3. BULL RUN ENDS the “NINETY-DAY WAR”
The Union Army of the Potomac marched out of Washington toward Bull Run on July 21,
1861. Was this army prepared for battle?
6. The “military picnic” at Bull Run, though
not decisive militarily, bore significant
psychological and political consequences,
many of them paradoxical.
Explain why victory was worse than
defeat for the South. Conversely, why
was defeat better than victory for the
Union?
7.
8. “TARDY GEORGE” McCLELLAN and the
PENINSULA CAMPAIGN
Northern hopes brightened later in 1861, when Gen. George B. McClellan was given
command of the Army of the Potomac. Provide his profile – his personal attributes and
liabilities. What were his feelings toward the President Lincoln?
9. What did Lincoln think about McClellan’s attributes as a commanding general?
10.
11. A reluctant McClellan finally
decided upon a waterborne
approach to Richmond, which lies at
the western base of a narrow
peninsula formed by the James and
York Rivers – hence the name: the
Peninsula Campaign.
What factors compromised
McClellan’s goal?
12. Gen. Robert E. Lee launched a devastating
counterattack, the Seven Days Battles (June 26-
July 2, 1862).
The Confederates drove McClellan back to the sea
and the Union forces abandoned the Peninsula
Campaign as a costly failure.
Lincoln replaced McClellan temporarily, although
Lee suffered twice the casualties.
13. Lee had achieved a brilliant, if bloody, victory. Explain the ironies of Lee’s
accomplishment.
Union strategy now turned toward total war. Describe the six components of the
Northern military plan.
14. THE WAR at SEA
The Northern navy had a formidable task in blockading 3,500 miles of Confederate
coastline. For practical purposes, explain the Union strategy for the blockade. What
was the reaction of Britain to the blockade?
Blockade-running became riskily profitable. Where was the leading rendezvous for
Confederate blockade-runners. How did the Union navy finally pinch-off this “leak?”
The most alarming Confederate threat to the
blockade came in 1862. What was this grave
threat? And explain the potential catastrophe
for the North.
15. After the Merrimack had sunk two Union warships and was threatening more, a tiny Union
ironclad, the Monitor, arrived on the scene. For four hours on March 9, 1862, the little
“Yankee cheese box on a raft” fought the Merrimack to a standstill. This historic battle
heralded the doom of the wooden warship.
16.
17. THE PIVOTAL POINT: ANTIETAM
After defeating McClelland’s assault on Richmond, Lee inflicted a heavy defeat on Gen. John Pope at
the Second Battle of Bull Run (Aug. 29-30, 1862). Emboldened by this success, Lee daringly moved
into Maryland. What were his goals by striking into Maryland, a Border State?
Events converged toward a critical battle at Antietam Creek, Maryland. McClelland had been
restored to command of the Northern army and two Union soldiers found a copy of Lee’s battle plans
wrapped around a packet of cigars. With this crucial intelligence, McClelland succeeded in halting
Lee at Antietam on September 17, 1862, in one of the bitterest and bloodiest days of the war.
18. Antietam was a military draw, but Lee was forced to withdraw across the Potomac.
McClelland was removed from command for the final time – why?
How did the outcome of this battle establish Antietam as one of the most decisive
engagements of the war for both sides (and for Lincoln especially)?
19. A PROCLAMATION WITHOUT EMANCIPATION
Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 declared “forever free” the slaves in those
Confederate states still in rebellion.
Explain how the president’s pen did not formally strike the shackles from a single
slave. And despite the lack of formal freedom, what impact did Lincoln’s
proclamation have on slaves in the South?
20. Public reactions to the long-awaited
Proclamation of 1863 were varied.
Describe the various reactions
(foreign; abolitionist; southern)
What impact did the
Emancipation Proclamation
have on the Union war
effort?
21.
22. BLACKS BATTLE BONDAGE
As Lincoln moved to emancipate the slaves, he also took steps to enlist blacks in the
armed forces.
The War Department had initially refused to
accept blacks who had volunteered, but as
manpower ran low and emancipation was
declared, black enlistees were accepted.
Did the Confederacy enlist black soldiers?
What type of tasks were they assigned
upon being accepted?
Why didn’t the great mass of Southern
slaves help their Northern liberators?
23. Along with adding to Union manpower, Lincoln viewed enlisting black soldiers as a
demoralizing tactic in the psychological war. Did black soldiers distinguish themselves
in the Union military?
24. Black military casualties were extremely heavy for a variety of reasons. Describe the
fate of many captured Union black soldiers.
25. LEE’S LAST LUNGE at GETTYSBURG
Following two big victories at
Fredericksburg &
Chancellorsville, Lee prepared to
invade the North.
Why did he want to chance a
risky invasion of the North?
26. The battle seesawed across Gettysburg for 3
agonizing days (July 1-3, 1863), and the
outcome was in doubt until the very end.
What was considered the “high tide of the
Confederacy,” but also the “back breaker?”
Explain the significance of the battle’s
outcome.
