Transcript heart of the Confederacy - Mrs. Byrd Georgia Studies

Civil War
1861-1865
A New Nation is Formed
After Georgia seceded the General Assembly
recommended that the seceding states should form a
confederacy.
A confederacy is a loose union of sovereign states in
which a central government is given limited powers.
Leaders of Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama,
Florida, Mississippi, Texas, and Louisiana met and
voted to form a new nation.
Its new name was the Confederate States of
America.
Jefferson Davis was elected the first President of
the Confederacy.
He was a former military officer, U.S. Senator from
Mississippi, and U.S. Secretary of War.
Georgia’s Alexander Stephens
was picked to be the
Confederacy’s vice-president.
Thomas R.R. Cobb, a noted Athens
lawyer and University of Georgia
law professor, was principally
responsible for drafting a
constitution for the new
Confederacy.
On March 11th, 1861 the Confederate
constitution was adopted.
Montgomery, Alabama became the
Confederacy’s first capital.
The new government began work, raising
money and preparing for a short war.
All eyes turned to Charleston, South Carolina.
The U. S. kept military forces in South Carolina even
though they had already seceded from the nation. The
Confederates wanted control of the bases in South
Carolina.
One base was Fort Sumter. On April 12, 1861
Confederate forces fired the first shots of the
Civil War at Union forces in Fort Sumter. After
two days of fighting the Union forces surrendered.
Down came the stars and stripes and up went the
Confederate Stars and Bars!!
Lincoln Takes Action
Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to enlist for
three months to put down the rebellion.
Within a month the call was raised to 500,000 volunteers
willing to serve for three years.
Across the North young men answered the president’s call.
Lincoln also declared a naval blockade of the
South.
The U.S. Navy would prevent all ships from entering or
leaving southern ports.
Southern States are forced to choose!


South
Virginia, Arkansas,
North Carolina, and
Tennessee picked the
Confederacy.
North

Kentucky, Maryland,
and Missouri – stayed
in the Union (border
states).
Because of Virginia’s size,
location, and resources,
the Confederate
government moved its
capital to Richmond,
Virginia.
Four other slave holding
states – Delaware,

Also staying with the
Union were the nonslaveholding counties in
western Virginia. In 1863,
they seceded from
Virginia and joined the
Union as the new state
of West Virginia.
Union/Confederate/Border
States
1st Confederate
Capital
Fort Sumter
2nd
Confederate
Capital
Union Capital
Washington D.C.
At first neither northern or southern leaders expected that
war would last very long.
Southerners believed
that the people of the
North wouldn’t have the
stomach for fighting.
Northerners felt their
huge advantages in
resources would mean
swift military defeat of
the South.
The Civil War would last
4 years. Its costs would
be staggering – over
600,000 southern and
northern soldiers killed
another 400,000
wounded.
Major Battles

Everyone (both North and South) thought
the war would not last long
– Neither realized how costly it would be in lives
lost and economic devastation
Most battles were in Virginia followed by
Tennessee and Georgia
 First major battle -- 1st Battle of Manasses
(Battle of Bull Run)

– Georgia’s 21st regiment lost 76% of its men
Manassas
(Bull Run)
The War

Soldiers left home to cheering crowds and the
sound of military drums

At first, superior military leadership gave
the South an advantage. Yet, its soldiers
were vastly outnumbered by the North,
forcing the Confederate government to
begin a draft – a law requiring civilians to
join the army. (conscription)
War Changes America
Virginia’s Manassas
Junction, near Bull Run
Creek was the site of the
first major battle.
Confederate forces won a
stunning upset.
There were early
Southern victories but the
superior numbers and
equipment of the North
soon began to make a
difference.
Both sides realized it was
going to be a long conflict,
and the glamour of war
began to fade.
Soon, caskets and
disabled soldiers were
returning to Georgia in a
steady flow.
Of the 120,000 Georgians
who fought for the South,
about 25,000 lost their
lives
Life in Georgia is changed significantly!
The Union’s naval
blockade of the southern
ports prevented the
export of cotton, the
South’s main source of
income.
This resulted in the
South having little
money to buy military
supplies and food.
Women Contributions
Slave Contributions
•Found substitutes for such
necessities as coffee, sugar, and
tea.
•Built forts and prisons
•Learned to use native-grown
roots, herbs, and other plants to
take care of the sick.
•Worked as cooks, wagon
drivers, and blacksmiths
•Took over the responsibilities
of running the farms and
plantations.
•Helped care for the wounded.
•Repaired railroads
Battle of Antietam

the bloodiest one day battle
– almost 23,000 casualties

Union victory
– It was really a tie
– Fewer Confederate casualties than Union
casualties, BUT Lee retreated

