th President of the U.S.
• General Lee advanced the Confederate army into Pennsylvania
• Plan of swinging in and capturing Washington D.C. and ending the war
• The armies met at the small town of Gettysburg
• Chamberlain’s bayonet Charge • Pickett’s charge on cemetery
ridge • Union victory and a huge loss
that the South would not recover from
• Turning point in the war
Gettysburg Address
• The battle left over 50,000 dead or wounded
• November 19, 1863 – A cemetery was dedicated to the lost soldiers
• Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address
• Reminded Americans that the nation was founded on the belief that “all men are created equal.”
We here highly resolve that the dead shall not have died in vain --- that this nation, under God, shall have a new
birth of freedom --- and that government of the people, by the people, for the
people, shall not perish from the earth.”
- Abraham Lincoln
Total War • What does it mean? • Grant’s plan of
destroying the South’s ability to wage war
• Destroy any food or equipment that could be useful to the South
• Southern civilians would suffer just like the soldiers
• Destruction of plantations and farms
• Burning of cities – Atlanta and Richmond
Sherman’s March to the Sea
• William Tecumseh Sherman – Top Union general in the West after Grant left
• Ordered to destroy everything in his path
• Destroyed railroad tracks, killed livestock, tore up fields, burned barns, homes and factories
Election of 1864
– Promised to end the war immediately by compromise
• The capture of Atlanta provided Lincoln with momentum
• Lincoln eventually easily wins the election
Appomattox Court House
• Grant kept pressing Lee even with the high casualties
• Grant knew that the Union could resupply men and equipment while the South could not
• Lee eventually had to surrender because of a lack of resources (men, food).
• April 9, 1865 – Lee surrenders to Grant
Effects of the Civil War
• 600,000 soldiers died – 350,000 Union
– 250,000 Confederate
• No longer “these United States” but “the United States”
• Ended slavery