Transcript human bondage

The American Civil War
The Early Years
1861-1862
Vocabulary
 theater – a large geographical region of military operations.
 logistics – the supply, transportation and communication of
armies.
 flank – the side
 strategy – planning military operations on a “large” scale or
for a long term objective.
 tactics – planning military operations on a small scale for
immediate results.
The War
 Following the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, both sides
anticipated a short, relatively bloodless war. The initial phase
of the war saw the development of a two theater war (other
theaters would develop later in the war).
 The Eastern Theater concentrated attention on the area
immediately around Virginia and Washington, DC. With the
secession of Virginia following Lincoln’s call for 75,000
volunteers, the Confederate capital was moved to Richmond.
 Richmond is 96 miles, as the crow flies, from Washington,
DC. Even in 1861 this was not a very great distance.
The War
 Because of the closeness of the two capitals, attention, both
then and in most histories, was focused mainly on the Eastern
Theater. Except for organizing the two opposing armies in
the East, there was little except small scale military action in
that theater.
 The Western Theater included areas such as western
Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, etc. This theater
also included the vital Mississippi River.
 Why would the Mississippi River be of strategic concern?
The War
 Early Union success in the Western Theater was offset by the
more prominent Eastern Theater.
 The Regular Army, that is the professional standing United
States Army, was composed of approximately 16,000 men in
1860. These troops were scattered among small frontier
outposts or in coastal forts along the east coast.
 Too small to be used as an effective force to put down the
rebellion, President Lincoln issued an immediate call for
75,000 troops to be inducted into Federal service for a 90
period (restricted by law).
1861
 The Confederate attack on Fort Sumter opened active
military operations for the Civil War, called by the Union the
War of the Rebellion.
 Volunteers flocked to fill the ranks of both armies. Neither
side expected a long conflict.
 Raw recruits had to be trained and training takes time. Time
was not something President Lincoln had. His greatly
expanded army would quickly disintegrate once their 90 day
Federal service was up.
 Meanwhile, the Union leaders needed a strategy to combat
the rebellion.
1861
 The Union had the disadvantage of being the attacking force.
They needed to invade and occupy the territory in rebellion.
 The Confederates could remain on the defensive. This
provides an advantage of needing a smaller military force.
Military theory maintains a minimum of a 4 to 1 attacking ratio
1861
 The Commanding General of the Army, Lieutenant General
Winfield Scott first proposes a strong naval blockade of all
Southern ports. This would be coupled with a force of about
80,000 men that would strike down (north to south) the
Mississippi River eventually seizing this vital waterway and
cut the Confederacy in two parts.
 Impatience, an under-strength navy, and overconfidence
caused Scott’s plan to be discounted by almost all other
military planners and ridiculed in the Northern press.
1861
 The Union began it’s military operations by securing the
border states of Maryland (totally essential), Kentucky, and
Missouri as well as areas that were parts of Confederate
states, such as western Virginia: Battle of Philippi.
 Attention, though, turned to the Eastern theater. Lincoln’s
call for 75,000 volunteers was rapidly approaching their 90
day limit.
 Partially trained units were rushed into field service and by
mid-July the first large scale land battle takes place in
Northern Virginia: First Bull Run, July 21, 1861.
1861
 So unsuspecting of the brutality of war, that many people
from Washington and the surrounding countryside came to
watch the impending battle. Spectators packed picnic baskets
and planned on making a social outing by watching the battle.
 As the battle opened, Union forces were at first successful.
 However, Confederate forces counter-attacked and what
began as an orderly Union retreat turned into a panicked
rout.
 Spectators’ carriages and riding horses clogged the Army’s
retreat. As panic set in, both soldiers and civilians, bolted for
the safety of the Washington fortifications.
1862
 First Bull Run (a.k.a. First Manassas) acted as a strong wake
up call for both sides. Neither side thought the war would
last long and neither side was prepared for the large numbers
of casualties that the war would bring.
