Civil War Dispatches

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Civil War Dispatches

• Brief Info about the War

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War Office Dispatches 1

• Dec. Feb. 1861 Headline Seven Southern States
  Secede from Union
• In November of 1860 Abraham Lincoln is elected
  President of the United States.
• South Carolina was the first state to secede.
• South Carolina was followed by Mississippi,
  Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas.
  
• Southern delegates met in February of 1861 and
  set up the C.S.A.
• The C.S.A. Constitution is based on the U.S.
  Constitution.
• Result The Rebellious states mean business and
  have left the union

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War Office Dispatches 2

• Feb. 18, 1861 Headline Jefferson Davis is new
  President of the C.S.A.
• Jefferson Davis, former U.S. senator, is
  inaugurated C.S.A. President in Alabama.
• In his inaugural speech he claims that the Union
  twisted the intentions of the Constitution.
• Reunion over the past two months is neither
  practical or desirable
• Davis chose Alexander Stephens to be his
  vice-president.
• Result The CSA appears to have solid leadership
  in Davis

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Map of the Divided
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War Office Dispatches 3

• March 4, 1861 Headline Abe Lincoln inaugurated
  16th President
• Lincoln and his vice-president Hamlin have
  watched the crisis develop for four months.
• Eleven Southern States have seceded. Lincoln
  took office in unique and dangerous times.
• His inaugural ceremony was guarded closely, wary
  of assassination attempts.
• Not exactly conciliatory in his speech, Lincoln
  states that the issue of conflict lies in the
  South and that he has no intention of interfering
  with slavery.
• Result Lincoln has taken office in dangerous
  times

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War Office Dispatches 4

• April 13, 1861 Headline Rebels Shell Fort Sumter
• Lincolns attempt to provision Fort Sumter was
  seen as an act of aggression.
• At 430 a.m. on April 12, 1861, Confederates open
  fire on Fort Sumter.
• The bombardment lasted 34 hours.
• After the bombardment, Anderson surrendered to
  P.G.T. Beauregard.
• Result The curtain has fallen on the first act
  of the great tragedy of our age

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Bombardment of Sumter
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War Office Dispatches 5

• April 15, 1861 Headline President Lincoln calls
  for 75000 volunteers
• President Lincoln calls for 75000 volunteers.
• The response was positive in northern states.
• Lincoln request spurred many newspaper
  editorials.
• Result Lincoln asked for a few good menand
  gets 75,000

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War Office Dispatches 6

• April 18, 1861 Headline Robert E. Lee turns
  down Union Command
• Lincoln offered Robert E. Lee command of the
  Armies of the United States.
• Robert E. Lee turns down Union command.
• He chose to stay loyal to his native state of
  Virginia.
• Although he turned down the Union command he made
  it perfectly clear that he is opposed to slavery
  and secession.
• Result Lincoln is disappointed the Union
  faces a most formidable general

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War Office Dispatches 7

• April 19, 1861 Headline First casualties of war
  are in Baltimore riots.
• They were between Union troops and Southern
  sympathizers.
• A Massachusetts Regiment en route to Washington
  DC exchanges shots with pro-slavery crowd hoping
  to prevent the troops from reaching the Capital
• Eleven citizens and four soldiers were killed.
• Result Lincoln will have problems recruiting in
  the Border States

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War Office Dispatches 8

• May 20, 1861 Headline Richmond, Virginia,
  becomes the new C.S.A. capital.
• The capital is moved from Montgomery, Alabama
• They moved the capital to get support from
  Virginia.
• Also because it was only 105 miles from
  Washington and therefore Washington could be
  captured to end the war.
• Many battles will be fought between the two
  capitals.
• Result The CSA Capital is now only 105 miles
  from Washington

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War Office Dispatches 9

• May 25, 1861 Headline A Heros death helps
  Union secure Alexandria.
• The Union has its first authentic hero, Elmer
  Ellsworth.
• In Alexandria, VA Ellsworth was shot when taking
  down the Confederate flag.
• Ellsworth led three troops into the city.
• Private Francis Brownell avenged his death.
• Result Elmer Ellsworth becomes the first Union
  war hero in Alexandria

