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The
Civil War
Opening Guns
Lincoln's Inauguration
Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4, 1861.
He entered Washington in disguise because of the threats on his life.
In his speech he made it known that he believed the Union was perpetual
or everlasting.
He did not accept the secession of the South.
He stated he would preserve the Union at all costs.
Fort Sumter Crisis
The Fort was located on an island off Charleston, South Carolina.
Lincoln sent supplies to the fort.
Southern leaders saw this as an act of war.
The Civil War began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate cannons opened
fire on the fort; after 40 hours the fort surrendered.
This event marked the opening of the Civil War.
Spread of Secession
Lincoln considered the Fort Sumter attack an insurrection, and called
up the state militia.
After calling for troops, and after the start of the war, states that
seceded from the Union were Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, and
Virginia.
Virginia was the residence of several experienced army officers like
Robert E. Lee.
Slave, or border, states that remained in the Union include Missouri,
Kentucky, Delaware, and Maryland.
In 1863, 46 western Virginia counties formed West Virginia and stayed
with the Union.
Union Plans and Advantages
President Lincoln's main goal in fighting the Civil War was preserving
the Union.
Plan: known as the Anaconda Plan, the idea was to blockade the Confederacy
by sea from Norfolk, VA to Texas; take over the Mississippi River and
divide the South; and keep any European country from recognizing the
Confederacy as a separate country.
Advantages: the North had over twice the number of people for an army;
factories to make weapons; a better railroad system; and a larger navy.
Confederate Plans and Advantages
Plan: the South wanted to fight a defensive war; they fought on and
defended their own land.
Advantages: they knew the land they were fighting on; had many experienced
military leaders; and hoped France and Great Britain would continue
to buy cotton for European textile mills.
The Confederates hoped to get aid from Great Britain and France. With
European help, the Confederacy hoped to force the Union to recognize
its independence.
First Battle of Bull Run
Many people in the North thought one quick victory over Confederate
forces would end the war.
On July 16, 1861, Union General McDowell led 30,000 troops toward
Richmond, VA.
At Manassas, VA they met Confederate troops on July 21, 1861.
Confident of victory, spectators and reporters went with the Union
army to watch the Battle of Bull Run.
The Union army was defeated which led to a panic retreat.
The North began to realize it would be a long and difficult war.
From Plans to Action
The leading Union generals were Irvin McDowell, Ulysses S. Grant,
and George McClellan. Confederate generals include Robert E. Lee, Thomas
Jackson, Joseph Johnston, Pierre Beauregard, and Albert Johnston.
Early Confederate victories were at the First Battle of Bull Run and
the Second Battle of Bull Run.
War in the West
On February 6, 1862, Union troops, led by Ulysses S. Grant, moved
up the Tennessee River and captured Fort Henry with the help of Union
ships.
By February 16, 1862, Grant captured Fort Donelson on the Cumberland
River and opened the Confederate west to attack.
On April 6, 1862, Grant led forces, on the southern Tennessee River
at Shiloh, in the defeat of Confederate forces.
After Shiloh, the Union controlled much of the Tennessee and northern
Mississippi Rivers.
The Union had captured the western forts of Fort Henry and Donelson.
Naval Campaign
At first the Union navy was unable to stop blockade runners.
With more ships the Union navy was able to shut off southern trade.
The Virginia: (ironclads) on March 8, 1862, the Virginia (Merrimac)
a southern ship battled the North's Monitor, this was the first battle
between metal ships, and ended in a stalemate.
On the Mississippi River: in 1862, Union Admiral Farragut captured
New Orleans and other southern ports along the Gulf of Mexico, including
Memphis. The Union now controlled the Mississippi River.
War in the East
Richmond: the North wanted to capture the southern capital at Richmond,
VA; the South wanted Washington D.C.
Lincoln fired General McDowell after his defeat at Bull Run. George
McClellan was given Union command. McClellan was slow in preparing
troops. Finally, Lincoln ordered McClellan to attack Richmond. McClellan
led over 100,000 troops in a three month campaign against the Confederates
forces led by General Robert E. Lee. The Union army was forced back,
and Lincoln fired McClellan and put in General John Pope.
Second Battle of Bull Run: Lee defeated Pope, and by September 1862,
General Lee invaded the North.
Antietam: McClellan regained Union command. Antietam was fought on
September 17, 1862, Lee's army withdrew. There were 23,000 casualties,
and it was the bloodiest one-day battle in the Civil War.
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln believed the war was to save the Union, not to abolish slavery.
Lincoln feared abolition would cause border states to secede.
On September 22, 1862, Lincoln stated that as of January 1, 1863,
all slaves in Confederate lands would be free.
As Union armies took over more areas in the South, thousands of slaves
were freed.
Nearly 200,000 black Americans joined the Union forces, but they were
not treated equally; however, during the last two years of the war,
black soldiers took part in nearly every battle.
War on the Home Front
People at Home
The roles of women during the war were they set up volunteer aid societies,
acted as spies, served as nurses, and helped to provide food and other
supplies.
Volunteers and Spies: women set up volunteer aid societies in churches,
schools, and homes. Rose O'Neal and Bell Boyd were spies. Some women
smuggled medicines, and were blockade runners.
Medical Care: women provided medical care, sanitation services, and
food to the armies.
Profits and Poverty
Industries that made a profit from the war were those that made iron,
cannons, movable bridges, and locomotives.
North: farms grew because of the need of food, farmers bought more
machines to replace workers lost to the war. Textile plants were hurt,
but he iron industry boomed as it supplied the Union army. Food prices
went up, and labor called for higher wages.
Food prices rose in the South during the war because the blockade
of the southern coast made food scarce and prices went up.
