Chapter 17 Section 2No Easy Victory

• The north and south had much different plans for winning the war. The north would attack aggressively, and the south would hold its position until the north gave up.

• In the beginning, the north had a three fold plan.

1st - they would use the navy as a blockade so that the south couldn’t get any supplies from overseas.

2nd - they planned to seize Richmond, Virginia, the confederate capital.

3rd - they planned to gain control of the Mississippi.

• The Confederate strategy was much simpler. The south planned to fight a defensive war until the north got tired of fighting. They hoped that the war would become unpopular and Lincoln would have to end it.

North is on OffenseSouth is on Defense

• Under pressure to capture Richmond, Lincoln finally ordered the attack. The battle happened at a small stream known as Bull Run (aka Manassas). In the beginning, Union troops were winning, but Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson was able to rally the troops and forced the union troops to retreat. The Battle of Bull Run showed that both armies needed more training, and that the war would not be short, but very long and very bloody.

The Battle of Bull Run

General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson

• Lincoln put a general named McClellen in charge of the union army of the east. McClellan was a great organizer, but not nearly aggressive enough for Lincoln. He trained the men well, but was hesitant in letting them fight. Finally, when Lincoln forced the general to attack, the confederates were able to make the union army retreat.

Who’s in Charge Here?

General George McClellan

• One thing the north was successful at was the blockade of the south. In order to try to change this, the south captured a northern ship named the Merrimack. They then made the ship ironclad, which means that they covered the ship with iron plating, and renamed the ship the Virginia. It was indestructible. In response, the north made its own Iron Clad ship named the monitor. The two ships eventually met in battle. They fired cannonballs at one another for hours, and neither one was seriously damaged. The union eventually built fifty more Iron Clad ships. This changed naval warfare forever.

USS Monitorv.

CSS. Virginia (formerly the

USS Merrimack)

• In 1862, General Lee had an idea. He would mount an offensive attack on the north. General McClellan found the plans at an abandoned confederate campsite. McClellan was able to attack Lee’s forces at a town called Antietam. McClellan was able to stop the southern forces, but he did not pursue them as they retreated to the south. Lincoln was very angry at McClellan for not following. Lincoln quickly replaced McClellan with a new general, General Burnside.

The Battle of AntietamSeptember 1862

23,000 Casualties in one day

Photos from The Battle of Antietam

• The confederates won some stunning victories in the west. In the Battle of Fredericksburg, union troops were killed by the thousands under the leadership of General Burnside. At the Battle of Chancelorsville, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson defeated union troops again in an unexpected victory. During the battle, Stonewall Jackson was mistaken for a union soldier, and shot by his own men. He died a few days later.

Confederate Victories

• The union did win some important victories in the west. Ulysses S. Grant was able to lead his men to victory and gained control of the Mississippi River at the Battle of Shiloh. Grant was a much more aggressive general, and a much better leader than McClellan or Burnside.