16-1: War Erupts

First Shots at Fort Sumter• Southern states took over

federal forts inside their borders as they seceded from the Union

• Lincoln risked war if he decided to resupply forts and giving in to rebels if he chose not to

• Lincoln informed South Carolina officials of his intention to resupply Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor and they decided to attack first

• 4:30 am April 12th, 1861 – shore guns began a 34-hour shelling barrage until Major Robert Anderson was forced to surrender the fort

Lincoln Calls Out the Militia• Two days after Sumter surrendered,

Lincoln asked the Union states for 75,000 militiamen for 90 days to put down the uprising in the South

• Border states became infuriated and refused to call up troops

• Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas voted to join the Confederacy

• Volunteers quickly signed up on both sides

• Inclusion of Virginia gave the Confederacy a stronger chance (wealth, population)

• May 1861 – Confederacy made Richmond, Virginia the capital

• Robert E. Lee became commanding general of the Confederacy’s Army of the Northern Virginia

Choosing Sides• The border states – Delaware,

Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri – slave states that bordered states where slavery was illegal were key due to their location, resources

• Maryland was key because the its loss meant loss of Washington D.C.

• Lincoln considered arresting Maryland lawmakers but eventually Pro-Union leaders gained control of Maryland’s legislature

• Kentucky was vital due to rivers, cattle• Kentucky stayed in the Union after

Confederate invasion in 1861• Missouri, Delaware also stayed in the

Union• Federal troops helped a group of

western counties break away from Virginia and form the state of West Virginia

• 24 states stayed in the Union, 11 seceded and joined the Confederacy

Strengths and Weaknesses• Union had huge advantage in

population (22 million versus 9 million [3.5-4.5 million slaves])

• 85% of nation’s factories were in the North

• Twice as much railroad track in the North (didn’t deal with problems of gauge not matching either!)

• Almost all naval power, shipyards belonged to the North

• Lincoln was a shrewd, adept politician and leader

• South had more talented military leadership

• Fought a defensive war too• Soldiers had better marksman,

outdoor skills• Units didn’t have language barriers

either

War Strategies

Union Strategy• General Winfield Scott developed an

offensive strategy known as the “Anaconda Plan”, designed to strangle the Southern economy

• Plan called for a naval blockade of the South

• Blockade is when armed forces prevent transportation of goods, people into and out of an area

• Gain control of the Mississippi River and split the Confederacy in two

• Plan called for patience – it would take time to work

• Lincoln ordered an invasion of Virginia in Summer 1861

Confederate Strategy• Take a defensive position – don’t try

to conquer the North, just remain independent

• Hoped the North would tire of the war, accept Southern independence

• Southern planters hoped that withholding cotton from European markets would force Britain, France to aid the Confederacy

• European nations had surplus cotton and often turned to other nations (Egypt) for cotton

• As the war progressed the South adopted more aggressive strategies like invading the North

1st Battle of Bull Run• To take Richmond, Union forces would

have to defeat Confederate forces stationed at the town of Manassas, Virginia (railway center southwest of Washington, D.C.)

• July 21st, 1861 Union forces commanded by General Irwin McDowell clashed with Confederate forces led by P.G.T. Beauregard near Bull Run Creek, north of Manassas

• At one point a Confederate officer rallied his troops by pointing his sword towards Southern General Thomas J. Jackson saying, “There is Jackson standing like a stone wall! Rally behind the Virginians!” – Event bestowed the nickname “Stonewall” on Jackson

• Confederate forces also let out a blood-curdling scream that came to be known as the “Rebel Yell” – Union troops broke rank and scattered

• Lincoln sent the 90 militia home and issued a call for 500,000 volunteers for 3 years