Chapter 16, Section 2 Early Years of the War

The First Battle of Bull Run First major battle of the Civil War. Union troops commanded by General Irvin McDowell Confederates led by General P.G.T. Beauregard The Yankees were winning, but then reinforcements came in for the Rebels, led by Stonewall Jackson They unleashed the “rebel yell” The Yankees were forced to retreat!

A Shock for the North Finally, the Northerners began to understand that this war could be long and costly. Abraham Lincoln recruited a million soldiers who would serve for three years. George McClellan was named commander and the troops were called the Army of the Potomac.

Enforcing the Blockade At first, the Southerners were able to break through the blockade, but the North strengthened the blockade. It reduced Southern trade by more than two-thirds.

The Monitor v. the Merrimack Southerners salvaged a Union ship, the Merrimack, and rebuilt it as an ironclad. They named it the Virginia. They attacked a group of Union ships off the coast of Virginia. The North also built an ironclad called the Monitor. The two ships battled each other in the first fight between metal-covered ships

Early Victories for the North Ulysses S. Grant captured Fort Donelson and became a hero. This victory drove the Confederates out of Kentucky where they had tried to convince the Kentuckians to secede from the Union.

The Battle of Shiloh Fought in Tennessee, this battle lasted two days with some of the most bitter, bloody fighting of the war. Together, the two armies suffered more than 20,000 casualties. The North won.

New Orleans Falls Union naval forces, under David Farragut, captured New Orleans, Louisiana, the largest city in the South. This gave the Union forces control of almost all of the Mississippi River.

Union Defeat at Richmond As McClellan was preparing his attack on Richmond, he took too much time and allowed the Confederates to set up their defense. Robert E. Lee was in charge of the Confederates The Union forces were driven back to the James River, unable to capture the capital.

Gloom in the North Failure to capture the Confederate capital made Northerners lose hope. The Southern strategy of wearing out the Yankees was working. General Lee went to attack the Union forces led by John Pope Pope attacked the approaching Confederates and started the Second Battle of Bull Run. The Confederates won.

The Battle of Antietam Jefferson Davis ordered Lee to launch an offensive into Maryland Two Union soldiers found Lee’s plan wrapped around three cigars McClellan learned that Lee’s army was divided into four parts and he could attack them individually Once again, McClellan waited too long to attack, giving Lee’s forces time to set up

Battle of Antietam This was the single bloodiest day of the entire war. Close to 6,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were dead or wounded by the end of the day. The Confederates retreated but McClellan did not pursue them, directly disobeying Lincoln’s orders. Lincoln then replaced McClellan with Ambrose Burnside. Lincoln would use the Battle of Antietam to take action against slavery.