Dangers of War New technology was more accurate

Dangers of War • New technology was more accurate – Led to increased death due to poor tactics • Medical care was lacking – Amputations were performed to prevent infection – Tents and tools weren’t often cleaned well – Infection and disease were up to 40% of all deaths • Prisoners of war were kept in horrible prison camps – Huge numbers died in both North and South

Draft Laws • In North and South, they began running out of soldiers – Fewer volunteers as war went on – Many deserters—soldiers who ran away • Both sides began a draft, required men between certain ages to join the army • Northerners rioted due to the $300 waiver you could pay – Lincoln suspended habeus corpus to arrest rioters • Southerners disliked that Plantation owners were given exemptions

New Goals for the North • War did not start off with the goal to end slavery. – Lincoln wanted to save the Union – He needed to handle the slavery issue gently for border states to accept (still had slavery). – If they shifted sides, it would mean more resources for the South. • By 1862 he felt he needed to broaden the goals in order to save the Union.

Emancipation Proclamation • In January 1863, Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation • It declared that the Union Army would free slaves in rebellious territory – Only affected states in the Confederacy • Targeted slavery because of its importance to the Southern economy – Lincoln realized that freeing slaves would cripple the cotton industry

Effects of Emancipation • Making slavery a focus of the war won respect from Europe – Made it less likely that they would trade as much with the Confederacy • African-Americans now allowed to join the army – Previously banned from doing so until 1862 • Slaves in the South begin to resist work more to weaken the economy and war effort – Hear about the Proclamation through a series of northern spies

African-Americans in the Union Army • African-Americans begin to join the Union army in large numbers starting in 1862 – Over 200, 000 serve by the end of the war – About 40, 000 died serving in the army • Originally were used as labor – Did not fight in combat until 1863 • Served in all black units – Only white soldiers were allowed to be in command of units

Inequality in the Army • African-American soldiers were originally paid much less than white soldiers – Monthly pay $7 compared to $16 for whites – Equal pay was granted in 1864 • Black soldiers were more than twice as likely to die from disease or illness – Not given the same medical care • Some inequality was erased due to the acts of units like the Massachusetts 54 th – First black regiment in the war, over 50% died in a raid on Fort Wagner in South Carolina

Blacks behind Confederate Lines • Some African-Americans served as spies for the Union – Snuck into plantations to inform about the Emancipation Proclamation • Slaves would flee after the Union army came into an area – Over 25% of slaves in the South ran away in the war • Other slaves began to act in ways to slow the war effort – Breaking tools, destroying crops, etc.

Women in the War • Women began to volunteer as nurses in North and South – More nurses allowed for better medical care and fewer deaths – Clara Barton served as a nurse and later created the American Red Cross – Many modern ideas from nurses, like triage • Some women dressed as men to join the army • Other women began to work in factories and fields to ensure enough supplies for the army

Turning Points: Vicksburg • Vicksburg was the last major defense of the Confederacy on the Mississippi River • From May to July of 1863, General Grant laid siege to the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi – Cut off supplies in to and out of the city – “Sappers” dug into hills to cause building collapses • The town runs out of supplies and is forced to surrender – Gives the Union full control of the Mississippi River

Turning Points: Gettysburg • As the Vicksburg siege was ending, Lee was attacking in the East • The new Union General Meade had his army make a stand at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania • Meade’s men were positioned on hills around the town – Allowed them to repel charges • Lee is forced to retreat after three days and over 51, 000 dead or wounded – Meade does not pursue Lee’s retreating army

Fallout • The Union controlled the whole Mississippi River – Cut off Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas from aiding the armies in the East • Lincoln fires Meade as the head of the Army of the Potomac – Places Grant in charge of the whole Union Army, east and west • Grant convinces Lincoln to approve a plan for “total war” – Attempt to win the war by destroying anything and everything potentially useful to the South