The Opposing Sides
Greater population, industrial capacity, railroad mileage, financial resources, and an established navy were among the enormous advantages enjoyed by this side at the outset of the war.
What is the North/Union?
Attempting to avoid choosing sides, this strategically vital slave state declared itself neutral in May 1861; with its Ohio River boundary, transportation routes, and position between the Midwest and Deep South, Lincoln reportedly considered its loss “nearly the same as to lose the whole game.”
What is Kentucky?
The first major land battle of the war, this July 1861 clash shattered Northern hopes for a quick victory.
What is the First Battle of Bull Run?
Union control of this great river would split the Confederacy geographically and formed a central component of Union strategy.
What is the Mississippi River?
Brought east after Bull Run, this general transformed the defeated Federal forces into the Army of the Potomac and was beloved by his men—but frustrated Lincoln with his reluctance to use the powerful army he had created.
Who is George McClellan?
Defending territory surrounded by Union forces gave the Confederacy the theoretical advantage of moving troops between threatened points along shorter routes inside the enemy’s—a strategic advantage known by this military term.
What are interior lines?
Already bitterly divided by the violent struggle over slavery along its Kansas frontier in the 1850s, this border state became the scene of fighting between Unionists and secessionists and eventually had rival governments claiming to represent it.
What is Missouri?
Confederate troops rallied around this general at Bull Run, supposedly giving him the nickname by which he became famous.
Who is Stonewall Jackson?
Along with the Tennessee River, this river offered Union gunboats a route from Kentucky deep into Tennessee.
What is the Cumberland River?
In his July 4, 1861 message to Congress, this leader called the Civil War “essentially a People’s contest,” arguing that the struggle would test whether a democratic majority could govern without being overturned by an armed minority.
Who is Abraham Lincoln?
Present in the minds of both Northerners and Southerners, this earlier conflict offered a powerful example of how a weaker society could defeat a larger, wealthier, and militarily more powerful opponent simply by surviving long enough to make the war too costly.
What was the American Revolution?
Unionist counties broke away from Virginia during the war and eventually formed this new state.
What is West Virginia?
McClellan attempted to capture Richmond in spring 1862 by transporting the Army of the Potomac by water and advancing up the narrow strip of land between the York and James Rivers in this campaign.
What is the Peninsula Campaign?
Grant’s demand for “unconditional and immediate surrender” at this Confederate fort helped earn him the nickname “Unconditional Surrender” Grant.
What is Fort Donelson?
Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, George McClellan, and numerous other officers on both sides had received their military education at this institution on the Hudson River.
What is West Point?
A Montgomery Advertiser editorial argued that, far from being a wartime weakness, this institution allowed the South to put a larger share of its white male population into the army while maintaining agricultural production at home.
What is slavery?
Lincoln suspended habeas corpus and Federal authorities arrested some secessionist politicians in this strategically vital slave state, whose loss could have left Washington surrounded by Confederate territory.
What is Maryland?
After Joseph E. Johnston was wounded at Seven Pines, this general took command of the Confederate army defending Richmond and renamed it the Army of Northern Virginia.
Who is Robert E. Lee?
With some 23,000 casualties—more than the total American battle casualties of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Mexican-American War combined—this April 1862 battle shocked Americans with the scale of the conflict they now faced.
What is the Battle of Shiloh?
Initially an obscure brigadier general in the Western Theater, victories at Forts Henry and Donelson in early 1862 began the rise to prominence of this future commander of all Union armies.
Who is Ulysses S. Grant?
Winfield Scott’s much-ridiculed strategy proposed squeezing the Confederacy through a naval blockade and control of the Mississippi rather than relying upon one decisive march on Richmond.
What is the Anaconda Plan?
Lincoln initially resisted attempts by generals such as John C. Frémont to impose this policy, fearing that it could alienate slaveholding Unionists in the crucial border states.
What is emancipation?
Despite suffering heavier casualties and failing in several attacks, Lee achieved his strategic objective in this series of battles by forcing McClellan away from Richmond.
What are the Seven Days' Battles?
Admiral David Farragut’s fleet captured this largest city in the Confederacy in April 1862, giving the Union control of the mouth of the Mississippi.
What is New Orleans?
A West Point graduate, Mexican War veteran, and former U.S. secretary of war, this Confederate president’s extensive military experience encouraged him to involve himself deeply in strategy and the management of his generals—sometimes contributing to micromanagement and bitter command disputes.
Who is Jefferson Davis?