Stars & Bars or
Stars & Stripes?
The American Civil War
April 12, 1861 - April 9, 1865
(or “the War of Northern Aggression”)
(or “the War for Southern Independence”)
(or “the War Between the States”)
(“a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight”)
Why do I care?
The Southern states may not have had a
Constitutional right to secede thereby
making their action illegal. Had the
offenders been prosecuted by law
instead of waging war there may have
been a less costly, socially trying, and
politically embarrassing situation for
the industrial giant of a nation.
Essential Question # 6
Explain the major causes of the Civil War
including the desire to preserve the
Union, sectionalism (including control
of the west), and the fight for states’
rights.
Essential Question # 7
Describe the political ideologies and
military tactics that shaped the Civil
War.
Election of 1860 (1)
Election of 1860 (2)

Lincoln’s position on slavery
–



slavery should not be
allowed to expand into the
territories
Democrats won control of
Congress
no candidate received a
majority of the popular vote
the popular & electoral
votes were divided among
four candidates
Election of 1860 (3)
Election of 1860 (4)
Republican Abraham Lincoln wins
 December 20, 1860: South Carolina
secedes

–
Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia,
Louisiana & Texas follow
 February
4, 1861: form the Confederate States
of America
South Carolina’s Ordinance of Secession
Quickwrite
Would you go to war for your state if
called upon?
What issues would make you fight for
Arizona?
What factors would you consider?
Lincoln’s Inauguration: March 4, 1861
Fort Sumter, SC
When: April 12-13, 1861
 Who: Major Anderson (U) & Gen.
P.G.T. Beauregard (C)
 What: last Union controlled federal
garrison in the Confederacy
 Where: garrison located off the coast in
Charleston Harbor

Fort Sumter, SC

Historical Significance:
–
–
Lincoln has to decide how to defend it after the
South requested a surrender from Anderson

sends in supplies of food as opposed to reinforcements

Virginia secedes
Davis responds with war on April 12, 1861
–
–
much of the Southern war materials come from Virginia
western Virginians are anti-slavery advocates
 this area secedes from Virginia and becomes the
Union state of West Virginia
Important Events of 1861

4 remaining slave states remain in the
Union
–
–
–
–
Maryland
Delaware
Kentucky
Missouri


WHY?
Lincoln suspends writ of habeas corpus
in selected areas
–
–
infringes upon civil liberties
by the end of the war over 13,000 arrested and
held without trial
The firing on Fort Sumter
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
brought European aid for the South.
demonstrated Union naval power.
unified northern opinion for defense
of the Union.
demonstrated the Union’s will to
fight.
occurred with the help of the Native
American population.
Legend:
Dark Red: states that seceded before April 15, 1861
Red: states that seceded after April 15, 1861
Yellow: Union states that permitted slavery
Blue: Union states that forbade slavery
Gray: territories, unaffiliated
The Confederate States of America

led by moderate men
–
not by those who led the secession movement
Jefferson Davis, former Secretary of War and
Mississippi born, West Point graduate,
becomes President
 write their own Constitution

–
resembles the U.S. Constitution
did not secede in order to form a
slaveholders’ utopia
 wanted to restore the Union as it had been
pre-Republican party politics

The secessionist movement
was dominated by
A. hill country White supremacists who feared
Black social competition.
B. Southern radical nationalists who hoped to
establish a plantation “utopia.”
C. Southern moderates intent on securing
slavery from northern political interference
and federal control.
D. moderates from the Upper South who gave
up on the Union with the election of
Lincoln in 1860.
E. plantation owners who had the most to lose
by the abolition of slavery.
President Jefferson Davis &
Vice President Alexander Stevens
The Confederate “White House”
Advantages
Union (Blue)
 population
–
immigration
naval power
 factory production
 iron production
 bank deposits/capital

