The War Begins

Home , Battle of Fort Sumter, Daniel Tyler

The War Begins

Derek Williams • 2017 Time Frame of Focus April 12, 1861-July 21, 1861

Focus Topics ● The North’s “Anaconda Plan” Overview ● Victory of First Manassas for the Southern States ● Border States ● Battle of Fort Sumter ● How Armies were organized The North’s “Anaconda Plan” Anaconda Plan

Union general-in-chief Winfield Scott's plan to defeat the Confederacy was known as the Anaconda Plan. The plan was to block all sea ports and then take the Mississippi river. General-in-Chief Winfield Scott

● 6ft 5in

● 230lbs

When 5ft 2in Ulysses S. Grant saw Winfield Scott at West Point he he later recalled that “I thought him the finest specimen of manhood my eyes had ever beheld.” Why The Anaconda Plan Didn’t Work

● The reason the Anaconda Plan failed was because it was derided as too slow and conservative by the press and by Scott's ranking subordinate, George McClellan (1826-1885). Victory of First Manassas (Bull Run) for the Southern States First Battle of Bull Run Brewing

● Known as the First Battle of Bull Run to Confederates ● July 21, 1861 ● Near stream named Bull Run 30 miles west of Washington D.C. ● Brigadier General Irvin McDowell wanted to have more time to train his troops so that he could have a trained army and not just people that are in his army, but he was pressured to move south

Brigadier General Irvin McDowell (Union)

First Battle of Bull Run Brewing

● P.G.T. Beauregard knew that McDowell was being pushed to move quickly so Beauregard moved his troops into place in defensive positions on the south side of the Bull Run creek and waited for McDowell to come right to him ● Beauregard raised his army into seven brigades along the creek about 3 miles east of Manassas

CS Brigadier General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard (Confederate)

Trouble starts for the north

● McDowell moved slowly through the heat, because his undisciplined troops kept falling out of line and McDowell was unsure of the position of the main Confederate force ● McDowell dispatched Brigadier General Daniel Tyler's division to seize Blackburn's Ford of Bull Run. McDowell just made it clear not to start a serious fight ● Despite McDowell clearly telling Tyler to not engage in serious battle he does and Tyler isn’t even able to take the Ford ● The battle simply tired out Tyler’s troops and alerted Beauregard of McDowell’s position

Brigadier General Daniel Tyler Ford is a shallow part in a river or stream that can be crossed (Union) The south hardens

● July 18 Johnston was ordered to relocate his base in Harpers Ferry and move his troop to provide support in Manassas ● Johnston sent the majority of his troops to Manassas, but left some so that Patterson would still think his man forces are in Harpers Ferry ● McDowell was unaware that he would be facing both Beauregard and Johnston’s troops ● McDowell came up with a plan that could have worked in theory, but due to the inexperience of his troops the plan was not able to successfully work

CS Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston (Confederate) Tides turn in favor of the south

● Tyler created a plan to create attention away from what the north’s plan was but, Brigadier General Nathan Evans realized Tyler’s plan was a ruse and moved most of his troops toward Sudley Ford ● The outnumbered confederates were able to hold their positions until Tyler sent two brigades, one commanded by William Tecumseh Sherman, across the river into their flank, however, they were forced to retreat ● The retreating Confederates began to rally around Jackson's brigade. General Bee exhorted his men to stand and fight, yelling "There stands Jackson like a stone wall!" Beauregard and Johnston began calling for troops to reinforce the hill “THERE STANDS JACKSON LIKE A STONE WALL” Victory for the Confederates

● When Beauregard ordered a general Confederate assault, the retreat turned into a rout. The Union army lost all organization. In what came to be called "the great skeedaddle," Union soldiers fled from the field towards the safety of the Washington defenses. Fortunately for them, the Confederate army was too worn out to launch a pursuit. Victory for the Confederates

● The final collapse at Bull Run cost McDowell his job. The General was relieved of command and returned to leading just a division. Still, many important lessons had been learned. It was clear that volunteers would have to undergo extensive training before they could be expected to act as professional soldiers. Also, both sides now knew they were in for a long and costly war. The Union had lost nearly 3,000 men at Bull Run, while the South had lost slightly less than 2,000. Even with these casualties, nothing had been decided by the engagement except that there would be more battles in the future. Army Organization

Army Organization Issues

● Originally the armies were no organized in a pyramid instead they were all on the same level this was the case for the First Battle of Manassas or The Battle of Wilson’s Creek ● This lead problems of which army was in charge of the other and led to more time consuming and deadly moves ● Lots of miscommunication between individual batteries ● This is the union army organization structure

● Before the battle of first Manassas, General McDowell was in in charge of leading an army of 80,000 troops

