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.