Fighting Begins and Slavery Ends
Unit 7, Lesson 2
Essential Idea
• Early battles set the tone for the Civil War and
the Battle of Antietam was a major turning
point that led to the Emancipation
Proclamation.
Two Main
Theaters
• Fighting Locations:
• Most of the Civil
War was fought in
two main theaters
(areas of fighting)
• 1. Eastern
Theater—eastern
part of the
country, mainly
states close to
Washington, D.C.
and Richmond
Two Main Theaters
• 2. Western Theater—states close to the Mississippi River to the Carolinas
The First Battle
•
•
•
•
Event:
Battle of Bull Run
Location:
Virginia (Eastern
Theater)
• Result:
• Surprise
Confederate
victory
Battle of Bull Run
• Details:
• The battle took place
only 20 miles from
Washington, D.C.
• Civilians came out of
the city to picnic and
watch the battle
• Northerners thought
the South was too
weak and the war
would end quickly
• At first, the Union
easily won and many
Confederates retreated
Battle of Bull Run
• General Thomas Jackson
earned the nickname,
“Stonewall,” when he and his
men refused to retreat
• Confederate reinforcements
arrived, swinging momentum
to the South
• Union troops retreated in
shocking defeat
• Battle of Bull Run
Battle of Bull Run
• Significance:
• New weapons
showed the war
would be deadlier
than expected
• The Confederate army
was stronger than
expected
• The surprise
Confederate victory
showed the war
would be longer and
harder than expected
• Bull Run Foreshadows
a Long and Bloody
War
Battle of Shiloh
• Event:
• Battle of
Shiloh
• Location:
• Tennessee
(Western
Theater)
• Result:
• Union victory
Battle of Shiloh
• Details:
• Like the coast and Mississippi River, the South’s (few) railroads were vital to
southern trade
• Union General Ulysses S. Grant (and William Sherman) planned to cut railroads in
Mississippi to divide the Confederacy
• On the way, Confederates ambushed the Union troops, who suffered terrible losses
• Initial Losses
Battle of Shiloh
• Despite losses, Grant led
troops into a second day of
fighting
• Union reinforcements arrived
and secured Union victory
• Northerners disliked Grant’s
methods since they led to
many casualties, even though
he won
• Lincoln liked Grant, saying “I
can’t spare this man; he
fights!”
• Grant Wins
Battle of
Shiloh
• Significance:
• Grant was
established as
the best Union
general in the
Western Theater
• Cutting railroads
would be used in
addition to the
Anaconda Plan
to divide the
Confederacy
Peninsula Campaign
•
•
•
•
•
•
Event:
The Peninsula Campaign
Location:
Virginia (Eastern Theater)
Results:
Confederate victory
Peninsula
Campaign
• Details:
• Union General George
McClellan led troops
toward Richmond
• McClellan was slow and
overly cautious in battle
• Confederate General
Robert E. Lee launched a
series of attacks on
McClellan’s troops
(Seven Days Battle)
• Lee inflicted heavy
damage on the Union
army and forced
McClellan to retreat
• The Peninsula Campaign
Peninsula Campaign
• Significance:
• Richmond, the Confederate
capital, was saved
• Lee was established as the
best Confederate general in
the Eastern Theater
• Lee felt bold enough to
invade the Union through
Maryland
• Lee hoped invading the Union
would turn northerners
against the war and earn
British aid
Battle of
Antietam
• Event:
• Battle of
Antietam
• Location:
• Maryland
(Eastern
Theater)
• Results:
• Union victory
Battle of Antietam
• Details:
• Lee’s invasion of
Maryland was
intercepted by
McClellan
• The battle was a
draw, but Lee
withdrew since he
had fewer troops to
spare
• The battle was the
bloodiest single day
of the war (over
22,000 casualties)
• Battle of Antietam
(0:00-11:55)
Battle of Antietam
• Lee escaped and
Lincoln fired
McClellan for
being too
cautious
• McClellan Fired
(11:55-15:07)
Battle of Antietam
• Northerners
were appalled
by the carnage
and their
support for the
war dropped
further
• Northern
Morale Sinks
After Antietam
(15:07-17:32)
Battle of Antietam
• Significance:
• Antietam made
the Confederacy
look weak, so
England started
withdrawing
support
• After Antietam,
Lincoln needed
to boost
northern morale
or lose support
for the war
Emancipation
Proclamation
• Lincoln’s Action:
• Emancipation
Proclamation
• Details:
• To boost northern
morale, Lincoln issued
the Emancipation
Proclamation
• The Emancipation
Proclamation
announced all slaves in
REBELLING states to be
free (not border states)
Emancipation Proclamation
• Significance:
• The Unions’ purpose
of the war was not
just to preserve the
Union anymore, but
to also END SLAVERY
• This set the precedent
for the future 13th
amendment, which
abolished slavery
EVERYWHERE
• The Emancipation
Proclamation
Foreign Impact
• Foreign Impact:
• Britain had
already abolished
slavery
• With the Union’s
purpose including
abolition, Britain
decided NOT to
help the
Confederacy
• This severely hurt
the South’s
chances for
success
Domestic Impact:
North
• Domestic Impact
(North):
• Northern support the
war briefly rose since it
had a moral cause
• Eventually, emancipated
slaves joined the Union
army
Domestic Impact: South
• Domestic Impact (South):
• Initially, no slaves were freed since Confederates did not recognize Lincoln’s
authority
• However, Union troops freed slaves as they invaded and others ran away
more
• The Confederacy’s economy, already suffering, crumbled as they lost slaves
• The Confederacy could no longer count on British help
Minority Groups in the Civil War: Women
• 1. Women
• Women maintained
businesses, farms, and
factories while the
men fought as soldiers
• Thousands cared for
the wounded as
battlefield nurses
• Clara Barton—served
as a nurse and later
founded the American
Red Cross
Minority Groups in the Civil War: Blacks
• 2. Blacks
• Almost 200,000
blacks served in the
Union military,
many of them exslaves
• They were
segregated into allblack units and
experienced
discrimination
• Freedmen Join the
Union Military
54th Massachusetts
• 54th
Massachusetts
—this black
regiment (and
others) fought
bravely and
successfully,
helping earn
respect from
whites