● However after the huge defeat McDowell was given just a division and not another full army

Later Union army structure Confederate army structure More Specific Organization

● The regiment was the basic maneuver unit of the Civil War. They were recruited from among the eligible citizenry of one or more nearby counties and usually consisted of 1,000 men when first organized. The attrition of disease, combat, and desertion would rapidly reduce this number. Replacements were exceedingly rare for both sides--it was more typical for an entirely new regiment to be raised instead. Regiments were usually led by colonels. ● Two or more regiments would be organized into a brigade. Note that it was uncommon for the branches of the army--infantry, cavalry, and artillery--to be mixed within a brigade. A typical brigade would consist of between three and five regiments and be led by a brigadier general. ● Two or more brigades would be organized into a division. Divisions tended to be slightly smaller in the Union army--usually two or three brigades. Confederate divisions could include as many as five or six brigades. Divisions were led by major generals. ● Two or more divisions would be organized into a corps. A corps typically included infantry, cavalry, and artillery units, the idea being that a corps was a formation that could conduct independent operations. ● Two or more corps would be organized into an army. It is commonly assumed that there was only one army per nation, but in fact both nations had multiple armies in the field. The most well-known Confederate armies are the Army of Northern Virginia, led by Robert E. Lee for most of the war, and the Army of Tennessee, which had a string of different commanders. The Union Army of the Potomac was Lee's primary opponent, while the Army of the Cumberland and Army of the Ohio operated out west, among others. At the corps and army level, leadership would usually be determined by seniority among the available major generals, or by intervention from Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis. Border States

Border States

● The border states included Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri ● These states played a key role for the Union if the states sided with the south then the north would have lost the war ● These states were the only northern states that were allowed to have slaves, this was to keep the these states from siding with the south ● West Virginia was split from Virginia during the war, and was also considered a border state Why Border States Were Important ● Maryland and Delaware on their own contained so many factories that if these states were to side the with south the total manufacturing power of the south would have doubled ● If Maryland sided with the south that would mean that Washington D.C. was surrounded by the Confederates ● Having slave states also weakened the claim that the south ceded to maintain slavery for its economy Battle of Fort Sumter Quick Facts

Location Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina Dates April 12 – April 13, 1861 Generals Union: Major Robert Anderson Confederate: Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard Soldiers Engaged Union: 80 Confederate: 500 Outcome Confederate Victory Fort Sumter Casualties Union: 0 Confederate: 0 Fort Sumpter Summary

The Battle of Fort Sumter was the first battle of the American Civil War. The intense Confederate artillery bombardment of Major Robert Anderson’s small Union garrison in the unfinished fort in the harbor at Charleston, South Carolina, had been preceded by months of siege-like conditions. PERSONAL LETTER / DIARY Diary of Mary Chesnut

April 12th. - Anderson will not capitulate. Yesterday's was the merriest, maddest dinner we have had yet. Men were audaciously wise and witty. We had an unspoken foreboding that it was to be our last pleasant meeting. Mr. Miles dined with us to-day. Mrs. Henry King rushed in saying, "The news, I come for the latest news. All the men of the King family are on the Island," of which fact she seemed proud.

While she was here our peace negotiator, or envoy, came in - that is, Mr. Chesnut returned. His interview with Colonel Anderson had been deeply interesting, but Mr. Chesnut was not inclined to be communicative. He wanted his dinner. He felt for Anderson and had telegraphed to President Davis for instructions - what answer to give Anderson, etc. He has now gone back to Fort Sumter with additional instructions. When they were about to leave the wharf A. H. Boykin sprang into the boat in great excitement. He thought himself ill-used, with a likelihood of fighting and he to be left behind!

I do not pretend to go to sleep. How can I? If Anderson does not accept terms at four, the orders are, he shall be fired upon. I count four, St. Michael's bells chime out and I begin to hope. At half-past four the heavy booming of a cannon. I sprang out of bed, and on my knees prostrate I prayed as I never prayed before.

There was a sound of stir all over the house, pattering of feet in the corridors. All seemed hurrying one way. I put on my double-gown and a shawl and went, too. It was to the housetop. The shells were bursting. In the dark I heard a man say, "Waste of ammunition." I knew my husband was rowing about in a boat somewhere in that dark bay, and that the shells were roofing it over, bursting toward the fort. If Anderson was obstinate, Colonel Chesnut was to order the fort on one side to open fire. Certainly fire had begun. The regular roar of the cannon, there it was. And who could tell what each volley accomplished of death and destruction? PERSONAL LETTER / DIARY Diary of Mary Chesnut

The women were wild there on the housetop. Prayers came from the women and imprecations from the men. And then a shell would light up the scene. To-night they say the forces are to attempt to land. We watched up there, and everybody wondered that Fort Sumter did not fire a shot.

