chapter 21 the furnace of civil war, 18611865. i. bull run ends the ninety-day war bull run...

Chapter 21

The Furnace of Civil War, 1861–1865

I. Bull Run Ends the “Ninety-Day War”

• Bull Run (Manassas Junction)– Lincoln eventually concluded that an attack on a

smaller Confederate force might be worth a try:• If successful it would demonstrate the superiority of

Union arms• It might lead to the capture of the Confederate capital

at Richmond, 100 miles to the south• If Richmond fell, secession would be thoroughly

discredited and the Union could be restored without damage to the economic and social system of the South

I. Bull Run Ends the “Ninety-Day War” (cont.)

– Raw Yankee troops left Washington toward Bull Run on July 21, 1861:• At first the battle went well for the Yankees• But Thomas J. (“Stonewall”) Jackson and Confederate

reinforcements arrived unexpectedly• The “military picnic” at Bull Run:

– Though not decisive militarily, bore significant psychological and political consequences

– Victory was worse than defeat for the South because it inflated an already dangerous overconfidence

– Many Southern soldiers promptly deserted

I. Bull Run Ends the “Ninety-Day War” (cont.)

• Southern enlistment fell off sharply• Defeat was better than victory for the Union:

– It dispelled all illusions of a one-punch war– Caused the Northerners to buckle down to the staggering

task

• It set the stage for a war that would be waged:– Not merely for the cause of the Union– Eventually for the abolitionist ideal of emancipation

II. “Tardy George” McClellan and the Peninsula Campaign

• In 1861 General George B. McClelland was given command of the Army of the Potomac– Embodied a curious mixture of virtues and

defects:• Superb organizer and drillmaster • Injected splendid morale into the Army• Hating to sacrifice his troops, he was idolized by his

men, who affectionately called him “Little Mac”• He was a perfectionist

II. “Tardy George” McClellan and the Peninsula Campaign (cont.)

• He consistently but erroneously believed that the enemy outnumbered him• He was overcautious

– A reluctant McClellan decided to approach Richmond• Which lay west of a narrow peninsula formed by the

James and York Rivers• Hence the name given to this historic campaign: the

Peninsula Campaign (see Map 21.1)– He inched toward the Confederate capital, spring 1862,

with 1000,000 men

II. “Tardy George” McClelland and the Peninsula Campaign (cont.)

• Took McClelland a month to take historic Yorktown; he finally came within sight of Richmond• Lincoln diverted McClelland to chase “Stonewall”

Jackson, who was moving toward Washington, D.C• Stalled in Richmond, “Jeb” Stuart’s Confederate

cavalry rode completely around his army on reconnaissance• General Lee launched a devastating assault–the

Seven Days’ Battles—June 26-July 2, 1862• The Confederates slowly drove McClellan back to the

sea

II. “Tardy George” McClellan and the Peninsula Campaign (cont.)

• The Peninsula Campaign– The Union forces abandoned the Peninsula

Campaign as a costly failure– Lincoln temporarily abandoned McClellan as

commander of the Army of the Potomac.• Lee:– Achieved a brilliant, if bloody, triumph– He ensured that the war would endure until

slavery was uprooted and the Old South destroyed

II. “Tardy George” McClellan and the Peninsula Campaign (cont.)– Union strategy now turned toward total war (see

Map 21.2):• Finally developed the Northern military plan

– Slowly suffocate the South by blockading its coasts– Liberate the slaves and hence undermine the very economic

foundations of the Old South– Cut the Confederacy in half by seizing control of the Mississippi

River backbone– Chop the Confederacy by sending troops to Georgia and the

Carolinas– Decapitate it by capturing its capital at Richmond– Try everywhere to engage the enemy’s main strength and to

grind it into submission

Map 21-1 p437

III. The War at Sea

– The blockade:• 3500 miles of coast was impossible to patrol for the

Northern navy• Blockading was simplified by concentrating on the

principal ports and inlets where docks were used to load bulky bales of cotton• Britain recognized it as binding and warned its

shippers that they ignored it at their peril • Blockade-running was risky but profitable• The lush days of blockade-running passed as Union

squadrons pinched off leading Southern ports.

