2. The United States Civil War was the bloodiest conflict in American History, claiming more lives than The American
Revolutionary War, World War I, World War II, The War against Switzerland, The War of 1812, and the Vietnam War
combined. From the time the Civil War started in 1841, to the time it ended in 1845, over 620,000 soldiers died.
3. Causes of the War
While slavery did have an important part what lead up to the Civil War, there were other causes that fed
the fight between North and South that finally erupted into secession and Civil War. Here are the top 3.
1. Economic and social differences between the North and the South.
With Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin in 1793, cotton became very profitable. This machine was
able to reduce the time it took to separate seeds from the cotton. However, at the same time the
increase in the number of plantations willing to move from other crops to cotton meant the greater need
for a large amount of cheap labor (slaves). Thus, the southern economy became a one crop economy,
depending on cotton and therefore on slavery. On the other hand, the northern economy was based
more on industry than agriculture. In fact, the northern industries were purchasing the raw cotton and
turning it into finished goods. This disparity between the two set up a major difference in economic
attitudes. The South was based on the plantation system while the North was focused on city life. This
change in the North meant that society evolved as people of different cultures and classes had to work
together. On the other hand, the South continued to hold onto an antiquated social order.
The Cotton Gin
4. Causes of the War
2. Growth of the Abolition Movement.
Increasingly, the northerners became more
against slavery. Sympathies began to grow for
abolitionists and against slavery and
slaveholders. This occurred especially after
some major events including: the publishing of
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin,
the Dred Scott Case, John Brown’s Raid, and
the passage of the fugitive slave act that held
individuals responsible for harboring fugitive
slaves even if they were located in non-slave
states.
3. The election of Abraham Lincoln.
Even though things were already coming to a
head, when Lincoln was elected in 1860, South
Carolina issued its “Declaration of the Causes
of Secession.” They believed that Lincoln was
anti-slavery and in favor of Northern interests.
5. Abraham Lincoln's Election Leads to Secession
By 1860 the conflict between northern and southern interests had grown so strong that when Abraham Lincoln was elected president South Carolina became the
first state to break off from the Union and form its own country. Ten more states would follow with secession: Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana,
Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina. On February 9, 1861, the Confederate States of America was formed with Jefferson Davis as its president.
Jefferson Davis
6. The Civil War Begins
Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as president in March, 1861. On April 12, Confederate forces led by
General P.T. Beauregard opened fire on Fort Sumter which was a federally held fort in South Carolina.
This began the American Civil War.
7. Date of War:
April 12, 1861 – April 9, 1865 (last shot ended June, 1865)
General Facts
Location:
Mostly in the Southern United States
Belligerents:
United States of America (Union)
Confederate States of America (Confederacy)
Total Number of Battles:
About 10,000
Commanders:
Union:
Confederacy:
Abraham Lincoln Jefferson Davis
Winfield Scott Robert E. Lee
George B. McClellan
T.J. “Stonewall” Jackson
William T. Sherman
James Longstreet
Ulysses S. Grant
Joseph E. Johnston
Winfield Scott Hancock
James Wadell
Admiral David Farragut
8. Battle of Fort Donelson
Major Battles Location: Stewart County, Tennessee.
February 13-16 1862
Confederate Commander: John B. Floyd
Union Commander: Ulysses S. Grant
Confederate Forces: 17,000
Union Forces: 20,057
Victor: Union
Casualties
Union: 2,832
Confederate: 16,623
Total: 19,455
The Battle of Fort Donelson was a very important victory for the North. The fall of this heavily fortified
fort on the Tennessee River was deep in the heart of the confederacy. It ensured that Kentucky would stay
with the Union. It was also here that U.S. Grant earned his nickname “Unconditional Surrender” and his
promotion to Major General. When Confederate commander Buckner asked for surrender terms and
Grant responded that, “No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted.”
9. Major Battles
This battle could have been a huge victory for the Confederacy.
Battle of Shiloh However, with its loss and the immense loss of human life on both
sides, leaders began to realize that the Civil War would not quickly
Location: Shiloh, Tennessee end.
