#3. Fort Sumter

I. Strengths and Weaknesses

• A. North
• 1. Strengths: larger population, industrial centers, railroads, farms, Abraham Lincoln
• 2. Weakness: lack of strong/qualified military commanders, fighting in a foreign territory, Northern population does not support the war 100%

B. The South

• Strengths: familiar with the terrain, highly skilled military leadership, devotion to the war
• 2. weakness: lack of weapons, very few factories, weak central government, smaller population, and less railroads

II. Fort Sumter

• A. Seizure of Federal Property
• 1. Confederate forces began to seize federal property: arsenals, mints, forts, post offices
• 2. South Carolina demanded that Fort Sumter which guarded the entrance to Charleston Harbor surrender
• 3. On April 12, 1861, Confederate cannons fired on Fort Sumter.

III. Strategies

• A. North
• 1. use a naval blockade to cut off Southern seaports
• 2. take control of the Mississippi River and cut the Confederacy in half
• 3. the plan would take time and many leaders wanted a more direct response

B. South

• 1. defend itself from Northern advances and wear down the Union army
• 2. tried to win support from Britain using cotton diplomacy. Confederate leaders hoped that the British government would support them because of Southern exports to Britain

• #6 Troubles for the Union

I. Early Defeats

• A. Bull Run (July 21, 1861)
• 1. Union army attempted to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond
• 2. the army was expected to have an easy victory against the Confederates
• 3. 35,000 Southern soldiers were able to hold back the Union army long enough for reinforcements to arrive
• 4. Union Casualties- Killed: 460, Wounded: 1,124, Missing/Captured: 1,312
• 5. Confederate Casualties- Killed:387, Wounded:1,582, Missing: 13

• “Today will be known as BLACK MONDAY. We are utterly, and disgracefully routed, beaten, whipped by seccesionists.” ~ George Templeton Strong

B. Leadership Issues

• 1. General Irvin McDowell is dismissed by Lincoln after the defeat at Bull Run
• 2. General John Pope was an aggressive fighter but lacked strategy “ let us look before us and not behind. Success and glory are in the advance”
• 3. General George B. McClellan would be replaced after the battle of Antietam by Lincoln who was frustrated with the General’s delays

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C. More Southern Victories

• 1. McClellan made an attempt to capture Richmond but was defeated several times by General Robert E. Lee and General Jeb Stuart, forcing McClellan to retreat back to Washington
• 2. Lincoln ordered General John Pope to advance directly from Washington to Richmond. Pope would be defeated at the Second Battle of Bull Run
• 3. By the end of August 1862, Lee had pushed most of the Union forces out of Virginia

#7

• Battle of Antietam

I. Battle of Antietam

• A. Lee vs. McClellan
• 1. since General Lee had success against the Union army, southern leaders wanted him to achieve a major victory in Union territory
• 2. Lee’s battle plans are discovered wrapped around some cigars
• 3. the bloodiest single-day battle in the history of the United States. 13,700 Confederates and 12,500 Union soldiers were killed

B. Results

• 1. Lee lost a large number of his army and had to halt his northern advance
• 2. Lincoln ordered that McClellan “destroy the rebel army, if possible”, but McClellan stalls and allows Lee to escape to Virginia
• 3. Lincoln would fire McClellan months later
• 4. Now with a major Northern victory, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation following the battle. The E.P encouraged enslaved people of the South to escape as soon as they heard Union troops where nearby

• 1. (be specific) Who is now free? Who will enforce their new freedom?
• 2. What is Lincoln hoping the newly freed slaves would do? (hint: who is responsible for protecting them?)
• 3. What does Lincoln ask the freed slaves to do? What could they join?