The Politics of War

The North Takes ChargeChapter 11 Section 41The South, won several battles in 1863.Confederate forces defeated the Union army in Chancellorsville, Virginia.

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During the battle, the Souths famous general, Stonewall Jackson, died when he was shot accidentally by his own troops.3Armies Clash at GettysburgIn 1863 General Robert E. Lee decided again to invade the North.Lees forces clashed with the Union army at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

4The Union army defeated Lees troops after three days of fierce fighting.Each side lost more than 50,000 soldiers.

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8The Battle of Gettysburg was considered a turning point in the war.

9Northerners became rejuvenated due to the fact that they had finally broken through and defeated Lees army.

Lee would continue to lead his men brilliantly in the next two years of the war.But the Confederacy would never recover from the loss and never again hope to invade the North.

11Grant Wins at Vicksburg; The Gettysburg AddressThe day after Gettysburg, General Grant captured Vicksburg, Mississippi, for the Union. It was another significant defeat for the Confederacy.

12As a result of the battle, the Union controlled the Mississippi River. The Confederacy was split in two.

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The Gettysburg Address honored the dead and asked Americans to rededicate themselves to preserving the Union.

16http://www.schooltube.com/video/a98a05f027794db7bfa6/Gettysburg%20Address%20as%20recited%20by%20Gregory%20Peck

Lincoln described the Civil War as a struggle to preserve a nation that was dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal and that was ruled by a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Lincolns Gettysburg Address said the United States was one nation, not a federation of independent states.

Lincoln believed the Civil War was fought to fulfill the promise of the Declaration of Independence and was a Second American Revolution. He described a different vision for the United States from the one that had prevailed from the beginning of the Republic to the Civil War.

The Confederacy Wears DownThe losses at Gettysburg and Vicksburg caused Southern morale to drop.Many men had been lost in battle.

21The Confederate army was low on food, ammunition, and supplies.Soldiers began to desert.Some even joined the Union Army.

22The South was exhausted and had few resources left.Southern leaders started to fight among each other.

23 The Confederate Congress accused President Davis of ineffective leadership.Some Southerners began calling for peace.

24Meanwhile, Lincoln made Ulysses S. Grant commander of all Union armies.

Grant gave William Tecumseh Sherman command of the military division of the Mississippi.

26Both generals sought a total victory over the South. This meant conquering not only the Souths army and government but also its civilian population.

27In 1864, Grant fought Lees army in Virginia. Grants basic tactic was to attack and then attack again.

28Even if his casualties ran twice as high as those of Lee, the North could afford it. The South could not.

29Grant threw his troops into battle after battle. During a six week battle, Grant lost nearly 60,000 men to Lees 32,000.

30Democrats and Northern newspapers called Grant a butcher.However, Grant kept fighting.He had promised Lincoln, Whatever happens, there will be no turning back.

31Meanwhile, General William Tecumseh Shermans troops invaded Georgia. His forces marched across the state to the Atlantic Ocean. They destroyed cities and farms as they went.

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37They did the same in South Carolina.The South was quickly becoming a wasteland.

38Despite the Unions military success, Lincoln feared he would not be re-elected in 1864.Many Northerners felt the war had gone on too long and had caused too much destruction.

39But news of Shermans victories helped Lincoln win a second term.

40By March of 1865, it was clear that the end of the Confederacy was near. President Davis fled Richmond.

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43On April 9, 1865, General Lee and Grant met in a Virginia village called Appomattox Court House and arranged a Confederate surrender.

44The terms were generous.Lincoln did not want to impose harsh terms on the Confederates.As a result, Grant pardoned Lees soldiers.

45He sent them home with their personal possessions, horses, and three days worth of rations. Officers were permitted to keep their side arms.

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47Within a month, all Confederate resistance collapsed.After four long years, the Civil War was over.

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