April 6-7 1862
Confederate Commander: Albert Sidney Johnston
Union Commander: Ulysses S. Grant
Confederate Forces: 44,968
Union Forces: 65,085
Victor: Union
Casualties
Union: 13,047
Confederate: 10,694
Total: 23,741
10. Second Battle of Bull Run
Major Battles
Location: Manassas, Virginia
August 29-30 1862
Confederate Commander: John Pope
Union Commander: Robert E. Lee
Confederate Forces: 48,527
Union Forces: 79,862
Victor: Confederacy
Casualties
Union: 16,054
Confederate: 9,197
Total: 25,251
The Second Battle of Bull Run was a very important victory for the South. In fact, it was
the most decisive battle in the Northern Virginia campaign for the Confederates.
11. Battle of Antietam
Major Battles Location: Sharpsburg, Maryland
September 17 1862
Confederate Commander: Robert E. Lee
The Battle of Antietam forced the Confederate Army to retreat
back across the Potomac River. President Lincoln saw the Union Commander: George B. McClellan
significance of this and issued the famous Emancipation
Proclamation on September 22, 1862. This threatened to free all Confederate Forces: 65,000
the slaves in the states in rebellion if those states did not return to
the Union by January 1, 1863 Union Forces: 82,654
Victor: Inconclusive
Casualties
Union: 12,410
Confederate: 10,724
Total: 23,134
12. Battle of Stones River
Major Battles
Location: Stones River, Tennessee
December 31 1862
Confederate Commander: Braxton Bragg
Union Commander: William Rosecrans
Confederate Forces: 44,330
Union Forces: 54,448
Victor: Union
Casualties
Union: 12,906
Confederate: 11,739
Total: 24,645
13. Major Battles Battle of Chancellorsville
Location: Chancellorsville, Virginia
May 1-4 1863
Confederate Commander: Robert E. Lee
Union Commander: Joseph Hooker
Confederate Forces: 60, 892
Union Forces: 133,868
Victor: Confederacy
Casualties
Union: 17,278
Confederate: 12,821
Total: 30,099
This battle was considered by many historians to be Lee’s greatest
victory. At the same time, the South lost one of its greatest strategic
minds with the death of Stonewall Jackson.
T.J. “Stonewall” Jackson
14. Battle of Gettysburg
Major Battles
Location: Gettysburg Pennsylvania
July 1-3 1863
Confederate Commander: Robert E. Lee
Union Commander: George Meade
Confederate Forces: 71,699
Union Forces: 94,589
Victor: Union
Casualties
Union: 23,049
Confederate: 28,063
Total: 51,112
The Battle of Gettysburg was the costliest battle of the American
Civil War based on number of casualties. Spanning over three days,
from July 1-3, 1863, the Battle resulted in approximately 51,000
being killed, wounded, missing, or captured. Despite the fact that
the South continued to fight for two more years, it was a decisive
victory for the Union. The South's retreat and terrible losses were
a turning point in the war. From that point on, the South had to
abandon its attempt to take the war North.
15. The Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech by Abraham
Lincoln and is one of the most well known speeches in
United States history. It was delivered by Lincoln at the
dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on the afternoon of Thursday,
November 19, 1863, during the Civil War. It was only
four and a half months after the Union defeated the
Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg.
16. Battle of Chickamauga
Major Battles
Location: Chickamauga, Georgia
September 19-20 1863
Confederate Commander: Braxton Bragg
Union Commander: William Rosecrans
Confederate Forces: 75,357
Union Forces: 61,753
Victor: Confederacy
Casualties
Union: 16,170
Confederate: 18,454
Total: 34,624
Even though the Confederates won the battle, they did not press their
advantage. The Union army had retreated to Chattanooga. Instead of focusing
their attacks there, Longstreet was sent to attack Knoxville. Lincoln had time to
replace Rosecrans with General Ulysses Grant who brought in reinforcements.
17. Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
Major Battles
Location: Spotsylvania County, Virginia
May 8-21 1864
Confederate Commander: Robert E. Lee
Union Commander: Ulysses S. Grant
Confederate Forces: 52,000
Union Forces: 100,000
Victor: Union
Casualties
Union: 18,399
Confederate: 12,000
Total: 30,399
Grant decided to disengage and continue his overland campaign towards Richmond. However, each of the
successive battles that Grant met on this advance resulted in huge casualties earning Grant the nickname
‘Butcher Grant’.
