The Civil War and NC

An Unwilling Hercules

The Union Fails

• CSA formed in early 1861 with South Carolina leading the way.

• NC was hesitant to join the Confederacy

• Large Unionist movement (leaders who wanted to stay in the Union)

• Secessionists (leaders who wanted to leave the Union)

Questions

• A. What was the name for those who wanted to join the Confederacy?

• B. What was the name for those who wanted to remain in the Union?

NC’s Conditional Support

• Unionists “support” BUT…– Did not want any military action taken against

southern states

• Confederates fired upon Fort Sumter in Charleston on April 12, President Lincoln called for volunteers to “put down the rebellion” the Unionists were finished– May 20, 1861 delegates in NC voted

unanimously to secede from the Union

Questions

• A. Unionists in North Carolina did not want __________ to be taken against the Confederate States?

• B. What did North Carolina decided to do when President Lincoln ordered Federal troops to fire on Fort Sumter?

NC’s war effort

• Called an “unwilling Hercules” why?– Last to secede– Provided more troops than % of population

• 1/6 of soldiers but 1/9 of population

– More troops than any other southern state• 125K troops, suffered ¼ of ALL casualties (20K from battle

wounds and 20K from infection)

– More men drafted from NC than any other state– Only Confederate state with an active peace

movement

Questions

• A. What was NC called regarding the Civil War effort?

• True/False• B. There were more troops from NC than

any other Confederate State.• C. More men were drafted from NC than

any other state• D. North Carolina was the only state in the

CSA with an active peace movement.

NC in the fight

• Provided LARGE numbers of soldiers

• 37 generals from NC BUT only ONE led a whole army.

• NC slogan after the Civil War: NC troops were “first at Bethel, farthest at Gettysburg and last at Appomattox.”

• Gained the nickname “Tar Heels” because they stayed and fought until the very end.

Questions

• A. What slogan did NC earn during the Civil War?

B. What was a nickname for NC’s troops during the Civil War?

North Carolinians at war

• Early on much of the War took place in Virginia• Bethel, VA, only Confederate soldier killed was from NC• Gettysburg, Tar Heels fought hard and crossed Union

lines sustaining heavy casualties• Appomattox, site of final surrender, ¼ of all

Confederates laying down arms were from NC• Helped save General Lee in Maryland• Committed a HUGE mistake, at Chancellorsville, while

surrounding Union troops, NC troops accidentally wounded Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson a Confederate General… he later died from his wounds!!!

Questions

• A. Most battles were fought in what CSA state?

• B. Who did NC troops accidentally shoot at Chancellorsville?

• C. NC troops were farthest at ________.

Stonewall Jackson

• Where his body is buried

Stonewall Jackson

• Where his arm is buried

Defending NC’s coast

• Fighting along the Coast• Union planned to attack Richmond through the

Albemarle Sound• Union captured Confederate forts on Outer

Banks and soon controlled the sounds. • Union maintained naval blockade, where a fleet

of ships patrolled the ocean outside all southern ports; the intention was to keep the Confederacy from receiving supplies

Questions

• A. Surrounding the CSA’s coastline with Union ships was called a _________ _________.

• B. What was the purpose?

NC’s largest battle

• Bentonville• Last major fight between the North and South in

the Civil War• Largest battle fought in North Carolina• General William T. Sherman pushed towards

Goldsboro, which contained a vital RR crossing, remember what lines crossed there?

• Pieces of several Confederate Armies gathered north of Fayetteville, around 13K troops

• Sherman had about 60K at his disposal• Battle lasted 3 days, March 19, 20, 21

Questions

• A. The last major battle in the Civil War and the largest battle in NC was the battle at ____________.

• B. How many days did the above battle last?

Harper House

• Home of John and Amy Harper and 7 of their 9 children. (The oldest two were in the Confederate Army)

• Union soldier knocked on the door and told them their home had been chosen as the site of a battlefield hospital

• They had around an hour to grab what belongings they could and move to the upstairs where they would remain for the next 3 days.

Harper House

Circa 1900

Harper House

As it appears today

Harper Hospital?

• Union and Confederate soldiers would be treated at the Harper House

• Some soldiers were treated and returned to fight, while others faced amputations and the ongoing threat of disease and infection

• Soldiers amputated limbs were tossed outside the windows onto the Harper’s lawn, all the while they lived upstairs!!! EEWWW!!!!!

• Like on the next slide so don’t freak out…

Feet and legs

Questions

• A. What troops were treated at the Harper House?

• B. What was the most common procedure performed at the Harper House?

Harper House

• Operating table with tools

Harper House

Operating room

Civil War Amputation

Photo from a popular field medical guide

Photos

• The amputation kit for a Civil War physician

Harper House

• Officers room

Harper House interior

• Barrels used as legs for an “operating table.”

Amputees

• Soldier with a prosthetic arm

Amputees

• Soldier with

prosthetic leg

Amputees

• YOUNG solider

Prosthetics

• Wooden foot used by a soldier after

the Civil War

Prosthetics

• Another foot

Prosthetic limbs

• Leg

Civil War Battlefield Hospital

How the front lawn of the Harper House would have looked

Photos

• Soldiers camp during the War

Blockade Running

• NC’s coastline, which had hindered it for years, now provided an advantage for the South.

