|
Attack on
Fort Sumter begins the Civil War
A.
Located at the mouth of Charleston Harbor, Ft. Sumter was one of two last
remaining
federal strongholds in the South (the other Ft. Pickering in Florida)
1. The day after inauguration, Lincoln notified by Major Robert Anderson
that
supplies to the fort would soon run out and he would be forced to
surrender.
2. Lincoln faced with choices that were all bad
a. No supplies would mean surrender; would ruin his credibility to
"hold,
possess, and occupy"
b. Reinforcements would surely lead to an armed clash which would
begin
the Civil War with the North seen as the provocateur.
-- Also, Union detachments not available on such short notice.
c. Solution: Notified SC of an expedition to provision the
garrison, not to reinforce it
-- Lincoln would let the South start the war if it wished
3. April 9, 1861 -- A ship carrying supplies for Fort Sumter sailed from
New York.
-- Seen by S.C. as an act of aggression; "reinforcement"
B. April 12: Fort Sumter bombarded by more than 70 Confederate canon
1. Anderson’s garrison held for 34 hours until 2:30 p.m. on April 13,
when he
surrendered.
2. Anderson’s men allowed to return North.
3. No loss of life during bombardment; fort heavily damaged
C. Lincoln calls for volunteers
1. Before the attack , many northerners felt that if the South wanted to
go, they
should not be forced to stay.
2. Attack on Sumter provoked the North to fight for their honor & the
Union.
-- Lincoln’s strategy paid off; South seen as the aggressors
-- North as benign
3. April 19, Lincoln proclaimed a blockade of Southern seaports
-- Initially ineffective; eventually strangled the South.
4. May 3, Lincoln issued a call for 3-year volunteers; militia
would not meet need
5. Until April 25, Washington D.C. was virtually under siege and a
Confederate
assault on the capital was expected at any time.
D. 4 more states secede from the Union: VA, AR, TN, NC
1. Northern calls for troops aroused South; viewed Lincoln as waging
war.
2. Richmond replaced Montgomery as the Confederate capitol.
The Border
Slave States (MO, KY, MD, later WV)
A. Remained in the Union since the North did not start the war
1. Crucial to Union cause; sent 300,000 soldiers to the Union Army
--Lincoln: Hoped to have God on his side but he had to "have
Kentucky."
2. West Virginia left Virginia in mid-1861 to join the Union; "mountain
white" pop.
3. War began with slaveholders on both sides; not free-soil vs. slavery
-- Brothers and family members often split and fought on opposite
sides
B. Contained over 50% of the South’s white population; fewest number of
slaves
C. Lincoln used force at times to keep these states in check.
1. Declared martial law in Maryland in certain areas and sent
troops since it
threatened to cut off Washington DC from the North.
2. Troops also sent to W. Virginia and Missouri where a mini-Civil War
raged.
D. Politically, Lincoln had to keep border states in mind when making public
statements
1. Declared the primary purpose of the war was to preserve the Union
at all costs.
2. Declared the North was not fighting to free the slaves.
a. Antislavery declaration would have driven the border states to
the South.
b. Lincoln heavily criticized by abolitionists who saw him as a
sell-out.
-- Lincoln in Aug. 22, 1862 to Horace Greeley: "My paramount
object is to save
the Union, and is not either to save or destroy slavery... If
I could
save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and
if I could save it by
freeing all the slaves I would do it, and if I could save it
by freeing some and
leaving others alone, I would also do that."
The Confederacy
A. Constitution largely copied from the Union.
-- Fatal flaw: Created by secession, it could not deny future secession
to the states.
B. Jefferson Davis’ idea of a strong central gov’t was bitterly
opposed states’ righters
-- Some states didn’t want their troops to fight outside their borders.
C. Davis often at odds with his Congress: in danger of being impeached at
one point.
D. Davis lacked Lincoln’s political saavy.
Confederate
Advantages
A. Only had to fight defensively behind lines and tie or stalemate; needed
fewer troops
-- North had to invade, conquer, occupy, & forcibly return Southern
territory to Union.
B. Until emancipation proclamations of 1862 & 1863, many felt South had
superior moral
cause, slavery notwithstanding.
-- Fighting for self-determination, self-gov’t, its social structure,
homes, and fundamental
freedoms (for whites)
C. Had talented military officers
1. Robert E. Lee -- one of greatest military leaders in American
history
a. Opposed to slavery and spoke against secession in Jan. 1861
b. Lincoln had offered Lee command of the Union armies but Lee felt
compelled to side
with his native Virginia after she seceded.
2. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson
3. Top Union generals were inept during first three years of the war
until replaced
D. Southern men of fighting stock and self-confident
How Confederacy Could have Won
A. Lack of significant industrial capacity a crucial disadvantage; South
primarily agrarian
B. As the war dragged on, severe shortages of shoes, uniforms, and blankets.
C. Breakdown of transportation, esp. when railroads were cut or destroyed by
the North.
D. A number of scenarios might have given the Confederates victory
1. Border state secession
2. Upper Mississippi Valley states turning against the Union
3. Northern defeatism leading to an armistice
4. England & France breaking the blockade.
Northern Advantages
A. Population of 22 million (including border states); 800,000 immigrants
between 1861-63
1. South only 9 million including 3.5 million slaves
2. Manpower advantages over Lee were 3 to 2 or even 3 to 1
B. Had 3/4 of the nation’s wealth
C. Overwhelming superiority in manufacturing, shipping, and banking.
D. 3/4 of nation’s railroads: large capacity for repair and replacement that
the South lacked.
E. Controlled the sea through its blockade of Southern ports.
F. Ideal of Union
1. Devotion to Union aroused North against South; "Union Forever"
2. Significant in keeping border states and upper Mississippi states
from seceding.
3. Cry for Union gave North strong moral issue until slavery was added
to it later.
G. Much better logistical planning in the army and weaponry
Union War
Strategy
A. Initial attempts to strike decisive blows in Virginia failed miserably
(Bull Run, Peninsula
Campaign, Vicksburg, Chancellorsville)
B. Later, developed into four phases: strategy geared more toward
attrition
1. Strangle the South by blockading its coasts – Anaconda Plan
2. Control the Mississippi River to cut the Confederacy in half.
3. Devastate the South by cutting a swath through GA and then sending
troops
North through the Carolinas.
4. Capture Richmond by annihilating the remaining Confederate armies.
WAR IN THE
EAST: 1861
A. Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) -- July 21, 1861
1. By summer, 1861, public pressure and proddings from the press urged a
quick decisive
battle to defeat the Confederacy.
2. Battle initially went well for Union forces but reinforcements
surprised Union forces.
3. By mid-afternoon, Union forces in full retreat back towards defended
Washington DC.
4. Casualties: Union lost 2,896 men; Confederates lost 1,982
5. Psychological impact:
a. North awoke to the reality of a protracted conflict; began making
preparations for
a long and bloody war.
b. Southerners grew complacent; many deserters since they felt war
was over.
B. General George B. McClellan and the Army of the Potomac
1. Lincoln gave McClellan command of the Army of the Potomac in late
1861.
-- McClellan a brilliant military strategist and leader; 34-year-old
from West Point
2. Fatal flaw: Overcautious; frequently believed he was outnumbered when
in fact he always possessed numerical advantages; Lincoln accused him of having
"the slows"
The Union
blockade -- "Anaconda Plan"
A. Initially ineffective; 3,500 miles of coastline too daunting for
undeveloped Union navy.
and undeveloped Union navy.
B. Concentrated on principal ports and inlets where bulk materials were
loaded
C. Respected by England; Britain did not want a future war with North
D. Battle of the Ironclads
1. Merrimack (C.S.S. Virginia) -- former U.S. warship
plated on sides with old railroad
rails; (not really seaworthy
a. Destroyed two wooden ships of Union navy in Chesapeake Bay, VA
b. Threatened entire Yankee fleet blockading Southern ports.
2. Monitor -- Union counterpart to Merrimack built
in 100 days
a. Engaged Virginia at Hampton Roads, VA on March 8-9,
1862; 4 hour battle
b. Neither side winning; Monitor withdrew after Captain
wounded; both claimed victory.
c. Virginia never again a serious threat and
eventually blown up at Norfolk by
Confederates when ship in danger of falling into Union hands
THE WAR IN
THE EASTERN THEATER: 1862
B. Second Battle of Bull Run (14 July to 30 August)
1. General Pope put in charge of Union army near Washington.
2. Combined forces of Lee, Jackson, & Longstreet forced Federals to
escape once again to
Washington.
-- Some blamed McClellan for not coming fast enough to support Pope.
