Civil War

Jefferson Davis

• Elected as President of the South

• Took charge of Confederate war plans but was not the leader that Union had in Lincoln

• Capital – Richmond, VA

Abraham Lincoln

• 16^th President of U.S. – Republican

• Elected 1860 – favored outlawing slavery in new territories

• President during Civil War, Emancipation Proclamation, Gettysburg Address

• Freed slaves – 13^th amendment

Confederate States of America (South)

• South – 11 slave states forming their own govt 1861-1865

• Fighting over states rights and right to slavery in the South

• Leading Confederate General Robert E.Lee

Union (North)

• Name used for Federal Govt during Civil War, Supported by free states, opposed by slave states who threatened seccession

Confederate Strengths

• Military leadership

• Homefield advantage

• Weapons and supplies from England & France

Union Strengths

• Population 21 million to 9 million

• Presidential Leadership

• Industrial advantage – railroads/factories

Confederate Weaknesses

• Smaller population

• Weaker Navy

• Large slave population

• Less industrialized

Union Weaknesses

• Lack of firm military leadership

• Having to defeat and conquer the entire South 

Battle of Gettysburg July 1863

• Many military engagements on the Battlefield of Gettysburg July 1863, over 20,000 wounded soldiers

• Lincoln’s speech Gettysburg Address – one of best in history

• Proclaimed freedom and new birth of U.S.

Battle at Fort Sumter April 1861

• First shots fired at Battle of Fort Sumter

• After attack on Fort Sumter, Lincoln called for 75,000 troops to regain lost properties in the South

• Started the Civil War

Emancipation Proclamation

• Executive order by Lincoln in 1863

• Proclaimed freedom for 3 of 4 million slaves

• Formal emancipation of slaves in the Confederacy as well

Battle of Bull Run July 1861

• Raged most of day with North controlling in the morning but losing in the afternoon to StoneWall Jackson

Battle at Fort Henry and Donelson  Feb 1862

• Ulysses S. Grant rises as a prominent General by taking to forts along Tennessee & and Cumberland River

Battle of Hampton Roads Merrimack & Monitor    March 1862

• Ironclad ships who fought to a draw

• Marks the end of war of wooden ships

Battle at Shiloh April 1862

• Confederates ambushed Union army early in the morning while making coffee

• Grant countered and nearly 25,000 men died from both sides

Battle of Antietam  September 1862

• First major battle of Civil War

• Near Sharpsburg, MD & Antietam Creek

• Bloodiest single day battle in American History – 23,000 casualties

Siege of New Orleans April 1862

• Union naval commander David Farragut over South’s largest city

• Rose U.S. flag just five days later

Chancellorsville May 1863

• Lee outmaneuvered Union General Hooker and forced Union to retreat

• Stonewall Jackson is shot few days later – arm amputated and dies from pneumonia

• Huge loss for the Confederacy

Battle at Vicksburg July 1863

• Grant laid siege to Confederate stronghold

• Cut off supply lines – soldiers hungry and forced to surrender

• Grant won major battles like this as other Union Generals failed earlier

Battle of Fort Wagner July 1863 

• Fourth occurrence of a black regiment under command of Robert Shaw and supported by Frederick Douglass

• Lost battle near Charleston, SC…but gave Northerners confidence blacks could fight as hard and bravely as whites

Surrender at Appomattox Court House April 1865

• Final surrender of the Confederacy took place here

• Lee meets with Grant to surrender

• Lee’s soldiers are paroled

Gettysburg Address

• Lincoln’s speech Gettysburg Address – one of best in history

• Emancipation Proclamation

• Proclaimed freedom and new birth of U.S.

Robert E. Lee

• Leading commander of Confederate army

• Great tactician and battlefield commander

• Won many battles against larger Union armies

• Followed his home state of VA during secession, but wanted the North and South to stay intact

Ulysses S. Grant

• Leading Union General who defeats Confederacy

• Aggressive general who led many victories

• Later becomes 18^th President of US

Stonewall Jackson

• Robert E. Lee’s 2^nd in command for  Confederacy

• Nicknamed due to being to hold up well under stressful battle conditions

George McClellan

• Original General of the Union – won Battle of Antietam

• Poor leadership – lack of pursuit/aggression after Battle of Antietam – leads to Lincoln firing him

William Sherman – March Fall/Winter 1864

• Leader of Union through Southern battles

• March across Georgia caused widespread destruction, attracted former slaves, and destroyed the morale of white Southerners

Sheridan

• General under Grant who burned Shenandoah Valley

Republican Party

• Established in 1854 in Wisconsin by former members of Whig Party, Democratic party

• Opposed slavery, called for repeal of Kansas-Nebraska Act

• Emerges as main opposition of Democrats

Cold Harbor

• Battle outside of Richmond in 1864, soldier died every 6 seconds – 7000 died

Quotes of Gettysburg Address

• Four score and seven years ago

• The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but can never forget what they did here.

Nativism 

• Opposition to immigration

• Specifically during this time period to Catholics

Preston Brooks

• Beat Charles Sumner with a cane in the Senate over the issue of slavery

Ironclad ships

• Resist burning

• Withstand cannon fire

• Splinter wooden ships

• Not very fast, bulky

Anaconda plan

• 3 part assault Union plan on the Confederacy

• Destroy Richmond – capital of Confederacy

• Take control of the Mississippi River – split the Confederacy

• Control Southern ports

Civil War results

• Long and costly war with many casualties

• One nation…not a federation of independent states

• Nation of the people, by the people, and for the people

Frederick Douglass

• Advocated for black regiments to fight in war

• Advocated for 14^th & 15^th amendments

• Ambassador to Haiti

Lincoln’s Assassination April 1865

• Plot was to kill main government officials…not just Lincoln, hoping to spur the South to continue the war

• John Wilkes Booth shoots Lincoln in Ford’s Theater, does not cause Southerners to rise up

North (Union)

• California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin

South ( Confederacy)

• Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia