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Civil War Battles
Part 2: Vicksburg to
Appomattox
Review: EARLY IN THE WAR
Early in the war, the South had success in the
east while the North had success in the west
(under General Grant).
The North struggled to find solid leadership.
– McDowell to McClellan to Pope to McClellan again to
Burnside to Hooker to Meade.
After, the Union victory at the Battle of
Antietam—the bloodiest single day battle of
the war—Lincoln issued the Emancipation
Proclamation.
The Battle of Chancellorsville
May 1-4, 1863
Union Army defeat (under Hooker) by Lee’s
much smaller forces.
Stonewall Jackson killed by fire from his
own soldiers.
Hooker fired; replaced with George Meade
Lee devastated “I have lost my right arm.”
– Jackson’s death is a HUGE loss to the South!
Review: Battle of Gettysburg
July 1-3, 1863
Turned the tide of the war against the South.
Important Union victory
Gettysburg Address
In November 1863, President Lincoln
delivered one of the most famous speeches
in U.S. History—the Gettysburg Address.
The speech was only two minutes long and
was given at the dedication of the
Gettysburg battlefield as a National
Cemetery.
– In it he states that equality is the supreme commitment
of the federal government.
– Also, the United Sates is a free country instead of the
United States are free.
The siege at Vicksburg:
An end to the war in the west
The Siege at Vicksburg (or battle) was the final
battle in the Vicksburg Campaign which
lasted 7 months.
Vicksburg was the last Confederate
stronghold on the Mississippi River (in Mississippi).
– Grant stuck 7 miles outside of Vicksburg
– Forced to lay siege on the town “total war”.
Siege: a military blockade with the intent of
breaking the enemy down by denying supplies
event to civilians.
Winning the west
The Siege lasted from May 18th-July 4th 1863
(6 weeks).
Grant’s men shoveled their way towards the
Rebel lines; more than 200 Union cannons
fired continuously.
– The Rebels crouched in their trenches and Vicksburg
civilians had to go underground.
Food supplies ran out and the Confederate
commander, John C. Pemberton, was forced
to surrender
– The Union had won the west & control of
the Mississippi.
From west to east
After Union success in the west, Lincoln
ordered Major General William Tecumseh
Sherman to move his 110,000-man army to
move through Georgia to take out 45,000
Confederate troops there, and then carry on
to Atlanta (an important Southern rail and
industrial center).
The Union was on the move…
Atlanta captured & total war
In September 1864, Sherman captured and
burned the city of Atlanta.
By doing this, much of the South’s ability to
supply its soldiers was cut-off.
This began Sherman’s campaign of total war
and his march to the Sea—from Atlanta to
Savannah, Georgia.
– Total War
Sherman’s march to the Sea
Sherman was determined to cut the heart out
of the Southerners’ support for the
Confederacy.
As Sherman’s troops marched, they set fire to
the land and destroyed all that they came
across (after taking what they could).
– 60 mile-wide path of destruction
On December 20th, the Union army arrived in
the coastal city of Savannah.
Meanwhile, in the northeast…
In March 1864, Lincoln replaced Gen. George
Meade with Gen. Grant (from the west).
In May, the Union began a massive,
coordinated campaign to advance, once
again, on Richmond, Virginia.
– Grant’s army of 120,000 vs. Lee’s army of 64,000
Major battles of this campaign: Battle of the
Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor
– Together these battles are often called the “Bleeding War”
Reelection of Lincoln
In November 1864, after a very difficult
campaign, Lincoln was reelected to the office
of President of the United States.
Siege at Petersburg
A series of battles (19) outside the town of
Petersburg, Virginia that lasted from June
1864 to April 1865.
June 1864 Grant missed an opportunity to
capture the city of Petersburg and cut off
Confederate rail lines (and open the door to
Richmond)—thus he began a 9 month siege on
the city.
– The two armies dug parallel trenches around Petersburg.
The Crater At Petersburg
One of the most memorable battles at
Petersburg is called the Battle of the Crater
(July 30th 1864).
In an attempt to break the siege, former coal
miners from the 48th Pennsylvania infantry,
mined a 511 foot long tunnel under the
Confederate lines at Elliot’s Salient.
On July 30, they detonated explosives from
underneath creating a crater approximately
135 feet in diameter killing some 280to 350
Confederate soldiers immediately.
Trapped in the crater
In the end, however, the Union troops made a
fatal mistake and entered into the crater
instead of moving around the rim.
They were unable to exit the steep sides of
the crater and were slaughtered by the
Confederates firing down on them.
The end of Petersburg
The final battle of Petersburg was the Battle
of Fort Stedman on March 25, 1865.
The loss at Fort Stedman was a devastating
blow for Lee’s army.
Looking at his suffering army, Lee decided to
withdraw from the city.
Petersburg fell on April 2nd.
The Union headed towards Richmond, and
Lee sent word to Jefferson Davis to evacuate
the city.
– Fires and looting break out.
The fall of Richmond
On April 3, 1865, Union troops enter
Richmond and raise the Stars and Strips.
On April 4, 1865, President Lincoln tours
Richmond where the enters the Confederate
White House and sat for a few moments at
the desk of Jefferson Davis.
Coming to the end:
Appomattox
On the run, Lee moves his troops to the small
town of Appomattox Courthouse.
The Union surround the Confederate troops.
The Confederates try to put up a fight, but
courage alone cannot carry them.
On April 9th, Lee and Grant meet under a
white flag of truce, at the home of Wilmer
McLean, to discuss the terms of surrender.
Coming to Terms
Lee arrived first, wearing a fresh dress gray
uniform.
Grant arrived in a private’s dirty shirt and
plain blue coat, his pants covered with mud.
The two made small talk about their
experiences in the Mexican War, then got
“down to business.”
Grant knew the terms of surrender would
determine the tone for the restoration of the
Union—he wanted no bitterness or
humiliation.
Generous terms of surrender
Grant offered to let officers keep their side
arms.
Confederate soldiers were aloud to keep their
own horses and mules (for spring plowing).
Grant wrote that “each officer and man will
be allowed to return to his home, not be
disturbed United States authorities” as long
as they vow to never take up arms against
the Union again.
– 30,000 captured Confederates
Grant also made arrangements for Lee’s
soldiers to be given food.
Lee steps down
Lee faced his men, tears running down their
faces, to declare the long war was lost and
over.
“Boys,” he told them, “I have done the best I
could for you. Go home now, and if you make
as good citizens as you have soldiers, you will
do well, and I shall always be proud of you.”
Our countrymen again?
Union soldiers cheered to the victory and
artillery cannons boomed in celebration, but
Grant ordered them to stop.
“We did not want to exult over their
downfall,” he wrote. “The war [was] over.
There rebels [were] our countrymen again.”
Lee’s Army of North Virginia stacked arms
and surrendered its battle flags on April 12,
1865 and by late June, all Confederate forces
had laid down their arms.