Lecture 22: The Civil War I PDF

Lecture 22: The Civil War I I. Union vs. Confederacy a. Confederate Advantages: i. Home Field Advantage: Fighting on home soil 1. Union objective- force southern states to return to the Union. Meant they had to invade the south and...

Lecture 22: The Civil War I I. Union vs. Confederacy a. Confederate Advantages: i. Home Field Advantage: Fighting on home soil 1. Union objective- force southern states to return to the Union. Meant they had to invade the south and destroy their army and will to fight. 2. South- fight a defensive war. a. Knowledge of the land: b. Morale: fighting for home and families b. Union Advantages: i. Larger Population: 2.5 times more people than Confederacy. Larger numbers of fighters. 1. 1/3 of the Confederate Population were slaves- would not use them to fight. ii. Industrial Mite: 90 % of Industrial Capacity of U.S. was in the North. More guns, clothing, etc. iii. Railroads: 2/3rds of the railroad lines in the U.S. iv. Moral Position after 1862: 1. Emancipation Proclamation- made the war to destroy slavery c. Resources: i. Manpower: 1. Advantage to Union: 22 million 2. Confederacy: 6 million (1/3 slaves) 3. Both sides had a lot of volunteers at first- great enthusiasm for the war. a. Romantic notion of war going in. Come to see it as death and destruction. 4. Conscription: Draft a. Confederacy: first conscription law in American history i. Conscription Act- April 1862: 1. Males 18-35 to serve 3 years 2. Age later lowered to 17 and raised to 45 and then 50. 3. Exemptions: a. Hire Replacements: discontinued in 1863. b. 20 Slave Rule: one white male (owner or overseer) could stay at home if plantation owned 20 or more slaves 4. “Rich Man’s War but a Poor man’s fight”: b. Union: 1  i. Enrollment Act- March 1863: 1. Men 20 to 45 were eligible to be drafted into the service. 2. Exemptions: a. Commutation: pay $300 not to fight b. Hire Replacements: ii. Weaponry: 1. Advantage to Union due to manufacturing mite 2. Confederacy did not lose because of weaponry a. Early on- import weapons from Europe. Capture from Federals. b. Later Confederacy builds ordinance i. Hires private firms to build arms- Tredegar Iron Works ii. Developed government-owned industries- Augusta Powder Works iii. Food/Clothing/Shoes: 1. Advantage to Union. 2. Confederacy- a. Shoes in short supply (made in North) b. Food- planters still growing cotton instead of foodstuffs. d. Economy: Need money to fight i. Advantage to Union 1. More population, markets for goods. Less reliant on foreign trade. ii. Confederacy- economy still based on cotton trade 1. Union blockade Confederate Ports: stops most of cotton from getting out. a. Blockade Runners iii. War Bonds: sold by both governments 1. Confederate bond issue in 1861- $15,000,000 2. Union bond issue in 1861- $150,000,000 iv. Taxes: both governments create income taxes v. Print Money: both sides resort to printing paper money 1. Union- $431,000,000 during war: “Greenbacks” 2. Confederacy- $1,500,000,000 during war 3. Led to Inflation in both countries a. Union- 80% b. Confederacy- 9,000% vi. Confederacy loser in the economic war: 1. Union- as a whole tended to prosper during war. 2. Confederacy- became poorer as war went on. e. Women in the war: Both Union and Confederate women played a great role in society i. On the home front: Run farms 2  ii. Government Work: run government bureaucracy 1. “Government Girls” 2. In south- worked as spies, smuggled supplies iii. Nursing: new occupation for women. 1. Crimean War- 1850’s: first women nurses a. Florence Nightingale i. Founds first nursing school in the world in London in 1860 2. Female nurses in Union and Confederate armies: a. 3,200 served in war. b. Dorothea Dix, Clara Barton i. Barton at Antietam 1. Later forms American Red Cross in 1881. iv. Teaching: Women come to dominate teaching profession II. First Modern War?: Technology of the Civil War: a. Telegraph: used to pass intelligence and track troops b. Railroad: Used to move troops, supplies c. Naval advances: i. Union blockaded the Confederacy 1. Anaconda Plan- General Winfield Scott: a. Blockade southern coastline b. Take control of Mississippi River c. Goals: i. Undermine Confederate Economy by destroying trade ii. Split Confederacy by capturing the Mississippi 1. Blockade began in 1861 2. Union seize Mississippi