NORTHERN ADVANTAGES: NORTHERN ADVANTAGES 22 million people Only 9 million in South And 1/3 of them were slaves 4:1 military numerical advantage Huge advantage in industrial capacity Built 453 of 470 locomotives in U.S Manufactured 97% of all firearms State of New York produced twice many manufactured products as the entire South


SOUTHERN ADVANTAGES I: SOUTHERN ADVANTAGES I Easier military job to do To obtain their objective, all the South had to do was turn back invading forces from the North Did not have to conquer one inch of northern territory The North, on the other hand, had to attack and subdue a region as large as Western Europe


SOUTHERN ADVANTAGES II: SOUTHERN ADVANTAGES II Union army only numbered 16,000 men with limited serious combat experience in 1860 Best young officers were from the South and sided with the Confederacy Robert E. Lee, Joseph Johnson, P.T Beauregard Best and brightest young men in the North attracted to business; in the South they were attracted to the army To mobilize the people of the North into a disciplined, well-equipped and well-led fighting machine would be an immense and difficult job Robert E. Lee P.T. Beauregard


SOUTHERN ADVANTAGES III: SOUTHERN ADVANTAGES III No one in Washington knew how many draft-age males lived in the North Department of War had no detailed maps of the topography of the South No standard time or time zones in the U.S. Could be three different “correct” times in some cities Some southerners believed North lacked the courage and determination to win Others believed that war-weariness would eventually divide the North and lead to a peace movement there As was the case with the Viet Nam War in the 1960s/1970s


SOUTHERN ADVANTAGES IV: SOUTHERN ADVANTAGES IV Confederate leaders knew that all the cotton used in northern textile mills and 80% used in Europe came from the South Could devastate northern industry by holding crop off market Could create such economic havoc in Europe that European powers would be forced to recognize an independent Confederacy and sell it manufactured products it needed If north established a naval blockade, England and France would run it and maybe join the South in the war


CASUALTIES: CASUALTIES Bloodiest military conflict in U.S. history 600,000 men died More than combined U.S. casualties in WWI and WWII 7000 men killed, 33,000 wounded, and 11,000 MIA at the Battle of Gettysburg alone One out four young men who put on a uniform between 1861 and 1865 never made it back home


WHY HIGH CASUALTIES? (I): WHY HIGH CASUALTIES? (I) Outmoded military strategy During Mexican War, soldiers use traditional smooth bore muskets Civil War troops had new and deadlier rifles Springfield .58 and Enfield .577 Artillery more accurate and lethal too Made frontal assaults an invitation to slaughter But frontal assaults had worked in the Mexican War, so generals used them over and over in the Civil War too Result was carnage on a massive scale


WHY HIGH CASUALTIES? (II): WHY HIGH CASUALTIES? (II) Germ theory of disease and modern antiseptic techniques had not yet been discovered So infection and death often followed the most minor wounds Overcrowded camps often lacked clean water and proper sanitation facilities Spawning deadly diseases Average regiment lost almost 50% of its fighting strength through disease during its first year in the field For every soldier killed in combat during the war, two more died from infectious disease


PURPOSE OF THE WAR: PURPOSE OF THE WAR War was provoked by the belief that slavery must not spread into new territories But war did not begin as a war to abolish slavery in the South Lincoln’s position was that he had “no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists” Crittenden Resolution Passed by Congress in July 1861 Stated that the war was not waged “for the purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the established institutions of the Southern states, but to maintain the states unimpaired”


THE BORDER STATES: THE BORDER STATES Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and Delaware stood between hardcore South and hardcore North All slave states and contained 5 million people If they joined Confederacy, they would dramatically shift strategic balance in favor of the South It was therefore critical for Lincoln not to antagonize them by pushing the abolitionist issue


Slide11: Abolitionism unpopular in southern Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa Many people there were from the South and had southern racial attitudes They might support a war to preserve the Union but not one to destroy slavery Lincoln therefore downplayed the slavery issue to retain the loyalty of southern northern states and win over the border states


FIRST BATTLE OF BULL RUN: FIRST BATTLE OF BULL RUN North originally estimated that 75,000 men from state militias, signed up for 3 months, would be enough to knock out the South First Battle of Bull Run destroyed that illusion Fought in northern Virginia in July 1861 Union troops panicked under Confederate fire and ran back to Washington without packs and guns Disaster shocked Lincoln into calling for a 500,000 man army, signed up for three years


