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Unit 5: A Changing Tide (1863-1864)
ACW Chapter 6:
Europe’s View of the War
ACW Chapter 9:
The Tide Turns
ACW Chapter 11:
The North Tightens Its Grip
Section 1:
I.
II.
Emancipation: The War Redefined
Significance
a. No understanding of the Civil War is complete without an account of the
profound social revolution of emancipation and the roles played in the process by
slaves, Congress, the military and the president
The Military and Emancipation
a. Front Lines
i. The front lines of the Union armies extended into areas where many slaves
lived
ii. One of the immediate that arose as a result was the status of fugitive slaves
who found their way to northern lines
1. The events of the war quickly outran government policies as
thousands of African Americans flooded into numerous military
camps
2. Nearly all declared their willingness to work for the Union
Government rather than be returned to their former masters
a. In Missouri African Americans provided a valuable source
of information to Union troops
iii. With a lack of a coordinated government policy two Union generals took
the slave question into their own hands
b. General Benjamin Butler
i. Was the commander of at Fortress Monroe Virginia, and in May 1861
refused to give up three slaves that came to fort
ii. He justified his actions by declaring that Fugitive Slave Act of the United
States did not extend to a foreign country, which Virginia claimed to be
c. General John C. Fremont
i. In 1861, John C. Freemont, declared martial law in Missouri and
stipulated that the property of those resisting the United States was to be
confiscated and their slaves declared free
ii. Lincoln and his cabinet were worried that Fremont’s order would “alarm”
the slave border states and southern Unionists as well as the reaction from
some of the Union soldiers
1. With some units and others threatening to throw down their arms
and return home
iii. Sensitive to these possible problems Lincoln was forced to remove
Freemont from command
1. “Problems of military emancipation are questions which,
under my responsibility, I reserve to myself”
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Unit 5: A Changing Tide (1863-1864)
ACW Chapter 6:
Europe’s View of the War
ACW Chapter 9:
The Tide Turns
ACW Chapter 11:
The North Tightens Its Grip
III.
IV.
Congress and Emancipation
a. Outlawing Slavery
i. Republicans were able to unite as a solid block against Democrats to
slowly bring slavery to an end with the Confiscation Acts in early 1861
and 1862
1. They also took steps in eradicating slavery in other areas outside
the South
ii. Washington D.C. and the Territories
1. In April of 1862, the abolished slavery in the nation’s capital and
in the territories
iii. Nathaniel Gordon
1. In addition, the negotiated a treaty with England for the
suppression of the international slave trade
2. Since 1820, importing slaves had been a crime punishable by
death, but it had rarely been enforced
3. This came to an end in February 1862 when Captain Nathaniel
Gordon the commander of a slave ship, was executed in NYC
b. Despite these significant advancements, Lincoln’s proclamation would make it
seem as if Congress had done nothing
Lincoln and Emancipation
a. The Delicate Issue of Emancipation
i. Lincoln detested slaver, but he sought a way to devise its destruction
without upsetting the fragile coalition that sustained the Union
ii. Initially he supported compensated Emancipation by the states followed
by colonization of freed blacks in Central America
1. He too believed it was better for the races to be separated, due to
the inequalities between the white men and black men
b. 5 Step Plan to Freedom
i. Plan
1. States must emancipate the slaves, he too believed slavery was a
“domestic” institution and was only a concern of the states
2. Slave owners must compensated for their lost property ($400 per
slave)
3. The Federal Government must share in the burden of
compensation
4. Emancipation should be done gradually, delaying final freedom
until 1900
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Unit 5: A Changing Tide (1863-1864)
ACW Chapter 6:
Europe’s View of the War
ACW Chapter 9:
The Tide Turns
ACW Chapter 11:
The North Tightens Its Grip
V.
VI.
