The Civil War
1861-1865
Election of 1860
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Election of 1860 was the most
fateful in American history;
peace or civil war was on the
line.
Democrats (deeply divided)
Douglas leading candidate of
the northern Dems.
South regarded him as a
traitor. Why?
Buchanan not re-nominated.
Why?
Democrats Divided
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Southern delegates
walked out of convention.
1st secession of the
Southerners
Southern Nominees
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Southern Democrats chose
John C. Breckenridge
(Buchannon’s VP).
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He is a moderate from the
border state of Kentucky
 Buchanan endorses this ticket.
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Constitutional Union Party.
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Moderate Southern Democrats
 Nominate John Bell of
Tennessee.
Republicans Smell Victory
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Republicans smell victory
with Democrats divided.
Seward most prominent
and popular Republican.
Why doesn’t he get the
nomination?
Nominate Lincoln as
second choice on strength
of past performance
against Douglas.
Republican Party Platform in 1860
Lincoln gets only 40% of the vote, and virtually all of it came from free states.
In ten southern states he wasn’t even allowed on the ballot. So much for a
FREE election!
Presidential Election of 1860 (showing popular vote by
county)
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Lincoln did not win any states below the Ohio river, but
decisively won those above the Ohio
These maps dramatically show the demographic split in the
nation. Also show that the middle border states are less
clearly secessionist
Electoral Upheaval Of 1860
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Southern fire-eaters elated.
Despite Lincoln victory, the South not that bad
off. Why?
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Still control the Supreme Court and
Still control 30 votes in the senate.
What Lincoln kept saying was true, He could not DO
ANYTHING even if he wanted to about slavery in the
south. The Constitution forbid it. It would take a 2/3
vote in Congress just to get an amendment to the
states. It would take 75% of the states to ratify it. This
was just not possible given the country as it was in
1860.
Then the Southerners do the stupidest thing they
could do if they wanted to retain slavery…
Secession
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Four days after the election South Carolina’s legislature
voted to call a special convention on Secession, which
voted unanimously to secede.
Six other states quickly follow suit.
Secession
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Four days after the election South Carolina’s legislature
voted to call a special convention on Secession, which
voted unanimously to secede.
Six other states quickly follow suit.
Confederacy Born
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Feb. 1861 create
Confederate States of
America
Jefferson Davis
becomes President.
West-Point graduate,
Former Senator from
Mississippi,
former Secretary of War.
Has lots of governmental
experience and is an able
politician, but not good at
delegating and chronic-ill
health.
Crittenden Compromise
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Secession led to desperate search for one more
compromise.
Senator James Henry Crittenden
Crittenden Compromise:
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Terms
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Reinstating and extending Missouri Compromise westward
Forbid slavery north of the line
Protect slavery in the south
Maintain interstate slave trade
Federal compensation for lost slaves
Rejected by Lincoln because it would “lose us
everything we gained by the election.”
Fort Sumter: April 12, 1861
Civil War Begins
Bombardment of Fort Sumter by Pierre G.T. Beauregard
A "Ninety-Day War"
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After Fort Sumter, both sides felt they could quickly defeat the
other
Volunteers were plenty with 30,000 marching off to
Washington DC in order to train for the Union
Lincoln once again announced that he had no intention of
ending slavery; the war would be fought to preserve the Union
He thought a fast and resounding victory would convince the
South of the folly of secession
Southerners felt one good defense would keep the North from
bothering them anymore
Both sides would be very wrong. One of the few to say it would
be a long and devastating war was General William Tecumseh
Sherman who was promptly retired as crazy; then brought
back.
