Transcript Civil War
Warm-Up
9/21/15
If General McLellan is not using the
army, I would very much like to borrow
it for a time.
- Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln is being sarcastic here; what do you
think he means?
Civil War
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1862
The War So Far
• The war had not been going well for the Union
armies around Washington, D.C.
• The Union had lost every major battle in which it
had fought in 1861 and 1862.
BATTLES
September 1862
BATTLES
Antietam (or Sharpsburg)
Antietam (or Sharpsburg)
Casualties
•23,100 / one day
State
• Maryland
Aggressor:
• Union
Commanders:
• Gen. George B.
McClellan [US]
• Gen. Robert E.
Lee [CS]
After pursuing Confederate General Robert E. Lee
into Maryland, Union Army Maj. Gen. George B.
McClellan launched attacks against Lee's army, in
defensive positions behind Antietam Creek. At dawn
on September 17, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's corps
mounted a powerful assault on Lee's left flank.
Attacks and counterattacks swept across Miller's
Cornfield and fighting swirled around the Dunker
Church. Union assaults against the Sunken Road
eventually pierced the Confederate center, but the
Federal advantage was not followed up. In the
afternoon, Union Maj. Gen.
Commander Ambrose Burnside's corps entered the action,
capturing a stone bridge over Antietam Creek and
advancing against the Confederate right. At a crucial
moment, Confederate Maj. Gen. A. P. Hill's division arrived
from Harpers Ferry and launched a surprise counterattack,
driving back Burnside and ending the battle. Although
outnumbered two-to-one, Lee committed his entire force,
while McClellan sent in less than three-quarters of his
army, enabling Lee to fight the Federals to a standstill.
During the night, both armies consolidated their lines. In
spite of crippling casualties, Lee continued to skirmish with
McClellan throughout September 18, while removing his
battered army south of the Potomac River.[5]
September 17, 1862 was the bloodiest day
of the Civil War taking place at
Antietam. Federal losses totaled 12,410
and the Confederates lost 10,700 men.
Although neither side won a decisive
victory, General Robert E. Lee's failure to
carry the war into the north was significant
to the outcome of the war. The win at
Antietam gave President Lincoln the
opportunity to issue the EMANCIPATION
PROCLAMATION, which on January 1,
1863, declared free all slaves in States still in
rebellion against the United States.
General George McLellan
McClellan and Lee battled to a standstill along Antietam
Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland. Lee retreated back to
Virginia. In early October, Lincoln visited McClellan at his
headquarters at Antietam to urge him personally to attack.
McClellan ignored
Lincoln’s urging to
pursue him. For six
weeks, Lincoln and
McClellan
exchanged angry
messages, but
McClellan
stubbornly refused
to march after Lee.
McClellan had a habit of
overestimating the
Confederate forces he faced
and underestimating his
ability to move
expeditiously against
them.
In letters to his wife he was full of criticisms regarding his
commander-in-chief. Here are some quotes from his
letters:
“The President is an idiot…I went to the White House
shortly after tea where I found the original gorilla…the
President is nothing more than a well meaning
baboon…There never was a truer epithet applied to a
certain individual than that of the ‘Gorilla.’ “
In November 1862,a tortured
relationship ends when President
Abraham Lincoln removes General
George B. McClellan from command
of the Army of the Potomac.
Named Burnside as the
new general.
McClellan ran against
Lincoln for 2nd
presidential term in
1864.
DRAFT
(also called
Conscription)
CREATED
Draft (n.) : a system in which
people are ordered to join the
armed services in time of war
In 1862 the South instituted a draft
requiring three years of service for those
selected between the ages of 18 and 35
In 1863, the North also passed the draft.
Congress created The Enrollment Act,
requiring all men between 20 and 45 years
register for military service.
Who may have written
this?
Often called “The rich
person’s war.” Why?
The draftee could find a
substitute to go for him.
Or he could simply pay
$300 and get out of going to
war.
https://email.husd.org/owa/at
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NYC Draft Riots, (July 13-16, 1863)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgxgE
TdDmGo
Civil War on the
Homefront
1
3
4
5
6
1st Bull Run
Picacho Peak
Shiloh
Antietam
Fredericksburg
Dates
Near Tucson, Arizona
Location
Union General
Confederate General
Winner
Union
Total Casualties
Significance
Realized it would be a
long, difficult war
Gettysburg