[The Secession Crisis]
after Lincoln was elected, South’s tension began to grow
(The Withdrawal of the South)
· 1860 Dec. 20th : South Carolina seceded from the Union -> by the time Lincoln came into office, 6 other states seceded:
o Mississippi : 1861 Jan 9
o Florida : Jan 10
o Alabama : Jan 11
o Georgia : Jan 19
o Louisiana : Jan 26
o Texas : Feb 1
· 1861 Feb. : seceded states’ delegates met at Montgomery, Alabama
o founded new nation : the Confederate States of America
o two months earlier – President Buchanan: “no states can secede from Union…but Federal government had no authority to stop a state if it did.”
· seceding states: seized the federal property within their boundaries
o at first did not have sufficient military power
§ Fort Sumter – Charleston, SC <- Buchanan refused to yield it when SC demanded; 1861 Jan, Buchanan ordered unarmed merchant ship to carry more troops and supplies to it -> Confederate fought back with guns -> yet no one is ready for war
§ Fort Pickens – Pensacola, Florida
(The Failure of Compromise)
· John J. Crittenden (Kentucky) : Crittenden Compromise
o reestablishing Missouri Compromise and extend it westward to the Pacific
§ slavery would be prohibited north of the line and allowed in south of the line
o allowed expansion of slavery <- Republicans disliked it
· Lincoln inauguration speech: gov. would “hold, occupy, and possess” federal property in the seceded states (referring to Fort Sumter)
· Fort Sumter running short of supplies -> Lincoln sent a relief expedition to the fort -> announced to SC: gov. would send no troops unless ships were met by resistance -> Confederate gov. ordered General P. G. T. Beauregard (commander of Charleston) to take the fort 0-> Major Robert Anderson (garrisoning Fort Sumter) refused to give up -> Confederates bombarded it for two days -> Anderson surrendered (1861 April 14)
· 4 more seceded:
o Virginia (April 17)
o Arkansas (May 6)
o Tennessee (May 7)
o North Carolina (May 20)
· 4 other slaves states (Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri) remained in the Union due to Washington’s pressure
(The Opposing Sides)
· by 1862:
North
South
Manufactured almost all war materials
Almost no manufactures at all
Better transportation system
Deteriorated -> almost collapsed
Fighting within the South
(long line of communication)
Fighting a defensive war
(familiar land & local support)
Shaky commitment; divided opinions
· Firm commitment
· derp.
· English and French textile industries relying on cotton -> foreign nations are more inclined to Confederacy
[The Mobilization of the North]
- North = what produced concords, prosperity and economic growth
- Republican enjoyed political supremacy (with South gone)
· enacted nationalistic program for economic development
(Economic Nationalism)
· 1862: Homestead Act (provides citizen to purchase 160 acres of public land for a small fee after living on it for five years)
· 1862: Morrill Act (transferred substantial public land to the state governments and sold -> to fund education)
o creation of new state colleges and universities
o land-grant institution
· by the end of the war: passed protective tariff bills to raise duties (highest in the history)
· railroad construction
o Union Pacific Railroad Company – westward from Omaha / Central Pacific – eastward from California
§ => (1869) Promontory Point, Utah
· 1863-1864 - National Bank Acts
o newly formed banks can join the system (if they have enough capital and willing to invest 1/3 to government securities)
o in return, banks can issue U. S. Treasury notes as currency
§ eliminated currency uncertainty
· funding the war
o levy taxes, issue paper currency, borrow
o fed. gov. levied taxes on almost all goods and services -> 1861: income tax
§ -> raised only small number of funds
§ strong popular resistance prevented raising tax rates
· “greenbacks” (paper currency) were not backed by species -> values fluctuated according to the war winning trend of the gov.
