1. Military Impacts and Strategies of the American Civil War
By Graham Meharg

2. Union Strategy
Blockade the Southern coast to slowly cut off imports and
attempt to slowly “starve” the South
Offensive mindset
Invade South quickly and end the war quickly
- The blockade would essentially kill “King Cotton” as the
South could not trade its most valued export

3. Confederate Strategy - Offense-Defense mindset
- Jefferson Davis opted for a strategy known as attrition (wearing out a better equipped force by entrenching the South’s troops and attacking when there was a opportunity to)
-Relied on stockpiling resources and defending key cities/areas of the South
- Commonly criticized as being too passive as a military strategy

4. The Union Army
- At the beginning of the war, the Union Army numbered about 16, 400 officers and soldiers, spread across over 4 artillery units, 5 cavalry units, and 10 infantry units
-As the war progressed, the Union army increasingly relied on volunteers and less and less on trained soldiers
- Better equipped and better feed than the Confederate Army due to more money

5. The Confederate Army
- Originally consisted, in 1861, of roughly 10,000 officers and men
- Were consistently outnumbered throughout the war by the Union Army
- However, had brilliant generals (I.e. Robert E. Lee, Hood, Stonewall Jackson)
- Composed of highly dedicated men to the Southern cause

6. Military Impacts on the North
The Union Army increased the amount of railroads in the North as the army relied heavily on railroads for transportation and supplies
Much greater positive effects on the North than the South, as almost all of the fighting occurred in border or Southern states
Great advances in medical care for soldiers were made, including Jonathan Letterman’s development of the Letterman Ambulance Plan, which required a medical core to travel with regiments to treat the wounded and collect and bury the dead
As the war advanced, and as the Union consistently won battles and skirmishes, moral became higher and higher along with Northern citizens, who were disappointed with the first year and a half of the war under McClellan

7. Military Impacts on the South
Exhausted major resources of the South
In the winter of , the Army of Northern Virginia, by some accounts, literally had no shoes, slept together for warms, and some resorted to picking out food excrement from their bowels
Southern economy was devastated by the Northern blockade
Sherman’s March to Atlanta annihilated thousands of Southern homes and hundreds of town, leaving the South in a burning heap of rubble
The constant fighting in their home front (the South) wore down the high moral the citizens had in the South going into the Civil War

8. Monitor vs. Merrimack
-Innovative new designs using just iron on the outside (
Compared to the old wooden ships)
March 8, first battle that included two non-wooden
ships
-The CSS Merrimack destroyed two Union ships before
engaging in battle with the Monitor
-The result of the battle was a draw, as both has extensive
damage and withdrew
These innovative ships gave rise to a whole new way of
constructing military vessels

9. Major Impact of Gettysburg
- Turning point in the war
- The South had lost its vital assistance with Britain and the South had lost all hopes of capturing Washington
Southern troops see Lee seriously fail at Pickett’s Charge, the third day of fighting
The Union army, under the command of Grant, now had a clear way to Virginia and to Richmond

10. March to the Sea General William T. Sherman- late 1864
Signified the beginning of the end of the Confederacy
Instructed his men to burn crops, destroy civilian buildings, kill livestock and consume Southern supplies
Started in Atlanta, Georgia and continued on southward to the port of Savannah Georgia
Interesting Fact: Sherman’s personal guard was the first Alabama Cavalry Regiment, consisting entirely of Southerners who were loyal to the Union

11. Sources

12. Questions that Can be Answered
1. What were the military impacts on both the North and the South?
2. What strategies did each side attempt to deploy?
3. Why was Gettysburg a major turning point in the War?
4. Why did the North have the upper-hand in the war?
5. What new type of military shipbuilding technology stemmed from the Civil War?