Chapter 12: The Civil War (1861-1865)

Chapter 12: The Civil War (1861-1865) Section 2: The North & South Face Off Pages: 375-381

The North & South Face Off • STRATEGIES OF WAR: (375-376) • From the beginning of the war, the North’s primary goal was to restore the Union. • To accomplish this goal, Lincoln and his military advisers adopted a three-part strategy: They sought first to capture Richmond, the Confederate Capital; Second, to gain control of the Mississippi River; and Third, to institute a naval blockade of the south and was nicknamed the Anaconda Plan because it was designed to squeeze the life out of the South like an anaconda snake. • The Anaconda Plan – naval blockade of the South – was important because the South depended on foreign markets to sell its cotton and to buy supplies

The North & South Face Off • STRATEGIES OF WAR: (375-376) • THE NORTH STRATEGIES (Union) • The Appalachian Mountains divided most of the action in the Civil War into TWO arenas: the eastern theater and the western theater. • The Eastern Theatre lay east of the Appalachian Mountains. • The Western Theatre lay between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River • Control of the Mississippi River would allow the North to penetrate deep into the South. It would also prevent the Confederacy from using the waterway to re-supply its forces

The North & South Face Off • STRATEGIES OF WAR: (375-376) • THE SOUTH • The South planned to capture Washington D.C. and invade the North • Southern leaders hoped for a successful offensive strike northward through the Shenandoah Valley into Maryland and Pennsylvania. They hoped this would shatter northern morale, disrupt Union communications, win European support, and bring the war to a speedy end. • Confederate leaders knew that winning the support of France and Great Britain was crucial to the victory for the South. • Because French and British economies depended heavily on cotton, the Confederacy had confidence that one of the nations would respond to the naval blockade by coming to the South’s aid.

The North & South Face Off • STRATEGIES OF WAR: (375-376) • THE SOUTH • The South’s strategy failed. • Neither France nor Britain proved dependent on Confederate cotton. • French and British mill owners had stockpiled cotton before Fort Sumter’s fall

The North & South Face Off • THE MILITARY EXPERIENCE: (376-377) • Young recruits in both the Union and Confederate armies were generally enthusiastic when they first enlisted. • Most of these newly recruited soldiers had little experience with military life • There were shortages of clothing, food and even rifles. • Most troops did not even have standard uniforms; some wore their own clothes • The Union army Chose BLUE • The Confederate army chose GRAY for their colors

The North & South Face Off • THE MILITARY EXPERIENCE: (376-377) • Lack of provisions, coupled with unsanitary conditions in most field camps, led to deadly problems of disease • Thousands of soldiers died from illnesses such as influenza, pneumonia and typhoid. • Disease, infection, and malnutrition took the lives of more than 65% of the soldiers who died during the war • There were horrible Prisoner-of-War camps: Andersonville a Confederate prison, prisoners at Andersonville died at a rate of 100 per day • Many soldiers suffered from extreme boredom, homesickness, and loneliness. Some men deserted, but most stuck it out

The North & South Face Off • THE HOME FRONT: (378-379) • The Civil War had a big impact on those Americans who stayed home during the War. • Women and those men who were too young, too old, or physically unable to fight did great things on the home front

The North & South Face Off • THE HOME FRONT: (378-379) • The North: (378) • Women replaced the male factory workers and farmers who left for the battlefields. • Women worked as clerks in the Treasury Department served the government’s first female office workers. • Other women worked as bankers, morticians, saloon keepers, and steamboat captains during the war. • Women and boys took the responsibility for growing food during the war

The North & South Face Off • THE HOME FRONT: (378-379) • The South: (378-379) • Mary Boykin Chestnut, through her diary, provided a glimpse of life on the home front during the war • She learned how to manage the plantation • After the war broke out she played an important role in political and military circles. • Her diary was published in 1905.

The North & South Face Off • THE HOME FRONT: (378-379) • The South: (378-379) • Southerners supported the war effort with a series of patriotic events: parades, barbecues, public figures persuaded young men to join the army, and wealthy members of society pledged money to but arms and uniforms. • Raffles and auctions raised much-needed funds for the Confederacy

The North & South Face Off • THE HOME FRONT: (378-379) • The South: (378-379) • Harsh effects of the Anaconda Plan – naval blockade – set in • The short supply of basic necessities such as shoes, clothing, and farm equipment caused prices to rise. • City residents were hardest hit by the war • Many families were forced to live in single rooms, using one fireplace for both heat and cooking. • Food shortages forced people to live on beans, boiled potatoes, and corn fritters

The North & South Face Off • CIVILIAN AID ON THE BATTLEFIELD: (379-380) • Many women actively aided the military • Some women even dressed like men so they could fight • Cuban-born Loreta Janeta Velazquez disguised herself as a man and enlisted in the Confederate arm. When she was found out and discharged, she became a spy for the South • Many women served the war effort in medical roles • Catholic nuns were among the most important female volunteers for medical duty – they remained neutral and treated both Union and Confederate soldiers, the only group allowed to move freely between the North and South • In the North, Elizabeth Blackwell – Northerner – was the first woman to become a professionally licensed doctor in the United States

The North & South Face Off • CIVILIAN AID ON THE BATTLEFIELD: (379-380) • In the South, women also provided medical aid to soldiers. • Sally Louisa Tompkins was among the Confederate women who founded small hospitals and clinics. She eventually commissioned as a captain in the Confederate army so that her Richmond, Virginia, hospital could qualify as a military hospital. • This made Sally Louisa Tompkins the only recognized female officer in the Confederate forces.

The North & South Face Off • OPPOSITION TO THE WAR: (380-381) • Although many people on the home front worked to keep the war effort going and morale high, others voiced their displeasure with the war. • Opposition to the war grew as the war dragged on longer than anyone had envisioned

The North & South Face Off • OPPOSTITION TO THE WAR: (380-3810 • Southern Opposition: (380) • Conscription: to draft into army • People did not want to enlist so Jefferson Davis and Confederate generals implemented a Draft • The draft placed the major burden of fighting the war on the poor farmers and the working people. But their were draft exemptions for the Rich • This created tensions between the rich and poor

The North & South Face Off • OPPOSTITION TO THE WAR: (380-3810 • Northern Opposition: (381) • Some Northerners sympathized with the South and urged peace • Others thought that the war was too costly in terms of money and human life • Union Draft Law: Republicans claimed that the draft was designed to force white working-class men to fight for the freedom of African Americans who would come North and steal the white peoples jobs • Angry whites raged through African American neighborhoods where they attacked and killed people and looted and burned buildings • By the time the Union troops brought the rioting under control, more than 100 people had been killed

The North & South Face Off • OPPOSTITION TO THE WAR: (380-3810 • Northern Opposition: (381) • Most northern Democrats who sympathized with the South did not actively interfere with the War effort. Know as Copperheads – a type of poisonous snake- most of these southern sympathizers limited their antiwar activities to speeches and newspaper articles • Abraham Lincoln, to quiet the Copperheads, suspended some civil liberties, including the constitutional right of habeas corpus –a protection against unlawful punishment • Thousands of Copperheads and other opponents to the war were arrested and held without trial

THE END

Chapter 12: The Civil War (1861-1865)