(Raising the Union Armies)
· Lincoln increased number of armies <- needed more volunteers from states
· 1861 July: authorized enlisting 500,000 volunteers for 3 years
o at first, enthusiasm -> more ppl volunteered
o 1863 March: gov. was forced to pass a national draft law
§ all young adult males, can escape by hiring someone or paying gov. of $300
(Wartime Leadership and Politics)
· Lincoln: made rigid, firm decision; not swayed by other politicians
o assembled a cabinet with every segment of Northern opinion
o boldly used war powers
o blithely ignored constitution
· sent troops w/out Congress’s declaration of War…increased the army without legislative authority…naval blockade of the South
· Peace Democrats / “Copperheads” (opponents of war)
o Lincoln ordered military arrests of “civilian dissenters” -> no right of habeas corpus given to them (rights to get fast trial after being arrested)
§ only in bordering states but 1862 expanded it to all
· 1864 election
o 1862 Republican suffered heavy losses -> organized Union Party (= Republican Party + War Democrats)
o Republican: Lincoln (pres) & Johnson (VP)
o Democrat (peace party): McClellan (former Union general, denounced war and called for truce)
· several Northern military victories -> boosted Northern moral & Republican supports
· -> Lincoln elected
(The Politics of Emancipation)
· Republicans dispute over slavery issues:
o Radicals (Thaddeus Stevens, Charles Sumner, Benjamin Wade) – complete emancipation
o Conservatives – sooth slave states to stay
· 1861: Confiscation Act – all slaves used for “insurrection” (fight for Confederate sides) are considered to be free
· 1862: Washington D.C. abolished slavery
· 1862 July: slaves of people supporting Confederate = free / authorized the president to hire African American as soldiers
· North slowly accepted “emancipation = goal of war” -> radicals in Republican party grew -> president himself took the leadership
· 1862, Sept. 22 : (after Battle of Antietam) Lincoln announced his intention to use executive power to free all slaves in the Confederacy
o 1863 Jan. 1 : Emancipation Proclamation – forever freeing slaves in the Confederacy
§ did not apply to Union slave states or parts of Confederacy under Union control
· several slave states abolished slavery -> 1865: 13th amendment – abolished slaver in all parts of U.S.
(African Americans and the Union Cause)
· 186,000 emancipated blacks -> served in Union forces
o at first, not included in the military
· black regiments formed in Union-occupied areas of the Confederacy -> Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation -> black enlistment increased -> Union rapidly recruit African-American soldiers and sailors (North & if possible South)
· Fifty-fourth Massachusetts infantry
o had white commander (Robert Gould Shaw)
· most did menial works, suffered from unsanitary conditions
· Black fighting men captured by the Confederate…in 1864, 260 black Union soldiers were killed
o 1) sent back to their masters
o 2) or executed
(Women, Nursing, and the War)
· took in men’s jobs
· United States Sanitary Commission (voluntary, led by Dorothea Dix)
o mobilized many female nurses to serve in field hospitals -> by the end of the war, women = dominating nursing
o some opposition from men doctors who believed women should not touch male strangers
· National Woman’s Loyal League (1863): abolition of slavery and suffrage to women
[The Mobilization of the South]
- 1861 Feb. : 7 seceding states met at Montgomery, Alabama => created a new Southern nation
(Confederate Government)
· Confederate – almost the same as Constitution but:
o sovereignty / state rights (but not the right of secession)
o sanctioned slavery; abolition was not possible
· President: Jefferson Davis (Mississippi) and Alexander H. Stephens (Georgia)
o Davis: moderate secessionist, not punctilious and decisive
· State rights <- many opposed federal army & habeas corpus
· some experiments:
o “food draft” – allow soldiers to eat from farms on the path
o seized railroads and shipping control
o impressed slaves to work as laborers in military projects
o imposed industry regulation
o limited corporate profits
(Money and Manpower)
· Funding the war: Confederate tried to gather funds from the individual states, but states didn’t really want to tax their citizens
o 1863: income tax (but only 1% of gov. earning)
o issued bonds -> too much, public lost trust, no credit
o attempted to borrow $ from Europe using cotton but not very successful
o 1861 - issued large amount of paper currency
· 1862 April - Conscription Act : subjected all white males (18-35) to serve in military for three years
o (like North) could avoid drafting by finding a substitute or paying fines
o -> poor whites couldn’t find substitutes (too costly) -> opposition rose -> repealed in 1863
· conscription worked for a while <- due to enthusiasm
o 1862: 500,000 soldiers + slaves for menial services
§ only few slaves / free blacks enlisted and combatted
· after 1862: few enlistments -> 1864: shortage