in 1863 ii. Ironclads: Iron-plated warships 1. Confederacy- converted USS Merrimack into Ironclad- CSS Virginia a. Goal- break blockade 2. Union- built the Monitor 3. Battle of Hampton Roads- March 9 1862: a. Indecisive battle between two ironclads- first time two ironclads had fought b. Union maintained blockade throughout war. iii. Submarine: 1. Confederacy develops the Hunley: a. Goal- to break blockade b. Hunley sank USS Housatonic outside Charleston Harbor- Feb. 17 1864: i. First submarine to sink ship. ii. Hunley also sank. 3  iv. Ironclads and submarines did not alter war- but point to where naval warfare was going in the future. d. Rifles- 1850: i. Musket with “rifling” inside barrel. Bullet spirals as it left gun. 1. Shoot further, more accurate. 2. Springfield & Enfield Rifles- 400 yards e. Machine Guns, Repeating Rifles: not available in significant quantities to affect result. Show where war was headed. f. Trench Warfare: defensive type of warfare gave soldiers some relief from rifle fire III. The War: Phase I (1861-1862): a. Leadership: i. Main problem for the Union early in war: 1. Lincoln had trouble finding aggressive generals 2. Outgeneraled by Confederates 3. George B. McClellan- placed in command of Army of the Potomac a. Great organizer, not aggressive enough ii. Advantage to Confederacy: had good leadership throughout the war 1. Robert E. Lee takes command of Army of Northern Virginia- June 1862 b. Border States: Lincoln keeps them in the Union i. Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky and Missouri: slave states 1. Lincoln sends troops into Maryland to keep it from seceding. Kentucky and Delaware also decide to remain in Union. 2. Missouri- civil war within. Pro-Confederate and Pro- Union forces fight one another a. Captain Quantrill- Confederate desperado i. Frank and Jesse James b. Missouri stays in Union ii. West Virginia- new state formed. 1. Non-slaveholding western part of Virginia does not go along with secession- remains in the Union 2. Enters Union as a state in 1863 c. Expectations going into war: i. Both sides expect short conflict: 1 month to a year ii. Romantic view of war- go off and win glory d. First Battle of Bull Run- July 1861: dispelled these notions i. 22,000 Confederates under General Pierre Beauregard defeats 30,000 Union soldiers under General Irvin McDowell e. Theaters of War: i. Western Theater: Tennessee, Mississippi ii. Eastern Theater: Virginia. 4 f. Campaigns: 1861- 1862: i. Union Objectives: 1. Destroy Army of Northern Virginia 2. Capture Richmond, Confederate Capital ii. Peninsula Campaign- Spring of 1862: 1. McClellan’s plan for capturing Richmond by landing his army, by water, on the peninsula between York and James Rivers. 2. May 1862- McClellan 5 miles from Richmond 3. Proved too cautious- refused to move further. 4. June 1862- General Lee took command of Army of Northern General. Engaged McClellan in Seven Day’s Battles. Ends Peninsula Campaign. iii. Lee’s invasion of Maryland- September 1862: 1. Goal: gain supplies and threaten Washington 2. Battle of Antietam- September 17th: a. Army of Northern Virginia (Lee) vs. Army of the Potomac (McClellan) b. Battle a draw- but a strategic victory for North. Lee calls off invasion c. Bloodiest day in American history. 24,000 casualties (killed and wounded). g. Emancipation Proclamation- September 1862: i. Freed slaves in Confederacy (areas not controlled by the Union Army). Did not affect slave states in the Union. ii. Reason: military decision to weaken south. iii. Changed nature of war: 1. War becomes crusade to end slavery 2. Weaken’s South’s Economy: weakened slavery. a. Slaves escape to Union lines-500,000 (1865) b. Slaves still on plantations not working as hard. 3. Union began to enlist black troops after Emancipation Proclamation a. Black leaders in North like Frederick Douglas worked as recruiting agents: i. Felt that blacks fighting in war would be a big step towards citizenship 4. Diplomacy: Emancipation Proclamation made sure European countries like Britain would not recognize the Confederacy and ally with it. a. South had thought the British would ally with them in order to restart the flow of cotton to the British mills. b. Europe won’t ally with Confederacy after issuance of emancipation proclamation i. Britain found new sources of cotton in Egypt and India. 5