Chapter 13

Two Societies at War

The Early StalemateSection 1

The decision of border states was crucialVA, TN & NC went CSA, RE Lee resigned from

US ArmyWV broke away with Union, DE went Union,

ML forced, CA and OR go UnionKY and MO claimed by CSAJuly 4 Lincoln calls for the rebellion to be

crushedUnion seizes railroad junction at Manassas,

VA then is embarrassingly beaten back (Bull Run)

McClellan given command of 100,000-strong Army of the Potomac

Taking Sides

McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign is slow attacking Richmond

Stonewall moves on Washington, McClellan divides forces—Lee takes command for Johnston

Battle of 7 Days 30,000 casualtiesLincoln orders retreat

August 1862 Lee goes on offensive and attacks ML 2nd Manassas

Antietam: 30,000 casualtiesMcClellan continues to hesitate with superior

forces and not pursue Lee

Early Battles 1862

Union moves to control major riversGrant makes gains at Fort Donelson, meets

Beauregard at Shiloh, TN2 day battle was a

Union victory at great costNOLA falls and is occupiedUnion seizes lower Miss.

River

Early Western Theater

Dealing with Beast Butler

5 Days after Antietam, Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation—signed New Year’s Day

Left slavery in tact in border states and Union-controlled CSA territoryTook War to a higher plane—freedom

Democrats took the midterms of 1862, Rep. kept 1 seat majority in House

Politics of Emancipation

Lee wins huge victories:At Fredericksburg (Dec 1862)

they crush attacking troops from the hills taunting them

Union has a ¼ troop advantageUnion takes 3X the casualtiesAt Chancellorsville (May 1863) Lee and

Jackson split forces to attack vulnerable flanks defeating “Fighting” Joe Hooker—McClellan’s replacement

Considered to be Lee’s finest work

Lee Rises to Brilliance

Total WarSection 2

Telegraph allowed instant communicationRailroads could move troops and supplies

hundreds of miles in a dayIronclad ships made old navies obsoleteMuskets firing minie balls were accurate at

500 yardsLarge artillery allowed long range attacks

and support with few to no casualtiesFew commanders adopted new tacticsMassed frontal assaults produced huge

casualties

Modern Warfare

Both sides passed drafts by 1863Lincoln jailed resisters, south

exempted plantation familiesDraft riots in NYCAlternates could be hired

Diseases took ¼ million soldiers200,000 women volunteered for

the Sanitary Commission and Freedmen’s aid SocietyDorthea Dix appt. superintendent of nurses

Few hospitals at the beginning, CSA worse offClara Barton organized field hospitals at some of the

largest battles

Life During Wartime

South sought recognition from Britain and France

CSA placed voluntary embargo on selling cottonBought Enfield rifles from

BritainTook loans from Britain

Union halted foreign ships with CSA officials onboard almost kicking off another warTrent Affair

Antietam and Emancipation kept Britain out

Foreign Affairs

Union spent $63m in 1860, nearly $1b in 1864

Taxes paid 1/5 of cost, bonds 2/3 Southerners rejected taxes, bonds, etc. Jay Cook became rich selling bonds

Both sides printed the money they neededUnion currency became the green backCSA overprinted and saw inflation rise 92X its

1861 levelFinancial measures of the Union created the

modern financial stateShortages led to riots (VA, AL)

Picking Up the Tab

1861 Contraband Act allowed Union to confiscate slaves2nd Contraband Act declared seized slaves free

1862 Wilmot Proviso was enacted banning slavery in federal territories

Douglass urged Lincoln to take public the debate on slavery

Emancipation signed 1863ML & MO abolished slavery in their

constitutions13th Amendment adopted Jan. 13 1865

Slavery and the War

Leadership

Grant’s year-long siege of Vicksburg broke in the summer of 1863

July 4 the starved city surrendered splitting the CSA in two

Lee responded by attacking north to draw forces

Army of Northern VA met the Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg, PA (nearly 150,000+ soldiers)New Union General Meade faced Lee

3 day battle was likely the most decisive of the war

The Turning Point

Victory and DefeatSection 3

1st day Federals are pushed through the town and dig into a series of hills

2nd day they barely repel several attacks on their flank

3rd day Lee pounds the weak center, sends JEB Stuart around behind and orders a massive frontal assault on the centerPicket’s Charge—2/3 don’t return

Lee retreats July 4 suffering 1/3 of army in casualties

July 4 the tactical turning point of the war

Gettysburg

Gettysburg

By 1862 NE, SC, LA and KS had black regiments1st SC Volunteers, 54th MA

By 1865 near 200,000 had servedUnits were segregatedMany units were used solely as

laborMany paid less

Black Troops

1864 Grant given supreme commandAgreed with Lincoln that caution had

prolonged war2 Pronged Proposal:1. Grant doggedly pursues Lee2. Sherman invades GABattle of Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold

Harbor Grant’s huge army takes massive casualties (10 – 20,000 per battle)

Siege of Petersburg opens to attack Richmond—stalls

Sheridan burns the Shenandoah valley

Grant Takes Over

The Overland Campaign

Lincoln renominated as 1st sitting president to seek reelection during a civil war

Ran as National Union Party with a southern Democrat as VP—Andrew Johnson

Democrats ran Gen. McClellan who Rejected black freedom and promised

immediate armisticeIn Sept. Atlanta fell to a focused Sherman

Lincoln won 55% of the voteRep. and National Union candidates swept

the House

In the Nick of Time

"Until we can repopulate Georgia, it is useless to occupy it: but the utter destruction of its roads, houses and people will cripple their military resources. By attempting to hold the roads we will lose a thousand men monthly, and will gain no result. I can make the march and make Georgia howl. ...”

“You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out.”

Sherman and Total War

Instead of following retreating Confeds from ATL to TN, Sherman sought to cut GA in half

On 300 mile march his army devoured the countrysideSlaves left plantations following the

armyReached Sav. And offered city to

Lincoln as Christmas presentTurned north to support Grant at

Petersburg burning SC along the way

March to Hell

Siege of Petersburg lasted 9 months (June 64 – April 65)took 70,000saw Lee’s army worn out Precipitated the fall of

Richmond (April 3) by cutting supply lines

6 days later Lee was cornered at Appomattox Courthouse and surrendered to Grant

The terms were generous

The End and New Beginning

April 14 Lincoln assassinated by BoothJefferson Davis Arrested

No trials for treasonWar cost nearly 618,000 lives with

casualties near 1 millionSouth was materially devastatedSlavery ended

4 million slaves freedConstitution provided no road map for

reintegration

A War’s Confusing Conclusion