The Civil War PDF
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This document presents an overview of the American Civil War, including key events, figures, and strategies. It details the war's causes, major battles, and political contexts. It's a great resource for anyone researching this pivotal period in U.S. history
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The Civil War The Civil War “The issue before the country is the extinction of slavery...The Southern States are now in the crisis of their fate; and, if we read aright the signs of the times, nothing is needed for our deliverance, but that the ball of revolution be set in motion.” Editorial in th...
The Civil War The Civil War “The issue before the country is the extinction of slavery...The Southern States are now in the crisis of their fate; and, if we read aright the signs of the times, nothing is needed for our deliverance, but that the ball of revolution be set in motion.” Editorial in the Charleston Mercury November 3rd, 1860 The Civil War “It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.” General Robert E. Lee December 11th, 1862 Battle of Fredericksburg The Civil War “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan….to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.” Abraham Lincoln The Birth of the Republican Party On March 20th, 1854, a coalition of men who were former Whigs, Free-Soilers, and disgruntled Democrats who opposed their support of slavery met for the first time in Ripon, Wisconsin to form a new party to oppose the spread of slavery any further. The meeting released a platform stating, “...the African slave trade, under the cover of our national flag, aided by perversions of judicial power, as a crime against humanity, and a burning shame to our country and age, and we call upon Abraham Lincoln On February 12th, 1809, Abraham Lincoln was born in the wilderness of western Kentucky, but moved west with his family as a young boy. His mother passed away when he was only nine years old, and he was left to work a farm in the newly formed state of Indiana with his father. A self-educated lawyer, he had served captain in the military during the Black Hawk War, served in the Illinois State House for eight years, and was elected to serve in the U.S. House of The Election of 1860 In 1860, Illinois became the political center of the nation as both the Democratic and Republican Parties nominated someone from the state. The Democrats nominated the well- known U.S. Senator Stephen Douglas to represent their party. Douglas, who was known as one of the best speakers in Congress, and was one of the architects of the Kansas-Nebraska Act that allowed states to vote on whether to accept slavery in their state. The Election of 1860 A fourth candidate, Senator John Bell from Tennessee, represented the new Constitutional Union Party which recognized, “no political principle other than the Constitution of the country, the Union of the states, and the Enforcement of the Laws". They also rejected calls for secession being made by other parties. In the end, with four realistic candidates and with the Democratic vote split, Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States after receiving just 39% of Confederate Government On February 4th, 1861, six states, including Georgia, sent representatives to the first meeting of the Confederate States of America. Meeting in Montgomery, Alabama, the following day the conference elected Jefferson Davis of Mississippi as their President. Davis, a former U.S. Senator and Secretary of War, was hoping to serve as a commander in the Confederate military instead. Elected as Vice President of the Confederacy was Alexander Stephens, a Secession Strategies United States Confederate States The Union possessed Like the colonies in the superior amounts of Revolutionary War, the manpower and supplies to Confederacy planned to fight the war. There were fight a war of attrition. If nearly three times as many they could make the war men, and four times as many last long enough the Union factories in northern states would surrender. to help produce war goods. The Confederacy believed Lincoln knew it would take a the British and the French long time to train an army. would come to their aid as He proposed a blockade of most of the cotton Fort Sumter On December 20th, 1860, the state of South Carolina became the first state to secede from the United States. The unanimous vote by those at the convention argued abolitionists had put them at risk by urging their slaves to revolt. The U.S. Army refused to turn the fort over to the Confederate Army. After months of being surrounded, the Confederates had called on the soldiers in the fort to finally The Battle of Bull Run Many across the nation believed the conflicts between the two sides would be short, and the nation would reunite by the end of the year. Initially, the Union army only signed up troops for three months of service. Union commanders were hardly able to train their men before their enlistments expired and many left for home. On July 21st, 1861, the first major battle of the war occurred in Manassas, Virginia. Known