XXI THE CIVIL WAR 1861. THE seven seceding states formed a union, or confederacy, and The South- in a little while four others joined them. These eleven were ern Confederacy. Virginia, CONFEDERATE Lincoln's determination The attack on Fort Sumter North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Tennessee. Jefferson Davis, who had fought bravely in the Mexican War, was chosen president. A flag was adopted which had a red field crossed diagonally by wide bars of blue outlined with white. In the bars were eleven stars for the seceding states and two more for Missouri and Kentucky, which the Confederates expected would secede because those states had sent representatives to the Confederate congress. Jefferson Davis had said that the northern states would not fight, and he had much reason to think so, for President Buchanan was not sure that the government had any right to force a state to remain in the Union, and many people in the North agreed with him. When Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated, he said. that he should not interfere with slavery where it already existed, but that he should protect the Union and the property of the Union. Among these pieces of property were the forts, one of which, Fort Sumter, was on an island at the mouth of Charleston harbor. In April, 1861, when the government at Washington attempted to throw supplies into it, the Confederates demanded its surrender, and when Major Anderson refused, General Beauregard fired upon it. ABRAHAM LINCOLN (From an original negative made in 1864, when President Lincoln com- The Union men held out for two days. So much of the fort was formed the garrison marched out with drums beating and colors flying. The first gun fired upon Fort Sumter aroused the whole The country it. Lincoln called for seventy-five thousand men to serve in the is aroused army, and more than that number offered themselves. Most people in the North supposed that the revolt would soon be suppressed, and Lincoln asked the men to serve for three months. The South, too, raised an army at once, and made ready to defend the border line of the seceded states. Richmond was chosen as the Confederate capital. If the Union men could take Richmond or the Confederates could take Washington, it would be a great gain to the victors, it might even bring the war to an end. Week after week passed. "On to Washington!" cried the Confederates. "Why does n't General Scott do something?" complained the Unionists. "He could fight in the Mexican War. Why does he stand still now? On to Richmond!" The two armies pressed a little nearer together. Neither was ready to fight, but each commander felt that he must pay some regard to the wishes of his people. In Virginia, not far from Washington, is a little river called Bull Run, and just beyond it is a railroad that runs from Washington A UNION SOLDIER A CONFEDERATE to the southwest. If the southern army held this railroad, they Battle of Bull Run could bring men and arms and provisions from the South easily and quickly, and thus threaten Washington. The North meant to prevent the capture of the road, and that is why the first great battle of the war was fought near Bull Run. General Beauregard THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY AND ADJACENT UNION STATES had come from Charleston, and was in command of the Confederate forces. He had been educated at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Among his classmates was Irvin McDowell, and it was McDowell who stood on the other side of the little stream, leading the Union army. Another West Point graduate, General Jackson, was on the field, fighting for the Confederacy. It seemed at first as if the Union men would win, and as they pushed forward upon Jackson, an officer shouted to his troops, "Look at Jackson and his men standing there like a stone wall." Soldiers always nickname their favorite commanders, and from that day the brave general was known among them as Stonewall Jackson. 66 There was a fierce battle, and thousands of men were slain. Defeat of the The Confederates were victorious, and the retreat of the Union Union soldiers was a wild stampede. Men, horses, army-wagons, guntroops carriages, sutlers' teams, dashed along the road in the maddest confusion, while tents, cannon, and provisions were scattered along the way. The two chief reasons for the Union defeat were, first, that the soldiers had expected to win the day easily; secondly, that they were "green," as Lincoln said, and had no idea of the training and obedience required of a soldier. General McDowell said that on the march to Bull Run it was hard to keep these untrained warriors from leaving the ranks to pick blackberries. Making an army Blockade runners After Bull Run it was clear that the conflict would be long and serious. Lincoln called for seven times as many men as at first. Another thing that was clear was that bravery alone would not make a soldier. The troops must be drilled. General McClel lan spent week after week in training his men. In the autumn of 1861 there were thousands of men who wished to fight for the Union; in the spring of 1862 these men had become an army. The Confederates had felt almost sure of the favor and support of England, for English mills were using large quantities of southern cotton, and cotton could not be sent so long as there was war. A Union warship watched every important port, and a vessel trying to enter or leave the harbor was in great danger of being captured. Those that did attempt it were called blockade runners. The risk was so great that an enormous price was |