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President Abraham Lincoln
-Elected as the 16th President of the U.S., Lincoln ran in office beginning on Nov. 6, 1860.
- He remained neutral in the issues of slavery - although he knew it was ethically incorrect, he recognized the constitutional slavery guarantees.
- Despite battlefield setbacks, enormous pressure, loss of lives, generals who were not ready to fight, and assassination threats, Lincoln remained calm with his pro-union policy for four long years of the Civil War. -
Southern Secession Begins
A deeper look at southern secession-After Abraham Lincoln was elected the President, the Southern states, one by one, began to secede.
-Secession is when a state withdraws from Union.
- 11 states in total seceded from the Union.
- The first secession was done by South Carolina on December 20, 1860.
- The consequent states which seceded were: Mississppi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennesse
- Tennesse seceded on June 8, 1861. -
Union Blockade
- The Union used their military strategy of "blocking" Confederate ports; thus called the Union Blockade.
- A "Proclamation of Blockade Against Southern Ports" was issued by President Abraham Lincoln on April 19, 1861.
- The Union attempted to take over the South and split their area into 1/3 at the Mississippi River
- They aimed to capture the Confederate capital at Virginia.
- South's major and simple goal was to defend and prevent enemy attacks on their familiar land.
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President Jefferson Finis Davis
President Davis Speech
- Jefferson Davis was elected as the President for the Confederate states of America for the entire civil war, until May 5, 1865, when the Confederate government was officially dissolved.
- He ran in office with no opposition.
- Even though he was a good leader for personal Confederate attacks, he was not able to catch the techniques of winning over a much stronger and bigger army of the Union. -
General Ulysses S. Grant
Battle Cry of Freedom - LONG LIVE UNION!
- After his 1862 triumphs in the Battle of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in February, he won the title of being an "unconditional surrender" Grant.
- He is the most reputable, and successful leader during the American Civil War.
- n March 1864, President Lincoln elevated Grant to the rank of lieutenant general, and named him general-in-chief of the Armies of the United States. -
Slaughter at Shiloh (Wake up! War is costly!)
- This battle was fought on the Tennesse- Mississippi border.
- Even though this battle was a Union victory, the attack was essentially done by the Confederates, when General Johnston planned to attack General Grant before his troops received more aid by General Buell.
- However, the Union's resistance held on and finally Buell's reinforcements arrived to help them completely to win the South over.
- The Confederate General Johnston sadly lost his life in this battle
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Union's Conquer of New Orleans
- The Union fleet past Forts Jackson and St. Philip on April 24, 1862, and captured New Orleans on the following day on April 25.
- The task to capture this area was given to Flag Officer David Farragut, an experienced commander and officer.
- After a 90 minute battle, 20 out of 24 ships crossed the forts successfully and New Orleans finally surrendered.
- This was an incident of international importance because New Orleans was by the mouth of the Mississippi River and controlled trade.
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General Robert E. Lee
- On May 31st, 1862, when Robert E. Lee was 55 years old, he became the commander of the famous Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.
- Some of his well- known victories are: Battle of second Manassas (second Bull Run), and the Battle of Chancellorsville. Named General-In-Chief of all Confederate Armies on February 6, 1865, his term in this position was cut short by his surrender to General Grant at the Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, thus ending the Civil War.
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The Bloody Battle of Antietam
Movie: Glory (Portraying the Battle of Antietam)
- This battle was fought near Sharpsburg, Maryland (it is also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg).
- Took place on Union land for the first time first one single day; this was one of the bloodiest battles in civil war history.
- The Southern General Robert E. Lee was attacked by George B. McClellan on September 17.
- 12,401 casualties suffered in Union, 10,306 in South. -
The Copperheads (Democrats)
Copperhead Official Trailer- Copperheads were mainly Democrats in Northern U.S. who did not support the American Civil War.
-They were called Copperheads because they were compared to "venomous snakes"
- They attempted to make peaceful settlements with the Confederates, such as welcoming South and slavery into Union or letting slave states remain in peace.