III. The War at Sea(cont.)

• The Northern navy enforced the blockade with high-handed practices

• They would seize British freighters on the high seas, if laden with war supplies

• The justification was obviously these shipments were “ultimately” destined by devious routes for the Confederacy

• London acquiesced in this disagreeable doctrine of “ultimate destination” or “continuous voyage”

• Britain might need to use the same interpretation in a future war; in fact they did in WWI


– The most alarming Confederate threat to the blockade came in 1862• Resourceful Southerners raised and reconditioned a

former wooden U.S. warship, the Merrimack:– Plated its sides with old iron railroad rails– Renamed it the Virginia:

» Easily destroyed two wooden ships of the Union navy in the Virginia waters of Chesapeake Bay

» It threatened catastrophe to the entire Yankee blockading fleet


– The Monitor:• For four hours, March 9, 1862, the little ”Yankee

cheesebox on a raft” fought the wheezy Merrimack to a standstill• A few months after the historic battle, the

Confederates destroyed the Merrimack to keep it from the grasp of advancing Union troops

Map 21-2 p439

IV. The Pivotal Point: Antietam

• Second Battle of Bull Run (August 29-30, 1962):• Lee encountered a Federal force under General John

Pope– Lee quickly attacked Pope’s troops and inflicted a crushing

defeat– Lee daringly now thrust into Maryland– He hoped to strike a blow that would:

» Encourage foreign intervention » Seduce the still-wavering Border State and its sisters from

the Union

• The Marylanders did not respond to the siren song

IV. The Pivotal Point: Antietam(cont.)

– Antietam Creek, Maryland, a critical battle• “Little Mac” McClellan was restored to active command:

– Found copies of Lee’s battle plans– McClelland succeeded in halting Lee at Antietam on September

7, 1862, in one of the bloodiest and bitter days of the war

• Antietam was more or less a draw militarily:– Lee withdrew across the Potomac– McClellan was released of duty for the second time– The landmark Battle of Antietam was one of the divisive

engagements of world history; most decisive Civil War battle


– Antietam was the long-awaited “victory” that Lincoln needed for launching his Emancipation Proclamation• Midsummer of 1862 the Border States were safely in

the fold and Lincoln was ready to move– However, Lincoln decided to wait for the outcome of Lee’s

invasion– Antietam served as the needed emancipation springboard– Lincoln issued on September 23, 1862, the preliminary

Emancipation Proclamation– It announced that on January 1, 1863, the President would

issue a final proclamation


– On schedule, he fully redeemed his promise• The Civil War became more of a moral crusade for

slavery• On January 1, 1863, Lincoln said,

– “the character of the war will be changed. It will be one of subjugation . . . .The (Old) South is to be destroyed and replaced by new propositions and ideas.”

V. A Proclamation Without Emancipation

– Lincoln’s Proclamation of 1863 declared “forever free” the slaves in those Confederate areas still in rebellion:• Bondsmen in the loyal Border States were not

affected• Nor were those in specific conquered areas in the

South • The tone of the document was dull and legalistic:

– Lincoln: the proclamation was “an act of justice” and calling for “the considering judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God.”

V. A Proclamation Without Emancipation (cont.)

• The presidential pen did not formally strike the shackles from a single slave:– Where Lincoln could free the slaves—in the loyal

Border States—he refused to do so, lest he spur disunion

– Where he could not—in the Confederate states—he tried to

– In short, where he could he would not, and where he would he could not


• Thus the Emancipation Proclamation was stronger on proclamation than emancipation– There were thousands of do-it-yourself liberations– By issuing the Proclamation Lincoln:

• Addressed the refugees’ plight• Strengthened the moral cause of the Union at home

and abroad• Also clearly foreshadowed the ultimate doom of

slavery (see Map 21.3)


– The ultimate doom of slavery was• Thirteenth Amendment (see the Appendix):

