AMERICAN CIVIL WAR1861-1865

Confederate Attack on Ft. SumterApril 1861

Civil War

Keys to Victory:Strategies of the Union & Confederacy

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Abraham Lincoln:Problems:

① Secession② Potential Secession③ European Intervention

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Secession11 States

4 Potential9 million4 million

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Keys for Lincoln and the UnionMarylandDelawareKentuckyMissouri

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May, 1861: Lincoln’s Challenges1. Rally Northerners2. Keep Border States in the Union3. Defeat the Southern Military4. Restrict the South’s ability to fight5. Prevent European intervention

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1861: Major Obstacle

Lincoln could not make slavery the cause of the war.

“Union” established as political andstrategic goal.

Civil War: Strategy

May, 1861: Union Strategy1. Defeat the South militarily2. Restrict South’s ability to fight3. Lincoln turned to his generals

1. Problem:1. Military leaders on both sides shared the same basic

military training as well as the basic concepts of how an army should be built and how a war should be fought.

Civil War: Strategy

Napoleon’s Influence1. Concentrate a mass of your force against a

fraction of the enemy2. Attack your enemy’s weak point with your own

great strength3. Menace the enemy’s lines of communication

while protecting yours4. Utilize topography, intelligence, and “skirmishers”

to your advantage5. Use the “turning movement” to defeat your foe

Civil War: Strategy

General Winfield Scott• Mexican War Hero• 75 Years Old• Formulated first Union strategy

Civil War: Strategy

May, 1861:Confidence lay in the military’s ability to defeat secession.

Civil War: Strategy

Initial Plan: “Anaconda Plan”

Civil War: Strategy

Confederate StrategyAdvantage: Interior line of defenseSouth is a martial societyPossessed outstanding generalsDO NOT HAVE TO “WIN” TO WININITIALLY CHOOSE DEFENSIVE STRATEGY

The nature of Southerners forced them to changeThe Offensive-Defensive Strategy

Civil War: Strategy

Civil War: Strategy (East)

STRATEGY SUCCESSFUL?1. First Manassas: July, 1861 2. The Peninsula Campaign, March-July, 18623. Second Manassas, July-August, 18624. *Antietam, September, 1862*5. Fredericksburg, December, 18626. Chancellorsville, May, 18637. Gettysburg, July, 1863

Civil War: Strategy (West)

EVENTS/PEOPLE THAT BROUGHT CHANGE:Ulysses S. Grant’s Civil War:War in the West

Forts Donelson and HenryShilohVicksburg

Civil War: Strategy

GRANT CHANGES STRATEGY“Anaconda” + Constant Pressure

Removes Southern AdvantagesNullifies Interior Lines of Defense

Splits South into partsWears out Southern ArmiesDestroys Southern ability to fight

Civil War: Strategy

NEW STRATEGY:

Civil War: Strategy

STRATEGY SUCCESSFUL?1. Sherman’s March to the Sea, 1863-18652. The Wilderness, 18643. Spotsylvania Courthouse, 18644. Cold Harbor, 18645. Petersburg, 1864-18656. Richmond, 18657. Appomattox Courthouse, 1865

Civil WarCasualties

Civil WarCasualties:

Union: 110,000 Killed In Action360,000 Total Dead275,000 Wounded

Confederacy:93,000 Killed In Action260,000 Total Dead137,000 Wounded

*Numbers are questionable and hard to pin down because records of the time were not very precise about exact casualties.

Civil War

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:

Create a Group Power Point on one of the Battles of the Civil War.

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• Create a 5-8 minute Power Point Presentation

Must include at least 20 slides

Must contain at least 5 documents(pictures, maps, charts, graphs, cartoons, etc.)

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• Each member of your group will be responsible for researching information to

contribute to the slide show.

• Each member of your group will be graded on the content of each slide and whether you

have met the requirements.

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• You will be assigned a battle which you will research and present. It will include, but not

be limited to the following

• Union Leaders• Confederate Leaders• Strategies of each side• Successes & Failures of each side• Casualties for each side• Results of the battle• Any other interesting facts (other names for battles, etc.)

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Battles:– First Manassas– Antietam– Fredericksburg– Chancellorsville– Vicksburg– Gettysburg

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• Rubric• Slides are neat and understandable• Information is clear and concise• At Least 20 Slides• At Least 5 Documents• Slides cover the 7 Criteria• Each person contributed to research, and presented

part of the slide show• Information must be factual• Sources of information have been cited

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Presentations are due…

Monday, September 30

NO EXCEPTIONS