Lesson 6: The War's End

Question 1

Appomattox Court House Definition

Answer 1

a Virginia town that was the site of the Confederate surrender in 1865

Question 2

Battle of Gettysburg Definition

Answer 2

an 1863 Civil War battle in Pennsylvania that ended in a Union victory and stopped the Confederate invasion of the North

Question 3

Gettysburg Address Definition

Answer 3

the speech made by President Lincoln in 1863 after the Battle of Gettysburg

Question 4

Philip Bazaar Definition

Answer 4

an immigrant from Chile who enlisted in the United States Navy and was awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery during the assault on Fort Fisher on January 15, 1865

Question 5

Pickett’s Charge Definition

Answer 5

a failed Confederate charge at the Battle of Gettysburg

Question 6

Siege Definition

Answer 6

a military blockade or encirclement of an enemy town or position with the purpose of forcing it to surrender

Question 7

Total War Definition

Answer 7

an all-out war that affects civilians at home as well as soldiers in combat

Question 8

When did the tide of war change against the South?

Answer 8

Confederate armies won major battles at Fredericksburg in December 1862 and at Chancellorsville in May 1863. These were gloomy days for the North. Then, in July 1863, the tide of war turned against the South as Union forces won major victories in both the East and the West.

Question 9

In the West, where did Union triumph come from? Why was Vicksburg seen as important? Why was it hard to attack?

Answer 9

In the West, Union triumph came along the Mississippi River. The Union, which had captured New Orleans and Memphis, already controlled both ends of the southern Mississippi River. Still, the Confederates held Vicksburg, Mississippi. It controlled a crucial Mississippi River crossing linking the eastern and western Confederate states. Vicksburg sat on a cliff high above the river. Its physical geography made it difficult to attack from the river.

Question 10

In early 1863, how did Grant’s attempts of seizing Vicksburg go? What was Grant’s plan to capture Vicksburg? What happened when he did capture Vicksburg (The Siege of Vicksburg or The Battle of Vicksburg)? What happened after the Union captured Port Hudson, Louisiana? How did the Union’s control of the Mississippi River affect the Confederacy?

Answer 10

Early in 1863, Grant’s forces tried again and again to seize Vicksburg. The Confederates held out bravely. At last, Grant devised a brilliant plan. Landing at an unguarded spot on the river and arching his troops inland, he launched a surprise attack on Jackson, Mississippi. Then, he turned west and attacked Vicksburg from the rear. On the side facing away from the river, no physical barriers protected Vicksburg. For more than six weeks, Grant’s forces laid siege to Vicksburg. A siege is a military encirclement of an enemy position and blockading or bombarding it in order to force it to surrender. Finally, on July 4, 1863, the Confederates surrendered Vicksburg. On July 9, Union forces also captured Port Hudson, Louisiana. The entire Mississippi River was now under Union control. The Union took advantage of physical geography by using the Mississippi River to supply its troops. The Confederacy was now split into two parts. Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana were cut off from the rest of the Confederate states. This meant that the eastern Confederate states were no longer able to get supplies from the western states. This was a devastating loss for the Confederacy.

Question 11

What happened at the Battle of Gettysburg? What happened during Pickett’s Charge?

