Download The Civil War Begins - Lake County Schools

Vicksburg
May 2-July 9, 1863
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The lengthy Battle of Vicksburg
began in Warren County on May
13, 1863.
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The North and the South
considered Vicksburg an
important stronghold.
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Union General Ulysses S. Grant
launched massive assaults on
Vicksburg and terrorized the
inhabitants. Confederate General
John Pemberton surrendered to
Grant on July 3, 1863.
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Battle completed Anaconda
Plan; south was divided and the
Union controlled the Mississippi
River
Gettysburg
July 1-3, 1863
- Most important battle of the War
- Lee attacked Union Army under
Meade, and had small successes.
- Better supplied Union pushed Lee
back, and forced Lee to retreat.
- Meade failed to follow the retreating
Confederate Army; again, failure to
seize on opportunity to end war early.
- Confederate Army never again went
into Union territory.
The Gettysburg Address
November 19, 1863
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Lincoln’s most
important speech;
considered one of the
most important in
American History.
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Only 273 words
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Stressed his main
desire of keeping the
Union together.
Photograph of Lincoln
at the Gettysburg
Battlefield, where he
gave the address.
Wilderness
May 5-7, 1864
- Union General Grant continued his
march to Richmond, Virginia,
planning to use three armies to lay
siege to the city. He wanted to cut
Lee’s food and artillery supply
lines and to block a Southern
retreat.
- Because of gunfire and the
Wilderness’ dry land, forest fires
were sparked. Confederates
achieved some success and
inflicted Union casualties. Grant
refused to retreat and continued
his march to Richmond.
Union tries to capture Richmond
• Two Battles/Sieges:
– Cold Harbor
– Petersburg
Cold Harbor
Cold Harbor
May 31-June 12, 1864
- Hanover County, Virginia
- Long battle with heavy casualties
on both sides. Union General
Sheridan and Grant lost many
soldiers. Grant’s Army too small to
capture Richmond, so instead tried
to capture nearby Petersburg to
regroup and resupply.
Siege at Petersburg
June 9 1864-March 25, 1865
• Located south of Richmond
• Long series of trench
warfare; Union would attack,
then dig trenches (this tactic
common in WW I).
• Supplies cut off to Lee, so he
abandoned Petersburg and
Richmond.
Sherman’s March to the Sea
November 15-December 20, 1864
- Union General William T. Sherman
already had captured Atlanta, but he
wanted to leave sixty thousand troops
there while he marched the rest of his
army to the Atlantic Ocean through
Savannah, Georgia.
- During this time, Confederate General
John Hood had led troops in a raid on
Tennessee, leaving Sherman’s soldiers to
face fewer than five thousand Confederate
soldiers. Sherman’s troops burned
buildings and infrastructures along the
way, destroying many towns and cities.
Sherman’s troops defeated the depleted
Confederate army and took Savannah on
December 22, 1864.
Sherman’s March to the Sea
November 15-December 20, 1864
Surrender at Appomattox
April 9, 1865
- General Lee surrendered his
Confederate army at Appomattox Court
House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865. Lee’s
army had diminished, which contributed
to Union General Grant’s many victories
near the end of the war. In a sign of
respect, Grant allowed Lee to keep his
saber and horse.
- General Joseph Johnston was the last
Confederate general who continued to
fight. He still believed that the South
could win the war. Johnston’s troops
eventually fell to federal troops, and he
surrendered to General Sherman on April
26, 1865.
Assassination of Lincoln
April 14, 1865
President Abraham Lincoln was
assassinated at the end of the Civil
War. He was killed on April 14, 1865,
while attending a play at Ford’s
Theatre in Washington, D.C., with his
wife and two other people. Lincoln
was watching Our American Cousin
when John Wilkes Booth shot him in
the back of the head.
Booth was a loyal Confederate, and
he thought the Confederacy could
triumph if Lincoln were dead. Booth
jumped off the balcony and broke his
ankle, but managed to escape the
theater. Lincoln died of his fatal
wound the next morning.
The Trial and Execution of the Conspirators
The conspirators in the assassination of President
Lincoln were Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David
Herold, George Atzerdot, Michael O’Laughlen,
Samuel Arnold, Edman Spangler, and Dr. Samuel
Mudd. They were tried in a military tribunal court
because the government deemed the nature of the
case required the use of this court. A majority vote
would result in a guilty verdict, while a two-thirds
majority would result in a death sentence.
All eight were found guilty. Surratt, Powell,
Herold, and Atzerdot were sentenced to death by
hanging. O’Laughlen died in prison. President
Andrew Johnson pardoned Arnold, Spangler, and
Mudd.
Legacy of the War
• Civil War was bloodiest war in U.S. History.
• Also called “The War Between the States,” “The Brother’s
War,” and the “War of Northern Aggression.”
• 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments follow within 5 years of the end of
the war.
• Racially biased laws persist until the 1960’s and even into the
1970’s