North vs. South in 1861
North
South
Advantages
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Disadvantages
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Rating the North & the South
Slave/Free States
Population, 1861
North had population of 22 million
 South 9 million—3.5 of which were slaves
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Railroad Lines, 1860
Resources: North & the South
New Technologies
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Deadlier Weaponry
Military Importance of
Railroads
Aerial
Reconnaissance
Black & White
Photography
The Union & Confederacy in
1861
Men Present for Duty
in the Civil War
Soldiers’ Occupations:
North/South Combined
Immigrants
as a %
of a State’s
Population
in
1860
The Leaders of the Confederacy
Pres. Jefferson Davis
VP Alexander Stevens
Confederate Capitol—Richmond, Virginia
Confederate
Patriotic Poster
The Confederate Seal
MOTTO  “With God As Our Vindicator”
A Northern View of Jeff Davis
The first battle of armies – Bull Run
General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson
First Battle of Bull Run
Surrender at Appomattox
Can I get some help please?
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Union General George McClellan
Abe Lincoln
Later in 1861, the Army of
the Potomac (North) was
turned over to General
George McClellan
McClellan was a master of
training and drilling while
also greatly loved and
admired by those under his
command
In actual battle he proved to
be quite inept, constantly
under the mistaken belief
that the enemy outnumbered
him or perhaps he was just
afraid
Lincoln was constantly
agitated by his generals until
the last year of the war.
FOREIGN POLICY
McClellan: I Can Do It All!
Lincoln’s Generals
Winfield Scott
Irwin McDowell
George McClellan
Joseph Hooker
Ambrose Burnside
Ulysses S. Grant
George McClellan,
Again!
George Meade
Overview
of
the North’s
Civil War
Strategy:
“Anaconda
”
Plan
The “Anaconda” Plan
The second major skirmish
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Finally, Lincoln ordered McClellan to attack (actually he
jokingly asked if he could borrow it if the General wasn’t
going to use it)
In the spring of 1862 McClellan sailed his troops through the
Chesapeake Bay landing on a peninsula between the James
and York rivers just southeast of Richmond
The troops worked their way to the very edges of Richmond
during the Peninsula Campaign
But they were turned away by Robert E. Lee, who had
decided to remain loyal to his state, in the Seven Days'
Battles.
The first modern war
The American Civil War represented many firsts including:
 a new, much more accurate rifle
 the Gatling gun (a primitive machine-gun)
 and "ironclads" (battleships plated with iron)
 The South raised an old wooden U.S. warship, the Merrimack, gave
it ten guns and plated the sides with iron railroad rails.
 When Lincoln learned of this he immediately ordered work on a
version for the Union.
Battle of Ironclads
On March 8, 1862, the Merrimack sank two Union ships and grounded a
third in the waters off of Virginia
 The next morning the Monitor arrived armed with just two guns that were
mounted on a revolving turret
 The two ships exchanged fire at close range for four hours doing little
damage
• The Merrimack was later
destroyed by its' own
Confederate soldiers who
feared it would fall into
Union hands
• England and France
were horrified, as
suddenly their
tremendous wooden
navies were rendered
obsolete.
The turret topped Monitor rams the Merrimack while both ironclads fire.
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The Battle of the Ironclads,
March, 1862
The Monitor vs. The Merrimac
The Merrimac was the Union
name. After the South raised
it up and put iron on it they
renamed it the Virginia
Damage on the Deck of the
Monitor
The War in the West: 1862
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Ulysses Grant has
command in the West.
Taking control of the
Ohio/Mississippi Rivers is
central to the Anaconda Plan.
It would cut the Confederacy
in two.
The crucial Battle of Shiloh
took place in April of 1862.
After two brutal days of
fighting and Grant’s
inexperience 3,500 soldiers
were dead and 20,000
wounded. But by May the
North controlled western
Tennessee.
Grant’s reputation continues
to grow until he becomes
Lincoln’s most valuable
general.
War in the West
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For the most part things had gone
better for the Union in the west
David Farragut seized control of New
Orleans in the spring of 1862
General Ulysses S. Grant led
victories in Tennessee and
Mississippi with one loss at Shilo
Now all that was needed was to take
the fortress at Vicksburg and the
North would control the Mississippi
River. Victory came on July 4, 1863
and with it Northern trade was
reopened helping to silence those
pushing for peace in the North
Grant returned to Tennessee
clearing out all of the Confederates
and opening the door to Georgia for
William Tecumseh Sherman.
