Unit 4- SSUSH 9 US History Milestones Assessment People & Events of the Civil War

Fort Sumter

A federal fort in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. Confederate forces staged a 24-hour bombardment against it and, by attacking federal property, had committed an act of open rebellion. To uphold the Constitution, President Lincoln believed he had no choice but to call for troops to respond against the Confederacy. As a direct result, the Civil War began in April 1861.

Battle of Gettysburg

—July 1863—Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee hoped that an invasion of Union territory would significantly weaken Northern support for the war effort. A major Southern victory on Northern soil might also convince Great Britain and France to aid Confederate forces. Lee's army was met by Union troops at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. In the course of a three-day battle, as many as 51,000 were killed. It was the deadliest battle of the American Civil War. Lee gave up attempts to invade the Union or to show Northerners that the Union troops could not win the war. Four months later, Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery. July 1-3, 1863 (Pennsylvania), Turning point of the War that made it clear the North would win. 50,000 people died, and the South lost its chance to invade the North.

Battle of Vicksburg

—May-July 1863—Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant laid siege to Vicksburg, Mississippi, because the army that controlled its high ground over a bend in the Mississippi River would control traffic on the whole river. After a seven-week siege, Grant achieved one of the Union's major strategic goals: he gained control of the Mississippi River. Confederate troops and supplies in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas were cut off from the Confederacy. This Union victory, coupled with the Union victory at Gettysburg, was the turning point of the war. 1863 Union army's six week, blockade in Mississippi, that led the city to surrender during the Civil War. This Union victory enabled the Union to control the entire Mississippi River.

Battle of Antietam

—September 1862—Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee marched his forces to Antietam Creek, Maryland, where he fought the war's first major battle on Northern soil. It was the deadliest one-day battle in American history, with over 26,000 casualties. Neither side won a clear victory. As Lee withdrew to the South, Union forces might have been able to end the war by going after the Confederates—Union soldiers outnumbered them two to one—but they did not follow Lee. The outcome of this battle encouraged Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

Robert E. Lee

• Became leader of the Confederate Army in June of 1862. • Strongly opposed southern secession from the Union, but felt honor-bound to follow his home state of Virginia's decision. • Was asked by Abraham Lincoln's. administration to take command of Northern military unit but declined. Despite his skill he was forced to surrender to Ulysses S Grant at Appomattox Courthouse in 1865.

Abraham Lincoln

16th President of United States of America,1861-1865. A republican who as President... • Greatly expanded the role of the national government during the Civil War • Appointed Gen. Ulysses S. Grant commanding general of Union armies. • Rallied support among the North to keep the Union intact. • Supported reconciliation plans between the North and South once the war ended. • Issued Emancipation Proclamation • Supported Thirteenth Amendment to Constitution. He believed preservation of the United States (the "Union") was the most important task for any U.S. president. He did not believe the Southern states had the right to secede from the Union and thought they were merely rebelling against the government. He never considered the Confederacy a separate country. When Lincoln called for a large volunteer army to preserve the Union, more states—Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee—seceded to join the Confederacy. Although Lincoln had often stated he wished only to restrict the spread of slavery, not to abolish it, over time he did embrace the idea of ending slavery in the United States. He suspended habeas corpus which was controversial because it involved limiting people's civil liberties. He was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in 1865, six days after the Civil War ended.

Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural Address

Abraham Lincoln was reelected president in 1864. When he delivered this speech, Union victory over the Confederacy was certain and Americans foresaw an end to slavery. Instead of boasting about that victory, Lincoln expressed sorrow that the states had not been able to resolve their differences peacefully. However, he clearly stated that slavery was such an evil that the North was right to have gone to war over the issue. Nevertheless, he urged Americans not to seek revenge on slaveholders and their supporters and military. Instead, he urged reconstruction of the South "with malice toward none; with charity for all." Now at the end of the Civil War, Lincoln formed what would become the popular memory of why the war was necessary. He said it had been fought to preserve the Union as an indivisible nation of citizens who would no longer profit from "wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces"—from taking their earnings from the labor of unpaid slaves. Speech was given just a few weeks before the Union won the Civil War.

American Civil War

Also known as "The War Between the States," Apr 12, 1861 - May 13, 1865. The war was fought between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America. Union and Confederate forces fought many battles in the Civil War's four years. Land battles were fought mostly in states east of the Mississippi River; sea battles were fought along the Atlantic coast and in the Gulf of Mexico; and river battles were fought on the Mississippi. The first battle was the Battle of Fort Sumter. The last battle was the Battle of Palmito Ranch. The north won the war in 1865.

