The Civil War:
A Brief Summary
Written by: Civil War Group
Arinda Kessler, Cecilia Leil Abou-El-Ela-Ali,
Deloyce Berry, Denise Eberhardt, Danna Guntharp, Heidi Gustus,
Karen Lacy, Jennifer Oxuzidis, Kristen Mosley, Leslie Gutierrez,
Michael Compton, Ronald Lambert, Sally Johnson
History 1311-701
Dr. Kimberly Breuer
March 15, 2011
Civil War
The Civil War became a reality during the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln. He was up against Jefferson Davis, Lincoln's counterpart, whom wanted to create the Confederate States of America. This would therefore create an independent republic from the United States of America. Neither of the leaders wanted war but war was inevitable and our nation became divided.
The battle of Fort Sumter began when South Carolina succeeded from the union. This was a time when lines were being drawn between the north and south. President Buchanan attempted to resupply the fort with men and supplies but was unsuccessful due to the attack on the vessel, Star of the West, in the Charleston Bay. The supplies at the fort were dwindling rapidly. The Southern states, lead by Jefferson Davis, were demanding the surrender of the fort.
This proclamation of possible intent of war was issued on April 10th. Some say with this demand of surrender and the refusal notice delivered the war had begun. Lincoln as the newly elected president had to make a decision. The town’s people were watching waiting for the first gunfire. Newspapers were predicting who would strike first. On April 12, 1861 Davis demanded Major Robert Anderson surrender but refusal was all he got in return. The battle began at 4:30 am ordered by General Pierre Gustave T. Beauregard. Fort Sumter was being littered with over 3,000 shells during the three and a half day battle. On April 13 at 2pm Major Anderson raised the white flag of surrender officially starting the Civil War. Amazingly the only casualty of war was a Union artillerist who was in the wrong place when a cannon misfired during the salute of the evacuation.
This proclamation of possible intent of war was issued on April 10th. Some say with this demand of surrender and the refusal notice delivered the war had begun. Lincoln as the newly elected president had to make a decision. The town’s people were watching waiting for the first gunfire. Newspapers were predicting who would strike first. On April 12, 1861 Davis demanded Major Robert Anderson surrender but refusal was all he got in return. The battle began at 4:30 am ordered by General Pierre Gustave T. Beauregard. Fort Sumter was being littered with over 3,000 shells during the three and a half day battle. On April 13 at 2pm Major Anderson raised the white flag of surrender officially starting the Civil War. Amazingly the only casualty of war was a Union artillerist who was in the wrong place when a cannon misfired during the salute of the evacuation.
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The Union was to make a move toward Richmond, Virginia toward the Confederates and where they were stationed, Manassas, Virginia. These men, their infantry and artillery, headed southwest in an attempt to take over starting in the wee hours of the morning. The battle was back and forth on Henry Hill with winning and losing between sides many times before the north retreats. Because of their long walk, many of the men grew hungry and tired and were not able to withstand the struggle with the battle against fresh forces, men that had traveled by railroad sent by the opposing force – the Confederates. It didn’t take much for them to get defeated and withdraw back towards Washington. Almost 3,000 died. Men from North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Virginia, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Maryland followed under either Brig, Gen. Beauregard or Brig. Gen. Johnston to lead the Confederates in the south for a victory over the north. Col. Jackson who leads the first brigade stood their ground under the attack and earned the name “Stonewall” Jackson. Their standing their resembled a stone wall. Almost 2,000 died.
The Battle of Shiloh on Pittsburg Landing was the first large scale battle of the American Civil War. The general in charge of confederate forces was determined to protect the strategic railroad junction of Corinth, Mississippi from Union takeover. The junction of the Memphis & Charleston Railroad and the Mobile & Ohio Railroad in Corinth was vitally important to the south for communications and supplies ("Shiloh national military," 2006). General Albert Sidney Johnston, the supreme Confederate Commander, moved his force of 44,000 men into the small town with the hopes of destroying any Federal designs on Corinth. Effectively abandoning Kentucky and Middle Tennessee to concentrate his forces in and around Corinth, General Johnson planned to engage and smash Union troops trying to break Western Confederate railroad communications and supply lines ("Shiloh national military," 2006).