o tried to raise 300,000 slaves to fight <- but war ended before so
(Economic and Social Effects of the War)
· War: 1) cut Southern planters <-> manufacturers from Northern market/ 2) Union blockade on sea ports
· North: increased production; South: declined
· War was fought on South, so the South received most damages
o land and constructions destroyed
o resistance to: conscription, food impressment, taxation
· War killed many men => females had to find jobs (unmarried, replacing men)
· placed slave codes strictly
[Strategy and Diplomacy]
- diplomacy
(The Commanders)
· North: Abraham Lincoln: brief service in state militia, many mistakes -> succeeded by exploiting North material advantage
o aim: destruction of Confederate armies (not occupation of Southern territory)
· 1861-1864: Lincoln tried to find proper generals (leaders)
o Winfield Scott -> George B. McClellan -> Henry W. Halleck -> Ulysses S. Grant
· Committee on the Conduct of the War (est. in Dec. 1861 / led by Senator Benjamin E. Wade (Ohio)) – a joint investigative committee
o seriously interfered the conduct of war, inaccurate
· South: President Davis: couldn’t make an effective central command system
o 1862: named Robert E. Lee as military adviser
(The Role of Sea Power)
· Union = better advantage in navy -> blockaded Southern coast
· first: blockade kept oceangoing ships out of Confederate ports -> began seizing the Confederate ports: ex) Wilmington, NC, fell to the Union 1865
· Confederate tried to break the blockade using ironclad warship <-> Union ready to back
· Union ships: mobilization through small rivers, transportation of supplies
· South: didn’t have significant navy, weak defend
(Europe and the Disunited States)
· Judah P. Benjamin – Confederate secretary of state : too dependent on administrative processes
· William Seward – Union secretary of state : assistance from Charles Francis Adams (minister to London)
· beginning: England and France sympathized Confederacy
o Southern cotton
o eager to weaken U.S.
· France waited for England to react -> England was reluctant due to popular supports for Union (antislavery sentiments)
· After Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, England abolitionists supported Union further
· South: our cotton is important to England and France, so you countries must help us
o England and France currently have surplus
o found alternative markets to import cotton
o 500,000 English textile workers lost jobs due to closing mills in support of Union
o => no one foreign nation willing to offer help
· U.S. vs Britain tension
o disappointed by foreign nations’ neutrality
o Washington: it’s a Civil War not a war between two nations
· Trent Affair: Confederate’s two diplomats, Jams M. Mason and John Slidell, boarded on English mail ship Trent -> Union (Charles Wilkes) stopped the ship and seized the diplomats and brought them to Boston -> Britain demanded for release of them and a formal apology -> Lincoln didn’t want to risk a war with Britain at the same time fighting Confederate, so released
· Privateers built in British ship yards damaged Union ships…U.S. damage claim (Alabama Claim) didn’t end until 1877
[Campaigns and Battles]
- 4 years of civil war; high casualty
(The Technology of War)
· 1835 - Samuel Colt: repeating pistol (the revolver)
· 1860 – Oliver Winchester: repeating rifle
· cannons, artillery (iron and steel technology development)
· more dangerous weapons -> encouraged building trenches and fortifications to protect themselves
· railroad: more mobilization, transport enough necessary supplies
o limited the mobility of armies
o the routes encouraged great battle than smaller engagements with small troops
· telegraph:
o limited by scarcity of qualified telegraph operators
o difficulty of bringing telegraph wires into the fields
o U.S. Military Corps. (Thomas Scott and Andrew Carnegie)
o string telegraph wires along the routes of their troops <- fast communication
(The Opening Clashes, 1861)
· northern Virginia – “First Battle of Bull Run” / “First Battle of Manassas”
o Union (McDowell) vs. Confederate (P. G. T. Beauregard)
o Confederate lost -> Union lost morale and president’s confidence in the army
· 1861 Union forces achieved small / significant victories
o “liberated” antisecession mountain people’s state West Virginia
(The Western Theater, 1862)
· 1862 April: Union (David G. Farragut) seized New Orleans
· Ulysses S. Grant: seized Fort Donelson (Kentucky) and half of Tennessee
· Battle of Shiloh - Shiloh, Tennessee : Union (Grant) vs. Confederate (Albert Sidney Johnson and P. G. T. Beauregard)
o Johnson killed
o occupied Corinth, Mississippi
· Chattanooga, Tennessee – Union vs. Confederate (Braxton Bragg)
o Battle of Murfreesboro / Stone’s River – Confederate withdrew
· end of 1862 : Union made progress
(The Virginia Front, 1862)
