General Sherman waited in Atlanta for two months while waiting for approval for his march; during this time he was ordering that the citizens were evacuated from the city. The main reasons why the Atlanta Campaign took place, the capture would be demoralizing to the southerners, and the union had to do something to keep Abraham Lincoln in office. General Lee replaced Johnston because he didn’t have enough confidence in what he was doing and he wasn’t aggressive enough. The capture of Atlanta was important because it had supplies to support the union for the war and it ensured Lincoln’s reelection. The march was risky because people could very easily die. Sherman had to do carry out this march because it ensured Lincoln’s reelection, crushed the southern war spirit, the railroads were destroyed, and the confederate army was vulnerable. This was the beginning to the end of the war.
Chickamauga and Chattanooga were close to the end of the war. Chickamauga was another win for the union. The confederacy had 20,000 casualties and the union had 16,000 casualties. The confederate army was wearing down slowly but surely making it an easier win for the union. Chattanooga was when the union army was trapped in the city until General Grant was able to open a railroad to get supplies. This new railroad line helped the union armies to be able to continue south into Georgia. Chattanooga was now the supply hub for union supplies. The Savannah Coast blockade was going since the beginning of the war. This was where Georgia’s coast was tightly blocked. General Lee decided not to put up a fight because he knew he would be wasting soldiers there. Massachusetts 54th Regiment raided and destroyed the town of Darien in 1863 before a suicidal raid at Fort Wagner in South Carolina where about half of the regiment was killed, injured, or captured.
Gettysburg and Vicksburg were the turning point for the war because the union started winning the battles. The confederacy was having problems: southerners were losing slave labor, soldiers were poorly supplied, and the economy was falling apart. Vicksburg was important because the union officially controlled the Mississippi River after General Grant’s siege of the Mississippi River. Gettysburg was General Lee’s last chance to foreign help. There was over 50,000 casualties and Lee’s army retreated to Virginia. President Abraham liked General Grant because he wanted to fight and he was aggressive enough to finish off the south. General Grant’s plan was to tire out the south and force them to no other option then to surrender. The south surrendered at Vicksburg and they never regained the offensive side of the war. 28,000 southern soldiers were killed, injured, or went missing at Vicksburg, this was nearly 1/3 of the southern army. Gettysburg and Vicksburg were crucial battles in the war.
The battle of Antietam was September 17, 1862. General Lee’s war goal was to get foreign countries to see the south as their own country and to aid them in the war. The union had the advantage of finding a copy of General Lee’s war strategy plan. After the battle President Lincoln removed General McClellan from power because he did not take the possibly war ending blow to the south. General McClellan was not aggressive enough. He could have finished the war instead of letting the south retreat. This battle was the bloodiest single day battle. The union had 12,000 casualties and the south had 10,000 casualties. Even though Antietam was neither a win for both sides, President took it a win for the north so he issued the Emancipation Proclamation which wasn’t effective until January 1, 1863. The Emancipation freed slaves in the north; they could be in the army and work for reasonable wages. It didn’t free slaves in the Border States or free slaves in the south but, as soon as the Union gained control of the land the slaves in that area were considered free.
The attack on Fort Sumter was the start to a new war the US civil war. The south had an opportunity to not attack the fort but they decided to attack it. This was now the first battle of the civil war. After the attack on Fort Sumter, President Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers for the military. He authorized spending money for the war and he suspended the privilege of the right of habeas corpus; it was only suspended to non-US citizens meaning the confederates. Bull Run was the first real battle of the civil war. It took place on July 21, 1861. This battle had the famous Stonewall Jackson general and General Winfield Scott. This battle is important to the civil war because the north had a high esteem and because of this congress members and really high up people in the government came to the battle to watch as if it was a sporting event. The confederacy won with 2000 confederate casualties, 387 killed. The union had 3000 casualties, 460 killed. After the union lost they realized that if they wanted to win this war they would have to step up their game.
The Union and Confederacy both have a share of strengths and weaknesses. The first strength of the union is that they had a population 22 million people and had many people to grow food and to work in factories. They had factories to make supplies for the army. Newest technology was found throughout the north, including the telegraph. North was known for having lots of railroads which was good for transporting goods and troops. The north also had a strong navy. Some weaknesses of the north were that they had hard and a large area of land to conquer. They were invading unfamiliar southern land. The confederacy had the strength of having home-field advantage. They also did not want to lose their country property, slaves, and freedom. Confederate people were good soldiers and excellent shooters. A lot of the people were former officers in the US army. Only some factories were in the south, therefore they had very little supplies. The south had very few railroads making transporting goods and troops was hard and took a long time. The population was 9 million and 1/3 were enslaved people and makes 2/3 of the people able to fight but we can’t forget that women were also part of this population. The south had a poor navy. These strengths and weaknesses were a big reason why the union won the war.
Georgia seceded from the union January 19, 1861. It had a Secession Convention. This was when secessionists wanted Georgia to secede from the union, and cooperationists wanted Georgia to stay in the union. Georgia had to have a state-wide vote, but it was not unanimous. Most of the other states made theirs confidential. Alexander Stephens was a key figure during the whole civil war, he was originally not too sure on what to do from the secession. He supported the Compromise of 1850 as long as the north passed the fugitive slave law. Alexander Stephens realized that secession was going to happen with or without his vote and he was chosen to be the Vice President of the Confederacy.
The Dred Scott Decision was in 1857. It was when Dredd Scott, a slave, lived in free states more than two years and still was not being admitted as a free black man. He sued the Supreme Court for his freedom, but the Supreme Court ruled that he was not a United States citizen. With that being said he could not sue anyone at all in the Supreme Court. The election of 1860 was obviously in 1849… just kidding it was in 1860 as you see in the name. This is election is by far one of the most important events of the Civil War. This election was the first time Abraham Lincoln was put in office. He was a republican from Illinois. After the election, South Carolina seceded from the union and Georgia seceded on January 19, 1861.
The Kansas- Nebraska Act was 1854. The south thought it wasn’t fair for there to be more free states than slave states. The south thought this because, Kansas and Nebraska territories were above the 36 30 parallel, by geography they were part of the north but if they wanted slavery they could have it. All they had to do was vote on whether they wanted to be slave or free states. This would repeal the Missouri Compromise. The Republican Party was created in response to the Kansas- Nebraska Act. Their goal was to stop the spread of slavery into the new states and territories. They wanted to make the industries more modernized. This caused a lot of tension between the North and South. Look for my next post on the Dred Scott Case.
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