– Legally achieved by the ratification of the individual states

– The Emancipation Proclamation fundamentally changed the nature of the war:• It effectively removed any chance of a negotiated

settlement• Both sides knew that the war would be a fight to the

finish


– Public reactions to the long-awaited proclamation of 1863 were varied:• Many ardent abolitionists complained Lincoln had not

gone far enough• Formidable number of Northerners felt that he had

gone too far• Opposition mounted in the North against supporting

an “abolition war”• Volunteers had fought for the Union, not against

slavery


• Desertions increased sharply• Critical congressional elections of 1862 went heavily

against the administration—particularly New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio• Aristocrats of Europe were inclined to sympathize

with Southern protests• The Old World working classes, especially in Britain,

reacted otherwise• Gradually the diplomatic position of the Union

improved

V. A Proclamation WithoutEmancipation (cont.)

• The North now had much the stronger moral cause:– In addition to preserving the Union,– It had committed itself to freeing the slaves.– The moral position of the South was

correspondingly diminished.

Map 21-3 p442

VI. Blacks Battle Bondage

• Lincoln:– Moved to emancipate the slaves– He took steps to enlist blacks in the armed forces• Black enlistees were accepted • By war’s end some 180,000 blacks served in the Union

army, most of them from the slave states, many more from the free-soil North

• Blacks accounted for about 10% of the total enlistments in the Union forces on land and sea– Two Mass. Regiments were raised largely through the efforts of

the ex-slave Frederick Douglas.

VI. Blacks Battle Bondage(cont.)

• Service offered them a chance to prove their manhood and strengthen their claim to full citizenship at war’s end• They received about 500 Congressional Medals of

Honor• Their casualties were extremely heavy:

– More than 30,000 died– Many were captured and put to death

– Confederacy and slaves:• Could not bring itself to enlist slaves until a month

before the war ended—it was too late


– Tens of thousands were forced into labor battalions:• The building of fortifications; the supplying of armies• Other war-connected activities• Slaves were “the stomach of the Confederacy”:

– They kept the farms going while the white men fought.

• Involuntary labor did not imply slave support for the Confederacy


– In many ways the actions of Southern slaves hamstrung the Confederate war efforts:• Fear of slave insurrection necessitated “home

guards,” keeping many white men from the front• Every form of slave resistance diminished

productivity and undermined discipline• When Union troops neared, slave assertiveness

increased• They stopped short of violent uprising:

– Slaves contributed powerfully to the collapse of slavery and the disintegration of the antebellum way of life

Map 21-4 p444

VII. Lee’s Last Lunge at Gettysburg

• Lincoln replaced McClellan with General A.B. Burnside:

• He proved his unfitness when he launched a rash frontal attack on Lee’s strong position at Fredericksburg, Virginia on December 13, 1862• Burnside yielded his command to Joseph (“Fighting

Joe”) Hooker• At Chancellorsville, Virginia, on May 2-4, 1863, Lee

divided his forces and sent Hooker to attach the Union flank. The victory was Lee’s most brilliant, but it was dearly bought.

VII. Lee’s Last Lunge at Gettysburg(cont.)

• Lee now prepared to invade the North again:– A decisive blow would add strength– And would encourage foreign intervention—still a Southern

hope– Three days before the battle Union general George C.

Meade was informed that he would replace Hooker

• Meade took his stand near the quiet little Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (see Map 21.4):– There his 92,000 men locked in furious combat with Lee’s

76,000– The battle seesawed across the rolling green slopes for

three agonizing days—July 1-3, 1863.

VII. Lee’s Last Lunge at Gettysburg (cont.)

– Pickett’s charge:• The failure of General George Pickett’s magnificent

but futile charge finally broke the back of the Confederate attack—– And broke the heart of the Confederate cause– Its has been called the “high tide of the Confederacy.”– It defined the northernmost point reached by any

significant Southern force and the real last chance for the Confederates to win the war

– At the Battle of Gettysburg raged, a Confederate peace delegation was moving under a flag of peace of truce toward the Union lines near Norfolk, Virginia

VII. Lee’s Last Lunge at Gettysburg(cont.)

– The victory at Gettysburg belonged to Lincoln• He refused the Confederate peace mission to pass

though Union lines• From now on, the Southern cause was doomed, yet the

men from Dixie fought for two more years• In autumn of 1863, while the graves were still fresh,

Lincoln journeyed to Gettysburg to dedicate the ceremony.– He read a two minute address, followed by a two-hour speech

by a former president of Harvard.– The Gettysburg Address attracted relatively little attention at

the time, but the president was speaking for the ages.