· George B. McClellan (army of Potomac) concentrated his army near Washington -> capture the Confederate capital at Richmond -> chose a complicated route to avoid Confederate -> left General Irvin McClellan -> B. McClellan asked Lincoln for more troops -> Thomas J. (“Stonewell”) Jackson of Confederate attacked Shenandoah Valley as Union was crossing the Potomac -> 1862 May 4 – June 9 : Jackson defeated two separate Union forces -> ran away
· McClellan vs. Confederate (Joseph E. Johnston) -> Johnston injured, replaced by Robert E. Lee -> Lee recalled Stonewell Jackson from the Shenandoah Valley -> combined force attacked Union -> Battle of Seven Days (Jun 25 – July 1) -> McClellan set up a base -> McClellan: 25 mi away from Richmond & good position to fight -> Lincoln ordered the army to move back to northern Virginia and combine with John Pope’s troops -> Pope attacked Confederate’s army : “Second Battle of Bull Run” / Manassas (Aug. 29-30) -> Lincoln removed Pope from command and put McClellan back
· Lee attacked Union -> McClellan defended -> McClellan got a copy of Lee’s orders, revealed the Confederate plan under Stonewell Jackson -> McClellan, instead of attacking quickly, gave Lee time to pull back his forces in Antietam Creek -> Jackson arrived from Harpers Ferry to help
o Antietam = Union victory but McClellan’s inadequate command
o Lincoln removed McClellan from command
(1863: Year of Decision)
· beginning of 1863: General Joseph Hooker commanding in Potomac -> crossed the river above Fredericksburg toward Lee’s army -> last minute, Hooker drew back to a defensive position -> Lee divided his forces to attack Union army -> Battle of Chancellorsville (May 1-5) Stonewell Jackson attacked Union right & Lee from front -> Hooker couldn’t barely escape -> Lee couldn’t crush the army completely (Jackson wounded)
· Union winning at West -> spring 1863, Ulysses S. Grant driving at Vicksburg on the Mississippi River -> Grant moved men and supplies to south of the city (good terrain) -> attacked Vicksburg -> Vicksburg surrendered -> other Confederate surrendered -> Lee proposed an invasion of Penn. -> 1863 June, Lee moved up to Maryland then Penn. -> Union (Hooker -> George C. Meade) vs. Confederate (Lee) -> Lee lost his army greatly -> Lee withdrew from Gettysburg (turning point)
· Union (William Rosecrans) pursued Bragg’s retreating Confederate force (unwise) -> Battle of Chattanooga (Nov. 23-25), Union drove Confederate back to Georgia
o control of the Tennessee River
(The Last Stage, 1864-1865)
· beginning of 1864 – Ulysses S. Grant = general in chief of Union armies -> believed in materials -> planned in 1864 for two great offensive -> Army of the Potomac advanced to Richmond -> forced Lee into battle
· Georgia, under William T. Sherman advanced east toward Atlanta and destroyed remaining confederate force (Joseph E. Johnston)
· Lee – Battle of the Wilderness (May 5-7, 1864) -> Grant marched to Richmond and met Lee -> Battle of Spotsylvania -> Lee kept his army between Grant and the Confederate capital -> encounter once more in northeast of Richmond, Cold Harbor
· Grant moved to east of Richmond, headed south toward the railroad center at Petersburg (can cut off the capital’s communications with rest of the Confederacy) -> Lee came to defend -> battle prolonged
· Georgia: Sherman advanced easily -> Johnston tried to delay Sherman
o fought only one real battle – Kennesaw Mountain
o - >Johnston (Davis prompted to replace him with John B. Hood) lost Atlanta to Sherman
· Hood tried to kick Sherman out of Atlanta but unsuccessful -> Sherman sent Union troops to reinforce Nashville -> Northern forces destroyed South’s remaining army
· Sherman left Atlanta, “March to the Sea” : deprive South of war materials and railroad communication, break the will of people by burning towns and plantations along the route
o reached Savannah (Dec. 20)
· Grant’s army in Potomac captured a vital railroad junction southwest of the town -> Lee informed Confederate he can no longer defend Richmond -> Jefferson Davis, his cabinet, and as much of the white population fled through transportation
o mobs, setting fire
o next day Northern forces entered Richmond (capital)
· Abraham Lincoln entered Confederate capital
o black people cheered for him
· Lee began moving west to find a way around Union forces to join with Johnston in NC -> Union pursued after him
· Lee appointed Grant to meet in a private home -> April 9 surrendered -> 9 days later Durham, NC, Johnston surrendered to Sherman
· Jefferson Davis captured in Georgia
after Lincoln was elected, South’s tension began to grow
(The Withdrawal of the South)
· 1860 Dec. 20th : South Carolina seceded from the Union -> by the time Lincoln came into office, 6 other states seceded:
o Mississippi : 1861 Jan 9
o Florida : Jan 10
o Alabama : Jan 11
o Georgia : Jan 19
o Louisiana : Jan 26
o Texas : Feb 1
· 1861 Feb. : seceded states’ delegates met at Montgomery, Alabama
o founded new nation : the Confederate States of America
o two months earlier – President Buchanan: “no states can secede from Union…but Federal government had no authority to stop a state if it did.”