27. THE WAR in the WEST
Events in the western theater of the war at last
provided Lincoln with an able general who did not
have to be replaced after every setback. His
name was Ulysses S. Grant.
Describe Grant’s personal profile.
What were Grant’s critics saying about him?
What did Lincoln think of Grant?
28. The Union success in the West split
the Confederacy and tipped the
diplomatic scales in favor of the
North.
29. SHERMAN SCORCHES GEORGIA
Georgia’s conquest was entrusted to
Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman.
He captured Atlanta in September
1864 and burned the city in November.
He then daringly left his supply base,
lived off the country for some 250
miles, and weeks later emerged at
Savannah on the sea.
Sherman’s hated “Blue Bellies,” some
60,000 strong, cut a 60 mile swath of
destruction through Georgia. What
were his objectives in doing this?
30. Sherman was a pioneer practitioner of “total war.” Were his destructive methods
effective? Why was Sherman’s army especially destructive in South Carolina?
31.
32. THE POLITICS of WAR
Presidential elections come by the calendar and not by the crisis. As fate would have it,
the election of 1864 fell most inopportunely in the midst of war. Political infighting in the
North added greatly to Lincoln’s cup of woe – describe Lincoln’s inner-circle woes.
Salmon Chase
33. Most dangerous of all to the Union cause were the Northern Democrats. Why were the
Democrats divided? And explain how they were divided.
Who was Clement Vallandigham? What is the story behind him?
Clement Vallandigham
34. THE ELECTION of 1864
As the election of 1864 approached, Lincoln’s precarious authority depended on his
retaining Republican support while spiking the threat from the Peace Democrats &
Copperheads. Fearing defeat, explain Lincoln’s re-nomination maneuver?
Who was Lincoln’s running-mate in 1864? Why was he selected?
35. Embattled Democrats – regular and Copperhead – nominated the deposed and over
cautious war hero, Gen. McClellan – what was McClellan’s dilemma with the Democratic
platform?
Lincoln’s re-election was at first gravely in doubt, largely because the war was going badly.
But the atmosphere of gloom changed dramatically as balloting day neared, and Lincoln
pulled through. Identify the two factors that were keys to his re-election? Why
was Lincoln’s victory one of the most crushing losses suffered by the South? What
impact did it have on Southern morale?
36.
37. GRANT OUTLASTS LEE
After Gettysburg, Grant was brought in from the West over Meade, who was blamed for not finishing-
off the Confederates after their defeat. What type of general was Lincoln seeking at this point?
What was Grant’s strategy to finish off Lee? Did the strategy work? Did Grant have his
critics?
In February 1865 the Confederates, tasting defeat, tried desperately to negotiate for peace between
the “two countries.” Lincoln could accept nothing short of Union & emancipation, and the Southerners
could accept nothing short of independence. So the war continued.
38. The end came with dramatic suddenness. Rapidly advancing Northern troops captured
Richmond and cornered Lee at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia, in April 1865.
39. Grant met with Lee on the 9th, Palm Sunday, and granted generous terms of surrender.
What was amongst the most important concessions?
40. Tattered Southern veterans – “Lee’s Regamuffins” – wept as they took leave of their
beloved commander. The elated Union soldiers cheered, but they were silenced by Grant’s
stern admonition, “The war is over; the rebels are our countrymen again.”
Sadly, as many freed slaves were to discover, the hereafter of their full liberty was a
long time coming.
41.
42. THE MARTYDOM of LINCOLN
The long, grueling war took a visibly physical toll on President Lincoln.
On the night of April 14, 1865 (Good
Friday), only 5 days after Lee’s
surrender, Ford’s Theater in
Washington witnessed its most
sensational drama.
A half-crazed, fanatically pro-
Southern actor, John Wilkes Booth,
slipped behind Lincoln as he sat in his
box and shot him in the head.
After lying unconscious all night, he
died the following morning.
43. Lincoln’s death was met with genuine sorrow, both at home and abroad.
Explain the full impact of Lincoln’s death, for Lincoln’s legacy and the country. Who
became president? And what would be his fate? Why would Lincoln have probably
fared better in the post-war period?
44.
45. THE AFTERMATH of the NIGHTMARE
The Civil War took a grisly toll – over 600,000 men died in action or of disease, and in all
over a million were killed or seriously wounded. The nation lost the cream of its young
manhood and potential leadership.
Direct monetary costs of the conflict totaled about $15 billion. But this amount does not
include continuing expenses, tangible and intangible.
The extreme state’s righters were crushed. The national govt., tested in the fiery
furnace of war, emerged unbroken. Nullification and secession were laid to rest.
Beyond doubt, the Civil War was the supreme test of American democracy. The
preservation of democratic ideals, though not an officially war aim, was subconsciously one
of the major objectives of the North.
Victory for Union arms also provided inspiration to the champions of democracy and
liberalism the world over, especially in Britain.
The “Lost Cause” of the South was lost, but few Americans today would argue that the
result was not for the best. Superpower status probably could not have been achieved
with a permanent split.
