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Lesson 7 The Civil War, : On Overview

Learning Objectives Comprehend the role of the Union Navy in the strategy for the defeat of the Confederacy.Comprehend the role of the Union Navy in the strategy for the defeat of the Confederacy. Comprehend the role of the Confederate Navy in the strategy for the defeat of the Union.Comprehend the role of the Confederate Navy in the strategy for the defeat of the Union. Comprehend the Diplomatic efforts of the SouthComprehend the Diplomatic efforts of the South Know the innovations in naval weapons and technology that emerged during the Civil War.Know the innovations in naval weapons and technology that emerged during the Civil War.

Remember our Themes! The Navy as an Instrument of Foreign PolicyThe Navy as an Instrument of Foreign Policy Interaction between Congress and the NavyInteraction between Congress and the Navy Interservice RelationsInterservice Relations TechnologyTechnology LeadershipLeadership Strategy and TacticsStrategy and Tactics Evolution of Naval DoctrineEvolution of Naval Doctrine

Background

Fort Sumter

How did we get there? SlaverySlavery –95% in south, 1/3 of total southern population States RightsStates Rights SectionalismSectionalism TarrifsTarrifs Election of 1860Election of 1860

Slavery Dispute between slave and free states over status of western territories.Dispute between slave and free states over status of western territories. –Missouri Compromise –Kansas-Nebraska Act –Dred Scott Decision

Election of 1860

Total population22,100,000 (71%)9,100,000 (29%) Free population21,700,0005,600,000 Slave population, ,0003,500,000 Soldiers2,100,000 (67%)1,064,000 (33%) Railroad length 21,788 miles (35,064 km) (71%) 8,838 miles (14,223 km) (29%) Manufactured items90%10% Firearm production97%3% Bales of cotton in 1860Negligible4,500,000 Bales of cotton in 1864Negligible300,000 Pre-war U.S. exports30%70

Naval Comparison

A Navy Divided David Glasgow Farragut David Dixon Porter John Ericson John Dahlgren Charles Wilkes Samuel F. DuPont Franklin Buchanan Matthew Fontaine Maury Raphael Semmes

Balance of Naval Power? – Naval Yards – Ship Builders – Industrial Base – Number of Ships – Leadership

Common Operational Heritage War of 1812 — Coastal defense and commerce raiding:War of 1812 — Coastal defense and commerce raiding: – Fighting from an inferior position against an enemy that has “command of the sea” — Global deployments: — Global deployments: – Protection of American maritime commerce overseas — Mexican-American War — Mexican-American War – U.S. Navy controls the seas throughout the war. – Ports established on the Pacific Coast.

Naval Comparison The Confederate NavyThe Confederate Navy – Inferior naval strength. – U.S. Navy traditions prior to the Mexican-American War - Defensive. Coastal defense. Commerce raiding (Guerre de course). The Union NavyThe Union Navy – Superior naval strength built up throughout the war. – Royal Navy traditions and U.S. Navy traditions in the Mexican-American War - Offensive. Establish control of sea lines of communication. – Blockade of enemy coast. – Power projection through amphibious assault.

Diplomacy

Diplomacy for the North Keep Great Britain truly neutralKeep Great Britain truly neutral Reconcile the blockade of Southern ports with British freedom of trade.Reconcile the blockade of Southern ports with British freedom of trade. Problem: Strong pro-Confederacy sentiment in important segments of British policy-making elites.Problem: Strong pro-Confederacy sentiment in important segments of British policy-making elites.

Diplomacy for the South Win British recognition and naval aid.Win British recognition and naval aid. – Problems: War is viewed as a rebellion - not a conflict between sovereign states. Outcome of the war is uncertain. Diplomatic inexperience and a weak State Department. Fallacy of the "King Cotton" thesis. Slavery The “Trent Affair”1861- The “Trent Affair” Union Navy violates neutral rights of British ship.

King Cotton Senator James Henry Hammond of South Carolina, 1858:Senator James Henry Hammond of South Carolina, 1858: –“Without firing a gun, without drawing a sword, should they make war on us, we could bring the whole world to our feet... What would happen if no cotton was furnished for three years?... England would topple headlong and carry the whole civilized world with her save the South. No, you dare not to make war on cotton. No power on the earth dares to make war upon it. Cotton is King.”

King Cotton 60% of US Exports60% of US Exports Southern plantations generated 75% of the world's cotton supplySouthern plantations generated 75% of the world's cotton supply

Outcome of Diplomacy Ultimately a FailureUltimately a Failure Naval Agent James Bulloch gets that aidNaval Agent James Bulloch gets that aid –Commerce raiders (Alabama, Florida, Shenandoah) –Blockade Runners –Laird rams (clearly warships; blockade breakers) Battle of Antietam (September 1862), Emancipation Proclamation, and Charles F. Adams’ protests end aid.Battle of Antietam (September 1862), Emancipation Proclamation, and Charles F. Adams’ protests end aid.

