American Civil War 1861-1865 Flashcards
Civil War was a bloodbath
Almost as many American died in the civil war as did in all the other wars America has been involved in
Battle of Antietam
17 September 1862
22,200 deaths in 1 day
Bloodiest day in American history - eclipsed the death total
620,000 deaths altogether
Number reported since early 20thC
Could have been many more
Affected civilians
First war with major battles involving 100,000 soldiers
Moved along railroads/needed weapons
The first total war
Armies were sustained by civilians
The civil war transformed
The society as a whole
Myths applied to the war based on
Nobility
Honour
Tragedy
Ironic “romanticisation of war” myth
Destructive and bloody
People died in brutal ways
Cultural shame
War commemoration
Nation state becoming an enterprise
General in battle, idea of displaying the best of the war
Challenges the true view of the war
“Both sides are celebrated” myth
Modernism
Vehicle for the industrial world triumphing over agricultural world
South as the noble loser, north as the winner of a tragedy
“Southerners still had power in government” myth
Lincoln didn’t want to intervene with slavery
Slavery would have died out without the war
Historical inevitability
Key problem for the north
Wanted to save the union
Mission was freeing the slaves
Did not want to go to war to free slaves
Both armies were a
Volunteer force
Had some support from the drafted army
Incompetent generals commanding the union army
Ulysses S. Grant changed this
Made president later
Southern generals better than northern
General Robert E. Lee commanded southern army
Was a slaveholder, not clear whether he opposed slavery
The Generals all knew each other
Had fought in the Mexican-American war
Would send messages across the battlefield to each other
Initially the south did well
Battle of Bull Run first victory
Close to Washington D.C.
People went to watch it
Northern forces failed
South won some battles in 1862
However, many casualties
North won the decisive Antietam battle
Bloodbath was intense
Lincoln had to consider a different approach
Southern commitment faltered
Southern society broke down
Cost of the slaughter affected southern society
Southern leadership knew they couldn’t hold out
Attempted to invade the north
Lost their advantage
175,000 southerners died
97,000 died in the first 8 battles
General also died or were wounded
South seceded to ensure the rights of
Individual states
Meant there was no solidarity
Difficult to organise
Slavery began to collapse
Breakdown of the plantation
Slaves supported the north
Increase in runaways/insubordination
1 in 7 slaves fled to the union forces
When the north’s army passed the plantations
Wanted to help in anyway, assisted in road building
Ending slavery was not the goal of the war
Abolition of slavery could sabotage the economy of the south
The military leaders were ahead of political leaders
Southern states were captured and returned to the union
Lincoln returned slaves to slaveholders despite the military freeing them
Lincoln was concerned with the border states (still supported the north but held slaves)
Slaves working for the army
Were considered free in 1861
1862 banned
The runaway slave laws
Slavery in the new territories
Freed slaves in Washington D.C.
Emancipation proclamation 1863
Lincoln declared slaves were free in states that had been conquered by the Union
