_____________________________________ ____________________ ____________________ __________________________ ___________ ____________________ ____________________ __________________________ ___________ _ _ __________________ _ _ __________________ _ _ _________________ _ _ __________________ _ _ __________________ _ _ __________________ _ _ __________________ _ _ __________________ _ Its Heritage and Its Promise _ __________________ _ _ __________________ _ TERMS _ __________________ _ Henry Wirz PLACES PEOPLE Georgia: platform, racism platform, _ __________________ _ Abraham erson Davis, _ __________________ _ Proclamation, casualty, casualty, Proclamation, infl ation, Emancipation Emancipation ation, infl Bartow, Fort McAllister, McAllister, Fort Bartow, Appomattox Court House Appomattox Jeff Fort Pulaski, Fort Sumter, Sumter, Pulaski, Fort Fort Richmond, Andersonville, Andersonville, Richmond, Atlanta, Fort Jackson, Fort Atlanta, Fort mint, draft, blockade, bond, blockade, bond, draft, mint, William Tecumseh Sherman, Tecumseh William _ __________________ _ H. T. Walker, Charles Olmstead, Walker, H. T. Confederate States of America, States Confederate Lincoln, Francis Bartow, William William Bartow, Lincoln, Francis ___________________384 _ _ ___________________ _ _ __________________ _ _ __________________ _ _ __________________ 385 _ _ __________________ _ _ __________________ _ _ __________________ ce was was ce _ _ __________________ _ _ __________________ _ _ __________________ ghting did not _ _ __________________ , had caused dif- _ _ __________________ _ _ __________________ _ _ __________________ Georgia in the Civil War __________________ _ __________________________ __________ _ Chapter 16: _ _ __________________ a ince the American Revolution, the power ince the Americanini Revolution, (federal)of the national o government and the poweraa of the individual state governmentsggggggggggg had been an issue. The governmentgg under the Articles of Con- h _ _ __________________ oon ght. While Georgia saw some early military _ _ __________________ iii tititititi General William Tecumseh Sherman (on horseback, Tecumseh William General _ _ __________________ ra Other issues, including the tariff In the end, the North and South fought a four- ddddddedde _ _ __________________ federation gov- had shown a stronger national that ernment was needed, and so the Constitution had been written. Since then, one of the big debates in the States,United even in our own time, has been around the question of how power much each have. should opinions ferent about and state govern- the national ments’ powers, but they did not push the two sides to Although slavery and states’ rightswar. had been the secession, the immediateissues led that to the South’s concern Lincoln for Abraham when he took offi He but keeping Statesnot slavery, together. the United was not willing, to give in on the national however, right to forbid slavery ingovernment’s the territories, so a compromise would bring that the seceded states back did not work out. war both that year-long preserved and the Union ended Although there were white Georgians slavery. who remained throughout committed to the Union most, even thosethe war, who had not supported secession, became enthusiastic Confederates. Geor- gia was important to the Confederacy because of its location, the supplies it produced, and the men it sent to fi action along the coast, the actual fi come to Georgia until late 1863 with the Battle of Chickamauga. Georgia In 1864, however, felt the full fury under army of war General as the Union Wil- Sherman fought its to Atlanta, way liam Tecumseh and then marchedcaptured to the sea. city, that For enslaved Georgians, the fall of the state to the Union meant liberation; for all Georgians, black and white, it meant rebuilding the state in a new way. Left: during the gruelling move on the right) ponders his next Atlanta in 1864. for battle ___________________fef _ ____________________ ____________________ __________________________ ___________ ____________________ _____________________________________ As you read, look for • the event that began the Civil War, • the advantages and disadvantages of the North and South, • important battles such as Antietam, Vicksburg, and Gettysburg, • the Emancipation Proclamation, • terms: Confederate States of America, mint, draft, blockade, bond, infl ation, Emancipation Proclamation, casualty. In early 1861, Georgia joined with other southern states in a confederation whose main purpose became fi ghting a war to be independent from the United States. In the early years, the battlefi elds were in other states, but Georgia provided men and supplies for the war eff ort. Th e major military action in Georgia was on the coast. Some forts fell to the Union, and the port 1863 1864 1865 Emancipation Proclamation issued; Atlanta captured Lee surrendered Battles of Vicksburg, Gettysburg, and burned; at Appomattox 1861 Chickamauga Sherman’s March Court House; Georgia helped form 1862 to the