* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Chapter 19 – Section 5 – The Tide of the War Turns In May 1863
Appomattox Campaign wikipedia , lookup
Capture of New Orleans wikipedia , lookup
South Carolina in the American Civil War wikipedia , lookup
Battle of Port Royal wikipedia , lookup
Fort Fisher wikipedia , lookup
Battle of Harpers Ferry wikipedia , lookup
East Tennessee bridge burnings wikipedia , lookup
Commemoration of the American Civil War on postage stamps wikipedia , lookup
Issues of the American Civil War wikipedia , lookup
Opposition to the American Civil War wikipedia , lookup
Battle of Fort Donelson wikipedia , lookup
Baltimore riot of 1861 wikipedia , lookup
Battle of Wilson's Creek wikipedia , lookup
Battle of Malvern Hill wikipedia , lookup
Battle of Fredericksburg wikipedia , lookup
Economy of the Confederate States of America wikipedia , lookup
Battle of Antietam wikipedia , lookup
Battle of Sailor's Creek wikipedia , lookup
Battle of Cumberland Church wikipedia , lookup
Second Battle of Corinth wikipedia , lookup
Battle of Appomattox Station wikipedia , lookup
Battle of White Oak Road wikipedia , lookup
First Battle of Bull Run wikipedia , lookup
Ulysses S. Grant and the American Civil War wikipedia , lookup
Red River Campaign wikipedia , lookup
Battle of Seven Pines wikipedia , lookup
Virginia in the American Civil War wikipedia , lookup
United Kingdom and the American Civil War wikipedia , lookup
Battle of New Bern wikipedia , lookup
Battle of Fort Pillow wikipedia , lookup
Alabama in the American Civil War wikipedia , lookup
Battle of Shiloh wikipedia , lookup
Border states (American Civil War) wikipedia , lookup
Battle of Gaines's Mill wikipedia , lookup
Battle of Cedar Creek wikipedia , lookup
Western Theater of the American Civil War wikipedia , lookup
Union (American Civil War) wikipedia , lookup
Battle of Lewis's Farm wikipedia , lookup
Battle of Namozine Church wikipedia , lookup
Military history of African Americans in the American Civil War wikipedia , lookup
Siege of Vicksburg wikipedia , lookup
Conclusion of the American Civil War wikipedia , lookup
Chapter 19 – Section 5 – The Tide of the War Turns In May 1863, General Lee’s troops defeated a larger Union force near the town of Chancellorsville, Virginia. In addition to the stunning victory at Chancellorsville, the Confederates also triumphed at Fredericksburg, Virginia. These successes encouraged General Lee to launch another offensive into Union territory. As before, his goals were to break the North’s will to fight and to capture much needed supplies for his army. Lee hoped that another victory would turn the tide of war in the Confederacy’s favor. In mid-June 1863, Lee cut across northern Maryland into southern Pennsylvania. Lee’s forces gathered near a small town called Gettysburg. Lee was unaware that Union soldiers were just northwest of the town. When a Confederate raiding party went to Gettysburg for supplies, the troops came under fire. This event triggered the Battle of Gettysburg. Some 75,000 Confederate soldiers faced about 90,000 Union troops. The battle began on July 1, 1863. The Confederates pushed the Union line back to Cemetery Ridge, just south of the town. The Confederate forces occupied nearby Seminary Ridge. On July 2, Lee ordered an attack on the left side of the Union line. The bold charge of Union colonel Joshua Chamberlain’s troops at Little Round Top, however, helped turn back the Confederates. Then General George G. Meade placed more soldiers on the Union line. Lee planned to rush the center of the Union line. This task fell to three divisions of Confederate soldiers. General George Pickett commanded the largest unit. In the late afternoon, about 14,000 men took part in Pickett’s Charge up Cemetery Ridge. The attack was a disaster. Fewer than half of Pickett’s troops reached the top of the ridge. All those who reached the Union wall were captured or killed. Only about 6,500 men returned to the Confederate rear. Lee ordered Pickett to organize his division for a possible counterattack. Rain slowed Meade’s troops, allowing Lee to retreat from Gettysburg on July 4 and return to Virginia. Nonetheless, Gettysburg was a turning point in the war. Lee’s troops would never again launch an attack onto northern soil. The Union victory at Gettysburg took place on the same day as General Grant’s capture of Vicksburg, MS. These critical victories made northerners believe that the Confederacy could be defeated. The Union triumph at Gettysburg, however, had come at a high price. Union casualties numbered more than 23,000. The Confederacy suffered more than 28,000 casualties. President Lincoln expressed the Union’s new sense of confidence and commitment. He delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. This short, moving speech is one of the most famous in American history. Lincoln spoke of the importance of liberty, equality, and democratic