as the Battle of Bull The Battle of Bull Run What looked like a certain victory for the Union under the command of General Irvin McDowell, turned quickly after he allowed his men to rest during the heat of the afternoon. This allowed Confederate troops under the command of General Joseph Johnston to arrive at the battle. ○ This was the first time in American military history troops were transported to battle by train. After a counter attack by the Confederates, the Union fled the field. The Battle of Antietam On September 17th, 1862, the Union Army advanced on the Confederate Army near Sharpsburg, Maryland. The Union Army, led by General George McClellan, attacked with a force of over 100,000 men. ○ McClellan was known as the “Young Napoleon” for his ambition and the dedication his soldiers had for him. The Union Army had found orders a Confederate soldier had lost outlining the Confederate plan of attack. McClellan, however, delayed long enough to allow General Robert E. Lee to reposition. The Battle of Antietam By the end of the battle over 12,000 Union soldiers and 14,000 Confederate soldiers had either died, been shot, or been captured. This was the bloodiest day in the history of the war. The Confederates retreated, and President Lincoln told General McClellan to advance, and “destroy the rebel army if possible.” McClellan, who was famous for his slowness to react and fear of losing battles, disobeyed Lincoln’s orders and allowed the The Emancipation Proclamation The victory at Antietam gave Lincoln the victory he was looking for to change the direction of the war. Lincoln had been wrestling with giving an order that would free the slaves within the Southern states. On September 22nd, 1862, Lincoln issued the “Emancipation Proclamation,” which granted freedom to all slaves within the Confederacy. The order gave Southern states until January 1st, 1863 to return to the The Emancipation Proclamation While Lincoln opposed slavery, this decision had another purpose. Great Britain and France had both met with Confederate ambassadors about supporting their side. By refocusing the war on the issue of slavery, and not simply holding the Union together, Lincoln forced these foreign nations to openly side with a nation who had chose to maintain slaves. The proclamation did not, however, free slaves within the Union states. Lincoln as President Throughout the war, Lincoln had to decide what presidential powers he would use. He was divided between his position as the political leader of the nation (President) and the military leader of the nation (Commander-in- Chief). Using commander-in-chief clause of the Constitution, Lincoln assumed powers that had never been used by any President. He began the mobilization of the Union army without Congressional Lincoln as President On April 27th, 1861, Lincoln issued an executive order that suspended habeas corpus, the protection from being thrown in jail without being charged with a crime. Lincoln believed that Article I, Section 9, of the Constitution gave him the power to do this by saying, “when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.” Despite opposition from the Supreme Court, who argued on Congress had The Battle of Chancellorsville In May, 1863, Lee gained perhaps his greatest victory when he defeated the forces of General Joseph Hooker. Hooker believed the Confederacy would retreat when attacked. Outnumbered more than two to one by Union forces, Lee instead chose to divide his forces and attack to trap the Union forces. Often called the “perfect battle” for Lee’s tactics, after a week of fighting the Union retreated. Despite the victory for the Confederacy, The Battle of Gettysburg Rumors began to spread that Lincoln was considering stepping down as President, and northern leaders began debating peace with the Confederates. On July 1st, 1863, both armies met in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Lee hoped to bring the pressures of the war to the northern states to put pressure on them to agree to peace. This was the farthest north the Confederates ever invaded. The Confederate forces were led by Gen. The Battle of Gettysburg Like other battles, the momentum swung back and forth as each side attempted to out flank their enemy. By day three of fighting the armies were in a fierce artillery battle when the Union army stopped firing. Believing the Union army had run out of ammunition, Confederate General George Pickett attempted to charge the Union army who were positioned on higher ground. This disastrous attempt to take the Union position became known as The Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg is the largest battle ever fought on North America. The Union Army had over 85,000 soldiers, and over 23,000 died or wounded in the battle. The Confederate Army had more than 75,000 soldiers, and more than 28,000 died, wounded or captured in the battle. The Confederacy had hoped that a successful push into the North would be the last motivation needed to convince the Union to accept peace. The Battle of Gettysburg The Gettysburg Address On November 19th, 1863, President Lincoln delivered a speech while