Grant would have done it himself but
he was called to the east to serve as
the new general-in-chief.
Union General Ulysses S. Grant in the field. He was
known to drink more than he should but presumed
he developed his habit sending so many men to death.
The War in
the West,
1863:
Vicksburg
War in the East: 1861-1862
Battle of Antietam
“Bloodiest Single Day of the War”
September 17, 1862
23,000 casualties
The Pivotal Point: Antietam
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After success in the Second Battle of Bull Run, Robert E. Lee
decided to strike inside Northern territory
He ventured into Maryland hoping to gain support from both
the Border state and Europe
Lincoln had reluctantly put George McClellan back in
command of the Army of the Potomac
One of the key developments that enabled McClellan to stop
Lee at Antietam was the fact that Union soldiers had
discovered a dropped copy of Lee's plan
Most historians argue that McClellan failed to take full
advantage of his knowledge
Militarily the battle was a draw.
Lincoln (top hat) with McClellan
(third from left) shortly after the
conclusion of Antietam. Lincoln
thought McClellan would now
chase Lee and his injured army.
Outcomes of Antietam
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
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The border-states remain with the North
England and France do NOT intervene as had been expected
Though the Union suffered higher numbers of dead and
wounded, Lee lost approximately 25% of his army
Lincoln had the victory he needed to announce his proclamation
McClellan is removed from his field command once and for
all…..
WHAT?
Shortly after the conclusion of the battle, Lincoln visited the site
to survey the damage and speak to McClellan
Lincoln returned to Washington believing that the Army of the
Potomac would follow and attack Lee's retreating army and end
the war
As soon as he got back to his office Lincoln received a telegram
from McClellan explaining he would need 100,000 more
soldiers plus supplies if he was going to chase down Lee
Lincoln could not find a general willing to fight.
This fragment was found and preserved by John Hay, one of President Lincoln's White House
secretaries, who said it was "not written to be seen of men." Some of the thoughts expressed here,
written after discouraging days of personal sorrow and military defeats, also appear in Lincoln's
Second Inaugural Address of 1865.Hay said that in this writing "Mr. Lincoln admits us into the most
secret recesses of his soul .... Perplexed and afflicted beyond the power of human help, by the
disasters of war, the wrangling of parties, and the inexorable and constraining logic of his own mind,
he shut out the world one day, and tried to put into form his double sense of responsibility to human
duty and Divine Power; and this was the result. It shows -- as has been said in another place -- the
awful sincerity of a perfectly honest soul, trying to bring itself into closer communion with its Maker."
Washington, D.C.
September, 1862
The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act
in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be,
wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same
time. In the present civil war it is quite possible that God's
purpose is something different from the purpose of either party -and yet the human instrumentalities, working just as they do, are
of the best adaptation to effect His purpose. I am almost ready to
say that this is probably true -- that God wills this contest, and
wills that it shall not end yet. By his mere great power, on the
minds of the now contestants, He could have
either saved or destroyed the Union without a human contest. Yet
the contest began. And, having begun He could give the final
victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds.
The Emancipation Proclamation
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On September 23, 1862,
Lincoln announced that as of
January 1, 1863, all slaves
"in areas of active
rebellion" (not the border
states of the Union) are
forever free
All-Black units began to fight
for the Union as the North
now had a moral stake in the
war.
Lincoln’s Cabinet asked him to wait for a Union victory
Emancipation in 1863
The
Emancipation
Proclamation
The Southern View of Emancipation
Slavery chain done broke at last,
Broke at last, broke at last.
Slavery chain done broke at last,
Gonna praise God ‘til I die.
There’ll be no more auction block,
No more driver’s whip or chain.
No more days walkin’ head bowed down
With broken flesh and pain.
(Refrain)
There’ll be no more pickin’ cotton,
Father Abraham’s set us free.
We’ll join the Yankee soldiers
And fight for liberty.
