THE CIVIL WAR

1. THE CIVIL WAR Issues, Individuals, and Events

2. Jefferson Davis • 1808-1889 • Served as Secretary of War and in Congress before the Civil War • Elected President of the Confederacy • Administration known for fiscal weakness and interference in military affairs • http://www.pointsouth.com/csanet/greatmen/davis/davis.htm

3. Ulysses S. Grant • 1822-1885 • Mediocre careers as Army officer and store clerk before the Civil War • Went from commanding the Illinois volunteers to General-in Chief of the Union Forces. • Commanded troops at Shiloh, Vicksburg, Chattanooga, and forced Robert E. Lee to surrender. • Known for his willingness to attack. • Elected president in 1868 and 1872. • http://www.mscomm.com/~ulysses/

4. Robert E. Lee • 1807-1870 • Had a distinguished military career and offered command of Union troops before he sided with Virginia and joined the Confederacy. • Was largely responsible for the defense of Richmond and was the only confederate general to threaten Northern cities. • Defeated or fought to a statement six different Union generals. • His surrender in 1865 marked the end for the Confederacy. • http://www.civilwarhome.com/leebio.htm

5. Abraham Lincoln • 1809-1865 • Served as a local politician first in the Whig Party then in the Republican Party. • Elected President in 1860. • http://members.aol.com/RVSNorton/Lincoln2.html

6. Lincoln on Equality • Lincoln’s dislike for slavery did not translate into an acceptance of complete racial equality. • “I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in anyway the social and political equality of the white and black races - that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people.”

7. Lincoln on Liberty • Despite his views on racial inferiority, Lincoln accepted an abstract concept of equality along with liberty which he felt was incompatible with slavery • “Fourscore 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.”

8. Lincoln on the Union • From the first secession, Lincoln considered the preservation of the union as the most important reason for the war. • “Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive; and the other would accept war rather than let it perish. And the war came.”

9. Other Personalities • Famous Union military men include William T. Sherman, George McClellan, George Meade, and William Rosencrans. • Famous Confederate military leaders include P.T.G. Beauregard, Thomas J. Jackson, and John B. Hood. • Famous civilian personalities include Clara Barton, Frederick Douglas, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. • http://www.us-civilwar.com/leaders.htm

10. The Firing on Ft. Sumter • On April 10, 1861, P.T.G. Beauregard demanded the surrender of the Fort. • The commander of the Union forces, Maj. Robert Anderson, refused. • On April 12, Confederate forces fired on the fort. • The next day the exhausted union troops surrendered. • http://www.civilwarhome.com/ftsumter.htm

11. Gettysburg • Battle took place July 1-3, 1863. • At Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Union forces of 97,000 were commanded by George Meade. Lee Commanded the Confederate force of 75,000. • The battle ended in a stalemate with the Confederacy forced to retreat from the field. It was the bloodiest battle of the war and hurt the Confederacy so bad that they could never mount an invasion of the North again. • Total casualties for the battle were over 51,000. • http://www.civilwarhome.com/gettysbu.htm

12. Vicksburg • General Grant planned to take the port city in Mississippi and control the major river of the South. • In March of 1863 he began to march his troops overland in an effort to outflank and surround the city. • By May Grant had the city cut off with his 46,000 man army. • The city fell on July 4, with the surrender of 30,000 Confederate troops. • The loss of Vicksburg cut the South in half. • http://www.civilwarhome.com/siegeofvicksburg.htm

13. The Emancipation Proclamation • Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. • It only proclaimed slaves in rebelling territories free. • Had diplomatic overtones • Resulted in anti-black riots in many Northern cities. • http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/24.htm

14. Appomattox Courthouse • After a 10 month siege of Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia, Lee was forced to withdraw his troops to Appomattox. • Lee realized he could no longer defend the Confederate capital and that the Confederates were losing control of the South to occupying Union armies. • He met Grant at Appomattox Courthouse and signed the surrender of his army, leaving the Confederate government at the mercy of Grant’s army. • http://www.civilwarhome.com/appomatt.htm

15. Other Important Battles • Shiloh (4/6/62) Union begins Southward advance in the west. • Antietam (9/16/62) worst single day with over 26,000 casualties. • Fredericksburg (12/11/62) The South’s first large invasion of the North. • Chancellorsville (5/1/63) Considered Lee’s greatest victory. • Sherman’s “March to the Sea” (1864) cut off the deep South and destroyed Atlanta. • http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/bystate.htm

16. Lincoln’s Assassination • John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln at Ford’s Theater on April 14, 1865. • His death eliminated one of the most powerful spokesmen for a quick and liberal Reconstruction. • http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lincolnconspiracylinks.htm