Even members of the Cabinet urged Lincoln to replace Grant as commander of the western army. But the President responded to those critical of Grant by saying, "I can't spare this man, he fights.
I'll try him a little longer. In Grant's mind the most viable option was to march the army down the west side of the river, search for a favorable crossing point, and transfer the field of operations to the area south and east of Vicksburg.
The movement began on March 31, , and thus the Vicksburg Campaign began in earnest. As Grant's infantrymen slogged their way south through Louisiana, corduroying roads and building bridges each step of the way, the Union fleet commanded by Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter prepared to run by the batteries at Vicksburg.
On the dark, moonless night of April 16, Porter's vessels raised anchor and moved downriver toward the citadel of Vicksburg with engines muffled and running lights extinguished.
Suddenly the night sky was ablaze from bales of cotton soaked in turpentine that lined the river on both banks and barrels of tar set afire by the Confederates to illuminate the river and silhouette the fleet as it passed the batteries. For several hours the fleet withstood the punishing fire that poured forth from Confederate batteries.
When the shelling stopped, Porter tallied the damage to his fleet and recorded the loss of only one transport vessel. What many deemed impossible had been achieved. With Porter's fleet now below Vicksburg, Grant had the wherewithal to cross the mighty river. It was Grant's intention to force a crossing of the river at Grand Gulf where there was a good all-weather landing and from which point roads radiated deep into the interior of Mississippi.
Two forts guarded Grand Gulf and posed an obstacle to Federal plans. On April 29, Porter's gunboats bombarded the Grand Gulf defenses in preparation for a landing by Grant's troops.
The fleet silenced the guns of Fort Wade, but could not silence those of Fort Cobun. Ever adaptive, Grant disembarked his men from the transports and marched them five miles farther down the levee. That evening, Porter's fleet passed the Confederate batteries and joined with Grant at Disharoon's plantation. From April 30 to May 1 Grant hurled his army across the mighty river and onto Mississippi soil at Bruinsburg.
In one of the largest amphibious operations in American history up to that time, Grant landed 22, men and began the inland campaign to capture Vicksburg. Once ashore, Grant's forces pushed rapidly inland and marched through the night. In the early morning hours of May 1, they encountered Confederate resistance west of Port Gibson. In a furious battle which raged throughout the day, Union soldiers fought with grim determination to secure their beachhead on Mississippi soil while Confederate soldiers fought with equal determination to drive the invaders into the river.
By day's end, the Confederate forces, outnumbered and hard-pressed, retired from the field. Rather than march north on Vicksburg, Grant directed his army in a northeasterly direction in order to cut the rail line that connected the Hill City with Jackson and cut the Confederate garrison off from supplies and reinforcements.
In a seventeen-day period, which is often referred to as the blitzkrieg of the Vicksburg Campaign, Grant's army marched more than miles, and overcame Confederate resistance in five battles. The first battle occurred at Port Gibson on May 1, the second at Raymond on May 12, and the third on May 14 when the Union army captured the capital of Mississippi.
Not wishing to waste combat troops on occupation, Grant neutralized Jackson with the torch then turned west toward his objective — Vicksburg. En route from Jackson to Vicksburg, his force inflicted devastating casualties on the Confederate army commanded by Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton at the Battle of Champion Hill on May On the following day, May 17, Grant soundly defeated Confederate forces in a battle at the Big Black River Bridge, hurling Pemberton's army into the defenses of Vicksburg.
Having witnessed the debacle at the Big Black River and the wild flight of his troops, Pemberton dejectedly stated, "Just thirty years ago I began my military career by receiving my appointment to a cadetship at the U. Military Academy, and to-day — that same date — that career is ended in disaster and disgrace.
The citizens of Vicksburg watched in fear as the shattered remnants of Pemberton's army poured into the city on that fateful day. Emma Balfour stood in her doorway as the demoralized mass of humanity filled the streets. She later wrote with trepidation, "I hope never to witness again such a scene as the return of our routed army! God only knows. On through the long day and into the evening marched the weary soldiers clad in butternut and gray.
Singly or in small groups, with no sense of order or discipline, the men filed into the rifle-pits and turned to meet Grant's rapidly approaching army. Throughout the night, axes rang out constantly as the Confederates felled additional trees to strengthen fortifications, clear fields of fire, and form abatis in their front. Work continued at a feverish pace and, by sunrise, the city was in a good state of defense.