INDUSTRIAL MOBILIZATION: INDUSTRIAL MOBILIZATION New 500,000 man army needed uniforms, boots, weapons, ammunition, blankets, tents, compasses, and countless other things in quantities far in excess of normal civilian output North did produce these items but only after dramatic changes occurred in industries In terms of increasing firm size, changes in division of labor, increase in degree of mechanization, increase in worker productivity


CONFEDERATE GOVERNMENT: CONFEDERATE GOVERNMENT Responsibility lay with Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Confederate Congress Constitution of Confederacy was different from 1787 Constitution in two ways It made the preservation of slavery a specific aim of government It gave states more rights and limited power of Congress and the president to a greater extent Weakness of central government would hamper the southern war effort


CONFEDERATE MANPOWER PROBLEMS: CONFEDERATE MANPOWER PROBLEMS Although South did not need as many soldiers as the North, its manpower pool was much smaller Had to institute the draft in April 1862 when volunteers began to drop off Many loopholes Many occupations exempted State governments often did not cooperate fully


CONFEDERATE SUPPLY PROBLEMS: CONFEDERATE SUPPLY PROBLEMS South experienced problems is securing enough weapons, equipment, transportation, and food for its army Central government simply not strong enough to procure these supplies and industrial base too small to produce enough Had to rely on smuggled supplies from abroad 80% of ships that ran Union naval blockade between 1861 and 1862 made it through and thereby kept the South adequately supplied


1861-1862: 1861-1862 Most dramatic theater of war was the East Army of Northern Virginia Commanded by Robert E. Lee Army of the Potomac Commanded by George B. McClellan After First Battle of Bull Run Union army repeatedly tried to capture Richmond but failed


MCCLELLAN’S WEAKNESSES: MCCLELLAN’S WEAKNESSES McClellan was excellent organizer but had little aptitude for leading troops in battle A perfectionist Overestimated enemy strength by factor of 2 or 3 No match for Robert E. Lee or Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson Procrastinated for almost a year before trying to march on Richmond


BATTLE OF THE SEVEN DAYS: BATTLE OF THE SEVEN DAYS McClellan finally moves on Richmond under heavy pressure from Lincoln Battle of the Seven Days June 25-July 1, 1862 Near Richmond McClellan inflicts heavy losses on Lee But withdraws back to Washington instead of pushing on to Richmond against outnumbered enemy


ANTIETAM: ANTIETAM Fought ten weeks after Battle of Seven Days Lee goes on offensive by invading western Maryland McClellan corners him at Antietam with a former 50% larger than Lee’s Result was the bloodiest battle in the entire war 21,000 casualties McClellan lets Lee slip away instead of wiping him out Lincoln fires him


AMBROSE BURNSIDE: AMBROSE BURNSIDE McClellan replaced by Ambrose Burnside Demonstrated that foolish boldness could be just as devastating as McClellan’s timid caution Attacked well-fortified town of Fredericksburg December 1862 Sent wave after wave of soldiers against impregnable positions Union casualties exceeded Confederate ones by 3 to 1 No ground was gained


THE WEST: THE WEST Union army held Missouri against invading army from the South General Ulysses S. Grant drove Confederate forces out of Kentucky and Tennessee and heads for Mississippi Almost trapped against the Tennessee River Battle of Shiloh April 1862 Saved by arrival of reinforcements Henry Halleck takes control of Grant’s army Indecisively disperses forces and attack on South loses all momentum


CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS: CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS David Farragut’s fleet captured New Orleans in April 1862 Largest city in the South Closed down Mississippi River for duration of the war Eventually helped to split Confederacy by cutting communication between western states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas and eastern states


EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION: EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION War ultimately transformed conflict into a war against slavery Lincoln issued Emancipation Proclamation in September 1862 Went into effect January 1, 1863 Did not actually eliminate slavery throughout entire U.S. Border states and areas of South already under Union control were exempted Not an entirely meaningless document Meant that every future advance of Union army would free slaves Also gave stronger incentive for slaves to help Union troops and to escape for Union lines


AFRICAN-AMERICAN SOLDIERS: AFRICAN-AMERICAN SOLDIERS Racist sentiments in the North were strong and at first even free blacks were considered unfit for military service But as more Confederate territory fell into Union hands and the Union grew more desperate for manpower, necessity dictated opening up the army to black soldiers Emancipation Proclamation therefore announced black recruits would be welcome in the Union army