Answer 11

Meanwhile, in the East, after his victory at Chancellorsville, General Lee moved his army north into Pennsylvania. He hoped to take the Yankees by surprise. If he succeeded in Pennsylvania, Lee planned to swing south and capture Washington, D.C. The Union army followed the Confederates, making sure to remain between the Confederates and Washington. On June 30, 1863, the Union Army of the Potomac, now under command of General George C. Meade, met part of Lee’s army at the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Both sides quickly sent in reinforcements. The three-day Battle of Gettysburg that followed was one of the most significant events of the Civil War. On the first day of battle, July 1, the Confederates drove the Union forces out of Gettysburg. The Yankees, however, took up strong positions on Cemetery Ridge, overlooking the town. Union troops fortified these positions throughout that night. The next day, Lee ordered an attack on both ends of the Union line, much of which was positioned on high ground, making the attacks difficult. Southern troops fought hard, but the Union army was well prepared for Lee’s offensive. At the end of a day of savage fighting, Lee’s forces had suffered heavy casualties but failed to dislodge the Union army from its strong position. Despite his losses, Lee decided to attack again. He wanted to “create a panic and virtually destroy the [Union] army.” On July 3, he ordered General George Pickett to lead 15,000 men in a daring charge against the center of the Union line. To reach their target, Pickett’s men would have to march about 1,000 yards across sloping, open ground—all within clear view of the enemy. This last attack led by Pickett is known as Pickett’s Charge. Prior to the charge, Confederate cannons pounded the Union position on Cemetery Ridge, but the Union lines remained intact. Pickett then gave the order to charge. As the Confederates marched forward, Union guns opened fire. Row after row of soldiers fell to the ground, dead or wounded. The battle noise, one soldier recalled, was “strange and terrible, a sound that came from thousands of human throats … like a vast mournful roar.” Pickett’s Charge failed. The steady barrage of bullets and shells kept all but a handful of Confederate soldiers from penetrating the Union lines.

Question 12

What did General Lee humbly admit at the end of the Battle of Gettysburg? Why was Lincoln disappointed by the Union’s performance in the battle? Why were the Union victories at Vicksburg and Gettysburg turning points in the war?

Answer 12

The next day, a Union officer trying to ride over the battlefield could not because “the dead and wounded lay too thick to guide a horse through them.” As the survivors limped back, Lee rode among them. “It’s all my fault,” he admitted humbly. Lee had no choice but to retreat with his weakened army. After they were defeated at Gettysburg, the Confederates would never invade the North again. General Meade was proud of the victory. He had protected Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. Lincoln, however, was disappointed. He felt that the Union army had once again allowed the Confederate troops to get away. The Union victories at Vicksburg and Gettysburg marked the turning point of the Civil War. It seemed just a matter of time before the Confederacy would fall. However, the South was still determined to fight. The war would last another two years.

Question 13

What did Lincoln say during the Gettysburg Address?

Answer 13

The Battle of Gettysburg left more than 50,000 dead or wounded. On November 19, 1863, there was a ceremony to dedicate a cemetery to the memory of those soldiers who died at Gettysburg. President Lincoln attended the ceremony. He delivered a speech now known as the Gettysburg Address. The speech expressed the purpose of the Civil War and exemplified Lincoln’s leadership at a time of tremendous crisis. Lincoln said that the Civil War was a test of whether or not a democratic government could survive. This claim implied that the nation’s survival depended on the integrity of the Union. He also addressed the theme of equality. He reminded Americans that their nation was founded on the belief that “all men are created equal.” Lincoln told the audience:

“We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

—Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863

Lincoln’s words, “all men are created equal,” taken from the Declaration of Independence, and his mention of “a new birth of freedom” both express his ideas about liberty and equality. Coming so soon after the Emancipation Proclamation, made earlier that same year, Lincoln’s words implied that “a new birth of freedom” for millions of African Americans had become not just one of the goals of the Civil War, but one of the nation’s ideals. Lincoln’s entire speech was only ten sentences long and took about three minutes to deliver, but it is honored as a profound statement of American ideals.

Question 14

When did Lincoln appoint Ulysses S. Grant as commander of the Union Forces? What was his plan of Total War?

Answer 14

Since the beginning of the war, Lincoln had searched for a general who could lead the Union to victory. More and more, he thought of Ulysses S. Grant. After capturing Vicksburg, Grant continued to win battles in the West. In 1864, Lincoln appointed him commander of the Union forces. In this role, Grant would lead the final Union advance against the Confederacy. Some questioned the choice, but President Lincoln felt that “Unconditional Surrender” Grant, as some called him, was the general who would end the war in the Union’s favor. Even back when Grant had been criticized for near disaster at the Battle of Shiloh, Lincoln had defended Grant: “I can’t spare this man,” Lincoln said. “He fights.” Grant had a plan for ending the war. He wanted to destroy the South’s ability to fight. To achieve this, Grant ordered his generals to wage total war against the South. He wanted the Union army to destroy food, equipment, and anything else they found that might be useful to the enemy. In the past, most wars had been restricted to soldiers. Total war, however, did not make any distinctions. Civilians in the South, like the Confederate army, would suffer hardship.

