THE CIVIL WAR ERA Unit Overview (1844-1877)
Feb 24, 2016
THE CIVIL WAR ERAUnit Overview (1844-1877)
Big Picture The Civil War was the most devastating
war in American history. Lincoln’s call for 75,000 men in April of 1861 to end the menace of secession with a brief, limited military campaign proved to be nowhere near enough. As the fighting of the Civil War commenced, the war to preserve the union would prove to be neither brief nor limited. Though Lincoln began the war with no designs to “save or destroy slavery,” the conflict would ultimately morph into a war of emancipation.
Bull Run Public clamors for action
Wants to end the “Ninety-Day War” Lincoln plans to attack smaller Confederate Army
Manassas Junction (30 miles D.C.) “Demonstration” of Union’s strength
Battle of Bull Run (21 July 1861) South wins—unexpected reinforcements
Union retreats Outcomes
Southern overconfidence inflated Northern realizations
Buckle down
McClellan’s Peninsular Campaign
George “Young Napoleon" McClellan Perfectionist Cautious Arrogant
“On to Richmond!” 100,000 men approach by water
Yorktown Richmond in his sights
Lincoln uses McClellan’s reinforcements D.C. and Stonewall Jackson
Seven Days’ Battles (June 26—July 2) Lee’s counterattack
Bloody, but successful McClellan retreats—removed
Union Strategy ChangesShift toward total war:
1. Slowly suffocate the South by blockade
2. Liberate the slaves to undermine economic foundations
3. Control the Mississippi River—cut the South in two
4. Chop Confederacy to pieces—occupying armies
5. Decapitate the South—capture Richmond
6. Engage enemy’s main strength to grind it into submission
The South…“cannot
experiment for ten years trying to
destroy the government and if they fail still come back into the union
unhurt.”
~Abe Lincoln
The War at Sea The Anaconda Plan
3,500 miles of coast Difficult to enforce
U.S. Navy Included converted yachts and ferryboats
Recognized by the British Warned British shippers Implications on future wars
Blockade running Profitable (700%)
Union Navy: “ultimate destination” justification
Ironclads: Virginia (scuttled) Submarine: Hunley
Antietam Confederate Army in MD
Lee’s success at Second Bull Run Encourage foreign intervention Seduce MD to rally to rebellion
McClellan vs. Lee at Sharpsburg 17 September 1862
Bloodiest day of the war McClellan knows Lee’s plans
Fight to a draw—Lee retreats McClellan does not pursue—removed from command
Outcomes Closest Confederacy would come to victory Hopes of foreign intervention dashed Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation
Issued 01 January 1863 “an act of justice”
Emancipated slaves in areas of open rebellion Did not emancipate slaves in Border States and Union secured
pockets of the South (800,000) Stronger on proclamation than emancipation Encouraged more slaves to make for Union lines (1/7)
Controversial Changes nature of war Blacks allowed to enlist in army Democrats gain seats in 1862 (NY, PA, OH, &IL)
Foreign affairs Popular support among working class Europeans
Blacks Battle Bondage Black soldiers
Stats: 180,000 serve (mostly from the South) (10% total enlistment)
Emancipation, manhood, and citizenship Fight in 500 engagements 22 medals of honor High casualties (38,000) Confederate execution (Fort Pillow Massacre)
Slaves Southern labor battalions “Stomach of the Confederacy” Loyalty?
“Home Guards” “Intelligent Contraband”
On to Gettysburg Crisis in military leadership
Ambrose E. Burnside Replaces McClellan in protest Attacks Lee at Fredericksburg, VA (12/13/62)
Burnside’s men are slaughtered “Fighting Joe” Hooker
Replaces Burnside Flanked by Lee and Thomas “Stonewall”
Jackson at Chancellorsville, VA (05/2-4/63) Jackson killed by friendly fire
Lee uses momentum to stage invasion of North
On to Gettysburg, PA George G. Meade
Replaces Hooker
Gettysburg & the Speech that Followed Gettysburg (07/1-3/1863)
Shoes! Meade’s men
Defensive: a ridge atop a valley 92,000 strong
Lee’s men Take the offensive 76,000 strong
Three days of seesawed combat Pickett’s Charge
“high tide of the Confederacy” Last chance of rally
Gettysburg Address—“dishwatery”
The War in the West Ulysses S. Grant
Bold, resourceful, tenacious Tennessee
Fort Henry and Fort Donelson (Feb. 1862) Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers Impact: secures KY and opens TN
Shiloh (Apr. 6-7, 1862) Grant moves to capture Corinth, MS Confederate wins at a high cost
The Mississippi River—dividing the South New Orleans (Spring 1862) Vicksburg (July 4, 1863) Port Hudson (July 9, 1863)
Sherman to the Sea Grant to TN
Siege of Chattanooga (Nov. 1863) Opens up GA Grant named General in Chief
William Tecumseh Sherman Total war
Atlanta (Sept. 1864) March to the Sea
Destroy supply lines Sink morale of Confederacy
Seizure of Savannah (Dec. 22, 1864) North to the Carolinas
Burning of Colombia
The Politics of War Political infighting
Radical Republicans Salmon P. Chase
Distrusted Lincoln’s ability Doubted his commitment to abolition
Congressional Committee on the Conduct of War (1861)
Detested the Lincoln’s wartime powers Northern Democrats
War Democrats: supported Lincoln Peace Democrats
“Copperheads” Attacked: Lincoln, conscription, and
emancipation
The Election of 1864 The Union Party
Republicans and War Democrats unite “Ditch Lincoln” movement—fails Lincoln nominated
Andrew Johnson (TN) as VP candidate Democrats
Peace and Copperheads Nominate George McClellan
Election Lincoln wins!
Union successes The “bayonet” vote
Grant Outlasts Lee Grant vs. Lee
Grant: superior resources takes offensive multiple engagements
Lee: declining army takes defensive positions
Peace negotiations? Terms at Hampton Roads (Feb. 1865)
Lincoln: Union and emancipation Confederacy: Independence
Failed Richmond—captured! Appomattox Courthouse—Lee surrenders (April 9,
1865)
“Now he belongs to the ages.”
Lincoln’s Assassination Ford’s Theatre
(Apr. 14, 1865) John Wilkes Booth
Conspiracy? Rumors
Legacy? “With malice
toward none and charity for all.”
The North? The South?
The Aftermath Casualties
1,000,000 Over 600,000 dead
Impacts: widows and potential fathers
Costs $15,000,000,000 Plus pensions and interest
on debt Intangibles*
National > State government question
Slavery question