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War Office Dispatches 10

• July 21, 1861 Headline Confederates feast on
  the lunches of Union spectators after victory at
  Battle of Bull Run.
• Union troops marched to the cry of "On to
  Richmond."
• Jackson's men and Union panic caused the road
  back to Washington to swell with fleeing Union
  troops.
• The battle was fought only 30 miles from
  Washington.
• Result The South has won the first major Battle
  and confidence is high

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War Office Dispatches 11

• Aug. 5, 1861 Headline the North levies the first
  income tax in United States history.
• Congress levies the tax in an attempt to pay for
  the expensive ever-widening war
• The law will serve as the mainstay of the
  treasury
• Congress fixes a tax of 3 on incomes in excess
  of 800 a year.
• The tax is necessary to pay for the war.
• Result A drastic and unique tax is necessary
  and unpopular.

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War Office Dispatches 12

• Aug. 10, 1861 Headline Wilson Creek Battle
  extends the war into the West.
• Concern over Missouri was a factor in the Battle
  of Wilson Creek
• The first Battle in the Western Theater of the
  war
• The Confederates won the battle.
• Union General Nathaniel Lyon was shot twice in
  the heart and later died from the wound.
• Result Nothing is changed Missouri remains in
  the Union Camp.

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War Office Dispatches 13

• Nov. 27, 1861 Headline McClellan named new army
  chief.
• General George Brinton McClellan at age 34 is
  picked to replace Winfield Scott as General in
  Chief of the Union Armies.
• He was chosen because of his work with the army
  of the Potomac.
• His men know him as Little Mac. The Union has
  high expectations of him.
• Result The Union has high expectations for the
  young leader.

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War Office Dispatches 14

• March 9, 1862 Headline Battle between Ironclads
  ends in a Draw.
• The Union's Monitor Confederates Merrimac
  fight at Hampton Roads, Virginia
• The gladiators of the Sea fight for two hours.
  
• An edge goes to the Union even though the battle
  technically ended in a draw.
• Foreshadowing a new kind of modern warfare.
• Result Wooden ships are now obsolete.

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Ironclads- Submarine-like
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War Office Dispatches 15

• April 7, 1862 Headline Grant wins the decisive
  battle at Shiloh, Tennessee.
• Following earlier victories at Ft. Henry Ft.
  Donelson Grant moves south.
• A surprise Confederate attack by Confederate
  General Johnston almost captures Grants entire
  Army
• Grant wins the decisive battle at Shiloh,
  Tennessee - fought in a full-bloom peach orchard.
  
• Shiloh was the bloodiest battle of the war.
• Result Union has another victory in the west
  Grants stature grows.

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War Office Dispatches 16

• April 25, 1862 Headline Admiral Farragut
  captures New Orleans for the Union.
• The largest city in the Confederacy has been
  captured.
• Admiral Farragut captures New Orleans for the
  Union with a ten-day battle.
• Result Union captures key victory and comes
  closer to controlling the Mighty Mississippi River

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War Office Dispatches 17

• May 20, 1862 Headline Pres. Lincoln signs The
  Federal Homestead Law.
• The Federal Homestead Law permits any citizen
  over the age of 21 to own a free plot of over 160
  acres - if they occupy and improve it for five
  years.
• Many congressmen opposed the law.
• With no Southern opposition the law passed.
• Result Horace Greeley praised the law as an
  opportunity to give every poor man a home.

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War Office Dispatches 18

• Gen. Thomas Stonewall Jackson

• May - June 1862 Headline Stonewall Jacksons
  classic offensive highlights the Shenandoah
  Valley campaign.
• Ordered by Lee to conduct a diversionary
  operations in the strategic Shenandoah Valley,
  Jackson staged a brilliant campaign.
• In 30 days Jackson has achieved immortal military
  fame.
• His troops marched 350 miles, defeated 3 separate
  Union armies in five battles, inflicted twice the
  casualties, seized numerous supplies, and wreaked
  havoc for the Union everywhere.
• Result Jackson now becomes a Legend.