Question 15

What was the purpose of Grant sending General Philip Sheridan and his calvary into Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley? What did he do there?

Answer 15

To set his plan in motion, Grant sent General Philip Sheridan and his cavalry into the rich farmland of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. He instructed Sheridan:
“Leave nothing to invite the enemy to return. Destroy whatever cannot be consumed. Let the valley be left so that crows flying over it will have to carry their rations along with them.”

—Ulysses S. Grant, quoted in Bruce Catton’s Grant Takes Command

Sheridan obeyed. In the summer and fall of 1864, he marched through the valley, destroying farms and livestock. During the campaign, Sheridan’s troops burned 2,000 barns filled with grain. There was nothing left for Lee’s troops or for southern civilians.

Question 16

What happened during Sherman’s March to the Sea, ordered by Grant?

Answer 16

Grant also ordered General William Tecumseh Sherman to capture Atlanta, Georgia, and then march to the Atlantic coast. Like Sheridan, Sherman had orders to destroy everything useful to the South. Sherman’s troops captured Atlanta in September 1864. They began their campaign by turning the people of Atlanta out of their homes and burning a large part of the city. Then, Sherman began his “march to the sea.” As they marched through Georgia, Sherman’s troops ripped up railroad tracks, built bonfires from the ties, then heated and twisted the rails. (The now useless rails, often twisted around trees, were nicknamed “Sherman’s neckties.”) The soldiers killed livestock and tore up fields. They burned barns, homes, bridges, and factories.

Question 17

What happened during Lincoln’s reelection in 1864? What did Lincoln state in his Second Inaugural Address?

Answer 17

Lincoln ran for reelection in 1864. At first, his defeat seemed, in his own words, “exceedingly probable.” Before the capture of Atlanta, Union chances for a final victory looked bleak. Lincoln knew that many northerners were unhappy with his handling of the war. He thought that this might cost him the election. The Democrats nominated General George McClellan to oppose Lincoln. They adopted a resolution demanding the immediate “cessation of hostilities” against the South. Although he had commanded the Union army, McClellan was willing to compromise with the Confederacy. If peace could be achieved, he was ready to restore slavery. Then, in September, Sherman took Atlanta, and the North rallied around Lincoln. Sheridan’s smashing victories in the Shenandoah Valley in October further increased Lincoln’s popular support. In the election in November, the vote was close, but Lincoln remained President.

In his Second Inaugural Address, Lincoln looked forward to the coming of peace:

“With malice toward none, with charity for all … let us strive … to bind up the nation’s wounds … to do all which may achieve a just and a lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

—Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address

Question 18

How are Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address, the Gettysburg Address, and his Second Inaugural Address connected?

Answer 18

Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, along with his First Inaugural and Gettysburg Addresses, are landmark speeches in American history. Taken together, they present Lincoln’s ideas about liberty, equality, union, and government. In his First Inaugural, Lincoln emphasized the importance of the union of the states, which he viewed as “perpetual,” or never-ending. Again, in the Gettysburg Address, he emphasized the importance of maintaining the union of the country, especially since the country was based on freedom and equality. Lincoln’s Second Inaugural highlighted slavery as a violation of equality and liberty, yet emphasized, again, the preservation of unity by urging people to “bind up the nation’s wounds.”

Question 19

What were the differences between Jefferson Davis’ and Abraham Lincoln’s speeches?

Answer 19

In contrast, Confederate President Jefferson Davis had conveyed different views in his inaugural address, given shortly after Lincoln’s inauguration. In his speech, Davis explained southerner’s reasons for withdrawing from the Union and seceding. It was “a necessity, not a choice,” he said. Quoting the Declaration of Independence, Davis stated this about government:

“Our present condition … illustrates the American idea that governments rest upon the consent of the governed, and that it is the right of the people to alter or abolish governments whenever they become destructive of the ends for which they were established.”

