The Civil War:

• Civil War Timeline
   
• March 4, 1861 - The Confederate States of America is formed with Jefferson Davis, a West Point graduate and former U.S. Army officer, as president.
   
  • The first seven states: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas
     
    • From December 20, 1860 through February 1, 1861
     
  • 1861 to 1865 - The Secession of the Southern States
   
• March 4, 1861 - Abraham Lincoln sworn in as 16^th President
  
  
• On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter, located off the coast of South Carolina. Fort Sumter was one of the few forts in the South that was still controlled by the Union. Union troops were forced to surrender the fort to the Confederates.
   
  • The Surrender of Fort Sumter - April 13, 1861
   

  Fort Sumter Flag Raising Celebration, April 14, 1865

   
• Lincoln asked for volunteers for the Union Army
     
• After the attack on Fort Sumter, four more states joined the confederacy:
   
  • Virginia - May 23, 1861
     
    • State capitol moved to Richmond
       
    • Western part of the state remained in the Union
       
      • Became the state of West Virginia
     
  • Arkansas - May 6, 1861
     
  • North Carolina - May 20, 1861
     
  • Tennessee - June 8, 1861
     
  • Missouri (border state) - October 31, 1861
     
  • Kentucky (border state) - November 20, 1861
   
• Maryland and Delaware were also border states, but remained in the Union.
   
  • All four border states were slave states.
   
• Read the Ordinances of Secession of the 13 Confederate States of America
     

  An Ordinance to Define and Punish Sedition North Carolina Convention (1861-1862) [Raleigh, N. C.: John W. Syme, Printer to the Convention], 1861. Be it ordained &c., That if any person in this State shall attempt to convey intelligence to the enemies of the Confederate States, or shall maliciously and advisedly endeavor to incite the people to resist the government of this State or the Confederate States, or persuade them to return to their connection with the United States, or maliciously and advisedly terrify and discourage the people from enlisting into the service of this State or of the Confederate States, or shall stir up or incite tumults, disorders or insurrections in this State, or dispose the people to favor the enemy, every such person being thereof legally convicted by the evidence of two or more credible witnesses, or other sufficient testimony, shall be adjudged guilty of a high misdemeanor, and shall be fined and imprisoned at the discretion of the court, and shall enter into recognizance with good security, in such sum as the court may deem proper, to be of the peace and good behavior toward all people in the State for three years thereafter.

   
• Northern Advantages
  • Larger population
  • More men of fighting age
  • Superior manufacturing and food production
  • ²/₃ of the country's railroad mileage
  • Superior civilian leadership
• Southern Advantages:
  • Defending their own soil
  • Better military leadership
  • More used to guns and horses
  • Cotton

   

   
  

  No black troops were used in the Confederate Army. Blacks were used only for non-combat labor. The Union Army did use black combat troops, but they were formed into their own units. By the end of the war, almost 200,000 black soldiers and sailors had fought for the Union. The Civil War might have been called The Boy's War. No one knows the identity of the war's youngest soldier. Of a total of 2,700,00 Union soldiers, 1,000,000 were eighteen or under. Most of the youths came in as musicians, for there were places for 40,000 in the Union armies alone. There are numerous tales of buglers too small to climb into saddles unaided, who rode into pistol-and-saber battles with their regiments. Most famous of these was Johnny Clem, who became drummer to the 22nd Michigan at eleven, and was soon a mounted orderly on the staff of General George H. Thomas, with the "rank" of lance sergeant. Women Soldiers in the Civil War Frances Clayton   Jennie Hodgers   Sarah Emma Edmonds   Loreta Jancta Velazquez

   

  The War Departments of North and South made several adjustments to their respective military departments and army organizations throughout the war, but the basic organization remained the same.

  There were three main branches of service in a Civil War army:

   
  • Infantry

    The Infantry were foot soldiers, the central part of an army. Infantry regiments were organized into a group of several regiments called a brigade, which was assigned to a larger organization, and up and up until it reached the army level. Three brigades were assigned to a division and three divisions made up a corps.

    The organization chart looked like this:

    • ARMY - composed of several corps, commanded by a general
    • CORPS - composed of three divisions, commanded by a general
    • DIVISION - composed of three to four brigades, commanded by a general
    • BRIGADE - composed of four to six regiments, commanded by a general
    • REGIMENT - composed of ten companies, commanded by a colonel

      An infantry regiment numbered over 1,000 officers and men at full strength, but disease, disabilities, and battle casualties reduced these numbers very rapidly. There were some regiments at the Battle of Gettysburg that numbered barely 200 officers and men.

    • COMPANY - 100 officers and men, commanded by a captain.

  • Artillery

    Artillery regiments were divided into companies and each company was called a battery. A battery consisted of over 100 soldiers, armed with six cannon per battery.

    A battery was a complicated organization. Soldiers designated as drivers rode the horses that pulled the cannons and caissons, and wagons. Gunners were assigned to serve the cannons, maintain and repair the guns and carriages. An additional six to ten soldiers were assigned as specialists to repair the cannons and carriage parts, repair or replace tools, maintain the ammunition and fuzes, and a blacksmith to look after the horses. As many as three officers were necessary to direct the battery while in action.

