Union (American Civil War)

The Union was the name given to the federal government and the loyal states of the United States during the American Civil War. It was made up of the states and people who stayed faithful to the national government when some southern states tried to leave the United States after Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860. Lincoln's leadership aimed to keep the country united and to protect the United States Constitution.

Most of the Union's states were in the northern part of the country, though some border states and parts of the South also stayed loyal. These northern and midwestern states provided important resources, such as factories, food, and soldiers, to support the war effort. They helped supply the Union Army with what it needed to fight.

During the war, the Union saw both success and challenge. While the economy grew because of the government's spending, there were also difficulties, such as resistance to the draft in places like New York City. Despite these challenges, the Union's goal was to preserve the United States as one nation.

Etymology

In the time of the American Civil War, the Union, or the United States, was sometimes called "the North," while the Confederacy was called "the South."

The word "Union" appears in the first important rule book of the United States, the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. Later, the Constitution of 1787 began with "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union ..." The phrase "preserve the Union" was commonly used even before the Civil War started. Calling the non-separating side the "Union" showed that it was the legitimate continuation of the existing government. Before the Civil War, the United States was known as a union of states led by the federal government in Washington, D.C.. This was different from the CSA, which was a confederation of independent states.

Size and strength

The loyal states that stayed with the United States during the Civil War were more developed and had better systems for trade, moving goods, and handling money. They also had more people ready to fight. As the war went on, the areas that tried to leave the United States lost more resources and people. The United States used its growing strength to build a bigger army. Even though the United States had to protect many places and important roads, its larger population and industry helped it win the war in the end.

Public opinion

The attack on Fort Sumter brought the free states together to defend their country. Many people felt angry and wanted to support the war effort. Meetings, speeches, and resolutions showed strong support from governors and legislatures.

As the war continued, some people grew worried about the government becoming too powerful, spending too much money, and unfair business practices. Some political leaders talked about these concerns and said that changes were happening too fast. They also worried about the effects of ending slavery on jobs in the North.

Others believed it was important to stay strong and united against the slave owners, who they felt were the cause of the war.

President Lincoln

Main article: Presidency of Abraham Lincoln

Historians have praised Abraham Lincoln for his great leadership as president. His main goal was to win the war, and he had to learn new skills to do this. He managed supplies, money, people, and chose leaders for the army. Lincoln worked with politicians to gain support and gave a famous speech at Gettysburg that helped shape America's purpose. His friendly nature and ability to work with others made the government run better than the Confederate capital, Richmond. Lincoln's team of strong leaders, including William Seward, Salmon P. Chase, and Edwin Stanton, helped guide the country through this difficult time.

Congress

The Republican leaders in Congress passed many important laws that changed the country's economy, money system, taxes, land rules, and schools. These laws included the Morrill tariff, the Homestead Act, the Pacific Railroad Act, and the National Banking Act. President Lincoln focused more on the war and worked well with leaders in Congress like Thaddeus Stevens, Charles Sumner, Lyman Trumbull, Justin Smith Morrill, and William Pitt Fessenden.

There were also big debates about the war and how to rebuild the country after it. Lincoln often disagreed with the Radical Republicans, who were very strict with the opposing side. A special group called the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War looked closely at how the war was being fought. They were mostly Radical Republicans who believed strongly that the opposing side should be treated harshly.

Some people, called Copperhead Democrats, did not support the war and wanted peace right away. They were strongest in places like the Midwest. The Democratic Party had members who supported the war and others who did not. This caused problems within the party. In elections, the party sometimes won, but they could not stop the war efforts. There were some protests, especially when rules about who had to fight in the war became stricter.

Soldiers

Main article: Union Army

Recruiting volunteers

Many young men were excited to join the Union army in 1861. They had support from their families because they believed in their country and felt it was an adventure. Washington decided to keep the small regular army of 16,000 men to protect the frontier. However, officers from this army could join the new volunteer army, hoping their experience would lead to quick promotions. There was a big problem with planning, leadership, and organization at the top levels. Washington asked the states for troops, and each free state governor tried to raise and equip regiments, sending the bills to the War Department. Soldiers could choose junior officers, while governors picked senior officers, and Lincoln chose the generals. Often, local politicians used their organizations to raise troops and expected to become colonels if they were healthy enough. The War Department also allowed local and private groups to form regiments, which caused confusion and delays.

For example, Pennsylvania had trouble when Washington asked for 10 more regiments. Enough men volunteered to form 30, but they were spread out among 70 different units, none of them complete regiments. The problem was fixed only when Washington allowed governors to control all new units. By the end of 1861, 700,000 soldiers were training in Union camps. The first group joined for only 90 days, then went home or reenlisted. Later groups joined for three years.

New soldiers spent their time practicing drills in companies and regiments. The first year of fighting involved small forces and few losses. Sickness was a bigger problem than battle injuries, causing many hospitalizations and deaths.

