Confederacy Response The Union Blockade did not go on quietly through the war but was severely tested by the Confederacy who would not take it laying down. With the blockade slowly strangling the Southern economy the Confederacy needed to break out in order for them to survive the long game in the war. In order for the Union to succeed in forming their blockade to its fullest extent they needed to destroy the small Confederate navy that was in the southern ports at the beginning of the war. One of the key events that would set the Union up nicely to expand the blockade was the blockading of the Chesapeake Bay. This was a key part in stopping the Confederate naval ships from reaching the sea that were stationed at Norfolk. When Union soldiers lost control of the shipping yards to Confederate soldiers it would lead to one of the most famous and technological advanced naval battle of the war, the Battle of Hampton Roads. With now a chance for a breakthrough in the blockade …show more content…
In the expansion of the blockade to Gulf of Mexico the last major port in the region was still in southern hands when the Union tried to cut it off. The Battle of Mobile Bay was the Unions attempt to cut the Confederates last port off from the world and put the Union flag over the port. The battle was a head on charge by the Union fleet into the bay to sink the smaller Confederate and take the surrounding forts in the bay. All the Southern ships were sunk expect one ironclad, the CSS Tennessee. Instead of retreating the ironclad stayed in the bay and fought against overwhelming numbers and cost the Union heavily but in the end even the Tennessee was no match for the Union blockading fleet. With the Confederate fleet now either sunk or surrendered the remaining forts in the region raised their white flags giving up the last remaining Southern port in the gulf over to the
General Richard Sherman’s march to the sea has just finished. After successful capturing Atlanta, Georgia, General Sherman directed his Union army to Savannah, Georgia. Along the way, northerners wreaked havoc on Southern cotton mills and destroy train tracks while completely uprooting 20 percent of Georgian plantations. This effectively halted the Confederate’s means of transportation and economic structure subsequently w...
Reconstruction was a nasty period in History. Reconstruction took place after the civil war. In the civil war there was lots of devastation. Buildings and houses were being destroyed so people needed something called Reconstruction. Reconstruction was something people really needed after the civil war because they needed to rebuild a community. Some people didn't want reconstruction because they liked destruction. Then also after the civil war slavery was abolished, as well some people don't like that either. South killed Reconstruction because South resistance had KKK, and South was murdering people.
McDowell’s opponent at Manassas was General Beauregard, commanding the 22,000 troops facing McDowell, while at the same time General Joseph Johnston commanded the Army of the Shenandoah with some 10,000 troops. When Beauregard determined that the Union forces were on the way toward Manassas, he asked for help, at which time the Confederate Government sent Johnston east via the “Manassas Gap Railroad,” to act as reinforcements for Beauregard. Their arrival at Manassas at a critical time turned the tide in favor of the South,...
Thesis: The world today is blinded from the truth about the "Civil War" just like they are the truth of the creation vs. evolution debate. They're blinded in the same way as well, misleading text books. The truth is that the North, Lincoln, etc. weren't as great as they claimed to be, and that they went to illegal measures for an unjust cause.
It all started in the year 1862. General George McCellen currently controls the army of the Potomac. When it was determined that McCellen was a bad general, in December of 1862 he was replaced with General Ambrose Burnside. Within a week, Burnside decided on a campaign to the Southern capitol, Richmond. He told his plans to Lincoln and Lincoln approved, but told Burnside the only way for a win was to move quickly. Burnside split his group into three grand divisions, each with two corps. Burnside’s division arrives first at Fredericksburg; when he arrived there weren’t many Confederates. After Burnside’s arrival there was a swarm of Confederates who arrived. The problem was, that while the Confederates moved into position, General Burnside had to wait for pontoon builders so they could cross the Rappahannock River. (See Map1) He had requested pontoons from Harper’s Ferry but they hadn’t arrived yet and came two weeks later. This gave the Confederates time to get an advantageous position over the Union. While Burnside waited he looked at the town from on top of a ridge.
