-
Southern Sucession
- Abraham Lincoln was elected as president in 1860. Southerners thought the government was becoming too strong, in favour of the North.
- They Northerners did not think the government had the right to tell them how they should live. (Ex. No Slavery)
- Southerners knew that if they stayed in the United States, the North would soon control them.
-
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis Biography- United States soldier and statesman
- President of the Confederate States of America during the entire Civil War
- Davis was passisonately committed to the cause of the Confederacy
-
Abraham Lincoln
Abe Lincoln VS Chuck Norris Epic Rap Battles of History #3- Lincoln led the United States through the American Civil War
- He preserved the Union, got rid of slvaery, strengthened the national government and modernizied the economy.
- He was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865.
-
Union Blockade
The Anaconda Plan- The Union attempted to blockade the southern states. A blockade meant that they tried to prevent any goods, troops, and weapons from entering the southern states.
- The Union blockade was part of a larger strategy called the Anaconda Plan.- The Anaconda Plan was the brainchild of Union General Winfield Scott. General Scott felt that the war could take a long time and that the best supplied armies would win. He wanted to keep foreign countries from shipping supplies to the Confederates.
-
General Stonewall Jackson
Gods and Generals: The Life of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson
- He was a drill master for some of the many new recruits in the Confederate Army.
- Virginia Governor ordered Colonel Jackson to take command at Harpers Ferry, where he would assemble and command the famous "Stonewall Brigade".
- Hesurvived the loss of an arm to amputation in 1863, but died of complications from pneumonia eight days later.
- Jacksons death became an icon of Southern heroism and commitment. -
Copperheads
- Democrats located in the Northern United States of the Union who opposed the American Civil War, wanting an immediate peace settlement with the Confederates. (Sympathized with Southernors)
- They were especially strong in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, where Clement L. Vallandigham was their leader.
- The Knights of the Golden Circle was a Copperhead secret society.
-
General Lee
- Virginia declared its secession from the Union in April 1861, Lee chose to follow his home state, even though he personally desired for the country to remain intact.
- Lee served as a senior military adviser to President Jefferson Davis.
- President Abraham Lincoln had offered Lee command of a Union Army.
- Amazing tactician and battlefield commander, winning numerous battles against better equiped and trained Union armies.
-
Slaughter at Shiloh
Battle of Shiloh- It took place in southwestern Tennessee (First major battle to take place in the western theater of war).
- Confederate General A. Johnston knew that Grant was waiting his reinforcements to arrive. He decided to surprise attack Grant before the two Union armies could join together.
- General Albert Johnston was killed on the battlefield but the initial attack of the Confederates was very successful.
- Union reinforcements had arrived from Buell's army, and the confederates retreated. -
Union Conquers New Orleans
The Fall of New Orleans- The capture of this vital southern city was a huge blow to the Confederacy.
- Southern military strategists planned for a Union attack down the Mississippi. The most imposing obstacles for the Union were Fort Jackson and St. Phillip. In the middle of the night, Admiral David Farragut led a fleet of 24 gunboats, 19 mortar boats, 15'000 soldiers past the forts.
-
Battle of Antietam
- The Army of the Potomac, commanded by George McClellan, mounted a series of powerful assaults against Robert E. Lee’s forces near Sharpsburg, Maryland.
- The bloodiest single day in American military history ended in a draw.
- 22,717 dead, wounded, and missing on both sides combined.
- Confederate retreat gave Abraham Lincoln the “victory” he desired before issuing the Emancipation Proclamation.
-
Emancipation Proclamation
- The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free."
- It applied only to states that had seceded from the Union
- It also expressly exempted parts of the Confederacy that had already come under Northern control. Most important, the freedom it promised depended upon Union military victory.
-
54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
Massachusetts 54th Regiment Video- The regiment (Union Army) was one of the first official African American units in the United States during the Civil War.
- The soilders were recruited from freed slaves.
- African American soilders were paid $10 per month, $3 less than white soldiers.
Colonel Edward Needles Hallowell -
Siege of Vicksburg
- Union forces had gained control over much of the Mississippi River. President Abraham Lincoln considered control of the nation’s largest waterway crucial.
- Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s armies converged on Vicksburg, investing the city and entrapping a Confederate army under Lt. Gen. John Pemberton.
- On July 4, Vicksburg surrendered after prolonged siege operations.
- With the loss of Pemberton’s army and this vital stronghold on the Mississippi, the Confederacy was split in half.
-
Battle of Gettysburg
- On the 3rd day, General Lee decided to make an all or nothing attack. He felt if he could win this battle, the South would win the war.
- He sent General Pickett, with 12,500 men, on a direct charge at the Union Army. Pickett's men were defeated. General Lee and the Confederate Army retreated.
- Deadliest battle of the Civil War. There were around 46,000 casualties.
-
Gettysburg Address
- President Lincoln delivered this speech to dedicate the cemetery where thousands of soldiers were burried after the bloody battle of Gettysburg.
- He spoke for just two minutes.
-
Battle of Chattanooga
- Union forces routed Confederate troops in Tennessee at the battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, known collectively as the Battles for Chattanooga.
- The victories forced the Confederates back into Georgia, ending the siege of the vital railroad junction of Chattanooga, and paving the way for Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's Atlanta campaign and march to Savannah, Georgia, in 1864.
-
Prisoner of War Camp Andersonville (Camp Sumter)
Andersonville, or Camp Sumter as it was known officially, held more prisoners at any given time than any of the other Confederate military prisons. During the 14 months it existed, more than 45,000 Union soldiers were imprisoned here, almost 13,000 died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding, or exposure to the elements. -
Ulysses S. Grant
General Grant Biography- Was the 18th president of the United States (1869–1877)
- Promoted to major general after forcing the surrender of a large Confederate army and gaining control of Kentucky/Tennesse.
- After the Battle of Chattanooga, President Abraham Lincoln, promoted Grant to lieutenant general and commander of the Union armies.
- Grant served two terms as president and worked to stabilize the nation after the Civil War.
- He enforced civil rights laws and fought Ku Klux Klan violence. -
Burning Atlanta
- The Battle of Atlanta was fought southeast of Atlanta, Georgia.
- Union forces commanded by William T. Sherman, wanting to neutralize the important rail and supply hub, defeated Confederate forces defending the city under John B. Hood.
- After ordering the evacuation of the city, Sherman burned most of the buildings in the city, military or not. Then left to "March to the Sea"
-
Sherman's March
Sherman's March Video- Union General William T. Sherman led some 60,000 soldiers on a 285-mile march from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia.
- The purpose of the march was to frighten Georgia’s civilian population into abandoning the Confederate cause.
- Sherman’s soldiers didn't destroy any of the towns in their path, but they stole food and livestock and burned the houses and barns of people who tried to fight back.
