Union & Confederate
Military Strategy
ANTIETAM
THE BLOODIEST
DAY IN MARYLAND
1861
Map of US 1860-1863
Resources North v. South
Military Advantages
Union
Confederacy
 Larger Population
 Defending “home”
 Greater industrial
 Interior lines of supply
capacity
 Better transportation
ability (rail)
 Interior lines of
communication
Economic
Advantages
Disadvantages
Confederacy
Union
 Industry dominated the economy of
 Agriculture dominated the
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the north
Urban cities
Factories rapidly produced products
such as textiles and farm equipment
The majority of railroads existed in
the north to transport the goods
Telegraph wires were strung along
the railroads for easy communication
Factories gave jobs to thousands of
immigrants that eventually gained
the ability to vote-opposed slavery
Slave labor was in direct competition
with free labor and threatened
people’s paying jobs
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economy
Rural towns and plantations
Relied on staple crops-COTTON
Raw goods transported by river
Few immigrants settled in the
south because of slave labor-those
that did were anti-slavery
The south feared that if slavery
ended then the south would be left
in an extreme state of poverty
Strategy in the South
 ". . . It is one thing to drive the
rebels from the south bank of the
Potomac, or even to occupy
Richmond, but another to reduce
and hold in permanent
subjection a tract of country
nearly as large as Russia in
Europe. . . No war of
independence ever terminated
unsuccessfully except where the
disparity of force was far greater
than it is in this case. . . Just as
England during the revolution
had to give up conquering the
colonies so the North will have to
give up conquering the South. . .
.“

Military Analyst for the London Times.
Anaconda Plan
Civil War Casualties
in Comparison to Other Wars
Hospital Tent during the Civil War
Clara Barton
Dorothea Dix
Harriet Tubman
Sojourner Truth
All served as Civil
War nurses.
Main stricture
Older than 30 and
of plain dress.
Pay was 40 cents
a day.
Battle of Antietam
“Bloodiest Single Day of the War”
September 17, 1862
23,000 casualties
Battle of Bull Run, prior to Antietam.
General George McClellan
Lee
General Robert E.
Gen. McClellan
"He is an able general
but a very cautious
one. His army is in a
very demoralized and
chaotic condition, and
will not be prepared
for offensive
operations—or he will
not think it so—for
three or four weeks.
Before that time I
hope to be on the
Susquehanna.“
Gen. Robert E. Lee
McClellan and his wife Mary Ellen Marcy
General McClellan Passing Through Frederick City, Maryland
at the Head of the Army of the Potomac, September 12, 1862
by Edwin Forbes
“no more defensible than a well bottom.”
Written by A Federal Soldier
South Mountain
What do you see in the picture showing the evidence of the battle?
Infantry
The basic Civil War
tactic was to put a lot
of men next to one
another in a line and
have them move and
shoot together.
Muzzle-loading
muskets could be fired
a maximum of 3 times
a minute.
For attackers, once
under serious fire the
rate of advance might
be increased to a socalled "double-quick
time" of 165 steps per
minute (about 150
yards per minute)
Artillery
Cannon fire could
break up an
infantry attack or
dissuade enemy
infantry from
attacking in the
first place. Its mere
presence could
also reassure
friendly infantry
and so exert a
moral effect that
might be as
important as its
physical effect on
the enemy.
At Antietam the
Union cavalry
suffered exactly 5
men killed and 23
wounded.
Horses required
about 26 pounds of
feed and forage per
day.
Phases of the Battle of Antietam
The Bloody Lane-Second Phase
Of the Battle of Antietam.
"Those in whose judgment I rely tell me
that I fought the battle splendidly and that
it was a masterpiece of art. ... I feel I have
done all that can be asked in twice saving
the country. ... I feel some little pride in
having, with a beaten & demoralized army,
defeated Lee so utterly. ... Well, one of
these days history will I trust do me
justice.“
General George McClellan
Was McClellen right? Tomorrow, you be the
judge.
1. Be here by 6:45 near the auditorium
entrance.
2. Dress warmly, bring a bag lunch, bring drinks.
3. Somebody bring a camera!