5. The freed slaves must be shipped out of the country and colonized
abroad, but must be persuaded to go willingly
ii. Many people claimed that the plan would cost to much which Lincoln
responded the cost of an 87 day war $174 million, would more than pay
for the slaves in Delaware, MD, DC, KY and MO
iii. The stubbornness of the border states prevented making Lincoln’s plan a
reality and being ever sensitive to their demands decided to shelf his plan
c. The Union and the Slave Question
i. Lincoln had always felt the slavery was a secondary issue with the cause
of preserving the Union as the primary and most vital reason
ii. “My paramount object is to save the Union, and is not either to save or
destroy slavery…What I do about slavery and the colored race I do
because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I do
because I do not believe it would help to save the Union”
1. Lincoln was always mindful to his official duty as commander and
chief and push aside his personal belief that all men should be free
d. Emancipation Proclamation (have them do the PSR)
Blacks and Emancipation
a. Conditional Freedom
i. In areas penetrated by the Union army, the effect was dramatic as slaves
moved as close to Union camps as possible
ii. In the Deep South, the decree had less immediate effect, though blacks
everywhere particularly in the border regions continued to flock to
freedom
iii. As the Union Army began to appear in the interior of the South, as it
increasingly did in 1864 and 1865, more slaves left plantations and farms
1. Thus Union generals were faced with the necessity of providing
shelter and protection for not only their own men but also for the
former slaves
Black Soldiers
a. Benefits of Serving
i. Serving in the armed forces allowed for the possibility for demonstrating
the manhood and patriotism denied earlier to both slaves and free blacks
ii. At first most white northerners were reluctant to accept their participation
as equal soldiers
1. In time, northern attitudes shifted as the recruitment of blacks
came to be seen as a way to fill state quotas and keep fewer whites
from being drafted
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Unit 5: A Changing Tide (1863-1864)
ACW Chapter 6:
Europe’s View of the War
ACW Chapter 9:
The Tide Turns
ACW Chapter 11:
The North Tightens Its Grip
2. “I’ll let Sambo be murdered instead of myself”
iii. Black soldiers had a clear duty to liberate their race and demonstrate that
they could become something more than cotton pickers and house servants
all their lives
1. Black soldiers understood the importance of fighting a war they
saw less as one to restore the Union than to end slavery
iv. By the end of the war nearly 179,000 black soldiers and 9500 black
soldiers in the Union army
v. Some 34,000 of which were free blacks before the war; the rest were
counted as former slaves
1. Nearly one of every ten Union soldiers were African American
b. Robert Gould Shaw
i. National prejudice required that black soldiers be commanded by white
officers, with the War Department opposing the appointment of black
officers
1. Jefferson Davis ordered that white officers of black regiments be
treated as outlaws and executed as felons for their use of slaves as
soldiers
ii. The most famous white officer was RGS, commander of the 54th
Massachusetts
1. His troops were the first black regiment of the North to go to war
2. In a heroic attack at Fort Wagner in Charleston harbor in July
1863, Shaw died with nearly half of his regiment
c. Discrimination
i. Throughout the war black soldiers were discriminated against with regard
to pay, bounties, reenlistment bonuses and even medical services
1. This is a large reason for high percentage of black casualties
during the war
ii. The War Departments assurance of equal pay was persistently violated
and did not end until June of 1864
1. Despite this fact, black soldiers remained segregated in the United
States army until after World War II
d. Fort Pillow
i. In April 1864, General Nathan Bedford Forrest allegedly allowed the
murder of the surrendering black troops who constituted part of the
garrison
ii. Forrest’s alleged massacred several hundred African American soldiers
instead of taking them as POWs
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Unit 5: A Changing Tide (1863-1864)
ACW Chapter 6:
Europe’s View of the War
ACW Chapter 9:
The Tide Turns
ACW Chapter 11:
The North Tightens Its Grip
VII.
Emancipation by States and the 13th Amendment
a. The passage of the 13th Amendment was the necessary culmination of the North’s
antislavery program
i. It would enable a reunified nation to move beyond an issue that had
dominated the political agenda since the country’s inception
b. Yet freedom from slavery did not imply citizenship, many of the same legislators
who opposed slavery also opposed black equality
c. Despite all of this, Emancipation redefined the meaning of the war, and that
redefinition was echoed on the battlefield
Section 3:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
The War’s Middle Phase
Burnside and Fredericksburg
Chancellorsville
Gettysburg (Kens Burn Film)
a. Day 1
b. Day 2
c. Pickett’s Charge
Vicksburg
a. Most military activity centered around the Union's efforts to seize control of the
entire length of the Mississippi River.
