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Chapter 11, Section 4
Background
Through the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, the Confederacy, and commanding General Robert
E. Lee, was winning battles one after another. Aside from the victories, Lee was running out of men and
supplies.
Remember, after winning at the second Bull Run, Lee tried to invade the North through Maryland and
Pennsylvania. By stroke of luck, McClellan was able to stop Lee’s army, winning at Antietam.
Lee once again tries to invade the North. He is able to maneuver around the Union army and pass into
Pennsylvania!
The Battle of Gettysburg
Lee and his army composed of 75,000 men from Virginia, crosses into Pennsylvania in late June 1863. After the
Union defeat at Chancellorsville, Lincoln replaces General Hooker with General George Meade. The Union
army was composed of 95,000 men of the Potomac. Meade and his men follow Lee into Pennsylvania.
The battle at Gettysburg was the most decisive battle of the war. This battle would decide the fate of the war,
being the bloodiest three-day battle of the Civil War. Many Confederate soldiers, barefoot without shoes, heard
that Gettysburg had a large supply of footwear; they began to march to Gettysburg. Other soldiers, led by
General Lee headed for Harrisburg o disrupt railroad lines and scare the North.
Day 1
The Confederate and Union armies meet at the town of Gettysburg and the Union army took defensive positions
in the hills and ridges surrounding the town. Union armies under the control of General Meade in the north and
west of Gettysburg were under heavy rebel fire and had to draw back. The Union occupied Cemetery Ridge,
which was high ground south of Gettysburg. Lee knew that the battle would not be won until the Northerners
were pushed out of their positions.
Day 2
Lee orders General Longstreet to attack Cemetery Ridge and push out the Union troops. His army pushes past
Union troops that mistakenly left their positions. Another Union brigade notices that the position has been
abandoned and their commander Colonel Joshua Chamberlain takes the position. They hold off repeated
Confederate attacks. When the Union soldiers ran out of ammunition, Chamberlain orders a bayonet charge at
the Confederates. Confederates were exhausted and shocked by the Union assault—many of them surrendered.
The Union had given some ground, but their lines were able to hold up to the Confederates by the end of the
day.
Day 3
Lee tries to break the Union center with one of the greatest charges of the war. For two hours, both armies fired
at one another in a violent exchange. When the battlefield fell silent, Lee ordered General Longstreet and his
men to move forward. Longstreet ordered General Picket and his men to attack the Union center. 15,000 men
marched across a ¾ mile of farmland toward the Union high ground and then the Union opens fire upon the
Confederacy. The results were pretty much a devastating loss for the Confederacy. Lee sent in cavalry in an
effort to support Picket’s men and to surprise Meade’s forces from behind. After the battle, Lee gave up any
hopes of invading the North, taking his tired men back to Virginia. Lee lost 20,000 men, more were wounded.
Meade had over 23,000 killed and wounded soldiers. The North lost more men, but the South is at the point
where they cannot replace their losses.
Grant Wins at Vicksburg
Vicksburg had been under siege by General Ulysses S. Grant for three months up until the Confederate
surrender. During the siege, Grant tried to move into Vicksburg twice without any luck. He then ordered a
steady barrage of artillery, shelling the city for hours each day—forcing the residents of the city to hide in caves
for shelter!
Food supplies ran low, people ate their pet dogs. Starving Confederate soldiers sent a petition to their
commander saying, “If you can’t feed us, you’d better surrender!” On July 4th, 1863, one day after Gettysburg,
the southern city of Vicksburg on the Mississippi finally surrendered. Five days later the last Confederate
controlled city on the Mississippi, Port Hudson, Louisiana fell to the Union, cutting the Confederates in half.
Gettysburg Address
In November 1863, a ceremony was held in Gettysburg to dedicate a cemetery. The first speaker gave a long,
two hour speech. Then President Abraham Lincoln gave a two minute speech, but it would be remembered
throughout American history! “Four score and seven years ago…”
Confederacy Wears Down
The Confederate defeats at Gettysburg and Vicksburg cost the South so many men and so much of its supplies.
