The Civil War The Turning Point 1863 and The Homefront
The Homefront The Civil War was an example of total war, as both the North and South used all their resources at their disposal to fight the war, and both civilians and strategic resources were viable targets. During the course of the war many basic consumer goods were in short supply, leading to food shortages, lack of basic medicines, and other shortages that led to death and suffering outside of the battlefields. The North was more protected from hardships, as little fighting took place in the North, and manufacturers actually profited quite well from the war. In the South hyperinflation and other hardships led to starvation, and even lack of basic clothing.
Women and The Homefront With fewer men at home, women often filled roles normally reserved for men. Southern women especially often ran plantations, as well many positions in the Confederate Bureaucracy, and filled teaching positions. The need for nurses drew many women to the battlefield as well, with thousands of women working in frontline hospitals for both the Union and Confederacy. Some future women s right leaders, such as Clara Barton, gained their skills in army hospitals during the Civil War.
The Homefront The public was better more quickly informed of events during the Civil War, with newspapers and other propaganda efforts. This also included the heavy use of photographs, a new invention, to show actual pictures of battlefields. Numerous photographers were employed by public and private interests such as Mathew Brady, to take pictures of various battles, both in the North and South. Given the enormous cost of the war, numerous measures had to be take to deal with the costs. In the North, Secretary of the Treasury Samuel Chase concentrated on controlling inflation and encouraging domestic production. One program to support the economy was the Homestead Act of 1862, which granted 160 acres of land per family, in exchange for living on the land for five years. In the South, inflation ran rampant, degrading the South ability to acquire needed supplies.
Fighting into 1863 The battles in the Civil War quickly became bloodier than previous war. The reasons for this included new weapons, as well massed troops assaulting entrenched defenders. Southern army often took the defensive, using entrenched positions, as the Union had to take southern territory. Inexperienced soldiers on both sides contributed to more units breaking and routing, leading to more casualties. Many of these factors led to over 600,000 troops dying during the Civil War.
The Question of Emancipation At the end of 1862 neither side was definitively winning the war. The war in the East was a stalemate, though the the Union was slowly making gains in the West. Slavery, though generally given as the reason for the Civil War, had actually been avoided by both Lincoln and Davis as being identified as a source of the war. This was due to both sides wanting to avoid internal turmoil and conflict over the issue. In March 1862 Lincoln suggested aid to any state that gradually emancipated its slaves, and would compensate their owners. Republican in congress took this idea and passed two bills that called for the seizure of property of southerners supporting the rebellion, as well as the emancipation of their slaves. Seeing the change of public opinion in the North, as well ass taking British abolitionist sentiment into account, Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation, and delivered it on September 1862, following the Union victory at the battle of Antietam.
Black Soldiers and Sailors Though Lincoln gave the Emancipation Proclamation in September 1862, it did not actually take effect until January 1, 1863, giving southern states the possibility of surrendering. No states actually surrendered, and the proclamation went into effect in 1863. The most immediate effect of the proclamation was the enlistment of blacks and freed slaves into the Union army. While the Union had employed some escaped slaves in the army, for the most part free blacks in the North had not been allowed to enlist. Following the proclamation blacks began to be enlisted in the Union military in large numbers, and by the end of the war over 180,000 black men had served in the Union army, and 24,000 in the navy. Most blacks were treated the same as whites in the navy, due to space restrictions on ships. However, most black soldiers were often in segregated units under white officers, and rarely saw combat. Black soldiers were also initially paid less than white soldiers as well.
The Turning Point 1863 In early July the Union won two important victories against the South. In the East was Gettysburg. With the South running low on resources and manpower, General Lee attempted to change the face of the war by marching into Pennsylvania and attacking northern cities. Lee had some initial success capturing the towns of Carlisle and York in Pennsylvania, but his luck ran out when he encountered General Meade s northern army on July 1, near Gettysburg, who had been searching for shoes for his men. The battle between the armies lasted 3 days, were Union forces were able to secure the high ground against the Confederate forces. Lee was forced to order a direct assault against Union troops, which failed, forcing Lee to order a retreat on July 4. Over 51,000 men were wounded or killed in the battle. The confederate casualties were high enough to keep Lee from attempting an attack on northern for the rest of the war.
The Turning Point 1863 With the fall of Vicksburg, the South lost any control of the Mississippi River, and the North had unimpeded access to attack directly into the deep South. On the same day, July 4, the Confederate fort at Vicksburg in the West fell to a Union siege led by General Grant. Vicksburg was the Confederates last major fort on the Mississippi River, and had been under siege by Grant since May of 1863. By blocking supplies from reaching the fort, Grant was able to force their surrender.