i. If the North could accomplish this, it would be able to use the waterway
freely to transport troops and supplies from the border states of Missouri
and Kentucky all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.
ii. In addition, total Union control of the river would cut Texas, Louisiana,
and Arkansas off from the other Confederate states.
b. By late 1862, Union general Ulysses S. Grant had managed to seize control of the
entire river, except for two hundred miles below Vicksburg, Mississippi.
i. But Vicksburg was heavily fortified with artillery and troops commanded
by Confederate general John C. Pemberton.
ii. During the first few months of 1863, Grant made several unsuccessful
attempts to neutralize the rebel stronghold. Finally, in April 1863, the
Union general launched a daring and brilliant plan to capture the city.
c. First, Grant sent a brigade of cavalrymen under the command of Benjamin
Grierson deep into the heart of the state of Mississippi. Over the next two weeks,
Grierson caused trouble wherever he roamed, destroying Confederate supply lines
and conducting successful raids on small rebel military units
5|Page
Unit 5: A Changing Tide (1863-1864)
ACW Chapter 6:
Europe’s View of the War
ACW Chapter 9:
The Tide Turns
ACW Chapter 11:
The North Tightens Its Grip
d. As Confederate attention turned to Grierson, Grant marched thirty-three thousand
troops southward through a maze of swamps and bayous on the western side of
the Mississippi River.
e. The route was very difficult, but by sticking to the Louisiana side of the river he
was able to avoid attracting fire from the cannons of Vicksburg, perched high on
the Mississippi's opposite shore.
f. During the first two weeks of May, Grant's army swept through south-central
Mississippi with devastating effectiveness, stealing supplies and destroying rebel
railroads.
g. The Union invaders won five different clashes during this time, defeating a
variety of Confederate opponents and completely encircled the Confederate
defenses at Vicksburg.
i. Joseph Johnston's rebel army remained in the area, but Grant knew that
Confederate losses had reduced the force to only thirty thousand men,
many of whom were recent draftees.
ii. Grant's army, by comparison, had grown to include more than seventy
thousand battle-hardened troops, thanks to reinforcements from Memphis
and other areas under Union control.
h. The Siege of Vicksburg
i. Importance of the Mississippi River
1. THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER IN THE mid-nineteenth century as "the
spinal column of America."
2. "the trunk of the American tree, with limbs and branches reaching to the
Alleghenies, the Canadian border, the Rocky Mountains." For more than
two thousand miles the river flowed silently on its course to the sea
providng a nautral artery of commerce
3. the silent water of the mighty river was the single-most important
economic feature of the continent, the very lifeblood of America.
4. Upon the secession of the Southern states — and in particular Louisiana
and Mississippi — the river was closed to unfettered navigation, which
threatened to strangle Northern commercial interests.
5. It was imperative for the administration in Washington to regain control
of the lower Mississippi River, thereby reopening that avenue of
commerce.
a. It would also split the Confederacy in two
b. sever that vital supply route
c. , achieve a major objective of the Anaconda Plan
d. and effectively seal the doom of Richmond.
ii. Vicksburg “the nailhead of the Confederacy”
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Unit 5: A Changing Tide (1863-1864)
ACW Chapter 6:
Europe’s View of the War
ACW Chapter 9:
The Tide Turns
ACW Chapter 11:
The North Tightens Its Grip
1. Examining a map of the nation, Lincoln made a wide sweeping gesture
with his hand then placed his finger on the map and said, "See what a lot
of land these fellows hold, of which Vicksburg is the key.
2. The war can never be brought to a dose until that key is in our pocket."
3. It was the president's contention that, "We can take all the northern ports
of the Confederacy, and they can defy us from Vicksburg. It means hog
and hominy without limit, fresh troops from all the states of the far
South, and a cotton country where they can raise the staple without
interference."
4. Confederate cannon mounted along the bluffs commanding the
Mississippi River at Vicksburg were trained on the river, denying that
important avenue of commerce to Northern shipping.
5. Vicksburg was also the connecting link between the eastern and western
parts of the Confederacy, what Jefferson Davis referred to as "the
nailhead that held the South's two halves together."