VIII. The War in the West

– Ulysses S. Grant• Grant’s first signal success came in northern

Tennessee theater (see Map 21.5)• He captured Fort Henry and Fort Donelson on the

Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers in February 1862– When the Confederate commander at Fort Donelson asked

for terms, Grant bluntly demanded “an unconditional and immediate surrender”

– Grant’s triumph in Tennessee was crucial:» It riveted Kentucky to the Union» It opened the gateway to the strategically important

region of Tennessee, Georgia and the heart of Dixie.

VIII. The War in the West(cont.)

– Battle at Shiloh:• Just over the Tennessee border from Corinth on April

6-7, 1862• Grant counterattacked—the impressive Confederate

showing at Shiloh confirmed that there would be no quick end to the war in the West

• Other western events:– 1862 David G. Farragut joined with a Northern

unit to deal a striking blow by seizing New Orleans

VIII. The War in the West(cont.)

– Vicksburg, Mississippi:• Was the South’s sentinel protecting the lifeline to the

western sources of supply• Grant was commander of the Union forces at

Vicksburg: this was his best-fought campaign– The Union victory at Vicksburg came the day after the

Confederate defeat at Gettysburg– Reopening the Mississippi helped quell the Northern peace– The twin victories tipped the diplomatic scale in favor of the

North and Britain stopped delivery of the Laird rams to the Confederates (see p. 425)

– Confederate hope for foreign help was irretrievably lost

Map 21-5 p448

IX. Sherman Scorches Georgia

– Grant transferred to east Tennessee:• Confederates won the battle of Chickamauga, near

Chattanooga, to which they laid siege• Grant won a series of desperate engagements in

November, 1863:– Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain (the “Battle Above

the Clouds”)– Chattanooga was liberated, the state cleared of

Confederates– Way opened for an invasion of Georgia– Grant was rewarded by being made general in chief

IX. Sherman Scorches Georgia(cont.)

– Georgia’s conquest:• It was entrusted to General William Tecumseh

Sherman• He captured Atlanta in September 1864, burned the

city in November 1864• Sherman with 6000 troops cut a sixty-mile swath of

destruction through Georgia• Major purposes of Sherman’s march:

– destroy supplies destined for the Confederate army– weaken the morale of the men at the front by waging war

on their homes (see Map 21.6)

IX. Sherman Scorches Georgia(cont.)

– Sherman was a pioneer practitioner of “total war”:• His success in “Shermanizing” the South was attested

by increasing numbers of Confederate desertions• All his methods were brutal

– He probably shortened the struggle and hence saved lives– The discipline of his army at times broke down

• After seizing Savannah as a Christmas present for Lincoln, his army veered north into South Carolina, where the destruction was even worse:– Sherman’s conquering army rolled deep into North Carolina

by the time the war ended

Map 21-6 p450

X. The Politics of War

• Presidential elections come by the calendar and not by the crisis:– Political infighting added to Lincoln’s cup of woe• Factions within his own party, distrusting his ability or

doubting his commitment to abolition, sought to tie his hands or remove him from office• Conspicuous among his critics was the overambitious

secretary of the Treasury, Salmon Chase

X. The Politics of War(cont.)

– Congressional Committee on the Conduct of War formed in late 1861:• Dominated by “radical” Republicans who

– Resented the expansion of presidential power in wartime– Pressed Lincoln zealously on emancipation

– Most dangerous to the Union cause were the Northern Democrats:• Taint with the association with the seceders• Tragedy befell when their gifted leader Stephen A.

Douglas died


• Lacking a leader, the Democrats divided– The “War Democrats” supported the Lincoln administration– Tens of thousands of “Peace Democrats” did not– Extreme were the Copperheads—openly obstructed the

war through:» Attacks against the draft» Against Lincoln» Especially, after 1863, against emancipation» Denounced the president as the “Illinois Ape”» Condemned the “Nigger War”» Commanded considerable political strength in the

southern parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois


– Notorious was congressman from Ohio, Clement L. Vallandigham:» He publicly demanded an end to the “wicked and cruel” war» He was convicted by a military tribunal in 1863 for

treasonable utterance and was sentenced to prison» Lincoln thought he liked the Confederates so much, he

ought to be banished to their lines. This was done.» Vallandigham inspired Edward Everett Hale to write his

moving but fictional story of Philip Nolan, The Man Without a Country (1863)

» Nolan was a young army officer found guilty of participation with Aaron Burr plot of 1806 (see p. 214).

