War & the Slaves

            In August of 1862, the North and the South met in Manassas for what was going to be the second battle of Bull Run. It is called Bull Run because of the river that runs through there.  This battle was also much larger than the first one. The North also had quite a bit more troops than the Confederates had, but the result was the same as the first battle of Bull Run, which was a southern victory. This battle was all part of the plan by Lee and Davis to strike the Union while their leadership was a mess and they were hoping Lincoln would lose the majority he had during the mid term elections.
         
           This brings up the debate of the military leadership in the North, they had generals but they were nothing like the generals of the south, Pope was no where near as good as Stonewall Jackson. This is when the North brings McClellan back in to command the Northern Army, McClellan is a great general no doubt but on the battlefield is where he lacks in his leadership. He's a great organizer and a great trainer as he did assemble the largest Army ever recorded in North America but when it came to fight, Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee were the best generals in the country.

          The Democratic Party in the North was divided at time, there was the Peace Democrats and these people also known as Copperheads wanting nothing but peace and an immediate end to the Civil War. There was also the War Democrats they wanted to have a more aggressive policy when dealing with the Confederate South and they supported Lincoln. To help with the war effort against the South Lincoln enabled the 1st and 2nd Confiscation Acts; the 1st Act gave the north the power to confiscate any property that the confederate was using. the 2nd Confiscation Act was basically freed any slaves that were under Union Control.

          To me the North was struggling from late 1862 to early 1863 because of many reasons. The Democratic party in the North being divided and not agreeing with Lincoln and the Republican party during a time of war especially the Civil War one important thing to have is agreement among the two parties, you can't get anything accomplished if there divided but when there together things happen. Also the military generals of the North were good generals but compared to the generals of the South they weren't on the same level. Jackson and Lee were the best military minds of their time and that hurts the North militarily. Even though the North had the numbers the South had the brains. The North in my opinion needed help with their military leadership big time. I believe they got a big boost of help when Stonewall Jackson died.

         

McClellan - Great General or Not?

            After the first battle of Manassas, President Abraham Lincoln issued an order to enlist half a million men for three years.  Shortly after, George B. McClellan was put in charge of the Army of the Potomac.  Major General McClellan was only 35 at the time and was a graduate of West Point.  President Lincoln knew of him personally and thought he would be a great “organizer and motivator” (Cook p129).  After assigning McClellan to lead the Army of the Potomac, Lincoln added another half million men.  So up until now, did the North take the war too lightly?  I think that many still felt it would be a minor conflict and everything would be over.  This battle showed that it was not going to be that easy.  I feel that is why President Lincoln had to change leadership of the army and recruit more men.

            Major General George McClellan did a great job of managing the Army of the Potomac in the beginning.  The army was well disciplined, well trained, and well supplied.  Unfortunately, history tells us that did not always result in victories.  Many historians point to the lack of leadership of the officers below him (Cook p131).  Is it fair to blame McClellan for others’ inabilities to be leaders?  After all he was in charge of them as well.

            McClellan had one drawback that many did not like. He was a very cautious person.  President Lincoln wanted him to be more aggressive.  Unlike Lincoln who admired McClellan, the same cannot be said the other way around.  McClellan did not respect Lincoln and thought of him as nothing more than an “ignorant Midwesterner deficient in gentlemanly virtues” (Cook p135).

            One thing I have noticed about McClellan is that even though he was a very organized man that could outfit and train an army, he was not very good at leading them into battle.  Maybe all of the blame cannot be placed on his officers.  It seems he made many mistakes himself.  Sort of reminds me of a coach that can prepare his team, but struggle making good decisions during the game.  Do you think this is a fair comparison?

            Finally, Lincoln had enough and relieved McClellan of his command on November 5, 1862.  His men loved him but Republicans did not like some of his qualities.  One such quality I mentioned earlier was about his cautious attitude.  Another quality they did not like was his “conservative view on slavery” (Cook p140).

            To be fair to McClellan, many of the Union’s generals failed.  His replacement, Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, did not do any better.  Would it be fair to say that the South had better officers?  After all, the South seemed to have the upper hand in many of the early battles.

 

Biblography

Cook, Robert. Civil War America: Making a Nation 1848-1877. New York: Routledge, 2013.       Print.

Shiloh (post by Jackson)

[Note: due to technical issues, I posted this on behalf of Jackson.]

                Shiloh is known to be Hebrew for ‘place of peace’. However, it was the sight of one of the deadliest conflicts of the civil war. Fought in Tennessee, it is the first major battle in the war. In April of 1862, a Union army under General Ulysses S. Grant was camped out in front of the Tennessee River awaiting the arrival of reinforcements before heading south to attack the confederates. The Confederate Army and General Albert Sidney Johnston attacked the Union first. The confederates drove the Union Army back toward the Tennessee River. Nevertheless, the Union line held up at a place known as the ‘Hornets Nest’. There was no choice for Grant and the Union line, they had to hold their position at all costs. I can’t even begin to imagine what was going through the minds of the Union army. I imagine their nerves were running high, it was either kill or be killed. They did end up holding the line of defense and by the end of the day the ground was full of dead corpses.

                General Johnston was killed in the first days fighting. General P.T. Beauregard takes over confident that he will take the field the next day. Reinforcements come to help Grant and the Union in the middle of the night and the Union launches a counter attack the next morning. The result is a Union victory, but one where over 13,000 deaths occur from each the North and the South. In my opinion, the cost was greater than any battle in the war. It showed that the North and Grant were willing to pay whatever price was necessary to achieve their goal. Once that victory had been established, I think that it set the tone for the war that Union victory was going to happen because the Union resources and man power were much greater than those available to the confederates. However, would the Union be able to expend it? I believe that the Battle of Shiloh shows that yes it would.

It is scary to think people were in this fight at Shiloh. When the confederates attacked, it completely took the Union by surprise. Imagine waking up to eat breakfast or still sleeping in your tent and out of nowhere you’re being shot at and attacked. I think when people think of the this war they look past what the soldiers had to deal with. Poor food, disease, poor medical treatment, great distances to travel, poor equipment, poor military leadership in the lower ranks, no sanitation, little knowledge of germs. African Americans were facing all of this plus racial discrimination. It sounds like hell to me. 

Since we have been talking about the civil war in class, I have noticed that generals from both sides seem to care a lot about what the public thinks or says. So, what was the effect on American public opinion in the North and the South after the Battle of Shiloh? Did the Union forces learn anything from the battle? Did the Confederates? How did this battle effect lives and careers of Grant, Lew Wallace, Halleck, and Sherman for the Union and Albert Sidney Johnston , PGT Beauregard ,and Braxton Bragg for the Confederates?

1862 A Union Victory

During our last lesson we learned about the First Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) in July of 1861. This was the first major battle in the Civil War. Before the battle began most Americans thought it would be a quick conflict and not a full on War. The Battle of Manassas would change that. The battle was fought in Virginia just miles away from Washington D.C. Spectators from both sides were ready to watch this battle, they even set up picnics. Before the battle began the Confederates knew an attack was coming from the Union Army. The Union army attacked and pushed the Confederates back until the smaller but more efficient Confederate army received reinforcements. They broke through Union lines and what started off as a retreat by the Union army became an unorganized rout. Some Union soldiers did not stop until they reached camp. This battle made it clear to the Union that it would not be a quick and easy fight for unification. The Confederates gained confidence, and the battle prove their bias that one southerner could take on ten Yankees. The Confederates now thought it was not a question of if but when they would win.