STANDARD 4.4 CIVIL WAR

REVIEW Abraham Lincoln, elected in 1860, is the current president of the United States. SC, along with some other states, has seceded from the Union because of his election. Southerners perceived Lincoln’s election as a threat to their way of life even though Lincoln had said that he would not abolish slavery.

SECESSION A secession convention was held in Charleston, SC before Lincoln’s election. Almost all the members voted to secede. They signed the Ordinances of Secession to declare their intentions. SC was the first state to secede. Abraham Lincoln would not recognize the Confederate States as a real country.

CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA Other states seceded after SC and a new country was formed called the Confederate States of America. They wrote a constitution and elected Jefferson Davis of Mississippi to be their president. They also formed their own army.

FORT SUMTER Fort Sumter, located in Charleston, S.C., was currently being protected by Union soldiers sent by Abraham Lincoln. The Union soldiers were ordered by the Confederate government to leave the fort. President Lincoln sent supplies to the fort to help the Union army, but it did not arrive on time. The Confederate army opened fire on the fort and the Union soldiers. The Union army finally surrendered and left the fort. The Civil War had begun.

PEOPLE WATCHED FROM CHARLESTON AS THE WAR BROKE OUT.

WAR Lincoln and his army prepared for a short war. Many northern and southern men volunteered to fight. SC relied heavily on the export of cotton to Europe to help make supplies (uniforms, tents, blankets, first aid supplies) The US navy created a blockade around the port of Charleston so that they could not send out ships.

THE HUNLEY Determined to break the blockade, the Confederacy built the first submarine to ever be used in war called the H.L. Hunley. Unfortunately, it was not very helpful in breaking the blockade and sunk. All the men inside died. The Hunley was found in 1995 and lifted out of the water in It is at a facility in Charleston where they are studying the structure and its contents.

ROBERT SMALLS Robert Smalls, a former slave, was hired by the Confederacy to steer boats and to deliver messages to forts in Charleston harbor. One evening, Smalls took a Confederate transport ship and sailed past all the Confederate boats in the harbor to freedom. He then worked for the Union Army, providing very valuable information to them. He became famous in the North and even received a medal from Lincoln himself. He later served in the SC House of Representatives and Senate and also in the US House of Representatives.

WAR Most of the fighting took place outside of SC. The Union forces did take over Port Royal near Hilton Head and tried to take over Charleston. A general named William Tecumseh Sherman thought he could help. He led his troops across Georgia and South Carolina in what is now known as “Sherman’s March to the Sea”. He left behind a trail of destruction in Georgia. His men burned and looted plantation and farm homes. Eventually, he reached Columbia, SC. The city “mysteriously” caught on fire the night they arrived. The purpose of his march was to destroy any supplies that can be used, including railroads.

THE END The war ended in 1865 when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysees S. Grant. The Union had won. Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed 4 days after the war ended. A nation in mourning had to somehow piece back together and become a union again.