Confederacy (Gray)
 military leadership
 knowledge of
terrain
 desire/cause
4 Corners
The Union should win the war
due to their advantages
over the Confederacy.
“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight;
it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”
Which was NOT an advantage
enjoyed by the North at the
beginning of the war?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
a better transportation system
greater industrial production
a larger population
better military leadership
high numbers of Black men
interested in military enlistment
Union & Confederacy Resources 1860 (1)
Union & Confederacy Resources 1860 (2)
Free & Slave States 1861
Railroad Lines 1860
Soldier’s Occupations Prior to the War (1860)
The superior training and
supply of Northern troops
was offset by
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
the largest number of seasoned
troops in Confederate ranks.
the superior fighting ability of
Southern troops.
the large number of fresh troops in
the Confederate ranks.
all of the above
none of the above
Union Strategy: Anaconda Plan (1)
1.
2.
3.
blockade Southern
ports to stop all
imports and exports
of goods and military
supplies
move down the
Mississippi River and
split the Confederacy
in two
capture the
Confederate capitol at
Richmond, VA
Union Strategy: Anaconda Plan (2)
Union Strategy: Anaconda Plan (3)
April 19, 1861
Lincoln’s issuance
of the blockade
Which of the following best
describes Lincoln’s military
strategy?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
the “anaconda” policy of starving the South
into submission by cutting off its supplies
of commodities and food
winning the war with a quick strike at the
Confederate capital
an attempt to capture control of the
Mississippi Valley
a two-front policy keeping the pressure on
Richmond while also advancing in the
Mississippi Valley
key diplomatic alliances designed to
support the northern military
Confederate Strategy

defensive tactics
–

protect the homeland
invade the North if the opportunity
arises
Battle Hymn of the Republic
Lincoln’s Generals
UNION LEADERSHIP
George McClellan
• very popular
general
• fired by Lincoln
because he was
excessively cautious
and reluctant to
engage the enemy
Ambrose Burnside
•replaces McClellan
Joseph Hooker
•replaces Burnside
Winfield Scott
general-in-chief at
beginning of war
 devised the
Anaconda Plan

Ulysses Simpson Grant
1863: victorious
commander of the
siege at Vicksburg, MI
 1864: named
commander of the
Federal armies
 1865: accepted the
surrender of Lee at
Appomattox Court
House in VA

William T. Sherman
Irwin McDowell
George Meade
Dixie
Confederate Anthem
Jefferson Davis’ Generals
CONFEDERATE
LEADERSHIP
Robert Edward Lee
graduate of West
Point Military
Academy
 1863: defeated at
Gettysburg

General P. G. T. Beauregard
Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson
George Pickett
1st Battle of Bull Run/Manassas, VA (1)



When: July 21, 1861
Who: Gen. McDowell (U) & Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard
(C)
What: 1st land battle
–
–
–



30 miles south of Washington, D.C.
both sides were very inexperienced/“green”
spectators were present believing the war to be an exciting
event of few hours
initially looked as though the Union would be
victorious but the Confederate reinforcements made
the Confederate victory indecisive; Union troops
retreat to Washington, D.C.
General Thomas J. Jackson earns the nickname
“Stonewall”
both sides realize this is not going to be a short war
1st Battle of Bull Run/Manassas, VA (2)
Crittenden Resolution
1861
 Congress declares that the war is being
fought solely to preserve the Union

Important Events of 1862 (1)
slavery abolished in the District of
Columbia
 Confederacy institutes the draft

–

Union income tax enacted
–

growing complaints of interference with
personal liberties
federal government assumes new powers
Lincoln suspends writ of habeas corpus
throughout the Union
Important Events of 1862 (2)

Homestead Act
–
promote rapid settlement of the west
Union Pacific Railroad chartered
 Land Grant College Act

–

sale of specified public lands to be used to
promote higher education
Second Confiscation Act
–
slaves of rebel masters declared free if in
Union custody
Other Important Battles