Union strategists, knowing the importance of the vital railroad junction, sent two Union armies, under the command of Major General Henry W. Halleck to cut the Confederate supply lines. Halleck’s two armies, totaling 54,500 men under the commands of General Ulysses S. Grant and General Don Carlos Buell were moving south while Confederate General Johnston’s troops were arriving in Corinth. Grant moved down the Tennessee River by steamboat and landed his Army of the Tennessee at Pittsburg Landing, 22 miles northeast of Corinth ("Shiloh national military," 2006). General Buell had not yet arrived with his Army of Ohio which was marching overland from Nashville and was not available to assist General Grant if a battle broke out with the Confederate forces.
Confederate General Johnston planned to smash Grants army at Pittsburg Landing before Buell arrived, but heavy rains and the difficulties of moving large numbers of men and artillery delayed the attack ("Shiloh national military," 2006) By the nightfall, Saturday, April 5, 1862, Johnston’s army of 44,000 men was located just 4 miles from Union lines at Pittsburg Landing. At daybreak, April 6, the Confederate troops stormed out of the woods surprising the Union troops commanded by General Grant. Bitter fighting ensued throughout the morning with Confederate troops slowly gaining ground forcing Grant’s troops to fight a series of defensive stands at Shiloh Church, the Peach Orchard, Water Oaks Pond, and a thicket of oaks called the Hornets’ Nest ("Shiloh national military," 2006).
Confederate troops soon became disorganized and lost coordination, slowing their advance. It was during the afternoon, when trying to supervise an assault on the Union’s left that General Johnston was hit in the right leg by a stray bullet and bled to death, leaving General P.G.T. Beauregard in command. Although the advance faltered in the evening, Grant’s battered army managed to retire to a position west of Pittsburg Landing where artillery protected their front and flanks from the Confederates.
During the night reinforcements from Buell’s army reached Grant’s lines at Pittsburg Landing and now the combined Union armies numbering over 54,500 men were ready to finish the engagement. At dawn on April 7, 1862 the Union troops struck at Beauregard’s depleted ranks, now numbering 34,000 men ("Shiloh national military," 2006). Despite beating back the Union troops and mounting voracious counterattacks, the Confederate troops could not stop the flow of Federal troops. Beauregard and his troops were forced back to Shiloh Church and from there skillfully withdrew to Corinth. The Federals, having suffered many losses decided not to pursue the Confederate troops into Mississippi. Despite both sides suffering almost 24,000 casualties in two days, the railroad junction at Corinth remained in the battered Confederate army’s control.
In late May, General Halleck’s troops, reinforced with another army under the command of General John Pope, had surrounded the town of Corinth with troops and artillery. Despite being reinforced with the troops of the Trans-Mississippi Army under the command of Major General Earl Van Dorn, Beauregard decided to withdraw to the south of Tupelo, giving up the crossroads at Corinth, thereby abandoning the south’s most viable rail communications of the Western Confederacy ("Shiloh national military," 2006). The strategic rail crossroads were now firmly in the hands of Union troops. Early in October 1862, Van Dorn’s army vigorously attacked Corinth to dislodge the Union troops but was decisively defeated. This battle, the last Confederate offensive in Mississippi, allowed General Grant to consolidate his forces and later launch a campaign to capture Vicksburg and recover the Mississippi River.
The amount of casualties suffered by both sides during the Battle of Shiloh took both the North and South by surprise. Of 109,784 men engaged in the Battle of Shiloh, both sides suffered a total of 23,746 men killed, wounded, or missing by the end of the conflict ("Shiloh national military," 2006). In the end, the battle of Shiloh played a pivotal role in setting the stage for the eventual downfall of the Western Confederacy and ultimately the Confederacy itself.
