Chapter 11: The Civil War
Section 1: From
Bull Run to
Antietam
The First Battle of Bull Run
• AKA Battle of Manassas
• Lincoln ordered the Union headed
by Gen. Irving McDowell into action
–July 16- marched the poorly
prepared army into VA
•Manassas- important railroad
junction
• Opposed by PGT Beauregard
• As the Union marched, there
was a huge crowd of reporters,
politicians, & other civilians
–Beauregard was able to
strengthen his army (11,000
men)
• McDowell attacked on July 21st
–South refused to give up
• Led by Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson
• Reinforced by more troops
• Sides
–35,000 troops on each side
–Union 2,900 casualties Confederacy
2,000
Preparing for War
• North
–More railroad tracks & factories
–Balanced economy
–More money in the bank
–Functioning army/ government
–2/3 of the population
• South
–Military colleges (officers)
–Didn’t need to initiate military
action to win the war
–Fighting to preserve their
way of life
Union Military Strategies
• Lincoln ordered a naval blockade
of the seceded states
–Hoped to keep the south from
shipping its cotton to Europe &
prevent them from importing
goods
• Plan was to use troops &
gunboats to gain control of the
Mississippi & cut off the South
–Named the Anaconda Plan
• Confederate War Strategies
–Prepare & wait (defensive war)
–War of attrition
• More successful for the north
• Stopped exporting cotton
–Sudden loss would cause Great
Britain & France to help the
south gain its independence
–failed
Tactics & Technology
• Gun manufacturers
–Bullet shaped ammo drifted less as
it flew through the air
–Rifling would make a fired bullet
pick up spin (pg 384)
• Hit targets 500 yards away
• Artillery
–Gunners fired shells & canisters
War in the west
• General George McClellan
was to build & command a
new army
• Led by General Ulysses S.
Grant
Fort Henry & Donelson
• Feb. 1862 Grant advanced south
along the Tennessee River
• These forts were important water
routes into the western Confed.
• Feb. 6– Union gunboats pounded
Ft Henry into surrender & a few
days later Ft Donelson did too
The Battle of Shiloh
• Late March, Grant advanced
toward Corinth, Miss.
–Opposed by Gen. Albert
Johnston & 40,000 troops
• Grant stopped at Pittsburg
Landing waiting for more troops
–Johnston decided to attack
• April 6
–Johnston’s forces surprised
Grant
–Fighting quickly spread along a
battle line 6 miles long
–End of first day, Union forces
had been pushed back nearly
into the Tennessee River
• April 7th- Union reinforcement
arrived overnight
–Defeated the South
• Casualties
• Union 13,000/Confederacy 11,000
including Johnston
• Bloodiest single battle- destroyed
Northern hopes that war would soon
be over
Action on the Mississippi
• Naval squadron led by David Farragut
forced the surrender of New Orleans
• Took over Baton Rouge, Natchez
(Miss.), & Memphis
–Only ports left were Vicksburg
(Miss) & Port Hudson (LA)
• If the Union controls the Mississippi,
Confederacy will be split
War in the East
• Union warships maintained the
blockade of Virginia
• Confederate secret weapon to fight the
blockade
–Ship resembling a floating barn
• Cannon balls bounced off like
rubber balls
• Destroyed or damaged 3 Union
ships
The Monitor & the Merrimack
• South bolted iron plates to an old
wooden steam ship (Merrimack)
• Union’s wooden navy was no
match
–North learned of building ships
with iron & Lincoln ordered some
to be made
• March 9
–Monitor arrived off VA to
confront the Merrimack
–Neither ship was able to do
much damage to the other
–After several hours the
Merrimack withdrew
–Never met again
• Confederates blew up the
Merrimack
• Monitor sank in a storm
• In a single day, wooden navies
became obsolete
The Peninsular Campaign
• May 1862
–McClellan landed near Norfolk
trying to capture Richmond
•Strengths- outstanding organizer,
excellent strategy & well liked
•Weakness- very cautious & never
seemed ready to fight
• Transported 100,000 troops to a
peninsula southeast of Richmond
–McClellan asked for more troops
–Despite urging from Lincoln to
act, he didn’t
–Waited outside Yorktown for one
month
• May
South suddenly attacked
–Battle of Seven Pines (Union
victory)
st
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The South Attacks
• Jackson pretended to prepare for
an attack on Washington
• Lincoln cancelled the orders for
McClellan’s additional troops to
protect the capital
• Jackson then joined Lee
outside Richmond & attacked
McClellan called the Seven
Days’ Battle (Confederate
Victory)
Second Battle of Bull Run
• Gen. John Pope was put in overall
command (north)
• Lee divided his army & sent
Jackson north in a sweeping
movement around Pope’s position
–Struck behind Pope’s army &
destroyed supplies
• Pope ordered an attack on
Jackson while Lee attacked
• Confederate victory &
McClellan was returned to
command
The Battle of Antietam
• Lee decided to come up & invade
the North
• McClellan found Lee’s orders but
he hesitated 16 hours before
ordering his troops after Lee
• Met near Sharpsburg, MD Sept 17
• Confederates retreated after high
losses