To-day Miles and Manning, colonels now, aides to Beauregard, dined with us. The latter hoped I would keep the peace. I gave him only good words, for he was to be under fire all day and night, down in the bay carrying orders, etc.

Last night, or this morning truly, up on the housetop I was so weak and weary I sat down on something that looked like a black stool. "Get up, you foolish woman. Your dress is on fire," cried a man. And he put me out. I was on a chimney and the sparks had caught my clothes. Susan Preston and Mr. Venable then came up. But my fire had been extinguished before it burst out into a regular blaze.

Do you know, after all that noise and our tears and prayers, nobody has been hurt; sound and fury signifying nothing - a delusion and a snare.

Louisa Hamilton came here now. This is a sort of news center. Jack Hamilton, her handsome young husband, has all the credit of a famous battery, which is made of railroad iron. Mr. Petigru calls it the boomerang, because it throws the balls back the way they came; so Lou Hamilton tells us. During her first marriage, she had no children; hence the value of this lately achieved baby. To divert Louisa from the glories of "the Battery," of which she raves, we asked if the baby could talk yet. "No, not exactly, but he imitates the big gun when he hears that. He claps his hands and cries 'Boom, boom.' " Her mind is distinctly occupied by three things: Lieutenant Hamilton, whom she calls "Randolph," the baby, and the big gun, and it refuses to hold more.

Pryor, of Virginia, spoke from the piazza of the Charleston hotel. I asked what he said. An irreverent woman replied: "Oh, they all say the same thing, but he made great play with that long hair of his, which he is always tossing aside!" PERSONAL LETTER / DIARY Diary of Mary Chesnut

Somebody came in just now and reported Colonel Chesnut asleep on the sofa in General Beauregard's room. After two such nights he must be so tired as to be able to sleep anywhere.

Just bade farewell to Langdon Cheves. He is forced to go home and leave this interesting place. Says he feels like the man that was not killed at Thermopylae. I think he said that unfortunate had to hang himself when he got home for very shame. Maybe he fell on his sword, which was the strictly classic way of ending matters.

I do not wonder at Louisa Hamilton's baby; we hear nothing, can listen to nothing; boom, boom goes the cannon all the time. The nervous strain is awful, alone in this darkened room. "Richmond and Washington ablaze," say the papers - blazing with excitement. Why not? To us these last days' events seem frightfully great. We were all women on that iron balcony. Men are only seen at a distance now. Stark Means, marching under the piazza at the head of his regiment, held his cap in his hand all the time he was in sight. Mrs. Means was leaning over and looking with tearful eyes, when an unknown creature asked, "Why did he take his hat off?" Mrs. Means stood straight up and said: "He did that in honor of his mother; he saw me." She is a proud mother, and at the same time most unhappy. Her lovely daughter Emma is dying in there, before her eyes, of consumption. At that moment I am sure Mrs. Means had a spasm of the heart; at least, she looked as I feel sometimes. She took my arm and we came in. Bibliography ● "Anaconda Plan Political Cartoon." American History, ABC-CLIO, 2017, americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1846658. Accessed 7 Sept. 2017.

● "The Civil War." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. History: Government and Politics, Gale, 2009. Student Resources in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3048400102/SUIC?u=albu23958&xid=8d679704. Accessed 7 Sept. 2017.

● Anaconda Plan." ["American Heritage"]. American Heritage, vol. 61, no. 1, Spring2011, p. 24. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=khh&AN=73309645&site=hrc-live.

● Loiselle, Brett. "The First Battle of Bull Run." ["First Battle of Bull Run"]. First Battle of Bull Run, Sept. 2009, pp. 1-2. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=khh&AN=17928968&site=hrc-live.

● SOODALTER, RON. "The Making of General Winfield Scott." ["Military History"]. Military History, vol. 30, no. 2, July 2013, pp. 68-72. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=khh&AN=87279506&site=hrc-live. Bibliography

● Heidler, David S. and Jeanne T. Heidler. "First Battle of Bull Run." American History, ABC-CLIO, 2017, americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/276438. Accessed 15 Sept. 2017.

● “Civil War Army Organization.” Civil War Trust, Civil War Trust, www.civilwar.org/learn/articles/civil-war-army-organization. Accessed 18 Sept. 2017.

● Olson-Raymer, Dr. Gayle. “The Civil War: Goals, Strategies, and Consequences.” Civil War, users.humboldt.edu/ogayle/hist110/unit4/CivilWar.html. Accessed 18 Sept. 2017.

● “Battle Of Fort Sumter.” HistoryNet, www.historynet.com/battle-of-fort-sumter. Accessed 19 Sept. 2017.