🎖️Civil War and Reconstruction Unit 2 – Civil War Begins: Early Battles and Strategy

Key Players and Factions

• Abraham Lincoln served as the 16th President of the United States (1861-1865) and led the Union during the Civil War
• Jefferson Davis was elected as the President of the Confederate States of America and led the Confederacy throughout the war
• Ulysses S. Grant emerged as a key Union general, eventually becoming the Commanding General of the United States Army in 1864
• Robert E. Lee served as the commanding general of the Confederate States Army, leading the Army of Northern Virginia in many major battles
• The Union, also known as the North, consisted of states that remained loyal to the United States government (New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio)
• The Confederacy, or the South, was made up of states that seceded from the Union to form the Confederate States of America (Virginia, South Carolina, Texas)
• Abolitionists, such as Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, advocated for the immediate end of slavery and supported the Union cause
• Copperheads were Northern Democrats who opposed the war and favored a negotiated settlement with the Confederacy

Causes and Tensions Leading to War

• Slavery and its expansion into new territories was a primary cause of tension between the North and South
• The Missouri Compromise (1820) and the Compromise of 1850 attempted to balance the number of free and slave states but ultimately failed to resolve the issue
• The Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) allowed settlers in these territories to decide the issue of slavery through popular sovereignty, leading to violent conflict known as "Bleeding Kansas"
• The Dred Scott v. Sandford Supreme Court decision (1857) ruled that African Americans were not citizens and that Congress could not ban slavery in the territories, further escalating tensions
• John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry (1859), an attempt to initiate a slave rebellion, heightened fears of abolitionist violence in the South
• The election of Abraham Lincoln, a Republican opposed to the expansion of slavery, as president in 1860 prompted Southern states to secede from the Union
• Economic differences between the industrializing North and the agricultural South contributed to growing regional divisions
• The concept of states' rights and the extent of federal power was a significant point of contention between the North and South

First Shots and Initial Reactions

• The Civil War began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter, a U.S. military installation in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina
• Major Robert Anderson, the Union commander at Fort Sumter, surrendered the fort after a 34-hour bombardment
• In response to the attack on Fort Sumter, President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the rebellion, leading to four more Southern states seceding (Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee)
• The Union initially expected a quick victory, with many believing the war would be over in a matter of months
• The Confederacy also anticipated a short war, hoping that economic pressure from the cotton trade would force European powers to intervene on their behalf
• Both sides experienced a surge of patriotic fervor, with thousands of men volunteering to fight for their respective causes
• Border states (Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware) faced internal divisions and pressure to choose sides in the conflict
• The first major land battle of the war, the First Battle of Bull Run (July 21, 1861), resulted in a Confederate victory and shocked the Union, dispelling notions of a swift end to the war

Early Battle Strategies

• The Union adopted the "Anaconda Plan," a strategy aimed at blockading Southern ports and controlling the Mississippi River to isolate and strangle the Confederacy
• General Winfield Scott, the architect of the Anaconda Plan, believed that a combination of economic pressure and naval superiority would lead to the Confederacy's defeat without the need for major land battles
• The Confederacy employed a defensive strategy, seeking to protect its territory and wear down the Union's will to fight through attrition
• Confederate leaders hoped that by inflicting heavy casualties and prolonging the war, they could secure foreign intervention or a negotiated settlement
• Both sides initially relied on volunteer armies, with the Union enjoying a significant advantage in terms of population and industrial capacity
• The Union focused on capturing key strategic points, such as major cities and transportation hubs, to disrupt Confederate supply lines and communications
• The Confederacy attempted to defend its extensive coastline and inland waterways, while also launching raids into Union territory to gather supplies and demoralize the enemy
• Cavalry played a crucial role in reconnaissance, raiding, and screening movements for both armies

