American Civil War. Almanac

289 Pages·2000·12.88 MB·English

by  Kevin Hillstrom

ACW-A.tpgs 9/29/03 3:15 PM Page 1
American
Civil War
Almanac
ACW-A.tpgs 9/29/03 3:15 PM Page 3
American
Civil War
Almanac
Kevin Hillstrom
and
Laurie Collier
Hillstrom
Lawrence W. Baker, Editor
Civil War Almanac FM 10/7/03 3:59 PM Page iv
c Kevin Hillstrom and Laurie Collier Hillstrom
a
n Staff
a Lawrence W. Baker, U•X•L Senior Editor
m Carol DeKane Nagel, U•X•L Managing Editor
Tom Romig, U•X•L Publisher
l
A Rita Wimberley, Senior Buyer
Evi Seoud, Assistant Production Manager

: Dorothy Maki, Manufacturing Manager
r Mary Beth Trimper, Production Director
a
W Michelle DiMercurio, Art Director
Cynthia Baldwin, Product Design Manager

l Shalice Shah-Caldwell, Permissions Specialist
i Pamela Reed, Imaging Coordinator
v
Leitha Etheridge-Sims, Cataloger
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C Robert Duncan, Senior Imaging Specialist
Michael Logusz, Imaging Specialist
n Randy A. Bassett, Image Database Supervisor
Barbara J. Yarrow, Imaging and Multimedia Content Manager
a
c Marco Di Vita, Graphix Group, Typesetting
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r
e Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
m
Hillstrom, Kevin, 1963–
American Civil War. Almanac / Kevin Hillstrom and Laurie Collier Hillstrom ;
A
Lawrence W. Baker, editor.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary: Describes and interprets the era of the Civil War, its events, and
topics with viewpoints, definitions, report topics, chronologies, sidebars, and
statistics.
ISBN 0-7876-3823-4
1. United States—History—Civil War, 1861–1865—Juvenile literature. 2.
United States—History—Civil War, 1861–1865—Miscellanea—Juvenile litera-
ture. 3. Almanacs, American—Juvenile literature. [1. United States—History—
Civil War, 1861–1865.] I. Title: American Civil War. II. Hillstrom, Laurie Col-
lier, 1965– III. Baker, Lawrence W. IV. Title.
E468.H556 1999
973.7—dc21 99-046918
This publication is a creative work copyrighted by U•X•L and fully protected
by all applicable copyright laws, as well as by misappropriation, trade secret,
unfair competition, and other applicable laws. The author and editors of this
work have added value to the underlying factual material herein through one
or more of the following: unique and original selection, coordination, expres-
sion, arrangement, and classification of the information. All rights to this pub-
lication will be vigorously defended.
Cover photographs reproduced courtesy of the Library of Congress and the
National Archives and Records Administration.
Copyright © 2000 — U•X•L, an imprint of The Gale Group
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All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in
any form.
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Contents
Advisory Board. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Reader’s Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
American Civil War Timeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Words to Know. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxiii
People to Know. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxix
Research and Activity Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xlv
Chapter 1—Slavery and the American South . . . . . . . 1
Slavery in Early America . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Slavery and the Constitution. . . . . . . . . . . 3
“King Cotton” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Life as a Slave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Two Different Economies. . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Chapter 2—The Northern Abolitionist Movement . . . . 15
Early Abolitionists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
African Colonization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
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The Rise of the Abolitionists . . . . . . . . . . 17
Resistance to Abolitionism in the North . . . . . 20
Support for Abolishing Slavery Grows . . . . . . 21
The Underground Railroad . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Uncle Tom’s Cabin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Chapter 3—1800–1858:
The North and the South Seek Compromise. . . . . . . 31
Federal Authority and States’ Rights . . . . . . . 32
Missouri Compromise . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Slavery and the War with Mexico . . . . . . . . 36
Compromise of 1850. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Fugitive Slave Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Kansas-Nebraska Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