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War Office Dispatches 19

• June 25 July 1, 1862 Headline McClellan
  defeated in Seven Days' Battle Lee could seize
  the momentum
• The battle was fought just east of Richmond.
• Over seven days separated the five battles fought
  by the same two armies.
• McClellan has superior numbers in every
  engagement. Lee wins 4 1 draw.
• McClellan retreated to the James River after
  losing a. Mechanicsville, b. Gaine's Mill, c.
  Savage Station, and d. Frayer's Farm.
• Result Little Macs leadership Union
  prestige have dwindled

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War Office Dispatches 20

• Aug. 29 - 30, 1862 Headline Rebs win again at
  Bull Run
• After 13 months, Bull Run is again the location
  of a Confederate victory.
• Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson defeated the
  northern commander, John Pope.
• The Rebel Yell caused Popes army to flee
• Pope is discredited and McClellan is reinstated
  as general.
• Result The way is open for a Confederate
  invasion of the North

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War Office Dispatches 21

• Aug. Sept. 1862 Headline Sioux uprising put
  down in Minnesota
• A Sioux uprising led by Chief Little Crow to
  remove white settlers from their homes
• The Indians killed at least 800 settlers in their
  raiding.
• Colonel Henry Sibley and his state militia
  stopped the Sioux.
• More than 1500 Sioux were captured and 300 were
  hung.
• Result Some Union troops are needed to protect
  the Frontier

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War Office Dispatches 22

• Sept. 17, 1862 Headline Bloody Antietam gives
  The Union a victory
• The Union achieved its first major victory in the
  East at Antietam
• Lee's Confederates withdrew back into Virginia.
• Under McClellan the Union troops have won a
  crucial if not decisive victory.
• Only days before the battle Union cavalry found a
  copy of Lee's orders.
• McClellan followed up, but paused before his
  attack and lost any advantage
• Burnside (father of sideburns) replaces
  McClellan.
• Result Lincoln could use this victory for
  political diplomatic advantages

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War Office Dispatches 23

• Dec. 13, 1862 Headline Union disaster at
  Fredericksburg Burnside replaced.
• The Confederates earn victory at Fredericksburg,
  Va., on the Rappahannock River.
• Lee's troops defended the city from a line of
  fortified hills called Marye's Heights.
• 12000 Federals, led by General Burnside, were
  massacred as they attacked the hills.
• Gen. Ambrose Burnside is replace by Fighting
  Joe Joseph Hooker
• Result Another Union battlefield disaster
  forces Lincoln to change Generals once again.

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War Office Dispatches 24

• Jan. 1, 1863 Headline President Lincoln issues
  the Emancipation Proclamation.
• Declares that all slaves in rebellious states are
  free from bondage.
• The proclamation did not free many slaves until
  later when regions of the Confederacy were
  liberated by Union troops.
• Did not free any slaves in the loyal states.
• Result Legally, this action began the movement
  to END SLAVERY in the U.S.

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War Office Dispatches 25

• March 3, 1863 Headline President Lincoln signs
  first Draft Law
• Lincoln signs the first ever Draft Law.
• The law places liability on all males between the
  ages of 20 and 45.
• Those physically or mentally unfit, have certain
  dependents, or are felons are exempted.
• Someone could also hire a substitute or purchase
  his way out for 300.
• Result The new draft law insures a strong Union
  military force.

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War Office Dispatches 26

• May 4, 1863 Headline Lee wins a saddened victory
  at Chancellorsville.
• Rebel forces struck boldly and achieved success
  at the four-day battle at Chancellorsville,
  Virginia.
• Jackson was mistakenly shot by his own men and
  died from pneumonia eight days later.
• Result Perhaps Lees greatest victory is
  extremely costly Jackson is gone losing a
  valuable leader and hero.

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War Office Dispatches 27

• July 1 - 4, 1863 Headline Gettysburg is crucial
  Union victory Lee withdraws
• Union forces win the crucial victory at
  Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
• The loss to Union forces comes two months after
  the triumph at Chancellorsville.
• 13,000 Confederates under General George Pickett
  charged Cemetery Ridge
• Result Lees invasion of the North is over, the
  Confederacy would never again step foot in the
  Union.

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War Office Dispatches 28

• May 4, 1863 Headline The Mississippi fortress of
  Vicksburg falls to Grant.
• The fortress of Vicksburg in Mississippi falls to
  Grant.
• After a one-year siege of the fortress, General
  Grant accepts the surrender on July 4.
• Result The Battles of Vicksburg and Gettysburg
  have buoyed the spirits of the Union. The South
  has been cut in half. Lee is in retreat in the
  East.

