The Civil War: 1861 -- 1865
(Unit III, Segment 2 of 3)
 Essential Question:
– What factors led to the
outbreak of the Civil War?
 Warm-Up Question:
– If the Union had more troops,
industry, & transportation
when the Civil War began,
what should their war strategy
be?
Secession of the Southern States
Lincoln's election in
1860 brought the
Southern states to
the point of
secession and Lincoln
to a fateful question:
Should he allow
peaceful secession or
should he coerce the
rebels to stay in the
Union?
First Inaugural Address
“In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and
not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The
government will not assail you. You can have no
conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You
have an oath registered in Heaven to destroy the
government, while I shall have the most solemn one to
‘preserve, protect, and defend it.”
“I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends.
We must not be enemies. Though passion may have
strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The
mystic chords of memory, stretching from every
battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and
hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the
chorus of the Union when again touched, as surely they
will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
Secession in the South
The failed Crittenden
 Lincoln’s election
led to in 1860
Compromise
secession by 7 states in the
Deep South
but that
didCarolina
not
Fort Sumter,
South
necessarily mean “civil war”
 Two things had to happen first:
–One last failed attempt to
reconcile the North & South
–The North had to use its
military to protect the Union
TheNortherners
Upper South
did notthe
view
Some
thought
Lincoln’s
election
as aoff
death
sentence
U.S. would
be better
if the
& was
did not
secede
South
allowed
to immediately
peacefully
SC seceded on
secede
The entire Deep
South Dec 20,1860
seceded by Feb 1861
“Lame duck” Buchanan took no action
to stop the South from seceding
The Decision to Secede
The CSA constitution resembled the U.S., but
Secession
&
the
Formation
of
the
with 4 key changes: (1) it protected states’
On
Feb
4,
1861,
the
Confederate
rights,
(2)
guaranteed
slavery,
(3)
referenced
Confederate
States
of
America
of America
weretariffs
formed
God, & (4)States
prohibited
protective
Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis
was elected CSA president
When Lincoln was elected in 1860,
The4 more
Start
of
the Civil
1861
Southern
states
seceded
in&
7 Southern
states
seceded
fromWar,
the Union
1861
LincolnStates
calledof
forAmerica
military
formed
the when
Confederate
volunteers to “preserve the Union”
The Civil War began when Fort Sumter
was fired upon by Confederate soldiers
Fort Sumter Flag
The Civil War Soldier
Northern Advantages
 At the outbreak of the Civil War, the
North had lots of advantages:
– Larger population for troops
– Greater industrial capacity
– Huge edge in RR transportation
 Problem for the North:
– Had to invade the South to win
– Difficult to maintain enthusiasm &
support for war over time
Resources of the Union and the
Confederacy, 1861
Southern Advantages
 Although outnumbered & less
industrial, South had advantages:
– President Davis knew that they did
“King
Cotton”
not have
to “win” the war; the
diplomacy
South only had to drag out the fight
& make the North quit
– Had the best military leaders
– England & France appeared more
Robert E. willing“Stonewall”
J.E.B.
