The Battle of Antietam was the bloodiest day of the Civil War for both Union and Confederate

troops. Which side had the most casualties?EQ: What new technologies impacted the Civil War?

Objective and Scales: The student will be able to evaluate the war

on different fronts as well as new technologies and weapons that impacted the war with 80% accuracy

Where does today’s objective fit into the unit learning goal scale?

Objective E and F

How do you reach mastery of SCALE Everest for objective E and F?

TOC: Page 121-New technologies and weapons

1. Soldier's LifeTrained for up to 10 hours a day when

not in battleCamp life was often miserable. Lack of

clean water led to outbreaks of smallpox, typhoid fever, and other diseases

Both sides built prison camps for captured soldiers (POW)

Nearly 10% of soldiers who died in the war, died in prison camps

POW’s were forced to eat rats to survive, many died of starvation or exposure

2. New technology/weaponsNew weapons made this

war more deadly than any other

New rifles and cannons where far more accurate and had greater range than old muskets and artillery

B/C of this many soldiers were slaughtered by following order to cross open fields against deadly new weapons

Weapon TypesArtillery

Firearms larger than small armsSmall arms

Any weapon smaller than a canon and carried by a soldier

Edged weaponsBayonets, sabers, swords, short swords,

cutlasses, Bowie knives, pikes and lances

NapoleonMade from

bronze until South ran out, then iron

Max range-1700 yards

Most effective at 250 yards

Probably caused most causalities of all artillery pieces

Small ArmsClassified by caliber; mode of loading

(breech/muzzle) and makerMost used was .58 cal Springfield Musket

and .69 cal Harper’s Ferry RifleBoth muzzle loading and fired mini ballThese rifles changed infantry tactics

Before, soldiers would be in mass groups and charge the enemy

After, with greater accuracy and longer range (lethal at over ½ mile) frontal assaults were very deadly

Small ArmsMusket

•Smoothbore•Long-barreled shoulder arm

Rifle•Shoulder gun with spiral grooves cut into the inner barrel

Carbine•Short-barreled rifle

Handguns•Pistol•Revolver

.58 cal Springfield Musket

.69 cal Harper’s Ferry Rifle

Minie BallBefore – use of rifles was impractical

because ammo was expensive and loading was time consuming

1848 – French army Capt. Claude F. Minie developed smaller, hollow-based bulletEasier loading, expanded upon firing and

spun out of gun barrel. The spin made them more expensive but very accurate and far traveling.

1855 – Harper’s Ferry Armory worker James H. Burton found a cheaper way to make the ball

Became the standard bullet for both sides

Minie Ball

Edged Weapons

BayonetsSwordsSabresShort SwordsCutlassesBowie knifePikes and lances

Edged WeaponsMostly served as decorationOut of about 250,000 wounded treated in

Union hospitals only about 922 were injured from an edged weapon; most were from private disagreements

SabreCavalry swordLethal with trained mounted soldiersVolunteers created many lop-eared horses

SwordSign of officer’s authority

LanceDeadly with trained troopsShortage in the South

North vs South ComparisonNorth had a huge advantage over South in

all artillery and higher percentage of rifled cannon to smoothbore cannon.

Union had about 1,200 Napoleons produced for them; Confederacy produced between 500-600 on their own.

In small arms, the South depended on smuggled imports from England and France.

South was at disadvantage in majority aspects of weapons simply because of the lack of material availability and technology.

3. IroncladsBoth sides also made use of ironclads-

warships covered with protective iron plates

Cannon balls would bounce off the plates

The most famous naval battle of the war occurred when two ironclads, the Union’s Monitor and the Confederacy’s Merrimack fought to a stalemate in March of 1862

Union ironclads played an important role in gaining control of the Mississippi River Delta

4. War in the EastAfter the Union was defeated at Bull Run,

Lincoln removed McDowell and put General George McClellan in command

McClellan was a good organizer, but cautiousHe spent seven months training his army, but

Lincoln grew impatientMcClellan tried to take Richmond, but the

Union in May of 1862 was unsuccessful againRobert E. Lee (Conf.) wanted to take

advantage of the Union loss, with Richmond safe he wanted to invade the North

He believed a win on Union soil could earn the South, European allies

But…..what happens next COULD have changed things…

5. AntietamUnion soldiers found a copy of General Lee’s

battle plan for the battle of Antietam in MarylandSergeant John Bloss and Corporal Barton W.

Mitchell found a piece of paper wrapped around three cigars, it became evident it was Lee’s battle plan!

McClellan now knew that Lee's forces were split into five parts and scattered over a 30-mile stretch

McClellan’s caution got the best of him and he lost the advantage

When he finally mobilized troops (18 hours), Lee was alerted and closed the gap between his scattered forces

Antietam turned out to be the bloodiest day in the Civil War (almost 23 thousand), September 17th

Antietam is considered a draw from a military point of view, but Lincoln and the Union claimed victory

Lee’s retreat would give Lincoln the “victory” he needed before delivering the Emancipation Proclamation…a document that would change the ENTIRE war

6. The War in the West Lincoln’s army in the West would not be so

cautious Ulysses S. Grant would lead the most successful

armies Grant and McClelland were very different, Grant

was risk taker. Under Grant Union forces made major advances,

seizing control of most of the Miss. R Grant met Confederate General Albert Sidney

Johnston on April 6, 1862 at the battle of Shiloh Costly, but important for both sides Union forced the Confederate army to withdraw

from the railroad center in Corinth, TN. 2 weeks later, David Farragut (U) entered the

Miss. R from the Gulf and captured New Orleans, LA.

By summer of 1862, Union controlled the entire Miss. River

Summary and Progress ChartExplain how new weapons impacted the Civil

War using specific examples. Explain the outcome of Antietam and Shiloh.

Complete progress chart for objective E and F