Transcript SS8H6 The student will analyze the impact of the Civil War and

The Civil War
SS8H6 The student will analyze the impact of
the Civil War and Reconstruction on Georgia.
b. State the importance of key events of the Civil War;
include Antietam, the Emancipation Proclamation,
Gettysburg, Chickamauga, the Union blockade of
Georgia’s coast, Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign,
Sherman’s March to the Sea, and Andersonville.
The War Begins
 Lincoln did not have the support to start a war, it would take
action by the South.
 April 1861- The North tried to send supplies to Ft. Sumter in
South Carolina.
 Confederate forces opened fire against the Union troops
forcing them to leave.
 Lincoln now had the support he needed as most northerners
felt they had been attacked.
Union Blockades
 Anaconda Plan-Lincoln chose to use Winfield Scott’s plan
to choke out the South and their ability to sell and import
goods and supplies. The Union would use their ships to
patrol waters off the Georgia coast preventing ships from
transporting supplies.
Union Blockades
 The South’s economy relied heavily on cotton exports to
Great Britain and France.
 Lincoln hoped the blockades would choke the life out of their
economy with the blockades.
 Blockade runners- were ships that made it through
providing needed supplies to the Confederacy or exports to
other nations.
 General Lee-decided to use troops at strategic locations to
protect place like Savannah. He concentrated his forces at
locations that had railroad access.
Union Blockades
 The Union navy was eventually able to block trade in
Savannah; however, blockade runners were able to
slip ships in and out of Georgia because of the many
barrier islands along the coast.
Antietam &
The Emancipation Proclamation
 Robert E. Lee- his plan was to invade the North and
capture Washington, the capital of the Union. After several
successful battles Lee heads for Sharpsburg, Maryland.
 His plans are discovered by Union soldiers at an abandoned
camp site. The Union army would be waiting!
 This battle marks the first major victory for the
Union.
 Lincoln decides its time
to issue his proclamation.
Antietam
The Emancipation Proclamation
 Lincoln delivers his Emancipation Proclamation with a
victory at Antietam. He feels that he has the full support of
the North to make his move.
 The Emancipation Proclamation- if the South does not
return to the Union then all slaves will be free. (It did not
free slaves in the border states because Lincoln could not
afford to lose their support.)
Gettysburg
 General Lee invaded the North for the second time.
 The two armies met in Gettysburg, Penn. By accident.
 This battle ended up as the bloodiest of the war, with 51,000
dead.
 The Union victory was the turning point of the war
as the Confederates retreated into the South for the
remainder of the war; realizing for the first time, their was
no chance for real victory.
The Atlanta Campaign
 William T. Sherman was placed in charge of the western
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forces.
Sherman wanted to capture Atlanta because it was the rail
hub of the South.
July 1, 1864 -After Sherman flanked Confederate forces by
crossing the Chattahoochee, he reached the outskirts of
Atlanta. General Hood had to evacuate the city in September.
The city was now under Union control.
The capture of Atlanta was important not only
because of economics but it sent a message to the
northerners that victory was in sight.
Sherman’s March to the Sea
 Sherman takes his forces and marches 300 miles across
Georgia destroying railroads, factories, farms, bridges, and
crops.
 Sherman wanted to cripple the South’s ability to transport or
make supplies so that they would give up and stop the fight.
 His march to the sea broke the spirit of the South which led
to surrender by Lee and the Confederacy.
 April 9, 1865 Lee surrenders at Appomattox Courthouse in
Virginia.
Andersonville Prison
 Exchange Breakdown- after the Emancipation
Proclamation (arming black soldiers) the Confederates began
re-enslaving black soldiers and executing the white officers.
 U. Grant- calls for suspension of the exchange program
where soldiers from each side would be exchanged. Grant
realized that large numbers of Confederate troops were
returning back to fight against the North.
Andersonville Prison
 The South chooses Andersonville, Ga. As the site for a
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prison.
Andersonville was designed to hold 8 to 10 thousand
prisoners.
Feb.-1600
Mar. 4,600 April 7,800 May 13,500
June- Henry Wirz becomes commander of the stockade.
23,000 prisoners.
10 more acres are added. July 28,000 Aug. 32,000
All together 45,000 would go through the doors of
Andersonville. 13,000 would die by Nov. 1864
Andersonville Prison
 Conditions at the prison- 4 acres to drink, bath, and use
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bathroom. This was the creek that ran through the middle of
the camp.
The medical treatment was poor due to a lack of
knowledge.
Food was limited and poor quality.
* most died of dysentery.
Union soldiers turned on one another and began robbing the
newcomers of supplies and rations.
Andersonville Prison
Andersonville Prison
 Once word reached the prison camp that Sherman was
pushing through Georgia, prisoners were moved to a new
camp that had much better conditions.
 Confederates were worried about Union troops finding their
troops in such horrid conditions.
 Henry Wirz was sent to Washington and hung for his role in
Andersonville.