0.24 nature of the war

was union prepared for war

neither side was prepared

union only had 16,000-strong regular army

lincoln had no military experience

general winfield scott had no general staff, no strategic plans, no plan for mobilisation

april 1861 - lincoln appealed for 75,000 volunteers to serve for 3 months

this was insufficient

congress agreed to raise 500,000 men who would serve for 3 years

was the confederacy prepared for war

had to start military organisation from scratch

davis had some military experience

useful pool of talent from around 300 officers who resigned from regular army to fight for confederacy

southern state militias were better prepared for war than those in the north

confederate congress agreed to raise 100,000 volunteers for up to 1 years service

in may, authorised an additional 400,000 troops for 3 years service

problem was equipping the volunteers, given its limited manufacturing capacity

armed mobs

what the military operations of civil war were characterised as

both sides were amateurish from the top down:

• neither had recognisably high command structure

• few junior officers had military qualifications - appointed based on social standing or political influence

mass armies

main concern for both sides in 1861 was to raise men quickly

1862 - davis - introduced conscription - every white male 18-35 liable for military service, length of service of those already in army extended to duration of the war

lincoln - carrot and stick approach - offered money to those who enlisted, stick initially was militia law (1862) - empowered lincoln to call state militias into union service. some states who didn’t enrol enough men introduced militia draft (conscription of men in the state militia) to fill quotas. march 1863 introduced conscription - aged 20 - 40

how many people fought in the civil war

by 1865

900,000 men for the confederacy

union enlisted 2.1 million men

under 1 / 10th of men who fought were conscripted

rifle -musket

improvement of military technology changed nature of warfare

previously had been the smoothbore musket - range of 100 metres

loading rifles prior to 1855 had been very slow, but now rifle-musket could be fired as quickly as smoothbore - skilled men could fire 3 shots per minute

they were accurate up to 600 metres

importance of rifle-muskets

in 1861-62 - the union ordnance chief Ripley opposed introduction of repeating rifles, fearing soldiers may waste ammunition

by 1864-65 - repeating rifles gave union armies an important advantage

if ripley had contracted for repeating rifles in 1861-62, the war may have been over sooner

communications

strategy and tactics were affected by improvements in communication

• both sides used railways to move masses of men + keep supplied. confederacy found it harder to maintain its railway system/maximise lines of interior communication

• around mississippi, steamboats were a vital role in supply

• the telegraph let commanders communicate directly with units on widely separated fronts, allowing co-ordinated movement

main theatres of the war

• confederate capital - richmond, virginia was main target for union forces. north virginia had geographical factors favouring defender - dense forests, swampy area, half a dozen major rivers running west to east

• the west - between appalachians and mississippi, vast hills and plains. west was huge in size, had natural lines of defence and main rivers that flowed into the heart of the confederacy - gave the rebels a area of vulnerability (most exposed)

• west of the mississippi was large but thinly populated area, small scale fighting and no fights here impacted the outcome of the war

naval war - union

union had large merchant marine

almost all shipbuilding capacity was in the north

north bought merchant ships, armed them, and sent for blockade duty

december 1861 - union had over 260 warships on duty and 100 under construction

blockading the south was crucial - but easier to declare than enforce

but, as months went on, blockade grew tighter, hindering confederacy’s war effort

union could use naval supremacy to transport its troops + target confederate coastal targets

naval war - confederacy

confederacy had no navy at all 1861

• although 300 naval officers joined confederacy, unlikely to find ships to command

april 1862 - new orleans - confederacy’s largest town was captured

loss of many coastal towns weakened confederacy and depressed morale

had to create navy from scratch - secretary of confederate navy

secretary ordered the conversion of one of their ships into an ironclad, aware ironclad warships experimented with by british and french

greatest moment when this ironclad sank two blockading ships

for a moment confederacy ‘ruled the waves’ but then union got their own ironclad

confederacy couldn’t maintain a monopoly if new naval weapons, it couldn’t really stretch their resources to build even 1 ironclad, whereas union could mass produce them

commerce raiders

confederacy purchased fast raiders such as the alabama and the florida from britain

they sank or captured around 200 merchant ships

although never seriously threatening to union commerce, their exploits helped southern morale

total war

argued not a total war as the union government never tried to control norths’s economy or mobilise all its resources

little ruthlessness + cruelty

more total in the south than in the north

1/4 white men in confederacy lost their lives

union did all it could to destroy the south’s economic resources + morale