· seceding states: seized the federal property within their boundaries
o at first did not have sufficient military power
§ Fort Sumter – Charleston, SC <- Buchanan refused to yield it when SC demanded; 1861 Jan, Buchanan ordered unarmed merchant ship to carry more troops and supplies to it -> Confederate fought back with guns -> yet no one is ready for war
§ Fort Pickens – Pensacola, Florida
(The Failure of Compromise)
· John J. Crittenden (Kentucky) : Crittenden Compromise
o reestablishing Missouri Compromise and extend it westward to the Pacific
§ slavery would be prohibited north of the line and allowed in south of the line
o allowed expansion of slavery <- Republicans disliked it
· Lincoln inauguration speech: gov. would “hold, occupy, and possess” federal property in the seceded states (referring to Fort Sumter)
· Fort Sumter running short of supplies -> Lincoln sent a relief expedition to the fort -> announced to SC: gov. would send no troops unless ships were met by resistance -> Confederate gov. ordered General P. G. T. Beauregard (commander of Charleston) to take the fort 0-> Major Robert Anderson (garrisoning Fort Sumter) refused to give up -> Confederates bombarded it for two days -> Anderson surrendered (1861 April 14)
· 4 more seceded:
o Virginia (April 17)
o Arkansas (May 6)
o Tennessee (May 7)
o North Carolina (May 20)
· 4 other slaves states (Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri) remained in the Union due to Washington’s pressure
(The Opposing Sides)
· by 1862:
North
South
Manufactured almost all war materials
Almost no manufactures at all
Better transportation system
Deteriorated -> almost collapsed
Fighting within the South
(long line of communication)
Fighting a defensive war
(familiar land & local support)
Shaky commitment; divided opinions
· Firm commitment
· derp.
· English and French textile industries relying on cotton -> foreign nations are more inclined to Confederacy
[The Mobilization of the North]
- North = what produced concords, prosperity and economic growth
- Republican enjoyed political supremacy (with South gone)
· enacted nationalistic program for economic development
(Economic Nationalism)
· 1862: Homestead Act (provides citizen to purchase 160 acres of public land for a small fee after living on it for five years)
· 1862: Morrill Act (transferred substantial public land to the state governments and sold -> to fund education)
o creation of new state colleges and universities
o land-grant institution
· by the end of the war: passed protective tariff bills to raise duties (highest in the history)
· railroad construction
o Union Pacific Railroad Company – westward from Omaha / Central Pacific – eastward from California
§ => (1869) Promontory Point, Utah
· 1863-1864 - National Bank Acts
o newly formed banks can join the system (if they have enough capital and willing to invest 1/3 to government securities)
o in return, banks can issue U. S. Treasury notes as currency
§ eliminated currency uncertainty
· funding the war
o levy taxes, issue paper currency, borrow
o fed. gov. levied taxes on almost all goods and services -> 1861: income tax
§ -> raised only small number of funds
§ strong popular resistance prevented raising tax rates
· “greenbacks” (paper currency) were not backed by species -> values fluctuated according to the war winning trend of the gov.