Disaster at Chancellorsville
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Lee was feeling pretty good after a day of fighting at
Chancellorsville.
He had again divided his forces in the face of a superior
numbered enemy and had put them on the run.
Stonewall Jackson wanted to get a head start on the
next day’s fighting.
He and his staff did some scouting between the forces.
On his return during the night, he was shot by a jumpy
new recruit placed on picket duty.
Jackson dies a week later of pneumonia complications
set in after the amputation of his left arm.
When Lee was told of Jackson’s amputation, he
remarked, “He has lost his left arm, but I have lost my
right.”
Lee’s best general was not around for the next great
battle.
Gettysburg
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The sleepy Pennsylvania town proved to be the South's last
opportunity in a number of ways (The turning point of the
war)
After surprising successful defenses in the Virginia towns of
Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, Robert E. Lee decided to
try another attack on the Union
While Grant was bombing Vicksburg, Lee launched an
offensive on Northern troops under the command of General
George Meade at Gettysburg
From July 1-3, 1863, furious fighting was capped by the
Southern mistake of Pickett's Charge. Lee took full
responsibility for the loss, apologizing to retreating troops and
offering his resignation to Jefferson Davis
Coupled with the loss at Vicksburg, the South now lost all
hope of European recognition and assistance
About 27,000 confederates were killed, ⅓ of the troops under
Lee's command. Meade failed to follow the retreating South
probably because he had only been in charge for six days and
23,000 of his men were dead, wounded, or missing.
The Road to Gettysburg:
1863
Gettysburg
Day 1
Day 1
Day 1
Day 2
Gettysburg
Day 3
Note the “fish hook” of the North v.
how spread out the South is.
Pickett’s Charge
‘the turning point of the war’
Day 2: Little Round Top
Day 3: Pickett’s Charge
Gettysburg Casualties
Rifled Musket
Minie Ball
Casualty
18
Amputation
20
War Casualties—(believe these to be from Gettysburg)
Women in the war effort
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
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In September, Lincoln visited the site in order to dedicate a
cemetery.
He followed the 2-hour speech of another orator with a 269-word
address that received little applause from the stunned audience
Even the photographer only managed to get a shot of the president
sitting back down in his chair. It has since become known as the
Gettysburg Address.
The Gettysburg Address
“Fourscore and seven years ago, our fathers
brought forth upon this continent a new
nation conceived in liberty and dedicated
to the purpose that all men are created
equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil
war, testing whether that nation, or any
nation so conceived and so dedicated, can
long endure. We are met on a great
battlefield of that war.
Gettysburg Address
We have come to dedicate
a portion of that field, as a
final resting place for
those who here gave their
lives that that nation
might live. It is altogether
fitting and proper that we
should do this.”
Gettysburg Address
But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate—
we cannot consecrate—we cannot
hallow—this ground. The brave men, living
and dead, who struggled here, have
consecrated it far above our poor power to
add or detract. The world will little note nor
long remember what we say here, but it
can never forget what they did here.”
Gettysburg Address
It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated
here to the unfinished work which they
who fought here have thus far so nobly
advanced. It is rather for us to be here
dedicated to the great task remaining
before us—that from these honored dead
we take increased devotion to that cause
for which they gave the last full measure of
devotion;
Gettysburg Address
That we here highly
resolve that these dead
shall not have died in
vain; that this nation,
under God, shall have a
new birth of freedom;
and that government of
the people, by the
people, for the people,
shall not perish from the
earth.”
The North
Initiates the
Draft, 1863
Recruiting Irish Immigrants in
NYC
Recruiting Blacks in NYC
NYC Draft Riots, (July 13-16, 1863)
NYC Draft Riots, (July 13-16, 1863)
A “Pogrom” Against Blacks
Inflation in the South
2014
2014
31.24
249.89
12.49
499.78
161.18
1643.02
The Progress of War: 1861-1865
Sherman’s March
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In 1864, General Sherman set
out to smash the South to
pieces
Using the unorthodox strategy
of abandoning his supply lines
and living off the land, Sherman
and his 60,000 soldiers first
swept through Georgia
They tore up and melted
railroads, burned entire cities to
the ground including Atlanta,
and ate very well
He next turned his attention to
South Carolina where the
destruction was even more
vicious because the state had
been the first to secede
His success allowed Lincoln to
announce that the end of the
war was near.
