Union ( American Civil War ) During the American Civil War , the Union was the term used to refer to the United States of America , and specifically to the national government and the 20 free states and five border slave states which supported it . The Union was opposed by 11 southern slave state s that had declared a secession to join together to form the Confederacy . The Union is often referred to as " the North " , both then and now , as opposed to " the South . " The Union never recognized the legitimacy of secession and at all times held that it comprised the entire United States of America . In foreign affairs it was recognized by all other nations , none of which officially recognized the Confederate government . Terminology . The term originated in the Perpetual Union of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union . The Constitution of 1787 opens with , " We the People of the United States , in Order to form a more perfect Union . . . do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America . " Even before the war started , the phrase " preserve the Union " was commonplace and a " union of states " had been used to refer to the entire United States . Using the term " Union " to apply to the non - secessionist side carried a connotation of legitimacy as the continuation of the pre - existing political entity . Size and strength . In comparison to the Confederacy , the Union had a large industrialized and urbanized area ( the Northeast ) , and more advanced commercial , transportation and financial systems than the rural South . The Union states had nearly five times the white population of the Confederate states ( 23 million to 5 million at the start of the war ) . The Union ' s great advantages in population and industry would prove to be vital long - term factors in its victory over the Confederacy , but it took a long while to fully mobilize its resources . Presidency . Lincoln , an ungainly giant , did not look the part of a president , but historians have overwhelmingly praised the " political genius " of his performance in the role . His first priority was military victory , and that required that he master entirely new skills as a master strategist and diplomat . He supervised not only the supplies and finances , but as well the manpower , the selection of generals , and the course of overall strategy . Working closely with state and local politicians he rallied public opinion and ( at Gettysburg ) articulated a national mission that has defined America ever since . Lincoln ' s charm and willingness to cooperate with political and personal enemies made Washington work much more smoothly than Richmond . His wit smoothed many rough edges . Lincoln ' s cabinet proved much stronger and more efficient than Davis ' s , as Lincoln channeled personal rivalries into a competition for excellence rather than mutual destruction . With William Seward at State , Salmon P . Chase at the Treasury , and ( from 1862 ) Edwin Stanton at the War Department , Lincoln had a powerful cabinet of determined men ; except for monitoring major appointments , Lincoln gave them full rein to destroy the Confederacy . Congress . The Republican Congress passed many major laws that reshaped the nation ' s economy , financial system , tax system , land system , and higher education system , including the Morrill tariff , the Homestead Act , the Pacific Railroad Act , and the National Banking Act . Lincoln paid relatively little attention to this legislation as he focused on war issues , but he worked smoothly with powerful Congressional leaders such as Thaddeus Stevens ( on taxation and spending ) , Charles Sumner ( on foreign affairs ) , Lyman Trumbull ( on legal issues ) , Justin Smith Morrill ( on land grants and tariffs ) and William Pitt Fessenden ( on finances ) . Military and Reconstruction issues were another matter , and Lincoln as the leader of the moderate and conservative factions of the Republican Party often crossed swords with the Radical Republicans , led by Stevens and Sumner . Tap shows that Congress challenged Lincoln ' s role as commander - in - chief through the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War . It was a joint committee of both houses that was dominated by Radicals who took a hard line against the Confederacy . During the 37th and 38th Congresses , it investigated every aspect of Union military operations , with special attention to finding the men guilty of military defeats . They assumed an inevitable Union victory , and failure seemed to them to indicate evil motivations or personal failures . They were skeptical of military science and especially the graduates of the US Military Academy at West Point , many of alumni of which were leaders of the enemy army . They much preferred political generals with a known political record . Some committee suggested that West Pointers who engaged in strategic maneuver were cowardly or even disloyal . It ended up endorsing incompetent but politically correct generals . Politics . Opposition . The opposition came from Copperheads , who were Southern