Transcript The “Civil War” is Underway!

The “Civil War” is
Underway!
In the first major battle of the
Civil War, The Battle of Bull
Run (also known by
Southerners as The Battle of
Manassas), the Confederate
forces claimed a victory in July
of 1861.
Confederate fortifications at Manassas
Many politicians believed that
the war would be over once the
Union silenced the Confederacy
in one small-scale battle and
the Confederate States would
beg to rejoin the Union.
They brought their families
with them just outside of
Washington D.C. and set up
small picnics on the hillsides,
watching the battle as if it were
a sporting event.
These men were severely
mistaken. They watched as the
former professor of the VMI,
General Thomas Jackson earned
his nickname, “Stonewall”, as he
repelled repeated Union advances
with a seemingly impossible
numbers disadvantage.
A fellow officer claimed, “There
stands Jackson like a stonewall!”
and a hero was born.
Just as the Union
was about to claim
a victory, and
overtake Jackson’s
stand, CSA
reinforcements
arrive by train
from the west and
relieve Jackson’s
men.
The retreat was disorganized and a
human traffic jam ensued, clogging
the roads toward Washington with
exhausted and wounded soldiers
with panicked spectators. A sudden
downpour further dampened the
situation.
Both sides quickly realized that
there was not going to be an easy
solution.
After the loss, Lincoln replaced
McDowell with George B.
McClellan. He was a 34-year-old
West Point graduate and former
Rail Road tycoon.
In the first two
bloody years of
the war, the
Confederate
Army held its
own on the
Eastern front.
The North invaded the South,
seeking to weaken the rebel
forces and eventually capture
their capital.
The Union placed a naval blockade on
the 3,500-mile Confederate
coastline. Although they only caught
1/8 of the ships, it still heavily
damaged Southern trade. By 1865,
they were capturing ½ of the merchant
vessels.
The CSA Virginia and the USA
Monitor, the first two ironclad
ships were developed by each side.
These impressive industrial
achievements faced off early in the
war, but the cannon barrage
finally ended in a draw when both
ships were unable to sink the
other, and each eventually ran out
of ammunition.
As the war pressed on, the
Union won two key battles on
the western front under
General Ulysses S. Grant at Ft.
Henry and Ft. Donnellson.
Later on, The Union Navy under
Admiral David Farragut claimed
New Orleans for the Union.
At the Battle of Shiloh in
Tennessee in April of 1862,
Grant, was surprised by an
early morning CSA attack.
The casualties were immense as
each side lost ¼ of their armies!
The battle raged on despite
dark thunderclouds rolling in,
and the Union suffered 13,000
casualties to the Confederate
11,000!
More soldiers died in this battle
than both the Revolution and
the Mexican Wars combined.
The CSA commander, Joseph
Johnston was killed.
As night fell, and a terrific
storm ensued, the fighting
stopped. Both sides looked
down on the battlefield from
their camps and watched as the
lightning sporadically lit up
twenty thousand dead bodies.
Both sides were demoralized.
Newspapers claim this as a
Confederate victory although
they themselves had retreated.
Grant is suspended, but
Lincoln is reluctant to fire him.
At the Seven Days Battle, General
Robert E. Lee had assumed
command of the CSA forces. He
defended the Confederate capital,
Richmond from a massive Union
advancement. The Union Army
suffered heavy losses and Lincoln
replaced the Union commander,
McClellan with General John Pope.
At the Second Battle of Bull
Run, which was fought on
almost the same battlefield as
the first, the same result was
achieved except for the fact
that there were 5 times more
casualties this time.