Early Years of War

Question 1

Northern Advantages

Answer 1

• Population was larger

- Naval forces overwhelmed Confederates which barely had a navy at this time

Question 2

Southern Advantages

Answer 2

• Supply lines were short since most of the fighting occurred in the South
• Creation of Ordinance Bureau: office in the Confederacy whose main purpose was procuring weapons and ammunition and distributing them among the Confederate army

Question 3

Lincoln’s Strategies

Answer 3

• Take advantage of North’s large population, attack at the same time to overwhelm Confederacy
• Did not want to damage Southern property

Question 4

Battle of Bull Run/ Manassas

Answer 4

○ Northern public opinion after attack on Fort Sumter encouraged Union attack
○ 35,000 Union troops to attack 20,000 Confederate troops
○ Union crossed Bull Run river, were doing well- decided to take a break
○ Confederates regrouped and attacked viciously leading to retreat of some Union soldiers to the North
○ Seen as a stalemate

Question 5

Significance of Bull Run for Southerners

Answer 5

Gave them confidence that rebel men were superior to Union men and war would be over quickly

Question 6

Significance of Bull Run fro Northerners

Answer 6

Saw this battle as a setback, showed that training was needed for soldiers and the war could go on for a long time. Lincoln began having soldiers enlist for 3 years instead of 3 mos.

Question 7

Seven Days’ Battle

Answer 7

• McClellan’s men were tired and wanted to retreat
• Southerners had twice as many casualties, but Lee had successfully protected Richmond
• McClellan looked incompetent to Lincoln and other Union advisers, he was taken from his post but later replaced in hopes of improvement
• Northerners felt they needed a change in their military approach

Question 8

Battle of Antietam

Answer 8

-17,000 wounded- represented bloodiest day of the Civil War
-Sent Confederate troops back to the South- eventually viewed as a draw since McClellan did not pursue the Confederate troops aggressively enough
-McClellan’s way of fighting the war was disappointing to many Northerners- his last battle as a commander
-First time Americans saw pictures of violent deaths occurring in war- no longer romanticized
□ Matthew Brady, The Dead of Antietam- the first photojournalist
□ Opened exhibit in NYC in 1862
□ No policies in place to handle that many corpses- buried in ditches

Question 9

Battle of Pea Ridge

Answer 9

○ Battle over who would control Missouri
○ Union troops found Confederate troops on the MO-AR border and Union achieved a convincing victory and it remained in Union hands throughout war

Question 10

Militia Act of 1862

Answer 10

• Black men could now be soldiers in the Union• First time in US history that blacks were allowed in the regular army
○ Had fought in revolution and War of 1812, but in a lower capacity
• For African Americans, the ability to fight for their own freedom was exhilarating
• White southerners were enraged and full of indignation
• Were still inequalities in pay etc.