Chapter 18. The Civil War- Section 1

Transcription

1 Chapter 18 The Civil War- Section 1 The War begins- on March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln insisted that the Union was indivisible and that secession was unconstitutional. When Lincoln spoke of federal property, he meant the post office, fort, and military supply houses that the federal government controlled in each state. The Path to War- the federal government still helps two federal forts in the South, one of them Fort Sumter at Charleston, South Carolina. When the fort ran short of supplies its commander Major Robert Anderson, informed Lincoln that he needed for soldiers and provisions. Meanwhile confederate PGT. Beauregard surrounded the fort with cannons. Southerners viewed Lincoln s orders to send supply ships to Fort Sumter as an act of war. Beauregard began to bombard the Fort April 12, After 34 hours of bombardment, but with no loss of life, Fort Sumter surrendered. Almost immediately Lincoln began mobilizing the North for war. The Civil War began. Preparing for War- Lincoln requested 75,000 volunteers for 90 days to help restore order in the South. Jefferson Davies called for 100,000 volunteers. Securing the Border States- Lincoln wanted to avoid making the abolition of slavery a goal of war though. In the first place not all Northerners agreed on abolition. In the second place Lincoln wanted to hold on to the Border States. More Southern States Secede- Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas and Tennessee after the attack on Fort Sumter. Lincoln considered the border states of Missouri and Kentucky important to the Union because these states controlled the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. They stayed. A Divided Nation- at the beginning of the war, neither the North nor the South seemed prepared to fight. Each side had advantage and disadvantaged. The South s: Advantages- 1. The Southerners fighting for independence on home soil. 2. Southerners fought to preserve their way of life. 3. Southerners- skilled with rifles and horses excellent soldiers. 4. Great Military leader- Robert E. Lee Disadvantages- 1. The south faced difficulties in producing weapons and other military supplies because they had few factories.

2 2. South had few railroads to move troops and supplies. 3. South s population much smaller 4. Difficult raising army 5. Open to attack along its border with the Union. Norths: Advantages- 1. North fought to re-establish the Union 2. Population 3. Money 4. Food and manufacturing 5. Vast railroad system Disadvantages- 1. fighting on foreign soil 2. Poor leadership Military Strategies The Union Three-Pronged Strategy- Winifred Scott was the north s most experienced general. Scott devised a three step plan or strategy to defeat the south: 1. Blockade Confederate ports to ruin the South s economy and cut off supplies from Europe. 2. Take control of the Mississippi River to split the South and prevent the Confederacy from using the river capital at Richmond. 3. Capture the capital at Richmond. The Confederacy s Defensive Strategy- 1. Fight a defensive war 2. Southerners were counting on Europeans to provide war materials and other supplies. Military Leadership-Lincoln and his General Winfield Scott was the commander in chief of the Union army, because of his strict adherence to military rules. Scott was unprepared to handle the union s inexperienced recruit. Eventually Lincoln discovered his best leader, Ulysses S Grant. Grants strength lays in his ability to move quickly and outmaneuver the enemy. He would play a major role in winning the war for the North. Davis and his Generals- Davis choose Albert S. Johnson to lead the battles in the West and Robert E. Lee in the East. Lee understood the battlefield as well as anyone in the military history. Section 2 The War in the East The fighting begins

3 Footnotes Names, Same Battles- many civil war battles have two names, The Union named battles after the nearest body of water. The Confederacy named them after the nearest settlement. Northern army called southern soldiers rebels. Southerners called union soldiers Yankees. The battle called the Battle of Bull Run (a Creek) in the North was known as the as the Battle of Manassas (a settlement) in the south. The First Battle of Bull Run- the confederates won the first victory of the fighting but were a little disorganized. The battle demonstrated that both armies needed training. It also suggested the war would be long and bloody. General Scott retired and Lincoln summoned General George McClellan to build up the Union s armies. More Southern Victories- the battle of the seven days, southern armies overwhelming McClellan s troops. General Lee s forces overcome the Union army in the second Battle of Bull Run. The Union soldiers once again retreated to Washington, DC. The War at Sea- although union troops continued to lose battles on land, but union navy controlled the seas. The Merrimack and the Monitor- the Merrimack was a union ship that was captured by the confederacy and fitted the ship with thick iron armor and renamed it the Virginia. Northern ironclad called the Monitor neither ship suffered much damage, but the Monitor stopped the Virginia from threatening the Union navy again. The Battle of Antietam- Antietam, Maryland, in the bloodiest single day of fighting in the entire war. More than 26,000 soldiers were killed or wounded. McClellan s army suffered too much damage to pursue the retreating rebels. The battle ended a draw, but because Lee and his army retreated North they claimed victory. The Emancipation Proclamation- on January 1, 1863, it declared all slaves in seceded states forever free unless the states returned to the Union. No confederate state reentered the union. Lincoln s action gave the war meaning for many northerners. It transformed the war into a struggle against slavery. African American Soldiers- the south refused to let African Americans join the military. About 20,000 African Americans served in the union navy. At least 180,000 African Americans served in the union army. Early in the war, Lincoln had opposed enlisting African Americans as soldiers. He feared the Border States would object. The 54 th Massachusetts volunteers became the best known African American regiment. Its soldier assaulted Fort Wagner in Charleston Harbor. Confederates won Victories at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.

