Civil War Flashcards
(27 cards)
What caused the North to enter the Civil War?
The North wanted the Union to stay together.
The North wanted to end slavery.
What caused the South to enter the Civil War?
The South’s economy was based on slave labor.
The South wanted to keep their slaves.
The South thought the North would have enough political influence in the Union that laws would be passed to abolish slavery, even in the South.
Explain what happened after the election of 1860.
South Carolina suceeded from the Union on Dec. 20, 1960, followed quickly by 6 other states.
These 7 states formed the Confederate States of America in February 1861.
This split Union into a North and a South.
Some southerners who owned large plantations doing business with the North were not in favor of this Confederacy
What were some of the advantages the North had?
Larger population
Factories
Railroads
What were the dates of the civil war?
War began April 15, 1861
War ended April 9, 1865
(Lincoln died April 14, 1865)
How many casualties did the war create?
Casualties
Total > 600,000
Union (North) 364,511 (140,414 in battle)
Confederate (South) 260,000 (94,000 in battle)
Wounded
Union (280,040)
Confederate (226,000)
What were the advantages of the war for the North?
Factories produced ammunition, arms, medical supplies, food, ships, railroad cars
What were the advantages of the war for the South?
The soldiers were more dedicated to their cause.
The South had better military leaders.
Name and explain the president of the South
President Jefferson Davis
War hero for the Union in the Mexican-American war
Was not in favor of South Carolina suceeding from the Union
Name and explain the president of the North
Abraham Lincoln
President of the North
Very tall, thin
Opposed to slavery
Died April 15, 1865
(6 days after war ended)
Explain problems with Winfield Scott
Old, fat, and feeble by the time of the Civil War
First General-in-Chief of Union
Came up with the Anaconda Plan
Previously a war mastermind and hero
Served valiently in these wars: War of 1812,
Mexican American War,
Indian Wars…
Served under 14 presidents
(6’5” tall, >300 pounds)
Explain problems with George McClellan
2nd General-in-Chief of Union (after Winfield Scott)
Served 11/1861 to 03/1862 (only 4 months)
Replaced by General Meade?
Meticulous (detailed) in planning for war
Too slow to respond to needs in battle,
insubordinate to President Lincoln
so Lincoln replaced him with Grant
Upset with Lincoln
Unsuccessfully ran against Lincoln
in the Presidential election of 1864
What was the philosophy of General Grant?
Ulysses S. Grant worked his way up the army ranks
scoring victory after victory in the west
until he was appointed General-In-Chief
in March, 1864
(after General George Meade failed
to pursue General Lee’s forces
after their defeat at Gettysburg
His philosophy was to fight offensively, not defensively
Don’t retreat and give up ground
If necessary, go sideways
Explain Lee and Arlington National Cemetery
George Washington Parke Custis
(Martha Washington’s grandson)
aquired this land (624 acres) in 1802,
built the Arlington House on it,
and passed it down to his daughter,
Mary Anna Lee (wife of General Robert E Lee)
It was very close to Washington, DC and the Union Troops occupied the Arlington House during the war.
The first buriel was May 13, 1864
(less than 1 year before the war ended)
Explain Stonewall Jackson
Real Name Thomas Jonathan Jackson
Great confederate military leader
Gifted tactical commander
First Battle of Bull Run
(where he got his nickname, Stonewall)
Second Battle of Bull Run
Antietam
Fredericksburg
Accidentally shot by his own troops
at the Battle of Chancellorsville
5/2/1863
lost an arm,
died of pneumonia 8 days later
Explain Nathan Bedford Forrest
Civil war lieutenant who used speedy maneuvers by calvary (on horseback)
He was uneducated, but very good at business and became one of the wealthiest southerners before the war
He became the first Grand Dragon in the Ku Klux Klan after the war ended
Who was Sherman and what was his Philosophy?
William Tecumseh Sherman was a Union general
He delivered total war, destroying:
buildings
railroads
plantations
factories
Sherman commanded a small brigade at
the First Battle of Bull Run
He retreated on the 1st day in the Battle of Shiloh
Won the 2nd day of the Battle of Shiloh
Shot in the hand and in the shoulder
3 horses shot out from under him
Sherman marched through Georgia in Total War
He then went through South Carolina in Total War
What was the significance of the Battle of Atlanta?
Union General Sherman’s forces
defeated the Southern forces
defending the city of Atlanta, Georgia
on July 22, 1864
This changed the North’s feelings about
President Lincoln,
who was being challenged in the 1864 election by George B. McClellan
Why did the South almost win the war?
The Union forces from the North had more casualties, and the people just wanted the war to end
Explain Antietam
Bloodiest single day of the war
>22,000 soldiers killed or wounded
Named for a creek (Antietam Creek) in Maryland
General Lee’s forces attacked northern territory
(most of the war was founght in the South)
The North should have decisively won, but North’s Generall George McClellan was too timid
Enough of a victory for the North that President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation
Explain Bull Run
Also called the battle of Manassas
First major land battle of the Civil War
Happened in Virginia on 7/21/1861
Union General Irvin McDowell vs
Confederate General Beauregard
Union troops hoped to quickly capture the confederate’s capital, Richmond, Virginia
The confederates put up more resistance than expected
Largest and bloodiest battle on American soil
up until that point
What was the 2nd Battle of Bull Run
About the same place as the 1st Battle, but a year later
More casualties on both sides
Another defeat for the North
What was Fort Sumpter?
Fort Sumpter was a fort on the Charleston, South Carolina bay that was owned by the United States government.
The Southern states took it by force
on April 12th and 13th, 1861.
This started the Civil War
Timeline
Fort Sumpter: April 12, 1861
1st Bull Run: July, 1861
35 miles south of Wasthington DC
Antietam: 1862
Maryland
Gettysburg: July 1-3, 1863
Pennsylvania
Battle of Atlanta: Sept 1-3, 1864
Georgia
Sherman’s Total War (Scorched Earth): Sept 1864
Georgia and South Carolina
Lincoln defeats McClellan in Election: Nov 1864
Lee surrenders to Grant: April 9, 1865
Appomattox, Maryland
