American Civil War: Military Story of the War

• The year 1862 marked a period of intensified warfare for both the United States and the Confederacy.
• Large-scale battles such as Shiloh and the Seven Days occurred, and both sides struggled to meet the demands for manpower and resources.
• Despite initial hopes to avoid extreme conflict, the war unleashed significant social and political changes.

Military Story of the War

• The Civil War played out across three main geographical theaters: the Eastern, Western, and Trans-Mississippi.
• The Eastern Theater saw the most concentrated combat and casualties, approximately 450,000 of the war's 1.1 million.
• The Eastern Theater contained the national capitals, the most famous armies, and was closest to northern cities and foreign observers.
• Robert E. Lee's rise in 1862 further emphasized the importance of the Eastern Theater.
• The Western Theater stretched from the Ohio River to the Gulf of Mexico, and included key logistical resources and cities.
• Union armies in the West penetrated deep into the Confederacy, with major battles occurring in multiple states.
• The Army of Tennessee led Confederate defense in the West, opposing Union armies named after rivers.
• The Trans-Mississippi Theater extended from Canada to Mexico, and from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.
• Operations in the Trans-Mississippi Theater were less significant than those in the East and West, primarily occurring in Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, western Louisiana, and Indian Territory.
• The border between Texas and Mexico was critical for Confederate supply lines.
• The final battle of the war occurred in the Trans-Mississippi Theater.
• The area west of the 100th Meridian saw minimal military action.

Campaigns in the Western Theater

• The Union achieved significant victories in the Western Theater in early 1862.
• Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston defended along the Mississippi, Tennessee, and Cumberland rivers, and a key railroad.
• Union General Henry W. Halleck targeted Fort Henry and Fort Donelson as weak points in the Confederate line.
• Ulysses S. Grant led the Union offensive, capturing Fort Henry on February 6 and Fort Donelson on February 16.
• Grant's demand for "unconditional and immediate surrender" earned him the nickname "Unconditional Surrender" Grant.
• The Union army occupied Nashville on February 25, which was a major strategic loss for the Confederacy.
• Johnston concentrated over 40,000 men at Corinth, Mississippi, for a counterattack against Grant at Shiloh on April 6.
• The Battle of Shiloh resulted in heavy casualties for both sides, with over 24,000 total.
• Albert Sidney Johnston was mortally wounded during this battle.
• Union forces seized New Orleans on April 25, effectively ending Confederate control of the Mississippi River.
• Memphis fell to Union forces by the second week of June, and a Union army occupied Corinth.
• By mid-1862, the Union controlled Kentucky, much of Tennessee, and the upper and lower Mississippi River.

Campaigns in the Eastern Theater

• George Brinton McClellan replaced Winfield Scott as general in chief of U.S. armies in November 1861.
• McClellan organized the Army of the Potomac but was hesitant to engage Confederate forces.
• Lincoln removed McClellan as general in chief in March, and then appointed Halleck in July.
• McClellan launched a campaign against Richmond in March, reaching the outskirts of the city by the end of May.
• Joseph E. Johnston was wounded at Seven Pines, and Robert E. Lee took command of the Confederate army.
• Between June 1 and July 1, Lee initiated the Seven Days Battles, driving McClellan away from Richmond.
• The Confederates suffered high casualties but successfully defended their capital.

The Seven Days Battles

• Confederate morale improved significantly, and Robert E. Lee gained national prominence because of the Seven Days Battles.
• McClellan retreated, drawing criticism from his subordinates.
• Lincoln recognized that the failure in the Eastern Theater overshadowed Union successes in the West.

Unconventional Warfare

• Both sides faced challenges managing unconventional warfare.
• Francis Lieber codified the rules of war, resulting in General Order No. 100 in April 1863.
• The Confederacy's Partisan Ranger Act of April 1862 was repealed due to difficulties controlling guerrilla units.
• Guerrilla warfare caused social chaos, especially in areas of Missouri and the Appalachian Mountains.
• The most notorious incident was the burning of Lawrence, Kansas, in August 1863 by Confederate guerrillas.
• Conventional armies ultimately determined the outcome of the Civil War.
• Guerrilla warfare would have been unsuitable for the nation the Confederates hoped to establish.
• Fears of social chaos in a slave-based society also hindered the adoption of guerrilla warfare by the Confederacy.
• Slavery was seen as a weakness for the Confederacy as it allowed African Americans to desert and join the Union army.