Ulysses S. Grant

Became leader of Union armies in March of 1864. • Won first Union victories • Had reputation as one of the few aggressive Northern military leaders. • Forced Confederate Army into a series of battles that destroyed Southern military power. • Accepted surrender at Appomattox of Confederate Gen. Lee to end Civil War. He later became the 18th President of the United States (1869-1877).

Union

During the American Civil War (1861-1865), the Union referred to as the United States of America and specifically to the national government of President Abraham Lincoln and the 20 free states, 4 border and slave states (some with split governments and troops sent both north and south) that supported it.

William T. Sherman

He commanded the Union army in Tennessee. • Recalled to U.S. Army in June of 1861 • Led units in victories at Shiloh, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga. • His decisive victory in capturing Atlanta in September of 1864 was instrumental in helping Lincoln win reelection. • His views on "total war" lead to his March to the Sea and the widespread destruction of civilian morale and infrastructure. His troops burned barns and houses, and destroyed the countryside. The purpose was to frighten Georgia's civilian population into abandoning the Confederate cause. • Provided humanitarian aid to newly freed slaves in the South.

Gettysburg Address

In November 1863, Lincoln's presentation of this speech was another event by which he shaped popular opinion in favor of preserving the Union. The occasion was the dedication of a national military cemetery at the Gettysburg battlefield four months after 51,000 people were killed in the battle there. Lincoln started his speech with his famous words, "Four score and seven years ago." He spoke for just two minutes in what is now considered one of the greatest speeches in the English language. His address helped raise the spirits of Northerners who had grown weary of the war and dismayed by Southern victories over the larger Union armies. He convinced the people that the United States was one indivisible nation.

Battle of Atlanta (Sherman's March to the Sea)

July-September 1864—Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman besieged Atlanta, Georgia, for six weeks before capturing this vitally important center of Confederate manufacturing and railway traffic. Sherman's goal was to disrupt the Confederacy's capacity to resupply its troops throughout the South. Union troops burned Atlanta to the ground and then marched to the Atlantic Ocean (Sherman's March to the Sea) , destroying the railways, roads, and bridges along the path, as well as the crops and livestock the troops did not harvest and butcher to feed themselves. His march showed a shift in the belief that only military targets should be destroyed. Civilian centers could also be targets. Now the South knew it would lose the war, and the North knew it would win. Lincoln easily won reelection against a candidate who wanted a truce with the Confederacy.

Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln used his emergency powers to issue this order in 1862. It emancipated (freed) all slaves held in the Confederate states. Lincoln did not expect Confederate slaveholders to free their slaves, but he thought news of the proclamation would reach Southern slaves and encourage them to flee to the North. Lincoln believed one reason Southern whites were free to join the Confederate Army was because slaves were doing work that, otherwise, the whites would have to do. Encouraging slaves to flee north would hurt the Southern war effort. It took effect January 1, 1863.

Habeas Corpus

Not all Northerners supported President Lincoln's efforts to preserve the Union. Some were Confederate sympathizers. Throughout the war, in some states Lincoln suspended the constitutional right of habeas corpus—the legal right that anyone imprisoned must be taken before a judge to determine if the prisoners being legally held in custody. Lincoln used his emergency powers to legalize the holding of Confederate sympathizers without trial and without the approval of a judge. Over 13,000 Confederate sympathizers were arrested in the North.

Jefferson Davis

President of Confederate States of America, 1861-1865. • Appointed Robert E. Lee as general-in chief of Confederate armies. • Sought international recognition for the Confederate States of America, but was unsuccessful. • Ineffectual as national leader, limited economic and military successes. • Not an early supporter of secession, but believed any state had the right to do so. • After the War, made efforts to reconcile the South and North, but remained an icon of Southern pride An American soldier and politician who was the President of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.

"Stonewall" Jackson

Was a professor at Virginia Military Institute—part of his original curriculum is still taught. Was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. He was well known for his fearlessness. • Became leader of the "Stonewall Brigade" composed of Virginia Infantry. • Is today considered an innovative military commander; he was popular among Confederate soldiers. • His victories against larger Union forces made him personally popular in the South. • Accidentally shot by his own troops; his death affected the morale of both Southern soldiers and civilians alike.

Confederacy/Confederate

Was an unrecognized country in North America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Was made up of a collection of eleven southern states that left the Union in 1860 and 1861 and formed their own country in order to protect the institution of slavery. The 11 Confederate states were South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, Louisiana, and Arkansas. They carried on all the affairs of a separate government and conducted a major war until defeated in the spring of 1865. A confederate was a supporter of the Confederate States of America.