The Civil War Begins The First Modern War

The First Modern War � Large Armies � North replaced soldiers quickly due to larger population � Civilians (Volunteers) � Railroads and the telegraph made communication and troop/supply movement easier � Mass casualties � Attrition- the wearing down of one side by the other through exhaustion of soldiers and resources

Military Technology � Conoidal (Cone shaped) bullets for rifles � Provided greater range and accuracy � Enemy lines were charged with confidence

Southern Strategy �Jefferson Davis avoided large battles and worried about heavy losses early in the war � Picked battles carefully and often retreated if necessary � Wanted a defensive war of attrition �Angered many Southerners who felt they were superior fighters

Northern Strategy � Winfield Scott- General in Chief of the U. S. � The Anaconda Plan- Blockade Confederate ports and send gunboats down the Mississippi River to divide the Confederacy � Why the Anaconda Plan? � Reaction � Plan would take time � South would slowly run out of resources and surrender � Least amount of bloodshed

First Battle of Bull Run �Bull Run River; Manassas Junction, VA �First major land battle �Lincoln’s goal was to make quick work of the Confederate Troops creating an easy path to Richmond �Union led by General Irvin Mc. Dowell �Confederacy led by General P. G. T. Beauregard

First Battle of Bull Run � Confederate Colonel Thomas Jackson makes impressive stands against the Union � Earns nickname “Stonewall” Outcome of the Battle � Elaborate Union plan was too complicated and backfired � Confederate reinforcements arrived by rail and sent the Union army into a retreat � Large amounts of onlookers came from Washington to watch the battle � Confederacy victorious � Convinced Lincoln the war would be long and costly war

Effects of Bull Run �Lincoln signs a new bill calling for the enlistment of 500, 000 men for a three year time period �Both sides forced to use conscription � South calls for all white men between the ages of 18 and 35 to fight � Government officials, teachers, and planters with more than 20 slaves are exempt � North offered a bounty (bonus money) to those who promised to serve three years � Congress passed the Militia Act in 1862 and a national draft in 1863 to raise military participation

The War at Sea � Lincoln intended to hurt the South’s economy but cutting off its trade with the rest of the world � South used blockade runners- small, fast ships used to smuggle some goods past enemy lines �Confederate warships Alabama and Florida worked out of foreign ports � This strained the relationship with the U. S. and Britain � U. S. demanded payment for loses

The Battle of New Orleans �David G. Farragut � Leads 42 warships and 15, 000 soldiers � Begin bombarding Confederate forts on lower Mississippi � Making no headway he decides to put his fleet in a single file and push upriver �Risky move due to vulnerability � Remarkably all but 4 ships survived � Farragut took control of New Orleans �Largest city in the South �Center of cotton trade

The War in the West �Union General Ulysses S. Grant � Took control of the Tennessee River and Cumberland River giving the Union a route deep into Confederate territory

The Battle of Shiloh � 40, 000 Confederate soldiers led by Albert Sidney Johnston lead a surprise attack near a church called Shiloh �Johnston is among casualties on first day and Beauregard takes over �Day 2 Union reinforcements outnumber Confederacy by 10, 000 �The bloodiest battle in American history at the time � 23, 000 casualties

The War in the East �Union General George B. Mc. Clellan � Led a campaign to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond, VA � Battle of Yorktown �Warwick River; Yorktown, VA � 30 day siege forced Confederates to retreat toward Williamsburg, VA

The War in the East �Confederate General Robert E. Lee � Attacked Mc. Clellan’s army at Seven Days’ Battles � Did not win a decisive victory but inflicted heavy casualties and Mc. Clellan retreated �Battle of Antietam � South wanted to win on northern soil � A victory would gain British recognition � Northern farms could feed southern army � Decisive Union victory that became known as the bloodiest single day battle in American history � 6, 000 killed and 17, 000 wounded

Emancipation Proclamation �Abraham Lincoln �September 22, 1862 �Freed all slaves in states of rebellion after January 1, 1863 �Slaves remained property of owner in Union states �Transformed the conflict from a war to preserve the Union to a war of liberation.