6. In addition, the city sat astride a major Confederate supply route over
which the armies of Braxton Bragg and Robert E. Lee received muchneeded food, clothing, medicine, and ammunition, as well as fresh
troops.
7. After the fall of New Orleans, as the Union pincer slowly closed along
the river, the Confederates began to fortify Vicksburg.
a. The city's geographical location made it ideal for defense.
b. Equally important, existing rail lines which connected Vicksburg
with Jackson and, via Jackson, points elsewhere in the
Confederacy, enabled the shipment of heavy weapons to the
"Hill City:"
c. It was not long before Vicksburg became known as the
"Gibraltar of the Confederacy," and it would prove a tough nut to
crack.
8. Initial efforts by Union land and naval forces to capture Vicksburg and
open the great waterway to navigation ended in failure.
a. The first threat developed on May 18, 1862, when the ships of
the West Gulf Blockading Squadron arrived below Vicksburg
and the Federals made a demand for the city's surrender.
b. In terse words the demand was refused. Lieutenant Colonel
James L. Autry, the post commander, replied, "Mississippians
don't know, and refuse to learn, how to surrender to an
enemy."
c. Incensed, Federal authorities opened fire upon the city and
maintained an intermittent bombardment from late May, all
through June, and into late July, but to no avail.
iii. By Land and Sea
1. Both the Union and Confederate high commands then realized that if
Vicksburg were going to fall it would be at the hands of a combined land
and naval effort.
2. The batteries that overlooked the Mississippi River at Vicksburg were
powerful, but all the land accesses were open.
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Unit 5: A Changing Tide (1863-1864)
ACW Chapter 6:
Europe’s View of the War
ACW Chapter 9:
The Tide Turns
ACW Chapter 11:
The North Tightens Its Grip
3. Due to a series of sharp narrow ridges, fronted by deep steep ravines,
Vicksburg was a natural fortress.
4. The line, as constructed, consisted of nine major forts connected by a
continuous line of trenches and rifle pit forming a huge semicircle
around Vicksburg, the flanks of which rested on the river above and
below the city.
a. It would be manned by a garrison of 30,000 troops, mount 172
big guns, and pose the major challenge to Union domination of
the river.
iv. Frustration with Grant
1. Late that same year, a two-pronged Federal advance on Vicksburg met
with disaster when Major General Ulysses S. Grant, commander of the
Union Army of the Tennessee, divided his force in two for an advance on
Vicksburg
a. One column, under Grant's personal command, marched
overland from Grand Junction, Tennessee, into north
Mississippi,
b. The other column, under Major General William T Sherman,
made a rapid push down the Mississippi River and attempted to
seize Vicksburg.
2. As Grant's column pushed south his ever-lengthening supply and
communications line became dangerously exposed and fell prey to
raiding Confederate cavalry Compelling Grant to pull back to Memphis.
3. This enabled Confederate forces, utilizing interior rail lines, to rush to
Vicksburg, arriving in time to thwart Sherman's strike
a. In reporting the action, Sherman simply wrote, "I reached
Vicksburg at the time appointed, landed, assaulted and failed."
4. During the winter months, Federal forces stockpiled tremendous
quantities of rations, clothing, medicine, ammunition, and countless other
items for the spring campaign aimed at Vicksburg.
5. By late spring 1863, after months of frustration and failure, Grant was at
a crossroads in his military career.
a. There was tremendous clamor in the Northern press to remove
him from command.
b. Even members of the Cabinet urged Lincoln to replace Grant as
commander of the western army.
c. But the President responded to those critical of Grant by saying,
"I can't spare this man, he fights. I'll try him a little longer."
v. Union Blitzkrieg
1. The movement began on March 31, 1863, and thus the Vicksburg
Campaign began in earnest.
2. Rather than march north on Vicksburg, Grant directed his army in a
northeasterly direction in order to cut the rail line that connected
Vicksburg with Jackson and cut the Confederate garrison off from
supplies and reinforcements.
3. In a seventeen-day period, which is often referred to as the blitzkrieg of
the Vicksburg Campaign, Grant's army marched more than 200 miles,
and overcame Confederate resistance in five battles.
