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Medicine during the Civil War
The state of medical knowledge at the time of the Civil War was extremely primitive. Doctors did not understand infection, and did little to prevent it. It was a time before antiseptics, and a time when there was no attempt to maintain sterility during surgery. No antibiotics were available, and minor wounds could easily become infected, and hence fatal. While the typical soldier was at very high risk of being shot and killed in combat, he faced an even greater risk of dying from disease. -
Secession of Virginia
On April 17, Virginia, unwilling to fight against other Southern states, seceded—a terrible loss to the Union. Virginia was the most heavily populated state in the South and the most industrialized. In May, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina followed Virginia, bringing the number of Confederate states to 11. However, the western counties of Virginia were antislavery, so they seceded from Virginia and were admitted into the Union as West Virginia in 1863. -
Ft. Sumter
Confederate soldiers immediately began taking over federal installations in their states courthouses, post offices, and especially forts. By the time of Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration on March 4, only two Southern forts remained in Union hands. -
Battle at Bull Run
The battle was a seesaw affair. In the morning the
Union army gained the upper hand, but the Confederates
held firm, inspired by General Thomas J. Jackson. “There is
Jackson standing like a stone wall!” another general shouted, originating the nickname Stonewall Jackson. In the
afternoon Confederate reinforcements arrived and turned
the tide of battle into the first victory for the South. The
routed Union troops began a panicky retreat to the capital. -
New Technology/Weapons:
Even more deadly than the development of ironclad ships was
the invention of the rifle and the minié ball. Rifles were more accurate than old-fashioned muskets, and soldiers could load rifles more quickly and therefore fire more rounds during battle. -
Battle at Antietam
The clash proved to be the bloodiest single day battle in American history. Casualties totaled more than 26,000, as many as in the War of 1812 and the war with Mexico combined. Instead of pursuing the
battered Confederate army and possibly ending the Civil War,
however, McClellan, cautious as always, did nothing. Though the battle itself was a standoff, the South, which had lost a quarter of its men, retreated the next day across the Potomac into Virginia. -
Battle at Richmond
On the way he encountered a Confederate army commanded by General Joseph E. Johnston. After a series of battles, Johnston was wounded, and command of the army passed to Robert E. Lee.
Lee was very different from McClellan—modest rather than vain, and willing to go beyond military textbooks in his tactics. He had opposed secession. -
Emancipation Proclamation
As the South struggled in vain to gain foreign recognition, abolish-
tionist feeling grew in the North. Some Northerners believed that
just winning the war would not be enough if the issue of slavery
was not permanently settled. As the war progressed, however, Lincoln did find a way to use his constitutional war powers to end slavery. Slave labor built fortifications and grew food for the Confederacy. -
Battle at Gettysburg
The most decisive battle of the war was fought near Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania. The town was an unlikely spot for a bloody battle—and indeed, no one planned to fight there. Confederate soldiers led by A. P. Hill, many of them barefoot, heard there was a supply of footwear in Gettysburg and went to find it, and also to meet up with
forces under General Lee. -
African Americans fighting in the war
They served in separate regiments commanded by white officers. Usually African Americans could not rise above the rank of captain although Alexander T. Augustana, a surgeon, did attain the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. White privates earned $13 a month, plus a $3.50 clothing allowance. Black privates earned only $10 a month, with no clothing allowance. Blacks protested, and several regiments
served without pay for months rather than accept the lesser amount. -
Gettysburg Address
In November 1863, a ceremony was held to dedicate a cemetery in Gettysburg. The first speaker was Edward Everett, a noted orator, who gave a flowery two-hour oration. Then Abraham Lincoln spoke for a little more than two minutes. According to the historian Garry Wills, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address “remade America.” Before the war, people said, “The United States are.” After Lincoln’s speech, they said, “The United States is.” -
Economics of the North and South during the War
There was great wealth in the South, but it was primarily tied up in the slave economy. The Union's industrial and economic capacity soared during the war as the North continued its rapid industrialization to suppress the rebellion. -
Surrender at Appomattox
Grant and Sheridan were approaching Richmond from the west, while Sherman was approaching from the south. On April 2—in response to news that Lee and his troops had been overcome by
Grant’s forces at Peters burg—President Davis and his government abandoned their capital, setting it afire to keep the Northerners from taking it. -
The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
The assassin, John Wilkes Booth—a 26-year-old actor and Southern sympathizer—then leaped down to the stage. In doing so, he caught his spur on one of the flags draped across the front of the box. Booth landed hard on his left leg and broke it. He rose and said something that the audience had trouble understanding.
