Soon after Abraham Lincoln became President, there broke out the civil war, which caused the death of many hundreds of thousands of brave men and brought sorrow to nearly every home in the United States. Perhaps none of those who study this book will ever see so sad a time. But it was also a brave time, when men gave their lives for the cause they believed to be right. Women, in those days, suffered in patience the loss of their husbands and sons, and very many of them went to nurse the wounded or toiled at home to gather supplies of nourishing food for sick soldiers in hospitals.
The war came about in this way: There had been almost from the foundation of the Government a rivalry between the Northern and Southern States. Long and angry debates took place about slavery, about the rights of the States and the government of the Territories. These had produced much bitter feeling. When a President opposed to slavery was elected, some of the Southern States claimed that they had a right to withdraw from the Union. This the Northern States denied, declaring that the Union could not be divided; but before Lincoln was inaugurated, seven States had declared themselves out of the Union. They formed a new government, which they called "the Confederate States of America," and elected Jefferson Davis President.
President Lincoln refused to acknowledge that the Confederate States were a government. He refused to allow the United States fort in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, to be surrendered to the Confederates, and he sent ships with provisions for the small garrison of this fort. The Southern troops about Charleston refused to let these provisions be landed and at length opened fire on the fort. This began the war. Four other States now joined the Confederacy, making eleven in all.
It was a time of awful excitement in every part of the country. All winter long angry passions had been rising both in the North and in the South. When the first gun was fired at Sumter, in April, 1861, there was such a storm of fierce excitement as may never be seen again in America. At the North, a hundred thousand men were enlisted in three days. The excitement at the South was just as great, and a large portion of the Southern people rushed to arms. In those stormy times the drums were beating all day long in the streets; flags waved in every direction, and trains were thronged with armed men bidding farewell to friends and hastening forward to battle and death. Men and women wept in the streets as they cheered "the boys" who were hurrying away to the war. For a while, people hardly took time to sleep.
We cannot tell the story of the war here; you will study about it in larger histories. The armies on both sides became very large, and during the war there were some of the greatest conflicts ever seen in the world. The first great battle was fought at Shiloh, in Tennessee. Others took place at Murfreesboro [mur'-freze-bur'-ro], Chickamauga [chick-a-maw'-gah], and Nashville, in Tennessee; at Antietam [an-tee'-tam], in Maryland; and at Gettysburg, in Pennsylvania. Very many battles, great and small, were fought in Virginia, between Washington and Richmond.
On the side of the Union, the three most famous generals were U. S. Grant, W. T. Sherman, and Philip H. Sheridan. The three greatest generals on the Confederate side were Robert E. Lee, Joseph E. Johnston, and Thomas J. Jackson, commonly called "Stonewall Jackson."
Both sides showed the greatest courage. The generals on both sides were very skillful. Victory was now with one party and now with the other; but, as the years passed on, the Union armies, being the stronger, gradually gained one advantage after another. By means of troops and gunboats sent down from the North under Grant and a fleet under Admiral Farragnt, which was sent around by sea to capture New Orleans, the whole of the Mississippi River was secured. Between Washington and Richmond, the Confederates won many victories, but they were at length compelled to fall back behind the fortifications of Richmond and Petersburg, where they were besieged by General Grant.
During the time of this siege, General Sherman marched directly into the heart of the Confederacy, where he was for weeks without any communication with the North. He marched across the great and fertile State of Georgia, from Atlanta to Savannah, on the sea coast, and then from Savannah northward toward Richmond. By destroying the railroads and the food by which General Lee's army in Richmond was supplied, this march of Sherman's made it impossible for the Confederates to continue the war.
Lee was forced to retreat from Richmond, and he surrendered his army on the 9th of April, 1865. All the other Confederate forces soon after laid down their arms. The war had lasted four years. As a result of the long struggle, slavery was abolished in all the territory of the United States.