4 The Battle of Gettysburg- George Mead s northern army of about 85,000 clashed with Lee s confederate forces of about 65,000 in the most celebrated battle of the war-the Battle of Gettysburg. Lee decided to attack the union center in what has become known as Pickett s charge. Led by General George E. Pickett, after three days of fighting, the union casualties numbered nearly 23,000. More than 22,000 confederates were killed or wounded. Gettysburg was a victory for the North and the turning point of the war. Never again would the weakened confederate forces be strong enough to seriously threaten the union. Section 3 The War in the West Surprise at Shiloh- the fall of Fort Donnellson opened the way for a Union advance south toward a railroad center at Corinth Mississippi. The bloody two day battle of Shiloh on the Tennessee-Mississippi border. Grants forces had stopped the confederates from retaking western Tennessee. Grant suffered 13,000 casualties. The south lost nearly 11,000. Remember the north could afford more loss of casualties. The Vicksburg Campaign- once Vicksburg fell, the union would control the Mississippi. Hungary and battered the confederate surrendered on July 4, 1863, the day after the defeat at Gettysburg. The union split the south in half and now controlled the Mississippi River. The collapse of the confederacy would soon follow. Chickamauga and Chattanooga- the Battle of Chickamauga would be the last important victory for the Civil War for the confederacy. Success in the West- the confederate army retreated to Georgia. The Union had achieved two of its three goals. First, their naval blockage had cut off European supplies to the South. Second, by taking control of the Mississippi River, the union had split the confederacy. Section 4 Behind the Lines- as the war dragged on the union suffered terrible casualties but grew stronger. Confederate losses, however gradually weakened the south s will to fight. Growing discontent in the North- irate abolitionists condemned Lincoln s incommoding attitude toward slavery and his refusal to make the end of slavery a war goal. Copperheads- encouraged Northerners to resist the war and others openly supported the south.

5 Trouble in the South- in some areas white citizens opposed the war, as did slaves. Many southerners strongly supported states rights, resisted paying taxes to a central government, and did not fully support the military. Raising the Armies- both the North and South enforced conscription or the drafting of men for military service. When the federal government needed soldiers, it specified a quota or fixed number from each state. A man could excuse himself by paying $300 or by hiring a substitute to take his place. A rich man s war and a poor man s fight. The Bounty System-bounty was a payment of money to join in the North. $1,000. The South could not afford bounties. Wartime Economics- The North s economy grew stronger during the war. Northern farmers began to increase crops for soldiers. The war produced great demands for shoes, clothes and other northern products. The South s economy grew weaker from invasion and destruction. Hardships of War- few doctors of the time knew that germs spread infection. More than half of the people who died in the Civil War died from disease, not injuries from battles. Malaria, typhoid and dysentery spread quickly through the troops. Section 5 Surrender at Appomattox Wearing down the South Total War policy- destroying confederate armies as well as natural resources. William Tecumseh Sherman- Sherman s march to sea, Sherman planned to march his men across Georgia to Savannah to the sea. Sherman s forces left a 60 mile strip of burned crops, barns, and warehouses in their path. They destroyed everything they could not use, aiming to destroy southern morale and will to fight. Lee and Grant at Appomattox- when Richmond fell, Lee and his army retreated westward. Grant chased Lee and overtook him. On the afternoon of April 9, 1865, the two leaders met in a courthouse called Appomattox. Grant was generous in his terms of peace, because he respected Robert E. Lee so much. On May 26, 1865, the long, bitter struggle was over. Abraham Lincoln Assassinated- on April 14, 1865, just 5 days after Lee s surrender, President Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, a fanatical confederate sympathizer.

6 No other president had faced such a national crisis, or endured such personal tragedies, yet the president dealt with compassion and greatness.