The Civil War Unit 3 Lesson 1 Vocabulary Union a group of states or nations united into one political body (The North) Confederacy an alliance between persons, parties, states (The South) Secede to withdraw formally from an alliance, federation, or associati on, as from a political union Freedman term used to describe an emancipated, or freed, slave Secession The secession of the southern states was not a decision that was backed by all southerners Often State Conventions were the deciding voices on whether or not a state would secede The Confederate States of America are created by the 7 seceded states as the southern governing body The south elects Jefferson Davis as President of the Confederate States of America The Fighting Begins Fort Sumter in South Carolina remained in Union hands after SC seceded. It needed resupplied, but to no provoke fighting Lincoln sent only nonmilitary supplies. Davis decided to attack anyways and Fort Sumter was surrendered in the face of overwhelming firepower. In response, Lincoln calls for Northern military volunteers, who come eagerly. Sides Chosen, Lines Drawn In the opening stages of the war the slave states of VA, AR, TN, NC, MD, DE, KY, MO had not chosen sides. Refusing to fight fellow slaveholders VA, AR, TN, and NC secede and join the Confederacy Secessionist sentiments were not as strong in DE, KY, MD, and MO and they stayed in the Union. Goals for the War The North Lincoln wants to ensure that he does not alienate border states, therefore slavery is not the central issue. The goal of the war for the North is to save the Union The South The goals of the South are simpler, they want to be independent and leave slavery intact This is a defensive war for them, they make the North invade to achieve its goals. Advantages Union Larger Population Produced nearly all industrial goods, including munitions More extensive railroad and telegraph networks Controlled the Navy Good military leaders like Ulysses S. Grant Confederacy Familiar with the territory and climate Home Field advantage Fighting a defensive war Great military minds like Robert E. Lee and Thomas Jackson Profitable economy, when exports are possible Kentucky in the Civil War Why was Kentucky divided? Borders: Three slave states and three free states Population: 19% of KY total population slaves Tobacco and hemp crops relied heavily on slave labor Sympathizers on both sides, loyalty to the country and to the state Fort Boonesboro Created by the Union in 1863 to defend the Kentucky River from Confederate forces At the time southern Calvary from Tennessee had been raiding by crossing the river The fort deterred activity from the Confederates until Union troops were mobilized into Tennessee The Anaconda Plan or Scott's Great Snake is the name widely applied to an outline strategy for subduing the seceding states in the American Civil War. Proposed by General-in-Chief Winfield Scott, the plan emphasized the blockade of the Southern ports, and called for an advance down the Mississippi River to cut the South in two. Because the blockade would be rather passive, it was widely ridiculed by a loud faction who wanted a more vigorous execution of the war, and who likened it to the coils of an anaconda suffocating its victim. The snake image caught on, giving the proposal its popular name. Tactics and Technology Refined rifling techniques and the Minie Ball bullet design made guns far more deadly on the battlefields Also new on the battlefield are exploding artillery, flamethrowers, and early machine guns. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOw_LJb LHlw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOw_LJb LHlw Morse Code made the telegraph near instant communication between the front lines and rear command possible for the first time. Railroads are utilized, especially in the North, as mass troop and supply transport. These new developments and old tactics make the Civil War Americas deadliest war ever. The Generals Ulysses S. Grant Graduate of West Point, 1843 (Rank 21 in a class of 39) General for the Union 42 years old in 1864 Robert E. Lee Graduate of West Point, 1829 (Rank 2 in a class of 46) General for the Confederacy 57 years old in 1864 West Point Why so serious? Top military school of its time in the US Comparable to Harvard Considered an honor to be accepted Most generals were graduates The Ironclads In 1862 the Confederacy attempted to break the Union blockade. With a captured Union ship, the USS Merrimac, the Confederates try something new. They clad the hull in iron plates to give it protection from enemy fire and renamed the ship CSS Virginia. The Ironclads When news of this reaches the Union they create their own ironclad, the USS Monitor. Initially the Virginia performs well, easily destroying a pair of wooden hulled vessels. When the Monitor arrived a raging battle ensued. Early Actions The North blockades the South keeping it from trading with foreign powers. Why would that damage the South? The North captures New Orleans and the Mississippi River Valley to complete the blockade and divide the South. There are early victories for both the North and South, but all fights have high casualties. 