South: manufactured goods became scarce, price of food rose, shortages
became serious, and sickness became a problem because of a lack of
medical supplies.
Soldiers for the Armies
Steps taken to provide soldiers include recruitment, draft, and bounties.
At the beginning of the war several volunteered.
As the war dragged on volunteers slowed.
Bounties were offered to those who joined the armies.
On April 14, 1862, the Confederates established a draft. The Union
followed the next year.
Both sides could hire substitutes if drafted.
The draft was unfair to the poor.
In July 1863, a draft riot took place in New York City.
Opponents of the War
Copperheads: these were northern Democrats who opposed Lincoln's war
policies; and, in 1864, they formed the Sons of Liberty and supported
state's rights and opposed federal measures they thought unconstitutional.
Lincoln put several anti-war leaders in prison, and the courts stated
he had exceeded his authority. Lincoln insisted he did it for the safety
and security of the nation.
Financing the War
The North and the South paid for the war by selling bonds, issued
paper money, took out loans, and passed taxes.
North: the federal government borrowed money through the sale of bonds;
taxed states; set up an income tax; issued paper money, called greenbacks,
that was not backed up by gold or silver; and set up a national banking
system.
South: received European loans backed by cotton and other cash crops;
set up a direct tax on states; and printed paper money not backed by
gold or silver.
Congress Without the South
Laws Congress passed during the war: Kansas entered the Union as a
state. A protective tariff and the Homestead Act were passed.
Republicans passed laws that had been blocked by Southerners before
the war.
In 1861, Kansas became a free state.
In 1861, Colorado, Nevada, and Dakota became free territories.
In 1864, Nevada became a state.
When the Homestead Act of 1862 was passed it provided free land to
settlers.
Two companies were chartered to build a railroad from Nebraska to
California.
High Point of the Confederacy
Major battles fought in late 1862 and 1863: Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville,
Gettysburg, and Vicksburg.
Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville
Lincoln replaced McClellan with General Burnside after Antietam.
On December 13, 1862, Burnside led the Union army to take Richmond
and met Lee's forces at Fredericksburg, VA. The Confederates won.
Lincoln changed commanders and called on General Hooker.
Hooker, in the spring of 1863, led Union forces in an invasion of
Virginia.
After a four day battle at Chancellorsville the Union army retreated.
The Confederates lost General "Stonewall" Jackson.
Casualties for both sides were nearly 30,000.
Battle of Gettysburg
After Confederate victories at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville,
Lee decided to invade the North.
Lee hoped to force the North to surrender and that Great Britain and
France would then recognize the Confederacy.
Lee's army marched into Pennsylvania hoping to take Harrisburg, then
Philadelphia, and Washington or Baltimore.
Lincoln replaced General Hooker with General Meade.
The North had about 100,000 troops, the South 75,000.
On July 1, 1863, they met at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. For three days
Confederate forces tried to break Union lines.
General Pickett led 15,000 Confederate troops, unsuccessfully, into
the heart of the Union's defense.
There were 51,000 casualties on both sides, and Lee's Confederates
suffered defeat.
The Battle of Gettysburg stopped the Confederate invasion.
Fall of Vicksburg
At Vicksburg, Mississippi, Grant led a Union attack.
Grant had been unsuccessful at capturing this last Confederate stronghold
on the Mississippi River.
In April 1863, Grant's army sailed down the river, then moved to attack
the fort from land.
By the middle of May, Vicksburg was surrounded.
After a 47 day siege, the Confederates surrendered on July 4, 1863.
The Union victory at Vicksburg was important to the Union as it split
the South and gave control of the Mississippi River to the Union. Arkansas
and Texas were then cut off from the rest of the South.
Road to Appomattox
Grant in Command
After Vicksburg and Gettysburg, Britain gave up the idea of recognizing
the Confederacy.
In March 1864, General Grant was given full command of the Union army,
and he devised a plan to have the armies in the East and West work
together.
Sherman's March to the Sea: General Sherman left Tennessee in May
1864 and began his march to the sea. By September, he took Atlanta,
GA which was an important manufacturing and transportation center.
It was the junction for several railroads.
Sherman then marched his Union troops toward Savannah,GA destroying
everything in their path; and, on December 22, he entered Savannah,
then moved north to join General Grant in Virginia.
Sherman's march bolstered Lincoln's reelection chances in 1864. Lincoln
carried every state in the Union except Delaware, Kentucky, and New
Jersey.
As Sherman marched toward Georgia, Grant moved onto Richmond, Virginia.
Grant Against Lee: Lee defeated Grant at the Battle of the Wilderness
on May 5 and 6, 1864.
Grant stopped Lee at Spotsylvania Courthouse, and on June 3, Lee defeated
Grant at Cold Harbor.
At Petersburg, VA the two armies dug in against each other and fought
for months.
Casualties were high on both sides and Lee's army was slowly reduced.
Surrender of the Confederacy
In the spring of 1865, Lee decided to break away from Grant.
On April 2, 1865, Lee evacuated Richmond and Petersburg. These cities
were then undefended, and the Union army took them over.
Lee set up a Confederate camp at Appomattox, VA, and discovered he
was surrounded by Union forces and that the cause was lost.
On April 9, 1865, Lee and Grant met, and the Confederate forces surrendered.
A month later the last Confederate army surrendered. The Civil War
was over.
With Malice Toward None
After Lincoln was reelected, he spoke of his plans to rebuild the
country in his inaugural address on March 4, 1865.
He called for a time of healing, forgiveness, and peace.
Assassination of President Lincoln
On April 14, 1865, five days after Lee surrendered, Lincoln was killed
by John Wilkes Booth, at Ford's Theater. Booth believed he was helping
the Confederate cause.
The death of Lincoln lessened the chance for an easy peace between
the North and the South.
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