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Fighting the Civil War
When the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, in April 1861, no one expected a long war. Both sides were confident in their abilities. Each had a firm belief that the conflict would be settled in a matter of weeks. Neither had any idea that it would take more than four years and cost approximately 600,000 lives to bring the fighting to an end. Each side had important advantages. The North had more than twice the population of the South, superior manufacturing capabilities, and more railroads. The South had the “home field” advantage, fighting most of the war on its home territory, strong military leaders, and hopes that Britain or France might support them due to the cotton these countries imported from the South.
The Union would ultimately be victorious after a series of engagements showed its willingness to endure massive casualties in its attempt to defeat the Confederacy. A bloody victory at the Battle of Antietam helped convince France and Great Britain that the South was not likely to win and prevented foreign support of the Confederacy. The Battle of Gettysburg was the last battle fought on Northern soil, serving as a decisive turning point for the war. The remainder of the war was fought in the South. Finally, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman’s famous March to the Sea brought the horrors of modern warfare to the South, as he deliberately destroyed the economic infrastructure of his enemy to cripple its ability to make war. By April 1865, the Confederate forces finally surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse.
Wartime Policies
By the end of the war, the North and South had enacted some of the same policies, including conscription (legally forcing males into the military). Both sides faced opposition to these policies in the form of draft riots or protests, and both sides mobilized their entire society toward winning the war. As with previous wars, the federal government suspended some civil liberties. President Lincoln felt it necessary to suspend habeas corpus (the right to a trial if arrested) and to censor speech that could harm the war effort. About halfway through the war, Lincoln changed the focus of the war from the preservation of the Union to the larger goal of ending slavery. His 1863 Emancipation Proclamation spoke of freeing the slaves in rebelling states. Contrary to popular belief, this did not free anyone, since the Confederacy did not accept Lincoln’s authority. The Proclamation was important in that it introduced a new moral goal for the war, and Lincoln used the Gettysburg Address to connect this goal to the foundations of America’s identity.
