THE CIVIL WAR

By Adrienne Ducato and Katherine Metcalf

 STRENGTHS OF THE CONFEDERACY

• The Confederates felt superior in comparison to that of the Union. Since they
felt this dedication and excitement toward the possibility of winning the war,
this helped them to move on and advance as far as they did. This “Southern
confidence” pushed the Confederates on.
• There were more people in the Confederacy that attended West Point or
other military academies than from the North. In addition, many of those from
the South served as army officers and had experience using firearms and
horses.
(“Prospects for Victory”)
 STRENGTHS OF THE UNION

• The Union had a greater population compared to that of the Confederacy. The
Union had 22.5 million people, while the Confederate’s had 9 million, including
3.7 which were slaves.
• The Union also had a more developed railroad system, more industrial
workers, and a stronger manufacturer base.
• The North had 1.3 million industrial workers, while the South only had
110,000 workers.
• Northern factories overall manufactured way more products than those of the
South did. The North had 9 times as many industrial goods, 17 times as many
cotton and woolen goods, 13 times as many boots and shoes, 20 times as much
pig iron, 24 times as many railroad locomotives, and 33 times as many firearms.
This is due in part to the Northern states focusing more on industrialization,
while the Southern states main emphasis was on agriculture and producing
crops.
(”Prospects for Victory”)
WEAKNESSES OF THE CONFEDERACY

• The Confederacy did not have as many people living in these Southern states
as did those in the North (9 million vs. 22.5 million). (“Prospects for Victory”)
• Unlike the Confederacy, the Union had the aid of the central government.
(“Pressure for Emancipation”)
• The Confederate President, Jefferson Davis was a far less effective Chief
Executive than Abraham Lincoln. Davis had poor health, could not delegate
authority, and failed to inspire confidence in his people. This was a major aspect
that led to the overall decline and loss of the Confederation in the Civil War.
(“Establishing the Confederacy”)
 WEAKNESSES OF THE UNION

• For the Union to ultimately win the war, they would have to conquer all the
land of the South, which was 750,000 square miles of territory.
• Most nations that had fought for independence before the Civil War had won,
and therefore it was a well-known notion or hypothesis that the Union was
likely to fail and lose this war.
(“Prospects for Victory”)
 BATTLES OF THE BULL RUN

• The Battle of the Bull Run in 1861 was the very first battle of the Civil War.
Both armies were poorly trained from containing strictly volunteers. The
armies had clashed in Northern Virginia. The Union armies had launched
several attacks, with the Confederate’s striking back. The Union retreated as
panic filled their troops, but the Confederacy did not pursue this retreat. For
those reasons, no clear side had won this first battle. (“Bull Run”)
• In 1862, after the Seven Days’ War, the Second Battle of the Bull Run took
place. In the end, this particular fight gave the entire Confederacy almost
complete control of Virginia. (“The Eastern Theater”)
 ANACONDA PLAN

• There were three distinct theaters that the Union wanted to divide the
Confederacy into. There was the far western theater, which was west of the
Mississippi River, the western theater, which contained the area between the
Mississippi and the Appalachians, and the eastern theater in Virginia. The
purpose of this was to cut off cotton exports and prevent the import of
manufactured goods. This plan by the Union was successful in that the victories
in the western theater had crushed the hope for Confederate independence.
(“Anaconda Plan”)
• Union forces located in the east were attempting to take control over the
Confederate capital of Richmond, while the Union forces in the west were
trying to capture the Mississippi River. In the western theater, two forts (Fort
Donelson and Fort Henry) were built, which blocked the Union’s path to the
Mississippi. Ulysses S. Grant was responsible for the capturing of Fort Henry
and later Fort Donelson, which forced the opposing Confederate troops to
surrender. Grant then proceeded south along the Tennessee River, when a
Confederate force attempted to surprise Grant before other Union forces
were able to meet him at the Battle of Shiloh. After two days Grant had
successfully pushed back the Southern forces and the Union now controlled
the Mississippi River as far south as Memphis, Tennessee. (“War in the West”)
 EASTERN THEATER