Turning Toward an All-Encompassing War

• Lincoln moved towards a harsher war strategy, influenced by abolitionists and Radical Republicans.
• Lincoln announced his intention to issue an emancipation proclamation.
• Congress passed the Second Confiscation Act, designed to free slaves held by Rebels.
• By the end of July 1862, both sides knew that significant sacrifices would be necessary.
• The national debt for the United States increased dramatically, reaching nearly $310 million by the end of 1862.
• The U.S. Congress passed the first federal income tax in the nation's history on August 5, 1861.
• The Internal Revenue Act of 1862 included excise taxes, inheritance taxes, and a graduated income tax.
• Taxes funded approximately 21 percent of the Union war effort.

Financing the War

• The government issued bonds and printed paper treasury notes to fund war costs.
• The Legal Tender Act of February 25, 1862, authorized the issuance of $150 million in "greenbacks."
• Nearly $450 million in greenbacks had been placed in circulation by the end of the war.

Manpower Shortage

• A manpower shortage threatened the Union after the Seven Days Battles.
• Lincoln called for 300,000 volunteers to serve for three years.
• The Militia Act authorized the president to call state militia into national service.
• The War Department demanded 300,000 nine-month militia.
• The states supplied enough men to satisfy the demands, though some resorted to drafts.
• The Confederacy passed the first national military draft in American history on April 16, 1862.
• All white males between eighteen and thirty-five were made liable for three years' service.
• Subsequent revisions changed the age limits to seventeen to fifty and kept all soldiers in uniform for the duration.

Confederate Finances

• The Confederate conscription act triggered protests but served its purpose.
• A provision allowing draftees to hire substitutes provoked criticism.
• Like the U.S., the Confederacy relied on taxes, loans, and paper money to fund the war.
• The Confederate government authorized more than $500 million in paper money by the end of 1862.
• Rampant inflation, approaching 9,000 percent by 1865, plagued the Confederacy.
• On March 26, 1863, the Confederate Congress passed an impressment law, to purchase animals, food, and fuel at prices set by the government.
• Slaves could be impressed to work on war-related projects.

Changing Union War Aims

• Military campaigning in the summer and autumn of 1862 featured dramatic shifts in momentum.
• General John Pope vowed to confiscate Rebel property and punish guerrillas, signaling a harder turn in the war.
• Lee reoriented the war in the East, leading to the battle of Second Bull Run on August 28-30.

Second Bull Run

• Confederate victory at Second Bull Run led to another Union retreat.
• Lee invaded Maryland and Pennsylvania, hoping to improve logistics and influence northern elections.
• Lincoln turned to McClellan to blunt Lee's invasion.

Battle of Antietam

• The Battle of Antietam on September 17 was the bloodiest single day in American history.
• Antietam became a strategic Union triumph when Lee withdrew.
• Lincoln issued his preliminary proclamation of emancipation on September 22.
• Political leaders in London and Paris backed away from intervention after Lee's retreat.

Confederate Offensives

• Other Confederates marched north toward Kentucky hoping to gather supplies and recruits.
• General Braxton Bragg and General Edmund Kirby Smith entered Kentucky, but Kentuckians did not flock to the Confederate banner.
• The campaign reached a climax on October 8 in the battle of Perryville, a tactical advantage for the Confederates.
• The Confederates began to withdraw from Kentucky.

Political Impact

• Republicans suffered setbacks in the House and lost governorships in New York and New Jersey during the northern elections.
• High optimism of late spring 1862 gave way to weariness with the conflict.
• Lincoln replaced McClellan and Buell with Burnside and Rosecrans.
• In both the United States and the Confederacy, people detected the onset of a "remorseless revolutionary struggle

The Civil War unfolded across the Eastern, Western, and Trans-Mississippi theaters. The Eastern Theater saw the most combat and casualties. Robert E. Lee's rise emphasized the importance of the Eastern Theater.