Siege of Vicksburg
Key river port city in Mississippi Lasted from May 18- July 4, 1863 Union Army surrounded city and blocked
anyone from entering or leaving The army and civilians eventually ran
out of food and surrendered 33,000 Confederate troops captured in
surrender
Black Soldiers in the Union Army
By 1863, the Union Army was finally allowing freed black men to serve
However, for many months, no one took them seriously and they were forced to do hard labor such as digging trenches, latrines, and setting up camp
By July 1863, their white commander, Colonel Robert Shaw, was able to convince generals in the army that they could fight
54th Massachusetts Regiment First all-black regiment to fight in combat Commanders were white Wanted to prove that they were just as
good as the white soldiers Fought very bravely at a small battle on
St. James Island, in South Carolina, before they would become legendary at the battle of Fort Wagner several days later
Gettysburg Address
Given on November 19, 1863 It took from July until November to clean
the battlefield of all the wreckage, and make a cemetery with monuments to honor the dead
Lincoln was supposed to give a short speech at the dedication. He was not even the featured speaker
Edward Everett gave the first speech, which lasted over two hours
Turning Tide
After Gettysburg, the tide of war began to change and be against the Confederate Army
Because Grant was so successful fighting out west, Lincoln moves him east to match him up against Lee
The last two years of the war quickly became a game of cat and mouse between Grant and Lee
Overland Campaign
In an attempt to weaken Lee’s army, which is growing weaker by the month, Grant moves his men across Virginia to fight many different battles with Lee along the way
Each battle, even if the Union loses more men, is still a victory, because the Confederates do not have the manpower or reserves to make up for their losses
Battle of the Wilderness
May 5-7, 1864 Before the battle, men from both sides
snuck away from their camps to play baseball against each other
Fighting occurred in the thick Virginia wilderness
Was so intense and close that on several occasions, the woods caught fire
Many wounded men became trapped and burnt to death
Battle of Cold Harbor
May 31- June 12, 1864 Last major Confederate victory Grant made one major mistake He attacked a Confederate position
protected behind a barricade, losing 2,000 men in 20 minutes
Most lopsided battle of the war CSA lost only 4,500 men, while the USA lost
more than 12,000
Atlanta Campaign
May 7 to September 2, 1864 Led by General William T. Sherman in Georgia Began with Sherman ordering his men to burn the
city of Atlanta and march from there to the east coast (Atlantic Ocean), destroying everything in their path
They burned houses and business, killed livestock, destroyed railroad tracks
Many innocent people were also killed by Union soldiers
Sherman became a hero to the North, but a terrorist to the South
Siege of Petersburg
June 9, 1864 to March 25, 1865 Major Confederate town was sieged by
125,000 Union soldiers, while they only had 50,000 men
Many different battles, but the most famous one would be known as “The Crater”
Election of 1864
Though Lincoln’s popularity had declined, several major Union victories before the election had given people the feeling he was still the right man for the job.
The man he ran against was…
A Lost Cause
By 1865, all hope the Confederacy had of winning the war began to be lost
The amount of able men was shrinking, and the army was running out of food and supplies
Still, they kept on fighting with desperation
Lee’s Surrender
On April 9, 1865, Robert E. Lee knew they had no chance of winning the war. He did not want to see his men fighting and getting killed for nothing
“There is nothing left for me to do than go and see General Grant, and I would rather die a thousand deaths.”
Lee and several of his officers rode to a small house in Appomattox, Virginia, where Lee signed the terms of surrender to Grant, which ended the war in Virginia
The End of the War
The War officially ended a few weeks after Lee’s surrender, because Confederate forces under Joseph E. Johnston were still fighting. When they surrendered on May 2, the war officially came to a close
All total, combined losses between both sides during the four year war were 600,000+ dead, and nearly 2 million wounded. It remains the bloodiest civil war in modern history
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