Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 Militiamen on April 15, 1861
He believed that the war wouldn't last more than 90 days. Quote: He declared he "had no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with slavery in the United States where it exists
His main goal was to easily return the rebellious states that participated - the war lasted 4 years
Section Overviews
Bull Run ends the Ninety Day War
On July 21, 1861 everyone approached the Battle of Bull Run as if it were going to be a picnic but both sides soon realized that it would be far from it
The Battle of Bull Run "set the stage for a war that would be waged not merely for the sause of the Union , but also, eventually, for the abolitionist ideal of emancipation.
Tardy George McClellan and the Peninsula Campaign
George B. McClellan was given the command of the Army of the Potomac. After waiting for months to attack, he decided to go for Richmond. Meanwhile, the Union developed a new strategy which was to suffocate the south through an oceanic blockade
The War at Sea
The Confederates threat to the Union came in the form of iron railroad rails plated ship called the Virginia which had the potential to break the blockade. The Confederate ship ended up being destroyed by the south's ship, the monitor.
The Pivotal Point: Antietam
After winning the second battle of Bull Run, Robert Lee hoped to thrust into the North and win, hopefully persuading the border states to joing the south and foreign countries to intervene on behalf of the south
After being reinstated by Lincoln, General McClellan found a copy of Antietam on Sept. 17, 1862. In one of the bloodiest days of the Civil War Antietam was the Union display of power that Lincoln needed to announce his Emancipation Proclamation. The war was now also about saving the slaves
Proclamation without Emancipation
The Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves in not yet conquered Southern territories, but slaves in the border states and the conquered territories were not liberated
Upon hearing the proclamation many slaves just left their plantations
Blacks Battle Bondage
Blacks were not initially admitted into the army, but when manpower began to run low, more and more got accepted until blacks eventually accounted for 10% of the Union Army
In the case of Fort Pillow in 1864 blacks became noticed as prisoners of war and were massacred
Lee's last Lunge at Gettysburg
A.E. Burnside was given control over the Union Army and quickly lost a rushed frontal attack at Fredericksburg, Virginia on December 13, 1862.
Fighting Joe Hooker is badly beaten in Chancellorsville
Stonewall Jackson is sent to attack the Union flank but is shot and killed by accident by his own men
In the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3 1863) the Confederates were slaughtered. A few months later, Lincoln delivered hte Gettysburg Address.
The War in the West
Ullysses S. Grant became a general and wins at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson and Shiloh
Grant siezes Vicksburg, Mississippi on July 4, 1863 securing the Mississippi river
Sherman Scorches Georgia
General William Tecumseh Sherman captures and burns down Atlanta, destroying everything
The Politics of War
In 1861, the Congressional Committee on the conduct of the war is created, and is dominated by radical republicans
After the death of Stephen Douglas the Northern democrtes split into the War democrats, supporting Lincoln and the peace democrats who did not support Lincoln
Copperheads were all against war completely
The Election of 1864
Lincoln Becomes president winning the electoral college
Grant Outlasts Lee
Grant was careless about losing men because he knew he had more than his opponent
Grant and his men capture Richmond and burn it. Lee surrendered to him in April of 1865 ending the war
The Martydom of Lincoln
On April 14, 1865, Lincoln was hsot and killed by John Wilkes Booth
More pople recognized his greatness including the south
The Aftermath of the nightmare
600,000 men were killed in war
$15 Billion dollars spent
Slavery was destroyed and the U.S. proved it's strength
It paved the war for the US fullfillment in it's destiny as the dominant republic of the western hemisphere