» He was condemned to a life of eternal exile on American warships.


– Lincoln’s renomination at first encountered surprisingly strong opposition:• Hostile factions wanted to shelve “Old Abe” in favor of

Secretary of the Treasury Chase• The “ditch Lincoln” move collapsed, and he was

nominated by the Union party without serious dissent• His running mate was Andrew Johnson, a loyal War

Democrat from Tennessee:– A small slaveowner when the conflict began– Placed on the Union Party ticket to “sew up” the election

» With no proper regard for the possibility that Lincoln would die in office


• Democrats:– Nominated the deposed and overcautious war

hero General McClellan:• Their plank denounced the prosecution of the war as

a failure• McClellan repudiated this defeatist declaration

– Campaign:• Noisy and nasty campaign with numerous slogans• Lincoln’s reelection was at first gravely in doubt


• The anti-Lincoln Republicans started a movement to “dump” Lincoln in favor of someone else• Atmosphere changed by succession of Northern

victories • The president pulled through, but nothing more than

necessary was left to chance:– At election time many Northern soldiers were furloughed

home to support Lincoln at the polls– Some Northern soldiers were permitted to cast their ballots

at the front– Lincoln bolstered the “bayonet vote” with 212 electoral

votes for Lincoln and 21 for McClellan

XI. The Election of 1864(cont.)

• Election of 1864:– Lincoln’s precarious authority • depended on his retaining Republican support• while spiking the threat from the Peace Democrats and

Copperheads– Fearing defeat, the Republican party executed a

clever maneuver:• Joining the War Democrats, it proclaimed itself to be the

Union party (see Figure 21.1)• Thus the Republican party was temporarily out of

existence

XI. The Election of 1864(cont.)

• Lincoln lost Kentucky, Delaware, and New Jersey (see Map 21.7)• “Little Mac” ran a closer race than the electoral count

indicates• He netted a healthy 45% of the popular vote,

1,803,787 to Lincoln’s 2,206,938• Crushing defeat for the Northern Democrats in 1864• The removal of Lincoln was the last ghost of a hope

for a Confederate victory• When Lincoln triumphed, desertions from the sinking

Southern ship increased sharply

Figure 21-1 p452

XII. Grant Outlasts Lee

• Wilderness Campaign:– Grant with 100,000 men struck toward Richmond– He engaged Lee in a series of furious battles in the

Wilderness of Virginia, May and June 1864– Grant suffered 50,000 lost (see Map 21.8)– On June 3 Grant ordered a frontal assault on Cold

Harbor:• In about 5 minutes, 7 thousand men were killed or

wounded

XIII. Grant Outlasts Lee(cont.)

• Public opinion in the North:– Critics cried “Grant the Butcher” had gone insane• Grant’s reputation was underserved • While Lee’s was overrated• Lee’s rate of loss was the highest of any general in the

war• By contrast, Grant lost one of ten• Grant had intended to fight battles out in the open• Lee turned the eastern campaign into a war of

attrition fought in the trenches

XII. Grant Outlasts Lee(cont.)

• Lee could no longer seize the offensive• His new defensive posture in turn forced Grant into

some brutal arithmetic• Grant could trade two men for one and still beat the

enemy to his knees• In February 1865 the Confederates tried desperately to

negotiate for peace between the two “countries”– Lincoln met with Confederate representatives aboard a Union

ship at Hampton Road, Virginia, to discuss peace– Lincoln could accept nothing short of Union and

emancipation– Southerners could accept nothing less than independence


– The tribulation wore on to its terrible climax

• Appomattox Courthouse:– The end came with dramatic suddenness:• Advancing Northern troops captured Richmond and

cornered Lee at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, April 1865• Grant met with Lee April 9th, Palm Sunday