The second Battle of Bull Run was next to occur between August 29-30, 1862 with another Confederate victory in the same location as the first Bull Run that had occurred the previous year. Unlike the first Battle of Manassas, this was the first time the south attacked the north. This battle was bigger in size than the First Battle of Bull Run and it lasted days longer than the previous battle. The Union had a little more than 60,000 men and the Confederates close to 50,000. Some of the same men that had participated in the first battle were in the second battle and now had some experience with fighting. “Stonewall” Jackson and Longstreet senior officers for the Confederates. The troops for this go around had doubled in size and had come from states previously mentioned in the 1st Battle of Manassas. Along with size of troops doubling so did the deaths. Almost 8500 men either hurt or died between the two sides. This time the army for the Federals was led by Major Gen. John Pope, U.S.V. Commanding who had experience from a previous battle and had earned a name for himself. The north later combined troops with Gen. McClellan for battle to try to get a stronghold on the south from invading. For the army of Virginia, Gen. Robert E. Lee, CS, Commanding the victorious win for the south.
On September 17, 1862 a vital victory was won by the North to regain the Union and end Slavery. The Battle of Antietam was lead by General Robert E. Lee of the Confederate Army, and Major General George B. McClellan of the Northern Army. One of these men would change of the course of America forever. It turns out that due to the planning of McClellan he would prevail.
Lee was the first to invade and in doing so he gained victory at the Second Battle of Manassas. This new victory fueled Lee’s drive to defeat the North. After this victory Lee produced a letter to Jefferson Davis, the Confederate President, in this letter Lee wrote, “We cannot afford to be idle.” (National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior, 2006)Lee’s intentions were to stay on the battlefield and advance further into the North with the hope to defeat more Northern offense. The underlying intention was to swing the upcoming elections.
As Lee’s forces advanced into the battlefield McClellan assembled essentially three different attacks. McClellan’s attack was to “attack the enemy’s left, and when matters looked favorably, attack the Confederated right, and whenever either of those flank movements should be successful to advance our center.” (National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior, 2006) At the end of the day, 6,000 soldiers lie dead or wounded, and on the final body count more than 23,000 were injured.
The willingness to advance the beliefs and ways of life of the South, and desire to reform the union and abolish slavery of the North proved to produce the deadliest day in the Civil war at
The following is the address delivered by President Lincoln at the dedication of the cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, November 19, 1863. |
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But in a larger sense, we can not dedicate--we can not consecrate--we can not hallow-- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee accepted an offer of peace from General Ulysses S. Grant. This peace would allow Lee's men to return home, keep their horses, and work their land to keep and raise their families. Once Lee surrendered the remaining Confederate armies gave up hope and finally after a four year of war it was finally over.
The last battle of the American Civil War was fought near Brownsville, Texas, in May 1865, even though both sides of this battle knew that Robert E. Lee had surrendered four weeks earlier. An 1865 gentleman's agreement prevented this battle from happening previously. On May 11, 1865, Col. David Branson was directed by Col. Theodore Barrett to take his troops from Brazos Island to the mainland to attack Rebel outposts and camps. The first camp they come to, White's Ranch, was empty, so Col. Branson let his troops rest.
The next morning they set out for Palmetto Ranch, where they torched Confederate buildings and supplies. Confederate reinforcements arrived and backed Col. Branson and his troops back to White's Ranch where, the next morning, Col. Barrett sent reinforcements. Once fighting stopped, Col. Branson directed his troops to a bluff to rest, where they were confronted by a reinforced Confederate army commanded by Col. John "Rip" Ford. Col. Barrett ordered a retreat, and the Federals returned to Boca Chica that night.
The Federal troops were made up of the 62nd United States Colored Troops, the 34th Indiana, and two companies of the 2nd Texas (U.S.) Cavalry.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But in a larger sense, we can not dedicate--we can not consecrate--we can not hallow-- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee accepted an offer of peace from General Ulysses S. Grant. This peace would allow Lee's men to return home, keep their horses, and work their land to keep and raise their families. Once Lee surrendered the remaining Confederate armies gave up hope and finally after a four year of war it was finally over.
