Chapter 14: The Civil War 1861-1865 Flashcards
Fort Sumter
A fort held by U.S. troops in Charleston, South Carolinan harbor
~It was cut off from vital supplies and reinforcements by Southern control of the harbor
~Lincoln announced that he was sending provisions of food to the small federal garrison
~Southern guns thundered their reply and the war began
~The attack and capture of Fort Sumter united most Northerners to try and save the Union
Suspension of Habeas Corpus
Lincoln did this after the attack on Fort Sumter in 1861
~Only in border states
Martial Law
the rule over a specific region by the military in emergency cases
~ie. Civil War: Maryland pro-secessionists attacked Union troops and threatened the railroad in Washington
Jefferson Davis
President of the Confederate States of America
~Tried to increase executive powers during the war
First Battle of Bull Run
First major battle of the Civil War, July 1861
~30,000 federal troops marched from Washington D.C. to attack Confederate forces positioned near Bull Run Creek at Manassas Junction, Virginia
~Just as the Union forces seemed close to victory, Confederate reinforcements under General Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson counterattacked and sent Union troops fleeing back to Washington D.C.
~Ended illusion of a short war and created myth that the rebels were invincible
General Robert E. Lee
The Confederate General during the Civil War
~Was the General for the South’s eastern forces
~Star General of the South
General George McClellan
Commander of the Union army in the East for a short amount of time
~After 5 months, he was replaced by General John Pope
Second Battle of Bull Run
Lee took advantage of the change in Union Generals to strike quickly at Pope’s army in Northern Virginia
~He drew Pope into a trap, then struck the enemy’s flank
~Sent the Union army back to Bull Run
~Pope withdrew to the defenses of Washington
Antietam
Following his victory at Bull Run, Lee led his army across the Potomac into enemy territory in Maryland
~McClellan knew the Confederate Plan (he was reinstated)
~The Union army intercepted the invading Confederates at Antietam Creek in Sharpsburg, Maryland
~The single bloodiest day of combat in the entire war took place
~Over 22,000 men were either killed or wounded
~Unable to break through Union lines, Lee’s army retreated to Virginia
~Decisive because it kept Confederates from what they desperately needed
~McClellan removed for the final time
Fredericksburg
Replacing McClellan was a more aggressive general, General Ambrose Burnside
~A large Union army under Burnside attacked Lee’s army at Fredericksburg, Virginia and suffered immense losses
~12,000 Union:5,000 Confederates
Monitor vs Merrimac
McClellan’s Peninsula campaign; the North’s blockade strategy was place in jeopardy by Confederate ironclad ship, the Merrimac (a former Union ship, rebuilt and renamed it, the Virginia) that could attack and sink the Union’s wooden ships almost at will
~The Union navy countered with an ironclad of its own, the Monitor, which fought a five hour duel with the Virginia near Hampton Roads, Virginia
~Ended as a draw
~Stopped the Southern weapon from seriously challenging the US naval blockade
Fredericksburg
Replacing McClellan was a more aggressive general, General Ambrose Burnside
~A large Union army under Burnside attacked Lee’s army at Fredericksburg, Virginia and suffered immense losses
~12,000 Union:5,000 Confederates
Monitor vs Merrimac
McClellan’s Peninsula campaign; the North’s blockade strategy was place in jeopardy by Confederate ironclad ship, the Merrimac (a former Union ship, rebuilt and renamed it, the Virginia) that could attack and sink the Union’s wooden ships almost at will
~The Union navy countered with an ironclad of its own, the Monitor, which fought a five hour duel with the Virginia near Hampton Roads, Virginia
~Ended as a draw
~Stopped the Southern weapon from seriously challenging the US naval blockade
General Ulysses S. Grant
West Point graduate and General for the Union army
~Captured Fort Henry and Fort Donelson
~14,000 Confederates taken prisoner
~Confederates under Albert Johnston surprised Grant at Shiloh, Tennessee, Union army held its ground and forced Confederates to retreat after losses on both sides
Stephan Douglas
Senator from Illinois who devised a plan for building a railroad to promote Western settlement
~Kansas-Nebraska Act
Trent Affair
Confederate diplomats, James Mason and John Slidell were traveling to England on a British steamer, the Trent, on a mission to gain recognition for their government
~A Union warship stopped the ship, removed Mason and Slidell and brought them to the US as prisoners of war
~British demanded the release of the diplomats and Lincoln gave into the demand
