Chapter 16

THE CIVIL WAR

FIRST SHOTS @ FORT SUMTER• After the South left the Union, state officials tried to take

over the federal forts inside of their borders.

• Major Robert Anderson attempted to hold on to Fort Sumter—but his troops were low on supplies.

• Lincoln was afraid supplying the fort might lead to war—but he feared that if he withdrew troops, he would be giving in to the rebels.

• Lincoln decided to send supplies and Confederate leaders responded by attacking the fort on April 12,1861.

• The Civil War had begun.

• President Lincoln called Northerners to put down the Southern rebellion.

• Many Northern men joined the army

• States such as TN, KY, AK, VA, and NC did not want to fight against their neighbors and seceded from the Union.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES;STRATEGIES• UNION ADVANTAGES–

• 24 states in the Union versus 11 in the Confederate States of America

• More manpower and resources

• Twice as many citizens as the South

• 80% of the nation’s factories were in the North

• President Lincoln was an able leader

• STRATEGY-

• Bring Southern states back to the Union

• Anaconda Plan- squeeze the Southern economy by blockading the coastline to prevent the transportation of goods.

• CONFEDERACY ADVANTAGES-

• Began the war with able generals including Robert E. Lee

• Ready to fight hard to defend their homes and families

• STRATEGY-

• Didn’t want to conquer the North—just wanted to be independent

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

• Used “King Cotton” to try and gain foreign support

BATTLE OF BULL RUN• In the summer of 1861 Lincoln ordered an invasion of Virginia—He wanted to

conquer Richmond.

• Troops clashed near a river called Bull Run (this was the First Battle of Bull Run)

• The Confederates won the battle—the rebel victory shocked the North

• The North realized that it had underestimated its opponent—Lincoln began preparing for a long war.

LIFE IN THE ARMY • A majority of the soldiers in the Civil War were

between the ages of 18 and 30

• About half of those were from farms and had never left home—they viewed the war as an exciting adventure.

• Most of the soldiers were born in America—other ethnic groups including immigrants, Native Americans and African-Americans fought as well.

• African-Americans weren’t accepted on either side at first—eventually the North let them serve.

• African-Americans saw the war as a way to end slavery

• Union soldiers wore blue uniforms and Confederate soldiers wore gray and yellowish brown uniforms .

HARDSHIPS OF ARMY LIFE• Soldiers endured terrible conditions on the

battlefield and in caps

• Hygiene was poor

• They went weeks without bathing and their clothes were overrun with fleas and lice.

• Diseases killed more soldiers during the war than battle wounds.

CHANGES IN MILITARY TECHNOLOGY• The Civil War brought many advance in military

technology.

• Rifle—gun with a grooved barrel that caused the bullet to spin through the air.

• Minie ball- a bullet with a hollow base

• Ironclad-warship covered with iron

• 1st Confederate ironclad Merrimack fought the Union Monitor.

UNION VICTORIES IN THE WEST • The Union army won victories in the West under

General Ulysses S. Grant.

• He captured 2 Confederate river forts in TN (Fort Henry and Fort Donelson).

• The seizure of Ft. Henry opened up a river highway to the heart of the South.

• Now Union gunboats could travel as far as northern Alabama.

• Soon after taking the forts, Union soldiers marched into TN’s capital, Nashville.

BATTLE OF SHILOH• Grant and his men followed the Confederates who retreated from the West.

• The 2 sides met in April 1862 in what turned out to be the bloodiest battle that the Civil War had seen thus far—the Battle of Shiloh.

• The North won—but at a terrible cost:

• # of Union soldiers dead or wounded---more than 13,000

• # of Confederate soldiers dead or wounded---nearly 11,000 of 41,000 soldiers

FALL OF NEW ORLEANS • This was a setback for the

confederacy in the spring of 1862

• A Union fleet captures New Orleans—the largest city in the South.

• This allowed the Union to control most of the Mississippi River.

• The North was now well on it’s way to cutting the Confederacy in two.

LEE CLAIMS VICTORIES IN THE EAST & INVADES THE NORTH

• Union General George McClellan attempted to capture Richmond.

• Confederate General Robert E. Lee attempted to turn McClellan’s army back by sending a cavalry (soldiers on hosreback) to spy on McClellan’s army.

• Lee attacked his army—they fought back and forth in what became called the Seven Days’ Battles.

• In the end, the Confederate troops forced the Union army to retreat to Washington.

• After this victory, Lee decided to invade the Union. He had several reasons for this attack:

1. Hoped Lincoln would be forced to talk peace.

2. The invasion would give Virginia farmers a break during harvest season.

3. He hoped a successful invasion would convince Europe to side with the South because their textile industry was suffering due to lack of Southern cotton.

BLOODY ANTIETAM• After invading Maryland, Lee drew up his plans for his

campaign in the North.

• A Confederate officer accidentally left a copy of the plans---so the McClellan knew what Lee planned to do.

• As a result he decided to attack Lee’s army

• The 2 sides met at Antietam Creek in Maryland—it became the bloodiest day in American history.

• 25,000 lay dead or wounded

• Lee lost about 1/3 of his fighting force and withdrew to Virginia—McClellan saw this as a chance to finish off the wounded Southern army but he didn’t follow them.

• He was later fired by Lincoln.