Sherman’s
“March
to the
Sea”
through
Georgia,
1864
Total War—Sherman’s March to the Sea
1864 Election
Pres. Lincoln (R)
George McClellan (D)
The Peace Movement:
Copperheads
Clement Vallandigham
1864 Copperhead Campaign
Poster
Cartoon Lampoons Democratic
Copperheads in 1864
The Election of 1864
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For this one election the
Republican name was
temporarily abandoned
The Union Party was made
up of Republicans and War
Democrats who supported
Lincoln
 Lincoln dropped Hamlin as
Vice President in favor of
Andrew Johnson, a
Democrat from Tennessee
who remained loyal to the
Union
Peace Democrats did not
support Lincoln and voted for
McClellan
Copperheads were against
Lincoln, the draft,
emancipation, and openly
obstructed the war effort.
The Election of 1864
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Hardly a given, Lincoln needed Sherman's successes to help
push him past ….George McClellan
Lincoln (Union Party)
212 – 2,206,938
McClellan (Democrat)
21 – 1,803,787
• McClellan won the states
of Kentucky, Delaware,
and New Jersey
• The seceding states were
not allowed to vote
• To help ensure victory for
Lincoln, absentee ballots
were sent to troops
stationed in the South.
The Election of 1864
The Final Virginia Campaign:
1864-1865
Died of a theory
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Confederate General Robert E. Lee
Jefferson Davis
Shortly after the election
a Union victory seemed
only a matter of time
Unlike past generals,
Grant chased Lee
despite heavy casualties.
Richmond fell and Lee
finally surrendered to
Grant at Appomattox on
April 9, 1865.
Appomattox Courthouse
Surrender at Appomattox
April 9, 1865
Outside of Wilmer McClean’s house
McClean’s living room
Appomattox Court House—Lee’s Surrender
Victory At Last
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Richmond, Virginia 1865
The South was nearly
utterly destroyed.
Wherever the armies
had traveled there
was nothing but
wasteland.
The Destruction of the South
Lincoln—Before and After the war.
Ford’s Theater (April 14, 1865)
The Assassin
John Wilkes Booth
The Assassination
WANTED~~!!
Now He Belongs to the Ages!
Good Friday
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April 14, 1865 - Lincoln is assassinated by John
Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater
It was part of a larger conspiracy to kill Lincoln,
Grant (who was supposed to be at the theater
with Lincoln), VP Andrew Johnson, and William
Seward.
Seward was severely stabbed while lying in bed
recovering from a cart accident but fought off his
attacker and survived
The man assigned to Johnson lost his nerve
Booth was hunted down and died in a shootout at
a farm in Virginia on April 26th
Many were arrested and four were tried and
executed as part of the conspiracy
As time wore on, increasing numbers of
Southerners perceived that Lincoln's death was a
calamity for them for he had given indications of
a “soft-on-the-South” policy. After his death the
Radical Republicans will spend the next 12
years punishing the South.
John Wilkes Booth
Inside Ford’s Theater
Cost of the War
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The North spent $2.2 billion to win ($240 billion
2011)
The South spent just over $1 billion to lose
Economists estimate $1.4 billion in capital was
destroyed in the South along with $20 million in
“undercounted labor costs associated with the
draft.”
Estimating lifetime earnings from soldiers had
they lived an average life uninterrupted by war
and wounds: $995 million to the Union dead
($14.5 billion 2011), $365 million to Union
wounded ($5.3 billion), $947 million to both
Southern dead and wounded
Civil War Casualties
in Comparison to Other Wars
Historians now believe that
the Civil War figure is closer
to 720,000
Casualties on Both Sides