 Lincoln replaced Irvin McDowell with George McClellan
who was a brilliant administrator and organizer. McClellan
took a dejected, beaten Union army and gave it a new
fighting spirit – at least they looked good on the parade
ground.
1862
 As unsuccessful as Union forces were in the east, they were
scoring impressive victories in the west. It was also in the
west, where coordinated Army-Navy operations occurred
against Confederate strong holds on the major rivers.
 Back in the east, McClellan attempted to take the
Confederate capital of Richmond by mounting an in direct
campaign against the city.
 McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign cost the Union, time,
money, troops, and supplies and got the Union commander
no closer to his goal.
1862
 While battlefield success eluded Union forces in the Eastern
theater, Lincoln’s Secretary of State, William Seward, waged
his own diplomatic war.
The Trent Affair
 The “Trent Affair” is named after the British ship that was
stopped by the USS San Jancinto in November 1861.
 Two Confederate representatives were removed from the
RMS Trent, James Mason and John Slidell, by US Navel
personnel.
 The affair could have led to war between Great Britain and
the United States. Diplomatic remedies were found to diffuse
the situation.
Cotton Diplomacy
 The Confederates believed that the demand for cotton in
Europe, particularly Great Britain, would force European
countries to recognize the independence of the Confederacy.
 How?
 By withholding the cotton, Confederate economic leaders
believed that once the supply of cotton dried up in Europe,
the textile industry would demand that the European
governments would intervene in the American war.
1862
 European public opinion overwhelmingly favored the Union.
 The lower classes in both Great Britain and France strongly
supported the North.
 The more aristocratic upper classes related more with the
Southern “aristocracy” or rich planters.
 Even countries that had little stake in the conflict took sides.
 Russia, believing that France and England would support the
Confederacy, threw it’s support behind the North. As did
most of the German states, particularly Prussia.
1862
 What the Lincoln administration needed was a decisive
victory in the Eastern Theater.
 What the South needed was a decisive victory on Northern
soil to demonstrate to the potential European allies that a
military victory was possible (Saratoga?).
 Lincoln was also looking for a way to broaden the war’s
political scope.
 Initially the Northern war aim was to restore the Union. This
goal began to wear thin.
1862
 The catalyst behind the next stage of the war, was Robert E.
Lee’s decision to take the war to Northern soil. Up until this
point the bulk of the action in the Eastern Theater had been
in Virginia.
 A copy of Lee’s plans were lost and recovered by Union
troops.
 McClellan has military gold, a complete copy of his
opponent’s plans.
Antietam
 The two armies clash near a small stream in western
Maryland and a small town named Sharpsburg.
 The result was the single bloodiest day in US history:
deadlier than D-Day in June 1944.
 Results:
 Confederate forces retreating back to Virginia.
 Union forces satisfied that they did not lose the battle.
 Tactically the battle was a draw.
 Strategically a Union victory
Antietam: Aftermath
 Did not give the Confederates the official support of
European powers.
 Does give Lincoln the Eastern Theater battlefield “victory”
needed to expand his war aims.
 Lincoln issues the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation
Emancipation Proclamation
 The document was a stroke of political genius on a number
of levels.
First, it announces Lincoln’s intention of ending slavery, not
immediately, but over time.
Second, it hurts the South’s war effort. Slaves were a labor source
to aid the Confederacy’s war machine.
Third, it made the Union cause a moral/ethical cause: it was no
longer a war just to restore the Union but now included a
means of ending the institution of slavery.
Fourth, it appeases the border states and Southern areas under
Union control because the emancipation does not affect those
areas.
Emancipation Proclamation
 Fifth, it allows for the open recruitment of black soldiers, a
much needed manpower source.
 Sixth, it encouraged more slaves to run away, knowing that
they would not be returned to their owners by the Union
forces.
 Seventh, by stating the intention of ending slavery it presented
Great Britain and France a moral dilemma: How do you support a
nation that condones and practices human bondage? This was
perhaps one of the most important aspects of the document.
 On January 1, 1863 the Emancipation Proclamation took effect.