– Granted generous terms of surrender– The hungry Confederates were allowed to keep their horses

for spring plowing


– Tattered Southern veterans wept as they took leave of their beloved commander

– The elated Union soldiers cheered– Lincoln traveled to conquered Richmond and sat in

Jefferson Davis’s evacuated office just forty hours after the Confederate president had left it

• Sadly, as many freed slaves were to discover, the hereafter of their full liberty was a long time coming

Map 21-7 p454

Map 21-8 p455

XIII. The Martyrdom of Lincoln

• Lincoln’s death:• On April 14, 1865 (Good Friday) only five days after

Lee’s surrender, Fort’s Theater in Washington witnessed its most sensational drama• Pro-Southern actor, John Wilkes Booth, slipped

behind Lincoln and shot him in the head• The Great Emancipator died the following morning

– Lincoln expired in the arms of victory, at the very pinnacle of his fame

– His dramatic death erased the memory of his shortcomings and caused his nobler qualities to stand out in clearer relief

XIII. The Martyrdom of Lincoln(cont.)

– The full impact of Lincoln’s death was not at once apparent to the South• As time wore on, increasingly Lincoln’s death was

perceived as a calamity for the South• Belatedly they recognized his kindliness and

moderation • The assassination increased bitterness in the North,

partly because of the rumor that Jefferson Davis had plotted it• Some historians argued that Andrew Johnson was

crucified in Lincoln’s stead—doesn’t really stand up!

XIII. The Martyrdom of Lincoln(cont.)

• Lincoln:– Lincoln no doubt would have had clashes with

Congress– Lincoln was a victorious president, and there is no

arguing with victory– His powers of leadership were refined in the war

crucible– Lincoln possessed in full measure tact, sweet

reasonableness and an uncommon amount of common sense

XIV. The Aftermath of the Nightmare

– The Civil War’s grisly toll:• 600,000 men died in action or of disease• Over a million were killed or seriously wounded• The amount of dead amounted to 2% of the entire

nation’s population• To its lasting hurt, the nation lost the cream of its

young manhood and potential leadership• Tens of thousands of babies went unborn because

potential fathers were at the front

XIII. The Aftermath of the Nightmare (cont.)

– Direct monetary costs of the conflict:• Total cost of the conflict—$15 billion• Does not include continuing expenses—pensions, and

interest on the national debt• Intangible costs—dislocations, disunities, wasted

energies, lowered ethics, blasted lives, bitter memories, and burning hats—cannot be calculated.

– Greatest Constitutional decision was written in blood and handed down at Appomattox Courthouse

XIII. The Aftermath of the Nightmare (cont.)

• The extreme states’ righters were crushed• The national government, tested in the fiery furnace

of war, emerged unbroken• Nullification and secessions were laid to rest• The Civil War was the supreme test of American

democracy• The preservation of democratic ideals was

subconsciously one of the major objectives of the North

XIV. The Aftermath of the Nightmare (cont.)

• Victory for Union arms provided inspiration to the champions of democracy and liberalism (pp. 458-459)• The great English Reform Bill of 1867, under which

England became a true political democracy, was passed two years after the Civil War ended– American democracy proved itself– Its success was an additional argument used by

disfranchised British masses in securing similar blessings for themselves

XVI. The Aftermath of the Nightmare (cont.)

– The “Lost Cause” of the South was lost• The shameful cancer of slavery was sliced away by

the sword• African Americans were last in a position to claim

their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness• The nation was once again united politically• Great dangers were adverted by a Union victory:

– The indefinite prolongation of the “peculiar institution”– The unleashing of the slave power on weak Caribbean

neighbors

XVI. The Aftermath of the Nightmare (cont.)

– The transformation of the area from Panama to Hudson Bay into an armed camp:» With several heavily armed and hostile states

constantly snarling and sniping at one another

• American still had a long way to go to make the promises of freedom a reality for all its citizens, black and white• Emancipation laid the necessary groundwork:

– a united and democratic United States was free to fulfill its destiny as the dominant republic of the hemisphere—and eventually of the world.

chapter 21 the furnace of civil war, 18611865. i. bull run ends the ninety-day war bull run...

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