Transcript Civil War in Arkansas I

Civil War in Arkansas I
Introduction, Causes,
And Beginning
The Civil War
• 1861-1865
• Began at Fort Sumter and ended at
Appomattox Court House.
• United States vs. Confederate States
• Abraham Lincoln vs. Jefferson Davis
• More than 600,000 deaths due to the
Civil War.
The Civil War (Cont.)
• Cost the U.S.A. $6.19 billion.
• Cost the C.S.A. $4 billion.
• Destroyed property valued at $5
billion.
• Gave freedom to 4 million slaves.
• It still affects this country today.
Long Term Causes
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Economic DifferencesNorth-Industry
South-Agriculture
Beliefs about the role of governmentNorth-Strong central government
South-States’ Rights
SlaveryNorth-Opposed
South-Supported
Yellow=Free
Light Green=Slave
Talk of Secession
• People in the South were beginning to
discuss leaving the Union.
• This made Arkansas very unstable.
• There was a long standing division
between slave and nonslave areas.
• People new that to secede would mean
war, but they believed it would be a
short, two month war with a Southern
victory.
Party Changes in AR
• The national Whig party had broken apart
over the issue of slavery.
• This left Arkansas Whigs without a home.
• Also the Democratic “Family” that had
ruled the state’s government was the
weakest it had ever been.
• In 1860 the first governor of the state of
Arkansas not to be supported by the family
was elected.
Thomas Hindman
• Hindman moved to Helena, AR, from
Mississippi in the 1850s.
• He was at first an ally to the “Family”.
• He broke away from them in the late
1850s and gave his support to Henry
Rector who was running for governor
against the “Family’s” candidate Richard
H. Johnson.
• Rector won.
National Politics
• At this same time the entire country was
focused on the Presidential race.
• The Democratic Party had split and
nominated two candidates-Stephen A.
Douglas and John C. Breckinridge.
• The new Republican Party had recently
formed and was against the extension of
slavery into new lands.
• The Republican Candidate was Abraham
Lincoln.
• Lincoln was believed to support abolition
and wasn’t even put on the ballot in the
South.
• Former Whigs in Tennessee nominated
John Bell, a Constitutionalist, for president.
• In the election of 1860, Arkansas voted
along what was left of party lines.
• Breckinridge-28,783 votes.
• Bell-20,094 votes.
• Douglas-5,227
• No votes in Arkansas went for Lincoln.
Lincoln Wins
• Lincoln won a clear
victory with 180
electoral votes.
• Breckinridge
carried Arkansas
and 10 other slave
states but only
received 72
electoral votes.
The Question of Secession
• Would the Southern states have to secede from
the Union to keep their slaves?
• The Southern doctrine of states’ rights was their
means to justify secession.
• Most Arkansans wanted to wait and see what
would happen with this new president before
deciding.
• Governor Rector warned Arkansans they might
soon have to make a decision, “the Union
without slavery, or slavery without the Union.
Stay or Leave
• Even after South Carolina and three other
states had left the Union, Arkansas was
reluctant to act.
• South and eastern Arkansans demanded quick
action to secede.
• North and western Arkansans pleaded for
caution and patience.
• January 15, 1861 the General Assembly called
for a vote of the people.
• They voted to have a secession convention to
decide.
Meanwhile…
• While Arkansas was still deciding the
seven states that had seceded formed the
Confederate States of America.
• They elected Jefferson Davis their
president.
• Some Arkansans got tired of waiting.
• A group of armed extremists took over the
U.S. Army Arsenal in Little Rock.
• The commander there surrendered to
avoid bloodshed.
The Convention
• Met for two weeks of debate and turned down
the chance to secede by a vote of thirty-nine to
thirty-five.
• Soon after this vote, South Carolina fired on
Fort Sumter.
• In response for this Lincoln called for troops.
• In Arkansas Governor Rector refused Lincolns
request for volunteers.
• The question was now if it comes to war, which
side are we on?
Arkansas Decides to Secede
• David Walker called the convention back
into session on May 6, 1861.
• After a few hours of discussion all but five
men voted to secede.
• Walker called for a second ballot in effort
to make the vote unanimous.
• Only one man, Isaac Murphy refused to
change his vote to stay in the Union.
• Ladies threw bouquets of flowers at him
from the balcony for his courage.
Rushing Off to War
• Young men who feared the war would be
over before they could join rushed to enlist
in the Confederate and Union armies.
• In almost all Arkansas towns military
companies formed, chose officers, and
picked fancy names.
• Some units had uniforms, others wore
homespun.
• The men brought their own weapons.
Support for the War
• Women sewed bright flags and made
uniforms.
• They urged men on.
• If a man was to slow to sign up, a woman
would send him a petticoat, a symbol he
wasn’t a real man.
• Before it was all over, 60,000 Arkansans
would serve.
• This was more than 1/3 of the adult white
male population in Arkansas.
Units in Arkansas
• The state had…
–36 infantry regiments.
–15 cavalry regiments.
–13 artillery regiments.
Most of these would end up serving
outside of the state.
Part of the Confederate Army
• The Third Arkansas Infantry Regiment joined
the Army of Northern Virginia in 1862.
• As the war continued volunteers quit coming
and the confederacy began drafting soldiers.
• Sixteen Arkansans reached the rank of general
in the Confederate army.
• The most famous general was Patrick
Cleburne, who was said to be the best division
commander in the Western Theater.
Fighting for the Union
• Not all men from AR fought for the C.S.A.
• 8,289 white Arkansans served in the Union
Army.
• This was more than any other Confederate
state except Tennessee.
• One of these men, William Ellis, was the
first Arkansan to win a Medal of Honor.
• More than 5,500 African American
Arkansans also joined the Union forces.
First Fighting
• The divided state of Missouri would set the
stage of the first major battle for Arkansas.
• Confederate supporters called for help.
Arkansas responded along with Texas.
• Along with the troops from Missouri, they
formed a fighting force of 12,000 men.
• These amateur armies met the Union
army of 5,400 at a place called Wilson’s
Creek.
The Battle of Wilson’s Creek
• The Battle of Wilson’s Creek took place on
August 10, 1861.
• The battle lasted all morning.
• The total casualties-number of men killed,
wounded, or missing-were 1,300 on the
northern side and 1,200 on the southern side.
• Wilson’s Creek was an early example of an
indecisive battle. The Union had left, but the
Confederates were to weak to follow up on their
victory.
• Missouri was still controlled by Unionist.