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War Office Dispatches 29

• July 13, 1863 Headline Draft riots erupt in New
  York City.
• The Riots last 3 days were touched off when the
  names of the first draftees were announced July
  11.
• In reaction to the Nation's first draft law
  protest and outbreaks of violence have occurred
  in virtually every Northern State.
• Southern sympathizers have an amazingly strong
  hatred for the president.
• Result The Unions war effort seems hampered by
  the protests against conscription

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War Office Dispatches 30

• Sept. 19-20, 1863 Headline Confederates win
  savage battle at Chickamauga Creek, in Georgia.
• Needing to win decisively after losing at
  Gettysburg and Vicksburg, Confederate troops
  under General Bragg beat Union troops at
  Chickamauga Creek, in Georgia.
• The victory gains some ground for the
  Confederacy.
• The only highlight of the battle for the Union
  was the steadfastness of the Union's General
  George Thomas, now called the Rock of
  Chickamauga.
• Colonel Eli Lilly introduces the concept of
  Mounted Infantry
• Result Confederates victory slows down the
  Union juggernaut.

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War Office Dispatches 31

• Oct. 3, 1863 Headline President Lincoln issues
  the Thanksgiving Proclamation.
• Lincoln issues the Thanksgiving Proclamation for
  the last Thursday in November of 1863.
• The President called for a day of observance for
  a day of thanks.
• The tradition of Thanksgiving began nearly 250
  years ago with the Pilgrims in Massachusetts.
• Result Americans in the North pause and give
  thanks for their blessings

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War Office Dispatches 32

• Nov. 19, 1863 Headline Lincoln delivers the
  Gettysburg Address.
• Lincoln, determined to make the battlefield site
  "hallowed ground," delivers the Gettysburg
  Address at the small Pennsylvania town.
• Four months prior to his speech the titanic clash
  between blue and gray took place.
• Lincoln followed featured speaker Edward Everest.
• Result Lincoln delivers the most famous
  American Speech (only 272 words). He captures
  the Unions Noble Cause with great eloquence.

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Gettysburg Address

• Four score and seven years ago our fathers
  brought forth on this continent, a new nation,
  conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the
  proposition that all men are created equal. Now
  we are engaged in a great civil war, testing
  whether that nation, or any nation so conceived
  and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on
  a great battle-field of that war. We have come to
  dedicate a portion of that field, as a final
  resting place for those who here gave their lives
  that that nation might live. It is altogether
  fitting and proper that we should do this.
• But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we
  can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this
  ground. The brave men, living and dead, who
  struggled here, have consecrated it, far above
  our poor power to add or detract. The world will
  little note, nor long remember what we say here,
  but it can never forget what they did here. It is
  for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here
  to the unfinished work which they who fought here
  have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for
  us to be here dedicated to the great task
  remaining before us -- that from these honored
  dead we take increased devotion to that cause for
  which they gave the last full measure of devotion
  -- that we here highly resolve that these dead
  shall not have died in vain -- that this nation,
  under God, shall have a new birth of freedom --
  and that government of the people, by the people,
  for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

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War Office Dispatches 33

• Nov. 23-25, 1863 Headline Union forces win at
  Chattanooga.
• Union troops led by General George Thomas swept
  up Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain to win a
  crushing battle against General Bragg and his
  Rebel forces.
• Union soldiers heroically scaled Missionary Ridge
  without official orders from General Grant, and
  then they took the ridge in one hour.
• The battle took place near Chattanooga,
  Tennessee.
• Result The Union has captured the KEY Southern
  railroad hub and is in position to split the
  South again.

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War Office Dispatches 34

• March 10, 1864 Headline The Command of all Union
  Armies given to Grant.
• After suffering through incompetent generals,
  President Lincoln has appointed Ulysses Grant to
  command all armies of the United States.
• Prior to his appointment, Grant had received his
  commission as lieutenant general.
• Grant was unable to visit Washington for his
  appointment because he was visiting the Army of
  the Potomac.
• Result The appointment rallies the Union public
  Soldiers alike.

