Transcript The Civil War

The Civil War
The war began with the firing on Ft. Sumter
Northern strategy:
1. Blockade southern ports
2. Gain control of the Miss. River
3. Capture the Confederate capital: Richmond, VA
4. Destroy Confederate transportation and
communication lines
Southern strategy:
1. Fight a DEFENSIVE war – tiring out the Union
2. getting supplies from EUROPE with the sale of
cotton
3. Break the blockade
Major Robert Anderson USA
General P.G.T. Beauregard
The Civil War in S. C.
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The War in South Carolina
The Union captured PORT ROYAL, on the
coast, to use as a headquarters for the
blockading ships and as a base from which to
threaten Charleston and South Carolina
railroad lines.
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KING COTTON DIPLOMACY - the South initially
withheld its cotton from Europe to increase the
demand for it and hopefully get European allies to
help fight the war.
This strategy failed for the following reasons:
1. The BLOCKADE became more effective
2. European nations found other COTTON
MARKETS around the world.
3. the EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION
made SLAVERY the major
issue of the war and Europe was not willing to
fight for the South to keep slaves.
The blockade was increasingly successful in
South Carolina despite the use of
BLOCKADE RUNNERS, fast ships designed
to get past the blockading ships. The
blockade runners were called the LIFELINE
OF THE CONFEDERACY because they
were the main source of supplies for the
Confederacy.
The HUNLEY was a Confederate submarine
that was used to try and break the blockade
 Union troops bombarded and attacked
Charleston for over a year. In this campaign
the 54th MASSACHUSETTS , an all-black
Union regiment led the attack on BATTERY
WAGNER.
 ROBERT SMALLS was a slave and boat
pilot who, with his family, stole a Confederate
ship, the PLANTER and escaped to the
Union blockade. Smalls gave valuable
information to the Union about Confederate
fortifications around Charleston.
 Union General WILLIAM T. SHERMAN
invaded South Carolina in 1865. His goal
was to bring TOTAL WAR, bringing the war
to the civilians, to convince the South to
surrender. His troops destroyed homes,
plantations, railroads and towns all across
the state. His troops treated South Carolina
especially hard since the state was the first
to secede. On the night of February 17, 1865
Sherman’s men burned much of COLUMBIA
to the ground.
 IMPACT OF THE WAR:
 PLANTATION OWNERS:
 The wealthiest served as high-ranking officers.
WADE HAMPTON, the richest man in the South
was the highest ranking officer from South Carolina
 Many wealthy were exempt under the 20 SLAVE
rule and could also hire a SUBSTITUTE to fight in
their place, which meant that the poorer class died
in disproportionate numbers than their wealthy
countrymen. This led to the complaint that the war
was a “RICH MAN’S WAR BUT A POOR MAN’S
FIGHT
 Many of the wealthy lost their plantations and all
their wealth that was tied up in SLAVERY
 WOMEN:
 They ran the farms while the men were
off fighting and also served as NURSES
and raised money for the cause. Many
women were left as WIDOWS after the
war and were the sole providers of their
families.
 AFRICAN-AMERICANS
 Many African-Americans fled to nearby Union lines
to claim FREEDOM while others stayed on the
plantations and waited for the Union army to come
to them.
 The EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION declared
all the slaves free in territory occupied by the
Union.
 Many free blacks and runaway slaves joined the
UNION ARMY where many were discriminated
against. They served under WHITE OFFICERS
officers and were PAID LESS than white soldiers.
 Some slaves went with their Confederate masters
to the battlefields while others were used to build
FORTIFICATIONS.
 CHILDREN:
 Some boys as young as 10 joined the
armies and worked as DRUMMER BOYS
and COLOR BEARERS.
 Many children were ORPHANED by the
war