3. Casualties: Union 16,054; Confederates 9,197
4. Lincoln once again gave McClellan command of the Army of the Potomac.
C. Antietam (September 17, 1862)
1. Lee sought to invade Maryland hoping to take it from the Union and
encourage foreign
intervention on behalf of the South.
2. Sept. 17 -- Battle of Antietam
a. Furious attacks and counterattacks in Sharpsburg, Maryland ended
in a stalemate
b. McClellan missed opportunity to effectively pursue withdrawing
Conf. troops before
they crossed the Potomac.
-- Removed from command for 2nd time and replaced by Gen.
Ambrose Burnside
c. Casualties: Feds 12,401 of 80,000 in army; Conf. 10,700 of 40,000
(over 25%)
-- Bloodiest day of the war.
3. Considered one of most decisive battles in world history.
a. South never again so near victory
b. Foreign powers decided not to intervene in support of the South
whose military
capacity was now questioned in the face of a unexpectedly
powerful North..
The
Emancipation Proclamation
A. Became effective Jan. 1, 1863
1. Civil War now became more of a moral crusade: a "higher purpose"
2. Lincoln’s immediate goal not to free slaves but to strengthen the
cause of the Union
3. Didn’t go as far as Congress’ existing legislation for freeing
enemy-owned slaves
4. Constitutionality of proclamation questionable at the time
b. Became "legal" with the 13th Amendment in 1865
B. All slaves in areas in rebellion declared now and forever free.
-- Justification lay with removing valuable slave labor from the
Southern war cause.
C. Slaves in loyal Border States not affected nor those in specific areas
of conquered South.
-- About 800,000; did little immediately to change the plight of the
slaves.
THE WAR IN
THE WEST
-- Battle for control of the Mississippi
A. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant became Lincoln’s most able general
B. Grant captured Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in northern TN in Feb.
1862
1. Significance: KY more secure while gateway opened to rest of TN and
GA.
-- Boosted northern morale in the face of humiliating losses in
Virginia.
2. Confederates out of KY and most of TN.
C. Shiloh (April 6 & 7, 1862)
1. Federals moved down through western Tennessee to take the
Confederacy’s only
east-west railroad linking the lower South to cities on the
Confederacy’s east coast
2. Grant victorious but casualties were shocking: 23,746 killed,
wounded, or missing
3. Brought shocking realization to both sides that war would not end
quickly
D. New Orleans taken by Union in spring of 1862; led by David G. Farragut
War in the
East: Lee’s last victories and the Battle of Gettysburg
A. Lee defeated Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside at Fredericksburg, VA, on
Dec. 13, 1862
1. Burnside launched ill-conceived assault on Confederates dug in behind
stone wall.
2. More than 10,000 Federals killed or wounded in "Burnside’s slaughter
pen"
3. Burnside removed from command and replaced by "Fighting Joe"
Hooker.
B. Chancellorsville (May 2-4, 1863)
1. Lee’s smaller force split Hooker’s army in two.
-- "Stonewall" Jackson made daring move around Union’s flank
2. Union defeated again by a smaller force only half its size
-- Hooker shortly after removed and replaced by General George
Meade
3. Significance: Stonewall Jackson killed accidentally by own man
-- Lee: "I have lost my right arm."
4. Casualties: Confederates lost 13,000 men (22% of Lee’s army)
C. Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863)
1. Lee decided to invade the North again, this time through PA in
hopes of
strengthening peace movement in North and getting direct foreign
support.
2. Bloodiest battle of the Civil War: 53,000 casualties.
3. Day 1 -- July 1 – Confederates took Gettysburg but Union took high
ground overlooking
the city.
4. Day 2 -- July 2
a. Major engagements occurred on Union right and left; Lee hoped to
flank Feds
b. Little Round Top held on extreme left; prevented flank from
caving in.
5. Day 3 -- July 3
a. Lee ordered Gen. George Pickett’s division to attack the Union
center
at Cemetery Ridge; Pickett’s division annihilated -- "high tide
of the Confederacy"
-- Confederates would never again be so close to victory nor on
Northern soil.
b. Lee retreated while taking full responsibility for the
Confederate defeat.
6. Meade neglected to pursue Lee and finish off his army
-- Lincoln after Meade’s report that Lee had been repelled: "My God,
is that all"
7. Significance: South doomed after Gettysburg and Vicksburg;
would never again invade the North and would remain in the defensive till
war’s end.
