Transcript The Civil War

Unit 12: The Civil War
1861-1865
Southern States Begin to Secede
(withdraw) from the Union
• The North-Trying to
abolish slavery
• The South-Trying to
preserve slavery – a way
of life.
• South Carolina becomes
the 1st state to secede –
other Southern states
follow – the Civil War
would start not because
of slavery but to bring the
Confederacy back into the
Union.
Union vs Confederacy
• United States split in
two
• North-The Union
• South-The Confederacy
• During the Civil War
there were a total of 35
States.
• Union = 24 states
• Confederacy = 11 states
Capitals and Presidents
Union
Confederacy
Abraham Lincoln
Washington D.C.
Jefferson Davis
Richmond, Virginia
Strategies of the War
The North
Kill the Southern Economy
1. Destroy Farms &
Fields
2. Blockade the
Southern coast
(Nothing in or out)
The South
Play Defense
1. Let the war come to
them.
2. Figured the North
would tire of the war
and cost.
Anaconda Plan
The North
Strengths
• More people (22 million)
• 85% of all factories
located in the North
(Could make more and
better supplies)
• More railroads, naval
ships, weapons, and
supplies.
• More $ - could pay their
troops
Weaknesses
• Most of the war was to be
fought in the South.
• Many Northern soldiers
were not fighting to end
slavery.
• Most soldiers were young
and inexperienced and
looking for adventure.
The South
Strengths
• Great leaders and
generals (Robert E. Lee)
• Fighting a defensive war
(home field advantage,
knew the land)
• They were fighting for a
purpose – a way of life.
Weaknesses
• Few factories to make
supplies
• Smaller population (9
million and 3.5 million
were slaves)
• Poorly equipped and lack
of supplies – many men
had to supply their own
weapons/equipment and
food.
Both the North and South would be
hurt by this war
• The North relied on the South for their cotton
to run their textile factories and food to feed
their huge population.
• The South relied on the North to buy their
cotton and food to make a living.
Soldiers of the war
• Wide range of ages – 12-80 –
Average age about 24 for the
Union and 18 for the
Confederates.
• About 15% of all soldiers were
younger than 18 when they
enlisted
• Most had NO military
experience at all
• Farmers – made up largest %
of soldiers – 50%
Soldiers continued
• Immigrants – many immigrants would be recruited the
minute they set foot in the U.S. – Largest Groups
1. Germans-about 175,000
2. Irish-about 150,000
3. Canadians – 25,000
• African Americans-not allowed to fight early on in the
war – used as labor workers- as the war began to drag
on, the North allowed them to fight.
Soldiers Cont.
• Native Americans- Served on both sides for many
purposes.
• (About 3,600 served the Union; Confederate #’s
not known)
Colors and Numbers
• Union- standard color was blue – nearly 2 million
served during the four-year war
• Confederacy- standard color was gray – nearly 1
million soldiers served during the four-year war.
Terminology
• Contraband- Southern slaves who joined the Union
army in the South
• Copperheads- People who opposed the Civil War.
• Regiment- Usually around 1,000 troops
• Brigade-About 4 Regiments – around 4000 soldiers
• Artillery-Cannons or big guns-wore a red band
• “Napoleon”-Most popular cannon
• Cavalry-horse back soldiers-wore a yellow band
• Infantry-Foot soldiers –wore a light blue band
• Yankee (Billy Yank)-nickname for Union soldiers
• Rebel (Johnny Reb)- Confederate soldier nickname
New Technology
The Civil War has also been
called the 1st modern war
1. First war to be
photographed –
thousands of pictures
taken by – Matthew
Brady – famous
photographer of the
war.
2. Railroads were 1st used
to transport troops and
supplies
Technology Continued
3. Telegraphs were
sometimes used for
communication –
lines often cut
through
4. Ironclad ships
were used for the
1st time instead of
wood ships.
Technology Continued
5. Hot Air balloons for
spying
6. Submarines which
used torpedoes
(Naval Mines)
7. Trench Warfare –
dug in positions
8. New Weapons
• Long ranged rifles replaced the short ranged musketmost commonly used weapon among the infantry
• Hand grenades- hardly ever used – did not work well.
• Carbine rifles – used cartridges (breech loading)
instead of the step by step muzzle loading – very
expensive – not many used in Civil War
• Land Mines
• Machine Guns –Gatlin gun (not used much)
• Minieball- new slug used for rifles- expanded and used
rifling to spin- could shoot 600 yards accurately up to
1000 yards
Civil War Medicine
• Medical practices were very primitive compared
to today’s standards
• Not much for pain medicine – chloroform,
alcohol, ether, or the brand new drug morphine.
• Disease was the #1 killer in the Civil War –
typhoid killed more than anything else
• No antibiotics yet
• If you were wounded – amputation – the cutting
off of ones limb – was usually the treatment to
prevent infection (gangrene)
Civil War Statistics
1. Bloodiest War in U.S. history
Union Deaths =360,000
+
Confederate Deaths=260,000
Total Deaths in the Civil War=620,000
-If you added all of our wars French & Indian,
Revolutionary, War of 1812, Mexican War,
Spanish/American War, WWI, WWII, Korean War,
Vietnam War, and our current wars the total number
of deaths would not equal the Civil War.
2. 2% of the Entire US population killed compared to .3%
in WWII. (2%=over 7million today)
Civil War Statistics Cont.
3. There was an estimated 2,261 (major) battles
fought during the Civil War- 11 of which were in
the Dakota Territory.
4. U.S. Debt after the war = $2,845,000,000
5. About 10,000 Union troops were under the
minimum age of 18 years old – soldiers would
write 18 on the bottoms of shoes so they
wouldn’t have to lie about their age.
6. About 130,000 freed slave would join the Union
in the South and nearly 200,000 African
Americans would join the Union Army.
he numbers of Civil War dead were not equaled by the combined toll of other American conflicts until the War in Vietnam. Some believe the number is as
Deaths in American Wars
1.5 Million Casualties!!!