Emancipation Proclamation

• Republicans were divided on the issue of slavery

• Strong Abolitionist versus those Republicans like Lincoln

• Lincoln was an abolitionist but did not want to endanger the loyalty of slave-holding border states that had chosen to remain in the Union

• Northerners began to agree that slavery had to end for two reasons

1. To punish the South2. To make the soldiers’ sacrifices seem

worthwhile September 22, 1862, encouraged by the

Union victory at Antietam, Lincoln issue’s the proclamation

The decree freed all enslaved persons in states still in rebellion after Jan. 1, 1863

Critical IssuesThe proclamation did not address slavery in

the border states (Lincoln did not want to endanger their loyalty to the Union)

The proclamation transformed the conflict over preserving the Union into a war of liberation

The proclamation energized Union forces

Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville• Lincoln replaces McClellan with Ambrose

Burnside and urges him to destroy Lee’s army• December 1862 at Fredericksburg, Burnside

orders a series of bloody assaults against Lee’s forces(Union suffers 12K casualties)

• Distressed by the defeat, Lincoln replaces Burnside with Joseph Hooker

• May 1863 at Chancellorsville, Lee’s troops outnumbered 2-to-1, attack and force Hooker’s Union army to retreat

The Siege of Vicksburg• With the lower half of the Mississippi River under control,

Vicksburg was the last Confederate stronghold on the river• Grant’s first attempt failed due to swampy conditions of the

area• May 1863, Grant launched two assaults that were repulsed

inflicting heavy casualties• Grant decides the only way to take Vicksburg is by siege (cut

off food and supplies)• On July 4, 1863, with Confederate troops and citizens

starving, Vicksburg surrenders• With the fall of Vicksburg, the Confederacy has been cut in

half

Road to Gettysburg• Lee sees another opportunity to invade the

North and to get needed supplies• Foraging in Pennsylvania, Lee’s forces

encounter Union cavalry at the town of Gettysburg

• Confederates push the Union troops out of town, Union troops under the leadership of General George Meade take positions in the hills south of town

Battle of Gettysburg• On July 3, 1863, Lee sends 15K men under the

leadership of General George E. Pickett to break the Union line at Seminary Ridge

• The attack becomes known as “Pickett’s Charge”

• Union cannons and guns inflict 7K casualties in less than a half hour

• Less than 5k Confederates made it up the ridge, the attack was thwarted

• Confederate casualties were estimated at 28K

Aftermath of Gettysburg• Lee is forced to retreat and will be on the

defensive the rest of the war• Gettysburg proves to be another turning point in

the warIn November 1863, President Lincoln comes to

Gettysburg to dedicate a portion of the battlefield as a military cemetery

His speech becomes known as the “Gettysburg Address” and is considered on of the best-known orations in American history

Battle of Chickamauga

• Both sides know that the path to Atlanta leads through Chattanooga because of the railroad

• Confederate troops launch an assault in September 1863 at Chickamauga Creek just outside of Chattanooga

• Union troops retreat to Chattanooga but find themselves almost completely surrounded

Battle of Chattanooga• Lincoln sends reinforcements and puts Grant

in command of Union forces in Chattanooga• Late November 1863, Union forces attack

Confederate positions at Lookout Mountain, forcing them to retreat

• Grant send 23K men up Missionary Ridge and to their surprise, Confederates scattered leaving Chattanooga to the Union army

Grant Becomes Commander

By the Spring of 1864, Grant has accomplished two crucial objectives for the Union:

1. Capture of Vicksburg giving the Union control of the Mississippi River

2. Victory at Chattanooga had secured eastern Tennessee, clearing the way for an invasion of Georgia

Lincoln promotes Grant to General-In-Chief of the Union army