The last battle of the American Civil War was fought near Brownsville, Texas, in May 1865, even though both sides of this battle knew that Robert E. Lee had surrendered four weeks earlier. An 1865 gentleman's agreement prevented this battle from happening previously. On May 11, 1865, Col. David Branson was directed by Col. Theodore Barrett to take his troops from Brazos Island to the mainland to attack Rebel outposts and camps. The first camp they come to, White's Ranch, was empty, so Col. Branson let his troops rest.
The next morning they set out for Palmetto Ranch, where they torched Confederate buildings and supplies. Confederate reinforcements arrived and backed Col. Branson and his troops back to White's Ranch where, the next morning, Col. Barrett sent reinforcements. Once fighting stopped, Col. Branson directed his troops to a bluff to rest, where they were confronted by a reinforced Confederate army commanded by Col. John "Rip" Ford. Col. Barrett ordered a retreat, and the Federals returned to Boca Chica that night.
The Federal troops were made up of the 62nd United States Colored Troops, the 34th Indiana, and two companies of the 2nd Texas (U.S.) Cavalry.
During the Civil War, field hospitals were set up to handle the wounded and the sick. Many died from infection from wounds and disease. Such diseases like dysentery, measles, small pox, pneumonia, and malaria just to name a few. Limbs were amputated because there was no other choice in treating the wound. Medical personnel took over barns, civilian homes and set up tents near battle fields to take care of the wounded on the front line of battle. Many staff members were assigned to a team led by surgeons and was used for their skills such as carpenters who work to build structures that the patients needed such as bunks. Chaplains would die on the frontline giving last rites to a dying soldier.
On a different perspective, there were women who choose to participate in the forefront of the war. Many women took on roles as nurses with little or no medical training in order to help the sick and wounded soldiers. They would provide comfort, supply food for the soldiers, and help in camp chores. Several women would help make uniforms and ammunition that were needed for battle. It was also not uncommon to see women serving as spies to gather information for both sides. Throughout the course of this battle there were documented accounts of women serving as soldiers. Many of these women would disguise themselves as men and fight in war. Several of them young and without families that wanted to experience life. While others wanted to stand side by side with their loved ones and fight in battle.
With the surrender of the Confederacy a transformed nation emerged. Congress had to create new legislation that would reshape the nation in regards to the political and economic makeup. While the end of the war affected the nation it also affected individual lives. The men that had left their families to fight for what they believed in may have been captured, wounded, or killed in battle or died due to disease. The end of the war left only two-fifths of the South's livestock, farm machinery was ruined, and town and cities were destroyed. The North also paid a price of 373,000 lives. However, this created new opportunities for business activity across the nation. The results of the war ended slavery which changed the shift of the economy from agriculture to industrial.
