The Civil War

Georgia HistoryTrinity Christian SchoolMrs. Stephanie Holland

Causes of War

FUNDAMENTAL CAUSES IMMEDIATE CAUSES

Develop over a long period of time

Come into being before a major event occurs

EconomicsStates Rights

Slavery

John Browns’ RaidLincoln’s Election

Secession of S. States

Lincoln’s Election• http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/artsandliving/civ

ilwar/timeline.html

• Republican Party: Formed 1854 by northerners– Agenda:

• Protect N. industry with high tariffs• Free land in the West• Prohibit slavery in the territories

• Election of 1860: Republicans Democrats Constitution

al Union Party

Southern: Northern:

Abraham LincolnIllinois

John BreckenridgeKentucky

Stephen DouglasIllinois

John BellTennessee

VP: Herschel Johnson GA

Results: Lincoln Wins. Divided Democrats ensured his success!

Reaction in Georgia11/16/186

0GA General Assembly authorizes $1 million for defense of the state.

11/18/1860

GA Governor is authorized to raise 10,000 troops

11/21/1860

GA General Assembly calls special convention to meet in January 1861• Delegates from each county invited

12/7/1860 Governor Joe Brown’s letter to the public• Governor Brown’s responds to inquiries from convention delegates

12/20/1860

SC secedes from the Union

1/4/1861? GA elections determine delegates to special convention• Elections held in each state.

1/16/1861 GA delegates meet at special convention in Milledgeville

1/19/1861 GA delegates vote in favor of secession

1/21/1861 GA Declaration of the Cause of Secession

Governor Joe Brown’s Letter• The rights of the South and slavery

were NOT endangered by Lincoln, but by the Republicans & Abolitionists that elected him.– Western Territories will provide

Republicans the opportunity to expand their representation in Congress (LEGISLATIVE)

– President Lincoln will nominate Republican Supreme Court Justices (JUDICIAL)

– President Lincoln is President! (EXECUTIVE)

– DANGER:• All 3 branches of government would be

dominated by Republicans!

12/7/1860 What Should Georgia Do?• SC is about to secede• FL, AL, MS would follow

– Result: Georgia would have no choice BUT to secede.• A special convention could be called if

enough states seceded prior to Lincoln’s inauguration.

12/20/1860: SC secedes• 2 weeks later: Elections are held

in each GA county to chose delegates to a special convention

1/16/1861: Georgia’s Convention

• Final Vote: 208:89 FOR SECESSION!Ordinance of Secession adopted.

• 1/26/1861: 286 delegates sign the Ordinance of Secession

Immediate Secession! Wait & See What Lincoln Does

Gov. BrownRobert Toombs (Former US Senator)

Howell Cobb *(Former US Treasury Secretary)

Thomas R. R. Cobb

Alexander StephensHerschel Johnson

Benjamin Hill (Gov. Brown’s opponent)

Georgia’s Ordinance of Secession • What it said:

– GA’s membership in Union dissolved– GA was to have full rights & privileges of

a free & independent nation

• What it did not say:– WHY GA seceded.

GA Declaration of the Cause of Secession• 1/29/1861Lincoln’s election signaled the victory of….

“abolitionists and their allies in the Northern States” whose guiding

principles were “prohibition of slavery in the Territories, hostility to it

everywhere, the equality of the black and white races, [and] disregard of

constitutional guarantees [to southern states and to owners of escaped

slaves]. ““We … will seek new safeguards for our

liberty, equality, security, and tranquility.”

SecessionSouthern View Northern View

•We entered this Union voluntarily and we can exit

voluntarily

•The Union is older than the Constitution & Declaration.

•The Union is a contract between the states and

national government and to break it both sides would have

to approve.

•Secession is illegal and unconstitutional.

GEORGIA’S REACTION:• Most citizens celebrate.• Georgians in federal gov’t & US military resign and return back to GA.• Georgians against secession keep quiet• Some speak out: Judge Garnett Andrews of Wilkes Co. • Makes no difference to African Americans at this point.

• “Poor fools! They may ring their bells now but they will wring their hands – yes, and their hearts, too – before they are done with it.”– Judge Garnett Andrews, Wilkes

County

A NEW NATION IS FORMED• U.S. President Lincoln’s goal:

– Preserve the Union AT ALL COSTS!

• “Republic of Georgia” – Considers itself sovereign

• Names ambassadors to Britain, France & Belgium (Foreign Relations)

– GA General Assembly recommends that seceded states unify into a confederacy• Confederacy: loose union of sovereign states

where the central government is given limited powers

– Type of US government provided under the Articles of Confederation

A New Nation is Formed, cont’d• 2/4/1861: Delegates from GA, SC, AL, FL, MS,

LA meet in Montgomery, AL– States vote to form the Confederate States of

America (C.S.A.)

