Chapter 22: The Civil War (Part 5)

General Lee

• He turned down an offer by Lincoln to command the Union army before the actual shooting started, was by definition a traitor and a terrorist.

Lee's bold plan

• In taking his army across the Potomac River in early September, Lee had in mind strategic, logistical, and political factors. He believed that the soldiers of McClellan and Pope “lay weakened and demoralized” in the vicinity of Washington, D.C., and he sought to maintain aggressive momentum rather than assume a defensive position and allow the Federals to muster their superior strength to mount another offensive. If he remained in Virginia, Lee would be forced to react to Union movements, whereas in Maryland or Pennsylvania he would hold the initiative. Lee believed he could easily flank the enemy by crossing the Potomac upriver from Washington and marching the Army of Northern Virginia through Maryland. A short thrust into Union territory would not be enough; a protracted stay would be the key to Confederate success. Lee hoped to keep his army on United States soil through much of the autumn, not with the intention of capturing and holding territory but with an eye toward accomplishing several goals before returning to Virginia as winter approached.

General george meade

• He replaced Hooker with himself so he could win the war.

Battle of gettysburg

• The first steps toward the Battle of Gettysburg started in June 1863. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's soldiers crossed the Potomac River in Virginia and began to march toward the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, with thoughts that a victory in the North would erode the Union's will to continue the fight.

Pickett's charge

• Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee against Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Union positions on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War.

winning the battle of gettysburg

• The Battle of Gettysburg, fought from July 1 to July 3, 1863, is considered the most important engagement of the American Civil War. After a great victory over Union forces at Chancellorsville, General Robert E. Lee marched his Army of Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania in late June 1863.

battle of vicksburg

• Two Confederate forces were in the area
• As a result, Grant would virtually halt prisoner exchanges

the gettysburg address

• The Gettysburg Address is a speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln at the November 19, 1863, dedication of Soldier's National Cemetery, a cemetery for Union soldiers killed at the Battle Of Gettysburg during the American Civil War.

grants final plan

• By early 1864, the first two goals had been accomplished. The blockade had successfully prevented any meaningful foreign aid. General Ulysses Grant's success at Vicksburg delivered the Mississippi River to the Union. Lincoln turned to Grant to finish the job and, in the spring of 1864, appointed Grant to command the entire Union Army. Grant had a plan to end the war by November. He mounted several major simultaneous offensives. General George Meade was to lead the Union's massive Army of the Potomac against Robert E. Lee. Grant would stay with Meade, who commanded the largest Northern army. GENERAL JAMES BUTLER was to advance up the JAMES RIVER in Virginia and attack Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy. General William Tecumseh Sherman was to plunge into the heart of the South, inflicting as much damage as he could against their war resources.

capture of petersburg

• From June 15-17, 1864, the outnumbered Confederate General Beauregard and his troops saved Petersburg from Union capture. He created a third defensive line along high ground closer to the city and occupied it on the morning of June 18, welcoming reinforcements from Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. The appearance of Lee’s men ended Federals’ hopes to take Petersburg by storm and ensured a lengthy siege and seemingly endless fighting. For the next nine months, Grant focused on severing Petersburg’s many wagon and rail connections to the south and west. Four offensives between June and October made incremental gains. By the end of the 1864 campaign season, Lee could rely on only a makeshift supply line via the Boydton Plank Road and the South Side Railroad to maintain communications with the south.

Total war

• Total War is a war that is unrestricted in terms of the weapons used, the territory or combatants involved, or the objectives pursued, especially one in which the laws of war are disregarded.

lee surrendered to grant

• The Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought on the morning of April 9, 1865, was one of the last battles of the American Civil War. It was the final engagement of Confederate Army general Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia before it surrendered to the Union Army under Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.

terms of surrender

• Many point to Robert E. Lee's surrender on April 9, 1865 as the end of the American Civil War. This claim ignores the fact that other Confederate armies were still in the field and fighting after Lee's surrender.

important effects on war

• Main points: - Unity of the country - Industrialization of the South - Education in the South - Transportation in the South - Abolishment of slavery