In the early months, soldiers wore poor-quality uniforms, but by fall, sturdy blue wool uniforms became standard. Factories were changed to make rifles, cannons, wagons, tents, telegraph sets, and many other supplies the army needed.

Business was slow in spring 1861 because of war fears and boycotts by the Confederacy, but by fall, jobs were available again. By summer 1862, many Democrats stopped supporting the war, and volunteering dropped in their areas. More calls for soldiers led states and localities to offer cash bonuses. By 1863, a draft law existed, but few men were actually drafted because the law encouraged volunteering or hiring a substitute. Some men hid or left the country. With the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863, areas could meet their draft requirements by organizing regiments of freed slaves in the Confederacy.

Michigan was very eager to send volunteers. Studies of Grand Rapids and Niles show strong feelings for the war in 1861 across all groups. But by 1862, as losses increased and the war focused more on ending slavery, some called the war a failure. Michigan voters were split between parties in the 1864 election.

Motivations of soldiers

Michael Perman (2010) says historians have different ideas about why so many men wanted to fight, suffer, and even die over four years:

Some believe soldiers were driven by strong political beliefs about liberty, the Union, or states' rights, or about ending slavery. Others think reasons were less political, like defending home and family, or finding honor and friendship with other soldiers. Most agree that, whatever their original reasons, fighting in battle changed soldiers deeply and sometimes changed their reasons for keeping up the fight.

The paperwork war

Overall, national, state, and local governments managed the huge amount of paperwork well. Skills from insurance and financial companies helped create systematic forms, copies, summaries, and filing systems. John Shaw Billings later developed a way to store and count information using punch cards. However, old methods needed to be overcome. In New Hampshire, the state adjutant general’s office was overwhelmed. Nathaniel Head took over in 1864, got more money and staff, and fixed the missing records so widows, orphans, and disabled veterans got their payments.

Medical conditions

Main article: Medicine in the American Civil War

More soldiers died from disease than from battle injuries, and many were temporarily unable to fight because of wounds, disease, or accidents. The Union built army hospitals in every state.

Camp hygiene was poor, especially early in the war when men from home were grouped together for training. Diseases like chicken pox, mumps, whooping cough, and especially measles spread. In the Confederacy, new diseases like diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid fever, and malaria appeared. There were no antibiotics, so doctors used coffee, whiskey, and quinine. Bad weather, dirty water, poor shelter in winter, and messy camps also caused problems. The Union improved by creating skilled medical organizers, especially in the enlarged United States Army Medical Department and the United States Sanitary Commission, a new private group. Other groups like the United States Christian Commission and smaller private groups also helped. Many volunteers, including poet Walt Whitman, worked in hospitals and rest homes. Frederick Law Olmsted, a famous landscape architect, led the Sanitary Commission efficiently.

States could use their own taxes to support their troops, as Ohio did. After the battle of Shiloh in April 1862, Ohio sent three steamboats as floating hospitals with doctors, nurses, and supplies. The state later had 11 hospital ships and set up 12 local offices to help soldiers travel.

The Christian Commission had 6,000 volunteers who helped chaplains by giving out Bibles, giving sermons, helping with letters home, teaching reading and writing, and setting up camp libraries.

The Army learned many lessons and improved its methods, and medical science—especially surgery—advanced greatly. Over time, the Union commissions’ experiences modernised public welfare and led to large community charity efforts based on fundraising and private donations.

Women also gained new public roles. For example, Mary Livermore used her skills from managing the Chicago branch of the US Sanitary Commission to support women's suffrage after the war. She argued that women needed more education and job opportunities to serve others.

The Sanitary Commission collected large amounts of data and faced the challenge of storing it for quick access and searching. John Shaw Billings built two important libraries, Library of the Surgeon General's Office (now the National Library of Medicine) and the New York Public Library, and developed ways to analyze data by turning it into numbers and punching onto computer punch cards, later used by his student Herman Hollerith. Hollerith’s company became International Business Machines (IBM) in 1911.

Prisoners of war

Main article: American Civil War prison camps

Both sides had prison camps; they held about 400,000 captives, but many prisoners were quickly released and never sent to camps. In 1901, the Record and Pension Office counted 211,000 United States soldiers who were captured. In 1861–63 most were immediately released; after the parole exchange system broke down in 1863, about 195,000 went to Confederate prison camps. Some tried to escape but few succeeded. By contrast 464,000 Confederates were captured (many in the final days) and 215,000 imprisoned. Over 30,000 Union and nearly 26,000 Confederate prisoners died in captivity. Just over 12% of captives in United States prisons died, compared to 15.5% for Confederate prisons.