sympathizers in the Midwest . Irish Catholics after 1862 opposed the war , and rioted in the New York Draft Riots of 1863 . The Democratic Party was deeply split . In 1861 most Democrats supported the war , but with the growth of the Copperhead movement , the party increasingly split down the middle . It scored major gains in the 1862 elections , including the election of moderate Horatio Seymour as governor of New York . They gained 28 seats in the House , but remained a minority . Indiana was especially hard - fought , but when the Democrats gained control of the legislature in the 1862 election they were unable to impede the war effort , which was controlled by governor Oliver P . Morton with federal help . The Democrats nominated George McClellan a War Democrat in 1864 but gave him an anti - war platform . In terms of Congress the opposition was nearly powerless — and indeed in most states . In Indiana and Illinois pro - war governors circumvented anti - war legislatures elected in 1862 . For 30 years after the war the Democrats carried the burden of having opposed the martyred Lincoln , the salvation of the Union and the destruction of slavery . Copperheads . The Copperheads were a large faction of northern Democrats who opposed the war , demanding an immediate peace settlement . The said they wanted to restore " the Union as it was " ( that is , with the South and with slavery ) , but they realized that the Confederacy would never voluntarily rejoin the U . S . The most prominent Copperhead was Ohio ' s Clement L . Vallandigham , a Congressman and leader of the Democratic Party in Ohio . He was defeated in an intense election for governor in 1863 . In Republican prosecutors in the Midwest accused some Copperhead activists of treason in a series of trials in 1864 . Copperheadism was a grassroots movement , strongest in the area just north of the Ohio River , as well as some urban ethnic wards . Some historians have argued that it represented a traditionalistic element alarmed at the rapid modernization of society sponsored by the Republican Party . It looked back to Jacksonian Democracy for inspiration . Weber ( 2006 ) argues that the Copperheads damaged the Union war effort by fighting the draft , encouraging desertion , and forming conspiracies . However other historians say the Copperheads were a legitimate opposition force unfairly treated by the government , adding that the draft was in disrepute and that the Republicans greatly exaggerated the conspiracies for partisan reasons . Copperheadism was a major issue in the 1864 presidential election ; its strength waxed when Union armies were doing poorly , and waned when they won great victories . After the fall of Atlanta in September 1864 military success seemed assured , and Copperheadism collapsed . Soldiers . Recruiting volunteers . There was no shortage of enthusiasm as young men clamored to join the army in 1861 . That was where the excitement was , and they were all volunteers . The decision was made to keep the small regular army intact ; its officers could however join the temporary new volunteer army that was formed , expecting their experience would lead to rapid promotions . The problem with volunteering was a serious lack of planning , leadership and organization at the highest levels . Washington called on the states for troops and every northern governor set about raising and equipping regiments , with the bills sent to the War Department . The men could elect the junior officers , while the governor appointed the senior officers , and Lincoln appointed the generals . Typically politicians used their local organizations to raise troops , and were in line ( if healthy enough ) to become colonel . The problem was that the War Department , under the disorganized leadership of Simon Cameron also authorized local and private groups to raise regiments . The result was widespread confusion and delay . Pennsylvania for example had acute problems . When Washington called for ten more regiments , enough men volunteered to form thirty . However they were scattered among seventy different new units , none of which was a complete regiment . Not until Washington approved gubernatorial control of all new units was the problem resolved . Allan Nevins is particularly scathing in his analysis : " A President more exact , systematic and vigilant than Lincoln , a Secretary more alert and clearheaded than Cameron , would have prevented these difficulties . " By the end of 1861 700 , 000 soldiers were drilling in Union camps . The first wave in spring was called up for only 90 days , then went home or reenlisted . Later waves enlisted for three years . They spent their time drilling . The combat in the first year , though strategically important , involved relatively small forces and few casualties . Sickness was a much more serious cause of hospitalization or death . In the first few months men wore low quality uniforms made of " shoddy " but by fall sturdy wool uniforms — in blue — were standard . The nation ' s factories were converted to produce the rifles , cannon , wagons , tents , telegraph sets and the myriad other special items the army needed . While business had been slow or depressed in spring 1861 because of war fears and Southern boycotts , by fall business was hiring again , offering young men jobs that were an alternative way to help win the war . Nonpartisanship was the rule in the first year , but by summer 1862 many Democrats had stopped supporting the war effort and volunteering fell off sharply in their strongholds . The calls for more and more soldiers continued , so states and localities responded by offering cash bonuses . By 1863 a draft law was in effect , but few men actually were drafted and served , since it was designed to get them to volunteer or hire a substitute . Others hid away or left the country . With the Emancipation proclamation taking effect in January 1863 , localities could meet their draft quota by sponsoring regiments of ex - slaves organized in the South . Michigan was especially eager to send thousands of volunteers . A study of the cities of Grand Rapids and Niles shows an overwhelming surge of nationalism in 1861 , whipping up enthusiasm for the war in all segments of society , and all political , religious , ethnic , and occupational groups . However by 1862 the casualties were mounting and the war was increasingly focused on freeing the slaves in addition to preserving the Union . Copperhead Democrats called the war a failure , and it became more and more a partisan Republican effort . Michigan voters in remained evenly split between the parties in the presidential election of 1864 . Motivations of soldiers . Perman ( 2010 ) says historians are of two minds on why millions of men seemed so eager to fight , suffer and die over four years : Medical conditions . More soldiers died of disease than in battle , and even larger numbers were temporarily incapacitated by wounds , disease and accidents . The Union responded by building army hospitals in every state . The hygiene of the camps was poor , especially at the beginning of the war when men who had seldom been far from home were brought together for training with thousands of strangers . First came epidemics of the childhood diseases of chicken pox , mumps , whooping cough , and , especially , measles . Operations in the South meant a dangerous and new disease environment , bringing diarrhea , dysentery , typhoid fever , and malaria . There were no antibiotics , so the surgeons prescribed coffee , whiskey , and quinine . Harsh weather ; bad water ; inadequate shelter in winter quarters ; poor policing of camps ; and dirty camp hospitals took their toll . This was a common scenario in wars from time immemorial , and conditions faced by the Confederate army were even worse . What was different in the Union was the emergence of skilled , well - funded medical organizers who rook proactive action , especially in the much enlarged United States Army Medical Department , and the United States Sanitary Commission , a new private agency . Numerous other new agencies also targeted the medical and morale needs of soldiers , including the United States Christian Commission as well as smaller private agencies such as the Women ' s Central Association of Relief for Sick and Wounded in the Army ( WCAR ) founded in 1861 by Henry Whitney Bellows , a Unitarian minister , and social reformer Dorothea Dix . Systematic funding appeals raised public consciousness , as well as millions of dollars . Many thousands of volunteers worked in the hospitals and rest homes , most famously poet Walt Whitman . Frederick Law Olmstead , a famous landscape architect , was the highly efficient executive director of the Sanitary Commission . States could use their own tax money to support their troops as Ohio did . Under the energetic leadership of Governor David Tod , a War Democrat who won office on a coalition " Union Party " ticket with Republicans , Ohio acted vigorously . Following the unexpected carnage at the battle of Shiloh in April 1862 , it send 3 steamboats to the scene as floating hospitals with doctors , nurses and medical supplies . The state fleet expanded to eleven hospital ships . The state also set up 12 local offices in main transportation nodes to help Ohio soldiers moving back and forth . The Christian Commission comprised 6000 volunteers who aided chaplains in many ways . For example , its agents distributed Bibles , delivered sermons , helped with letters home , taught men to read and write , and set up camp libraries . The Army learned many lessons and in 1886 , it established the Hospital Corps . In the long run the wartime experiences of the numerous commissions modernized public welfare , and set the stage for large — scale community philanthropy in America based on fund raising campaigns and private donations . Women gained new public roles . For example , Mary Livermore ( 1820 - 1905 ) . the manager of the Chicago branch of the US Sanitary Commission , used her newfound organizational skills to mobilize support for women ' s suffrage after the war . She argued that women needed more education and job opportunities to help them