Surrender.
After taking Fort Donelson he marched his troop on almost to the border of
Mississippi. It was by Shilo that confederates launched a surprise attack on Grants forces.
The battle here lasted 2 days, it was counted as a Union victory but it cost Grant 13,000
men.
These battles on land were very influential in the war, but one place that the Union
forces had during the war was the warfare at sea. Because they did not have any
resources for building ships the Confederates didn’t have any large ships to challenge the
Union boats. This allowed the North to cut off all southern ports of trade without any
reistance from sea. The only thing the confederates had was ships called Confederate
raiders. One famous confederate ship was the Alabama in it’s two years of service it sank
or captured 67 Union ships. It finally was sank by the U.S. Navy’s ship Kearsarge. The
two ships fought for more than an hour finally the Alabama went down.
In March 1862, the south captured a Union boat called the Merrimac. They turned
the Merrimac into and ironclad, they covered the sides and decks with 4 inches of iron.
This boat was renamed to the Virginia, it was to free the ports of Virginia by braking the
blockade. At first it was succesful it sank one ship by ramming it, and it scared all the
others away. Union cannonballs bounced harmlessly off. Then the next day another
ironclad called the Monitor sailed up to the Virginia, it was called the Monitor. The
Monitor was a ship theat the Union had a inventor build for them it had one difference
from the Virginia instead of fixed guns it had a rotating gun turret. For hours they fired at
eachother they fired until they ran out of ammo. Neither ship won the fight but afterwards
the Virginia had to go in to get repairs.
In July, 1862 Lincoln told his cabinet that he had decided to issue a proclamation
freeing the slaves. They told him to wait until the Union forces won and important
victory, otherwise it might look like an act of fear.
In september 1862 General Rober E. Lee, who had taken control of the
confederate army in an attack of Richmond, decided to attack Maryland. President
Lincoln put General McClellan ,who he had taken out of power, back in command to stop
this invasion. They fought a bloody battle at Antietam Creek. The invasion was stopped,
but the battle could only be counted as a draw. Thie results did have a good effect for the
North. If Lee would have won then Great Britain and France might have given the
confederates support.
The result also gave Lincoln the chance to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
He felt this was the victory his cabinet had advised him he needed. So on September 22,
1862 he said that if by January 1, 1863 he would free every slave in all of the rebel slave
states unless they rejoined the Union before that date. None of the states were going to
return so on New Years Day 1863 Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. The
proclamation didn’t free any slaves because the slave states wouldn’t free them and the
border states didn’t have to free their slaves.
One thing that happened because of the Emancipation Proclamation helped the
Union. As they pushed into the south former slaves would join them. Over 100,000 black
people that used to be slaves joined them. Also the British people did not like slavery so
there was less chance that they would help the rebels.
During the war black had a very important role in the fighting. In the south blacks
weren’t allowed to fight. They weren’t allowed in the North for a time either, but after
Emancipation they were acceepted. About 200,000 balck men fought in the war, many of
them recieved medals for their duty.
In 1863 one of the most pivotal points of the civil war took place. By this point
the two main figures of the war were U.S. Grant and General Lee of Virginia. General
Lee decided to invade the North once again. He picked Pennsylvania, at this point he had
no chance for foreign aid, but he thought that if he won a major victory on Northern soil it
might change that fact. It would also lower northern confidence. Lastly his men needed
clothes, food, and other supplies. They could obtain these supplies in Pennsylvania In
June 1863 his army advanced into Pennsylvania.
The Union army of the potomac was also moving. They were trying to keep ahead
of confederate forces. They were led by General Goerge G. Meade.
Neither of the general was ready to fight a battle in early July, but on July 1 scout
unit of each army were marching along and almost by chance they ran into eachother. As
they fought both sides were rushing reinforcements as fast as they could. On the first day
the confederates pushed the Union soldiers back but by the end of the day thousands of
them had reached cemetary hill where they dug in for the defense. They were going to
make a last stand but they were not attacked. So during the night the union forces had the
chance to form a defensive line three and a half miles long. One mile away across and
open plane Lee placed his troops on Seminary Ridge. During the second day Lee tried to
break through the defenses and flank them.
On July 3 in the morning Confederate guns started firing Union guns fired back.
Then to conserve ammunition Meade ordered them to stop firing. Thinking he had his
chance Lee ordered a frontal attack. 15,000 soldiers marched almost as if on parade over
the half mile towards the Union forces. After a few hundred yards Union cannons lashed
out at them. Then musket fire began one soldier said it mowed them down like “wheat
before the scythe”. After that they were driven off by Union defendersd using ahything
they could, cannon rammers, sabers, clubbed rifles. This charhge was called Picketts
Charge even though he commanded only 15 of the 46 regiments taking part in the charge.
His division did suffer the biggest losses of his 5,000 soldiers only 800 returned. After this
being a wimp as usual Meade opted not to counter attack many say if he had the war
would have ended then and there. He didn’t though and allowed Lee and his men to
retreat back to Virginia in a wagon train 17 miles long.
Bibliography:
Brown, Richars; Bass, Herbert. One Flag, One Land. Silver, Burdett and
Ginn. Morristown, NJ. 1988
Allen, Thomas B. The Blue and The Gray. The National Georgraphic
Society. Washington D.C. 1992.
