The American Civil
War
1861-1865
Shortcut to 01 Drums of War.lnk
Wilbur McLean: “The war started in his front yard and ended in his parlor.”
Karen H. Reeves
Essential Question: How did the two sides differ in their
preparation for war?
Motivation North
Preservation of the
Union
South
States’ Rights
Casualties • Over 3 million soldiers served
• 600,000+ died
• Union: 360,000
• Confederacy: 260,000
• The overall number of dead that resulted from the
Civil War nearly equals the number of American
soldiers killed in every other military action up to the
present.
The “Boys’ War” • More than 2,000,000 Federal soldiers were twenty-one or under (of a
total of some 2,700,000)
• More than 1,000,000 were eighteen or under.
• About 800,000 were seventeen or under.
• About 200,000 were sixteen or under.
• About 100,000 were fifteen or under.
• Three hundred were thirteen or under-most
of these fifers or drummers, but regularly
enrolled, and sometimes fighters.
• Twenty-five were ten or under.
Progress of Secession
Sullivan Ballou
Advantages North • Population (22 million):
Recruits, Civilian manpower
• Industrial might: 80% of factories
• Superior transportation
• Organized army & navy
• Recognized government = loans, trade deals
South
• Could fight a defensive war (750,000 sq. mi.)
• Knew the terrain
• Longstanding military tradition
• Leadership of Lee, Johnston, Jackson
• Defending home
Disadvantages North
• Had to win; could not be a draw
• Fought most of war in “enemy’s” land
• Poor leadership in beginning
South
• Little industry
• Had to worry about slave population
• Fewer recruits (9 million)
• Miss. R. cut off 3 of 8 Confederate states
Comparisons
Rail L
ines 1
850
Jefferson Davis
(1809-1889)
Abraham Lincoln
(1809-1865)
Robert Edward Lee (1807-1870) • Born in Virginia, son of “Light
Horse” Harry Lee (Rev. War)
• Graduated from West Point
2/46 in class = no demerits
• Resigned commission in U.S.
Army when Va. Seceded
• Known for his bold military
maneuvers (“Hannibal”)
• “It is well that war is so
terrible -- lest we should grow
too fond of it.”
• Became President of
Washington and Lee University
Ulysses Simpson Grant (1822-1885)
• Born Hiram Ulysses Grant in Ohio
• Graduated from West Point 21/39
• Did not receive command until
after victory at Vicksburg
• Known for drinking, depression
• “Find out what brand he drinks
and send a barrel to all our other
generals.” (Lincoln)
• Became President of the U.S.
Strategy Based on Napoleonic Warfare: Clausewitz, Jomini
Destroy enemy in one decisive battle: force enemy’s retreat
Seize enemy’s strategic sites (rail lines, supply depots, communication centers, industry)
Capture enemy’s capital
Disrupt economy
Demoralize his will to continue
Strategy
Rapid movement of interior forces (railroads)
Maintenance of “tight” front line
Massing of men and materiel vs. enemy’s weak
point
Maintenance of supply line
Cavalry became “mobile foot soldier”
(Massed frontal assaults deadly = advent of new
Springfield & Enfield rifled musket increased
“killing distance” to one mile)
Strategy Key Components
• Mississippi River
• International traders & smugglers
• Confederate offensive movements
into Northern territory
• Southern goods and war material
• War in East: take capitals, cut
supplies, demoralize homeland
• War in West: control Mississippi, split Confederacy in half
Strate
gy
South “Army of Northern Virginia”
• War of attrition (wearing down enemy)
• Problems:
1. Davis plagued by requests to defend every town
2. Southerners refused to sit and wage defensive war
• Created “offensive-defensive” strategy
• Created “blockade runner”
North “Army of the Potomac”
• Anaconda Plan = control seaports
at Roanoke, Charleston, New
Orleans
• Surround, “wait and see”
• Aggressive offense into the South
Overview
• Both sides expected brief war
• North blockaded coast, but fail to take Richmond
• North captured New Orleans, but failed to split South in two
• South failed to take Washington, D.C.
• Stalemate of 1862 turns into a total war + full mobilization (draft, issuing of bonds & paper money, new taxes, centralized banking system)
Overview
• Lincoln imposed martial law + suspended
Habeas Corpus (held 10,000)
• Emancipation Proclamation (1/1/1863) =
freed slaves in Confederate states only (not
border states for fear of losing support)
• Black troops: 186,000 soldiers + 29,000
sailors = 10% of Union forces
68,0000 killed
Overview
• Gettysburg (Southern attempt to demoralize
the North)
• Vicksburg fell (North wins war in West,
divided the South)
• July, 1863: Draft riots in the North
• Inflation, corruption rock Northern economy
• Food shortages in the South
Overview
• South still did not quit
• Lincoln authorized taking “war to the
people” = hopes to demoralize
• Sherman’s March
• Lee runs out of supplies, reinforcements
• Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse,
April 9, 1865
• Lincoln assassinated April 14, 1865
Military Firsts
• Pontoon bridges (Alex’s inflated hides)
First Bull Run
Military Firsts
• Corps of Engineers
• Modern military barracks
• Industrial supply
• “Public will”
• Trenches, earthenworks
Hig
h C
asu
alt
ies
Frontal Assaults
(old tactics)
vs.
Modern
firepower
(rifles, artillery)