fulfill their role of serving others . The Sanitary Commission collected enormous amounts of statistical data , and opened up the problems of storing information for fast access and mechanically searching for data patterns . The pioneer was John Shaw Billings ( 1838 - 1913 ) . A senior surgeon in the war , Billings built two of the world ' s most important libraries , Library of the Surgeon General ' s Office ( now the National Library of Medicine and the New York Public Library ; he also figured out how to mechanically analyze data by turning it into numbers and punching onto the computer punch card as developed by his student Herman Hollerith . Draft riots . Discontent with the 1863 draft law led to riots in several cities and in rural areas as well , By far the most important were the New York City draft riots of July 13 to July 16 , 1863 . Irish Catholic and other workers fought police , militia and regular army units until the Army used artillery to sweep the streets . Initially focused on the draft , the protests quickly expanded into violent attacks on blacks in New York City , with many killed on the streets . Small - scale riots broke out in ethnic German and Irish districts , and in areas along the Ohio River with many Copperheads . Holmes County , Ohio was an isolated parochial areas dominated by Pennsylvania Dutch and some recent German immigrants . It was a Democratic stronghold and few men dared speak out in favor of conscription . Local politicians denounced Lincoln and Congress as despotic , seeing the draft law as a violation of their local autonomy . In June 1863 , small scale disturbance broke out ; they ended when the Army sent in armed units . Economy . The Union economy grew and prospered during the war while fielding a very large army and navy . The Republicans in Washington had a Whiggish vision of an industrial nation , with great cities , efficient factories , productive farms , national banks , and high speed rail links . The South had resisted policies such as tariffs to promote industry and homestead laws to promote farming because slavery would not benefit ; with the South gone , and Northern Democrats very weak in Congress , the Republicans enacted their legislation . At the same time they passed new taxes to pay for part of the war , and issued large amounts of bonds to pay for the most of the rest . ( The remainder can be charged to inflation . ) They wrote an elaborate program of economic modernization that had the dual purpose of winning the war and permanently transforming the economy . Financing the war . In 1860 the Treasury was a small operation that funded the small - scale operations of the government through the low tariff and land sales . Revenues were trivial in comparison with the cost of a full - scale war , but the Treasury Department under Secretary Salmon P . Chase showed unusual ingenuity in financing the war without crippling the economy . Many new taxes were imposed , and always with a patriotic theme comparing the financial sacrifice to the sacrifices of life and limb . The government paid for supplies in real money , which encouraged people to sell to the government regardless of their politics . By contrast the Confederacy gave paper promissory notes when it seized property , so that even loyal Confederates would hide their horses and mules rather than sell them for dubious paper . Overall the Northern financial system was highly successful in raising money and turning patriotism into profit , while the Confederate system impoverished its patriots . The United States needed $ 3 . 1 billion to pay for the immense armies and fleets raised to fight the Civil War — over $ 400 million just in 1862 . Apart from tariffs , the largest new tax revenue by far came from new excise taxes — a sort of value added tax — that was imposed on every sort of manufactured item . Second came much higher tariffs , through several Morrill tariff laws . Third came the nation ' s first income tax ; only the wealthy paid and it was repealed at war ' s end . Apart from taxes , the second major source was government bonds . For the first time bonds in small denominations were sold directly to the people , with publicity and patriotism as key factors , as designed by banker Jay Cooke . State banks lost their power to issue banknotes . Only national banks could do that , and Chase made it easy to become a national bank ; it involved buying and holding federal bonds and financiers rushed to open these banks . Chase numbered them , so that the first one in each city was the " First National Bank . " Fourth the government printed " greenbacks " — paper money — which led to endless controversy because they caused inflation . The North ' s most important war measure was perhaps the creation of a system of national banks that provided a sound currency for the industrial expansion . Even more important , the hundreds of new banks that were allowed to open were required to purchase government bonds . Thereby the nation monetized the potential wealth represented by farms , urban buildings , factories , and businesses , and immediately turned that money over to the Treasury for war needs . Tariffs . Secretary Chase , though a long - time free - trader , worked with Morrill to pass a second tariff bill in summer 1861 , raising rates another 10 points in order to generate more revenues . These subsequent bills were primarily revenue driven to meet the war ' s needs , though they enjoyed the support of protectionists such as Carey , who again assisted Morrill in the bill ' s drafting . The Morrill Tariff of 1861 was designed to raise revenue . The tariff act of 1862 served not only to raise revenue , but also to encourage the establishment of factories free from British competition by taxing British imports . Furthermore , it protected American factory workers from low paid European workers , and as a major bonus attracted tens of thousands of those Europeans to immigrate to America for high wage factory and craftsman jobs . Customs revenue from tariffs totaled $ 345 million from 1861 through 1865 , or 43 % of all federal tax revenue . Land grants . The U . S . government owned vast amounts of good land ( mostly from the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 and the Oregon Treaty with Britain in 1846 ) . The challenge was to make the land useful to people and to provide the economic basis for the wealth that would pay off the war debt . Land grants went to railroad construction companies to open up the western plains and link up to California . Together with the free lands provided farmers by the Homestead Law the low - cost farm lands provided by the land grants sped up the expansion of commercial agriculture . The 1862 Homestead Act opened up the public domain lands for free . Land grants to the railroads meant they could sell tracts for family farms ( 80 to 200 acres ) at low prices with extended credit . In addition the government sponsored fresh information , scientific methods and the latest techniques through the newly established Department of Agriculture and the Morrill Land Grant College Act . Agriculture . Agriculture was the largest single industry and it prospered during the war . Prices were high , pulled up by a strong demand from the army and from Britain ( which depended on American wheat for a fourth of its food imports . ) The war acted as a catalyst which encouraged the rapid adoption of horse - drawn machinery and other implements . The rapid spread of recent inventions such as the reaper and mower made the work force efficient , even as hundreds of thousands of farmers were in the army . Many wives took their place , and often consulted by mail on what to do ; increasingly they relied on community and extended kin for advice and help . The Union used hundreds of thousands of animals . The Army had plenty of cash to purchase them from farmers and breeders , but especially in the early months the quality was mixed . Horses were needed for cavalry and artillery . Mules pulled the wagons . The supply held up , despite an unprecedented epidemic of glanders , a fatal disease that baffled veterinarians . In the South , the Union army shot all the horses it did not need to keep them out of Confederate hands . Cotton trade . The Treasury started buying cotton during the war , for shipment to Europe and northern mills . The sellers were Southern planters who needed the cash , regardless of their patriotism . The Northern buyers could make heavy profits , which annoyed soldiers like Ulysses Grant . He blamed Jewish traders and expelled them from his lines in 1862 , but Lincoln quickly overruled this show of anti - semitism . Critics said the cotton trade helped the South , prolonged the war and fostered corruption . Washington decided to continue the trade for fear that Britain might intervene if its textile manufacturers were denied raw material . Another goal was to foster latent Unionism in Southern border states . Northern textile manufacturers needed cotton to remain in business and to make uniforms , while cotton exports to Europe provided an important source of gold to finance the war . Society . Religion . Grant Brodrecht ' s doctoral dissertation , " Our Country , " explores the conjunction of mainstream northern Protestant thought and feeling regarding America with the bundle of ideas associated with Union during the Civil War and Reconstruction , arguing that non - radical Protestants consistently subordinated concern for African - American slaves and ex - slaves to an overarching vision for the nation as a specifically Christian people . The title , adapted from a collection of war - time sermons by the Methodist George Peck ( 1865 ) and alluding to Josiah Strong ’ s better - known work ( 1885 ) , refers to the proprietary regard for the nation maintained by most mid - nineteenth - century Protestants . Such Protestants were generally evangelical and made up what historians recognize as the most powerful American subculture at the time . The sense that America was “ our country ” carried a dual meaning . First , like many Americans , Protestants felt responsibility for America as that country gloriously created and