dedicating the new national cemetery at the Gettysburg battlefield. ○ The war, and Lincoln, were so unpopular in 1863 that Lincoln was not even the keynote speaker. Edward Everett, a former U.S. Senator and Governor of Massachusetts gave a two hour speech prior to Lincoln’s address. Known as the Gettysburg Address, the speech lasted two minutes, and was the President’s attempt to explain the The Gettysburg Address Lincoln considered the speech to be a failure. At no point during the speech had he mentioned the words Gettysburg, the Union, or slavery. To some, the speech was viewed as a missed opportunity to build up support for the war. For others, and for many after the war, the speech would be considered the greatest speech in American history. Everett, considered one of the great speakers of his generation wrote to The Tide Turns Following their defeat at Gettysburg and running out of supplies, the Confederate army was vulnerable to attack. The Union army under General George Meade, however, did not to press the advantage. In March, 1864, President Lincoln offered command of the Union army to General Ulysses S. Grant, who had achieved victories on the war’s western front and showed the aggressive streak Lincoln wanted. Placing General William Tecumseh Sherman’s March Sherman believed if he captured the city of Atlanta the supply lines of the Confederates would be cut, and their will would be broken. Commanding more than 98,000 men, by June, 1864, Sherman moved his Army of the Cumberland south from Chattanooga towards Atlanta destroying rail lines to cut off supplies along the way. Known as “Sherman’s Neckties,” the Union soldiers would heat the rails up Sherman’s March On June 27th, 1864, at Kennesaw Mountain, the Confederates had the high ground and had arrived several days earlier to dig trenches. Sherman was certain his men could take the mountain, and ordered an assault that morning, but by noon the Union forces had lost more than 3,000 men and had barely gained any ground. When Davis received word of Johnston’s victory, he urged him to Atlanta Campaign After his retreat through much of Georgia, Jefferson Davis replaced Johnston with General John Bell Hood as commander of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. Hood was willing to give Sherman the fight he wanted. Atlanta was a strong defensive position for the Confederates, who could have remained on high ground with ample supplies to fight. Sherman began a siege of the city in July, 1864. Many of the people left in Atlanta Campaign On September 1st, 1864, after months without supplies coming into the city, General Hood, and the rest of the Confederate military left the city and destroyed 81 railroad cars of ammunition. Following his conquering of Atlanta, Sherman had much of the town set on fire to prevent it from being reused as a supply line for the Confederacy. The three battles within the city were costly to both armies, with the Union Sherman’s March Sherman then proposed a daring move. He would leave Atlanta and march to Savannah, taking the largest Confederate port 300 miles away. Along the way towns were set on fire, homes, bridges, and railroads destroyed in a system he referred to as, “total war.” On December 22nd, 1864, Sherman entered the city of Savannah. He sent a telegram to President Lincoln stating, “I beg to present you, as a Sherman’s March On January 16th, 1865, after leaving Savannah, Sherman issued Special Field Order No. 15. This controversial decision seized all slave owner land from Charleston to the St. Johns River, the border between Georgia and Florida. Sherman had the nearly 400,000 acres divided into forty acre farms to be given to the newly freed slaves. He hoped this action would get the slaves to settle down and The End of the War Following two losses to the Confederacy at Spotsylvania Courthouse and Cold Harbor, General Grant moved his army to Petersburg, and set up a siege. Grant had lost more than 65,000 soldiers through death or injury in the two months prior to the Siege of Petersburg, and realized if he didn’t secure a victory soon his command may come to an end. While the Union army continued to The End of the War By April, 1865, General Lee had less than 35,000 men remaining in his army. On April 9th, the Union army surrounded the Confederacy in Appomattox, Virginia. With no options left, Lee surrendered. Grant, following the directions given to him by Lincoln to be lenient with the Southerners, was generous and allowed all Confederate soldiers to return home. They were also allowed to keep their weapons since many would need to hunt to feed their families. Grant assured Lee they would The End of the War Lee surrendering was not actually the final fighting of the war. The Confederacy still had an army under Joseph Johnston that was in North Carolina. At the time of Lee’s surrender, Johnston had been marching to try and reinforce Lee. After capturing Savannah, General Sherman turned north and marched to join Grant’s army. On February 17th, 1865, he conquered Columbia, the capital of South Carolina, and burned it down like Atlanta. Turning north, he met Johnston’s The End of the War