• The Northern states had attacked New Orleans, Louisiana from the north and
the south. The city was ultimately captured because of this in 1862. This was
the most important port for the South. Losing this, along with most of
Tennessee and the Mississippi Valley, the Confederacy was ready to evacuate
their capitol.
• There were major military defeats on the Confederate side in Arkansas,
Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
• Robert E. Lee began commanding the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.
He depended upon General Jackson to launch numerous attacks from the
Shenandoah Valley to prevent Union forces from directing their focus on
Richmond. A series of encounters led to the Seven Days’ Battles. Both Lee
and Jackson manipulated McClellan, the Union general, into thinking that his
troops were outnumbered. Therefore, he retreated back to the James River.
(“The Eastern Theater”)
 NATIVE AMERICAN CONFLICTS

• Since the Indian nations had supported the Confederacy during the Civil War,
once the Union members were victorious, the Native Americans were
punished. These punishments were selling reservations for cheap prices, giving
up half their territory in Oklahoma for a combination of many tribes to own a
reservation, and most importantly, all Native American land was allowed to be
used for railroads to be built on. (“Native Americans and The Civil War”)
• There were many conflicts between the Native Americans and the Union
during the Civil War. In particular, Union General John Pope was appointed by
President Lincoln to control the Native American uprising. However, Pope
regarded the Sioux Tribe not as people, but rather as uncivilized beasts.
Eventually, in 1862 when the Sioux had surrendered, 1,800 become prisoners
of war and 303 were condemned to death. (“War Within a War”) (“Conflict
with Native Americans During the Civil War”)
 BATTLE OF ANTIETAM

• In the past of the United States, foreign aid was a huge help in the victory for
their independence. The Confederacy sought out foreign assistance to win a
major battle against the Union, but were unsuccessful in gaining any.
• In 1862, Robert E. Lee of the Confederacy attacked Maryland. Unfortunately,
his battle plan found its way into the hands of Union General McClellan. This
proved disastrous for the Confederacy, when McClellan forces attacked Lee
and his troops at Antietam Creek in Maryland.
• This was the single bloodiest day of the entire Civil War.
• There were 11,000 casualties for the Confederacy and 13,000 for the Union.
• Lee retreated, which resulted in a victory for the Union.
• Again, the Union did not effectively pursuit the Confederates and therefore did
not successfully defeat Lee’s army.
(“Antietam”)
 CONFEDERACY BEGINS TO FALL

• Most of the fighting was taking place in the South, which of course proved that
the Union was advancing.
• The railroads in the South were deteriorating, and shortages of certain
necessities such as food, began quite common.
• Confederate leaders did not want to raise taxes to support the war. They
instead sold bonds, and printed money without having it backed up by gold or
silver which caused inflation.
• Therefore, prices increased dramatically. For example, a barrel a flour cost
$275.
• The “Southern Confidence” that was present at the beginning of the war
slowly began to lessen as battles on the home front were lost.
(“The Confederacy Begins to Collapse”)
 FORT WAGNER
• In 1863, the Union decided to enlist African American males to join the white men
in the army.
• Three-fifths of all black troops were former slaves.
• They thought that by participating in the war, they would be less likely to still be
slaves after the war had ended.
(“Blacks in Blue”)
• With hearing of African Americans now joining the Union, the Confederacy
threatened to execute or sell into slavery any captured black Union soldiers.
Lincoln responded with stating that he would retaliate against Confederate forces if
they carried out those actions.
• The 54th Massachusetts Infantry, which was the first black regiment that was
created in the North, led an attack against Fort Wagner in South Carolina.
• 40% of the regiment died during this battle, while also being unsuccessful in the
claiming a victory.
(“Fort Wagner”)
• Overall, the African Americans were still looked on and treated as less superior
than the white soldiers that they were fighting alongside. They received less
adequate health care, older food, less desired jobs, and even fewer pay.
(“The Battle Against Discrimination”)
 GETTYSBURG