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War Office Dispatches 35

• June 9, 1864 Headline Lincoln nominated for
  second term
• Delegates to the National Union Convention
  nominate Abraham Lincoln for their Candidate for
  president.
• Republicans and some War Democrats over looked
  Vice President, Hannibal Hamlin and chose Andrew
  Johnson as Lincoln's running mate.
• The party's platform includes putting down the
  Confederate rebellion and a constitutional
  amendment ending slavery.
• Result The President has the support of his
  party to continue the mission.

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War Office Dispatches 36

• June 10, 1864 Headline The Confederacy expands
  the draft.
• Realizing that their ranks are being depleted by
  an unplanned, prolonged war, the Confederacy
  expanded the draft.
• Men between the ages of 17 and 50 were then
  drafted. Even younger boys and older men are now
  required to support the South's cause.
• Result Even younger boys and older men are now
  required to support the South's cause

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War Office Dispatches 37

• Aug. 31, 1864 Headline The Democrats Party
  choose General McClellan to oppose Lincoln
• The Democratic Party met in Chicago and nominates
  General McClellan to oppose Lincoln in the
  November presidential election.
• They also chose George H. Pendleton to be
  McClellan's running mate.
• Their platform included a demand to immediately
  end the war and restore the Union.
• Result Lincoln will face one of his most
  popular generals in the fall election.

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War Office Dispatches 38

• Sept. 1, 1864 Headline Sherman captures Atlanta
  the Jewell of the South
• General Sherman led Union troops into Atlanta,
  Georgia, and captured the key city.
• The victory has lifted the spirits of the weary
  northern soldiers.
• Rebel forces evacuated the city on September 1,
  1864
• Sherman had shelled the city for days.
• Result Sherman begins in Atlanta on his march
  to the sea.

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War Office Dispatches 39

• Feb. 3, 1865 Headline Lincoln meets with Rebel
  leaders on River Queen.
• With the war's end in sight, Lincoln goes to
  Hampton Roads, Virginia, to meet Confederate
  leaders.
• As the five men sat in the salon of the River
  Queen, Lincoln told rebel leaders that the only
  way that real peace could be considered is if
  Confederate states realized the national
  authority of the United States.
• He also stated that the C.S.A. was never a
  separated nation.
• Result This meeting was to no avail, the rebel
  forces will fight on.

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War Office Dispatches 40

• Mar. 4, 1865 Headline Lincoln promises no malice
  at second inaugural.
• Lincoln offered peace in his inaugural address to
  the nation.
• He also mentioned that the war is winding down to
  a Union victory. He wants to have the union
  restored as soon as possible.
• He stated, "With malice toward none with charity
  for all...let us strive on to finish the work we
  are in to bind up the Nation's wounds."
• Result A forgiving Union leader, hoping to
  restore the union, Lincoln takes office.

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War Office Dispatches 41

• April 3, 1865 Headline Federals take Petersburg
  occupy Richmond.
• Union soldiers under General Grant captured the
  area around Petersburg and Richmond.
• Sixty thousand Union troops lost their lives in
  the nine-month siege of Petersburg.
• Davis was informed while in church and evacuated
  before 11 a.m.
• On Monday April 3, 1865, Union troops entered and
  occupied Richmond.
• Result Grant wins and another costly battle for
  the Confederacy.

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War Office Dispatches 42

• April 5, 1865 Headline Lincoln tours Rebel
  Capital.
• President Lincoln took a tour of the Confederate
  capital and walked to the C.S.A. "White House."
• Crowds cheered him on as he walked through the
  area that Davis had evacuated recently.
• He returned to the ship that had brought him down
  the James River, the Malvem.
• Result Lees under supplied army retreats to the
  west in hopes of joining with Johnston.

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War Office Dispatches 43

• April 9, 1865 Headline Lee surrenders to Grant.
• Lee surrendered at the home of Wilmer McLean at
  Appomattox Court House.
• The three-hour meeting took place on Palm Sunday.
  
• Lee agreed to surrender the Confederate Army,
  turning over of Rebel arms and supplies.
• The Rebels were allowed to keep their private
  horses and arms, and Lee did not surrender his
  sword.
• Result Lee's surrender at Appomattox ends
  organized confederate fighting.