When the war began and the union blockaded all their ports the south was out of luck. They had very little industrial workers and manufactured goods compared to the north so during the blockade they could not make their own weapons or food other than corn. (Doc 2) The north had the advantage because they supplied the south with a lot of important items such as cotton-mills and steamships. (Doc 3) They also had better means of transportation. The north had better boats because they had factories equipped to make them and they also had more railroads to transfer weapons and equipment to soldiers. (Doc 1) The north was meant to win from the beginning and even though it took longer than expected they still beat the south and defeated slavery. No one document will tell you that slavery caused the Civil War, but if it had not been for slavery the war would have never
From the beginning of the war in 1861, to protect their most prized possession, the Confederacy put up fortifications at strategic points along the river. Federal forces eventually captured post after post. After fighting their way southward from Illinois and northward from the Gulf of Mexico. Until by late summer of 1862, only Vicksburg and Port Hudson appeared to be major constraints to the Union.
Henry Steele Commager’s essay “The Defeat of the Confederacy: An Overview” is more summary than argument. Commager is more concerned with highlighting the complex causality of the war’s end rather than attempting to give a definitive answer. Commager briefly muses over both the South’s strengths
... or ending the war, because it was the only rail junction connecting Richmond to the rest of the Confederacy. Faced with the need to defend a line running continuously from north of Richmond to Petersburg, the Confederates were stretched thinner and thinner. Eventually their line broke. Within a little over a week it was over. The final year of the Civil War was something new in the history of warfare - never before had two large armies remained locked in continuous combat for such a long period of time. In the past the armies would fight, retreat, regroup, and usually meet at some later date and place but in 1864-65 even though they moved around some it was almost one continuous fight to the end.
During winter months, basic huts were constructed from wood when it was available. During the civil war, most of the soldiers fought only 75 percent of the time. When they were not fighting, their day usually started at 5:00 in the morning during the summer and spring, and 6:00 in the morning during the fall and winter. Soldiers would be awakened by fifes and drums, then the first sergeant would take a roll call, and all the men sat down to eat breakfast. During the day, soldiers would be engaged in sometimes as many as five 2-hour long drill sessions on weaponry or maneuvers.
The Confederate flag was used symbolically during the Civil War. For Southerner’s, the flag represented a source of southern pride as well as a way of remembering the fallen Confederates. As the Civil War proceeded, the meaning of the flag began to change. Currently, the flag is being used as a symbol of racism. Due to this change in meaning, controversy over the flag has been exponentially growing.
Before the battle actually happened the confederate army decided that the Manassas gap line was important for the confederates to troops to move to Manassas and back to the valley if needed. General Lee who decided to follow the state he was born in, Lee became the general in charge of the confederate army. General cocke pointed out to Lee that the Manassas gap was very important. So the confederate army started fortifying at Manassas on may 15 as they needed to gain control of the Manassas gap line. General beauregard had spies to learn important things that the Union was doing so that the confederacy can be prepared. Beauregard had an ex-clerk who had volunteered to go back to the city and retrieve important information about the Union army and their movements. When the spy came back to General Beauregard, he came back with a message saying that that General McDowell of the Union army had been ordered to march towards Manassas that night. On july 17 the Union army marched to Fairfax Court House, but as the Union army got closer the confederate decided to retreat. The confederates retreated as they did not want
Symonds, Craig L. "Damn the Torpedoes! The Battle of Mobile Bay." Civil War Trust: Saving America's Civil War Battlefields. Civil War Trust, Winter 2008. Web. 21 May 2014.
...f wearing down the north's patience. The south's idea of northerns as "city slickers" who did not know how to ride or shoot was wrong. Many of the men who formed the Union forces came from rural backgrounds and were just as familiar with riding and shooting as their southern enemies. Finally, the south's confidence in its ability to fund through sales of export crops such as cotton did not take into consideration the northern blockade. France and Britain were not willing to become involved in a military conflict for the sake of something they had already stockpiled. The help the south had received from France and Britain turned out to be a lot less than they expected. In conclusion, while all the south's reasons for confidence were based on reality, they were too hopeful. The south's commitment to a cause was probably what caused their blindness to reality.
"Are you guys ready?" I ask my family for the second or third time. "Yeah," my sister Carly responds while fast-walking to the dinner table with her usually cleaning outfit on, sweatpants, sweater, a cap (today on backwards), and a small red cleaning towel on her shoulder. We had just finished eating Sunday dinner at my grandma Chauncey's house We almost always eat dinner with my grandma on Sunday. I have been waiting for about five or ten minutes, after I helped clean off the table. Then my dad, my grandma, and I sat down at my grandma's wood dinner table while my sister Carly grabbed the Parcheesi board game. The colors of the Parcheesi box looked vibrant compared to the dark brown wood table. The sun shining brightly