• In December of 1862, Union General Ambrose Burnside attacked Confederate

troops at Fredericksburg,Virginia. There were 6 frontal assaults on the
Confederates. The Union suffered 13,000 casualties, which was twice as many as
Lee’s. This overall had a negative effect on the confidence of the North.
• At the battle of Chancellorsville, the Confederates defeated the Union, with the
high cost of the beloved Confederate Stonewall Jackson dying.
• Lee then drove into Pennsylvania, thinking that Union forces were still in Virginia.
When he realized that they were closer than he thought, he ordered his forces to
meet at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Although he ordered no one to engage in battle, a
Confederate troop ran into a Union regiment, and the largest battle in the Western
Hemisphere broke out.
(“Towards Gettysburg”)
• On July 1st, 1863, Lee and his 75,000 troops along with Maede and his 90,000 Union
troops arrived at Gettysburg. The Union had a well fortified defensive position
allowing the Northern lines to hold firm. The Confederacy in the end had a
disastrous defeat with 25,000 Confederates killed, wounded, or missing in action.
Lee was never able to mount a major offense again.
(“The Battle of Gettysburg”)
 VICKSBURG

• A major turning point in the Civil War took place between July 1st and July 4th
1863.
• Union troops led by Ulysses S. Grant had begun attempting to capture
Vicksburg, Mississippi in mid-May. With the Confederates owning this city, they
were able to control river traffic between Memphis and New Orleans.
Vicksburg was surrendered a day after Lee had lost at Gettysburg. Union
forces captured Port Hudson, Louisiana five days later.
• The North now had complete control of the Mississippi River and kept
Confederate territory west of the Mississippi isolated.
• These major defeats significantly decreased the Southern morale that was
excessively present at the beginning of the Civil War.
(“Vicksburg”)
 APPOMATTOX

• In March of 1864, Ulysses S. Grant gained control of all the Union armies. He
vowed to end the war within a year by setting into place 3 major offenses.
They were set to attack farmland in Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, seize Atlanta,
and capture Richmond.
• On both sides there were heavy casualties.
(“Grant Takes Command”)
• Confederate forces evacuated Richmond and and Petersburg. Lee and his men
went westward, but were trapped by Grant and his Union forces.
• Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House in Virginia in April of 1865. This
was due in part to the decrease in the number of men that the Confederates
had. Ending with 35,000 men, Lee did not see how the Confederates would
advance and become victorious, while the Union had 113,000 soldiers on their
side.
(“A Stillness at Appomattox”)
 AFTERMATH

• The South lost an immense amount of resources including their livestock, farm
machinery, and human property.
• Factories and railroads were destroyed.
• Atlanta, Richmond, Columbia, and Charleston were all burnt to the ground.
• The value of property plunged.
• The South had lost a fourth of their military aged white male population.
(“The War’s Cost”)
 DEADLIEST WAR IN AMERICAN HISTORY
• Although it is not widely known throughout the population, the Civil War was the
deadliest war in American history.
• 600,000 people had died in this war, which is more than World War1 and 2 combined
• There are many reasons as to why this was such a catastrophic event. New and
improved weapons had just been created. Cone-shaped bullets and rifles were now being
used by soldiers. This added spin on a bullet, and allowed for a soldier to hit a target a
quarter of a mile away.
• This was also the first war that soldiers were using repeating riles, which could fire
several shots without having to reload after firing a single bullet, breechloading arms,
which were loaded from the end of the barrel, instead of the front, and automated
weapons.
• Many more soldiers were in each battle than in past wars/conflicts.
(“Why the Civil War Was So Lethal”)
• Union combat deaths were 111,904, 197,388 died of disease, 30,192 in prison, 24,881
died as a result of accidents, and 277,401 soldiers were wounded as a result of the Civil
War.
• Confederate combat deaths were 94,000, 140,000 died of disease, and 195,000 men
were wounded.
• The average regiment lost half of its men from disease during the first year. Disease was
so prominent because of poor sanitation, poor medical practices, and contaminated
water.
(“The Death Toll”)