First Battle of Bull Run
Northern Advantage
Larger Population
Southern Advantage
Excellent Military Leaders
How would North achieve their goal?
Invade the South and force them to stay in
Union
How would South achieve their goal?
Fight until the North gave up
Union Strategy
Capture Richmond, VA
Confederate Strategy
Defensive War – hold onto as much land
as possible
Union False Hope
Easy victory
Confederate False Hope
Easy victory
Evidence/Support from Bull Run
Union army had more troops: 35,000
Union vs 22,000 Confederate
Evidence/Support from Bull Run
“Johnston (Confederate leader) gave an
opposing army the slip”
Evidence/Support from Bull Run
Union attacked at Manassas, located in
Virginia
Evidence/Support from Bull Run
Jackson kept fighting until North retreated
Evidence/Support from Bull Run
:”campaign to capture Richmond and end
the war”
Evidence/Support from Bull Run
Fought battle in Virginia, prevented Union
from capturing Southern land
Evidence/Support from Bull Run
“But (Union) swaggering gait showed that
none doubted the outcome”
Evidence/Support from Bull Run
Confederate army wasn’t prepared for a
difficult fight at the first major battle
Battle of Antietam
Four sentence summary of the Battle of Antietam
Antietam was the bloodiest single day of the Civil War. Over 23,000 total soldiers were
killed or wounded in this battle in the border state of Maryland. Although the Union won
the battle, the Confederates did not lose any ground, only more men. This was the first
major victory for the Union army in the Civil War.
Why was the Battle of Antietam an important battle?
1. Antietam enabled the Union to repel the first Confederate invasion of the North.
The Confederate army had been winning every major battle and had begun invading the
North. Union victory forced the Confederates back to the South.
2. The battle allowed Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
Abraham Lincoln wanted to make the Civil War about ending slavery but he had to wait
until the Union had some success before he could make ending slavery official.
3. Antietam kept Britain and France on the sidelines.
Both Britain and France wanted Southern cotton and were close to recognizing the
Confederacy as an independent nation. The loss at Antietam helped change their
minds and they continued to stay out of the war.
4. The battle lifted sagging Union morale.
Many northerners were sick of the war before Antietam because the north was losing so
many battles and men. Victory at Antietam convinced many Northerners to continue
supporting the war.
5. Photographs from Antietam brought the horror of war to Americans for the first
time.
The gruesome photos taken after the battle showed how terrible war was to many
Americans that weren’t part of it.
Emancipation Proclamation Notes – pages 44-45
What was the Emancipation Proclamation?
-
Presidential order to end slavery in areas of rebellion, after the Battle of Antietam
Why was it issued after the Battle of Antietam?
-
President Lincoln had to wait until the Union won a major battle because the
proclamation wouldn’t have been taken seriously if the Union was losing the war.
Why did Lincoln issue it?
Political Strategy –
The war was so deadly that many northerners started to think it wasn’t worth
trying to reunite the nation. By freeing the slaves, Lincoln hoped they would
support the war again.
Foreign Policy Strategy –
Other countries would be more likely to support the North if the war was fought
over slavery instead of just reuniting the nation.
Note – some foreign countries would have rather supported the South than the
North until slavery became part of the war
Military Strategy –
Freeing the slaves would weaken the South’s military because they would lose
their workers. Soldiers would have to return to their farms to work.
Why didn’t the Emancipation Proclamation free all the slaves?
-
Slaves in the border states and in Confederate areas already controlled by the
Union were not freed
Most northerners weren’t abolitionists and didn’t believe all people were equal
Lincoln worried these Northerners would stop supporting the war if he freed all
the slaves
Lincoln was worried the border states would secede if he outlawed slavery in
them
How did the Emancipation Proclamation change the Civil War?
-
The original reason for fighting the Civil War was to keep the North and South
united
This proclamation added slavery as a reason for fighting the war
The Union was now fighting to end slavery in the Confederacy
Gettysburg
1 – General Lee led the Confederate army into the North in an attempt to beat the Union on
Northern soil.
2 – The three-day battle began with a strong Confederate advantage but by the end the Union
achieve victory.
3 – Confederate General Pickett led 15,000 men on a famous charge up Cemetery Hill. Pickett
didn’t realize how many Union soldiers were on top of the hill
4 – The Union army opened fire on Pickett’s charge and slaughtered thousands of the men.
Pickett’s charge is a failure and gives the Union the advantage they need.
5 – The Confederates end up losing more than 28,000 men.
6 – The Union victory keeps the Confederate army out of the north and is the beginning of the
end for the Confederacy.
Vicksburg
Union Goal:
The Union goal was to gain control of the Mississippi River.
What was General Grant’s strategy for this battle? How did the Union win?
Grant’s strategy was to surround the town of Vicksburg and not let anyone or anything in or out
of the town until they surrendered. After a month Vicksburg was forced to surrender.
How were the residents of Vicksburg involved in this battle?
Their town was surrounded so their entire life was affected.
What was life like for the soldiers and civilians in Vicksburg?
Residents suffered a lot during the battle. Since the town was surrounded they ran out of food
and water. They were forced to eat whatever they could find to survive.
Both Gettysburg and Vicksburg ended on July 4, 1863. These two major Union victories was the
beginning of the end for the Confederacy.