8|Page
Unit 5: A Changing Tide (1863-1864)
ACW Chapter 6:
Europe’s View of the War
ACW Chapter 9:
The Tide Turns
ACW Chapter 11:
The North Tightens Its Grip
4. One of the Battles led to the capture of the capital of Mississippi,
Jackson.
a. Not wishing to waste combat troops on occupation, Grant
neutralized Jackson with the torch then turned west toward his
objective — Vicksburg.
b. On their way from Jackson to Vicksburg, his force inflicted
devastating casualties on the Confederate army commanded by
Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton at two Battles.
c. Hurling Pemberton's army in retreat back to the defenses of
Vicksburg
d. The citizens of Vicksburg watched in fear as the shattered
remnants of Pemberton's army poured into the city on that fateful
day
5. On through the long day and into the evening marched the weary
soldier’s dad in butternut and gray. Singly or in small groups, with no
sense of order or discipline, the men filed into the rifle-pits and turned to
meet Grant's rapidly approaching army.
vi. The Attack on Vicksburg
1. Late in the afternoon, May 18, Confederate soldiers peering over their
parapets spotted long columns of Union infantrymen moving slowly
toward the city.
2. Federal skirmishers were quickly deployed and artillery roared into
action, but the day wore away with nothing more than a long-range
artillery duel.
a. That night, as darkness enveloped the fields, the soldiers of both
armies rested on their arms.
b. Each knew that the bloody work at hand would commence with
the rising sun and prepared for battle in his own way.
3. Grant was anxious for a quick victory and, after making a hasty Union
artillery opened fire upon the city and for hours bombarded the
Confederate works
a. At 2 p.m., when the guns fell silent, Union soldiers deployed into
line of battle astride Graveyard Road, northeast of Vicksburg,
and stormed the city's defenses
b. They succeeded in planting several stands of colors on the
parapets of Vicksburg, but were driven back with the loss of 942
men
4. On May 22. Union artillery roared into action and for four hours
bombarded the works, tearing large holes in the earthen fortifications but
were driven back a second time with severe loss. In the assault on May
22, Grant lost more than 3,000 men killed, wounded, or missing.
vii. A White Flag?
1. Although his nose had been bloodied a second time, Grant was not yet
willing to toss in the towel and lay siege to the city.
2. Grant left behind his dead and wounded, including many who had been
lying exposed since May 19.
a. Exposed to the sun and heat, the bodies of the dead began to
bloat and turn black; the stench was sickening.
9|Page
Unit 5: A Changing Tide (1863-1864)
ACW Chapter 6:
Europe’s View of the War
ACW Chapter 9:
The Tide Turns
ACW Chapter 11:
The North Tightens Its Grip
b. On May 25, white flags appeared along the Confederate line
Union soldiers were hopeful that the city would soon be
surrendered.
c. Theft hopes were dashed as word quickly spread that a note was
passed from Pemberton to Grant "imploring in the name of
humanity" that Grant bury his dead as the odor had become quite
offensive.
3. A truce was granted for two and one-half hours during which time men
in blue and gray mingled between the lines.
viii. The Siege of Vicksburg
1. Throughout the month of May and into June, Union soldiers slowly
extended their lines to the left and right until they encircled the
beleaguered city, effectively cutting Pemberton's garrison off from all
supply and communications with the outside word.
a. The Confederates had to subsist solely on what they had
stockpiled in Vicksburg prior to the siege.
b. In order to conserve what food supplies were on hand,
Pemberton ordered the daily ration cut to three quarters, then to
half, then to quarter, then they were cut again, and yet again.
c. By the end of June the garrison was issued only a handful of
peas and rice per man per day. Even their water was rationed.
2. Disease began to spread rapidly through the ranks. Dysentery, diarrhea,
malaria, and various fevers all took a heavy toll of human life and were
more certain causes of death than were Union sharpshooters.
a. Each day the "dead wagons" made the rounds of the hospitals
and the dead were brought out in ever increasing number and
carried to their long rest north of town in the city cemetery.