The Fight over Slavery in “Bleeding Kansas” . . . 45
Legislation Triggers Political Upheaval. . . . . . 48
Chapter 4—1857–1861:
The South Prepares to Secede . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Dred Scott’s Bid for Freedom . . . . . . . . . . 52
North-South Tensions Grow . . . . . . . . . . 54
Lincoln Challenges Douglas. . . . . . . . . . . 55
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates . . . . . . . . . . 56
John Brown Leads the Raid at Harpers Ferry . . . 59
Brown’s Death Further Divides America . . . . . 61
The 1860 Presidential Campaign . . . . . . . . 61
Lincoln Wins the Election . . . . . . . . . . . 65
South Carolina Secedes, Other Southern
States Follow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Chapter 5—1861: Creation of the Confederacy . . . . . 69
The Crittenden Compromise . . . . . . . . . . 70
Formation of the Confederate States
of America. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
The Confederacy Selects Its First President . . . . 72
Lincoln Signals Determination to Preserve
the Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
The Controversy over Fort Sumter. . . . . . . . 76
Lincoln Attempts to Send Supplies . . . . . . . 77
Southern Forces Attack Fort Sumter . . . . . . . 80
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Undecided States Join the Confederacy . . . . . 81
The Union Fights to Keep Other Border States . . 84
Lincoln Silences Maryland Secessionists . . . . . 84
The Union Struggle to Keep Missouri
and Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Chapter 6—Europe’s View of the War. . . . . . . . . . 87
European Concerns about the Rebellion . . . . . 88
The South Hopes for Support . . . . . . . . . . 89
South Uses Cotton as a Weapon. . . . . . . . . 90
The “Trent Affair” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Europe Considers Confederate Successes. . . . . 96
Chapter 7—1861: The War Begins . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Celebrations of the Impending War . . . . . . 100
The North Builds Its Army. . . . . . . . . . . 101
The South Struggles to Provide for
Its Soldiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
North and South Scramble for Military
Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Amateur Officers and West Pointers . . . . . . 106
The Northern Strategy. . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
The Southern Strategy. . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Lincoln Makes a New State Out of
Western Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
The Union Army Moves South. . . . . . . . . 111
The First Battle of Bull Run . . . . . . . . . . 112
The South Spoils the North’s Grand Picnic . . . 114
Southern Confidence and Northern Anger . . . 114
Chapter 8—1862: Near Victory for the Confederacy . . 117
The Calm Before the Storm . . . . . . . . . . 117
Grant Leads Union Victories in the West . . . . 120
The Battle of Shiloh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Preparation for the Attack on New Orleans . . . 122
Farragut Devises a Bold Plan . . . . . . . . . . 124
The Confederacy Passes the Conscription Act . . 124
Lincoln Grows Impatient with McClellan. . . . 126
McClellan Begins His Advance on Richmond . . 127
Stonewall Jackson’s Shenandoah Campaign. . . 128
Contents vii
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Lee Stops McClellan’s Advance. . . . . . . . . 129
Lincoln Makes Changes in the Union
Military Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
The Second Battle of Bull Run . . . . . . . . . 130
Confederate Victories in the West . . . . . . . 131
Lee Advances into the North. . . . . . . . . . 132
Antietam—the Bloodiest Day in American
Military History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation . . . . . 134
Lincoln Fires McClellan . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
The Battle of Fredericksburg . . . . . . . . . . 136
Chapter 9—1863: The Tide Turns . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Rosecrans and Bragg Duel in the West . . . . . 140
Lincoln Signs the Emancipation Proclamation . 143
Burnside’s “Mud March”. . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Hooker Prepares for Battle . . . . . . . . . . . 144
The Battle of Chancellorsville . . . . . . . . . 145
Lee’s Greatest Triumph . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Lee Invades Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . 149
The Battle of Gettysburg. . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Lee Orders “Pickett’s Charge” . . . . . . . . . 151
Grant’s Fight for Possession of the
Mississippi River . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
