Civil War Flashcards
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Union Reasons for fighting
Reasons for fighting:
North / U.S. / Union:
Save the Union of the United States!
Some - but only a few - wanted to abolish slavery.
Confederacy reasons for fighting
South / C.S.A. / Confederacy:
Protect Southern Way of Life (specifically: slavery)
Protect states’ rights (The states’ right to what…?
Union Strengths and weaknesses
ADVANTAGE #1: North had a very large fighting population
ADVANTAGE #2: North had major economic power over the South
Result: Union states produced 90% of national manufactured goods
Began producing: guns, cannons, uniforms, bullets, boots & supplies
Result: Union controlled more than 70% of railways in the U.S.
ADVANTAGE #3: North possessed a strong and technologically advanced navy
Result: Confederacy could barely compete with Union ships at sea!
DISADVANTAGE #1: North had major military challenge to overcome
Problem: Union had to invade & conquer a massive amount of territory in the South to force Confederacy to rejoin the Union.
Problem: Essential supply lines from North (Weapons, ammunition, food rations, etc.) would be open to Confederate counterattacks.
Confederacy strengths and weaknesses
ADVANTAGE #1: South fighting on home turf.
Southerners knew the local countryside much better than Union soldiers from the North
Southern troops could use guerrilla warfare tactics against their enemy
ADVANTAGE #2: South has more to lose, and therefore inspiration - they were fighting for their homeland and “way of life.”
Quote: “Our men must prevail in combat or they will lose their property, country, freedom - in short, everything.” - Unnamed Confederate soldier, 1861
DISADVANTAGE #1: South had major economic weaknesses
Problem: Very few factories to mass produce supplies & weapons
Problem: Very few connected railroads to move supplies & troops
DISADVANTAGE #2: South had major government issues
Problem: Confederate constitution favored states’ rights & limited power of the central gov’t
Result: Very difficult to get all 11 states to agree on cohesive strategy
DISADVANTAGE #3: South had a smaller fighting population
Problem: 9 million Southerns vs. 22 million Northerners
Problem: 3 million slaves included in Southern population of 9 million
Abe Lincoln
Pres. of the United states
If they lose the war, it’s game over for Abe’s presidency. he will NOT be a liked president if the Union loses the war.
Jefferson Davis
Robert E. Lee
Union War strategy
Union: Invade, attack & force South to surrender.
Sea: Use navy to blockade all southern ports.
Goal #1: Cut off all supplies coming into South from Europe.
Goal #2: Cut off South’s ability to export cotton.
West: Seize Mississippi River
Goal: End South’s ability to use river to supply troops.
East: Capture Richmond, VA (capital of Confederacy)
Goal: Take control of Confederate government
Confederacy War strategy
Confederacy: Outlast North until they grew tired of war
Alliance: Strategy required money & supplies from Europe
Goal: cheap cotton exports would convince Europeans to lend support
The Anaconda Plan
Union: Invade, attack & force South to surrender.
Sea: Use navy to blockade all southern ports.
Goal #1: Cut off all supplies coming into South from Europe.
Goal #2: Cut off South’s ability to export cotton.
West: Seize Mississippi River
Goal: End South’s ability to use river to supply troops.
East: Capture Richmond, VA (capital of Confederacy)
Goal: Take control of Confederate government
Battle of Hampton roads
March 1862: Battle of Hampton Roads, VA
Confederate Goal: Break Union blockade along the Atlantic coast
Battleship: C.S.S. Virginia
First ironclad
Battleships covered in steel & iron plates
Slow but steam-powered & cannon balls bounced offsides
Obstacle: The union had their ship
Battleship: U.S.S. Monitor
Smaller than C.S.S. Virginia but faster
It had a gun turret that could turn 360 degrees
Result: DRAW
BUT: revolutionized naval warfare - inspired designs for monitors (ships with massive guns) & modern battleships
Battle of Antiedam
September 1862: Battle of Antietam, MD
Confederate Goal: Defeat Union on northern soil & break northern spirit (will to fight)
Commander: General Robert E. Lee
Obstacle: Confederate plans were discovered!
BUT: Union commander (George McClellan) refused to act decisively.
Result: Technically a Northern victory - but really a draw.
Still considered the bloodiest day in U.S. history!
23,000 Union & Confederate soldiers killed in ONE DAY!
Both sides realize that they cannot fight army-to-army in the open
Guns are just too accurate now
Tactics must change (new tactic: digging trenches)
Lincoln fires McClellan for waiting too long to attack Lee
Lincoln uses battle to justify freeing slaves in South!
What were the specific parameters of the law?(Emancipation Proclamation)
that all slaves in the rebel states would be freed
What did Lincoln want to accomplish with the Emancipation Proclamation
His goal was to boost morale and give the North a stronger reason to fight and also weaken the Southern economy
What impact did it have on the war? (Emancipation Proclamation)
It gave the north a reason to continue fighting.
How did African Americans in the Civil War help contribute to the war effort on each side?
The slaves in the South would work on plantations and help the South make income or war materials. Meanwhile, in the north, they would fight in the war.
54th Massachusetts regiment
The first formal request for an all-black squadrant to fight.
Battle of Fort Wagner
Age range of soldiers
20-45
Advanced weapons technology
Weaponry: New weapons technology = 25% of soldiers killed per battle!
Rifles: rifled grooves inside gun barrels = bullets spin tighter & travel straighter
Rifles far more accurate than muskets from Revolutionary War
Bullets: cone-shaped bullets
Much more accurate than musket balls
Cannons: could hurl explosive shells several miles
Gatling Guns: first machine gun = could fire thousands of rounds per minute
Medical treatment
Medical Treatment: disease = main cause of death (more than bullets & guns)!
