American History i

1. American History i The Civil War

3. Strengths… and Weaknesses North • No clear military leader • Naval advantage (3/4 of officers, most shipyards, warships) • 22 million people • 80% of nation’s factories • Well-established distribution lines South • Strong military tradition – and Gen. Robert E. Lee • 9 million people (1/3 enslaved!) • Only one foundry; no ordnance production • Plenty of food • … but no way to distribute it efficiently

4. Financial Position North • Financial center – large cash reserves! • Controlled national treasury • Tariff revenue • Legal Tender Act (1862) • “greenbacks” • Inflation – but not as severe (80%) South • Southern debt – couldn’t sell bonds! • Smaller banks had less cash in reserve • Blockades limited trade revenue • Resistance to tariffs! • Printing more paper money led to rampant inflation (9,000%)

5. Government and Politics • Lincoln’s first priority – save the Union! • Northern Democrats divided • “War Democrats” supported war, wanted status quo antebellum • “Peace Democrats” against war, wanted negotiation – Republicans called them Copperheads • Different views on conscription (“drafting”) • Republicans favored it, supported militia law • Democrats thought it a violation of civil liberties • Lincoln suspended writs of habeas corpusto quiet dissent

6. The Confederacy Struggles • Confederate states independent, by new constitution • Weak central government; difficult to get all to look past own interests and agree • Davis pursued similar measures to Lincoln’s to build military, keep order, limit dissent • Confederacy sought support from Europe • Some planters refused to sell cotton until recognized • Foreign intervention might help break blockade? • North wanted Britain, France to stay out of internal affairs • Britain, France took a wait-and-see approach • Confederate emissaries boarded British vessel Trent • Union warship San Jacinto captured Trent, arrested emissaries • Lincoln released emissaries to avoid conflict with Britain • “Trent Affair” raised international awareness – but no recognition

7. Military Tactics and Strategy • First “modern” war – much larger armies and newer, more deadly weapons • Conoidal(cone-shaped) bullets • Armies used trenches, barricades – not columns • A war of attrition– each side waited for the other to run out of supplies, resources, troops • High casualty rates less of a problem for the North • Official Confederate position to fight a defensive war to wear out the North • …but for many Southerners, this wasn’t honorable – so offensive attacks led to heavy casualties

8. “The Anaconda Plan”

9. General Ulysses S. Grant General Robert E. Lee

10. Early Battles • First battle at Bull Run (Manassas Junction) • “Stonewall” Jackson’s stand prevents Confederate retreat • Union defeat – no quick victory, more men needed! • David Farragut secured port, lower Mississippi River for the Union at New Orleans • Despite horrific casualties, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s victory for the Union at Shiloh established his reputation, earned Lincoln’s support

12. War in the West, 1862 - 1863

13. More Early Battles • Lee outsmarted McClellan at the Second Battle at Bull Run– bringing Confederate troops within 13 miles of D.C.! • Lee sought a victory on Union soil at Antietam - but it was the Union’s victory in the bloodiest one-day battle of the war • South lost possibility of European support (British government decided not to intervene as mediator) • Lincoln determined to end slavery in the South!

15. The Emancipation Proclamation • Republicans torn over the issue of slavery • Abolitionists believed it had to end • Moderates (like Lincoln) did not want to alienate border states having slaves, but still in the Union • Northern opinion shifted as war dragged on • Slavery had to end to punish the South • Give purpose, meaning to the sacrifices of so many • Lincoln: if Union victorious at Antietam, he would issue proclamation ending slavery • Emancipation Proclamation freed those enslaved in all states in rebellion against the Union on January 1, 1863 • Did not address slavery in border states • Re-focused purpose of war – now a war to end slavery!

16. Economic Challenges • Confederacy struggled to stay financially afloat • Union disrupted supply lines, occupied agricultural territory • Lack of food, concern over families’ safety led to desertions • North enjoyed an economic boom due to wartime demand • Women kept industrial production going while men on the battlefields • Machinery required fewer workers for farming, textiles • Government contracts made some industrialists quite wealthy!