It gave President Lincoln courage to issue
the Emancipation Proclamation.
– Ultimatum – The south must surrender or all
slaves in the confederacy would be freed
– The south did not surrender.
Antietam
Emancipation Proclamation
This historic
document stated that
on January 1, 1863,
all persons held as
slaves in any state of
the Confederacy
“shall be thence
forward, and forever
free.”
The war was no longer just
a fight to preserve the
Union. It was now a war to
free southern slaves.
Lincoln was not only
freeing slaves but he was
asking them to come join
the Union army. Many did!
Did the Emancipation Proclamation free the slaves?
Gettysburg
Heart of the Confederacy
Georgia became one of the Confederacy’s most
important sources of supplies
Farmers were told to switch from growing cotton to
raising corn and other foodstuffs needed by the soldiers
Georgia had more industry than any other
Confederate state so they supplied the
Confederate soldiers with cannons, guns,
gunpowder, wagons, tools, railroad cars,
saddles, harnesses, and clothing
This made it the “heart of the Confederacy” because of
its 1,400 miles of railroads.
Destruction of Georgia’s resources would be fatal to the
Confederate war effort.
Lee Takes War to the North
General Robert E.
Lee decided to
take the war to the
North.
Lee thought if they
could win some
battles in the
North, the North
might agree to a
political
settlement to end
the war.
Battle of Gettysburg
General Robert E. Lee
General George Meade
Lee and his men entered the little town of Gettysburg, Pa
looking for supplies and ran into a Union cavalry unit of
General George Meade’s Army of the Potomac. Lee decided to
take on Meade’s unit although he was outnumbered 75,000 to
Meade’s 97,000 men.
The battle would prove to be the most important battle of the
Civil War. On July 1, 1863 the greatest battle ever fought on
the continent of North America began.
In three days of terrible fighting, both sides fought bravely.
The Confederate Army suffered 28,000 killed, wounded, or
captured. Union casualties numbered 23,000. Lee retreated
to Virginia!
Battle of Gettysburg

Bloodiest battle in the entire Civil War
– Lasted 3 days

Turning point of the war
– Confederate Army suffered 28,000
killed, wounded, or captured.
– Union casualties numbered 23,000
This battle marked the end of a
possible Confederate victory
The Confederacy Splits
General Ulysses S. Grant
captured Vicksburg,
Mississippi giving the
North control of the
Mississippi River and
splitting the Confederacy
in two.
In late November,
Chattanooga, Tennessee
fell to the Union forces.
1863 was not a good year
for the Confederates.
War in Georgia
Over 100 Civil War battles and skirmishes
in Georgia
 Most were in 1864 involving Union General
William T. Sherman.
 Battle of Chickamauga (2nd bloodiest
battle)

– Confederate victory, but Gen Bragg did not
follow up on the Union retreat.
– General Ulysses S. Grant sent more troops.
War Comes to Georgia
Not much fighting occurred
in Georgia for the first two
years of the war.
Confederate forces turned the
Union troops back in a bloody battle
at Chickamauga.
Union forces took over Tybee
Island and Fort Pulaski but
they limited their efforts to
blockade Georgia’s coastal
waters.
After this battle all eyes turned to
Atlanta.
After Chattanooga was
captured, Union forces kept
coming south into Georgia
Atlanta wasn’t the largest city yet,
nor was it the state capital yet but
with its industrial and
transportation resources it was the
most important target in Georgia.
Atlanta shell
damage!
Fort
Pulaski
Georgia Soldiers going to battle!
Battle at
Bull Run
Calvary Line
Northern Camp – Pay attention to their shelters and
the way they were built and how neat the camp is
laid out.
Richmond, Virginia after the war!
Richmond, Virginia
destruction!
Lookout towers were
built to guard against
attacks!
Dead soldiers at Gettysburg, Pa
Dead soldiers
Leg being amputated
Typical soldiers!
Fort Sumter
raising the
Confederate flag
at the beginning
of the war.
General Sherman
speaking to his leaders!
Lincoln talking with
soldiers
Atlanta Campaign








Union General William T. Sherman took 112,000 men
on a campaign toward Atlanta.
Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston had replaced
General Bragg but only had 60,000 men.
Several battles (Dalton, Resaca, New Hope Church,
Kennesaw Mountain, Allatoona)
Johnston was able to slow Sherman down, but
Jefferson Davis replaced him with General John Bell
Hood.
Battle of Atlanta was on July 22, 1864.
General Hood evacuated Atlanta (August 1864)
Sherman’s troops occupied Atlanta for over 2 months.
November 15, 1864 Sherman’s troops set fire to
Atlanta.
March to the Sea
Sherman’s army moved through Georgia
300 miles from Atlanta to Savannah
burning everything in a path sixty miles
wide.
 They destroyed military targets as well as
farms, homes, towns, railroads, bridges
and roads ($100 million damage)
 Why would he do this?

Savannah
December 22, 1864 Sherman sent a
message to Lincoln giving him the city of
Savannah with 150 heavy guns,
ammunition and 25,000 bales of cotton.
 Why did Sherman NOT burn Savannah?

Overcrowded prisons
One of the Confederate prisons
for Union soldiers was in
Andersonville
Andersonville, Georgia.
 The prison was
overpopulated

– Not enough food, water, or
medical supplies
– Most water was contaminated
by a poorly placed latrine
– Almost 13,000 Union
prisoners died here (in only
15 months of operation)
– Major Henry Wirz,
commander of the prison,
tried to improve it, but he
was executed in 1865 for
“excessive cruelty”
America, the land of the
free and the home of the
brave!
THE END!!!
http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abp
p/battles/GAmap.htm
http://sciway3.net/clark/civilwar/m
archingthruGA.html