3. As May slowly faded into June, Union soldiers began to dig approaches
toward the Confederate line
a. Their object was to get as close as possible, then tunnel
underneath the enemy works, hollow out rooms, fill them with
black powder, and blow them up, hopefully destroying the
fortifications of Vicksburg
b. On June 25, 2,200 pounds of black powder were placed in the
mine. At 3 p.m. the fuse was lit. Tense moments passed as the
Federals waited to storm into the breach and seize Vicksburg.
c. Suddenly there was a muffled thud, then a loud bang as the
ground began to break and an enormous column of flame and
dirt exploded upwards, carrying men, mules, and accouterments
to the sky.
d. Before the dust could even settle, Union soldiers poured into the
crater and attempted to secure the breach.
e. In the wild mêlée that ensued, the men freely used dubbed
muskets and bayonets and tossed hand grenades back and forth.
f. The battle raged in unabated fury for twenty-six hours as Grant
threw in one fresh regiment after another, all to no avail. The
breach was sealed by the Confederates at the point of bayonet.
The great gamble had failed.
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Unit 5: A Changing Tide (1863-1864)
ACW Chapter 6:
Europe’s View of the War
ACW Chapter 9:
The Tide Turns
ACW Chapter 11:
The North Tightens Its Grip
ix. Surrender
1. Undaunted, the Federals planted a second mine and detonated it on July
1— but they did not follow it up with an infantry assault.
a. That day, Grant was notified by his subordinates that given just a
few more days of digging, thirteen mines could be planted and
detonated simultaneously.
b. This was the moment Grant and his army had been working
toward all these many weeks of siege. It is not likely that the
Confederates could have withstood such an attack.
2. On the hot afternoon of July 3 Grant was in the process of planning an
attack (which he scheduled for July 6), when white flags of truce again
appeared along the lines.
3. Pemberton asked Grant on what terms would he receive the surrender of
the garrison and city of Vicksburg.
a. Grant replied that he had no terms other than immediate and
unconditional surrender.
b. These terms were unacceptable to Pemberton who assured Grant
that he would bury many more of his men before he gained
entrance to Vicksburg. The generals agreed only upon a
cessation of hostilities
4. Instead of an unconditional surrender of Vicksburg, Grant offered parole
to the garrison.
a. Pemberton received the note in the quiet of his headquarters. In
the company of his generals, Pemberton read the note then
passed it around for his subordinates to read and comment upon.
Almost to a man, these agreed they were the best terms to be
had.
5. On the morning of July 4, 1863, white flags fluttered in the breeze above
the fortifications of Vicksburg. Marching out from their works,
Confederate soldiers furled their flags, stacked their arms, and turned
over their accouterments
V.
Rosecrans Occupies Chattanooga
a. In the months following the clashes at Vicksburg and Gettysburg, the Union and
Confederate forces that had been involved in those fights spent most of their time
resting and rebuilding their armies.
i. In middle Tennessee, though, the war continued. In late June, Union
general William S. Rosecrans had moved his Army of the Cumberland
against General Braxton Bragg's Confederate Army of Tennessee.
ii. Rosecrans directed his sixty thousand–man army forward throughout the
summer of 1863 in a brilliant campaign that completely confused Bragg.
iii. By early September, Rosecrans' maneuvers had convinced Bragg to
abandon the southeastern Tennessee city of Chattanooga, even though it
was a major Confederate railroad center and supply depot.
b. Bragg's evacuation of Chattanooga convinced Rosecrans that his Army of the
Cumberland could acquire additional Confederate territory.
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Unit 5: A Changing Tide (1863-1864)
ACW Chapter 6:
Europe’s View of the War
ACW Chapter 9:
The Tide Turns
ACW Chapter 11:
The North Tightens Its Grip
VI.
i. After stationing a garrison of soldiers in Chattanooga, the overconfident
Rosecrans resumed his pursuit of Bragg's Army of Tennessee.
ii. But Bragg had stopped retreating. Instead, he established a strong position
in northern Georgia, where large numbers of Confederate reinforcements
joined him from as far away as Virginia.
c. Unaware of Bragg's decision to make a stand, Rosecrans pushed his troops
forward. Bragg, meanwhile, sent a number of Confederate soldiers directly to the
Union camp, where they pretended to be deserters.
i. Their false tales of Confederate retreat further boosted Rosecrans'
overconfidence.
