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US History The Desperate Confederate: The Conclusion of the American Civil War A Summary of Events… At the start of the Civil War many observers felt that the odds were stacked in the Union’s favor and victory for them would come quickly. Based on such facts as the Union’s much larger population (nearly 16 million more citizens than the Confederacy), the Union’s huge supply of weapons and goods (85% of the nation’s factories & mills were located in the Union), and miles of railroad (71% of the nation’s railroad lines were located in the Union) it seemed that it would take a miracle for the Confederacy to achieve its goal of independence. However, as the Confederacy came on strong at the onset of the war. They fired the first shots of the war (at Fort Sumter) and overtook the Union fort in 36 short hours. They devastated the Union Army at the First Battle of Bull Run in July of 1861 (the first major battle of the war). The Union soldiers were unprepared to deal with the aggressive Confederate strategy. During the first couple years of the war, the Confederacy held its own against the Union (due, in large part, to their skilled generals such as Robert E. Lee). The Union began to rethink its strategy and under the command of General Ulysses S. Grant the tide started to turn. In addition to Grant’s expertise, the Union had other factors working in their favor. The Anaconda Plan, the Union’s strategy to win the war by cutting off all of the Confederacy’s trade, started to work. As the war dragged on, the south, lacking a significant number of factories and mills began to run drastically low on supplies. The Battle of Shiloh, followed by the fall of New Orleans and a string of Union victories in the west marked a turning point n the Union’s favor. When the Confederate Army traveled to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in search of shoes, they were defeated (a crushing blow to their morale). TERRORISM AS A TACTIC In the last two years of the war, the Confederacy used a variety of tactics to win the war. They attempted to carry out large scale acts of terrorism in the north. Just like today, the news outlets consistently reported “terrorist plans” discovered by the Union. Terrorists had planned on leading an attack on the Democratic Presidential Convention in 1864 (which never came to fruition). They also planned on attacking passenger ships along the northern coast of Maine, but that plan was also foiled. The confederacy did successfully carry out some terrorist plots. For example 20 Confederates robbed 3 northern banks and stole nearly $250,000. While escaping to Canada, the terrorists set fire to the town of St. Albans, Vermont. Confederate terrorists also launched an attack on New York City on Election Day, November 8, 1864. Three men checked into various hotels throughout the city and lit their hotel rooms on fire before quietly exiting the building. Panic spread throughout the city and in the end the fires were contained (however a number of Manhattan hotels were lost as well as a warehouse and a few ships docked near Battery Park). While these acts of terrorism achieved the goal of spreading fear, they did not stop the Union Army from continuing to steam roll the Confederacy across the states of Virginia and Georgia. The main objective of the Union Army was to take Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy. For nine long months the Union and Confederacy battled outside the city. The Union Army consisted of about 125,000 soldiers to the Confederacy’s 60,000. The lack of supplies (especially food) began to take its toll on the Confederates. Lee knew that he was trapped. There were few Confederate reinforcements and thus Lee had no hope of receiving any. He also knew that if he were to retreat, the capital would be lost to the Union. Jefferson Davis continually told Lee that the capital of Richmond was “to be defended at all costs”. Lee was finally able to persuade Davis that the only chance of avoiding a total defeat and unconditional surrender to the Union would be to withdraw from the city. Davis finally capitulated (meaning “gave in”). Lee planned on having his men move south to North Carolina to meet up with another regiment of 30,000 soldiers. Once the two troops were united, Lee had hoped they would have the strength to make a come back. However, Lee’s hopes would never become a reality – he was never able to get his troops out of Richmond. The Confederate troops that Lee would have met up with were made up of over-aged, under trained soldiers who were ill-equipped to fight in any war. DESPERATE MEASURES… In the meantime, the Confederate government was busy attempting to do what it could to preserve its independence. The south had originally hoped to use their cotton to help them acquire the support of England and France to aid in the war effort, which never happened. The Confederate government decided once again to reach out to Europe. They proposed a treaty which stated that if England and France were to publicly recognize the Confederate States of America (CSA) as an independent country, the CSA would abolish slavery! The European nations refused the proposal. This last minute act of the Confederate government truly illustrates how desperate they were at the end of the war – they were willing to sacrifice the one thing (slavery) that caused them to secede in the first place! The Confederate President Jefferson Davis also proposed a peace treaty with the Union suggesting that the nation reunite and then attack Mexico together. This idea was rejected by the north. On April 2, 1865 Grant broke through what remained of the Confederate line outside of Richmond. Lee withdrew his troops outside of the city and contacted Jefferson Davis. Davis was seated at church when he received a message from Lee advising him to leave the city that night. It is reported that Davis’ face grew a pale grey after reading the telegram. He went back to his War Office and ordered an evacuation of the city. He sent his family off to North Carolina and withdrew all the Confederate funds (a mere $528,000) and had them sent south. As the Confederate troops withdrew from the city they lit fire to anything they thought the Union might be able to use, such as the ironclad docked in the harbor. Fires burned down much of the city. The next day President Lincoln and General Grant met in the city of Richmond. JUST SURRENDER… In yet another act of desperation, Lee continued to push his men onward despite the lack of supplies and the obvious fact that the war was over. About one week later Lee and his troops ended up at Appomattox Station, a railway station a few miles from the Appomattox Courthouse. Union General Custer pursued Lee into the town. Lee’s numbers were down to about 30,000 men (nearly half of which did not have weapons!). Despite this fact, Lee ordered his men to fight. After a short battle, Lee decided he had no choice but to surrender. He ordered one of his men to set up a meeting with Grant at the Appomattox Court House where he would officially surrender on April 9th, 1865. The terms that Grant and Lee worked out were more than fair toward the defeated Confederacy. Grant did not want to imprison any of the Confederate soldiers, but rather just have them disarm and return to their homes. The actions of Grant followed what President Lincoln wanted. During his presidential inauguration speech (for his second term) Lincoln stated, “With malice toward none, charity for all…let us strive to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds…(and) do all which may achieve a just and lasting peace among ourselves…” Lincoln did not want to exact revenge on the south for the war. He knew that such action would never result in lasting peace. Lincoln believed that they only way the nation could reunite quickly and lastingly would be to welcome the south back. Name: Date: Core: US History Desperate Confederate: Quick Check Directions: Use the Desperate Confederate: The Conclusion of the Civil War handout to answer the following questions. 1. Look at paragraph #4. Why did Confederate President Jefferson Davis believe that the city of Richmond should be “defended at all costs”? Use evidence from the text to support your answer. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 2. Why did the author entitle paragraphs 6 & 7 “Desperate Measures”? Use evidence from the text to support your answer. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________