Draft riots

Discontent with the 1863 draft law caused riots in several cities and rural areas. The most important were the New York City draft riots from July 13 to July 16, 1863. Irish Catholic and other workers fought police, militia, and army units until the Army used artillery. The protests turned into violent attacks on Black people in New York City, with many killed on the streets.

Small riots happened in ethnic German and Irish areas, and along the Ohio River where there were many Copperheads. Holmes County, Ohio was a Democratic area where few supported conscription. Local leaders criticized Lincoln and Congress, calling the draft law a violation of their rights. In June 1863, small disturbances occurred until the Army sent in armed units.

Economy

Further information: Economic history of the American Civil War

The Union's economy grew strongly during the Civil War. The government put in place new policies to support a large army and navy, including taxes, bonds, and new banking systems. These efforts helped the Union pay for the war while also building a stronger national economy.

The Union used many ways to pay for the war. Taxes on goods like alcohol were very high, and new taxes were added to help cover costs. The government also sold bonds to the public, encouraging people to buy them for the war effort. New national banks were created, which helped provide a stable currency and also bought government bonds to support the war.

Agriculture and industry both thrived during the war. High prices for crops and goods helped farmers and factory owners. The government also helped by giving land to railroad companies and supporting new farming methods. Even with many farmers serving in the army, the Union's economy remained strong, unlike the Confederate states.

Society

Religion

In the 1860s, many people in the Union were Protestant Christians. Groups like the United States Christian Commission sent helpers to army camps. These helpers gave support, books, and supplies to soldiers, and they offered spiritual guidance through prayers and sermons.

Many churches tried to support soldiers and their families during this time. Some religious groups, like the Methodists and Northern Baptists, strongly supported the war. Others, like Catholics and Episcopalians, tried to stay neutral to avoid splitting their members. The Quakers supported ending slavery but did not take an official stand on the war.

Methodists

Many Northerners had become very religious recently, and faith was very important to them. The Methodist Episcopal Church was especially active in supporting the Union. For many Methodists, the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 felt like a sign that good was coming. They wanted to free enslaved people, protect those who spoke out against slavery, and change the country for the better. The church magazine Ladies' Repository encouraged families to support the Union cause through their actions.

Family

During the war, ideas about fatherhood changed. Many fathers felt strong bonds with their sons and saw themselves as both providers and caregivers. Letters from soldiers often showed these ideas of manliness.

Children

Many magazines for children at the time, like Merry's Museum and Our Young Folks, taught lessons about hard work, kindness, and faith. They also shared stories and activities related to the war, encouraging children to support the Union and be kind to freed slaves. These magazines helped children understand the war and even raised money for those affected by it.

Local groups and governments helped care for children who lost parents in the war. For example, in Iowa, special homes were created for these children, and schools were built to give them an education. Even after the war, these schools were proud to show how they helped orphans learn and grow.

Unionists in Southern and Border states

Main article: Southern Unionist

See also: Unionist politician (American Civil War)

People who stayed loyal to the United States government and did not want to leave the Union lived in places called border states and in areas controlled by the Confederacy. These people were called Unionists. Some of them were fully committed to the Union, while others hoped for compromise to avoid splitting the country. In places like East Tennessee, many people remained loyal to the Union and became important leaders. In western Virginia, Unionist support helped create the new state of West Virginia in 1863.

Many Unionists from the South joined the Union Army to fight during the Civil War. They also helped keep peace and order in their areas. After the war, during a time called Reconstruction, some of these Unionists were called “Scalawags” by others who did not agree with their support for the Republican Party.

Guerrilla warfare

Besides regular battles, the border states faced unrest and fighting between small groups. In places where people had strong feelings either way, neighbors sometimes took up arms against each other.

Missouri

Main article: Missouri in the Civil War

Missouri had many battles and attacks by small groups during the Civil War. Some of these groups, like Quantrill's Raiders and Bloody Bill Anderson, attacked both soldiers and towns. To stop these attacks, Union leaders made a rule in 1863 that forced many people to leave their homes. This helped reduce support for the attackers, but it also caused hardship for many families. After the war, some of these attackers became criminals, and groups formed to keep order in areas where laws were not strong.

Kentucky

Main article: Kentucky in the Civil War

To deal with the problem of small attack groups in Kentucky, a general named Stephen G. Burbridge was put in charge in 1864. He used strict measures to keep order, which caused some disagreement. He was later dismissed from his position in 1865.

Union states

The Union states were the parts of the United States that stayed loyal to the federal government during the American Civil War. These states supported President Abraham Lincoln and believed in keeping the country together. Some states, like Kentucky and Missouri, had governments that supported both sides at different times, but most of the country stayed united under the Union.

The Union also included many cities and areas that were important during the war. Places like Washington, D.C., New York City, and St. Louis played big roles. Some areas, such as West Virginia, joined the Union during the war after separating from other states. These states and cities worked together to support the United States government and its leaders.