The Civil War Ch.11 Sec.1

The Civil War Begins 7 southernmost states that had already seceded, formed the Confederate States of America on February 4, 1861 Confederate soldiers began taking over federal installations in their states By the time of Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration on March 4, only two Southern forts remained on Union hands Most important was South Carolina’s Fort Sumter The new president received a dispatch from the fort’s commander, Major Anderson that the Confederacy was demanding surrender or face attack a. supplies of food and ammunition would last 6 weeks at the most

Lincoln was presented with a dilemma if he ordered the navy to shoot its way into Charleston harbor, he would be responsible for starting hostilities if he ordered the fort evacuated, he would be treating the Confederacy as a legitimate nation and this would anger the Republican Party, weaken his administration, and endanger the Union Lincoln executed a clever political maneuver a. he would not abandon Fort Sumter, but neither would he reinforce it; he would merely send in “food for hungry men.”

E. Jefferson Davis was now facing a dilemma if he did nothing, he would damage the image of the Confederacy if he ordered an attack on Fort Sumter, he would turn peaceful secession into war Davis chose war F. News of Fort Sumter’s fall united the North Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to serve The response was overwhelming with Iowa having 20 times the state’s quota rushing to serve G. Lincoln’s call for troops had a very different reaction in the states of the upper South

Virginia, unwilling to fight against other Southern states seceded-a-terrible loss to the Union Virginia was the most heavily populated state in the South and the most industrialized-crucial ironworks and navy yard In May, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina followed Virginia-11 states now in the Confederacy The western counties of Virginia were antislavery, so they seceded from Virginia and were admitted into the Union as West Virginia in 1863 The 4 remaining slave states- Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri remained in the Union, although many of the citizens fought for the Confederacy

Northerners and Confederates alike expected a short, glorious war the Union enjoyed enormous advantages in resources Lincoln proved to be a decisive yet patient leader The Confederacy had some advantages notably “King Cotton” a. 1st rate generals b. strong military tradition c. soldiers who were highly motivated to defend their homeland I. the two sides pursued different military strategies-the Anaconda Plan-suffocates its victims

the Union navy would blockade Southern ports-neither export cotton nor import much needed manufactured goods Union riverboats and armies would move down the Mississippi River and split the Confederacy in two Union armies would capture the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia The Confederacy’s goal was mostly defensive J. the 1st major bloodshed occurred on July 21, 3 months after Fort Sumter fell 30,000 inexperienced Union soldiers came upon an equally inexperienced Confederate army encamped near the creek of Bull Run

2.the battle was a seesaw affair, the Union had the upper hand in the A.M., but the Confederates held firm, inspired by General Thomas J. Jackson who was described as standing like a “stone wall”-General Stonewall Jackson 3. in the afternoon, Confederate reinforcements arrived and turned the tide giving the South its 1st victory 4. the Union troops began a panicky retreat K. Lincoln responded to the defeat at Bull Run by calling for the enlistment of 500,000 men to serve for 3 years instead of 3 months

3 days later, he called for an additional 500,000 men he appointed General George McClellan to lead this new Union army in February 1862, a Union army invaded western Tennessee with General Ulysses S. Grant at it’s head a. brave, tough, and decisive military commander b.      11 days, Grant’s forces captured 2 Confederate forts- Henry and Donelson c. 1 month, Grant gathered his troops near a small Tennessee church named Shiloh, close to the Mississippi border d. April 6, thousands of yelling Confederate soldiers surprised the Union forces

e. With the Union forces on the edge of disaster, Grant reorganized his troops, ordered up reinforcements, counterattacked at dawn the following day f. By mid-afternoon the Confederates forces were in retreat g. The Battle of Shiloh taught both sides a strategic lesson-Generals realized that they had to send out scouts, dig trenches, and build fortifications L. the Confederates failure to hold on to its Ohio-Kentucky frontier showed that part of the Union’s 3 part strategy, the drive to take the Mississippi and split the Confederacy might succeed

M. On the Mississippi River, a Union fleet approached the river’s mouth led by 60 year old David G. Farragut with the orders to seize New Orleans, the Confederacy’s largest city and busiest part On April 24, Farragut ran his fleet past 2 Confederate forts and 5 days later the U.S. flag flew over New Orleans During the next 2 months, Farragut took control of Baton Rouge and Natchez a new type of was machine, the ironclad ship helped a. the North’s ironclad the Monitor traded fire with the South’s ironclad Merrimack

b. although the battle was a draw, the era of wooden fighting ship was over 4. even more deadly than the ironclad ships was the invention of the rifle and the Minnie ball 5. rifles were more accurate and soldiers could load rifles more quickly and fire more rounds during battle 6. the Minnie ball was more destructive than earlier bullets 7. the Civil Was used primitive hand grenades and land mines N. The North’s plan to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond faltered 1 of the problems was General McClellan being extremely cautious

2. after 5 months of training McClellan insisted he could not move against Richmond until he had 270,000 men 3. after dawdling all winter, McClellan finally got under way in the Spring of 1862 4. he encountered a Confederate army commanded by General Joseph E. Johnston 5. after a series of battles, Johnston was wounded and command of the army passed to Robert E. Lee 6. Lee moved against McClellan in series of battles 7. Lee’s determination and unorthodox tactics so unnerved McClellan that he backed away from Richmond 8. Lee moved against the enemy’s capital and his troops won a resounding victory at the 2nd Battle of Bull Run

9. At this point, McClellan had a tremendous stroke of luck-finding a copy of Lee’s army orders 10. The plan revealed that Lee’s and Stonewall Jackson’s armies were separated for the moment 11. For once, McClellan acted aggressively 12. The two armies fought on September 17 beside a sluggish creek called the Antietam a. the clash proved to be the bloodiest single-day battle in American history-casualties totaled more that 26,000 b. the South retreated and on November 7, 1862, Lincoln fired McClellan c. Lincoln characterized McClellan as having “the slows.”