18. Battle of Appomattox Court House
End of Civil War
Location: Appomattox County, Virginia
April 9 1865
Confederate Commander: Robert E. Lee
Union Commander: Ulysses S. Grant
Confederate Forces: 28,000
Union Forces: 70,000
Victor: Union
Casualties
Union: 168
Confederate: 705
Total: 873
Early on April 9, the remnants of John Broun Gordon’s corps and Fitzhugh Lee’s cavalry formed line of battle at
Appomattox Court House. Gen. Robert E. Lee was determined to make one last attempt to escape the closing
Union pincers and reach his supplies at Lynchburg. At dawn the Confederates advanced, initially gaining ground
against Sheridan’s cavalry. The arrival of Union infantry, however, stopped the advance in its tracks. Lee’s army was
now surrounded on three sides. Lee surrendered to Grant on April 9.
This was the final major engagement of the Civil War. General Lee surrendered to General Grant and the American
Civil War came to an end.
19. Lee Surrenders
The peace treaty of the Civil War was signed at Appomattox Courthouse,
Virginia, on April 9, 1865, by General Robert E. Lee and General Ulysses S. Grant.
20. President Lincoln Assasination
Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln attended a play at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865. They were to be
accompanied by General Ulysses S. Grant and his wife Julia Dent Grant. However, Grant and his wife changed their plans and
did not attend the play. They attended the play with Clara Harris and Henry Rathbone.
During the play, actor John Wilkes Booth entered Lincoln's State Box undetected and shot him in the back of the head. He also
stabbed Henry Rathbone in the arm.
After shooting the President, Booth jumped out of the box onto the stage, broke his left leg and yelled something that some
eyewitnesses reported as, "Sic Semper Tyrannus" (As always to tyrants).
Stump the teacher question:
What was the name of the play that President Lincoln
and his family were watching the night he was shot?
21. Civil War Recunstruction
In the South plantations and homes were burned during the war. The fields were left unattended. The Confederate money was
worthless. The Southerners felt very beaten. Because of this Lincoln wanted to make it easy for the Southern states to rejoin the
Union. Many Northerners were angry over this.
Lincoln asked only four things of the Southerners.
1. To free the slaves
2. Confederate government disband
3. New state governments for each Southern state be formed
4. No former leaders of the Confederate or high ranking officers could be a part of the new government
Many Northerners thought Lincoln was being too easy on the South.
Lincoln was killed at Ford's Theater in Washington by John Wilkes Booth. The Vice President Andrew Johnson became President. He
tried to go ahead with Lincoln's Plans in Congress.
The 13th Amendment was passed in December 1865. It said that slavery was unconstitutional.
The Ku Klux Klan was formed. This was a group which burned, whipped, and murdered Blacks and carpetbaggers.
Slave states made laws called the Black Codes. These were to keep Black people from voting, serving on juries, getting jobs, owning
land, or going to school.
The federal government set up the Freedmen's Bureaus to work against the Black Codes. They gave food, clothing, medical care,
and set up schools for the Blacks.
The 14th Amendment was passed. It said all Black were citizens of the United States and all laws against Blacks were
unconstitutional. Congress also divided the South into five military districts. Each of these had a general in charge of the region. The
general sent troops out into the district to make sure the Blacks were given fair rights.
The 15th Amendment was passed. It gave Blacks over the age of 21 the right to vote.
22. Jews in the Civil War
During the American Civil War, approximately 3,000 Jews fought on the Confederate side and 7,000 fought on
the Union side. Jews also played leadership roles on both sides, with nine Jewish generals and 21 Jewish colonels
participating in the War. Judah P. Benjamin, a non-observant Jew, served as Secretary of State and acting Secretary
of War of the Confederacy.
Judah P. Benjamin
24. Bibliography
Internet Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_Civil_War_battles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_the_United_States#Civil_War
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2951.html
Book Sources:
McPherson, M. James Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era
Oxford University Press, 2003
Garrison, Webb Civil War Trivia and Fact Book
Los Angeles: 2009.
Geoffrey C. Ward, Ken Burns, Ric Burns, Ken C. Burns, Ric C. Burns
The Civil War: An Illustrated History. New York: 1992.