(Raising the Union Armies)
· Lincoln increased number of armies <- needed more volunteers from states
· 1861 July: authorized enlisting 500,000 volunteers for 3 years
o at first, enthusiasm -> more ppl volunteered
o 1863 March: gov. was forced to pass a national draft law
§ all young adult males, can escape by hiring someone or paying gov. of $300
(Wartime Leadership and Politics)
· Lincoln: made rigid, firm decision; not swayed by other politicians
o assembled a cabinet with every segment of Northern opinion
o boldly used war powers
o blithely ignored constitution
· sent troops w/out Congress’s declaration of War…increased the army without legislative authority…naval blockade of the South
· Peace Democrats / “Copperheads” (opponents of war)
o Lincoln ordered military arrests of “civilian dissenters” -> no right of habeas corpus given to them (rights to get fast trial after being arrested)
§ only in bordering states but 1862 expanded it to all
· 1864 election
o 1862 Republican suffered heavy losses -> organized Union Party (= Republican Party + War Democrats)
o Republican: Lincoln (pres) & Johnson (VP)
o Democrat (peace party): McClellan (former Union general, denounced war and called for truce)
· several Northern military victories -> boosted Northern moral & Republican supports
· -> Lincoln elected
(The Politics of Emancipation)
· Republicans dispute over slavery issues:
o Radicals (Thaddeus Stevens, Charles Sumner, Benjamin Wade) – complete emancipation
o Conservatives – sooth slave states to stay
· 1861: Confiscation Act – all slaves used for “insurrection” (fight for Confederate sides) are considered to be free
· 1862: Washington D.C. abolished slavery
· 1862 July: slaves of people supporting Confederate = free / authorized the president to hire African American as soldiers
· North slowly accepted “emancipation = goal of war” -> radicals in Republican party grew -> president himself took the leadership
· 1862, Sept. 22 : (after Battle of Antietam) Lincoln announced his intention to use executive power to free all slaves in the Confederacy
o 1863 Jan. 1 : Emancipation Proclamation – forever freeing slaves in the Confederacy
§ did not apply to Union slave states or parts of Confederacy under Union control
· several slave states abolished slavery -> 1865: 13th amendment – abolished slaver in all parts of U.S.
(African Americans and the Union Cause)
· 186,000 emancipated blacks -> served in Union forces
o at first, not included in the military
· black regiments formed in Union-occupied areas of the Confederacy -> Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation -> black enlistment increased -> Union rapidly recruit African-American soldiers and sailors (North & if possible South)
· Fifty-fourth Massachusetts infantry
o had white commander (Robert Gould Shaw)
· most did menial works, suffered from unsanitary conditions
· Black fighting men captured by the Confederate…in 1864, 260 black Union soldiers were killed
o 1) sent back to their masters
o 2) or executed
(Women, Nursing, and the War)
· took in men’s jobs
· United States Sanitary Commission (voluntary, led by Dorothea Dix)
o mobilized many female nurses to serve in field hospitals -> by the end of the war, women = dominating nursing
o some opposition from men doctors who believed women should not touch male strangers
· National Woman’s Loyal League (1863): abolition of slavery and suffrage to women
[The Mobilization of the South]
- 1861 Feb. : 7 seceding states met at Montgomery, Alabama => created a new Southern nation
(Confederate Government)
· Confederate – almost the same as Constitution but:
o sovereignty / state rights (but not the right of secession)
o sanctioned slavery; abolition was not possible
· President: Jefferson Davis (Mississippi) and Alexander H. Stephens (Georgia)
o Davis: moderate secessionist, not punctilious and decisive
· State rights <- many opposed federal army & habeas corpus
· some experiments:
o “food draft” – allow soldiers to eat from farms on the path
o seized railroads and shipping control
o impressed slaves to work as laborers in military projects
o imposed industry regulation
o limited corporate profits
(Money and Manpower)
· Funding the war: Confederate tried to gather funds from the individual states, but states didn’t really want to tax their citizens
o 1863: income tax (but only 1% of gov. earning)
o issued bonds -> too much, public lost trust, no credit
o attempted to borrow $ from Europe using cotton but not very successful
o 1861 - issued large amount of paper currency
· 1862 April - Conscription Act : subjected all white males (18-35) to serve in military for three years
o (like North) could avoid drafting by finding a substitute or paying fines
o -> poor whites couldn’t find substitutes (too costly) -> opposition rose -> repealed in 1863
