Keith D. Dickson - American Civil War For Dummies

American Civil War For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2022 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions .

Trademarks:Wiley, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: WHILE THE PUBLISHER AND AUTHORS HAVE USED THEIR BEST EFFORTS IN PREPARING THIS WORK, THEY MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES REPRESENTATIVES, WRITTEN SALES MATERIALS OR PROMOTIONAL STATEMENTS FOR THIS WORK. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION, WEBSITE, OR PRODUCT IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE PUBLISHER AND AUTHORS ENDORSE THE INFORMATION OR SERVICES THE ORGANIZATION, WEBSITE, OR PRODUCT MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR SITUATION. YOU SHOULD CONSULT WITH A SPECIALIST WHERE APPROPRIATE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR AUTHORS SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFIT OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR OTHER DAMAGES.

For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit https://hub.wiley.com/community/support/dummies .

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com . For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com .

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022930305

ISBN 978-1-119-86329-8 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-86330-4 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-86331-1 (ebk)

1 Cover

2 Title Page

3 Copyright

4 Introduction About This Book What Not to Read Foolish Assumptions Icons Used in this Book Beyond the Book Where to Go from Here

5 Part 1: The War and Its Causes Chapter 1: How Did the War Happen? The Big Picture: War and Politics The North and South: Two Different Worlds The Opposing Sides Playing a Part in the Controversy: The Constitution Struggling for Power California: The Compromise of 1850 Chapter 2: The Five Steps to War: 1850–1860 Setting the Stage: Five Events Leading to War Struggling for Kansas Rising from the Collapse: The Republican Party The Republicans and the 1856 Presidential Election The Dred Scott Decision John Brown’s Raid The Fighting South, the Angry North The Election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 Chapter 3: Secession and War: 1860–1861 The First Secession: South Carolina and the Lower South Building a New Nation: The Confederacy Taking Office: Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address Firing the First Shot So, Who Started the War?

6 Part 2: Making War Chapter 4: Civil War Armies: Structure and Organization Understanding the Basics of War Creating a Strategy: Three Basic Questions Uncovering the Principles of War Developing Campaigns: The Art of War Putting It All Together: Strategy to Campaigns to Battles Looking at the Civil War Army Organization Building a Basic Civil War Army Structure: The Regiment Comparing the Science versus the Art of War Chapter 5: Union and Confederate Strategy Comparing Northern and Southern Resources Wartime Strategy: Union and Confederate Geography and Strategy: Theaters of War Civil War Strategy in Retrospect Chapter 6: Organizing and Training the Armies Making Civilians into Soldiers Qualifications of Union and Confederate Officers Chapter 7: Significant Weapons of the Civil War The Weapons You Need to Fight The Rifled Musket and Tactics The Really Big Guns: Civil War Artillery Cavalry Weapons

7 Part 3: Opening Moves, 1861–1862 Chapter 8: Starting the War: Bull Run (First Manassas), July 1861 The First Rumblings: “On to Richmond!” Marching into Battle (Sort Of) Organizing the Armies: Disposition of Forces on the Battlefield Opening Moves: Key Decisions and Events Advancing to Victory: The Outcome Analyzing the Battle Heroes and Goats Chapter 9: Trouble West of the Mississippi and the Road to Shiloh, August 1861–April 1862 Focusing on the Early Battlegrounds of Missouri and Arkansas Dictating a Strategy in the Western Theater Struggling with Rank: Union Command The Importance of Kentucky Attacking the Forts: Grant Teams with the Navy The Shiloh Campaign The Fighting Begins: The Battle of Shiloh Aftermath of the Battle Heroes and Goats Chapter 10: Union Navy Victories and Union Army Defeats, March–July 1862 Bringing in a New Commander: George B. McClellan Taking a Gamble: The Blockade Patrolling the Coast: Union Naval Victories Discovering the Political Price of Failure and Inaction The Peninsula: A New Campaign Writing a New Chapter in Naval Warfare: The Ironclad Getting Fooled at Yorktown Battle of Wills: The Presidents versus the Generals McClellan Makes a Mistake before Richmond Chapter 11: Stonewall Jackson’s Valley Campaign, March–June 1862 Creating a Hero: Stonewall Jackson Stonewall’s Valley: The Shenandoah The Valley Campaign: An Appreciation Chapter 12: The Seven Days of Robert E. Lee, June–July 1862 The Confederacy in Crisis: Seven Pines Results of the Battle: McClellan Falters Taking Command: The “King of Spades” The Significance of the Campaign Heroes and Goats Chapter 13: Second Bull Run (Manassas), August 1862 Reshuffling the Union Command Structure Giving Lee an Opportunity: “Old Brains” Miscalculates The Aftermath of the Battle Heroes and Goats Chapter 14: The Bloodiest Day: Antietam (Sharpsburg), September 1862 Winning the War Now: The Confederate Strategic Situation Waiting for a Victory: The Union Strategic Situation The Antietam Campaign Jackson’s Coup at Harpers Ferry Starting the Battle: McClellan Creeps In Aftermath of the Battle Assessing the Battle and Its Significance The Emancipation Proclamation Heroes and Goats Chapter 15: Lost Opportunities for the Confederacy in the West: September–October 1862 The Western Theater: A Lesson in Geography Confederate Cavalry Dominates Tennessee Bragg Takes Command Starting the Fight: The Battle of Perryville Enduring Another Confederate Disaster: Iuka and Corinth Assessing the Aftermath of the Campaign: Results and Recriminations Significance of the Battles Heroes and Goats Chapter 16: War So Terrible: Fredericksburg and Murfreesboro, December 1862 Making a New Start in the East Hurry Up and Wait at the Rappahannock The Battle of Fredericksburg The Aftermath of the Battle The Battle of Murfreesboro The Results of the Battle Heroes and Goats