The Siege of Vicksburg. . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Lincoln’s Troubles on the Home Front . . . . . 156
Rosecrans Occupies Chattanooga. . . . . . . . 157
The Battle of Chickamauga . . . . . . . . . . 160
Federal Victory at Chattanooga . . . . . . . . 160
Chapter 10—Women in the Civil War . . . . . . . . . 165
A Time of Hardship and Grief . . . . . . . . . 166
Women’s Roles in the War. . . . . . . . . . . 168
Nurses and Aid Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Spies, Scouts, Couriers, and Saboteurs . . . . . 173
Changes in Attitudes after the War. . . . . . . 175
Chapter 11—1864: The North Tightens Its Grip . . . . 177
Grant Takes Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
The North Launches Twin Offensives. . . . . . 179
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Battle of the Wilderness . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
The Battle of Spotsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Two Wounded Armies. . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
The Battle of Cold Harbor . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Grant Targets Petersburg. . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Northern Disillusionment with
Grant’s Campaign. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Sherman Chases Johnston. . . . . . . . . . . 185
Hood Assumes Command in the West . . . . . 187
Democrats Nominate McClellan
for President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Farragut Captures Mobile Bay . . . . . . . . . 188
Atlanta Falls to Sherman. . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Northern Confidence Returns . . . . . . . . . 192
Sheridan Goes to the Shenandoah Valley . . . . 192
Total Warfare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Lincoln Wins Reelection. . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Sherman Begins His “March to the Sea”. . . . . 198
Thomas Crushes Hood in Tennessee . . . . . . 199
Chapter 12—Blacks in the Civil War . . . . . . . . . . 201
Northern Blacks Want to Join the Fight. . . . . 202
Prejudice Leads to Race Riots in the North . . . 204
Blacks in the Confederacy . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Word of Emancipation Spreads in the South . . 206
Escaped Slaves Move North . . . . . . . . . . 207
Union Army Finally Accepts Black Soldiers . . . 210
Blacks’ Wartime Service Breaks Barrier
of Discrimination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Chapter 13—1865: Victory for the North. . . . . . . . 217
Last Days of the Confederacy . . . . . . . . . 217
Lee Remains Trapped in Petersburg. . . . . . . 218
Sherman Moves Through South Carolina. . . . 219
Desperation in the Confederacy . . . . . . . . 220
The Confederacy Considers Using Blacks
as Soldiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Passage of the Thirteenth Amendment . . . . . 223
Grant Increases Pressure on Petersburg . . . . . 223
Grant Captures Petersburg and Richmond . . . 224
Lee Surrenders to Grant . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Contents ix
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Union Celebrates Victory . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Lincoln Is Assassinated . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Davis Is Captured and Imprisoned . . . . . . . 229
Chapter 14—1865–1877: Reconstruction. . . . . . . . 233
End of the War Raises New Issues. . . . . . . . 235
Lincoln’s Wartime Reconstruction Policies . . . 237
President Johnson’s Reconstruction Policies. . . 237
Discrimination Continues in the South. . . . . 239
Congress Takes Control of Reconstruction . . . 241
The Fourteenth Amendment. . . . . . . . . . 242
New Hopes of Equality . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
“Radical Reconstruction” . . . . . . . . . . . 244
President Johnson Faces Impeachment . . . . . 245
Reconstruction Unravels. . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Violence Against Blacks Increases . . . . . . . 249
The Election of 1876 Ends Reconstruction . . . 250
Where to Learn More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xlvii
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . liii
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Advisory Board
Special thanks are due to U•X•L’s Civil War Reference Li-
brary advisors for their invaluable comments and sugges-
tions:
• Deborah Hammer, Former Librarian, Queens Borough
Public Library, Jamaica, New York
• Ann Marie LaPrise, Librarian, Detroit Public Library, Elm-
wood Park Branch, Detroit, Michigan
• Susan Richards, Media Specialist, Northwest Junior High
School, Coralville, Iowa
xi