Download Chapter 11 section 4

Chapter 11 section 4
The Turning Point of the Civil War
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1863 is a brutal year in
the war; lots of major
battles.
Review of 1862:
◦ Farragut had captured New
Orleans
◦ Lower Mississippi River is in
Union control
◦ Union victory at Shiloh
means they have control as
far south as Memphis
◦ Want to capture Vicksburg,
MS to complete splitting the
Confederacy.
◦ Was the last major
Confederate stronghold
needed
Grant first tries to approach Vicksburg from the North
(too swampy)
 Wants to approach from the south, but has to go east
first and then cut back west across and then come up
from the south.
 To do all this manouvering without the Confederacy
finding out, he creates a diversion…
 Grierson’s Raid
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◦ 1,700 cavalry troops
◦ 600 miles
◦ Destroy railroads, fight skirmishes, burn train depots
◦ Is successful; Gen. Grant is able to put his troops in position
south of Vicksburg
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Grant’s troops march across Mississippi,
capturing Jackson and foraging as they go
Traveled 150 miles in 17 days and fought 5
battles along the way
Reaches Vicksburg in May 1863 and attacks
the city twice, but fails.
Decides that a siege is the only way he will
be able to take the city
Siege: cut off the food and supplies that can
enter and wear down the enemy until they
are forced to surrender. Lasts from May-July
Confederates surrender on July 4, 1863
The Confederacy has now been cut in half
Siege of Vicksburg
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Back in the east,
Lincoln is getting
frustrated with
McClellan:
◦ Didn’t move fast
enough after Antietam
◦ Lee was able to regroup
and prevent McClellan
from attacking
Richmond
◦ Lincoln decides to fire
him and replace him
with Gen. Ambrose
Burnside
The Road to Gettysburg
The new General Burnside orders his
troops to attack Lee’s troops south of
fredericksburg, Virginia.
 Union suffers high casualties (12,000+)
 This was more than twice that of the
Confederates
 Lincoln gets complaints from the other
generals and decides to replace Burnside
with General Joseph Hooker
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Fredericksburg and
Chancellorsville
Gen. Hooker decides to split his troops
and leaves some at Fredericksburg to
block Lee’s troops but takes some west
 Plans to move behind Lee’s lines and
attack his forces from the rear.
 Lee finds out and attacks Hooker’s troops
near Chancellorsville, VA
 Another Union loss as Hooker decides to
retreat.
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Fredericksburg and
Chancellorsville continued
Lee wants to invade the Union again
Decides to move into Pennsylvania,
foraging and taking supplies along the
way
 Hooker and his men can’t stop Lee’s
advance, so Lincoln fires him.
 Appoints Gen. George Meade as Hooker’s
replacement.
 Meade takes over and immediately heads
north to stop Lee’s progress across
Pennsylvania.
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Battle of Gettysburg
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During June 1863, Lee and his
troops had been marching
across Pennsylvania and
foraging as they went.
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As they move into Gettysburg,
PA, they encounter Union troops
and the Confederates push the
Union troops out, taking over
the town.
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The next day, lee attacked the
Union forces, who held their
ground. On the next day, Lee
ordered 15,000 troops led by
George Pickett to attack the
Union troops.
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Known as Pickett’s Charge
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In about 30 minutes, 7,000
Confederate soldiers are killed.
Gettysburg continued
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Fighting continues
Fewer than 5,000 Confederate troops survive
The Union suffers 23,000 casualties and the
South 28,000.
Lee rallies his troops and withdrew, retreating to
Virginia.
This battle becomes a turning point in the war.
◦ Britain decides to NOT recognize the South’s
independence
◦ Lee’s army is on the defensive for the rest of the war
◦ Union victory strengthens the president politically and
gives the Republicans more power in Congress
◦ Lincoln gives the Gettysburg Address
Gettysburg continued
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A few months after the battle, Lincoln travels
to Gettysburg to dedicate it as a national
cematery
Gives a speech while he’s there that becomes
one of the most famous in American history
◦ Makes the point that the nation was “conceived in
liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all
men are created equal”
◦ “that these men shall not have died in vain…that
government of the people, by the people, and for
the people shall not perish from the earth.”
◦ See p. 1072
Gettysburg Address
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Union wants to capture
Chattanooga, TN so it has
control of a key railroad line
from there to Atlanta, GA
Leads to the Battle of
Chattanooga
Lincoln had reorganized the
military and made General
Grant the commander over
all the Union forces in the
West
Union forces attacked and
defeated the Confederates at
the Battle of Lookout
Mountain
Grant made general in chief
of the entire Union Army in
recognition for the key
victories at Vicksburg &
Chattanooga
Grant Secures Tennessee