Germs: Poor sanitary conditions allowed pneumonia & malaria to spread
Amputations: bullet wounds often resulted in the removal of arms & legs
The Battle of Gettysburg
Confederate Goals:
Invade North (2nd attempt) & swing south to capture Washington DC
Commander: General Robert E. Lee
Create panic in North & destroy Union Army defending U.S. capital
Obstacles:
South = fighting in enemy territory with ragtag soldiers
North = pushed out of Gettysburg on Day 1, BUT held onto Cemetery Ridge outside town
Refused to give up.
South = forced to charge across 1000 yards of open ground on Day 3
15,000 Confederates = known as “Gen. Pickett’s Charge”
Result:
Massive Confederate defeat - 40% of soldiers in Pickett’s Charge killed!
South never invades the North again - just a matter of time until CSA is defeated!
Conscription Act of 1863 (Problems on the Homefront in the Union)
(Mar.) Conscription Act of 1863: Required ALL men between 20 - 45 to register & serve if called
Wealthy men could pay $300 to send someone else to war in their place
Middle / Lower Classes = FURIOUS!
“A rich man’s war, and a poor man’s fight!”
Economy
(Problems on the Homefront in the Confederacy)
NYC Draft Riots
In NYC, massive riots broke out for four days - over 100 people killed, and thousands injured!
Draft laws (Problems on the homefront in the Confederacy)
South: Pres. Jefferson Davis struggled to unify the Confederate states
By 1863: South passed its own draft law
BUT: men who supervise/own more than 20 slaves DID NOT fight
“A rich man’s war, and a poor man’s fight!”
By 1865: South = desperate for soldiers.
Economy: War → Complete economic ruin for South!
Cotton: Cotton exports plummet during war
Pres. Davis tried to push Britain to make an alliance by refusing to sell cotton
Big Mistake: Britain instead bought cotton from India & Egypt
Paper Currency: South printed too many bills without enough gold to back it up (called: hyperinflation) → Economic collapse!
Result: $1 in CSA money = $.02 in real gold
“A rich man’s war, and a poor man’s fight!”
What does this mean, and how does it apply to each side?
North: (Mar.) Conscription Act of 1863: Required ALL men between 20 - 45 to register & serve if called
Wealthy men could pay $300 to send someone else to war in their place
Middle / Lower Classes = FURIOUS!
“A rich man’s war, and a poor man’s fight!”
South: South: Pres. Jefferson Davis struggled to unify the Confederate states
By 1863: South passed its own draft law
BUT: men who supervise/own more than 20 slaves DID NOT fight
“A rich man’s war, and a poor man’s fight!”
By 1865: South = desperate for soldiers.
The Gettysburg Address
Nov. 1863: Lincoln gives Gettysburg Address to dedicate a cemetery to soldiers killed.
Goal: Remind BOTH SIDES that:
War was a test to see if a true democratic nation could survive
U.S. founded on belief that “all men were created equal under the eyes of God.”
General William Tecumseh Sherman
Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman: Grant’s “Right-hand man” - violent & unstable BUT deadly reliable!
Leads Shermans March to the sea, and Sherman secures Georgia and the Carolinas for the Union.
General Ulysses S. Grant
By 1864: Lincoln looked to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant as the Union’s “Robert E. Lee”
Nickname: “Unconditional Surrender” Grant
Meaning: He will not stop fighting until the South gives up entirely.
Lincoln: “I can’t spare this man. He fights.”
Grant’s Plan: COMPLETELY DESTROY the South’s capacity/willingness to fight
How: Wage “Total war” against the South
Destroy: food, crops, equipment, railroads, homes, farms…EVERYTHING!
Goal: make the war so miserable for South that soldiers quit
Problem: war used to be restricted to just military - NOT ANYMORE!
Sherman’s March to the Sea
Nov. - Dec. 1864: Gen. Sherman’s March to the Sea
Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman: Grant’s “Right-hand man” - violent & unstable BUT deadly reliable!
Grant’s Orders: March from Atlanta, GA, to Savannah, GA, near the Atlantic coast.
Goal: Burn & destroy everything in their path.
Outcome: Civilians’ lives destroyed - farms, homes, livelihood all lost!
Sherman secures Georgia and the Carolinas for the Union.
General Lee’s Surrender at Appomattox Court House
By April 1865: Lee = Surrounded & outnumbered in Appomattox Court House, VA
April 9, 1865: Lee surrendered to Grant, ending the fighting of the Civil War!
Conditions: Grant offers generous terms for Confederate surrender
Soldiers must turn over their guns (but officers could keep pistols)
Cavalry allowed to keep horses (would need for spring plowing once home)
Each officer & soldier allowed to return home, undisturbed by U.S. Army
Lincoln’s Reconstruction Plan
Lincoln’s Reconstruction Plan: Known as the “10-Percent Plan”
Definition: Once 10% of a southern state’s population swore an oath of loyalty, state could form a new state government
BUT: New state gov’t = required to abolish slavery.
Lincoln’s Goal: Welcome South back into Union by granting amnesty (or a gov’t pardon)
BUT: Ex-Confederate soldiers needed to swear loyalty to U.S.!
Federal Government will stage military occupation of the South.
John Wilkes Booth
Booth: popular actor from the South - a Confederate sympathizer - caught & killed in a barn several days after killing Abe Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination
April 14, 1865: Lincoln = Assassinated (or killed) by John Wilkes Booth
Location: Killed while watching a play at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. - Lincoln shot in back of head & died the next morning.
Booth: popular actor from South - a Confederate sympathizer - caught & killed in a barn several days later
Effects:
Lincoln’s reconstruction plan at risk
Vice President Andrew Johnson becomes president
