LAST YEARS OF THE CIVIL WAR

1863-1865

1863

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

1864

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…

1865

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