The Battle of Chickamauga
a. By mid-September, Bragg's army had grown to seventy thousand men, and the
Confederate general decided to launch a major attack on Rosecrans' widely
dispersed troops.
i. Rosecrans learned of the attack just in time, and he hurriedly gathered his
army together near Chickamauga Creek in Georgia.
b. The brutal Battle of Chickamauga erupted on the morning of September 19. Both
sides engaged in bitter struggles for small pieces of land, but neither army could
gain a big advantage.
c. On September 20, the battle resumed. This time, however, Rosecrans' Army of
the Cumberland wilted under heavy pressure from Bragg's troops.
i. Rather than attempt to hold his position, Rosecrans called a panicky
retreat. Many of Rosecrans' divisions promptly fled the field of battle, and
Bragg's triumphant soldiers immediately gave chase.
ii. The entire Union Army might have been destroyed were it not for the
heroics of General George H. Thomas
1. The courageous Federal officer used his troops to establish a
defensive shield around the fleeing Union soldiers.
2. Thomas's brave stand enabled the Army of the Cumberland to
withdraw to Chattanooga without being cut to pieces by their
pursuers.
d. Over on the Confederate side, meanwhile, casualties numbered more than
eighteen thousand. In addition, Bragg was harshly criticized in Richmond and by
his own officers in the days following the battle. These critics argued that if Bragg
had pursued Rosecrans more vigorously, the Army of the Cumberland could have
been wiped out before it reached the safety of Chattanooga.
e. Nonetheless, the Battle of Chickamauga was a major triumph for the South.
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Unit 5: A Changing Tide (1863-1864)
ACW Chapter 6:
Europe’s View of the War
ACW Chapter 9:
The Tide Turns
ACW Chapter 11:
The North Tightens Its Grip
i. It gave the Confederacy something to cheer about after the disasters at
Vicksburg and Gettysburg. Moreover, it sent a strong message to the
North that the South remained a strong foe on the field of battle.
VII.
The Battle of Chattanooga
a. In October, the South tried to finish off the Union's Army of the Cumberland.
b. Bragg's forces formed a heavily armed circle around the city of Chattanooga
making it impossible for the North to deliver supplies to Rosecrans's soldiers, and
prevented the Union Army from making an escape.
i. The Confederates hoped to starve the Union troops into surrendering, just
as Grant had done to them during the siege at Vicksburg.
c. Lincoln soon appointed Ulysses S. Grant was appointed to take control of all
Union troops in the entire West.
d. As soon as Grant received his promotion, he took action to deliver supplies to the
Union troops trapped in Chattanooga.
i. By the end of October, a series of maneuvers enabled the North to open a
supply route into the city, and morale among the troops in the Army of the
Cumberland rose dramatically.
e. On November 24, Grant ordered an attack on Bragg's army, which was
concentrated along Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga.
i. Union troops first attacked Lookout Mountain, taking control of the
position with surprising ease.
ii. The following day, Grant moved to take Missionary Ridge, the rebels' lone
remaining stronghold.
1. They charged up the mountain slope to attack the rebel position at
the top of Missionary Ridge, the brave assault was successful. As
the Army of the Cumberland drove into the Confederate lines, the
rebels broke into a complete retreat.
f. The Union victory at Chattanooga was a very important one. The Confederate
withdrawal into Georgia served as a strong signal that Federal control of the West
could not be broken by the rebels, and it reassured Northern public opinion.
i. In addition, the ragged Confederate retreat convinced Davis that Bragg
needed to be removed from his command. Davis quickly replaced him
with General Joseph E. Johnston
ii. Finally, the campaign once again displayed the military talents and
leadership of Ulysses S. Grant. Taking note of Grant's many triumphs of
the previous few years, Lincoln named him general-in-chief over all
Union troops a few months later.
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Unit 5: A Changing Tide (1863-1864)
ACW Chapter 6:
Europe’s View of the War
ACW Chapter 9:
The Tide Turns
ACW Chapter 11:
The North Tightens Its Grip
Section 2:
I.