  • Cavalry

    A Cavalry regiment was organized into three battalions, each composed of four companies that were sometimes referred to as "troops". (One company equalled one troop.) A cavalry regiment was expensive to maintain while in service because of the amount of equipment carried by each cavalryman (carbine, saber, pistol, belt set, saddle, blanket, and other equipment for the soldier's mount), the number of horses needed, and the amount of feed, horse equipments and medical care required for the animals. A cavalryman had to carry not only enough food and water for himself, but he also had to carry a comb, canvas water bucket, a grain bag and other items for his horse.

    
  • Congressional Medal of Honor
     
    • Private Jacob Wilson Parrott was awarded the first Medal of Honor of the Civil War for his part in the Andrews' Raid - April 12, 1862
       
    • Frank Dwight Baldwin was awarded the medal for his part in the Battle of Peachtree Creek - July 12, 1864
       
      • Baldwin was awarded a second medal during the Indian Wars - November 8, 1874

   

The First Battle of Bull Run - July 21, 1861

• The first battle of the war - also known as the First Battle of Manassas - Union forces attempted to capture Richmond (The Confederate Capital)
   
• Commanders - (North, Irvin McDowell) (South, P.G.T. Beauregard)
   
• Winner - South
   
  • The Union had the initial advantage at Bull Run Creek
     
  • A brigade of Virginians led by Thomas Jackson stood their ground, defeating the Union Army and forcing it to retreat back to Washington.
     
    • Jackson earned the nickname "Stonewall"
   
• Official Battle Report by Brigadier General T. J. Jackson
   
• Official Battle Report by General Irvin McDowell
   
• The similarity between the "Stars and Bars" and the "Stars and Stripes" caused confusion on the battlefield. At a distance, the two national flags were hard to tell apart. After the battle, General Beauregard pushed to have the design changed. See the changes in the Confederate flag from 1861 to 1865.

 

Confederate Ironclad "Virginia" sinking the "Cumberland" at the Battle of Hampton Roads.   March 8, 1862	Interior of the turret of the Union Ironclad "Monitor".

 

Ironclad Gunboats:

• Battle of the Ironclads, 1862 (Civil War Homepage)
   
• Battle of the Ironclads, 1862 (EyeWitness to History)
   
  • Monitor - North
     
  • Merrimack (CSS Virginia) - South
   
• The first ironclad gunboat built in America
   
• Mississippi River gunboats #1
   
• Mississippi River gunboats #2

   

The Second Battle of Bull Run (Second Manassas) - August 28-30, 1862

• Commanders - (North, John Pope) (South, Robert E. Lee)
   
• Winner - South
   
• McClellan was unable to take Richmond and pulled back
   
• Robert E. Lee went on the attack and beat McClellan at Bull Run
   
• The Union army was no closer to Richmond than at the beginning of the war
   
• Other Second Manassas events

   

Battle of Antietam (Battle of Sharpsburg) - September 17, 1962

• The first major battle to take place on Northern soil
   
• Commanders - (North, George B. McClellan) (South, Robert E. Lee)
   
• Winner - Inconclusive
   
• McClellan pursued Lee into Union territory but was unable to catch him until Lee's orders were found wrapping a bunch of cigars
   
• McClellan caught Lee at Antietam Creek in Maryland
   
• Lee was outnumbered 70,000 to 40,000
   
• More than 22,000 dead or wounded
   
  • About even numbers on both sides
   
• McClellan failed to finish Lee off, allowing him to retreat to VA
   
  • Lincoln fired McClellan, replacing him with Ambrose Burnside
   
• Official Battle Report by General Robert E. Lee
   
• Official Battle Report by Major General George B. McClellan
   
• Other Antietam events

 
National Park Service  

Europe and the American Civil War

• The American Question

 

 

Slavery becomes the main issue:

• At first neither side declared slavery to be the central issue
   
  • The North claimed the issue was the Preservation of the Union
     
  • The South claimed the issue was States Rights
   
• Lincoln did not think the North would support a war over slavery
   
  • Three things changed his mind
     
    1. Bloody fighting made the North want to hurt the South as much as possible
        
       • Ending slavery would do that
        
    2. Slavery helped the southern war effort
        
    3. Slavery was a crucial issue with Britain
        
       • Britain would not support a war to preserve the Union but would to end slavery
          
       • Britain was torn on whether or not to support the Confederacy
          
         • The British liked the Union splitting up but did not support slavery

 

At the top of his cartoon celebrating the Emancipation Proclamation, Thomas Nast (Harpers Weekly) links emancipation to patriotism with the cheering female figure of Columbia, an early symbol of the United States. As he seeks to answer those who utilized racism to oppose abolition, Nast predicts that free (and northern) institutions will make self-reliant, respectable, and cheerful workers of the formerly brutalized slaves. At the bottom right-center, a plantation owner treats his workers with respect, tipping his hat to them, in contrast to whip-wielding master pursuing a runaway slave opposite. But also note that Nast assumes that freedmen will continue to work as farm laborers who remove their hats completely in respect to their employers. As laborers they will remain subordinate, while planters will learn that fair treatment will make their workers more reliable and productive.

The Emancipation Proclamation:

• January 1, 1863
   
• Freed slaves in states in rebellion against the United States
   
• Did not apply to border states
   
• British opinion supported the Union
   
• Encouraged the recruitment of blacks in the Union army
   
  • Nearly 200,000 served