· conscription worked for a while <- due to enthusiasm
o 1862: 500,000 soldiers + slaves for menial services
§ only few slaves / free blacks enlisted and combatted
· after 1862: few enlistments -> 1864: shortage
o tried to raise 300,000 slaves to fight <- but war ended before so
(Economic and Social Effects of the War)
· War: 1) cut Southern planters <-> manufacturers from Northern market/ 2) Union blockade on sea ports
· North: increased production; South: declined
· War was fought on South, so the South received most damages
o land and constructions destroyed
o resistance to: conscription, food impressment, taxation
· War killed many men => females had to find jobs (unmarried, replacing men)
· placed slave codes strictly
[Strategy and Diplomacy]
- diplomacy
(The Commanders)
· North: Abraham Lincoln: brief service in state militia, many mistakes -> succeeded by exploiting North material advantage
o aim: destruction of Confederate armies (not occupation of Southern territory)
· 1861-1864: Lincoln tried to find proper generals (leaders)
o Winfield Scott -> George B. McClellan -> Henry W. Halleck -> Ulysses S. Grant
· Committee on the Conduct of the War (est. in Dec. 1861 / led by Senator Benjamin E. Wade (Ohio)) – a joint investigative committee
o seriously interfered the conduct of war, inaccurate
· South: President Davis: couldn’t make an effective central command system
o 1862: named Robert E. Lee as military adviser
(The Role of Sea Power)
· Union = better advantage in navy -> blockaded Southern coast
· first: blockade kept oceangoing ships out of Confederate ports -> began seizing the Confederate ports: ex) Wilmington, NC, fell to the Union 1865
· Confederate tried to break the blockade using ironclad warship <-> Union ready to back
· Union ships: mobilization through small rivers, transportation of supplies
· South: didn’t have significant navy, weak defend
(Europe and the Disunited States)
· Judah P. Benjamin – Confederate secretary of state : too dependent on administrative processes
· William Seward – Union secretary of state : assistance from Charles Francis Adams (minister to London)
· beginning: England and France sympathized Confederacy
o Southern cotton
o eager to weaken U.S.
· France waited for England to react -> England was reluctant due to popular supports for Union (antislavery sentiments)
· After Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, England abolitionists supported Union further
· South: our cotton is important to England and France, so you countries must help us
o England and France currently have surplus
o found alternative markets to import cotton
o 500,000 English textile workers lost jobs due to closing mills in support of Union
o => no one foreign nation willing to offer help
· U.S. vs Britain tension
o disappointed by foreign nations’ neutrality
o Washington: it’s a Civil War not a war between two nations
· Trent Affair: Confederate’s two diplomats, Jams M. Mason and John Slidell, boarded on English mail ship Trent -> Union (Charles Wilkes) stopped the ship and seized the diplomats and brought them to Boston -> Britain demanded for release of them and a formal apology -> Lincoln didn’t want to risk a war with Britain at the same time fighting Confederate, so released
· Privateers built in British ship yards damaged Union ships…U.S. damage claim (Alabama Claim) didn’t end until 1877
[Campaigns and Battles]
- 4 years of civil war; high casualty
(The Technology of War)
· 1835 - Samuel Colt: repeating pistol (the revolver)
· 1860 – Oliver Winchester: repeating rifle
· cannons, artillery (iron and steel technology development)
· more dangerous weapons -> encouraged building trenches and fortifications to protect themselves
· railroad: more mobilization, transport enough necessary supplies
o limited the mobility of armies
o the routes encouraged great battle than smaller engagements with small troops
· telegraph:
o limited by scarcity of qualified telegraph operators
o difficulty of bringing telegraph wires into the fields
o U.S. Military Corps. (Thomas Scott and Andrew Carnegie)
o string telegraph wires along the routes of their troops <- fast communication
(The Opening Clashes, 1861)
· northern Virginia – “First Battle of Bull Run” / “First Battle of Manassas”
o Union (McDowell) vs. Confederate (P. G. T. Beauregard)
o Confederate lost -> Union lost morale and president’s confidence in the army
· 1861 Union forces achieved small / significant victories
o “liberated” antisecession mountain people’s state West Virginia
(The Western Theater, 1862)
· 1862 April: Union (David G. Farragut) seized New Orleans
· Ulysses S. Grant: seized Fort Donelson (Kentucky) and half of Tennessee
· Battle of Shiloh - Shiloh, Tennessee : Union (Grant) vs. Confederate (Albert Sidney Johnson and P. G. T. Beauregard)
