The Civil War

Lincoln's Inauguration and Initial Tensions

  • Date: March 4, 1861
    • Abraham Lincoln inaugurated as President of the United States.
  • Context: Formation of the Confederacy
    • Deep national division.
  • Lincoln's Appeal:
    • Olive branch to Southern states; no intention to interfere with slavery.
    • Warning against disunion.
  • Conflict Ignition:
    • April 12, 1861: Confederate forces attack Fort Sumter, SC.
    • First act of aggression; marks start of the Civil War.
  • Responses:
    • Lincoln calls for 75,000 volunteers for Union army.
    • Jefferson Davis calls for volunteers for Confederacy.

Personal Impacts and War Dynamics

  • Divided Loyalties:
    • Families torn apart due to differing loyalties; examples include:
    • A Confederate navy commander's son fights for the Union.
    • Three of Lincoln's brothers-in-law die for the Confederacy.
  • Union Strategy:
    • Strategic blockade of Southern ports to cripple the Confederate economy.
  • Population and Resource Disparities:
    • North: 22 million (including a significant industrial base).
    • South: 9 million (with 3.5 million enslaved individuals).
    • North’s advantages in food production and manufacturing resources.
  • Southern Strategy:
    • Defensive war strategy; goal to exhaust Northern resolve.
    • Many Southern soldiers view the fight as one for independence.

Major Battles and Turning Points

  • Virginia and Mississippi Valley Fighting:
    • Early intense conflict; both sides experience defeats.
  • 1863 Vicksburg Campaign:
    • Union victory at Vicksburg allows control of Mississippi River, bisecting Confederacy.
  • Public Sentiment:
    • Growing exhaustion and discontent in the North.
  • Lee’s Northern Invasion:
    • 1864: Lee plans decisive victory on Northern soil to sway public opinion.

Decline of the Confederacy

  • Shortages in Confederacy:
    • Critical shortages by 1864: manpower, supplies, and finances.
  • Sherman's March:
    • Total war strategy through Georgia; destruction of infrastructure.
    • Occupation of Savannah in December 1864.
  • Threat to Richmond:
    • Union forces nearing Richmond; Lee forced to abandon it on April 2, 1865.
  • Surrender:
    • Lee's army surrounded; he surrenders to Union forces.
    • Noteworthy generosity shown by Union General to Confederate soldiers.
    • Statement: "The War is over. The rebels are our countrymen again."
  • Impact of the War:
    • Formal abolition of slavery with the 13th Amendment in 1865.
    • Estimated 635,000 deaths; enduring destruction left an indelible mark on the nation.