Major Battles and Their Outcomes

• The First Battle of Bull Run (July 21, 1861) resulted in a Confederate victory, shocking the Union and dispelling hopes for a quick end to the war
• The Battle of Shiloh (April 6-7, 1862) was a Union victory that halted the Confederate advance in the Western Theater and demonstrated the brutality of the conflict
• The Seven Days Battles (June 25-July 1, 1862) near Richmond, Virginia, saw Confederate General Robert E. Lee repel Union General George B. McClellan's advance on the Confederate capital
• The Second Battle of Bull Run (August 28-30, 1862) was another Confederate victory, allowing Lee to launch his first invasion of the North
• The Battle of Antietam (September 17, 1862), the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, ended Lee's invasion of Maryland and provided Lincoln with the opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation
• The Battle of Fredericksburg (December 11-15, 1862) was a decisive Confederate victory, with Union forces suffering heavy casualties in futile frontal assaults against entrenched Confederate positions
• The Battle of Chancellorsville (April 30-May 6, 1863) saw Lee's forces outmaneuver and defeat a larger Union army, but at the cost of the life of Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson
• The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863), the turning point of the war in the Eastern Theater, was a Union victory that ended Lee's second invasion of the North and marked the last major Confederate offensive in the East

Technological and Tactical Innovations

• The Civil War saw the widespread use of rifled muskets, which had greater range and accuracy than smoothbore muskets, leading to higher casualty rates
• The introduction of the Minié ball, a conical-shaped bullet, increased the effectiveness of rifled muskets and contributed to the war's high death toll
• Breech-loading rifles and repeating firearms, such as the Spencer and Henry repeating rifles, began to see limited use, offering a significant advantage in rate of fire
• The use of trenches and fortifications became increasingly common as the war progressed, foreshadowing the static warfare of World War I
• The Confederate ironclad warship CSS Virginia (formerly USS Merrimack) and the Union ironclad USS Monitor fought the first battle between ironclad vessels at the Battle of Hampton Roads (March 9, 1862), ushering in a new era of naval warfare
• The Union's use of the telegraph allowed for faster communication and coordination between military leaders and the government in Washington, D.C.
• Aerial reconnaissance using hot air balloons provided armies with valuable intelligence about enemy movements and positions
• The use of railroads for the rapid transport of troops and supplies became crucial, with both sides employing rail networks to their advantage

Home Front Developments

• The Confederacy instituted conscription in 1862, requiring all white men aged 18 to 35 to serve in the military, while the Union relied on conscription starting in 1863
• Women on both sides contributed to the war effort by working in factories, serving as nurses, and managing farms and households in the absence of men
• The Union's Sanitary Commission worked to improve the health and well-being of soldiers by providing medical care, food, and other supplies
• The Confederacy faced severe shortages of food, clothing, and other essential goods due to the Union blockade and the strain of supporting its military
• Inflation and economic hardship plagued both the Union and Confederacy, with the South experiencing a more severe economic collapse
• Dissent and opposition to the war emerged in both the North and South, with the Copperheads in the North and the "Peace Movement" in the South advocating for a negotiated settlement
• The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863, declared slaves in Confederate states to be free, transforming the war into a struggle for freedom and equality
• The recruitment of African American soldiers into the Union Army, following the Emancipation Proclamation, provided a significant manpower boost and altered the social and political dynamics of the war

Impact on Politics and Diplomacy

• The Civil War tested the strength and resilience of American democracy, with the Union ultimately prevailing and the country remaining united
• President Lincoln's leadership during the war, including his decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, redefined the purpose of the conflict and set the stage for the abolition of slavery
• The Confederacy sought diplomatic recognition and support from European powers, particularly Great Britain and France, but was ultimately unsuccessful due to a combination of factors, including the Union blockade and the opposition to slavery in Europe
• The Trent Affair (1861), involving the Union's seizure of Confederate diplomats from a British ship, nearly led to a conflict between the United States and Great Britain, but was resolved through diplomacy
• The Union's victory in the Civil War established the supremacy of the federal government over the states and paved the way for the country's emergence as a global power
• The assassination of President Lincoln on April 14, 1865, just days after the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House, plunged the nation into mourning and uncertainty
• The Civil War led to the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery, granted citizenship to African Americans, and prohibited racial discrimination in voting
• The war's aftermath saw the beginning of the Reconstruction era, a period of political, social, and economic upheaval as the nation grappled with the challenges of rebuilding and reconciliation