18. African-Americans in the Military • After emancipation, many African-Americans enlisted in the Union army, navy • Served in segregated regiments • Frederick Douglass: military service could help break racial prejudices? • Possibly enslaved, killed if captured by Confederacy! • 54th Massachusetts regiment one of the first, and best-known, African-American regiment • Still suffered discrimination in terms of supplies, pay • Bravery, heroism opened the door for other regiments to be formed

19. Battlefield Hardships • For both sides, food supplies inconsistent • Soldiers would forage for food, or take produce, livestock from farms along the way • Hardtack, beans, dried meat were staples • Confederate soldiers lacked shelter, blankets, shoes • Medical care primitive by today’s standards • Illness (dysentery, smallpox, pneumonia, typhoid) • Infection (amputations, gangrene, no sterile instruments) • Too many prisoners of war to provide for! • Prisoner exchanges stopped due to Confederate treatment of African-American soldiers • Confederate Andersonville Prison notorious for neglect, illness

20. The Fall of Vicksburg • Vicksburg, Mississippi the last remaining Confederate town on the river • Taking Vicksburg would cut Confederacy in two – and secure the Mississippi for the Union • Grierson’s cavalry created a diversion while Grant’s men traveled quickly to the west and south of town • Union soldiers pushed Confederates back into Vicksburg, put town under siege • Starving Confederates surrendered nearly six weeks later, on July 4, 1863

21. The Battle of Gettysburg • Lincoln thought McClellan ineffective – perhaps intimidated by Lee? • McClellan fired, but next two generals (Burnside and Hooker) not impressive either • Union suffered defeats at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville (VA) • Lee wished to exploit weakness… • Launched invasion of North into Pennsylvania (and obtain supplies!)

22. A Southern Defeat… • New Union General George Meade pushed them south, confronted them at Gettysburg • Union troops did not give ground; held Cemetery Ridge • “Pickett’s Charge” disastrous – Confederates retreated • Lee lost about a third of his entire army in this one battle! • Turning point – from this point on, a defensivewar for the Confederacy

23. The Gettysburg AddressNovember 19, 1863 Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition 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 battle-field of that war. 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. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not 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. 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 -- 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.

24. The Union Secures Chattanooga • Chattanooga (TN) a key railroad hub, and a vital supply line for the Confederacy • Union Gen. Rosecrans pushed Confederates out, but turned back from further advance at Chickamauga • Forced to wait at Chattanooga for reinforcements • Lincoln sent 12,000 of Meade’s men to help, with Grant in command of the battle • Confederates held high ground on Missionary Ridge • Foolish to attack directly? Grant sent General William T. Sherman to attack from the north • Gen. George Thomas’ men to lead diversionary attack - but charged up the ridge! • Surprised Confederate troops scattered; Union took the city

25. The Final Campaigns • Union unable to break Confederate lines at the Wilderness and Cold Harbor in Virginia • Grant’s men found Petersburg, VA well-defended • City fortified by barricades, trenches, cannon • No direct attack possible – so Grant laid siege to it • Admiral Farragut sealed off the Confederate port at Mobile, AL • “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” • Closed Mobile Bay to blockade runners trying to supply the Confederacy • General Sherman headed to Atlanta for the final strike • “Sherman neckties” crippled southern rail lines • “March to the Sea” demoralized Southerners, destroyed anything of military value • Burned, looted many towns in South Carolina, where the war had begun

27. The War Ends • Lincoln faced Democrat challenge from (fired) General George McClellan • Sherman’s capture of Atlanta bolstered war support • Lincoln won easily – and saw election as mandate to end slavery for good • 13th Amendment passed in January 1865, banning slavery in the United States • Lee’s troops forced to retreat from Petersburg, fled west • Union troops blocked them at Appomattox Courthouse • Lee surrendered there on April 9, 1865

28. The Death of Lincoln • In the immediate aftermath of the war, Lincoln spoke about reunification • Expected African-Americans to serve in government in the South • John Wilkes Booth took great offense at this idea • Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865 • He was attending a play at Ford’s Theater with his wife • Booth shot the president in the head, and briefly escaped (although Booth died during capture) • Lincoln’s death left many unanswered questions – what should we do now?