8. Gettysburg Address (November, 1863)
a. Established Declaration of Independence as document of founding
law
b. Equality became supreme commitment of the federal
government
c. Established idea of nation over union
-- The United States is a free country; instead of United
States are a free country.
d. Most Americans today accept Lincoln’s concept of America
e. Attracted relatively little attention at the time but became one
of most important
speeches in world history.
-- Union victory proved men are capable of governing themselves
in a free society
THE END OF
THE WAR IN THE WEST
A. Vicksburg campaign lasted seven months
1. Vicksburg last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River.
2. July 4, Confederate army surrendered to Grant; 29,500 men.
3. Significance: Split the Confederacy in two and gave Union total
control of Miss. River.
-- Boosted Union morale in the face of the Union victory at
Gettysburg
B. Sherman marches through Georgia
1. William Tecumseh Sherman
-- Pushed his way through GA after the battle of Kenesaw Mountain
and captured and
burned Atlanta in Sept. 1864.
2. "March to the Sea": After taking Atlanta, cut a 60-mile-wide
swath through the heart
of Georgia before emerging at Savannah on the sea in December,
1864.
a. Aimed to destroy supplies destined for the Confederate army and
weaken morale
of the men at the front by waging war on their homes.
b. Pioneer of "total war."
-- Despite brutality, war probably shortened thus saving lives.
c. Determined to inflict the horrors of war on the South to break
its will.
-- "War is hell"
3. Turned northward into South Carolina where destruction more severe
than in Georgia
a. Capital city of Columbia set aflame.
b. Sherman’s army reached deep into North Carolina by war’s end.
END OF THE
WAR IN THE EAST:
Grant’s Virginia Campaign
A. Grant promoted to head of all Union armies after Lincoln’s dismay with
Meade after
Gettysburg
1. Meade still remained head of the Army of the Potomac
2. Grant’s strategy to attack the enemy’s armies simultaneously thus
not allowing
them to assist one another; Confederate army would be
destroyed piecemeal.
3. Campaign would result in 50,000 Union casualties
B. Wilderness (May & June, 1864) Grant embarked for Richmond with
over 100,000 men.
F. Siege of Richmond (July-Oct. 1864)
1. Grant hoped to divert Confederate forces from Petersburg
2. Lee sacrificed several detachments in rear guard to evacuate both
Richmond
& Petersburg successfully.
G. Early 1865, Confederates attempted to negotiate for peace between the
"two countries."
-- Lincoln not willing to accept anything short of unconditional
surrender.
H. Lee’s surrender
1. Confederate army surrounded near Appomattox Court House in
VA.
2. April 9, 1865 -- Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia.
a. War in Virginia officially over.
b. Remaining Confederate armies surrendered within the next few
weeks.
3. Terms of surrender were generous
a. The 30,000 captured Confederates were paroled and allowed to go
home
so long as they vowed never to take up arms against the Union
again.
b. Confederates allowed to keep their own horses for spring plowing.
-- Officers could keep their sidearms
4. Grant: "The war is over; the rebels are our countrymen again."
Lincoln
assassinated on night of April 14, 1865 (Good Friday)
A.
Only five days after Lee’s surrender, Lincoln assassinated at Ford’s theater by
John
Wilkes Booth
B. Lincoln died at the apex of his fame thus becoming a martyr.
C. Although initially jubilant over his death, the South came to view it
as calamitous.
1. Lincoln’s approach to reconstruction moderate compared to the
later actual policy.
2. Assassination increased bitterness in the North against the South
especially with
rumors that Jefferson Davis had plotted it.
Prisoner of
War Camps
A.
North treated prisoners better than the South; more resources
B. Southern prisons could not provide for POWs since Confederate soldiers
often lacked
basic necessities.
-- Andersonville the most notorious of the POW camps; more than
13,000 died there
Results and costs of the Civil
War
A. 620,000
soldiers dead (2% of population!); over 1 million total casualties; unknown
civilian casualties.
-- South lost the cream of its youth and potential leadership
B. Slavery abolished, citizenship defined, right to vote cannot be denied
because of race
C. Total cost of war: $15 billion (about $1.5 trillion in today’s dollars)
-- Does not include pensions and interest on the national debt.
D. States righters were henceforth crushed as the Civil War served as the
greatest
constitutional decision in U.S. history.
-- Nullification and secession died with the Confederacy
E. Ideal of Union and nation triumphant
-- Dangers of two nations and balance of power politics averted
F. Monroe Doctrine now had more teeth in it.
-- U.S. would now look to the hemisphere and beyond to expand its
influence.
|