When the civil wars began, most people sided with thier neighbors. Yet hundreds of Notherners fought in the Confederate army. Many Southerners supported the Union.
CHOOSING SIDES
Hundreds of families were torn apart by the war. Among them was the Lee family of Virginia. When the war began, President Lincoln asked Robert E. Lee to take command of the Union army. He was one of the best officers in the nation.
Lee was devoted to his country. Yet he also felt strong ties to Virginia, his home state. In the end, Lee decided his first loyalty was to Virginia. He resigned from the United States army to become a military advisor to Jefforson Davis, president of the Confederacy. Later he served as commander of the Confederate forces.
Lee's daughter Amy made a different choice. She left her family to support the Union. a nepew, Samuel P. Lee, also fought for the Union. He was a commander in the United States navy.
Abraham Lincoln's family was divided too. His wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, had three brothers. All three sided with the Confederacy.
Choosing sides was especially hard for those who lived in the border states. These were eight states that lay between the North and the South.
Although each allowed slavary, all had close ties with the North. Four of the states-North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Virgina- joined the Confederacy. The othters, Delaware, Maryland, Missouri, and Kentucky, stayed in the Union.
Yet even after such decisions had been made, aguments continued. Shortly after Virgina left the Union, the people in the Northwestern part of the state protested. They did not want to join the Confederacy. So they formed a new state called West Virgina. It joined the Union in 1863.
THE TWO SIDES
At the start of the war, the Confederacy had 11 states. The other 22 states remained in the Union. Then Kansas became a state in 1861, West virgina in 1863, and Nevada in 1864. They too fought for the Union.
The Union's Avantages
The Union not only had more states than the Confederacy, it also had more people. In 1861, the North had more than 22 million people. The South had only 9 1/2 million people.
The North also had over 90 percent of the nation's factories and mills. These factories kept the union soldiers supplied with uniforms, tents, blankets, shoes, guns, and all of the other goods an army needs. The North had most of the railroads too.
Confederate Advantages
The North did not have all the advantages. The South had the best generals. Over the years many Southerners, eager for a carrer in government, attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Like Robert E. Lee, they were talented soldiers. Also, like Lee, many of then decided to join the Confereracy.
Perhaps the most important advantage for the South was that people there were fighting to protect their homes, families, and way of life. People fight harder when the things they value most is threatened.
SOLDIERS AND VOLUNTEERS
Both sides had to get ready for war quickly. They needed thousands of soldiers. They also needed people to keep the army supplied with food, weapons, and other goods. They needed people willing to scout, nurse the wounded, and even act as spies.
The Two Armies
At first, neither side had trouble getting soldiers. Thousands rushed to sign up. However, as the war dragged on, the number of soldiers dropped sharply.
Both sides tried to draft soldiers. That is, each required that all men between the ages of 18 and 35 (later 17 to 50) sign up for military service. The draft was unpopular in both the North and the South.
Southerners thought the draft was unfair because anyone who owned 15 or more slaves was excused from the draft. People in the South also believed that only the states had the right to draft citizens.
People in the North thought the draft was unfair too. Northerners did not have to go into the army if they paid the government $300. They were also excused if they had someone serve in their place. Poor people grumbled about a law that favored the rich.
Blacks in the War
In spite of the need for soldiers, blacks were not allowed to join the Union army at the beginning of the war. Yet many found other ways to help. Some worked as cooks, scouts, and spies. Others drove supply wagons. About 250,000 blacks helped the Union during the first two years of the war.
Then, in 1863, Lincoln allowed blacks to join the army. More than 186,000 black Americans signed on as soldiers in the union army. They had an outstanding war record. Twenty-two black soldiers received the Congressional Medal of Honor for acts of bravery.
Woman in the War
Women too fought in the Civil War. As many as 400 women disgusied themselves as men and went out on the battlefields. Others carried mail or served as spies. Harriet Tubman, the woman who led so many slaves to freedom, was the most daring Union spy. She made dozens of trips south.
Harriet Tubman also worked as a nurse. So did 3,000 other women, both black and white. Some had the official backing of the Union or the Confederacy. Others set off on their own. Among them was a young woman named Carla Barton.
Carla Barton heard there was a shortage of doctors and nurses. So she loaded an ox cart with medicine and bandages and headed for the nearest battle. Her experiencesin the war led her to start the American Red Cross. It still provides emergency help in times of war or when a natural disaster strikes.
Many women also helped out at home. They took their husbands' places on farms and plantations. Others worked in factories, offices and shops.
As the war continued, woman in both the North and South joined volunteer groups. Some of these groups sent food and medicine to wounded soldiers. Other volunteer groups ran military hospitals.
CAN YOU GUESS WHO WON?
The North!