~Mason and Slidell still unable to gain support from either Britain and France
Confiscation Acts (1861 & 1862)
Early in the war, Union General Benjamin Butler refused to return captured slaves to their Confederate owners, arguing that they were “contraband of war”
~Confiscation Act of 1861: The power to seize enemy property used to wage war against the United States
~Soon after thousands of “contrabands” were escaping slavery by finding their way to Union camps
~Confiscation Act of 1862: Freed the slaves of persons engaged in rebellion against the United States
~Also empowered the president to use freed slaves in the Union army in any capacity
Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
Lincoln had already decided to use his powers as commander-in-chief of the armed forces to free all slaves in the states then at war with the United States
~Justified his policy as a “military necessity”
~Delayed announcement of the policy until he could win the support of Conservative Northerners
~Encouraged border states to come up with plans of emancipation of slavery with compensation to the owners
~After the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln issued a warning that slaves in all states still in rebellion
~”Then, thenceforward, and forever free”
~Did not immediately free a single slave
~It did commit the US government to abolition of slavery in the South
13th Amendment
Amendment that abolished slavery/involuntary servitude, except for punishment for a convicted crime
Massachusetts 54th Regiment
All black regiment (free black men) fighting in the Union’s army
~Won respect from white Union soldiers
~Became known as the Army of Freedom
Vicksburg
Union artillery bombarded Vicksburg, Mississippi for seven weeks before the Confederates finally surrendered the city
~And nearly 29,000 soldiers
Gettysburg
Confederate army surprised Union units at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
~Bloodiest battle of the war with over 50,000 casualties
~Most crucial battle of the war
~Lee’s assault on Union lines and Pickett’s charge proved futile and destroyed a large part of the Confederate army
~What was left of Lee’s army retreated to Virginia
War of Attrition
Grant’s approach to ending the war
~Basically outlast Lee in a War of Attrition
“Total War”
Modern style of war
~War against civilians as well as soldiers
Sherman’s March
Leading a force of 100,000 men, Sherman set out from Chattanooga, Tennessee on a campaign of deliberate destruction that went clear across the State of Georgia and swept North into South Carolina
~Sherman’s troops destroyed everything in their path: burned cotton fields, barns and houses-everything the enemy could use to survive
~Sherman took Atlanta in 1864: marched into Savannah in December, set fire to Columbia, South Carolina in February 1865
~Had its intended effect: helping to break the will of the Confederacy and its will to fight on
~Pioneer into the tactics of “total war”: modern day war
Appomattox
Lee’s forced surrender by Grant at Appomattox Courthouse
~Lee tried to escape into the mountains with 30,000 men
~Grant treated his longtime enemy with respect and allowed Lee’s men to return to their homes with their horses
John Wilkes Booth
Lincoln’s assassin
~April 14th, he, an embittered actor and Southern sympathizer shot and killed Lincoln while he was attending a performance in Ford’s theater in Washington
Ex Parte Milligan (1866)
The Supreme Court ruled that the government had acted improperly in Indiana
~During the war, certain civilians had been subject to a military trial
~Court declared that such procedures could be used only when regular civilian courts were unavailable
Conscription Act (1863)
Made all men between the ages of 20-45 liable for military service
~Allowed a draftee to avoid service finding a substitute to serve or paying a $300 exemption fee
~Provoked fierce opposition among poorer laborers, who feared that-if and when they returned to civilian life-their jobs would be taken by free blacks
~Incited the New York City Draft Riots
New York City Draft Riots (1863)
Riots against the Conscription Act in New York City
~A mostly Irish American mob attacked blacks and wealthy whites
~117 people were killed before federal troops arrived and a temporary suspension of the draft restored order
Homestead Act (1862)
Promoted settlement of the Great Plains by offering parcels of 160 acres of public land free to whatever person/family would farm that land for at least 5 years
Morrill Land Grant Act (1862)
Encouraged states to use the sale of federal land grants to maintained agricultural and technical colleges
The Pacific Railway Act (1862)
Authorized the building of a transcontinental railroad over a northern route in order to link the economies of the Western Territories with the Eastern States