o Johnson killed
o occupied Corinth, Mississippi
· Chattanooga, Tennessee – Union vs. Confederate (Braxton Bragg)
o Battle of Murfreesboro / Stone’s River – Confederate withdrew
· end of 1862 : Union made progress
(The Virginia Front, 1862)
· George B. McClellan (army of Potomac) concentrated his army near Washington -> capture the Confederate capital at Richmond -> chose a complicated route to avoid Confederate -> left General Irvin McClellan -> B. McClellan asked Lincoln for more troops -> Thomas J. (“Stonewell”) Jackson of Confederate attacked Shenandoah Valley as Union was crossing the Potomac -> 1862 May 4 – June 9 : Jackson defeated two separate Union forces -> ran away
· McClellan vs. Confederate (Joseph E. Johnston) -> Johnston injured, replaced by Robert E. Lee -> Lee recalled Stonewell Jackson from the Shenandoah Valley -> combined force attacked Union -> Battle of Seven Days (Jun 25 – July 1) -> McClellan set up a base -> McClellan: 25 mi away from Richmond & good position to fight -> Lincoln ordered the army to move back to northern Virginia and combine with John Pope’s troops -> Pope attacked Confederate’s army : “Second Battle of Bull Run” / Manassas (Aug. 29-30) -> Lincoln removed Pope from command and put McClellan back
· Lee attacked Union -> McClellan defended -> McClellan got a copy of Lee’s orders, revealed the Confederate plan under Stonewell Jackson -> McClellan, instead of attacking quickly, gave Lee time to pull back his forces in Antietam Creek -> Jackson arrived from Harpers Ferry to help
o Antietam = Union victory but McClellan’s inadequate command
o Lincoln removed McClellan from command
(1863: Year of Decision)
· beginning of 1863: General Joseph Hooker commanding in Potomac -> crossed the river above Fredericksburg toward Lee’s army -> last minute, Hooker drew back to a defensive position -> Lee divided his forces to attack Union army -> Battle of Chancellorsville (May 1-5) Stonewell Jackson attacked Union right & Lee from front -> Hooker couldn’t barely escape -> Lee couldn’t crush the army completely (Jackson wounded)
· Union winning at West -> spring 1863, Ulysses S. Grant driving at Vicksburg on the Mississippi River -> Grant moved men and supplies to south of the city (good terrain) -> attacked Vicksburg -> Vicksburg surrendered -> other Confederate surrendered -> Lee proposed an invasion of Penn. -> 1863 June, Lee moved up to Maryland then Penn. -> Union (Hooker -> George C. Meade) vs. Confederate (Lee) -> Lee lost his army greatly -> Lee withdrew from Gettysburg (turning point)
· Union (William Rosecrans) pursued Bragg’s retreating Confederate force (unwise) -> Battle of Chattanooga (Nov. 23-25), Union drove Confederate back to Georgia
o control of the Tennessee River
(The Last Stage, 1864-1865)
· beginning of 1864 – Ulysses S. Grant = general in chief of Union armies -> believed in materials -> planned in 1864 for two great offensive -> Army of the Potomac advanced to Richmond -> forced Lee into battle
· Georgia, under William T. Sherman advanced east toward Atlanta and destroyed remaining confederate force (Joseph E. Johnston)
· Lee – Battle of the Wilderness (May 5-7, 1864) -> Grant marched to Richmond and met Lee -> Battle of Spotsylvania -> Lee kept his army between Grant and the Confederate capital -> encounter once more in northeast of Richmond, Cold Harbor
· Grant moved to east of Richmond, headed south toward the railroad center at Petersburg (can cut off the capital’s communications with rest of the Confederacy) -> Lee came to defend -> battle prolonged
· Georgia: Sherman advanced easily -> Johnston tried to delay Sherman
o fought only one real battle – Kennesaw Mountain
o - >Johnston (Davis prompted to replace him with John B. Hood) lost Atlanta to Sherman
· Hood tried to kick Sherman out of Atlanta but unsuccessful -> Sherman sent Union troops to reinforce Nashville -> Northern forces destroyed South’s remaining army
· Sherman left Atlanta, “March to the Sea” : deprive South of war materials and railroad communication, break the will of people by burning towns and plantations along the route
o reached Savannah (Dec. 20)
· Grant’s army in Potomac captured a vital railroad junction southwest of the town -> Lee informed Confederate he can no longer defend Richmond -> Jefferson Davis, his cabinet, and as much of the white population fled through transportation
o mobs, setting fire
o next day Northern forces entered Richmond (capital)
· Abraham Lincoln entered Confederate capital
o black people cheered for him
· Lee began moving west to find a way around Union forces to join with Johnston in NC -> Union pursued after him
· Lee appointed Grant to meet in a private home -> April 9 surrendered -> 9 days later Durham, NC, Johnston surrendered to Sherman
· Jefferson Davis captured in Georgia
