Transcript Notes #3 The Civil War Begins

Notes #3
The Civil War Begins
Civil War
• A civil war is a war between people of the
same country.
• There have been many civil wars, but one of
the worst happened in America.
• The American Civil War was fought to keep
the South from leaving the Union.
• Slavery was the major issue that separated
the North from the South.
• As soon as Lincoln won the
election of 1860, Southern states
started to secede. This means
the South split from the Union.
They no longer wanted to be part
of the United States.
• Supporters of secession based
their arguments on the idea of
states’ rights. They said they had
voluntarily joined the union, so
they could leave when they
wanted.
On December 20,
1860, South
Carolina became
the first state to
secede.
• They pointed to the Declaration of
Independence to support their idea of
states’ rights. It states “it is the right
of the people to alter or abolish” a
government that denies rights.
• They felt that Lincoln would deny them
the right to own slaves.
Fort Sumter, SC
was one of the
remaining forts
held by the
Union in the
South. On April
12, 1861, the
Confederate
forces asked the
Federal
commander of
Fort Sumter,
Robert Anderson
to surrender the
Fort to the
The Civil War began at Fort Sumter!
Aerial View of
Fort Sumter:
Located in the
harbor of
Charleston,
South
Carolina, Fort
Sumter was
the site of the
first
engagement of
the Civil War
on April 12,
1861. (Photo
Credit: Bob
Krist/CORBI
S)
Commander Anderson refused, Confederate guns opened
fire. After 34 hours of bombardment and running out of
ammunition. The Union surrendered the fort without a single
loss of life. The only casualty had been a Confederate horse.
The Civil War had begun!
After the attack on Fort Sumter, EIGHT
slave states still had not taken a position
on whether they would support the…
Union
or
Confederac
y
The “Border
States”
These are slave states that
decided to stay with the
Union. They are Delaware,
Kentucky, Missouri, and
Maryland
Maryland was important to
the Union because it needed
to keep MD for defensive
reasons. Maryland bordered
Washington, D.C. and if MD
joined the Confederacy, the
capital would be surrounded
by enemy troops.
DE
Border States
WV
MO
MD
KY
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Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas
all sided with the Confederacy. Virginians in the
western part of the state favored staying with the
Union, eventually they formed their own government
and created the state of West Virginia in 1863.
Canons at Fort Sumter: A line of cannons
underneath an overhang at Fort Sumter. (Photo
Credit: Kevin Fleming/CORBIS)
Robert E. Lee commanded the powerful and
successful Army of Northern Virginia. In 1865, he
was given command of all southern armies.
The States were not the only ones that had to make
a decision. Would the Southern army officers stay
with the Union army and fight against their home
states OR join the Confederate forces.
The Union lost many great officers, many felt they
could not fight against their home states.
First Battle of Bull Run
• First Battle of Bull Run, 1861: One of the
earliest engagements in the Civil War, the First
Battle of Bull Run left almost 5,000 wounded
or dead between the two sides.
• The North realized after this battle that the war
would not be easy and would not be over
soon.
First Battle of Bull Run
Battle of Antietam
• First time the Confederacy invaded
Northern territory was the Battle of
Antietam.
• It was bloodiest battle day in United States
history. 23,000 men lost their lives that day.
• The Union army stopped the Confederate
army. This “victory” by the Union gave
President Lincoln the chance to announce
the abolition of slavery in the South.
Military Technology Advances
• One of these weapons was an ironclad ship. An
ironclad ship was a ship with iron plates on it to
protect it from cannon fire.
• The first ironclad battle was between the Union
Monitor and Confederate Merrimack off the coast of
Virginia in 1862.
• Battled for about 4 hours, the battle ended in a draw.
Neither side won.
Other new weapons
• Deadlier cannons
and bullets
• More accurate rifles
http://www.history.com/videos/civil-war-weapons-whose-were-better#civil-war-weapons-whose-were-better