The American Civil War

(1861-1865)

After the war of Independence the United States was governed by the Articles of Confederation. This weakened the central government and called for a new constitution. This new constitution resulted in a stronger Federal government with powers which included regulating commerce as well as foreign affairs.

Conflict grew rapidly in the 1800�s between the northern and southern states over the issue of slavery. The northern states were going through the industrial revolution and desperately needed more people to work in factories. The North believed that if freed, the slaves of the southern states would quickly immigrate to the North to fill the massive gaps of labor. The North also wanted tariffs on imported goods to protect their industries. The south was mainly agricultural and purchased a lot of goods from Great Britain and other such countries and therefore against tariffs.

The growth of Anti-Slavery worried Southern farmers. They feared these new activities would put a halt on their plantation system.

Abraham Lincoln raised the issue of slavery again in 1858 when he made a statement at a convention in Illinois. He stated: "If elected I will promise an ending of slavery." This made a huge commotion for the South. The Southern nightmares, were coming true.

In 1859, John Brown led a party of 21 men in a successful attack on the federal armory at Harper�s Ferry. Brown hoped this action would encourage slaves to join his rebellion enabling him to form an Emancipation army. Two days later the armory was stormed by Robert E Lee and a company of marines. Brown and six men barricaded themselves in an engine-house, and continued to fight until Brown was severely wounded and two of his sons were killed. Brown was executed on December 2nd, 1859.

Southern slaveholders were outraged when in 1860 the Republican Party nominated Abraham Lincoln as its presidential candidate. They looked to the Democratic Party to defend its interests but when it met in Charleston, it selected Stephen A. Douglas. Unhappy with this decision, Southern delegates decided to hold another convention in June. They selected John Beckenridge to fight the election. Abraham Lincoln won the election.

In the three months that followed, 7 states succeeded from the Union and formed The Confederate States of America. They wrote their own constitution and elected Jefferson Davis as president.

President Davis stated that after a state succeeded, federal forts were owned by that state. On April 12, 1861, General Pierre T. Beauregard demanded the surrender of Fort Sumter. The North did not comply and confederate batteries opened fire at 6:00 A.M.. After 36 hours of fire, the fort surrendered.

On hearing this news, men both Northern and Southern enlisted to fight in this so called "three month war." Abraham Lincoln organized 75,000 troops to seize Richmond, which was the Confederate capitol at the time. These men were under the command of Irvin McDowell. The north met the confederates at a place called Bull Run. The inexperienced Union troops were no match for the barricaded confederates.

After hearing the victory, there was a massive recruitment for the Confederates, and Lincoln called for more volunteers. He gave command of the Union force to General George McClellan. They sat down one night and thought of a plan to destroy the Confederate army that included 273,000 men. His plan was to invade Virginia by sea and capture all Confederate cities, including Richmond.

In 1862, the Union army began moving southward. They were easily getting stomped by the Confederates and called for more volunteers. After the army was reinforced, they moved to Tennessee and captured Fort Henry. This broke Confederate communications and supply lines. With Tennessee secure, the Federals moved southward.

The routed confederates reunited at the Mississippi line. The Union continued southward and all seemed going there way when they met the Confederates at Shiloh. Taken by surprise, the Union army was virtually destroyed until 4 hours later when reinforcements arrived. During the fighting, Albert S. Johnson (the confederate commander) was severely wounded. The Confederate army was taken command by Robert E. Lee. The confederates were driven out of Tennessee and reformed.

At this time (1862) the difference in manpower was becoming more noticeable. The Union consisted of 23 states and 22,000,000 people, and the Confederacy consisted of 9,000,000 people (including 3,500,000 slaves). President Davis realized the South could not win without a conscription. Congress passed the Conscription Act which drafted white men between the ages of 18-35 for three year service.

In 1862, the federal fleet captured the forts guarding New Orleans. The following month, General Benjamin F. Butler (Union) took control of the city. He was accused of treating the confederates harshly and was nicknamed the "beast".

During the summer f 1862, George McClellan and the army of the Potomac (Union), took part in what was known as the Peninsular Campaign. The main objective was to capture Richmond. McClellan and his 115,000 troops encountered the Confederate army at Williamsburg on May 5th. The Confederate forces retreated south.

McClellan moved to the Shenandoah Valley and surrounded Stonewall Jackson and his 17,000 confederates. Jackson formed up with Johnson (who was the Commander of all Confederate Forces) and began fighting. Johnson was severely wounded and Robert E. Lee took command.

Major General John Pope (Union) was instructed to move east to draw Lee away from defending Richmond. Lee�s 80,000 troops faced McClellan (90,000) and Pope (50,000).

Lee attacked the Union at Manassas, close to where the first battle was fought. The Union army lost 15,000 men and retreated. Lee had crushed an army twice his side.

George McClellan became a field commander again when the Confederate army invaded Maryland in September. McClellan attacked Lee at Antietam. Outnumbered, Lee held out until reinforcements arrived. The Union army retreated after losing 11,000 people.

After this battle, Lincoln felt the importance of Antietam and organized the Emancipation Proclamation which was supposed to free all slaves. It freed less than 2% of all slaves, considering the South had succeeded.

Months passed with many victories for the Confederates, including Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville.

Late in June of 1863 Lee invaded the north. He moved from Maryland on into Pennsylvania. He met General Hancock (Union) at a town called Gettysburg. This was the most fearsome battle ever fought on American soil. The battle involved over 150,000 troops and cost the lives of over 65,000 people. This battle lasted 3 days. The first day, the Confederates won Decisively. The second day, The Union won. The last day involved Pickett's Charge. The Confederates were slaughtered. This was definitely the turning point of the Civil War.

The war dragged on for 2 years. Ultimately, General Grant (Supreme Union General) surrounded Lee at Appomattox. Worn out with a lack of food, Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865.

The Civil War lasted for 5 years and involved over 3 million people. Over 650,000 people were killed. 200,000 were K.I.A. and the rest died from disease. After the Civil War, the government enforced the 13th amendment (abolishment of slavery) and buried over 100,000 people on Lee�s property. The Emancipation Proclamation was enforced and finally freed the slaves.

The American Civil War led to the invention of many new weapons, including the .57 caliber Enfield Rifle Musket which could be fired and could hit a target 200 yards away. It led to the invention of Sniper rifles and the first submarine.