What Happened At The War At Sea?

In 1861 Semmes resigned his commission in the U.S. Navy to work for the Confederate government in Montgomery. The confederate Navy sent him north to buy ships and military supplies and to find skilled mechanics to bring back. Semmes was then given command of the ship Habana which was a steamship turned into a military destroyer ship (renamed C.S.S. Sumter). He ran the Sumter through the Federal blockade on the Mississippi river, out sailing the U.S.S. Brooklyn. In late November the Sumter set sail for European waters. They arrived in the

In late April, after the beginning of hostilities at Fort Sumter, Lincoln ordered a naval blockade of the states that has succeeded so far. Knowing that the South could not match the Union 's navy, the Secretary of the Confederacy 's navy Stephen Mallory, at the time being and advocate for more armor on ships, decided that instead of trying to match the production power of the north, they would build ships that were superior to the North 's individually. Mallory hired a group of men to help him design the ship. They knew that due to the added armor, they would need to use the new steam engines, recently being applied to ships. However, it took almost a year to make them and have them fitted.

During the American Civil War, leadership within the Union’s army was constantly an issue. Within the Union, various generals were found at times to be at odds with the political leaders in Washington. This was especially evident in the relationship between General George McClellan and President Lincoln. This tension was the result of McClellan’s approach to waging war. By examining the differing approaches to waging war of U.S. Grant and George B. McClellan one can gain a better appreciation for the decision making that was necessary by leaders like Lincoln, in selecting military

these also played a big role in winning the civil war. The rail roads allowed fast transportation of goods. And in the time of the war the rail roads also served as transportation for soldiers. As the north had the power of the navy they were able to block all the trade from Europe to the South. The South okayed the blockage, as they thought that Europe would get involved and help the Confederate Army, because of the lack of cotton supply. Nonetheless, Europe had enough cotton and could easily replace the cotton from America with cotton from India. The North could stop all import and export to and from the Southern states. Lincoln said that he could starve the Southerners into

For the Confederacy, control of the lower Mississippi River was vital to the union of the Southern states. The Mississippi

The south, which was mostly a society built on agriculture, was at a huge disadvantage when it came to railroads. Two-thirds of all the railroads in the nation at the time were in the north. The southern states couldn’t transport anything as easy as the north, and their income mostly relied on the exportation of their crops. Without this source of income, the Confederacy’s economy was crippled. Arguably, railroads were the reason for the South’s eventual defeat.

The Union and Confederate navies were similar in that each was trying to recruit more sailors, and they were both developing ironclad ships. They were trying to advance the technology of the ships, but both found it difficult to find the manpower to accomplish it. They did differ; however, the North knew the importance of the navy, while the Confederates downplayed it, figuring that it would not be as necessary as ground soldiers. The U.S Navy had a better time of growing in numbers then the Confederate Navy, and they also had the advantage of manpower and the number of ships they owned, while the Confederates lacked skilled workers to form an effective

In the south the people had a very different way of life. Most were poor farmers with the exception of large plantation owners who were very wealthy. These plantation owners white and black alike used slave labor to grow and harvest their crops. There was almost as many black plantation owners as there were white. In Charlestown, South Carolina there were more than 100 free black men who owned slaves. Slave labor was a big part of the South’s economy. Cotton was the South’s number one cash crop. The only way they could make good money was to sell to the highest bidder. The highest bidder was not always the industries of the North. Most of the time the south would sell their crops to other countries such as England and France, and then in return they would buy their goods from these other countries. That is the reason these countries backed the south in the war. The north did not like the idea that the southern states were trading with foreign countries because they were losing out on a lot of money. The southern states were cutting the north out of the trade cycle completely. So, how does the north stop this? The Government of The United States passed laws and put heavy taxes on imported goods. They passed laws hoping it would cause the south to do more business with the northern industries. It did not work.

The North had an industrial economy, and the South concentrated on a farming economy. This created many issues over what tariffs should be placed on. The South wanted tariffs to be placed on farming goods such as cotton,

During this time, both regions wanted to enlarge their lands, though they had different motivations. The South wanted to expand fast and take slaves with them for the growth of cotton since it was profitable. In other words, they wanted to protect the survival of cotton crops and to go on with the system of slaves in new territories. The North, however, wanted to

The transportation of products, supplies, Natural resources, and people in the North and South was a big factor in who won the war. The attached 1861 railroad map by James Lloyd shows how dense the railroads in the North were compared to the South. The North relied more on the railroad to transport their manufactured goods. The railroads also helped the union by sending ammunition and food quickly, but The there was a fear of being sabotaged. In the map, we can also see the South railroads were very scattered. The South didn 't have much of a need to have as many railroads because they were farming communities. The Union also destroyed what little railroads the South had (Boyer 454). The Confederacy then could not transport supplies nor people to other parts of the South (Beringer 310).

Economically the Union was very strong and greatly outweighed the South. President Lincoln, as the war had begun, quickly declared a blockade, as described earlier, against the main Confederate ports. This was supposed to be under an international treaty, that hadn’t been signed yet, which had created the controversial political issues for Lincoln. Fortunate enough for the Union, when war broke out the United States Navy was small like it’s army, and its ships were scattered around the oceans. Of the American ships that were in surrounding waters, ten were partially destroyed or destroyed to prevent them from going to the Confederates when Virginia seceded. If they did this would have taken the Norfolk naval base with it.

After the first battle of the Civil War the Upper states in the South also seceded. Abraham Lincoln was able to persuade Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri to stay in the Union. By doing this Lincoln gained access to the river systems in Kentucky and Missouri that led into the heart of the South. This control effected the 1862 invasions of the south, which provided the North with most of its early military successes. The Civil War was total trench warfare. Technology was the main event that influenced total trench warfare. Technology led to ideas such as strategy, weapons, and transportation. It wasn't until 1865 the Civil War ended with the surrender of the South's army. The Civil War was an event that impacted the United States greatly economically, politically and socially. This impact called for great reconstruction after the Civil War.

The North’s actions of abolishing slavery and enacting tariffs caused the South to fight in hopes of preserving their way of life and economy. Plantations in the South were only successful because of slavery. Without the slaves helping them create the abundance of cotton, the South would have no economy. The country’s economy would be greatly altered if slavery was eliminated both from a consumer and producer perspective. When the North did announce that they wanted to completely eradicate slavery, the South was taken aback due to the fact that the whole country would not function without slavery and the cotton produced. The North wanted the South to industrialize but the South replied “… we must ever continue to be, wholly dependent upon agriculture and commerce (South Caroline Protest Against the Tariff of 1828).” The climate in the South did not allow for the same industrialization to occur as it did in the North. Plantations and their productions of cash crops were booming in the South and the northern frontier was too small of a market, therefore leading them to sell to foreign countries. This caused the North to enact tariffs and in order to prevent the South from being too successful and lose them as a market. The North ended up petrifying the Southerners into fighting a war in order to preserve their way of life and thriving economy.

The Northern and Southern sections of the US had various economical differences which led to the Civil War. During that time period, the Northern part of the country’s economy was heavily based on industrial practices, in comparison to the Southern economy which was founded on agricultural practices. In the map of Railroads in 1860, railroads were heavily located in the Northern part of the US compared to the South because the Northern economy demands the need for railroads in order to transport the