II.
III.
The Naval War
Significance
a. With Lincoln’s announcement of the blockade of the Confederate ports, leaders
on both sides recognized the importance of the naval theatre
i. At the beginning both sides were unprepared, but by the end of the conflict
both contribute to new naval technology
b. The North was quickly able to outdistance the South in the size and effectiveness
of its fleet
i. At no time was the Confederacy able to support many troops by water,
whereas the Union demonstrated superior flexibility of movement from
the war’s very beginning
Organizing the Confederate Navy
a. The Confederacy began the war without a navy and without the apparent means
of constructing one
i. There was not the means of turning out a complete steam engine of a size
suitable for ships
ii. The timber for the potential Confederate ships still stood in the forests and
iron still in the mines
b. The Confederate Secretary of the Navy was Stephen Mallory
i. he was a former senator from Florida, who chaired the Naval Affairs
Committee
c. Mallory quickly realized the only way he could challenge the naval superiority
was thorough innovative approaches
i. He was able to develop and implement an elaborate system of mines and
underwater explosives designed to disrupt the Union blockade
ii. He was even able to devise a primitive submarine the CSS Hunley whose
attack on the Union Blockade in Charleston marked the first sinking of a
warship by a submarine
iii. Most importantly he recognized that ironclads would have an immense
advantage over the wooden ships of the Union blockading fleet
Organizing the Union Navy
a. Gideon Wells, nicknamed the Old Man of the Sea, was responsible for turning
the feeble Union Navy into a powerful fighting force
b. he made no pretense to a technical knowledge of the navy, but was an efficient
executive who expanded the service with remarkable vigor
i. after the war began, the Navy repaired and outfitted every available vessel
on its idle list and purchased merchant ships and hastened the construction
of new warships
14 | P a g e
Unit 5: A Changing Tide (1863-1864)
ACW Chapter 6:
Europe’s View of the War
ACW Chapter 9:
The Tide Turns
ACW Chapter 11:
The North Tightens Its Grip
IV.
V.
VI.
ii. By the end of the war Wells, would turn the Union Navy into the most
powerful sea force in the world
John Ericsson and the Development of Ironclads
a. His design for a hull covered with iron plates and an iron plated deck, that sat low
in the water and armed with a revolving turret, helped to transform the nature of
warfare
b. His new Union warships were named the Monitor
i. The Union was able to produce these in great numbers rather quickly and
were able to maneuver much easier than the Confederate ironclad
Battles of the Ironclads
a. CSS Virginia
i. In April of 1861, Confederates seized a Union shipyard in Norfolk, VA
ii. The Confederates were able to salvage a powerful steam ship the
Merrimack, that the Union had tried to sink before evacuating
iii. The Confederates quickly raised the ship and armed the ship with iron
plates and renamed it the Virginia
iv. In March of 1862, she set out on her first cruise and quickly showed how
domineering she was against traditional wooden ships
1. The USS Cumberland was rammed and sunk, its powerful cannons
had no effect at all on the Virginia
2. The USS Congress fought valiantly but was no match for the
ironclad and forced to surrender
b. Battle of Hampton Roads
i. The next morning the Virginia appeared again, but did not expect to be
met by the Monitor
ii. Despite being more maneuverable than the Virginia, the two circled each
other, blasting away without causing any noticeable damage to the other
iii. After more than four house of fighting with no decisive victory for either
side
iv. The only winner were the ironclad class with the loser being the old
wooden ships now rendered obsolete
Battle of New Orleans
a. The most important naval victory in 1862, when Admiral David Farragut led an
expedition of 24 warships and 19 mortar boats (flat bottomed boats that fired
mortar shells) and 15,000 troops to capture the South’s largest city and most
important commercial center
15 | P a g e
Unit 5: A Changing Tide (1863-1864)
ACW Chapter 6:
Europe’s View of the War
ACW Chapter 9:
The Tide Turns
ACW Chapter 11:
The North Tightens Its Grip
b. He used the Mortar boats to bombard the two forts guarding the mouth of the
Mississippi River, he was able to move in on New Orleans and take it with ease
with the assistance of some of the Union Army
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