23,000 perish at the Battle of Antietam Major Battles First Battle of Bull Run Battle of Fredericksburg Battle of Chancellorsville Battle of Gettysburg Siege of Vicksburg Battle of Bull Run 1 st Battle of Bull Run, July 16 th, 1861 Both sides believed one battle could end the war Union had the advantage until General Thomas Stonewall Jackson held the line for the Confederates, giving him his nickname Confederate victory led to the continuation of the war People understood it would be a long and bloody conflict (over 24,000 causalities) Stonewall Jackson Born in Virginia Graduated from West Point Key to many southern victories Led many successful campaigns until battle of Chancellorsville Wounded by his own men and died of infection a few days later The Life of a Soldier Most time for a soldier was spent in camps Lots of drilling, card games, baseball, and church POWs endured notoriously poor conditions If a soldier were to die it was more likely to be due to sickness or infection than a battlefield wound Because of the extensive wounds and sicknesses nurses like Clara Barton (founder of the Red Cross), become critical and many women volunteer to serve as battlefield nurses. Battle of Fredericksburg Union General Burnside decided to attack across the river into Virginia Lees Army was entrenched behind a large stonewall outside of the town with a small force left in town to slow the Union advance Most one sided battle of the entire war, Union causalities were twice that of the Confederates (18,000 causalities, 6000 Confederates, 12,000 Union soldiers) Battle of Chancellorsville Confederate troops were outnumbered by Union forces Lee ordered his forces to divide and send Stonewall Jackson on a surprise attack Jackson flanked the Union position and was very successful Overall 29,000 causalities Later in the night was out with his personal guard and was shot down by pickets His death was a turning point for Lees Army Battle of Gettysburg (turning point) One of the only battles in the north (July 1 st -July 3 rd 1863) Centered in the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Lasted three days, some of the bloodiest fighting ever seen, over 160,000 men fought (50,000 causalities) After two days of stalemate fighting, Picketts Charge on the third day devastated a large portion of Lees Army because of the open ground and the Unions position behind stone walls Opposite of what happened in Fredericksburg earlier in the war Key victory that would give the Union a foothold to keep fighting Great Britain The South was looking for an add an advantage, namely an alliance with GB (industry was dependent on "King Cotton) but GB was wary of events and did not want to become involved: Great Britain had stockpiled cotton as the conflict was escalating; they had also found other sources (Madras, India) Workers who lost their jobs in cotton factories had been able to find work in the new munitions factories that were mostly supplying the North Most British citizens resented slavery British crop failures had led to increased grain trade with the North The Gettysburg Address "Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation: conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war...testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated... can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate...we cannot consecrate... we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us...that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion... that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain... that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom... and that government of the people...by the people...for the people... shall not perish from the earth. " The Emancipation Proclamation Issued by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863 Was intended to undermine the Souths war effort by disrupting the labor force of the South as well as free slaves This document freed all enslaved peoples in States that were rebelling. The document encouraged freedmen to join the Union forces. Nearly 180,000 African Americans will answer the call. Siege of Vicksburg Final major military campaign to complete the Anaconda Plan Union was led by Ulysses S. Grant Lasted for over a month (May 18 th -July 4 th 1863) Confederate General Pemberton surrendered on July 4 th affectively, giving up the final southern fort on the Mississippi River A Union Victory Grant succeeds in cutting the supply lines to the Confederate capitol at Richmond. Sherman begins the infamous Shermans March to the Sea. Sherman marched across Georgia destroying crops, livestock, homes, and businesses in an effort to damage the Southern economy. Lincoln also wins reelection in the election of 1864, paving the way for the 13 th Amendment, which ended slavery in the United States. Aftermath Over the course of the war we lose over 600,000 American lives Union Casualties: Battles: 110,000 deaths Sickness/Injuries: 250,000 deaths Confederate Casualties: Battles: 95,000 deaths Sickness/Injuries: 165,000 deaths Over the course of the war we lose over 600,000 American lives (compared to 400,000 Americans WWII/58,000 Vietnam) Surrender at Appomattox April 3, Grant took Richmond, VA, the final blow to Lee's army Lee surrenders on April 9, 1865 at Appomattox Courthouse All Confederate troops forced to take an oath of loyalty to U.S. Otherwise, terms of surrender were lenient Lincoln didn't want a humiliated South and further conflict A Tragic End In the same month that Lee formally surrenders to Grant, President Lincoln is assassinated. He is killed by John Wilkes Booth while watching a play with his wife in April of 1865. In the End After the death of Lincoln his vice president, Andrew Johnson, was sworn in as the 17 th President of the United States Democrat from Tennessee Conflicted views on preserving the Union and keeping peace with the South Reconstruction begins but where does he stand?