American Civil War

Southern Secession

Feb 4, 1861

• In 1861, 7 Sates seceded from the United States of America to form their own country.
• Florida, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina formed the Confederate States of America -No foreign nation had recognized the Confederate States of America as an independant country
• Their President was Jefferson Davis, a former senator from the State of Mississippi

Jefferson Davis

Feb 18, 1861

• President of the Confederate states of America during the Civil War
• Served from Feb 18 1861 - May 10 1865
• He personally took charge of the Confederate war plans, and could not find a way to defeat the stronger and more organized Union
• His diplomatic efforts failed to gain recognition from any foreign country
• At home he paid little attention to the collapsing Confederate economy which led to massive inflation -Was well liked at the start of his term, but eventually became very disliked

Abraham Lincoln

Mar 4, 1861

• In office from March 4 1861 - April 15 1865
• His election was a main reason that the Civil War started
• Lincoln was elected because he was the only one of the three candidates who was not pro-slavery and therefore had the Northerners' vote, while the two others split the Southern votes
• Lincoln led the United States through its greatest constitutional, military, and moral crisis; the Civil War; and preserved the Union, and abolished slavery -His 2nd term ended when he was assassinated.

Copperheads

Apr 12, 1861

• A copperhead was a very vocal group of democrats in the Northern U.S. who disagreed with the civil war and wanted it to end as soon as possible
• The term copperhead was used by Republicans to compare them to the venomous snake
• Occasionally, the copperheads talked about violent revolt but never executed, though they were very damaging to the Union war efforts by fighting the draft, encouraging desertion, and forming conspiracies
• 1861-1865, but especially prominent during the 1864 election

General Stonewall Jackson

Apr 12, 1861

• Confederate General who was the best in the war other than General Lee
• He was best known for his Valley Campaign in 1862 and his service as a corps commander in the Army of Northern Virginia
• At the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863, Confederate pickets accidentally shot him
• His life was spared thanks to an arm amputation, but he died 8 days later due to pneumonia
• His death was a severe setback for the Confederacy, military prospects, but also morale
• He was a Southern icon

General Lee

Apr 12, 1861

• Commander of the Confederate army in the Civil War
• Years of Service:1829–1861 (U.S. Army) 1861–1865 (C.S. Army)
• He was a Colonel in the U.S. army and was promoted to General upon joining the Confederate army
• Distinguished himself as an exceptional officer and combat engineer in the United States Army for 32 years
• Lee had been offered command of both armies but decided to support his home state of Virginia even though he believed the country should remain as one

General Grant

Apr 12, 1861

• Ulysees S. Grant was a Union General
• He was viewed as a man of incredible persistence and an iron will
• Very early in the was he was promoted to commander of the army by Abraham Lincoln
• He freed the majority of the states of Kentucky and Tennessee
• He was present at almost all of the big American Victories
• Because he was so good as a General, he became President of the United States on March 4 1869

Blockades

Apr 19, 1861

• On April 19, 1861, President Lincoln issued a Proclamation of Blockade Against Southern Ports
• Blockading was a union naval tactic to prevent the South from trading
• Over 5,600 kilometers of coastline was blockaded by the Union, including 12 major ports like New Orleans -Confederates tried to evade the Blockades by using small, light and fast ships called Blockade runners Blockade Runners

Slaughter at Shiloh

Apr 6, 1862

• Union General Ulysees Grant was awaiting reinforcement from General Buell
• Confederate General Albert Johnston planned to attack Grant's troops before Buell could reach them
• At the start of the battle, it seemed like a sure victory for the Confederates who had taken Grant by surprise
• But General Johnston was shot on the field and it was a major hit to morale, and then General Buell's troops showed up and added 25000 men to Grant's forces
• Out of 100,000 men, 24000 were casualties

Union captures New Orleans

Apr 25, 1862

• April 25, 1862 – May 1, 1862
• The Union had to fight past Fotrs Jackson and St. Philips to get to New Orleans
• The city itself was spared a lot of the destruction that many other Southern cities faces
• New Orleans was the biggest Confederation city and it's capture was very important for the Union

Battle of Antietam

Sep 17, 1862

• Fought in Shapsburgh, Maryland
• First major battle in the Civil War to be fought on Union Soil
• It is the bloodiest single-day battle in American history with 22,700 dead, wounded, or missing -The battle was tactically inconclusive, but since the Confederate troops retreated from the battlefield first, they technically lost
• General Lee of the confederates preformed exceptionally well, and held his own in the battle, whereas Geneal Mclellan performed poorly for the Union -cont.