Fort Henry, TN
–
–
–
Who: Gen. Grant (U)
When: February 6, 1862
Union victory
–
–
–
Who: Gen. Grant (U)
When: February 12-16, 1862
Union victory
–
–
When: August 29 & 30, 1862
Confederate victory
Fort Donelson, TN
Richmond, VA
Battle of Shiloh, TN (1)
 When: April 6 & 7, 1862
 Who: Gen. Grant (U) & Gen.
Albert Sydney Johnston (C)
 What: Union victory
– Union forces
are almost defeated but
reinforcements arrived
Battle of Shiloh, TN (2)
 Historical
– more
Significance:
soldiers died in this battle
than in the Revolutionary War,
the War of 1812 & the MexicanAmerican War combined
– both sides realized that there
should be more preplanning
such as scouting, digging
trenches, etc.
2nd Battle of Bull Run/Manassas, VA
 When: August 29
– 30, 1862
 Historical Significance:
– casualties
are five times greater than
the previous battle at this location
– Confederacy runs out of ammunition
and begins to throw rocks at the
Union troops
McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign (1)
When: March 17 – July 2, 1862
 Who: Gen. McClellan (U) & Gen.
Joseph Johnston
 What: steady advance up the Virginia
Peninsula
 Where: Yorktown & Williamsburg, VA

McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign (2)

Historical Significance:
–
hopes for a swift, decisive victory in the
East gone
 McClellan
very cautious
Battle of Antietam/Sharpsburg, MD


When: September 17,
1862
Historical Significance:
–
single bloodiest day of
battle in the history of the
Civil War

–
inconclusive, but strategic
Union victory

–
more than 23,000
casualties
Gen. McClellan refuses to
pursue General Lee’s
forces when he could have
provides the Union with
support for Lincoln’s
Emancipation
Proclamation
Battle of Fredericksburg, VA



When: December 13,1862
Who: Gen. Burnside (U) (replaced Gen. McClellan)
and Gen. Hooker (replaced Gen. Burnside) & Gen.
Lee (C)
What:
–
–
–

Union wanted pontoons to arrive in order to cross the river
Lee was given time to get his men placed on high ground
withdrawal of Union forces was considered their greatest
maneuver
Historical Significance:
–
–
Confederate victory even though the Union had a higher
troop count
lowest point of Union morale
Important Events of 1863

National Banking Act
–

Congress brings currency and banks under a central national
system
Union institutes a draft
–
resentment because of special treatment


bread riots in the Confederacy
–


buying a substitute
taxes, high prices, and inflation lead to disorder
West Virginia admitted to the Union
New York City draft riots
–
–
10 days after the Battle of Gettysburg
resentment against draft sparks a bloody anti-black, antiRepublican riot


11 blacks lynched
105 rioters killed
Emancipation Proclamation 1863 (1)
written by Lincoln
 issued September 22,
1862
 effective January 1, 1863
 gave the South 100 days
to surrender if they
wanted to preserve
slavery in their territory

Emancipation Proclamation 1863 (2)
1.
granted slaves in rebel
(Confederate) states
their freedom on
January 1, 1863
–
2.
“Where he [Lincoln]
can he doesn’t. Where
he can’t he does.”
encouraged African
Americans to flee the
south and find work
within the Union
military
Emancipation Proclamation 1863 (3)
Emancipation Proclamation 1863 (4)
4 Corners

Lincoln had to free the slaves in rebel
states in order to continue Union
support for the war.
Recruitment of African American Soldiers (1)
Battle of Chancellorsville, VA



When: May 2-4, 1863
Who: Gen. Hooker (U) & Gen. Lee (C)
Historical Significance:
–
Gen. Lee’s greatest battle and greatest heartbreak

Gen. Jackson is mistakenly shot by friendly fire
–
–
Union fails again to take the Confederacy

–
dies from the infection
forced to retreat across the Rappahannock River
final Confederate victory
Battle of Gettysburg, PA (1)

When: July 1, 2, and 3, 1863
–
July 1

–
July 2

–
Confederate troops were en route to Washington, D.C.
and were also looking for shoes when they attacked
unsuspecting Union troops
Confederate attack on Union troops on Cemetery Ridge
July 3


Confederate attack high ground
2 hours of firing heard from Pittsburg
Battle of Gettysburg, PA (2)
Battle of Gettysburg, PA (3)
Who: Gen. Meade (U) & Gen. Lee (C)
What: battle for Southern pride
Where: small town in southeastern
Pennsylvania
 Historical Significance:



