The Civil War

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Secession

Secession

• The process of southern states withdrawing from the Union

• Lincoln insisted he would not pursue abolition of slavery Southerners thought it would only be a matter of time

• Between Lincoln’s election & inauguration, seven southern states seceded (SC, Miss, FL, AL, GA, Louis, & Texas)

• Based their right to secede on ”states’ rights” & argument that the Union was a collection of sovereign states

Confederate States of America

• The seven states drafted a new constitution, naming their country the Confederate States of America

• They openly encouraged other slave states to join them, and some time later would

• Until 1865, the C.S.A. claimed to be an independent country and acted on its behalf as such

• U.S. officials initially expressed a desire to remain peaceful

James Buchanan

• Democratic president, elected in 1856

• Had been a minister to GB before running for president

• Stood by and did nothing to address the secession of several states after losing the election of 1860

Abraham Lincoln

• Elected the 16th President of the United States in the Election of 1860

• Lincoln was elected president entirely by the free states, leading, in part, to the sectional division that ensued

• Lincoln promised not to address slavery, southerners did not trust him and many southern states seceded between Lincoln’s election and inauguration

• Lincoln immediately expressed his commitment to keeping the country united

Fort Sumter

• Union fort on an island in the harbor of Charleston, S.C. & 1 of only 2 forts to remain under U.S. control in the South immediately following secession

• President Lincoln notified the “independent“ Confederate state of S.C. that he was sending supplies to the fort

• In order to avoid attack on the supply ship, Confederate President Jefferson Davis chose to take the fort

• April 12, 1861, C.S.A General P.G.T Beauregard, started a 34 hour bombardment that would end in the surrender of the fort without any loss of life

• Marked the beginning of the Civil War

The Homestead Act (1862)

• Signed by Lincoln, giving an applicant up to 160 acres of underdeveloped land for free!!!

• Qualifications:

  • 21 years of age

  • citizen or in pursuit of citizenship

  • must improve the land

  • must file for a deed of title

  • must stay for 5 years or forfeit the land

• Reasons:

  • advertisements & incentives from railroads & land speculators

  • Midwestern states had become as populated as seaboard states

  • virgin land

Greenbacks

• An official American, paper currency printed throughout the Civil War as a way to finance the war and secure the economy

• Greenbacks were false money, not backed by gold or silver, holding value only because the gov’t made it an acceptable medium of exchange

• Because there was no backing, greenback value fluctuated

• The unpredictability of the value of the greenback made it less desirable to both private businesses and the gov’t

Emancipation Proclamation

• Presidential order, issued 9/22/1862, followed by the outright order, 1/1/1863; freeing slaves in the Confederacy

• Anyone held as a slave in a state

  • “in rebellion against the U.S., shall be then and thenceforward, and forever free.“

• Prior to this, Lincoln was clear that he thought slavery was an evil, but that the war was only to preserve the Union

• Had little effect on slavery because it only freed slaves in states that were in secession; slave states loyal to the Union were unaffected

(This wasn’t a message to Southern whites, it was for the slaves in the south)

13th Amendment

• 1st of several amendments passed following the Civil War to deal with the post-war socio-political atmosphere

• This amendment abolished slavery within the U.S. & all territories under U.S. Control

• Created a protection that extended freedom to all African-Americans not touched by the Emancipation Proclamation

• Under Johnson’s plan, Southern states were required to ratify the amendment before re-admittance

54th Mass. Regiment

• The first, and most well known all blacks regiment in the Union during the Civil War

• The 54th was commanded by a well to do Boston native, Robert Gould Shaw

• Shaw and much of his regiment were killed in an assault on Fort Wagner in S.C.

• Hundreds of thousands of African-Americans served in the Union forces throughout the Civil War, though they were largely excluded early on

• Needing additional manpower, the Union formed several African American regiments, most of them were used for labor rather than combat

Clara Barton

• Founder and president of the American Red Cross in 1877

• Barton had left her job to help injured troops, bringing food, bandages, and supplies

• Following the war, Barton was in charge of searching for missing soldiers, finding many in Confederate P.O.W. graves

Jefferson Davis

• Lincoln’s counterpart; elected President of the Confederate States of America

• Originally hoped to command Mississippi forces

• Was less successful than Lincoln because the Confederate constitution was more like the Articles of Confederation: providing too much authority to the individual states

Ulysses S. Grant (Union)

• General of the western Union forces who led the advance into the South

• Successfully took Fort Henry and Fort Donelson along the Kentucky-Tennessee boarder, opening the door to the South, won the battle of Shiloh

• Retreated in order to secure the union position along the Mississippi

• Following Shiloh, Grant concluded that only “complete conquest“ would ever end the war

• Grant was then given command of all Union forces, where he would continue until the end of the war, he would later be elected President

Robert E. Lee (Confederacy)

• Genral in charge of all Confederate forces during the Civil War & graduate of West Point