Sea, Civil War ended the Confederate Savannah captured States of America; Fort Battle of Antietam; Pulaski occupied by Fort Pulaski retaken by Confederate forces Union forces 1861 1863 1864 1865 U.S. Congress passed fi rst Gettysburg National “In God We Trust” Massachusetts income tax law Cemetery dedicated fi rst appeared on Institute of Technology 1862 and President Lincoln U.S. coins (MIT) opened Homestead Act delivered Gettysburg passed by Congress Address 386 Chapter 16: Georgia in the Civil War of Savannah was blockaded. Georgia was spared military damage in those years. However, peo- ple’s lives were disrupted as schools closed and those left at home had to do their own work and the work of the men away in the army. Although some slaves along the coast fl ed to the Union army in these early years, most remained slaves. Because Georgia was not under Union control in January 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation did not aff ect them until the military action of the war came to the state in 1864. Preparing for War After secession, Georgia began preparing in case war came. But through the early spring, many Georgians did not believe that war would follow secession. Some wanted a speedy reunion with the Union if some agreements could be made with the North. Others simply hoped that they would remain independent and that the North would let them go. Th ose who sup- ported secession believed that, since the states had voted to ratify the Constitution and join the United States, they also had the right to decide to leave the United States. Th ey thought that the North was depriving them of their states’ rights. Unionists believed that the union of the states as a country could not be dissolved. Th ey thought that the Constitution was a Above: Former Georgia Governor compact of “We the People,” and therefore the states could not pull out. Other Howell Cobb served as president of Georgians had a strong belief that war would come. Cornelia Jones Pond, the special convention that created a planter’s daughter in Liberty County, wrote in her memoirs that she had the Confederate States of America asked her father what would happen if Lincoln was elected and “he replied, in January 1861. One of Georgia’s ‘War.’ I never forget with what horror that answer fi lled me.” most prominent politicians, he had In the months between the election and the end of his term, President previously served as Speaker of the James Buchanan did not do anything to stop the states that seceded although U.S. House of Representatives, and he personally believed that secession was illegal. He hoped that by not mak- as U.S. secretary of the treasury. ing them angry, something could be worked out. By the end of January 1861, seven states in the Cotton Belt had seceded. All seven sent delegates to a special convention in Montgomery, Alabama, where they voted to join together in what they considered a new country called the Confederate States of America. Th e president of that convention was Georgia’s Howell Cobb. Th e new Confederate constitution was based strongly on the rights of the individual states and had a weaker central gov- ernment. Th e delegates chose Jeff erson Davis of Mississippi as president and Alexander Stephens of Georgia as vice president. Robert Toombs became the Confederacy’s secretary of state, although he later resigned to become a brigade commander. Section 1: Georgia Goes to War 387 In March, a few days after Abraham Lincoln became president, Georgia’s secession convention delegates met again, this time in Savannah. Th e conven- tion accepted the Confederate constitution without sending it to the people for their vote. Th e delegates also wrote a new constitution for the state of Georgia. It was ratifi ed in July by a vote of the people. Georgia Governor Joseph E. Brown, a strong believer in secession, had quickly started to make Georgia independent. He called for volunteers for Thomas R. R. Cobb, the two regiments for Georgia’s protection. On January 3, even before seces- brother of Howell Cobb, sion, he had seized Fort Pulaski from the federal government and claimed was the main author of it for Georgia. After secession, he began to occupy other important federal both the Confederate government properties that were within Georgia’s boundaries including the constitution and the 1861 U.S. mint (a factory that made gold and silver money) in Dahlonega and the Georgia constitution. U.S. arsenal in Augusta. Augusta was one of only four arsenals in the entire South. It was full of weapons, including 22,000 rifl es and muskets, which would be important if fi ghting came. The Beginning of the War In South Carolina, the com- mander of Fort Sumter, located in Charleston harbor, refused to surrender the fort. In his inaugu- ral address, President Lincoln had made it clear that he was going to keep U.S. government property that was within the borders of the states that seceded. Although he did not want to start any fi ghting, Lincoln believed that he had to back the fort’s commander.