handed down to them by the Founding Fathers . In addition , most were powerfully actuated by an ingrained notion that since the seventeenth century God had been providentially at work creating and sustaining a Christian ( and essentially Protestant ) American people unto himself . To Protestants at mid - century , the notion of Union evocatively encapsulated both senses . This Union , as object of affection and imagination , often included the territory and government of the United States , but most importantly it referred to one whole people possessing a sacred heritage and a divine mission . In short , Union connoted all that was seemingly good in America — republican liberty , equality of opportunity , material prosperity , progress , hope , and glorious world prominence . Accordingly , the Civil War and Reconstruction appeared as a monumental crisis and threat . Protestants ’ understanding of the Union as their sacred country obligated them to resist the Union ’ s dissolution and then to ensure that it remained infused with Protestant Christianity when restored . Perhaps ironically , this tradition helped bring about the end of slavery in defense of the Union , while also predisposing many northern Protestants to look past , if not entirely forget , the ex - slaves following the war . Methodists . Many Northerners had only recently become religious ( following the Second Great Awakening ) and religion was a powerful force in their lives . No denomination was more active in supporting the Union than the Methodist Episcopal Church . Carwardine argues that for many Methodists , the victory of Lincoln in 1860 heralded the arrival of the kingdom of God in America . They were moved into action by a vision of freedom for slaves , freedom from the persecutions of godly abolitionists , release from the Slave Power ' s evil grip on the American government , and the promise of a new direction for the Union . Methodists formed a major element of the popular support for the Radical Republicans with their hard line toward the white South . Dissident Methodists left the church . During Reconstruction the Methodists took the lead in helping form Methodist churches for Freedmen , and moving into Southern cities even to the point of taking control , with Army help , of buildings that had belonged to the southern branch of the church . The Methodist family magazine " Ladies ' Repository " promoted Christian family activism . Its articles provided moral uplift to women and children . It portrayed the War as a great moral crusade against a decadent Southern civilization corrupted by slavery . It recommended activities that family members could perform in order to aid the Union cause . Family . Frank reports that what it meant to be a father varied with status and age , but most men demonstrated dual commitments as providers and nurturers and believed that husband and wife had mutual obligations toward their children . The war privileged masculinity , dramatizing and exaggerating , father - son bonds . Especially at five critical stages in the soldier ' s career ( enlistment , blooding , mustering out , wounding , and death ) letters from absent fathers articulated a distinctive set of 19th - century ideals of manliness . Children . There were numerous children ' s magazines such as " Merry ' s Museum , The Student and Schoolmate , Our Young Folks , The Little Pilgrim , Forrester ' s Playmate , " and " The Little Corporal . " They showed a Protestant religious tone and " promoted the principles of hard work , obedience , generosity , humility , and piety ; trumpeted the benefits of family cohesion ; and furnished mild adventure stories , innocent entertainment , and instruction . " Their pages featured factual information and anecdotes about the war along with related quizzes , games , poems and songs , short oratorical pieces for " declamation , " short stories , and very short plays that children could stage . They promoted patriotism and the Union war aims , fostered kindly attitudes toward freed slaves , blackened the Confederates cause , encouraged readers to raise money for war - related humanitarian funds , and dealt with the death of family members . By 1866 , the Milton Bradley Company was selling " The Myriopticon : A Historical Panorama of the Rebellion " that allowed children to stage a neighborhood show that would explain the war . It comprised colorful drawings that were turned on wheels and included pre - printed tickets , poster advertisements , and narration that could be read aloud at the show . Caring for war orphans was an important function for local organizations as well as state and local government . A typical state was Iowa , where the private " Iowa Soldiers Orphans Home Association " operated with funding from the legislature and public donations . It set up orphanages in Davenport , Glenwood and Cedar Falls . The state government funded pensions for the widows and children of soldiers . All the northern states had free public school systems before the war , but not the border states . West Virginia set up its system in 1863 . Over bitter opposition it established an almost - equal education for black children , most of whom were ex - slaves . Thousands of black refugees poured into St . Louis , where the Freedmen ' s Relief Society , the Ladies Union Aid Society , the Western Sanitary Commission , and the American Missionary Association ( AMA ) set up schools for their children . Unionists in South and Border states . People loyal to the federal government and opposed to secession living in the border states ( where slavery was legal in 1861 ) were termed Unionists . Confederates sometimes styled them " Homemade Yankees " . However , Southern Unionists were not necessarily northern sympathizers and many of themalthough opposing secessionsupported the Confederacy once it was a fact . East Tennessee never supported the Confederacy , and Unionists there became powerful state leaders , including governors Andrew Johnson and William G . Brownlow . Likewise , large pockets of eastern Kentucky were Unionist and helped keep the state from seceding . Western Virginia , with few slaves and some industry , was so strongly Unionist that it broke away and formed the new state of West Virginia . Still , nearly 120 , 000 Southern Unionists served in the Union Army during the Civil War , and Unionist regiments were raised in every Southern state . Southern Unionist s were extensively used as anti - guerrilla paramilitary forces . During Reconstruction many Unionists in the ex - Confederacy became Scalawags who supported the Republican Party . Guerrilla warfare . Besides organized military conflict , the border states were beset by guerrilla warfare . In such a bitterly divided state , neighbors frequently used the excuse of war to settle personal grudges and took up arms against neighbors . Missouri . Missouri was the scene of over 1000 engagements between Union and Confederate forces , and uncounted numbers of guerrilla attacks and raids by informal pro - Confederate bands . Western Missouri was the scene of brutal guerrilla warfare during the Civil War . Roving insurgent bands such as Quantrill ' s Raiders and the men of Bloody Bill Anderson terrorized the countryside , striking both military installations and civilian settlements . Because of the widespread attacks and the protection offered by Confederate sympathizers , Federal leaders issued General Order No . 11 in 1863 , and evacuated areas of Jackson , Cass , and Bates counties . They forced the residents out to reduce support for the guerrillas . Union cavalry could sweep through and track down Confederate guerrillas , who no longer had places to hide and people and infrastructure to support them . On short notice , the army forced almost 20 , 000 people , mostly women , children , and the elderly , to leave their homes . Many never returned , and the affected counties were economically devastated for years after the end of the war . Families passed along stories of their bitter experiences down through several generations - - Harry Truman ' s grandparents were caught up in the raids and he tells how they were kept in concentration camps . Some marauding units became organized criminal gangs after the war . In 1882 , the bank robber and ex - Confederate guerrilla Jesse James was killed in Saint Joseph . Vigilante groups appeared in remote areas where law enforcement was weak , to deal with the lawlessness left over from the guerrilla warfare phase . For example , the Bald Knobbers were the term for several law - and - order vigilante groups in the Ozarks . In some cases , they too turned to illegal gang activity . Kentucky . In response to the growing problem of locally organized guerrilla campaigns throughout 1863 and 1864 , in June 1864 , Maj . Gen . Stephen G . Burbridge was given command over the state of Kentucky . This began an extended period of military control that would last through early 1865 , beginning with martial law authorized by President Abraham Lincoln . To pacify Kentucky , Burbridge rigorously suppressed disloyalty and used economic pressure as coercion . His guerrilla policy , which included public execution of four guerrillas for the death of each unarmed Union citizen , caused the most controversy . After a falling out with Governor Thomas E . Bramlette , Burbridge was dismissed in February 1865 . Confederates remembered him as the " Butcher of Kentucky " . The Union states ( all with their separate articles , and some cities ) : Union states . < nowiki > * < / nowiki > Border states with slavery in 1861 † Had two state governments , one Unionist one Confederate , both claiming to be the legitimate government of their state . Kentucky and Missouri ' s Confederate governments never had significant control of their state . West Virginia separated from Virginia and became part of the Union during the war , on June 20 , 1863 . Nevada also joined the Union during the war , becoming a state on October 31 , 1864 . Union Territories . The Union controlled territories in April , 1861 were : The Indian Territory saw its own civil war , as the major tribes held slaves and endorsed the Confederacy .