– Jefferson Davis is voted President of the Confederacy

• Former U.S. military officer, U.S. Senator, & U.S. Secretary of War

– Alexander Stephens is voted Vice President of the Confederacy

– Thomas R. R. Cobb drafts the Confederate Constitution

• Modeled after the U.S. Constitution (national gov’t weaker)

• Prohibited importing new slaves from abroad• Prohibited outlawing slavery

A New Nation is Formed, cont’d• 3/11/1861: Confederate

Constitution is adopted– 1st Capitol: Montgomery, AL– Preparations begin for a short war

• Abraham Lincoln vows – He is not inclined “to interfere with

the institution of slavery in the states where it exists.”

– “preserve, protect, and defend” the national government.”

Fighting Begins• March 1861:

– U.S. military forces are stationed at Charleston• SC had seceded 3 months prior!!!

– U.S. officials refuse to turn military bases over to the C.S.A.

• 4/12/1861: Fire opens @ Ft. Sumter– 2 day bombardment = U.S. surrenders– Charleston rejoices:

• “Sumter is taken and the stars and bars wave over it, Hurrah@ Unto God be the praise!”

Fighting Begins, cont’d• http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/artsan

dliving/civilwar/civil-war-timeline-war-begins/

• How will Lincoln react to Ft. Sumter? – Will he back down or not?

– Lincoln’s reaction:• Called for 75,000 volunteers to enlist for 3 months

– 500,000 volunteers willing to fight for 3 years• Declares a naval blockade against the South

– Blockade: to prevent all ships from entering or leaving southern ports

– Reaction of Other States:• VA, AK, NC, TN: Choose Confederacy

– Confederate Capitol moved to VA• DE, KY, MD, MO: “Border States” - Union

– Slaveholding States– Remain in the Union

• W. VA breaks off from VA (W. VA was non-slaveholding)

• Define:– Confederacy– Blockade– Border States

• Identify:– Confederate States of America– Thomas R. R. Cobb– Stars and Stripes– Stars and Bars

• How were the Articles of Confederation and the Confederate Constitution similar?

• What reasons did the North and South each give each other for believing it would be a short, victorious war for their side?

Georgians In the War• 10/1861: 25,000 Georgian volunteers

– Problem: lack of weapons, uniforms & supplies– Solution: Arsenals built in Augusta, Atlanta,

Savannah, Macon, Columbus & other cities

• Southern (Confederate) Advantages– Superior military leadership

• Confederate DISadvantage:– Outnumbered forces– Gov. Brown opposed Confederate draft

• States’ Rights: decision to draft belonged to state• Thinks of GA 1st and the Confederacy 2nd

– Battle of Bull Run Creek – Confederate victory• Confederates soon grow weak under the strain of

outnumbered forces– 25,000 Georgia soldiers out of 120,000 die during

the war

Life in Georgia During the WarEffects of the War in Georgia - • Homefront free of battles (at first)

• Union blockade of naval ports– S. unable to export cotton – Confederacy has little money to buy food or

military supplies• Georgia faces food shortages & high prices

• Increased Self-sufficiency (ladies)– Substitutes for coffee, sugar & tea– Use of medicinal herbs, roots and plants– “Up-cycling” old clothes– Management of farms & plantations– Care of wounded & sick soldiers

• 1861-1864: Slaves – Additional Jobs:

• Construct forts & prisons• Repair rail lines• Confederate Army positions: cooks, wagon

drivers, blacksmiths– The Confederacy was reluctant to grant

slaves the ability to fight for fear of armed revolt or that it would make them feel equal

– Runaways increase (owners @ war)• Spring 1862: Union captures GA coast• Sept. 1862: Emancipation Proclamation

Emancipation Proclamation• Issued Sept. 1862• NARA:

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/emancipation_proclamation/

• On Jan. 1, 1863, all persons held as slaves in any state of the Confederacy “shall be thence forward, and forever free.” – Effect:

• War no longer to preserve the Union.• War to free Southern slaves!• Slavery continues in Georgia

• “[S]uch persons of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forms, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service.” – Slaves were freed and welcome into the Union

Army!• 93,000/186,000 Union soldiers were African• 38,000/93,000 died during the war

Georgia Supplies the Confederacy• Georgia agriculture shifts

– Out with: Cotton – In with: Corn & Foodstuffs to supply soldiers

• Georgia Industry– Military equipment

• Rifles, cannons, gunpowder, sabers, wagons, railroad cars, tools, saddles, harnesses & clothing

– Manufacturing Centers: • Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Macon & Savannah• Small operations in private homes:

– Shoes, uniforms, bandages, & other supplies

• Georgia Railroads - Best System in the South!– 1,400 miles– Vital to transport & supply Confederate troops– Hub: Atlanta

The Tide Turns• 1861-1862: Confederate Victories

• 1863 forward: – North outnumbers South

• Soldiers• Arms • Economic Resources

– Addition of more capable generals in the North

– Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation renews morale• War: to save the Union AND to free slaves

The Tide Turns, cont’d• May 1863 - General Stonewall

Jackson shot and killed

• June 1863 – Robert E. Lee drives war North– If the south captured a northern city

would Washington agree to a political settlement?

– Army of N. VA led into PA: Gettysburg • Northern Forces led by Gen. George Meade

& his Army of the Potomac

• Gettysburg

– July 1863– The greatest battle fought in N.

