THE EARLY STAGES OF THE CIVIL WAR

North South They believed that they were fighting to preserve the Union. They wanted to have freed slaves. They believed that they had an advantage over the South because they produced more than 90% of the country’s weapons, cloth, shoes, and iron in 1860. They also produced more than half of the country’s corn and 80% of the wheat. The North had more railroads, canals, and roads so moving supplies was easier. The Union also collected more money than the South. They believed that they were fighting to preserve their way of life. They thought that the North was ruining their way of life and their need for slaves. They believed that their more rural way of life would better prepare soldiers for war because many Southerners were hunters and familiar with weapons. They also had a history of veterans from the South that fought in the Mexican War.

The Union’s Plan Winfield Scott Anaconda Plan President Lincoln sought advice from Winfield Scott. He was a General and had fought in the Mexican War. Anaconda Plan Scott came up with a strategy with three parts called the Anaconda Plan. 1. Blockade of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the Confederacy. Blockade means to shut off an area by troops or ships to keep people and supplies from moving in or out. 2. Capture territory along the Mississippi River, which was the heart of the Confederacy. 3. Attack the Confederacy from the east and the west.

The Confederacy Plan For Victory It believed that the Confederacy only had to defend its territory until the Northerners got tired and gave up. They thought Northerners would give up easily. The Confederacy believed that Britain would assist it in the war because the British relied on Southern cotton for their factories.

Early Battles of the Civil War The Confederates were confident they would win the war because they were successful in the early battles. The First Battle of Bull Run President Lincoln sent 35,000 troops into Virginia (the Capital of the Confederacy) On the way, the troops ran into the Confederates at Manassas Junction in Virginia near a stream called Bull Run. The Union was beating the Confederates at the beginning of the war, but one general refused to give up. They said his soldiers stood like “a stone wall”. He then became known as Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. The tide began to turn as more Confederates began to arrive to help and the Union retreat. 3,000 men died from the Union and 2,000 died from the Confederacy.

Early Battles of the Civil War Battle of Antietam On September 17, 1862, Union and Confederate forces met near the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland in the Battle of Antietam. Robert E. Lee was a general in this battle. He had been asked to fight for the Union, but he refused. This battle was an important victory for the Union. The British explained that they would not help the Confederates and they would have to fight alone.

A New Kind of War The Civil War brought the use of new technology. Soldiers used rifles that could shoot farther and more accurately than guns used previously. Railroads quickly moved troops and supplies to battlefronts. The Confederacy built several submarines to overcome the Union’s blockade. Both sides used an early version of the hand grenade. They now used a new weapon called the ironclad or the iron covered ship. Confederates used an abandoned Union ship and covered it with iron. They called it the Virginia. It sunk ships more easily because when cannonballs hit the sides of the Virginia, it would bounce off of it.

Medical Technologies Medical knowledge had not advanced as much as other technologies. Many soldiers died from disease and infection during the war. A hospital in 1860. A hospital in 1860.