A SURVEY OF AMERICAN HISTORY

Unit 2: Westward Expansion and Civil WarPart 19: The Civil War (III)

FREEDOM AND OPPORTUNITY

• On September 22, 1862, Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation that promised freedom to all slaves who lived in the Confederate States and were willing to join the war efforts of the Union.

• The proclamation did not apply to slaves in the Border States, and would come into effect on January 1, 1863.

• It came into effect together with the Homestead Act of 1862, which eased the conditions of acquiring land in the West.

FREEDOM AND OPPORTUNITY

• In passing these two pieces of legislation, Lincoln aimed to deplete the resources of the Confederate States.

• The Emancipation Proclamation reduced the Confederacy’s supply of free labor, affecting the Confederate economy.

• The Homestead Act appealed to young conscripts in the Confederate Army, offering them the opportunity to start a new life outside the South.

“VICKSBURG IS THE KEY”

• In March 1863, Lincoln issued Ulysses S. Grant with orders to capture the fortified city of Vicksburg, Mississippi.

• “Vicksburg is the key,” Lincoln wrote. “The war can never be brought to a close until the key is in our pocket.”

• Vicksburg was strategically located on a bend in the Mississippi River.

• The capture of Vicksburg would end the campaign along the Mississippi, resulting in total Union control of the waterway.

THE BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE

• In April 1863, as Grant began his Vicksburg Campaign in the West, Lincoln again ordered the Army of the Potomac to capture Richmond, Virginia.

• This was the fifth time the Union advanced on Richmond, following several failed attempts at the First Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Hampton Roads, the Battle of Seven Pines, and the Battle of Fredericksburg towards the end of 1862.

• On April 30, the Union’s Army of the Potomac marched against the forces led by Robert E. Lee.

THE BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE

• The Union forces vastly outnumbered the Confederate forces: 134,000 to 61,000.

• Nevertheless, Lee’s men won the battle due to tactical indecision in the Union leadership and a risky but strategically important splitting of Confederate forces.

• More than 30,000 men on both sides were killed or wounded.

• Stonewall Jackson was killed by friendly fire after the battle.

THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG

• Emboldened by his success at Chancellorsville, Lee embarked on an invasion of the northern states in June and July 1863.

• This was his second invasion of the North, after his defeat at the Battle of Antietam brought his Maryland Campaign to an end.

• This new invasion was intended to win international recognition of the independence and sovereignty of the Confederacy by proving to Great Britain and France that the Confederate States could win a war.

THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG

• Lee’s advance was halted at the Battle of Gettysburg, the largest battle of the Civil War, on July 4, 1863.

• Lee had advanced as far north as the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, before Union forces intercepted him.

• The Union and Confederate forces were almost evenly matched: 93,000 to 72,000.

• The Union forces formed a defensive line to protect the town from their opponents.

THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG

• Three days of battle ended with a massive Confederate assault on the Union. The assault was known as Pickett’s Charge and involved more than 12,000 men charging against the Union line.

• At least 46,000 men on both sides were killed or wounded, and possibly up to 51,000.

• Lee led his surviving forces on a retreat back to Virginia.

• Lee’s loss significantly reduced the likelihood of international recognition of the Confederacy.

THE SIEGE OF VICKSBURG

• On the same day as Lee’s defeat at Gettysburg, Grant captured the city of Vicksburg.

• Grant’s forces had surrounded the city since late May, cutting off its supplies and placing it under siege for six weeks.

• Grant’s victory propelled him to nationwide fame and crippled the Confederacy, cutting off Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana from the rest of the South.

THE NEW YORK DRAFT RIOTS

• Despite the recent Union victories, the war was ongoing and the high rate of casualties led the Congress to introduce conscription (draft) laws.

• The laws allowed any conscript to commute his draft, deferring it indefinitely, for a fee of $300.

• Because only the wealthiest conscripts could afford the commutation fee, actual conscripts were overwhelmingly working class immigrants.

THE NEW YORK DRAFT RIOTS

• In mid-July 1863, anti-draft riots broke out amongst Irish communities in New York City.

• The rioters at first targeted the authorities responsible for the draft, but then targeted innocent African Americans.

• More than one hundred African Americans were killed.

• The rioters were stopped by militia troops who were diverted to New York after having just served at Gettysburg.

LINCOLN AND DOUGLASS MEET

On August 10, 1863, Frederick Douglass met Abraham Lincoln in Washington, DC. Douglass was the first African American ever to be invited to the White House. He said that Lincoln expressed thoughts on slavery which were “[e]vidence conclusive that the [Emancipation P]roclamation… was not effected merely as a [military] necessity.”

THE BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA

• After the Union victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, Union confidence was high.

• Union forces had also captured the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee, which held an important railway supply line.

• In September 1863, however, Confederate forces stopped the Union advance through Tennessee at Chickamauga.

• The Union forces retreated to Chattanooga as the men of the Confederacy held their ground.

THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS

On November 19, 1863, Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg to deliver an official address as the battlefield was transformed into a national memorial. In his address, Lincoln recast the Civil War as a struggle to preserve the achievements of the American Revolution and to resolve the problems of its aftermath.

A SURVEY OF AMERICAN HISTORY

Unit 2: Westward Expansion and Civil WarPart 19: The Civil War (III)