The Civil War VS. Unit 8.1

Country Divides In February 1861 the seceded states met in Montgomery, Alabama and formed the Confederacy or Confederate States of America (CSA) they wrote their own Constitution like that of the US but protected and recognized slavery in the new territories each state was sovereign and independent which hampered their unification Jefferson Davis was elected President of the Confederate States of America

Country Divides Four slave states Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky and Missouri decide to stay in the Union

Country Divides These states are called the “border states”

Advantages of North v. South North South Population Leadership Factories Home Turf Weapons Wealth

New Orleans: April 24-29, 1862 In the middle of the night of April 24, Admiral David Farragut led a fleet of 24 gunboats, 19 mortar boats, and 15,000 soldiers in a daring run up the Mississippi toward New Orleans.

Battle of New Orleans Only 3,000 militia, two uncompleted ironclads, and a few steamboats were available to defend New Orleans. The Union ships plowed right through, sinking eight ships. At New Orleans, Confederate General Mansfield Lovell surveyed his tiny force and realized that resistance was futile.

New Orleans: April 24-29, 1862 The Confederacy lost a major city, and the Mississippi soon became a Union highway for 400 miles to Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Emancipation Proclamation Lincoln did not like slavery but his main concern was keeping the Union and he did not feel he could legally end slavery He had ordered the Union army to seize Confederate supplies. Since the South considered slaves property he could seize them too, which meant he could emancipate slaves.

Emancipation Proclamation Slavery had become a weapon of war January 1, 1863 the Emancipation Proclamation was issued It did not immediately free any slaves it only applied to slaves behind Confederate lines did not apply to territories occupied by Union troops or to slaves in states that had not seceded

Emancipation Proclamation Emancipation Proclamation Transcript

Reaction to proclamation: had much symbolic importance free blacks liked the portion of the proclamation that allowed them to enlist Democrats in the North thought it would antagonize the South not all Union soldiers liked it but followed it if they thought it would end the war/unify the nation Confederates were outraged and knew they could only preserve slavery if they won the war and encouraged a fight to the death attitude

Gettysburg: July 1-3, 1863

Gettysburg First day of Gettysburg The South went on the offensive, driving north into Pennsylvania First day of Gettysburg This battle began as Confederate soldiers headed to Gettysburg because they were barefoot and heard they could find footwear there On the way the south meets some Union soldiers and engages them, both sides send in reinforcements Lee knew he would not win unless he forced the Union off the high ground of Cemetery Ridge

Day 2 Confederate forces attacked Little Round Top (area that overlooked the southern portion of the battlefield) but Union LCol Chamberlain saved it with a charge into enemy lines

Day 3 Both armies fired on each other for two hours When the artillery went silent Confederate Lee ordered his troops to press forward through the middle (Pickett’s Charge) As the Confederates move forward the North opens up with artillery fire.

Gettysburg Pickett’s charge across, open farmland, to try and take the high ground was unsuccessful. Confederate Lee suffered 28,000 casualties and retreated back to Virginia Union loses 23,000

Gettysburg Result Considered the turning point in the war Southern forces are hurt to the point they were not be able to invade the North again during the war. Battle of Gettysburg

Vicksburg: May 8 – July 4, 1863

Vicksburg Vicksburg was a Confederate holdout on the Mississippi River keeping the Union from controlling the river In the Spring of 1863, Grant puts Vicksburg under siege

Vicksburg The Confederate army surrendered on July 4 This defeat cut the Confederacy into two parts completing this part of the Anaconda Plan Battle of Vicksburg

Gettysburg Address November 1863 famous two-minute speech given by Lincoln to dedicate a cemetery in Gettysburg given after a two-hour speech by famous orator Edward Everett

Gettysburg Address November 1863 Text of Speech Gettysburg Address

Changing the course of the war Lincoln appoints Grant as the Commander of all Union forces U.S. Grant Grant appoints William Tecumseh Sherman to be in charge of the military in Mississippi; he and Sherman both agreed there needed to be a total war W.T. Sherman

Total War Fighting not just the armies but bringing the war to the people

Sherman’s March Sherman occupied and burned Atlanta, Georgia. He then headed South toward Savannah, Georgia destroying everything…

Sherman's March

End of the War Appomattox Court House Lee and Grant met on April 9, 1865 in a Virginia village called Appomattox Court House Lee (Confederate commander) surrenders to Grant (Union commander) Surrender

Lincoln’s Assassination-April 14, 1865 Lincoln was shot at close range by John Wilkes Booth (a Confederate sympathizer) at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC and died a few hours later

Bennett Place, Durham, NC On April 26, 1865 in Durham, NC, Confederate Joseph E. Johnston surrenders to Union W. T. Sherman. This was the largest surrender of Confederate soldiers (89,270)  It was not until August 20, 1866, that President Johnson formally declared an end to the war.