The Northern and Southern states bitterly disagreed over slavery, the rights of States, and the government of the Territories. Due to these disagreements, seven Southern states announced their withdrawal from the Union, forming a new government called 'the Confederate States of America' and electing Jefferson Davis President. President Abraham Lincoln refused to recognize the Southern states' right to withdraw. War broke out when the North tried to send supplies to Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina and the South opened fire to prevent the delivery. Four more states joined the Confederates in fighting the North. After four years of fighting, the South surrendered, keeping the Union intact, and slavery was finally abolished.
Vocabulary
Rivalry: A strife for influence or mastery in the Government. Territories: Regions of country belonging to the United States, yet not admitted to the Union as States. Gunboat: A small war-vessel adapted to shallow water. Fertile: Fruitful, bearing abundant crops. Abolished: Done away with; destroyed.
Enrichment
Activity 1: Narrate the Story
Narrate the events aloud in your own words.
Activity 2: Study the Story Picture
Study the story picture and describe how it relates to the story.
Activity 3: Map the Story
Locate the northern states (Union), southern states (Confederacy), and territories.
Was Georgia a northern state, a southern state, or a territory?
Was Montana a northern state, a southern state, or a territory?
Was New York a northern state, a southern state, or a territory?
Was Colorado a northern state, a southern state, or a territory?
Was Kentucky a northern state, a southern state, or a territory?
Was Virginia a northern state, a southern state, or a territory?
If you live in the US, was your state a northern state, a southern state, or a territory?
Activity 4: Complete Copywork, Narration, Dictation, and Art
Click the crayon above. Complete pages 63-64 of 'American History Copywork, Narration, Dictation, and Art for Third Grade.'
Activity 5: Listen to the Music of the Civil War
Listen to the song, 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home,' written during the Civil War in the hopes that loved ones would return home safely from the war.
Learn and sing the lyrics to the first verse as you listen to the song (full lyrics in the video information on YouTube).
When Johnny comes marching home again
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We'll give him a hearty welcome then
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The men will cheer and the boys will shout
The ladies they will all turn out
And we'll all feel gay
When Johnny comes marching home.
Review
Question 1
Why did the Southern states announce their withdrawal from the Union?
1 / 6
Answer 1
Bitter disagreements with the Northern states over slavery, state rights, and governance of the territories drove their decision.
1 / 6
Question 2
Describe the Confederate States of America.
2 / 6
Answer 2
The Confederate States of America included the southern states that intended to withdraw from the Union.
2 / 6
Question 3
Who was Jefferson Davis?
3 / 6
Answer 3
Jefferson Davis served as the President of the Confederate States.
3 / 6
Question 4
Who was the president of the Union during the Civil War?
4 / 6
Answer 4
Abraham Lincoln was president of the Union during the Civil War.
4 / 6
Question 5
Why was Fort Sumter significant during the Civil War?
5 / 6
Answer 5
Fort Sumter was the site of the first battle in Civil War.
5 / 6
Question 6
After four years of fighting, what was the result of the Civil War?
6 / 6
Answer 6
The Northern states won the war, preserving the Union.
Why did the Southern states announce their withdrawal from the Union?
Bitter disagreements with the Northern states over slavery, state rights, and governance of the territories drove their decision.
Describe the Confederate States of America.
The Confederate States of America included the southern states that intended to withdraw from the Union.
Who was Jefferson Davis?
Jefferson Davis served as the President of the Confederate States.
Who was the president of the Union during the Civil War?
Abraham Lincoln was president of the Union during the Civil War.
Why was Fort Sumter significant during the Civil War?
Fort Sumter was the site of the first battle in Civil War.
After four years of fighting, what was the result of the Civil War?
The Northern states won the war, preserving the Union.
References
'Lincoln and McClellan by Alexander Gardner. (1862, {PD-old-auto-1923})' Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lincoln_and_McClellan_1862-10-03.jpg. n.p.
'US Map 1864 Civil War Divisions by Júlio Reis. (Modified, {CC BY-SA 3.0})' Wikipedia. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_map_1864_Civil_War_divisions.svg. n.p.
A First Book in American History
First Book in American History
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