Civil War Flashcards
1860 Confederacy Forms
Electing Jefferson Davis
South Carolina is the first to leave
Lincoln wins election, last straw for Confederacy since they saw him as an abolitionist
Felt that the federal government stripped South of their rights and punished them.
North Advantages
Population
Industry - manufacturing for war
Railroads - transportation for cannons and weapons
South Advantages
Home Soil
Cause - confederacy, why they separated
Leadership - generals, Robert E Lee
England Involvement
South wants England to come and help fight with military -> England waits its out to see if the South is worth it
Sells goods to the south for war
Fort Sumter
First shots fired
When SC leaves, SC wants union troops at fort out
Confederacy wants harbor for trade with England
South General Beauregard asks Union Major Anderson to leave fort, threatens to bomb
Confederacy bombs Sumter for 24 hours but no one died
North surrenders and South lets them go
First Bull Run
first battle of civil war - planned
Manassas Virginia
Union strategy is to control the railroad and move on to Richmond (thought it would end war)
Morning phase - union winning
Afternoon phase - battle turned in favor of the south because of Stonewall Jackson and the railroads helped south win
North retreated back to DC in humiliation and Lincoln fired McDowell
Anaconda Plan
Squeeze the South!
1. Blockade all the parts in the South
2. Control the major rivers
3. Take Richmond
Fort Donelson and Henry
Grant takes Fort Donelson on the Cumberland river and Fort Henry on the Tennessee River
Rivers under Union control, want Mississippi river next
Battle of Shiloh
Pittsburg Landing Tennessee
Grant waits for Union General Don Carlos Buell’s Army to invade MS
Didn’t know Confederates were there, Union wasn’t doing anything + unprepared
Shiloh Day 1
Heavy area of fighting called the Hornet’s nest, Heavy casualties on both sides, leader Albert S Johnston dies
Union is stuck with river behind them, can’t surrender
Bueller arrived at night with 50k men
Shiloh Day 2
no winner, shiloh stalemate - no surrender on either side
Grant believed you had to punish the South to win
7 days battle for Richmond
General McClellan finally moves
first battle: Confederate General Joseph E Johnston injured so Robert E Lee takes command
Lee won 6/7 days and attacked McClellan, surprised them
Leaves McClellan on defensive side
McClellan gets fired
John Pope new Union General
Emancipation Proclamation
Frees the slaves
Lincoln shifted the topic of the war to make it about slavery
guarantees that the British won’t come and help the South since the war was made a slavery issue (British wouldn’t fight a war for slavery)
Union mad since it isn’t about slavery, don’t want black soldiers, still prejudiced
Lincoln needs a victory to issue it
Jomini Strategy
- mass your men to take position
- hold your position at goal until they retreat/surrender
- reinforce + resupply -> next point of attack (takes days, weeks)
McClellan supported, thought it minimizes casualties
Robert E Lee didn’t use this, invented new style of fighting and split his men up
Second Bull Run
Union Strategy: take the railroad link at Manassas, VA (same as first BR strategy)
Pope will attack Lee offensively, Union later becomes defensive with twice the casualties
Lee attacked Pope and sensed his hesitation
Pope denoted to Minnesota territory
Lincoln brings McClellan back since soldiers liked him and was familiar with the army
Battle of Antietam
Sharpsburg, Maryland (neutral state)
McClellan received a cigarette wrapper of the Confederate plans from one of his men and ignores it
one day battle - 3 parts: morning, midday, afternoon
McClellan didn’t attack Lee’s army knowing he was not at full force
At the end of the battle, Lee’s army retreats and McClellan doesn’t order an attack
Lincoln calls it a victory and issues EP
Lincoln and McClellan confusion
Lincoln doesn’t understand why McClellan let Lee retreat, fires McClellan for the last time
McClellan wasn’t looking for total victory and wasn’t as aggressive as Lee, he wanted minimal casualties
Battle of Fredericksburg
In Virginia, Mayre’s Heights
Confederates have higher ground on hills; advantage
Union Army led by General Burnside on flat land
Union Strategy is to railroad link at Fredericksburg and move on to Richmond (similar to bull run)
Burnside orders 14 charges, none of them make it to hills
Most confederates survive 10k union casualties
Burnside fired
Chancellorsville
Fighting Joe Hooker new union general
Union strategy is to attack Lee at farm house
Union army waits for orders but Hooker is still figuring out what to do, Lee already knows where Hooker is
Lee’s Masterpiece: he divided his army and attacked Hooker’s army making them defensive, Hooker gets a concussion and wouldn’t let go of command
Stonewall Jackson gets shot from friendly fire and will die (major loss for confederates)
Hooker fired
54th Massachusetts Regiment
All black regiment placed in Charleston, SC
Battle of Fort Wagner - Tries to take Charleston Harbor
Confederate momentum going into Gettysburg
Rode wave of momentum from Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville victories. Confederates have sky-high confidence and want a win on Union soil to win the war and make North collapse since there are already lots of anti-war protests and riots.
Gettysburg Day 1
Setup day
Union calvary commanders take hills (little round top and culp)
Confederates thought the union retreated since they went on the hills before they got there.
Longstreet wants them to back up and get them off the hills, Lee is too confident and doesn’t listen
Gettysburg Day 2
Lee attacks little round top; wants to get cannons on the hills to bomb Cemetary Ridge (union base) and force them to pull back
Chamberlain’s Charge: Union run down hills with bayonets after running out of ammunition and chases Confederates off the hills. Saves hill
Gettysburg Day 3
Pickett’s Charge
Pickett has Jomini-like strategy, Longstreet doesn’t like it and wants to pull back again.
Confederates go straight towards Union base on flat land.
Confederates pull back and retreat with many casualties, Meade never attacked again for complete victory (similar to Antietam)