to support the South
Lee
Jackson
Stuart
Union Strategy
 The Union strategy during the war
was called the Anaconda Plan:
– Blockade the coast, seize the
Mississippi River to divide the
South, & take Richmond
– Exploit South’s dependency on
foreign trade & its inability to
manufacture weapons
– Relied on Northern advantages in
population, industry, & military
production
Take control of the
Mississippi River
Take the CSA capital
at Richmond
Ulysses
Grant in the
West
Divide the West
from South
Blockade the
Southern coast
George
McClellan
was in
charge of
Army of the
Potomac
Confederate Strategy
 The Confederate strategy during
the
war was an Offensive / Defense:
– Protect Southern territory from
“Northern aggression” but attack
into Union territory when the
opportunity presents itself
– Get Britain & France to join their
cause because of European
dependency on “King Cotton”
– Drag out the war as long as
possible to make the North quit
Political Leadership During the Civil War
During the Civil War, During the Civil War,
President Lincoln used
President
Jefferson
Davis
The national government in the USA & CSA
“emergency powers” to
had
a
difficult
time:
relied on volunteer armies
in
the
beginning,
but
protect “national security”:
•The
CSA
Constitution
soon needed conscription (draft) to supply their
•Suspended habeas corpus
protected states’
rights
armies(Laws
withrequiring
troops evidence
so state governors could
before citizens can be jailed)
refuse to send him money
•Closed down newspapers
or troops
• that did not support the war
•CSA currency inflated
by 7,000%
New York City Draft Riots
Fighting the Civil War
1861-1865
Fighting the Civil War: 18611865

From 1861 to mid-1863, the Confederate
army was winning the Civil War:
– Defensive strategy carried out by
superior Southern generals like Robert
E. Lee & “Stonewall” Jackson
– Disagreements among military &
political leaders in the North
Bull Run (Manassas), 1861:
The 1st battle of the Civil War;
Stonewall Jackson kept the
Union army from taking the
CSA capital at Richmond
Seven Pines,
1862 (CSA)
Seven Days,
1862 (CSA)
Shiloh,
1862 (USA)
2nd Bull Run,
1862 (CSA)
From 1861-1862, the CSA
had success in the East,
but the USA had success
in the West
New Orleans,
1862 (USA)
Antietam, 1862: General
Lee’s 1st attempt to attack
outside the CSA was
halted by McClellan
Antietam, 1862
 Even though the Battle of Antietam
ended without a clear winner, it had
important effects on the North:
– The battle convinced Britain &
France not to support the
Confederacy in the war
– The battle convinced Lincoln that
the time was right to make the
emancipation of slaves the new
focus of the war for the North
Battle of Antietam
“Bloodiest Single Day of the War”
23,000 casualties
Emancipation Proclamation
 After Antietam, Lincoln issued the
Emancipation Proclamation:
“…all
persons
held as slaves
– This
executive
orderwithin
freedany
allState
or designated
of a State, the
people
slaves inpart
Confederate
territories
whereof shall then be in rebellion against the
– It did
notshall
free
in the border
United
States,
beslaves
then, thenceforward,
and forever
and theitExecutive
states,free;
however
gave the North
Government
of the United
a new reason
fightStates, including
the military and naval authority thereof, will
– Inspired
Southern
toofescape
recognize
and maintain
theslaves
freedom
such
which
Southern
whites
to
persons,
andforced
will do no
act or acts
to repress
such worry
persons,about
or anytheir
of them,
in any efforts
farms
they may make for their actual freedom...”
States Impacted by the
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln,
“The
Great
Emancipator”
Escaped slaves in NC coming into Union lines
African-American
Recruiting Poster
The Famous 54th Massachusetts
African Americans in
Civil War battles
Fredericksburg, 1862
(CSA)
Chancellorsville, 1863
The Confederates won, but
Stonewall Jackson was killed;
Lee said of Jackson: “He has lost
his left arm, but I have lost my right
arm”
After Antietam, the
Confederates continued
to win in the East
Despite being outnumbered &
But, the Union Army
under-equipped,
the was
CSA having
dominated the
successininthe
theEast
Westfrom
under
the
fighting
1861-1863
due
of Ulysses
S. Grant strategy
toleadership
better generals
& a defensive
Conclusions:
1861-1863
By mid-1863, the weight
of the Northern population