HUGE RESPONSE: HUGE RESPONSE By 1865, almost 100,000 blacks had served in the Union army They were not treated particularly well Segregated into black units led by white officers Paid 33% less than white soldiers Some commanders flatly refused to use black troops Others assigned them only to non-combat roles But whenever they were given the chance to fight, they proved to be just as brave as any other soldier


REAL COURAGE: REAL COURAGE It took particular courage for black soldiers to take the field Because of the barbaric treatment they would inevitably receive in case of defeat Confederates refused to exchange black prisoners of war In many cases, they did not take black prisoners at all Preferring to slaughter them on the spot


DRAMATIC SHIFT IN UNION MILITARY POLICY: DRAMATIC SHIFT IN UNION MILITARY POLICY April 1863 Became legitimate to forage for supplies and destroy everything the Union army found in the South Vividly demonstrated by General William T. Sherman’s March Through Georgia Cut a path of destruction 60 miles wide and 300 miles long from Atlanta to the coast Cut supply lines between Lower South and Lee’s army Shattered enemy’s economic system and civilian morale Age of total war began


1863: 1863 After his victory at Chancellorsville (May 1863), Lee invades Pennsylavania Hoping to win great victory on northern soil and demoralize the North Result was the Battle of Gettysburg (early July 1863)


GETTYSBURG: GETTYSBURG At climax of three-day battle, 15,000 Rebel soldiers make a suicidal assault across an open field against massive Union troop and artillery concentrations Pickett’s Charge The few who survived this charge either surrendered or retreated Union commander, George Meade, let remnants of Lee’s army withdraw instead of wiping them out when he had the chance Confederates lost 25,000 men South no longer had capacity to replace them Lee would never again have the men to launch another offensive


1863 IN THE WEST: 1863 IN THE WEST Grant captured Vicksburg (Mississippi) after brutal seven month campaign July 4, 1863 Definitively cut off western Confederate states from the east Grant then successfully repelled Confederate attack on Chattanooga, Tennessee And then Sherman began his “March Through Georgia” Further splitting the Confederacy


ULYSSES S. GRANT: ULYSSES S. GRANT Lincoln appoints Grant as general-in-chief of all Union forces and moves him east Late 1863 Disliked by Easterners because he was not a “gentleman” But he displayed a singleness of purpose and a will to win that none of his predecessors possessed He was just what the North needed


GRANT’S STRATEGY: GRANT’S STRATEGY Realized that the South had lost ability to replace lost men and supplies Could be defeated by just hammering away at its two main armies Sent Sherman to deal with Joseph Johnson’s Army of Tennessee Personally went after Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia


1864: 1864 Grant threw all he had in an assault on Lee in Virginia Paid no attention to the body count Bloody May (1864) Grant and Lee fight a series of bitter engagements Grant suffered 55,000 casualties and Lee suffers 30,000 But Grant had replacements for his fallen men and Lee did not Confederates therefore steadily fell back to the town of Petersburg Where they were besieged by Grant


Slide35: While siege of Petersburg went on for 9 months, Lincoln was re-elected over Democrat George McClellan Lincoln had faced opposition from Democrats who wanted to pull out of war and radicals within his own party who believed that Lincolns plan for the defeated South was too soft But most Americans did not like McClellan and news of Farragut’s capture of Mobile and Sherman’s destruction of Atlanta weakened case of those who wanted to pull out of war


SOUTHERN PROBLEMS: SOUTHERN PROBLEMS South now in big trouble Forced to draft 17 year old boys and 50 year old men Even considered using slave troops Union naval blockade had become effective By 1865, only 50% of ships that tried to run it made it through Running out of food Economic strangulation of Confederacy destroyed troop and civilian morale


THE LAST CHAPTER: THE LAST CHAPTER No grand climatic battle Confederacy simply collapsed In April 1865, Lee’s army was forced to evacuate Petersburg and its escape route was cut off Had shrunk to only 25,000 men Lee surrenders to Grant at Appamattox courthouse on April 9, 1865 Civil War over


FINAL SHOT: FINAL SHOT Lincoln shot in the back of the head by John Wilkes Booth April 14, 1865 Booth pursued into Virginia and trapped and killed in burning barn Nation now had to heal gaping wounds caused by Civil War without Lincoln New president Andrew Johnson of Tennessee would now lead shattered nation into Reconstruction of the South