Andersonville, the Surrender, and the Aftermath

        Andersonville was a Confederate prison in Georgia during the Civil War. The prisoners were poorly fed and they all looked forward to ration time. Many men died in the prison and were taken out on wagons. The prisoners built "shebangs" or shelters out of anything possible such as cloth, mud, tree limbs, and brush. Several of the prisoners also realized that there was no soap available to wash their clothes and used sand as a substitute. The prison conditions were rough and very uncomfortable. On April 9th, 1865, Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox Courthouse although the war didn't officially end until September 20th, 1866. Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stephens ended up getting captured and imprisoned. Davis later returned to and spent the rest of his life in Louisiana. Stephens was later elected to the U.S. House of 1873 and became the Governor of Georgia in 1882.

 

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Union Blockade of GA's Coast, Sherman's Atlanta Campaign, and Sherman's March to the Sea

        In 1863, the Union army was trapped in the city of Chattanooga until Grant was able to open a supply line. Once this happened, the Union armies were able to continue south into Georgia. Chattanooga became the supply hub for the Atlanta Campaign. Meanwhile, Georgia's entire coast was tightly blockaded and Lee decided not to put up a fight and use troops elsewhere. The Atlanta Campaign was important because Atlanta was a symbol of southern pride and the Union had to conquer land and progress in order to secure Lincoln's reelection. Sherman and his army cut all of Atlanta's supply lines off to finally starve out and capture the city. Once he took Atlanta, Sherman ordered his men to burn all of the Confederate ammunition and supplies, however his soldiers got carried away and burned a large part of the city. Sherman's March to the Sea was very risky because the army didn't know if there were enough supplies along the way. He passed farms and met several slaves in the march. Even though Sherman did not like blacks, he treated them well. His army destroyed a lot of southern property and the march continued into South Carolina.

 

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Gettysburg, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga

        The Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the war because it was General Lee's last opportunity to receive foreign aid and invade the North so that the Union would call for peace. The final results of the battle were 50,000 casualties and the retreat of Lee's forces to Virginia. The South was losing control of their slave force which was the main source of their economy and many Confederate troops were quitting and leaving the army. Chickamauga was the first major battle fought during the Civil War in Georgia. While the Union was pushing south, the Confederacy moved to meet the Northern forces at Chickamauga. General Bragg of the South intercepted the Union army and defeated them to make them retreat back to Chattanooga. George Thomas, nicknamed the "Rock of Chickamauga", was a heroic figure in the Battle of Chickamauga and got his nickname by standing strong on a hill like a rock to prevent Bragg from pursuing the retreating troops. There were approximately 16,000 Union casualties and 20,000 Confederate casualties.

 

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Antietam and the Emancipation Proclamation

        The Battle of Antietam was significant for the Union because General Lee's plans to invade the North and receive foreign aid failed. Even though it was a draw, President Lincoln was pleased enough with the results that he made plans to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. However, Lincoln got frustrated with General McClellan and removed him from command for not being aggressive enough. The Union had 12,000 casualties and the Confederacy had 10,000 casualties making the Battle of Antietam the bloodiest single day of battle. The Emancipation Proclamation stated that all slaves in the states of rebellion were free and they could enlist for the army. Lincoln had to be very careful how he worded the document to keep the border states loyal.

  

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Confederate/Union Strengths and Weaknesses and First Battles - Ft. Sumter/Bull Run

        The Union and the Confederacy had their strengths and weaknesses during the war. The North was able to use their industrial capacity to their advantage over the South. The Morse Code helped Lincoln communicate better and more easily with armies and generals all over the Union. Another useful war tool for the North was the railroad system. Trains were able to carry troops from one place to another without having to march long distances. The Confederacy did not have good railroad or communication systems, however they had better generals and more motivation than the North. The Battle of Ft. Sumter was the last opportunity to prevent the Civil War. Confederate batteries opened fire on Ft. Sumter in Charleston Harbor on April 12th, 1861. The Confederacy finally captured Ft. Sumter and the war became inevitable. The Battle of Bull Run was fought on July 21st, 1861 in Virginia near Manassas. The Union was so confident they were going to win, they even had senators picnicking behind the fighting. The North almost won, but General Stonewall Jackson's reinforcements arrived just in time to rout the Union troops under fire all the way back to Washington D.C. There were approximately 3,000 Union casualties (480 dead) and 2,000 Confederate casualties (387 dead).

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Secession in GA and Alexander Stephens' role

        Georgia's Secession Convention was held from January 16th to March 23rd, 1861. Secessionists wanted to leave the Union, Cooperationists wanted to stay. Many Georgians wanted to secede to join the Confederacy. The vote was for secession, but it was not unanimous as in other states. Georgia was the 5th state to secede from the Union on January 19th, 1861. Alexander Stephens was originally not sure about secession and supported the Compromise of 1850 as long as the Fugitive Slave Act was passed. He realized that secession was inevitable and was chosen as Vice President of the Confederacy from February 11th, 1861 to May 11th, 1865.

 

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The Dred Scott Decision and the Election of 1860

        Dred Scott was a slave who was living in free states for more than two years. He sued for his freedom, but the Supreme Court ruled that he was not a citizen, therefore, he could not sue anyone in court. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney's decision would infuriate the abolitionists and greatly increase tension among the states. Abraham Lincoln was a Republican from Illinois who won the presidency in the Election of 1860. Lincoln was not on the ballot in many southern states so several Southerners got angry because they felt they were not being represented properly. South Carolina decided to be the first state to secede from the Union and form the Confederacy on December 20th, 1860.

 

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The Compromise of 1850, Fugitive Slave Act, and the Georgia Platform

        The Compromise of 1850 admitted California into the Union as free state, made Texas give up land, as well as ten million dollars, and slavery was abolished in Washington D.C. However, it would unbalance the number of free and slave states in congress and give an advantage to the abolitionists, therefore this compromise had a special condition. This condition, the Fugitive Slave Act, required citizens to aid in the return of fugitive slaves. The Fugitive Slave Act also denied jury trails for slaves and placed more federal agents in the North to enforce the laws. This Compromise bolstered the abolitionist movement and increased tension among the Union. The Georgia Platform accepted the measures of the compromise as long as the North complied with the Fugitive Slave Act and would no longer attempt to ban the expansion of slavery into new territories and states. The Compromise of 1850 temporarily halted the movement for immediate secession throughout the South.

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The Missouri Compromise and the Kansas-Nebraska Act

        The Missouri Compromise was a deal encouraged by Henry Clay in 1820 to let the state of Missouri enter the Union. Since the balance of free and slave states would be broken, Maine separated from Massachusetts and became another state. Maine was admitted into the Union, therefore, the number of free and slave states stayed equal. The compromise also stated that no slavery would be allowed above the 36 30 parallel. Afterwards in 1854, the Missouri Compromise was repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act which opened the Kansas and Nebraska Territories to slavery. Kansas and Nebraska had the choice and voted on whether or not they were going to be slave states. They finally decided to be slave states which unbalanced the number of free and slave states in Congress.

 

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Sectionalism, States' Rights, and Nullification

        Sectionalism is to give importance to local interests or thoughts. Many U.S. states practiced sectionalism in the years leading up to the Civil War. States' rights is the belief that a state's needs, laws, and regulations should come before the national government's. In 1832, South Carolina asserted their states' rights by ignoring a federal tariff law. South Carolina threatened to secede from the Union and war almost broke out when President Jackson sent troops to the state. South Carolina was clearly defying the union's authority causing tension to increase in the U.S. Many other southern states were beginning to consider secession and war.

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