(Class 10) The Civil War (1861-1865) Flashcards
1
Q
March to the Sea
A
General William Sherman destroying everything in his path from Atlanta to Savannah (Sea)
2
Q
Jefferson Davis
A
- Born in Kentucky, Named after Thomas Jefferson
- 23rd Secretary of War under President Pierce
- Representative and Senator of Mississippi
- President of the Confederacy
- “Both parties depreciated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came” - Lincoln
3
Q
Fort Sumter (Attack on)
A
- Federal troops occupied the fort in Charleston Harbor
- Hated symbol of the union and Southerners wanted federal troops out
- Was also symbol of Union authority
- Lincoln decided to hold the fort
- But fort was running low on food
- April 1861 Lincoln approves peaceful expedition to get supplies
- Lincoln would not use military force unless attacked first
- April 9, 1861 Jefferson Davis and his cabinet meet to discuss Charleston
- Davis ordered Confederate troops to take the fort before relief arrived
- Bombarded fort on April 12 and 13th and on April 14th union surrenders
4
Q
Middle States
A
- The states of Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina join Confederacy
- Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri stay in the Union
5
Q
West Virginia
A
- May 13-15, 1861 First Wheeling Convention is held
- Delegates from Unionist counties of northwestern Virginia meet in Wheeling and decide to break away from Virginia
- West Virginia forms and is admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863
- West Virginia was the only state to form by separating from a Confederate state
- The first to separate from any state since Maine separated from Massachusetts in 1820
6
Q
Confederate Military Strategy
A
- Union (offense) vs Confederacy (Defense)
- South attacked invaders when possible
7
Q
Robert E. Lee
A
- South’s most celebrated General
- West Point graduate – 2nd in class
- Career military – in US Army at start of war
- Courteous and Reserved
- Commanded the army of Northern Virginia
- Lee saved Richmond from McClellan’s assault
- In August 1862 Lee leads his army to victory at the second battle of Bull Run
8
Q
Ulysses S. Grant
A
- Key commander in the west
- Real name Hiram Ulysses Grant
- From Ohio
- West Point – class of 1843 – 21st in class of 39
- Fought in Mexican-American War
- Retired from Army in 1854 and struggled as civilian and farmer (alcoholic?)
- Worked in an Illinois dry goods store as a clerk when Civil War began
- Joined Union army in 1861
- Won victories in Kentucky and Tennessee
- Supreme Commander (General in Chief) in March 1864
- His method: Kill more than killed
- Appoints General William Tecumseh Sherman as his successor
9
Q
Monitor and Merrimack
A
- Confederacy could not keep up with US Navy warships
- Experimented with the ironclad warship
- Merrimack was layered with 2 inch armor plateàrechristened Virginia
- In March 1862 it sunk 2 federal ships
- Virginia tried to finish off navy blockade of the Union but was challenged by the Monitor – a Union ironclad
- March 9th battle between the two ended in a draw
10
Q
Lincoln’s Position
A
- For the first 1 ½ years of his Presidency he insisted that the North was fighting strictly to save the Union and not abolish slavery
- He detested human bondage
- But was an astute politician
- Worried that emancipation would cause union border states to join Confederacy
- Northern Democrats also argued against Emancipation
- Lincoln saw the issue of Emancipation as threatening to dislodge the loyal upper slave states from the Union, alienate the Democratic party, deplete the armies, and spark race warfare.
11
Q
Lincoln - August 22, 1862
A
- “My paramount objective in this struggle is to save the Union and is not either to save or destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do it.”
- Saving the Union is Lincoln’s paramount task
- But now he begins to tie saving the Union to the end of slavery
12
Q
Emancipation Proclamation
A
- By summer 1862 Lincoln realized that Emancipation was “a military necessity, absolutely essential to the preservation of the Union.”
- High casualty numbers from the war brought him around
- Believed it would deprive Confederacy of slave labor, shorten the war, and save lives
- September 22, 1862, Lincoln issued a preliminary proclamation warning that he would order the emancipation of all slaves in any state that did not end its rebellion against the Union by January 1, 1863.
- None of the Confederate states restored themselves to the Union
- Lincoln’s order, signed and issued January 1, 1863, took effect
- Exempted loyal border states and Union occupied areas of Confederacy
- January 1, 1863 Lincoln issues final Emancipation Proclamation
- Frees slaves in all secession states
- Commits federal government to use former slaves to defeat Confederacy
- Smart military action
13
Q
Gettysburg Address
A
- Delivered November 19, 1863
- 4 months after Union victory at Gettysburg
- One of the most famous speeches in American History
- Just over 2 minutes long
- Lincoln redefined the Civil War as a struggle not just for the Union, but also for the principle of human equality
- “a new birth of freedom” that would bring true equality to all of its citizens
14
Q
William Tecumseh Sherman
A
- Born in Ohio
- West Point Graduate
- Recognized for his outstanding command of military strategy
- Known for the “scorched earth” policies that he implemented in conducting total war against the Confederate States
- Buried in New York City
- Sherman heads southeast towards Atlanta
- Atlanta falls on September 2, 1864
- Burns Atlanta and leaves on November 15, 1864
- Begins March to the Sea to Savannah
- Aim is to destroy the will of the Confederacy to continue war
15
Q
Appomattox Court House
A
- Battle of Appomattox Court House, on the morning of April 9, 1865
- After morning battle, Lee surrenders to Grant in the parlor of the house owned by Wilmer McLean on the afternoon of April 9th
- Grant offers generous terms
- On April 12th, formal ceremony marked the disbandment of the Army of Northern Virginia and the parole of its officers and men, effectively ending the war in Virginia.
- Triggered a series of surrenders across the South
- The War was over!
