Chapter 11 – The Civil War
Section Notes
Video
Preparing for War
Fighting Erupts
The War behind the Lines
The War Continues
The Final Phase
Maps
History Close-up
The New Weapons of War
Quick Facts
The Generals
Causes and Effects of the Civil
War
Visual Summary: The Civil War
The Civil War
Secession, 1860–1861
The War in the West, 1861–1863
The War in the East, 1861–1863
Three Days at Gettysburg
The Battle for Vicksburg
Final Campaigns, 1864–1865
Images
The Civil War
African American Union Soldiers
Andersonville
Women on the Home Front
Preparing for War
The Main Idea
The attack on Fort Sumter led both the North and the South
to prepare for war in earnest.
Reading Focus
• How did the fall of Fort Sumter lead to war?
• Why did many northerners and southerners eagerly rush to war?
• Why was the loyalty of the border states important, and how did
Lincoln obtain it?
• What were the Union and Confederate goals and strategies for
the war?
The Fall of Fort Sumter
• Crisis at Fort Sumter
– Commander Robert Anderson sent the message to Lincoln that
Confederate leaders were demanding surrender or would
attack.
– Low on supplies, Fort Sumter remained in Union hands. The
fort was very symbolic to both sides.
– Lincoln would not surrender the fort, but would send food and
other nonmilitary supplies.
– Jefferson Davis would decide whether to attack and go to war
or allow the symbol of federal authority to remain.
• The attack on the fort
– Davis ordered a surprise attack before the supplies could
arrive.
– On April 12, 1891, the Confederate artillery opened fire on the
fort, and an outgunned Fort Sumter surrendered the next day.
The Rush to War
Response in the
North
• Lincoln calls for 7500
volunteers
• 90 days’ service to put
down the rebellion
• Lincoln’s political enemy
Stephen Douglas supports
the action, “There can be
no neutrals in this war,
only patriots—or traitors”
• Northerners rush to enlist
Reaction in the South
• With call for volunteers,
the eight remaining Union
slave states now forced to
choose a side
• Union slave states refused
to provide troops to fight
against fellow southerners
• Confederate states ready
to call up men
• First Virginia, then
Arkansas, Tennessee, and
North Carolina secede
The Border States
Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, & Missouri
Maryland critical—Washington, D.C., at risk surrounded by
Confederate territory. Martial law declared and new
elections held to ensure pro-Union state legislature
Missouri important—strategic access to the lower
Mississippi River. Divided loyalties but never enough
secessionist support to withdraw from the Union
Kentucky necessary—the Ohio River border left the Union
open to the threat of invasion. The governor refused to take
sides, but the state sided with the Union after Confederate
troops invaded in September 1861.
These divided loyalties meant citizens fought on both sides.
Goals and Strategies
Union Goals
Confederate Goals
• Needed to be carefully
defined
• South wanted to be
left alone with slavery
unchanged
• War could not center
around the dispute
over slavery—border
states pushed to
secede
• Fight for patriotic
reasons—to save the
Union
• Prepared to defend
themselves against
invasion
• Felt northerners would
soon tire of war and
withdraw
Goals and Strategies
• Larger population = more available soldiers
The
North’s
Strategy
• With more factories, could produce war supplies
• General Winfield Scott’s plan—slowly seal the South
off from the rest of the world—Anaconda plan
• Newspapers pushed “On to Richmond,” an attack on
the Confederacy for a quick end to the war.
The
South’s
Strategy
• Ardent support for the cause made up for lack of
resources
• Fighting for freedom and their homeland—¾ of the
population did not hold slaves
• They were convinced of their military superiority—
many army officers were southerners.
Goals and Strategies
Southerners were convinced that France and Great Britain
wanted a guaranteed supply of cotton and counted on this
cotton diplomacy as a foreign-policy tool.
The Confederacy embargoed cotton to force the issue of
recognition as an independent nation when the English and
French hesitated.
Cotton diplomacy failed for many reasons:
- The British resented the attempt at blackmail.
- Southern cotton was stockpiled from the year before.
- Higher prices encouraged other countries to grow the crop.
Both sides continued to try to gain/block foreign involvement
throughout the conflict.
Fighting Erupts
The Main Idea
Widespread fighting occurred during the first two years of
the Civil War.