The army was low on food, shoes, uniforms, guns, and ammunition. Due to lack of food back home, many
Confederates deserted the army to go back to farming and keeping their families alive. Many soldiers turned
and fought for the Union! Over 2,000 Floridians served for the Union army! Peace movements arose all over
the South—people wanted the war to come to an end.
Grant Takes Over
In March 1864, Lincoln appoints Ulysses S. Grant as commander of the entire Union army. Grant appointed
William Tecumseh Sherman as commander in the West. General Sherman takes over the Mississippi division of
the army, where Grant had successful campaigns against Confederacy. Both Grant and Sherman believed that
they should fight not only the Confederate army, but the civilians as well. Their reasoning was that civilians
produced weapons, grew food, and transported goods for the armies. If the Union destroyed the will of the
people to fight, the war would be over.
Grant’s plan was to stop Lee’s army in Virginia while General Sherman would raid Georgia. In May 1864,
Grant threw his men into battle after battle—Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg. During a
period a little over a month, Grant lost 60,000 men and Lee lost 32,000 men. The Union could replace the dead,
but the Confederacy could not.
Sherman’s Time to March
Sherman marches 100,000 Union troops to Georgia and captures Atlanta, a key railroad city in September 1864.
His victory helps Lincoln win reelection in 1864. Sherman will then spread his army in a path 60 miles wide
and march 300 miles to the Atlantic Ocean, destroying everything in his path. The army destroyed crops, burned
Atlanta to the ground, and broke the will of the people. Sherman becomes the most hated man in the South.
When they reach the Atlantic Ocean, they will turn North and move into South Carolina and burn everything in
their path. Finally they reach North Carolina by the end of the war.
Election of 1864
Due to the length of the war and the Union results in the East, Lincoln feared that he would not win the election.
He stated that only if something dramatic happens, would he win. In August 1864, Admiral Farragut captured
the port cities in Alabama, General Sherman captured Atlanta in September, and General Philip Sheridan
chased the Confederates out of Northern Virginia. Due to the success of the Union, Lincoln wins reelection.
Confederates Surrender!
By late March 1865, Grant has 120,000 men and Lee has 50,000. Grant pushes Lee’s army west of Richmond
and on April 9, 1865 Lee surrenders his army to Grant in the McLain farmhouse in Appomattox Courthouse,
Virginia. The terms of the surrender were gracious to the Confederates. Grant paroled Lee’s soldiers and sent
them home with personal belongings, horses, and three days worth of food. On April 26, the Southern army in
North Carolina surrenders to General Sherman…ending the Civil War.
The Cost
The Union lost over 360,000 men while the Confederates lost over 260,000 men. More men died from disease
than from bullets on the battlefield. One third of men that fought were killed or wounded and over $20 billion in
property was damaged. The Union victory showed that the federal government was more important than any
state or group of states. This victory held the United States together as we know it today.
Review Questions:
1. What general takes over for the Union army after the army wins at Antietam but McClellan fails to
destroy the Confederates?
2. What was so important about the hill at Fredericksburg? Which army wins? What happens to Burnside
after the battle?
3. How many troops were ready to fight for each army at Chancellorsville? What is the Union plan to win
the battle? What is the general’s big mistake?
4. What was the Confederate plan to defeat the Union at Chancellorsville?
5. What are the results of this plan and the results of the battle? What happens to General Jackson?
6. After the battle at Chancellorsville, where does Lee move his army?
7. Who takes command of the Union army at Gettysburg?
8. What are the results of the first day of battle?
9. …the second day of battle? The third day?
10. After Vicksburg, who takes over the Union army? What happens in the East (in both Virginia and
Georgia)?
11. What occurs at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia? When does this occur? Does this bring an end to
the Civil War?
12. Who wins the election of 1864? Why?
13. What are the results of the war? (State some numbers to back your answer).