Civil War: Key Battles, Strategies, and Political Changes

North (Union)

Economy: Industrialized; relied on manufacturing, wage labor, and railroads.

South (Confederacy)

Economy: Agricultural—dependent on cotton and enslaved labor.

Union (North)

President Abraham Lincoln; capital in Washington, D.C.

Confederacy (South)

President Jefferson Davis; capital in Richmond, Virginia.

U.S. Sanitary Commission (1861)

Organized civilian volunteers to support the Union Army through sanitation and medical supplies.

Dorothea Dix

Served as the superintendent of army nurses; helped professionalize nursing and involved women in the war effort.

Fort Sumter (April 1861)

Confederate forces fired the first shots, officially starting the Civil War.

Bull Run (Manassas, July 1861)

First major battle; Confederate victory under 'Stonewall' Jackson.

Shiloh (April 1862)

Union victory under Ulysses S. Grant in Tennessee; extremely bloody battle.

Antietam (September 1862)

Bloodiest single day in U.S. history (~22,000 casualties).

Gettysburg (July 1863)

Turning point of the war; Lee's second invasion of the North failed.

Sherman's March to the Sea (1864)

General William Tecumseh Sherman's campaign of 'total war' through Georgia — from Atlanta to Savannah.

Appomattox Courthouse (April 1865)

Site of Confederate surrender; General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant.

Anaconda Plan (1861)

Union's strategy developed by General Winfield Scott.

Emancipation Proclamation

Declared enslaved people in Confederate states 'forever free.'

Lincoln's Suspension of Habeas Corpus

Habeas corpus = right to a fair trial before imprisonment.

Homestead Act

Granted 160 acres of public land to settlers who farmed it for 5 years.

Contraband Acts

Allowed Union armies to seize Confederate property, including enslaved people ('contraband of war').

Conscription

Both sides resorted to mandatory military service due to high casualties.

Inflation

The Confederacy printed excessive paper money, leading to 9,000% inflation.

Greenbacks

Paper money issued by the Union to fund the war.

Desertion in the South

Over 100,000 Confederate soldiers deserted, discouraged by lack of food, resources, and faith in the cause.

Peace Democrats

Northern Democrats who opposed the war and criticized Lincoln's policies.

New York City Draft Riots

Sparked by working-class resentment toward the draft and racial tensions.

Ulysses S. Grant

Union general who led decisive victories at Vicksburg and later commanded all Union armies.

Robert E. Lee

Confederate general; brilliant tactician but faced shortages in manpower and resources.

William T. Sherman

Union general known for his 'March to the Sea.'

Union Victory

The Confederacy collapsed; slavery was abolished by the 13th Amendment.

Political Power Shift

Strengthened the federal government over states' rights.

Economic Impact

North industrialized further; South's economy destroyed.

Social Change

Over 180,000 Black soldiers served in the Union Army; their service laid groundwork for Reconstruction-era citizenship debates.