The Civil War Begins Get ready to fight!

Choosing Sides Most Northerners supported the Union- they wanted to preserve the country 11 Southern states seceded to form the Confederacy Most Southerners supported the Confederacy- they wanted to win their independence and defend their land! The Border States (Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware) were torn- they remained part of the union, but allowed slavery

Northern strengths 22 million people to fight (only 9 mil in South and 1/3 were slaves) More factories for weapons and supplies More railroads-could move people and supplies faster

Southern Strengths Most of the fighting took place in the South Excellent military leaders like Robert E. Lee…

Robert E. Lee Was a U.S. Army colonel Was asked by Lincoln to head up the Union army Was a native Virginian and decided he could not turn against his home, so he quit the army and took command of Virginia’s troops “I cannot raise my hand against my birthplace, my home, my children.”

The North’s Strategy Blockade the South Stop trading ships from leaving or entering Southern ports The South would run out of supplies and become weak Control the Mississippi River, then attack the East and West at the same time

The South’s Strategy Richmond became the capital of the South Protect the land! Defend their homes! Hoped that some European countries would help them Why would they want to help? Fight off Northern attacks until the Union gave up

The Battle of Bull Run Both sides expected a quick and easy victory Union marches down to capture Richmond The two armies meet at a stream called Bull Run General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson led the Confederacy to victory

Battle of Antietam Lee and Jackson continue to have victories Lee decided to invade Maryland A Union army stopped him and the battle is known as the deadliest day of the war 23,000 casualties combined

Union Fights Back General Ulysses S. Grant was an important leader for the Union He led his army to many victories Eventually, the only Confederate town left on the Mississippi was Vicksburg Grant knew he had to capture Vicksburg to control the river

Presidents Struggle Jefferson Davis faced many problems B/c of the Union blockade, he could not get enough food and supplies to fight Not enough people wanted to fight, so he had to institute a draft (he was often ignored) Lincoln had to have a draft too (rich people bought their way out) and as people continued to die, it was hard to find support for the war

AHA! Our Plan is Working… The plan to blockade the South seemed to be working Lincoln knew he had to push the North towards victory He also knew that the real issue dividing the country was slavery and that freeing the slaves would weaken the Confederacy He also hoped that the newly freed slaves would fight for the Union

The Emancipation Proclamation

He signed it! Does it really do anything? (Freed people in a land Lincoln had no control of) Confederates ignored the new law The North would have to defeat the South to free the slaves The Proclamation was attacked, the Union lost soldiers, and the Republican party itself suffered losses Freed slaves were urged to join the Union army

A Boost for the North The Union wins two important battles General Grant took over Vicksburg which gave the North control of the Mississippi River and split the Confederacy into two parts General Lee decides to invade the Union and marched North into Pennsylvania The Union army met them near the town of Gettysburg For two days, the armies battled Lee ordered a final attack, but the Union was ready…

Battle of Gettysburg They defeated the South with heavy fire and forced Lee to retreat Later, Lincoln gave a speech at Gettysburg known as the Gettysburg Address He honored all who had died and declared that the Union was fighting to preserve democracy

Meanwhile, Back on the Home Front… Families worried that their loved ones would not return Woman took over men’s jobs (in factories, businesses, and farms) Woman supported the troops and some worked as nurses- Clara Barton Some women Served as spies or passed themselves as soldiers and fought

The Soldiers Soldiers came from many different backgrounds African Americans fought for the Union Immigrants American Indians Boys too young to fight served as drummer boys Women in disguise

Southern Homefront Farms became battlefields Cities and homes were destroyed Food was scarce and expensive The Emancipation Proclamation gave slaves hope of freedom

War Rages On To end the war, the North had to destroy the South’s ability to fight Lincoln made General Grant the commander of all Union armies Grant planned to capture Richmond and he ordered General William Tecumseh Sherman to lead the army in Tennessee General Sherman planned to attack Atlanta, Ga…

The Atlanta Campaign Sherman began his attack in May and succeeded in September He sent a telegraph to Lincoln sharing the good news From Atlanta, Sherman marched to Savannah; this is known as the March to the Sea

TOTAL War On the way to Savannah, Sherman and his troops destroyed anything the Southerners needed for the war They stole food, killed animals, and wrecked railroads and factories Sherman wanted to make the Southerners give up fighting

Lee Meets Grant Grant leads his huge army towards Richmond Grant kept attacking and eventually wore down the Confederacy and they were forced further and further south The two armies faced each other in Richmond for over a year The Union grew stronger from the constant fee of supplies and soldiers

Lee surrenders Lee’s army was in tatters and struggling; Grant’s was going strong Confederate soldiers began to desert Lee was forced to retreat and the Union captured Richmond Lee is forced to surrender to Grant in the Virginia town of Appomattox at the court house Word got out and other southern generals surrender The war is finally over

Plans for Reconstruction The period when the South rejoined the Union was known as Reconstruction Some wanted to make it hard on the South and some wanted it easy Lincoln planned to let the defeated states set up new state governments and rejoin quickly, but then…

Lincoln’s Assassination Lincoln was killed while attending a play He was shot by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate supporter

Effects of the War Farms, cities, and factories in the South were destroyed People had to rebuild homes and businesses Former slaves were now free, but had no money, homes, or jobs North grew stronger after the war Industries grew