–
–
–
final Confederate offensive
final turning point of the war in the east
Lee’s invasion of the North repulsed


army’s offensive capacity destroyed
had been hoping to win foreign recognition from Britain
and France
Battle of Gettysburg, PA (4)
Gettysburg Address 1863
speech given by President Lincoln to
dedicate the Soldiers’ National
Cemetery in Gettysburg, PA on
Thursday, November 19, 1863
 not even the premier speaker
 lasted just over two minutes

Read by Jeff Daniels
 Gettysburg Historians' Roundtable

Wilderness Campaign



When: May 5-7, 1864
Who: Gen Grant (U) & Gen. Lee (C)
What:
–
–
–

many casualties caused by fires ignited by gunfire in the
dense woods
Grant is referred to as “Butcher Grant”
Grant hammers at Lee’s lines with horrendous losses
Where: 3 battles: Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and
Cold Harbor
–
about 7,000 Americans killed or wounded in 20 minutes at
Cold Harbor
Siege at Vicksburg, MI (1)



When: January 30 July 4, 1863
Who: Gen. Grant (U) &
Gen. Pemberton (C)
What:
one of two Confederate
holdouts on the Mississippi
– two frontal assaults failed
so the Union dug in for the
siege and shelled the fort
for hours at a time
– Union naval forces led by
Gen. Farragut came up the
Mississippi River
– Gen. Grant called for an
unconditional surrender
–
Siege at Vicksburg, MI (2)

Historical Significance:
–
siege intended to divide the Confederacy in half
along the Mississippi River

–
it works; Union gains control of the Mississippi and
divides the South in half
turning point in the war in the west
Important Events of 1864

Grant becomes Union general-in-chief
–
Union war effort given a new
aggressiveness
Sherman’s March to the Sea (1)


When: September 2,
1864
What:
275 miles long and 40
miles wide
– left Atlanta, GA and
reached Savannah just
before Christmas and then
continued on to South
Carolina
– campaign of “total war”
–

everything, i.e., civilian
homes, business
establishments, farms,
plantations, etc., is
destroyed in an attempt to
destroy the South’s will to
fight
Sherman’s March to the Sea (2)

Historical
Significance:
–
–
propelled Lincoln’s
campaign for
president
demoralized the
South
Election of 1864

Democrat George McClellan
–
–

wanted an immediate end to war
opposed emancipation
Lincoln chose Tennessee Democrat Andrew
Johnson as his running mate
–
Johnson was the only US Senator from a Confederate state
that stayed loyal to the Union



Lincoln’s popularity margin was thin
–


to Republicans: Democrat they never accepted
to South: a traitor
message from Sherman: “Atlanta is ours, and fairly won”
seceded states did not vote
Lincoln reelected
–
Union and emancipation are no longer considerations
Siege of Petersburg
When: June 15, 1864 – April 2, 1865
 Who: Gen. Grant (U)
 What:

–
115.000+ Union troops were attempting to
disrupt Confederate rail lines
 Union forces made
coal miners
up of many Pennsylvania
trenches built around the city
– after 10 months Gen. Lee leaves the city
and prepares to surrender
–
Important Events of 1865

Lincoln assassinated

13th Amendment ratified
slavery abolished in the United States
– proposed February 1, 1865
– ratified December 3, 1865
–
Surrender at Appomattox
Court House, VA (1)
When: April 9, 1865
 What:

–
Gen. Lee formally
surrendered to Gen.
Grant

–
Confederate resistance
quickly dissolves
terms were lenient
as Lincoln’s goal was
to preserve the
Union, not punish
the secessionists
Surrender at Appomattox
Court House, VA (2)
Aftermath of the War
Technological Advances of the War

first modern war to use:
telegraph
– observation balloons
– trench warfare
– Gatling guns
– railroads
– steel ships
–
Confederate Graves in Arizona (1)
Confederate Graves in Arizona (2)
Confederate Graves in Arizona (3)
Confederate Graves in Arizona (4)