2. New Weapons Previous Wars: charges on the enemy Now: new rifles & cannons were more accurate & had longer range; attacking troops could be bombarded before reaching defenders Generals were slow to recognize this & change tactics Ironclads: warships covered with protective iron plates Cannon fire bounced off the sides of these ships Confederates used them against the Union blockade Union used them in the effort to gain control of the Mississippi River New Technology in the War
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4. George McClellan Placed in command of Union troops after Battle of Bull Run Very organized & cautious general March 1862 McClellan moved 100,000 soldiers by boat to a peninsula southeast of Richmond As he moved toward the capital he discovered superiority of his troops to the 15,000 Confederate troops Ordered 37,000 troops to guard Washington, D.C. Waited another month to advance again Gave Confederates time to reinforce May 31, 1862 Confederates stopped Union advance near Richmond In late June McClellan was forced to retreat The War in the East
5. General Lee decided to invade the North Hoped victory of Union soil would gain support for the South in Europe & turn northern public opinion against the war September: Lee’s army moved into western Maryland September 1862 45,000 troops slipped into Maryland Union officer found a piece of paper showing Lee’s battle plan Confederates had divided into two parts McClellan attacked Lee on September 17, 1862 at Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland Bloodiest single day of the war Lee was forced to retreat to Virginia; Confederates suffered 14,000 casualties McClellan lost 12,000 men & was too damaged to pursue Lee & finish him Lucky Break
6. Ulysses S. Grant General of western Union forces Took chances & was not as cautious as McClellan 1862 Union forces made major advances in western land & naval battles Grant moved forces south from Kentucky capturing Fort Henry in TN & the Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River Two water routes into the Confederacy were now open Grant continued toward Corinth, MS The War in the West
7. April 6,1862 Confederate General Albert Sydney Johnston attacked Grant’s forces at the Battle of Shiloh South suffered nearly 11,000 casualties & the North more than 13,000. Union forced Confederate army to withdraw from the railroad center Union also gained control of western Tennessee & part of Mississippi River Union fleet under command of David Farragut entered Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico 2 weeks after this battle April 26 Farragut captured New Orleans, LA & by summer nearly all of the Mississippi River was in Union hands
