Download Chapter 15-5 Notes: Decisive Battles

Chapter 15-5 Notes: Decisive Battles
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After the Union victory at Antietam, the war turned bad for the Union – with poor
leadership by McClellan, Lincoln replaced him with General Ambrose Burnside
o Burnside knew McClellan was fired for being too cautious, so he took
action
 Marched 120,000 men towards Richmond; Lee waited with 75,000
at Fredericksburg
 Burnside used traditional tactics and sent wave after wave of troops
charging
 Union lost 13,000 men while Confederates lost only 5,000
o Lincoln replaced Burnside with General Joseph Hooker
 May 1863, Hooker’s army battled a Confederate army half the size
at Chancellorsville – leading to a Union defeat
 Confederate General Stonewall Jackson was shot by friendly fire
and died a few days later
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Confederate victories made Lee want to take a risk; a major victory on Union soil
would force the north to end the war
o Lee marched his troops north into Pennsylvania, meeting the Union army
commanded by General George Meade at Gettysburg
o July 1 – 3, about 75,000 Confederates battled about 85,000 Union soldiers
 Union army held Cemetery Ridge; Confederates on Seminary
Ridge attacked the ends of the Union lines
 July 3rd, Lee attacked the center of the Union line, led by General
George Pickett and 15,000 Confederates through about a mile of
open field toward the Union lines
 Only a few hundred made it to the lines as Union artillery
and rifle fire rained down
 Pickett’s charge failed to help Lee’s army win the battle
 Confederates had more than 28,000 casualties; Union had more
than 23,000
 Lee would never attack the north again
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May 1863 – July 4, 1863 – Vicksburg, Mississippi was under siege by Grant’s
army
o Union gun boats constantly bombarded the city every day; Confederates
hid in cellars and caves for shelter, eating rats and mules to keep from
starving
o After 6 weeks, the 30,000 Confederate troops surrendered, giving the
Union control of the entire Mississippi River
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November 1863, 15,000 people gathered on the Gettysburg battlefield to hear
Lincoln honor the men who died there
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1864, Lincoln gave Grant control of all Union forces; Grant decided he must
attack Richmond
o Grant’s army engaged Lee’s army in several battles in Virginia in the
spring of 1864
o After seven weeks, Grant had lost 55,000 troops to Lee’s 35,000 – but
Grant continued to attack, realizing he had a steady stream of supplies
and troops that Lee didn’t have
o At Petersburg, VA, Grant began a siege against Lee
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While Grant laid siege in Virginia, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman
marched to the sea
o Sherman believed in total war, destroying an enemy’s army, resources,
and people’s will to fight
o “We are not only fighting hostile armies, but a hostile people, and must
make young and old, rich and poor, feel the hard hand of war.”
o Sherman’s army marched into Atlanta on Sept. 2, 1864 and burned
Atlanta down in November
 Continued towards the Atlantic Ocean, setting fire to buildings,
seizing crops and livestock, pulling up railroad tracks
 Continued marching north through the Carolinas and into Virginia
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Both Lincoln and Grant knew the war was coming to an end; “With malice toward
none; with charity for all; let us strive together…to bind up the nation’s wounds”
o Grant continued to siege Lee’s army at Petersburg
o April 2, Grant’s troops broke through Lee’s lines and Richmond was in
Union hands
o Lee retreated to Appomattox Courthouse, surrendering on April 9 th
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Civil War was the bloodiest conflict in America’s history
o About 260,000 Confederate soldiers gave their lives
o About 360,000 Union soldiers gave their lives, including 37,000 African
Americans
o Nearly 500,000 were wounded
o Reunited the nation; ended slavery