ideals. He reminded listeners that the war was being fought to protect these cherished principles. Lincoln dedicated himself and the rest of the North to winning the war and preserving the Union. He knew that a difficult road still lay ahead. Lincoln was impressed with General Grant’s successes at Vicksburg and in the West. He brought Grant to the East and gave him command of the Union army. In early 1864 Grant forced Lee to fight a series of battles in Virginia that stretched Confederate soldiers and supplies to their limits. From May through June, the opposing armies fought a series of battles in northern and central Virginia. Union troops launched the Wilderness Campaign with about 100,000 men against 70,000 Confederates. The first battle took place in early May about 50 miles northwest of Richmond. Grant then ordered General Meade southeast to Spotsylvania. There the fighting raged for 10 days. Over the next month, Union soldiers pressed the Confederate troops back to just north of Richmond. The Battle of Cold Harbor took place for 2 days, only 10 miles northeast of Richmond. It was Grant’s worst defeat of the campaign. During one brief assault some 7,000 Union troops were killed or wounded. The battle ended Grant’s plans to advance on the Confederate capital. Union forces suffered incredible losses in the Wilderness Campaign, with twice as many casualties as their Confederate opponents. Even so, Grant continued his aggressive strategy. He knew he would be getting additional soldiers, but that Lee was running low on troops. Grant slowly but surely pressed forward. After Cold Harbor, Grant moved south of Richmond. He had hoped to take the key railroad junction at Petersburg, Virginia. Lee’s army, however, formed a solid defense. Grant called off his attack and prepared to lay siege to Petersburg. Grant was winning the war, but he had not captured Richmond. This failure was discouraging for Lincoln. Lincoln needed a victory to help him win re-election in 1864. The bold campaign of General William Tecumseh Sherman provided this key victory. Sherman carried out the Union plan to destroy southern railroads and industries. In the spring of 1864, Sherman marched south from Tennessee with 100,000 troops. His goal was to take Atlanta, Georgia. From May through August, Sherman’s army moved steadily through the Appalachian Mountains toward Atlanta. Several times, Sherman avoided defenses set up by Confederate general Joseph Johnston. In July Sherman was within sight of Atlanta. His troops drove back Confederate forces trying to protect the city. The Confederate troops retreated as Sherman held Atlanta under siege. Atlanta fell to Sherman on September 2, 1864. Much of the city was destroyed by artillery and fire. Sherman ordered the residents who still remained to leave. The loss of Atlanta cost the South an important railroad link and center of industry. The victory also showed northerners that progress was being made in defeating the South. This success helped convince Union voters to reelect Lincoln in a landslide. Shortly after the election, General Sherman began his next attack. His goal was the port city of Savannah, Georgia. In mid-November 1864 Sherman left Atlanta with a force of about 60,000 men. He said that he would “make Georgia howl!” On his March to the Sea, Sherman waged total war, destroying both civilian and military resources. Sherman felt that total war would ruin the South’s economy and its ability to fight. He ordered his troops to destroy railways, bridges, crops, livestock, and other resources. They burned plantations and freed slaves. Sherman’s army reached Savannah on December 10, 1864. They left behind them a wide path of destruction more than 250 miles long. Sherman believed his tactics would hasten the end of the war. In early April Sherman closed in on the last Confederate defenders in North Carolina. Grant finally broke through the Confederate defenses at Petersburg. On April 2, Lee was forced to retreat from Richmond. As Union troops poured into the Confederate capital, the final days of the war began. By the second week of April 1865, Grant had surrounded Lee’s army and demanded its surrender. Lee hoped to join the remaining Confederates in North Carolina, but Grant cut off his escape just west of Richmond. Trapped in the small town of Appomattox Courthouse, Lee concluded that the situation was hopeless. The Union and Confederate leaders met on Palm Sunday, April 9, 1865. There Lee signed the surrender documents, ending the long bloody war. Grant later wrote that he found the scene at Appomattox Courthouse more tragic than joyful. The Civil War had deep and lasting effects. Almost 620,000 Americans lost their lives in the four years of fighting. It was the most costly conflict in American history. Bitterness over the war would linger in both the North and the South for many years as the nation tried to heal its wounds and rebuild.