• Had once been an officer in the U.S. army & served in the Mexican-American war

• Lincoln had offered Lee command of the Union army duty Lee rejected the offer when his hone state of VA seceded

• Lee was first the General of Virginian forces but would soon lead the whole Confederate army

• Loss of the Union’s top generals greatly hurt the North’s initial war efforts

Ironclads

• Both the Union and the Confederacy constructed ships that were reinforced with iron plates, making them impenetrable by cannon

• In March of 1862, the C.S.S. Virginia (Merrimac) attached a Union blockade, destroying several union ships

• The following day, the U.S.S. Monitor, another ironclad, met up with the Virginia and battled to a draw

• The Confederates realized they would be unable to destroy the Union blockade

The rifle

• A new weapon invented in the 1850s., that had a dramatic impact on the light casualty rate in the Civil War

• Rifling are the spiral grooves in the barrel of a gun that cause the bullet to spin; projecting it in a more accurate line to its intended target

• This invention, along with repeater mechanisms that allowed soldiers to fire more rounds faster, greatly increased the deadliness of warfare

• This, coupled with antiquated military tactics like regimental firing lines, led to dramatic casualty on both sides

First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas)

• July 21, 1861, 30,000 Union troops met up with a smaller Confederate force near Bull Run stream at Manassas Junction

• General McDowell believed the Union could win the war quick with a decisive victory over the South

• Union forces initially did well but Confederate reinforcements led to a union defeat

• This loss prompted Lincoln to replace McDowell with General George McClellan

West Virginia

• State added to the Union in 1863, as a result of the Union army, led by General McClellan, successfully defeating Confederate forces there

• The mountainous north western counties of Virginia had not wanted to secede when the rest of the state did so

• Citizens of West Virginia welcomed the Union troops and the opportunity to declare their independence from the rest of Virginia and establish their own state, loyal to the Union

George B. McClellan

• Appointed Commanding General of the Union Army during the early phase of the Civil War

• Lincoln would later replace McClellan when he became frustrated with the lack of progress he saw under McClellan’s leadership

• Historians often describe McClellan as hesitant in his command on the battlefield which is likely what led to several Union defeats

• Lincoln’s removal of McClellan would be first of several he would make throughout the war

Battle of Antietam

• Battle in which General McClellan attached Lee at Antietam Creek in the bloodiest single day of fighting of the war

• By 1862, Lee was convinced his forces should invade the North and planned on attack on Washington D.C.

• Copies of Lee’s plan and positions made their way to McClellan but he never opened the dispatch

• Lee was heavily outnumbered but was able to hold his position

• At night, Lee crossed back over the Potomac, ending the battle in a draw

• This was as far north as Southern forces would get in the war

Thomas “Stonewall“ Jackson

• Confederate General, given his nickname because he could make his men stand firm in battle

• After the Union defeat at Bull Run, Jackson asked for 10,000 troops to take Washington

• Confederate President Davis rejected this early request because he wanted to fight a defensive war to keep the moral high ground and also felt the Southern forces were too disorganized

• Jackson would go on to be one of the most successful Confederate Generals in the war until he died in the Battle of Chancellorsville

Battle of Gettysburg

• Union forces under General Meade fell into an impromptu battle with Confederate forces at Gettysburg, PA

• Union troops were positioned on a ridge, giving them the advantage of the high ground

• On the 3rd day of the battle, Confederate forces made one last attempt with Pickett’s charge at the middle

• Union losses =23,000 / Confederate losses 28.000

• Considered the turning point of the war and the Union’s greatest victory

• Lincoln was still unhappy with Meade for allowing the Confederate retreat

William Tecumseh Sherman

• Union General who took control of the Western forces when Grant was promoted to command all Union forces

• Waged a new type of warfare on the South - a “total war“ in which military and civilian supplies and buildings were destroyed

• Sherman took Atlanta, burned it and marched southeast

Sherman’s “March to the Sea“

• In his “total war“ campaign, Sherman destroyed miles of military and civilian targets to exhaust, weaken, and demoralize the Confederates

• After burning Atlanta, he marched southeast, cutting a route of destruction 60 miles wide and 300 miles long across the South

• His army looted, burned, and destroyed all Confederate supplies and resources [food, machinery, buildings, bridges, etc.]

• He then turned northward toward the sea and utilized the same tactics, changing the face of the war

Appomattox Court House

• Location in VA where General Lee surrendered his forces to General Grant of April 9th, 1865

• Grant had cut off Lee’s forces from meeting up with other Confederate troops

• Grant urged Lee’s surrender to avoid further bloodshed

• Accompanied by his military secretary Lee arrived in his military best while Grant arrived, unkempt, directly from the battlefield

• Lee agreed to an absolute surrender & Grant allowed officers to keep their swords & pistols & soldiers their horses & freedom with a pledge not to fight again