America– Lee retreats to VA

Confederacy Union

Leader Robert E. Lee

Gen. George Meade

Leader

Regiment Army of N. Virginia

Army of the

Potomac

Regiment

Size 75,000 97,000 Size

Killed, Wounded,

or Captured

28,000 23,000 Killed, Wounded

or Captured

• The Gettysburg Address– Audio via NPR:

http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=1512410&m=1512411

• July 4, 1863– Grant captures Vicksburg, MS

• Northern control of MS River• Confederacy split in two

• November 1863– Chattanooga, TN Falls to Union forces

War Comes to Georgia• 11/1861: Federal forces occupy Tybee

• Goal: control the Savannah River

• 4/1/1862: Fort Pulaski surrenders to the Union• Darien burned

• Blockade of Georgia coast

• 1862: Andrew’s Raiders try to destroy the W & A Railroad

• 1863: Union forces (1500) try to cut off W & Atlantic RR near Rome – Confederate Gen. Bedford Forest (500-man

cavalry) gets Union to surrender

• Sept. 1863: – Union captures Chattanooga– Battle of Chickamauga

• Confederates turn Union forces back from TN

Sherman invades Georgia• 1864

– Union Gen. William T. Sherman (99,000 men) @ Chattanooga

– Confederate Gen. Joe Johnston (62,000 men) @ Dalton

– 4/14/1864: Gen. Ulysses S. Grant to Sherman : Go for Johnston’s forces and interior of GA

– Resulting Battles: Sherman vs. Johnston• Dalton• Resaca• New Hope Church

• 6/27/1864: Battle of Kennesaw Mt.

• Gen. Johnston replaced with Gen. John B. Hood– Hood is thrown back several times

after attacking Sherman’s forces

• Sherman attacks Atlanta: 40 days – Sept. 1: Hood evacuates Atlanta– Sept. 2: Mayor of Atlanta surrenders– 1 week later: All civilians ordered out by

WTS

Confederate Forces Union Forces

Leader Johnston Sherman Leader

Losses 500 3,000 Losses

Result: Confederate VictoryConfederates fall back to dig trenches and defend Atlanta

• Sept. – mid-November– Sherman occupies Atlanta– Mid-November: Sherman orders

Atlanta’s destruction

On the night of November 15th, the torch was applied to the railroad shops,

foundries, and every one of the many buildings that had been used in fitting out

the armies of the enemy in this vast “workshop of the confederacy,” as Atlanta was called. The flames spread rapidly, and when morning came, it is doubtful whether there were a score of building remaining in

the city, except in the very outskirts.

• 11/16/1864: Sherman begins his “March to the Sea”– http://www.examiner.com/leisure-travel-in-atlanta/antebellu

m-railroad-tunnel-still-a-marvel-after-all-these-years

– Union forces live off land & destroy

GA’s resources (RR) & supplies– Sherman divides troops into 2

columns• As Sherman neared Macon he passed by

Andersonville

– $100 million of food and resources destructed

– 12/21/1864: Sherman enters Savannah• 14,000 slaves joined Union on the way

The Civil War was the deadliest war in the history of the United States.

In all, over 600,000 people died as a direct result of injury in battle, disease, or as prisoners.

  Union Confederate Total

Killed in Battle 112,000 94,000 206,000

Died of Disease 197,000 140,000 337,000

Died as Prisoners 64,000 26,000 90,000

Total Deaths 373,000 260,000 633,000

• 12/25/1864• “I beg to present you as a

Christmas gift to the city of Savannah, with 150 guns and plenty of ammunition , also about 25,000 bales of cotton.”

• 4/9/1865– Robert E. Lee surrendered at

Appamatox Courthouse, VA• http://www.nps.gov/apco/index.htm

• Eliza Frances Andrews….Confirmation of Lee’s surrender, and of the armistice between Johnson and Sherman. Alas, we all now only too well what the armistice means! It is all over with us now and there is nothing to do but bow our heads in the dust ad let the hateful conquerors trample us under their feet. There is a complete revulsion in public feeling. No more talk about fighting to the last ditch; the last ditch as already been reached.

• 4/16/1865: Johnston formally surrenders to Sherman– Confederate Memorial Day

• 5/10/1865: – Union forces capture Jefferson Davis

in Irwinville

Georgia Stories: Links• Andersonville Prison

– http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/stories/andersonville_prison • Fanny Kemble’s Diary

– http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/stories/fanny_kembles_diary • The Battle of Jonesboro

– http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/stories/battle_of_jonesboro • The Civil War and the Black Soldier

– http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/stories/civil_war_and_the_black_soldier

• The March to the Sea– http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/stories/march_to_the_sea

• The Economics of War– http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/stories/economics_of_war

• The Railroads and the New Georgia– http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/stories/railroads_and_the_new

_georgia

• Thomasville: Playground of N. Industrialists– http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/stories/thomasville_playgroun

d_of_the_northern_industrialists

• Worthless Paydays– http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/stories/worthless_paydays