1. The Civil War- The Battlefield

2. Battle of Bull Run 1861 – Northern VA, 25 miles from D.C.
First major battle of war
Union assault on Confederates
Purpose – to put a quick end to the conflict
Stonewall Jackson – led Confederate troops from Virginia
Jackson refused to retreat – troops rallied b/h him

3. Battle of Bull Run Union forces had to retreat
Showed the North needed a large, well-trained army to defeat the South
By 1863 Congress was forced to introduce a national draft

4. Shiloh Shiloh – a small church on the Tennessee-Mississippi border
April 6, 1863  the Confederacy launched a surprise attack on Grant’s troops
Purpose – to slow the advance of Grant’s army toward Vicksburg, MS
Grant forced the Confederates to retreat

5. Shiloh Stunned the North and the South
Massive casualties- 20,000 troops had been killed or wounded
More casualties than any other battle up to that point

6. Battle of Antietam
Lee wanted a Southern invasion on the North (Antietam Creek in Maryland)
Purpose of invasion…
To get the North to accept the South as independent
Victory on Northern soil would help the South win recognition from the British
Sept 17, 1862 – Union troops attacked Confederate troops first!

7. Battle of Antietam Bloodiest one-day battle of the war…
Over 6,000 men killed
16,000 men wounded
Attempt to destroy Lee’s army  not successful
However, Lee decided to retreat to Virginia due to so many casualties

8. Battle of Antietam Crucial victory for the Union because…
It stopped the British govt. from intervening in the war as a mediator
It stopped British plans to recognize the Confederacy as a separate country in the event that the North rejected the British mediation
It convinced Lincoln it was time to bring slavery to an end  The Emancipation Proclamation

9. The Emancipation Proclamation
Purpose…
To end slavery in the rebelling states of the South
Keep the slave holding border states loyal to the Union
Preserve the Union above abolishing slavery
Hurt the South & damage it’s confidence after the Battle of Antietam
The proclamation freed slaves in all REBELLING states but allowed border states to keep their slaves
This did not free all slaves

10. African Americans in the Army
The Emancipation Proclamation officially permitted AA to enlist in the Union army and navy
Frederick Douglass’s two sons both joined the Union army
The 54th Massachusetts – one of the first AA regiments organized in the North

11. Battlefield Medicine Hospitals were known as slaughterhouses
Doctors had little understanding of infectious germs
They used the same unsterilized instruments on patient after patient
They often amputated arms and legs
Infection spread quickly in field hospitals
Disease was one of the greatest threats facing the soldiers

12. Civil War Healthcare

13. Women in the War On the battlefield women served as nurses…
Elizabeth Blackwell – 1st female physician in the US
Started 1st training program for nurses
Organized the US Sanitary Commission
Provided medical assistance and supplies to army camps and hospitals
Clara Barton – nurse soldiers directly on the battlefield
Created the American Red Cross after the war

14. Elizabeth Blackwell
Clara Barton

15. Women on the Homefront
Women ran plantations, farmed, worked in factories, etc.
Some women even b/c spies
Belle Boyd was a spy for the Confederate States of America

16. POW’s After the Emancipation Proclamation POW exchanges stopped
Andersonville – most infamous prison in the South (Southwest Georgia)
Exposure, overcrowding, lack of food, and disease killed more than 100 per day
Henry Wirz – leader of Andersonville
Only person executed for war crimes during the Civil War