Reading Focus
• What factors made the major battles in the war so bloody?
• How did the Union carry out its strategy in the Mississippi Valley?
• What led to the Confederate successes in the war in the East?
• Why did the Confederate forces invade the Union, and with what
result?
The Major Battles Begin
• Union army not ready to fight
– With 90-day volunteer enlistment nearly over, the decision was
made to send troops to Manassas Junction to attack.
• First Battle of Bull Run
– The chaotic battle ended hope for a short war.
– Stonewall Jackson earned his nickname and Confederate
infantry charge caused Union troops to stampede.
– There were 2,000 Confederate and 2,900 Union casualties.
• Results
– Lincoln called for a million more volunteers to serve for three
years.
– Replaced McDowell with General George McClellan, who set
about creating a real army out of the volunteer force
The Major Battles Begin
• Top generals on each side trained at West Point.
Tactics and
Technology
• Old instructional methods based on infantry and
cavalry charges, but with new weaponry these
tactics led to huge casualties
• Increased range and accuracy with bullet-shaped
ammunition and rifling
• Shrapnel replaced cannonballs, and fragments
mowed down troops.
New
Devices of
War
• Observation balloons were used to direct artillery
fire, and camouflage was used to disguise tents
and guns from view.
• The telegraph allowed for quick communication.
• Railroads were used to move large numbers of
troops.
The Fight for the Mississippi Valley
Ironclads were used by the Union to take the Mississippi
Valley.
Ulysses S. Grant captured Forts Henry and Donelson,
opening the western Confederacy and leaving the
Mississippi River vulnerable to attack. Grant continued south
to the railroad center of Corinth, Mississippi.
The bloody Battle of Shiloh was a Confederate loss, but
there were over 23,000 total casualties. Grant realized the
Union would be saved only by complete conquest.
New Orleans fell to Admiral Farragut, and he continued up
the Mississippi River to capture Baton Rouge and Natchez.
Only Vicksburg remained in Confederate hands.
The War in the East
General McClellan
• Hesitant commander with
100,00-man Union army
designated to attack
Richmond
• Fought a series of battles on
the peninsula but always
delayed action
• Lincoln held troops back to
defend Washington
• Confederates attacked in a
series of clashes, and
McClellan retreated after four
victories in five battles.
2nd Battle of Bull Run
• Overly cautious McClellan
waited outside Richmond.
• Lincoln turned to John Pope
with his 50,000 troops in
northern Virginia.
• Robert E. Lee lured Pope into
battle and defeated him.
• Lincoln put McClellan back in
command, telling his cabinet
members, “We must use the
tools we have.”
• Smaller Confederate forces
more effective and led by
better commanders
The Union Is Invaded
Union morale was low after defeats in Virginia and the
Confederates determined to attack on Union soil, hoping to
gain an early peace.
Battle of Antietam
– McClellan caught up with Lee’s troops at Sharpsburg, Md.
– A savage single day of fighting left 23,000 dead.
– Lincoln’s order to “destroy the rebel army” was ignored.
– McClellan allowed the rebels to retreat into Virginia.
– He was relieved of command.
The Battle of Fredericksburg
– Ambrose Burnside named new Union commander
– Marched massive army toward Richmond
– Attacking Confederates head-on left 13,000 Union dead.
– The battle was a disaster for the Union.
The War behind the Lines
The Main Idea
The Civil War created hardships, challenges, and
opportunities for people in the North and the South.
Reading Focus
• How did the Emancipation Proclamation affect the Civil
War?
• How did African Americans contribute to the war effort?
• What was life like in the military?
• What similarities and differences existed on the home
front in the North and South?
The Emancipation Proclamation
• Attitudes about the war changed with increased
casualties
– No longer about just saving the Union, the South needed to be
punished for the bloodshed of the war.
– Lincoln convinced to use constitutional power to end slavery, denying
the South the labor needed to continue the war
• Emancipation Proclamation issued on January 1, 1863
– It freed the slaves in all areas in rebellion against the U.S.
– Abolitionists were upset slavery continued in the Union.
– Riots broke out with increased competition for jobs in the North.
– Supporters felt it would shorten the war.
• Overseas reaction
– The British felt Lincoln should have freed all of the slaves.
– With war now about ending slavery, Britain would side with the
Union.
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.
