CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION 

SPRING SEMESTER 2018 
 

Week 3 Lecture 

Causes for the War 

● Territorial Expansion 
○ Debate over the expansion of slavery 
● Economic Separation of the Country 
● Sectionalism: North vs South. Different in ideology, daily lifestyle, politics, 
economies, etc. Also, in the case of pre-Civil War times, the issue of Slavery. 
● South 
○ Lincoln’s election (1860) 
○ A Battle for States’ Rights 
○ Concern over Possible Loss of Slavery 
○ Significant Economic Concerns 
● North 
○ Focused on the strength of a centralized government 
○ Restore the Union/Keeping the Union in tact. 
○ End of Slavery? 

On December 20th, 1860, South Carolina is the first Southern state to secede from the 
union, followed by Mississippi, florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. Virginia, Arkansas, 
Tennessee, and North Carolina do not leave until after the start of the war. They create the 
Confederate States of America. 

Advantages and Disadvantages 

● Significant Differences Between the North and the South 

○ Economics 
■ Industrialization - North has the advantage 

 
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○ Military Equipment and Preparedness - North has the advantage 

○ Number of Troops - North has the advantage 
○ General Population 
■ South has less than half 

Union Strategies 

● General 
○ Pushed into an offensive war 
○ Large numbers of troops 
○ Complex logistical lines 
○ Strong war-based economy 
● Specific 
○ Anaconda Plan 
■ Cut the Confederates off from supplies/the world 
■ Take control of the Mississippi 
■ Naval blockages of Southern ports 
○ Additions to the Strategy 
■ Take Richmond (Confederate capital) 
■ Force the decisive battles the South does not want 
■ Eventually move to attrition 
● Ulysses S. Grant 
● Wearing down the enemy and its population 

Confederate Strategies 

● General 
○ Focus on defensive war 
○ Protracted war 
○ Wait it out to get help from another country 
○ Hope to wear down the US forces 
○ Push them into negotiations. 
● Specific 
○ Stick with the defensive strategy until 1864 
○ Robert E. Lee 

 
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■ Eventually begins to chase the “decisive battle” 

■ Pushes him to being on the offensive, rather than the defensive. 

Total War (War of Attrition) 

● Constant Warfare 
● Destroy the will of the enemy and its population 
● Attack all aspects of the enemy’s life 
○ Agriculture 
○ Industry 
○ Transportation 

Changes in Technology 

● More Advanced Rifles 

○ Muzzle-loading 
○ Higher caliber 
○ Repeating rifles 
● Conical Bullet 
○ Pointed end 
○ Begins spinning after firing 
○ Quicker and longer-driving 
○ Faster reload 
● Cannons used, but not as much 
● Changes created: 
○ Move to separated battle lines 
○ Less tight formations 
○ More focus on defense 
● Rails and Steamboats 
○ Supplies received faster 

Army Organization 

● Infantry 
○ Infantry is most important, move away from artillery and cavalry.  
○ Division (3-4 Brigades) 

 
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○ Brigade (4-6 regiments) 

○ 1k men per regiment (10 companies) 
○ Shrinks over time 
● Artillery 
○ Not used as much 
○ Connected to the infantry units 
● Calvary 
○ Horses not used in most battles 
○ Calvary men now dismount in battle 

Mobilization 

● Union 
○ Volunteers (State Quotas) 
○ 75,000 90-day enlistment 
○ Eventually use draft 
■ Enrollment Act of 1863 
■ Populace has significant problems with this 
● Confederates 
○ Volunteers 
○ Draft 1862 

The Eastern Theater (1861-1863) 

● Fort Sumter (Charleston - April 1861) 

○ Quickly taken by the Confederates, is the start of the war 
○ Too small of a Union force stationed there. 
○ Helps expand the Confederacy 
● First Battle of Bull Run (July 1861) 
○ First major battle, first infantry battle 
○ The Union moves toward Richmond 
○ First battle is at Manassas 
○ 30,000 Union vs 33,000 Confederates 
○ Union thought it could quickly defeat the Confederates 
○ Union troops eventually retreat 

 
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○ Hard march to Manassas, middle of summer, significant push by the 

Confederates.  
● 50,000 Confederates block Richmond while the Union regroups 
● Consistent hesitation on the part of General McClellan 
○ Too long to regroup and train 
○ Too worried about the numbers of Confederate soldiers 
● Seven Days Battle (June/July 1862) 
○ Robert E. Lee pushes McClellan back and away from Richmond 
○ But Lee forces a battle that he hopes will be decisive 
○ Loses 5k men in this battle, 20k in the whole seven days. 
● Second Battle of Bull Run (August 1862) 
○ Lee vs the Army of Virginia (Union) 
○ Lee Sends Jackson to take the back of the Union forces by surprise 
○ Jackson pushes them to Manassas to fight Lee 
● Melding of the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Virginia 
○ McClellan back in charge 
○ Lee invaded Maryland, hoping to make it easy to get DC, Philly, and 
Baltimore. 
● Discovery of Lee’s plans 
○ Discovery of abandoned Confederate camp in Maryland, cigar wrapped in 
Lee’s orders. 
○ But Lee’s forces are allowed to meet up because McClellan doesn’t move 
quickly 
○ Lee still abandons his big plans 
● McClellan demoted 
● Battle of Antietam (September 1863) 
○ A turning point for the Union  
○ 70k (union) vs 40k (Confederate) 
○ McClellan attempts to wipe out all of the COnfederate forces converged 
there 
○ 5k men killed, 21k wounded/MIA 
○ McClellan does not add forces and does not follow Lee after retreat 
● Lincoln disgusted with McClellan, replaces him with General Burnside 

 
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● The Union move to Richmond again 

● The Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) 
○ Important because it starts that downhill slide for the Confederacy 
○ Sparked by the move to Richmond 
○ 120k Union forces to Lee’s 70k 
○ RIfle assault on Union soldiers 
○ Burnside withdraws 
○ 12k (Union), 5,300 (Confederate) killed 
● Burnside removed, replaced by General Hooker 
○ Still working on the move to Richmond 
○ Meets Lee at Fredericksburg (1863) 
○ Divides 130k men to hit Lee from both sides 
○ Lee gets wind of this and splits his men 
● Battle of Chancellorsville (May 1863) 
○ Hooker initially withdraws after Jackson’s troops hit them from behind 
○ Lee then surprises them 
○ Other troops push forward and are tricked into meeting Jackson’s force 
○ Jackson killed 
○ Lee pushes Hooker out of Chancellorsville 
○ Union tries to push back from Fredericksburg 
○ General Sedgwick not backed up by Hooker 
○ Hooker withdraws 
○ Massive casualties: 17k Union to 13k confederate 

 
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