& industrial capacity will
begin to turn the tide of the
war in favor of the Union
Fighting the Civil War: 18631865
 When the Civil War began, most
expected the fighting to end quickly,
but the war lasted until 1865 due to:
– The commitment of the Union &
Confederacy to “total war”
– Excellent Southern generals like
Robert E. Lee
– Improved, industrial weaponry
New Weapons but Old Tactics
• New weapons:
– Long-range artillery & the Gatling gun (1st machine
gun)
– Cone-shaped bullets & grooved barrel rifles for
more accuracy
– Ironclad naval ships like the
USS Monitor & CSS Virginia
• Old tactics such as massed formations &
frontal assaults
– Led to huge casualty rates
Dead on the Battlefield
Dead on the Battlefield
Fighting “Total War”
Women
took
gov’t
jobs
as
Women’s
most
st
 The Civil War was the
world’s
1
roleA
bookkeepers, clerks & prominent
secretaries;
as nurses
on
“total of
war”
in which
the
entire
number
women
alsowas
served
as spies
theCSA)
battlefield:
(Rose
Greenhow,
economy was devoted to
distributing
medical supplies,
winning:
organizing
hospitals, &
–North & South employed
offering comfort to
female workers to
meet supply
wounded
or dying
soldiers
demands
Ex. Clara Barton
future founder of
the American Red
Cross
The Tide of the War Turns in
1863
 By 1863, the Confederacy was having
difficulty sustaining the fight:
– Attempts to lure Britain & France
into the war had failed
– The Union blockade, limited
Southern manufacturing, & lack of
grain fields left CSA soldiers illsupplied
– To pay for the war, the CSA printed
money leading to massive inflation
Gettysburg, 1863:
In July,Vicksburg,
Robert E Lee
decided to
1863:
take advantage
of his access
victory at
Grant
cut off Southern
to
Chancellorsville
& attackthe
Mississippi
River & divided
Northern
soil two
to end
the war
South into
halves
quickly by the
crushing
Union
(considered
other “turning
morale
point”
in
the
war); Grant
Gettysburg proved
to be was
the
then
promoted
the entire
turning
pointto
oflead
the war;
Lee
Union
army
was halted, the CSA never
again attacked Union soil, & the
Union army began winning the
war
Gettysburg Address
The to
principles
thatthat
ourthe
We need
make sure
government
founded
upon
Union
wins the were
Civil War
in order
to
preserve our form of gov’t
This Civil War is a test to see if
these principles will last, because
other republics have failed
Fighting the Civil War: 18631865
 Under Grant’s leadership, the Union
army was more aggressive &
committed to destroy the South’s will
to fight:
– Grant appointed William T. Sherman
to lead the Southern campaign
– Sherman destroyed everything of
value to the South & emancipated
slaves during his “march to the sea”
Sherman considered
“total war”necessary
to defeat the South
The Battle of Atlanta was a huge victory
for the Union because it took out a
major Southern railroad terminus
Lincoln’s 2nd Inaugural
 “With malice towards none; with
charity for all… let us strive to finish
the work we are in; to bind up the
nation’s wounds; to care for him who
shall have borne the battle and for his
widow; and his orphan – to do all
which may achieve and cherish a just
and lasting peace among ourselves,
and with all nations.”
– After his speech Lincoln said, “I am a
tired man. Sometimes I think I am
the tiredest man on earth.”
Appomattox, 1865:
Grant defeated Lee at
Appomattox ending the Civil War
On April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered to Grant at
Appomattox Courthouse, ending the fighting of
Civil War
Ford’s Theater (April 14, 1865)
The Assassin
John Wilkes Booth
The Assassination
WANTED~~!!
“Now He Belongs to the Ages!”
-- Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War
Funeral March
The Execution
Effects of the War
 Effects of the Civil War:
– 620,000 troops were dead; More
than any other U.S. war
– The 13th Amendment was ratified
in 1865 ending slavery
– The war forever ended the
states’ rights argument
– The South was destroyed; A plan
was needed to admit Southern
states back into the Union
Conclusions
 The turning point of the war: 1863
– The Civil War began as a conflict
“to preserve the Union,” but by
1863 it became a war for human
liberty (Emancipation
Proclamation was issued)
– The South dominated the early
campaigns of the war due, but by
1863 (Gettysburg & Vicksburg) the
weight of Northern industry &
population wore down the South