Events in the Civil War
Battle of Antietam
 The bloodiest day of the entire war!
 Union: Major General George B. McClellan
Confederate: General Robert E. Lee
 Outcome:
 The result of the battle was inconclusive but the north
did win a strategic advantage. 23,100 casualties.
 Significance of the Battle of Antietam:
 The Battle of Antietam forced the Confederate Army to
retreat back across the Potomac River.
 President Lincoln saw the significance of this and issued
the famous Emancipation Proclamation on September
22, 1862.
Writ of habeas corpus
 Was suspended by Lincoln
 It is a basic civil liberty protected by the Constitution.
 Court order directed to an officer to demonstrate to
the court that the prisoner is being held for a good
reason.
 Suspended in various parts of the country
 He could then imprison anyone who interfered with
the war effort without having to justify his actions.
 13,000 Americans who objected to federal policies were
held in northern prisons without trial during the war.
Emancipation Proclamation
 Lincoln issued that as of January 1, 1863, all enslaved
people in the areas in open rebellion against the
government would “be then, thenceforward, and
forever free.”
 It had no immediate effect on enslaved people because
they were still under southern control.
 But it was a promise that they would be free when the
North won the WAR.
 Made slavery in the South a moral issue now.
 It encouraged enslaved African Americans in the South
to set themselves free by moving to territory controlled
by Union troops.
African Americans and the War
In the South, African American farm and plantation labor
released white males for the war effort. Slaves performed
many non-combat jobs in the Confederate army.
Escaped slaves worked for the Union army in various jobs.
They formed Union army regiments in Louisiana, South
Carolina, and Kansas, serving in segregated units.
Initially used for labor and guard duty, when allowed into
battle they fought heroically.
The 54th Massachusetts Infantry was the most famous unit.
180,000 African Americans served in Union armies, taking
part in 200 battles. More than 38,00 died serving the Union.
Life in the Military
Wartime
medicine
Camp
life
• Disease was responsible for most deaths, and
various epidemics swept through the camps.
• Sanitary Commission worked to improve conditions.
• Conditions were poor, tents were crowded, and the
ground muddy or dusty depending on the weather.
• Camp rations were good, but while on the march
soldiers relied on hardtack and coffee.
Prison
camps
• Prisoner exchanges ended in 1863, and both sides
were guilty of inhumane treatment of prisoners.
• Most notorious camps—Andersonville and Elmira
Life on the Home Front
Southern Home Front
Confederate Draft
 Shortages made life difficult.
 Needed to maintain the army
 There were few factories, and food
production dropped because of
war.
 Confederate Congress enacted 1st
military draft in American
history—April 1862
 War was fought on credit, and
inflation resulted.
 Unpopular conscription
contradicted states’ rights
 High prices and shortages led to
food riots.
 Governors of Georgia and North
Carolina tried to block the draft.
 Soldiers deserted to take care of
their families.
 Slaveholders were exempted from
the draft.
 Poor men were patriotic, but their
 Some areas were placed under
families came first.
martial law.
Women in the Civil War
Southern Women
Northern Women
 Spied for the Confederacy
 Stepped into jobs so men could
 Took over farms, stores, and
plantations
 Worked in the few factories and
made ammunition for the
troops
 Formed societies to make
bandages, shirts and
bedclothes
 Acted as volunteer nurses
before Confederate Congress
passed law allowing them to be
hired as army nurses
go fight
 Produced huge amounts of
food with the aid of new farm
equipment
 Female teachers went south to
educate former slaves after the
war
 Became the first women to hold
federal clerical jobs
 Served in the Union army as
nurses and volunteered to work
in hospitals
Three Major Battles
Battle of Chancellorsville
 General Joseph Hooker was in
command of Union army.
 Lee sent Stonewall Jackson in a surprise
attack, nearly destroying the Union
army on the first day.
 Battle was General Lee’s greatest
victory, defeating a force twice its size.
Lee determined to invade the North
again, hoping a victory there would end
the war.
 Lee marched north, and Lincoln
replaced Hooker with General George
Meade.
 Confederates on the lookout for a
rumored shoe supply skirmished with
Union cavalry.
 Both sides rushed troops to Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania.
The Battle of Gettysburg
 Overconfident after his great victory,
Lee pushed his troops into battle here
against the advice of James
Longstreet.
 Half the men in Pickett’s Charge
perished, and Lee finally gave up the
fight and retreated back to Virginia.
The Siege of Vicksburg
 General Grant began the Union siege of
Vicksburg in May 1863.
 With constant shelling of the city,
citizens were forced to dig into hillsides
to try to escape the barrage.
 After forty-eight days, the city
surrendered. Four days later the last
Confederate fort on the Mississippi
surrendered as well.
Grant versus Lee
 General Ulysses S. Grant
 Lincoln gave him command of Union armies in March 1864, and Grant
made William Tecumseh Sherman commander on the western front of
the war.
 Grant wanted to take advantage of the Confederate shortages of men and
supplies to end the war before the November election.
 Ordered Sherman to “get into the interior of the enemy’s country as far as
you can and inflict all the damage you can against their war resources”
 General Robert E. Lee
 South could not win the war, but a new president might accept southern
independence in return for peace.
 Lee planned to make the cost of fighting so high for the North that
Lincoln would lose the upcoming election.
Confederate Hopes Fade
Democrats nominated George McClellan and adopted a
party platform calling for an immediate end to the war.
Southerners found new hope, but the Republicans tried to
broaden Lincoln’s appeal by picking Tennessee’s Andrew
Johnson for the ticket. Lincoln expected to lose the election.
Sherman’s capture of Atlanta allowed Lincoln to easily
defeat McClellan. Congress passed the 13th Amendment
ending slavery, and the war seemed nearly over to all but
die-hard secessionists. Lincoln announced his intention to
be forgiving, but the bloody war continued.
The War Comes to an End
Sherman’s March
 After the election, Sherman
marched across Georgia in
what came to be known as the
March to the Sea.
 Sherman cut a swath of
destruction 300 miles long and
50–60 miles wide.
 After taking Savannah,
Sherman turned north through
South Carolina, destroying
civilian property all along the
way.
The fall of Richmond
 Lee only had 35,000 defenders
at Petersburg, and they were
low on supplies.
 Grant decided not to wait for
Sherman’s troops.
 Instead, he broke through Lee’s
defenses at Petersburg and
went on to take Richmond.
 Lee tried to escape with his few
remaining troops, but Grant
blocked their way.
Surrender at Appomattox
Lee and Grant
 With Union forces surrounding
them, Lee decided to surrender.
 Grant presented the terms of
the surrender to Lee. Extremely
generous for such a bloody
conflict, Lee’s troops merely
had to turn over their weapons
and leave.
 Grant announced, “The war is
over. The rebels are our
countrymen again.”
The war is over
 News of Lee’s surrender
brought joyful celebrations in
the north.
 Lincoln requested “Dixie” be
played at the White House.
 The last of the Confederate
forces surrendered on May 26,
1865.
 Sadly, President Lincoln would
not live to see the official end of
the war.