The Civil War
The Civil War
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November 1860
• Lincoln elected president
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December 1860
• South Carolina secedes
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February 1861
• Confederacy formed
• South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi,
Louisiana, Texas
• Capitol: Montgomery, Alabama
• President Jefferson Davis
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Fort Sumter, April 1861
• First shots of the war
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Confederates fired after supplies were sent to the fort
• Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers afterward
The Civil War
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Other states secede
• Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas
• Capitol moved to Richmond, Virginia
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Northern reaction to secession
• Most opposed forced return of states
• Crittenden Compromise
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Abolition of slaves north of the Missouri Compromise
line
Allow slavery south of the line
Compensate slave owners for runaways
Border States
• Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri
The Civil War
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Nicknames
• North
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United States, Union, Yankees, Billy Yank, Bluebellies
• South
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Confederate States, Rebels, Johnny Reb, Secesh
North’s advantages
• Population: 20 million, 2.5:1; free males 4.4:1
• Wealth produced 3:1 (factory production: 10:1)
• Transportation (railroad mileage: 7:1)
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South’s advantages
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Defensive war
Own soil
United population
Experienced officers (Mexican War)
Cotton
The Civil War
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Northern strategy
• Capture Richmond
• Occupy border states
• Control Mississippi River
• Blockade southern ports
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Southern strategy
• Capture Washington, D.C.
• Control border states
• Gain support of England
General Winfield Scott's
Anaconda Plan
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Headquarters of the Army
Washington, May 3, 1861
Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan,
Commanding Ohio Volunteers, Cincinnati, OH
We rely greatly on the sure operation of a complete blockade of the Atlantic and Gulf
ports soon to commence. In connection with such blockade we propose a powerful
movement down the Mississippi to the ocean, with a cordon of posts at proper points,
and the capture of Forts Jackson and Saint Philip; the object being to clear out and
keep open this great line of communication in connection with the strict blockade of
the sea-board, so as to envelop the insurgent States and bring them to terms with
less bloodshed than by any other plan. I suppose there will be needed from twelve to
twenty steam gun-boats, and a sufficient number of steam transports (say forty) to
carry all the personnel (say 60,000 men) and material of the expedition; most of the
gun-boats to be in advance to open the way, and the remainder to follow and protect
the rear of the expedition, &c. This army, in which it is not improbable you may be
invited to take an important part, should be composed of our best regulars for the
advance and of three-years’ volunteers, all well officered, and with four months and a
half of instruction in camps prior to (say) November 10. In the progress down the
river all the enemy’s batteries on its banks we of course would turn and capture,
leaving a sufficient number of posts with complete garrisons to keep the river open
behind the expedition. Finally, it will be necessary that New Orleans should be
strongly occupied and securely held until the present difficulties are composed.
With great respect, yours, truly
Winfield Scott.
A Cincinnati publisher ridiculed Scott’s Anaconda Plan as too slow and ponderous,
exaggerating it in a fanciful map, above
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Civil War Battles
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South named battles after town or settlement
North named battles after nearest water
First Bull Run (US) or First Manassas (CS), Virginia
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Mill Springs, Kentucky, January 19, 1862
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First battle of the Civil War, July 1861
“On to Richmond”
CS victory as US flees back to Washington, DC
Confederates defeated & forced out of Kentucky
CS General Felix Zollicoffer killed
Ft. Henry & Ft. Donelson, Kentucky, February 1862
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US Gen. U.S. Grant captured both forts
“Unconditional Surrender” Grant
Civil War Battles
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Monitor vs. Merrimac, March 1862
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Shiloh, Tennessee, April 6-7, 1862
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US victory
US casualties 13,000, CS casualties 11,000
Second Manassas or Second Bull Run, VA, August 1862
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Clash of the Ironclads
CS victory
Antietam, Maryland, September 1862
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Lee’s first advance into northern territory
Single bloodiest day in American military history
US claims victory
Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation
Effective January 1, 1863
Frees all slaves in rebelling states only
 Border states not affected
 Makes slavery a war issue to keep foreign powers from joining
South
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Civil War Battles
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Perryville, KY, October 8, 1862
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Chancellorsville, VA, April 1863
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CS offensive into Kentucky
US victory
Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson mortally wounded by his own men
CS victory
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 1-3, 1863
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Lee’s second invasion of the North
Largest battle of the Civil War
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Turning point of the war
US victory
Vicksburg, Mississippi, July 4, 1863
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Casualties: 23,000 Union, 28,000 Confederate
US victory, Union gains control of the Mississippi River
Appomattox Court House, Virginia, April 9, 1865
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Lee surrenders to Grant
Grant very generous in surrender terms
Civil War People
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Union
• Abraham Lincoln
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President of the US
• Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
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Nicknamed “Unconditional Surrender”
Promoted to overall commander of Union army by
war’s end
• Clara Barton
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Nurse for US troops
Founded American Red Cross after war
• Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman
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Led the infamous march to the sea
• Gen. George Armstrong Custer
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boy general
Civil War People
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Confederate
• Jefferson Davis
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President of the Confederacy
• Gen. Robert E. Lee
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Commanded the Army of Northern Virginia
• Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson
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Lee’s greatest general
• Gen. James Ewell Brown “JEB” Stuart
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Cavalry general
Civil War Weaponry
 Rifles
 .58 caliber
 Muzzle loader
 3 times per minute
 Artillery (cannons)
 Shells
 Grapeshot
 Canister
 Cannon ball
First Modern War
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Rifled muskets
Telegraph
Ironclad ships
Submarines
Total warfare
Workable machine gun
Aerial reconnaissance
Field trenches
Photography of battle
Repeating rifles
Bugle call “Taps”
Income tax
1861 Springfield
Gatling Gun
Enfield
Civil War Names
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The War Between the States
The War for Southern Independence
Mr. Lincoln’s War
The Southern Rebellion
The War of the Rebellion
The Second War for Independence
The War to Suppress Yankee Arrogance
The War Against Northern Aggression
The War of the Southern Planters
The War for the Union
The War for Southern Freedom
The Lost Cause