• North could not navigate the Cape Fear because of shallow water

• Blockade Runners – low-lying steamships that were painted gray to match the ocean, were able to slip in and out of Cape Fear waters.

• Went to British ports in the Bahamas, loaded up on supplies then came back to NC. “Ran” through blockades and carried supplies inland where they could be loaded onto the Wilmington Weldon RR, which ran to Virginia, and supplied Confederate troops.

• Wilmington & Weldon RR was so important it became known as “the lifeline of the Confederacy.”

Questions

• A. What was able to navigate the shores of NC and break through Union ships?

• B. What were they in search of?

• C. Where did they go to get them?

Blockade Running cont’d

• More than 100 blockade runners• Over ½ were captured or sunk• 100 ships made more than 400 trips to the

West Indies• Estimated $65 million worth of goods

carried by blockade runners• Estimated 50% of all food and supplies to

Lee’s army in VA came through Wilmington

Questions

• A. How many blockade runners were there?

• B. What was the percentage of supplies blockade runners provided to the Army of Northern Virginia?

Zebulon Baird Vance

• Important dude!

• Governor of NC

during the Civil War

Zebulon B. Vance

• Zeb and Jefferson Davis, President of the CSA do NOT get along

• Vance puts the needs of NC FIRST, before those of the CSA.

• Very compassionate towards troops and their families.

Questions

• A. North Carolina’s governor during the Civil War was?

• B. Whose interests were his main concern?

Zeb’s thoughts on the War

• Put himself “out there”, wrote letters to Jefferson Davis arguing certain points of contention:

A. Conscription – the draft, began in 1862, handled by CSA government, not states

B. Exemptions – Own 20 or more slaves, did not have to fight. Vance wrote to Davis, “this made the Civil War a rich mans war and a poor man’s fight.”

Questions

• A. How did Zeb communicate with the CSA President, Jefferson Davis?

• B. What is conscription?

• C. Vance’s famous quote regarding exemptions: they made it “a ___ man’s war and a ____ man’s fight.”

More of Zeb’s thoughts

C. Taxes – CSA created layers of taxes– Sales tax – taxing goods – Occupation tax – taxing gross sales– Income tax – personal tax on level of income– Tax in kind – tax on annual farm production

( ex. Grew 50 bushels of potatoes or more, 10% tax)

• Vance resists, feels taxation should be a state issue

Questions

• A. Identify two types of taxes that began during the Civil War?

• B. Who did Vance want to control the issue of taxation?

More of Vance’s issues

D. Appointments – military and political leaders

1. 7 full generals in the Confederate Army, NONE from NC (and we supplied most of the troops)

2. Cabinet of the CSA – no one from NC appointed until the end of the War and then only served a short amount of time

Questions

• A. How many generals in the Confederate Army were from NC?

• B. What problem did Governor Vance have with the President Davis’ cabinet?

And more issues

E. Supplying troops – CSA said, send clothes to us, we will supply troops

1. NC had 46 textile mills, more than any other Confederate State

2. Vance said, no, we will supply ourselves and send what we have left to you; Davis agreed

Questions

• A. What could NC supply to CSA troops?

• B. Vance and Davis agreed that these troops would be supplied first.

The Biggest Issue

F. Suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus

Do not have to produce documents telling why someone is being charged with a crime

1. Makes criminal process faster

2. Denies a FUNDAMENTAL CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT. CSA and USA would both suspend this right.

Questions

• A. Being required to produce documents telling someone why they are being charged with a crime is called __________________.

• B. Who would suspend this right?

The last issue, for you at least

G. Desertion – AWOL, skipping town, etc.USUALLY, for a short amount of time,

problem at home, with the farm, kids, etc.1. All CSA has this problem, BUT2. NC supplied most troops so law of averages says they will have the most deserters, and they did.3. 23K soldiers (approx. 8000 returned) 423 officers

Questions

• A. Why did most soldiers desert?

• B. Why did NC have the largest number of deserters?

Other factors for desertion

• 1. NC’s proximity to VA’s battlefields

• Convenient place to run to when you have had enough

• 2. Geographical Features of NC– A. Eastern swamps – good place to hide, no

one wants to hunt deserters in there.– B. Mountains – hard to find people who do not

want to be found

Questions

• What were the two geographical features of North Carolina that made it a good place to go when deserting?

Ironclads

• Confederates hoped to take away the Union advantage at sea with ironclads – ships heavily armored with iron.

• Confederates captured the Merrimack and turned it into an ironclad renamed the Virginia.

• Union built its own ironclad, the Monitor• The battle between the two lasted for hours. In the end

the Virginia had to retreat, saving the Union fleet.• Began a revolution in naval warfare, gone were wooden

ships powered by the wind.• CSS Neuse, now housed in Kinston, is a Civil War

ironclad. Take a look at www.nchistoricsites.org/neuse/neuse.htm

Questions

• A. What was the name for a ship heavily clad with iron?

• B. Kinston houses one of these ships, named the ____________ .

The CSA and War

• Jefferson Davis had a tough job• He was fighting people with better training,

weapons, supplies, etc.• A NATION fighting a group of states• Add into the mix, state’s rights, “I will give you

what I want you to have and do what I want• Under huge pressure and resistance from

Confederate States• Hard position, Davis had to “create” a

government then go directly to war!

Questions

• What were two reasons Jefferson Davis’ job as President of the CSA was not easy?