Text References
A house divided 33a fort Sumter. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ushistory.org/us/33a.asp
Battle of Bull Run: July 1861, First Major Battle of the Civil War. Retrieved from http://www.abraham-lincoln.org/battleofbullrun.com/
Battles of Bull Run. (1994-2003). Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/battles-of-bull-run
Corbis, . (Producer). (1865). Pierre gustave beauregard. [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.corbisimages.com/Enlargement/Enlargement.aspx?id=IH001426&tab=details&caller=search
Corbis, Initials. (Producer). (1861). Robert anderson. [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.corbisimages.com/Enlargement/IH080500.html
Dramatic newspaper coverage of the battle of fort sumter:the attack that began the civil war. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.newsinhistory.com/feature/dramatic-newspaper-coverage-battle-fort-sumter-attack-began-civil-war
First Battle of Bull Run: First Manassas, July 1861. Retrieved from http://americancivilwar.com/bullrun.html
First Battle of Manassas. Retrieved from http://nps-vip.net/history/battle-1.htm
First Bull Run: An Overview: Prelude to Battle. Retrieved from http://www.history.army.mil/staffride/1st%20bull%20run/Overview.htm
Freeman, J. (n.d.). Time Line of the Civil War, 1861. Retrieved from http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/tl1861.html
Hodges, S.G. (2006, Dec 2). The Importance of Women in the Civil War. Global Gazette. Retrieved from http://globalgenealogy.com/globalgazette
Native Americans and the Civil War Period: 1860s, Retrieved from http://www.blogger.com/Local%20Settings/Local%20Settings/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.IE5/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Low/Content.IE5/CC5PHJ18/www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm
Retrieved from: http://www.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/tx005.htm
Roark, J. (2009). The American Promise Bedford/St. Martin's. Volume I. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s
Roark, J., Johnson, M. P., Cohen, P. C., Stage, S., Lawson, S., & Hartmann, S. M. (2009). The American Promise (4th ed.). Boston , MA : Bedford/St. Martin’s
Second Battle of Bull Run: Civil War Battles: The Battle of Bull Run: Battle of Second Manassas. Retrieved from http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/second-battle-bull-run.htm
Second Battle of Manassas. (2007). Retrieved from http://nps-vip.net/history/battle-2.htm
Shiloh national military park, national park service. 2006, July 12). Retrieved from http://www.nps.gov/shil/historyculture/shiloh-history.htm
Shulman, M. (n.d.). Second Battle of Manassas – Bull Run. Retrieved from http://www.historycentral.com/CivilWar/SBullRun/More.html
Swearing-In Native American Civil War Recruits Image ID: WHi-1909, retrieved from http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/whi/fullimage.asp?id=1909%20
The American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP), Heritage Preservation Services. (n.d.). Fort sumter (SC001). Retrieved from http://www.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/sc001.htm
The Battle of Antietam. (2006, November 28) Retrieved March 1, 2011 from http://www.blogger.com/Local%20Settings/Local%20Settings/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.IE5/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Low/Content.IE5/CC5PHJ18/www.nps.gov
The Battle of Bull Run: 1st Manassas: July 21, 1861. Retrieved from http://www.civilwarhome.com/1manassas.htm
Wert, J. (n.d.) Second Battle of Manassas: Union Major General John Pope was no match for Robert E. Lee. America’s Civil War Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/secondmanassas/second-manassas-history-articles/second-battle-of-manassas.html
Photo References
Corbis, . (Producer). (1861). Civil war: fort sumter. [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/fort-sumter-national-monument/photos%23civil-war-fort-sumter
Harriet Tubman photo
Hodges, S.G. (2006, Dec 2). The Importance of Women in the Civil War. Global Gazette. Retrieved from http://globalgenealogy.com/globalgazette
Image: Map of the Battle of Shiloh: http://www.lpdgames.com/images/gebshilohbtlmap.gif
Swearing-In Native American Civil War Recruits Image ID: WHi-1909, retrieved from http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/whi/fullimage.asp?id=1909
The Civil War Trust. (2010, January 10) Retrieved March 1, 2011 from http://www.blogger.com/Local%20Settings/Local%20Settings/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.IE5/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Low/Content.IE5/CC5PHJ18/www.civilwar.or
proclamation of possible intent of war was issued on April 10th. Some say with this demand of surrender and the refusal notice delivered the war had begun. Lincoln as the newly elected president had to make a decision. The town’s people were watching waiting for the first gunfire. Newspapers were predicting who would strike first. On April 12, 1861 Davis demanded Major Robert Anderson surrender but refusal was all he got in return. The battle began at 4:30 am ordered by General Pierre Gustave T. Beauregard. Fort Sumter was being littered with over 3,000 shells during the three and a half day battle. On April 13 at 2pm Major Anderson raised the white flag of surrender officially starting the Civil War. Amazingly the only casualty of war was a Union artillerist who was in the wrong place when a cannon misfired during the salute of the evacuation.
The Civil War took place over a span of four years involving the Confederate and the Union armies.