Battle of Anitetam cont.

Sep 17, 1862

• The results at Antietam also allowed Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation -Abraham Lincoln waited until a Union victory before he passed the Proclamation, to avoid it looking like an act of desperation -The Proclamation played an important role in dissuading Britain and France from recognizing the Confederation as a country
• Antietam

Emancipation Proclamation

Jan 1, 1863

• War measure during the Civil War created by Abraham Lincoln
• It freed all the slaves in the rebelling states, which applied to 3.1 million out of 4 million slaves in the U.S. at the time
• The proclamation did not compensate the slave owners, nor did it outlaw slavery, but it made the eradication of slavery an explicit war goal
• This Proclamation did not apply to the 5 slave states not in Rebellion; Delaware, Missouri, Maryland, West Virginia, and Kentucky

54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry

Mar 13, 1863

54th Infantry- Active from March 13, 1863 to August 4, 1865
- One of the first official African American units in the United States during the Civil War
- Comprised of ~1,100 men
- Many joined because of the promise of equal pay to their white counterparts at $13 per month
- They in fact only got $7 per month and there were a few movements by both white and blakc soldiers to try and equalize pay
- They were very important in the second battle of Fort Wagner

Siege of Vicksburg

May 18, 1863

Siege of Vicksburg- General Ulysees Grant and the army of Tennessee crossed the Mississippi river to attack the Army of Vicksburgh under the command of Lit. Col. John Pemberton
- The entire Vicksburg campaign lasted a month and a half
- Originally, Grant launched 2 major assualts againts Confederate fortifications, but after those failed with heavy casualties, he beseiged the city of Vicksburg beginning on May 25th
- 40 days later, the garrison surrendered
- The Union now controlled the Mississippi river

Battle of Gettysburgh

Jul 1, 1863

Gettysburg
- Battle lasted 3 days (July 1-3)
- Over 3 days, there were 46,000 combined casualties, which was the most of any battle in the war
- Often regarded as the turning point in the war (Confederates winning to Union winning)
- Battle of Gettysburgh ended Generl Lee's invasion of the north
- Led to President Lincoln's Gettysburgh address
- Gettysburgh

Battle of Chatanooga

Oct 5, 1863

• The Chattanooga campaign was a series of battles in October and November 1863
• There were 4 major battles in the Battles of Chattanooga (Orchard Knob, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Rossville Gap)
• Union casualties ended up around 5,800
• Confederate casualties ended up around 6,700, and an additional 6000 were taken prisoner -The Chattanooga campaign is generally considered a Union victory because the two major Confederate armies were routed

Gettysburg Address

Nov 19, 1863

Gettysburg Address- Lincoln's famous speech came four and a half months after the Battle of Gettysburg
-In 2 minutes, Lincoln restated the principles of human equality outlined in the Declaration of Independence and claimed that the Civil War as a struggle for the preservation of the Union, which had been negatively affected by the succession of the southern states
- He insisted that after the war ended, the Union would be "a new birth of freedom," that would bring true equality to all of its citizens.

POW Camp Andersonville (Camp Sumter)

Feb 1, 1864

• The camp got as large as 26.5 acres with a 15 foot high stockade around the entire perimeter
• The camp was terribly undersupplied with food, which affected both the prisoners and the Confederate guards, but the prisoners more so
• The prisoners were prone to diseases like scurvy and by the time 7 months had passed since the opening, over 75% of the prisoners had died
• Prisoner exchanges were prohibited so any soldier sent to this camp was stuck here
• The prison was liberated in May 1865

Burning of Atlanta

Nov 14, 1864

• Union forced under William Sherman were campaigning to capture the important rail and supply center of Atlanta
• The city fell on September 2 1864 by capturing the rail lines and cutting off the Confederate supply lines
• The confederate army left days later
• Sheerman and his troops stayed for over 2 months before he ordered the troops to evacuate all citizens
• Sherman burned all but 400 which was between 3200 to 5000 homes and businesses
• He then left for Savannah to do Sherman's March

Sherman's March

Nov 15, 1864

Sherman's March- Also known as the Savannah Campaign
- Lasted until Dec 21 1864
-Started when General William Sherman left the city of Atlanta, Georgia; and ended when he captured the port of Savannah, Georgia
- His troops destroyed military targets as well as industry, infrastructure, and civilian property
- It was important in disrupting the south economy and transport routes
- Sherman was bold because he went deep into enemy territory without supply lines
- Sherman had 62,000 men
- The confederates had 13k