- Even though they never made organized attacks, they planned and discussed of violent resistance as well. -
Emancipation Proclamation
- This public announcement was formed by President Abraham Lincoln in hopes to free the slaves from the Confederate states which were still in rebeliion.
- The proclamation stated "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." -This Proclamation captured the hearts of many Americans and was used as a fundamental character for the civil war, although it was not able to completely end slavery itself from those states.
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54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
First Regiment of Northern Blacks! - Authorized in March of 1863 and commanded by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the 54th regiment was the first African American regiment from the North.
- It was commissioned after the Proclamation decreed that “such persons [African-American men] of suitable condition, will be received into the armed services of the U.S.
- Significant since African American became more included into the Union army, even though half of their army died fighting at forts (including their commander Shaw at Fort Wagner) -
General "Stonwall" Jackson
Jackon's Portrait in a Minute- His death, May 2nd 1863, is listed on the timeline since this Confederate leader became an icon of Southern heroism after his death, joining General Lee in the pantheon of the 'Lost Cause'.
- One of the most gifted tactical leaders in the U.S. history.
- He started his army career a Second Lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Artillery Regiment to the Mexican- American War
- His popular military career includes the Valley Campaign in 1862, using his rapid movements to engage 3 Union armies. -
Siege of Vicksburg
Battle of Vicksburg- Documentary
- This was one of the last major military actions in the American civil war, which lasted from May 18 – July 4, 1863.
- One of the most successful campaigns was when there was a surprise landing below Vicksburg, Mississippi.
- General Grant’s forces rapidly pushed back the threat posed by Joseph Johnston’s forces near Jackson.
- The starving residents suffered greatly and their city finally surrendered. -
Battle of Gettysburg
- This battle lasted from July 1 to July 3, 1863 and the Union won their victory.
- Known as the civil war's turning point because Gen. Lee's army could not win over the newly named Potomac Army leader, General George G. Meade
- This battle was fought in Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania and suffered the highest number of casualties (23,055 in Union and 23,231 in Confederate States)
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Battle of Chattanooga
- This is a battle where the Union forces were outnumbered by the Confederate troops (70,000 Confederates and 56,000 Union).
- On September 1863, General William Rosecrans along with his Union army, was defeated by the Confederates, with the help of General Braxton Bragg at the Battle of Chickamauga.
- The Confederates cut off all the supplies, but the Union were saved thankfully by Grant who arrived with new reinforcements.
- By the end of 1864, only 4 states remained subdued.
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Gettysburg Address
Lincoln's SpeechThis is one of the most famous speeches said in American history by President Abraham Lincoln.
- The President visited Gettysburg as a dedication to honour and appreciate the soldiers for their lives lost in Gettysburg.
- A part of his speech said, "this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." -
Camp Sumter (Andersonville Prison)
- Opened in 1864, out of 150 military prisons during the Civil War, Camp Sumter was the largest and the most well-known.
- It was located near Andersonville, Georgia (thus also known as Andersonville Prison)
- Out of the 45,000 Union soldiers who were imprisoned, approx. 15,000 of them died.
- Held prisoners 4 times over the capacity & lacked in supplying essential resources such as water, or simple sanitary provisions.
- Camp was lead by commander Henry Wiz, who was executed after the war.
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Burning Atlanta
- As a part of the Atlantic Campaign, Battle of Atlanta was fought southeast of Atlanta, Georgia along with the lead of commander William Sherman.
- A similar pattern that was repeated in other battles once again reappeared where Johnston's army took the defensive side and Sherman showed aggressive attacks.
- Hood acknowledged that it was important to defend Atlanta, which was their industrial center and rail hub; however, his army was too minimal to win against the Union.
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Sherman's March to the Sea
- General Grant ordered General William T. Sherman to bring his 100,000 troops over to the west and destroy the Confederate army.
- Sherman captured and occupied the retreating troops until November, when the city was forced to be evacuated.
- In his plans to divide the South once again, he used the tactic of forage - to live off land.
- He later reported to Grant that he and his troops have destroyed property worth $100 million in Georgia.
- Gen. Thomas destroyed the western army as well.