At the end of the civil war General Lee and General Grant were running their
respective armies. There was one other general who was very influential in ending the
war, this war General William Tecumsah Sherman. He was a very brilliant general.
In the battle of Shilo Sherman fought right in the middle of the fight. He recieved
a rank of Major General for his fighting. In this battle General Grant made many mistakes
and got his butt kicked. Because of his mistakes he took much criticism and was going to
get out of the army, but Sherman talked him into staying.
After General Grant was given control fo the entire U.S. army Sherman was given
control of Grants old army. It was in this position that he made his famous March To The
Sea.
On May 6, 1864 Sherman and his army left Chattanooga Tennessee for the city of
Atlanta. He reached Atlanta on September second, after he had cleared the city of it’s
people and he had his men rested he started his famous march to the sea. He cut himself
off from his supplies so his men lived on what they stole. what they didn’t steal they
burned and destroyed. It was 400 wiles from Atlanta to Savanah where his trek would
eventually end. There was a path 60 miles wide of destruction behind Sherman and his
men. It took 32 days to make this march, and for 32 days no one heard from them. Then
on december 20 he telegraphed LIncoln and gave him the city of Savanah as a christmas
present.
In may 1864 General Grant ordered an attack on Richmond. The army of
Northern Virginia fought off the attacking soldiers. They fought many battles during a
short span of time. Both sides lost heavily, Grant lost 60,000 men in less than a month.
He knew though that he could handle these losses better than the confederacy. He was
still unable to capture Richmond, but instead of retreating like previous generals he
continued and went to the south of Richmond. Here he took over the railroad town of
Petersburg, and he took control of the roads leading into and out of the capitol. In the
Spring of 1865 Lee was forced to leave the city to save his army, then the Union troops
took control of the capital.
One week after that Lee’s troops who were tired, hungry and in need of many
supplies tried to break through the Union lines. They failed and were surrounded at
Appomatox Court House. There on April 9, 1865 they General Lee was forced to
surrender. After that all confederate resistance was crushed one by one.
On April 14, 1865 President Lincoln and his wife went to a performance of Our
American Cousin, at Ford’s Theatre in Washington. This is when an actor named John
Wilkes Booth shot Lincon for revenge after the souths defeat in the war. At the same time
some of his friends were plotting to shoot other leaders but they failed. After he shot
Lincoln Booth escaped to Virginia but he was caught later. After the shooting Lincoln
was carried to a rooming house acrossed the street. He died the morning after the attack.
After the war was over the reconstruction began. The first part was to bring all
the states back into the Union. In 1863 Lincoln had come up with this plan. The first part
of this plan was that 10 percent of the men who had voted in the election of 1860 had to
swear and oath of loyalty to the Constitution of the United States. Once the 10 percent
had taken this oath they could then organize a government that would be recognized as
the government of that state by by the president.
After Lincoln’s assassination and Andrew Johnson became president he supported
the 10 percent plan, he did make some additions though. Each state had to undo their
secession acts. They could not pay off confederate war debts. They also had to pass the
thirteenth amednment wich outlawed slavery. By the fall of 1865 all 11 states had met the
requirements of the plan. They were now able to elect members to congress.
Congress did not like Johnsons plan they thought it was too easy. Southerners
were electing people that had been rebel leaders during the war and congress thought that
was not right. They felt that the south should be punished for what happend over the past
four years. Also the representatives elected by the south were democrats and this
threatened the republican majority of congress. The main opposition was a group called
radical republicans, they wanted to give former slaves all the freedoms of a regular citizen.
They knew that Johnsons plan wasn’t strict enough for this to happen. Under their plan
the southern states had to pass the fourteenth amendmant as well that said people born in
the U.S. are citizens and can’t be denied any right of a citizen. It also said that people who
had taken place in the rebellion could not take place in government.
President Johnson told the 11 states to not pass the fourteenth amendmant. He felt
that the part where rebel leaders couldn’t be elected was unfair. Only Tennesee ratified the
fourteenth amendmant. iN the elctions of 1866 republicans won the majority majorly, and
they wanted to make their own reconstruction bill. Johnson vetoed it but they overrode it
and on Mach 2, 1867 the Reconstruction Act of 1867 was passed.
This act said that until the states passed the fourteenth amendmant there would be
a general placed there and troops to carry out his orders. It also said that the troops could
stay until they felt the state was reconstructed.
After they had passed their own reconstruction plan the republicans tried to
impeach president Johnson. They felt they could easily get the 36 senate votes they would
need. The trial lasted from March 30 until May 16, 1868. There was only 35 votes to
impeach Johnson, only needing one more vote.
After the war many leaders in the south were what people called carpetbaggers.
Carpetbaggers were people from the North who came to the South after the war was
over. They were called carpetbaggers because many of them carried there belongings in
bags made out of carpets. Many carpetbaggers were in positions of power in the southrn
governments. Many of them wanted to help, but the majority was just out to make
money. Many southerners helped these people, and also gained positions of power.
These people were called scalawags, which is a mean, runty farm animal. These
carpetbaggers and scalawags s