• Poor men were patriotic, but
their families came first.
• Slaveholders were exempted
from the draft.
• Some areas were placed
under martial law.
Copperheads and the Union Draft
No shortages, but the Union needed to draft more soldiers
Union draft law allowed the wealthy to hire substitutes or
pay a $300 fee—making the war a poor man’s fight.
Antidraft riots fueled an existing antiwar movement, called
Peace Democrats by supporters, Copperheads by critics.
Vocal critics who opposed the war, the draft, or
emancipation were arrested and jailed without trials.
This was possible because Lincoln suspended habeas
corpus across the entire country, saying he was willing to
violate the constitution in order to save the nation.
Women in the Civil War
Southern Women
• Spied for the Confederacy
• 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
Northern Women
• Stepped into jobs so men
could 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
The War Continues
The Main Idea
Important fighting occurred in all sections of the country as
well as at sea.
Reading Focus
• In what ways was the war at sea an important part of the Civil
War?
• What were each side’s goals in the West and how were events
there influenced by the rest of the war?
• What three major battles took place in 1863, and why was each
important?
• Why was the fighting around Chattanooga, Tennessee, important
to the outcome of the war?
The Civil War at Sea
Blockade
Runners
• Boats built for speed that brought cotton out and
silk, soap, pepper, and other goods into the
Confederacy
• Confederates hoped to destroy the Union
blockade with a captured Union ironclad ship, the
The Monitor
Merrimack, rebuilt and renamed the Virginia.
and the
• Union attacked with new vessel, the Monitor. The
Merrimac
first battle between ironclads had no winner, but
it changed naval warfare.
Confederate
Raiders
• Confederates used unconventional tactics to
combat stronger Union navy.
• Had 29 commerce raider ships roaming the
oceans, successfully attacking Union merchant
ships and disrupting the North’s foreign trade
The War in the West
• California and the territories
– Kansas was admitted as a free state in 1861, and six more
western territories were added. Lincoln appointed pro-Union
officials to head the governments.
– The draft was not enforced in the West, but California supplied
volunteers and territorial mines provided vast amounts of gold
and silver.
– The Battle of Glorieta Pass secured the west for the Union.
• Native Americans and the war
– War divided the Cherokee and the other nations over the
issues of loyalty and slavery, and they fought on both sides.
– Cherokee leader Stand Watie was the last Confederate
general to surrender at war’s end.
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.
The Chattanooga Campaign
The string of Confederate losses ended with Braxton Bragg’s
victory at the Battle of Chickamauga. But the retreating
Union army discovered the road to Chattanooga had been
left unprotected, and they fled to the city.
Bragg pursued, but the Union soldiers were ready to defend
the city. Confederate troops prepared to starve them out.
Grant arrived and opened a supply line to feed the trapped
Union troops. The siege ended, and the Union won the two
battles that followed. This gave the Union control of the
railroad center at Chattanooga and would allow Grant
access to Georgia, the heart of the Lower South.
The Final Phase
The Main Idea
Southerners continued to hope for victory in 1864, but
military and political events caused those hopes to fade.
Reading Focus
• What tactics did Grant use against Lee to change the course of
the war?
• How did the election of 1864 affect Confederate hopes for victory
in the Civil War?
• How did the actions of Sherman and Grant help bring the war to
an end?
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.
Fierce Fighting
Wilderness
and
Spotsylvania
Grant kept his troops on the attack, winning the
Battle of the Wilderness and pushing south. The
Battle of Spotsylvania cost many casualties on
both sides, but Grant continued toward Richmond.
Cold Harbor
and
Petersburg
During the Battle of Cold Harbor men pinned
their names and addresses on uniforms for
identification. With this loss and after failing to
capture the rail center at Petersburg, Grant began
a siege of that city to put pressure on Richmond.
Sherman on
the move
Meanwhile, Sherman won the Battle of Atlanta
and laid siege to Atlanta’s defenses. He took the
city after closing down the last railroad line, one
month before the Union presidential elections.
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
The war is over
• With Union forces
surrounding them, Lee
decided to surrender.
• News of Lee’s surrender
brought joyful celebrations
in the north.
• 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.
• Lincoln requested “Dixie”
be played at the White
House.
• Grant announced, “The
war is over. The rebels are
our countrymen again.”
• 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.
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