—President Jefferson Davis, First Inaugural Address, February 18, 1861

Lincoln had insisted in his First Inaugural Address that the Constitution required union. In the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln had extended the idea of liberty to all Americans. While Lincoln’s speeches called for equality and liberty for enslaved African Americans, Davis called for the equality and liberty only of southern whites. In his commitment to principles of liberty, equality, and the preservation of the Union and the government, and in his decisions as President during the most difficult crisis the United States had ever faced, Lincoln demonstrated remarkable leadership qualities.

Question 20

How many fatalities occurred during the Battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor, all in Virginia, which were fought during Grant’s conquest for Richmond? What happened had Petersburg? When did the Union capture Richmond?

Answer 20

Grant had begun a drive to capture Richmond in May 1864. Throughout the spring and summer, he and Lee fought a series of costly battles. Northerners read with horror that 60,000 men were killed or wounded in a single month at the Battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor, all in Virginia. Still, Grant pressed on. He knew that the Union could replace men and supplies. The South could not. Lee dug in at Petersburg, near Richmond. Here, Grant kept Lee under siege for nine months. At last, with a fresh supply of troops, Grant took Petersburg on April 2, 1865. The same day, Richmond fell.

Question 21

How did Grant show generosity during the Confederate’s surrender at Appomattox Court House?

Answer 21

Lee and his army withdrew to a small Virginia town called Appomattox Court House. There, a week later, they were trapped by Union troops. Lee knew that his men would be slaughtered if he kept fighting. On April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered. At Appomattox Court House, Grant offered generous terms of surrender to the defeated Confederate army. Soldiers were required to turn over their rifles, but officers were allowed to keep their pistols. Soldiers who had horses could keep them. Grant knew that southerners would need the animals for spring plowing. Finally, ordered Grant, “each officer and man will be allowed to return to his home, not to be disturbed by the United States authorities.” As the Confederates surrendered, Union soldiers began to cheer. Grant ordered them to be silent. “The war is over,” he said. “The rebels are our countrymen again.”

Question 22

How were the soldiers celebrated after the Civil War? Who was Philip Bazaar?

Answer 22

The war was over, but for hundreds and thousands of men, women, and children, it would be remembered as the most important event of their lives. The men who fought on both sides were honored for their services with ceremonies up to 75 years after the war. During the war, President Lincoln had signed into law what would become the Medal of Honor, the highest honor in the American military. Over 1,500 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor for their heroic actions during the Civil War. One Medal of Honor recipient was Philip Bazaar, an immigrant from Chile. He enlisted in the Navy at New Bedford, Massachusetts. Although his rank was low—“ordinary seaman”—his actions proved him a hero. He earned the Medal of Honor carrying vital messages between commanders while serving on the U.S.S. Santiago de Cuba during the assault on Fort Fisher, North Carolina, on January 15, 1865:

“As one of a boat crew detailed to one of the generals on shore, O.S. Bazaar bravely entered the fort in the assault and accompanied his party in carrying dispatches at the height of the battle. He was 1 of 6 men who entered the fort in the assault from the fleet.”

—Medal of Honor Citation for Philip Bazaar, June 22, 1865

Question 23

What was the influence of the Civil War?

Answer 23

The effect of the Civil War was immense. The Civil War years, 1861–1865, were significant on many levels. More than 360,000 Union soldiers and 250,000 Confederate soldiers lost their lives. No war has ever resulted in more American deaths. In dollars, the war’s cost was about 20 billion. That was more than 11 times the entire amount spent by the federal government between 1789 and 1861. The Civil War was a major turning point in American history. The balance of power was changed. The Democratic party lost its influence and the Republicans were in a commanding position. No longer would Americans speak of the nation as a confederation of states. Before the war, Americans referred to “these United States.” After, they began speaking of “the United States.” The idea that each state might secede, if it chose, was dead. As a result, the power of the federal government grew. The war also put an end to slavery in the United States. For years, Americans had debated whether slavery could exist in a nation dedicated to the ideals of liberty and equality. By the war’s end, millions of African Americans had gained their freedom. Millions more Americans, both northern and southern, began to think about what it meant to be free and equal. To be sure, a long and difficult struggle for equality lay ahead. Yet, Lincoln’s words at Gettysburg were prophetic: “We here highly resolve … that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.” From out of a cruel, bitter, often heart-rending war, the United States did indeed emerge a stronger, freer nation.