Strategy

Union Naval Strategy Part of General Winfield Scott’s master “Anaconda Plan” for victory.Part of General Winfield Scott’s master “Anaconda Plan” for victory. Blockade the entire Confederate coast.Blockade the entire Confederate coast. –Capture Southern ports for coal, water, food: bombardment and amphibious assaults. –Union regarded privateers as pirates – Declaration of 1854 (which the US had refused to sign) said privateering was illegal Control of Mississippi River.Control of Mississippi River. –Vital line of communication for Confederacy. –Cut off Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. Riverine operations in western areas.Riverine operations in western areas. –Combined Army-Navy operations against Confederate forces. Union Army -- Capture Confederate capital at Richmond.Union Army -- Capture Confederate capital at Richmond.

Naval Administration in the North Union Secretary of the Navy Gideon WellesUnion Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles Rapid and massive ship-building program. Rapid and massive ship-building program. – Only 42 ships at the beginning of the war. – 264 commissioned by December, 1861 Convened Ironclad Board, August 1861, to combat Virginia Convened Ironclad Board, August 1861, to combat Virginia

Union Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles

Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory

Confederate Naval Strategy Part of overall strategy of “Attrition Warfare”.Part of overall strategy of “Attrition Warfare”. –Army will defend territory and threaten Washington. Coastal defense:Coastal defense: –Army forts and new naval weapons systems. Blockade-running:Blockade-running: – Attempt to continue commercial trade with Europe. – Operations hurt by Southerners’ desires for luxury goods. Union blockade’s increasing effectiveness increases profits. Commerce raiding:Commerce raiding: –Successful cruises divert Union ships from blockade duty. – Privateers (1861): Declaration of Paris Unable to secure prize courts (sovereignty problems).

Naval Administration in the South Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen MalloryConfederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory Confederacy issues letters of marque to privateers.Confederacy issues letters of marque to privateers. Attempts to use new technology to gain advantage.Attempts to use new technology to gain advantage. –Conversion of older ships to armored “ironclads”. –Re-emergence of the ram as a naval weapon.

Naval Administration in the South (cont’d) James Bulloch attempts to gain British aid.James Bulloch attempts to gain British aid. Coordinates construction of warships in Great Britain.Coordinates construction of warships in Great Britain. –Questions of legality for a neutral power (Great Britain) Antietam (September 1862), Emancipation Proclamation, and Union protests end aid.Antietam (September 1862), Emancipation Proclamation, and Union protests end aid.

Course of the War: Feb 1861: Confederacy Established,4 Feb 1861: Confederacy Established, –One quarter of the U.S. Army—the entire garrison in Texas—was surrendered in February 1861 to state forces by its commanding general, David E. Twiggs, who then joined the Confederacy. Lincoln refuses succession, calls for 75K volunteersLincoln refuses succession, calls for 75K volunteers South embargos cottonSouth embargos cotton 1 st Bull Run1 st Bull Run 40% of total engagements in VA and TN40% of total engagements in VA and TN

1862. McClellan, Peninsula CampaignMcClellan, Peninsula Campaign Lee’s first invasion of the NorthLee’s first invasion of the North AntietamAntietam Chancellorsville Chancellorsville New Orleans FallsNew Orleans Falls

1863 Gettysburg & VicksburgGettysburg & Vicksburg ChattanoogaChattanooga

1864 Grant elevated to overall commandGrant elevated to overall command –Sherman in the South & West –Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley Grant’s overland CampaignGrant’s overland Campaign –Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor –Siege of Petersburg Atlanta falls, Sherman marches to the SeaAtlanta falls, Sherman marches to the Sea Lincoln defeats McClellan for re-electionLincoln defeats McClellan for re-election

1865 April 1 st Lee evacuates Petersburg and RichmondApril 1 st Lee evacuates Petersburg and Richmond Sherman marches north through the CarolinasSherman marches north through the Carolinas

Conclusions Decline of U.S. Merchant Marine due in large to the obsolescent sailing vessels used.Decline of U.S. Merchant Marine due in large to the obsolescent sailing vessels used. Northern success in application of British-like offensive naval warfare PLUS the failure of Southern commerce raiding to win the war at sea begets the QUESTION:Northern success in application of British-like offensive naval warfare PLUS the failure of Southern commerce raiding to win the war at sea begets the QUESTION: – Will American naval officers still regard commerce raiding as the proper strategy in time of war ??????? The “Alabama Claims” cause a lasting diplomatic debate with Great Britain.The “Alabama Claims” cause a lasting diplomatic debate with Great Britain.

Conclusions Union blockade sets a precedent that that Woodrow Wilson finds inconvenient in Union blockade sets a precedent that that Woodrow Wilson finds inconvenient in Joint Navy-Army Operations reach an unprecedented level of high efficiency on the Mississippi River and in the second amphibious landing at Fort Fisher, North Carolina, closing down the confederacy’s last open port supporting R. E. Lee’s Army.Joint Navy-Army Operations reach an unprecedented level of high efficiency on the Mississippi River and in the second amphibious landing at Fort Fisher, North Carolina, closing down the confederacy’s last open port supporting R. E. Lee’s Army.