Late in the afternoon, May 18, Confederate soldiers peering over their parapets spotted long columns of Union infantrymen moving slowly toward the city. Federal skirmishers were quickly deployed and artillery roared into action, but the day wore away with nothing more than a long-range artillery duel.
That night, as darkness enveloped the fields, the soldiers of both armies rested on their arms. Each knew that the bloody work at hand would commence with the rising sun and prepared for battle in his own way. Grant was anxious for a quick victory and, after making a hasty reconnaissance, ordered an attack. Early on the morning of May 19, Union artillery opened fire upon the city and for hours bombarded the Confederate works with solid shot and shell. They succeeded in planting several stands of colors on the parapets of Vicksburg, but were driven back with the loss of men.
Undaunted, Grant decided to make a more thorough reconnaissance, then hurl his entire force against Vicksburg on May Early that morning, Union artillery roared into action and for four hours bombarded the works, tearing large holes in the earthen fortifications.
At 10 a. Again they succeeded in planting their colors on the parapets of Vicksburg in several areas and made a short-lived penetration at Railroad Redoubt, but were driven back a second time with severe loss.
In the assault on May 22, Grant lost more than 3, men killed, wounded, or missing. Although his nose had been bloodied a second time, Grant was not yet willing to toss in the towel and lay siege to the city. As he contemplated his next move, Grant left behind his dead and wounded, including many who had been lying exposed since May Exposed to the sun and heat, the bodies of the dead began to bloat and turn black; the stench was sickening.
On May 25, white flags appeared along the Confederate line Union soldiers were hopeful that the city would soon be surrendered. Theft hopes were dashed as word quickly spread that a note was passed from Pemberton to Grant "imploring in the name of humanity" that Grant bury his dead as the odor had become quite offensive.
A truce was granted for two and one-half hours during which time men in blue and gray mingled between the lines. While the gruesome task of the burial details was completed, it was almost as if there was no war in progress. At the appointed time, however, the flags were taken down and everyone ran for cover. The siege of Vicksburg began in earnest that day. Throughout the month of May and into June, Union soldiers slowly extended their lines to the left and right until they encircled the beleaguered city, effectively cutting Pemberton's garrison off from all supply and communications with the outside word.
The Second Battle of Bull Run takes place. The battle leads to huge Union losses. General Lee invades the North in an attempt to isolate Washington, D.
The Union is aided by a copy of Lee's orders, left by a Confederate soldier at a campsite. In the carnage that follows, nearly 5, men are killed and 18, wounded. McClellan fails to follow Lee's retreat, and a frustrated Lincoln consequently removes him from his command. Following the Confederate defeat at Antietam, Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, to go into effect on January 1, In the document, Lincoln frees all slaves in Confederate or contested areas of the South.
Slaves in non-Confederate border states and in parts of the Confederacy under Union control are not included. European public opinion sides with Lincoln and the Union. Midterm congressional elections take place. The Republicans maintain control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, with a majority in Senate and a majority in the House.
The Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, marks a grave defeat for the Union. General Lee and his Confederate troops defeat General Burnside. Union losses number more than 12,, while Confederate casualties rise to 5, With it, he freed all slaves in Confederate or contested areas of the South. However, the Proclamation did not include slaves in non-Confederate border states and in parts of the Confederacy under Union control. During the war, Republicans and Northern free blacks called on the President to act decisively to end slavery.
Members of the Lincoln administration also hoped that an act of emancipation would make it difficult for Britain or France to officially recognize the Confederacy in view of the antislavery sentiments among their home populations—especially in Britain. In July , President Lincoln announced to his cabinet that he intended to issue an Emancipation Proclamation in his capacity as Commander in Chief of the armed forces in the time of war.
The Proclamation would free all slaves in areas still in rebellion, and henceforth it would be a Union objective to destroy slavery within the Confederate South.
His cabinet persuaded Lincoln to wait until a Union victory, lest it appear to the world like an act of desperation. The President warned that if the rebellion did not end by January 1, , he would issue his presidential order of emancipation and move to destroy slavery in the rebel states once and for all. In the Proclamation, Lincoln left out occupied Tennessee and certain occupied parts of Louisiana and Virginia as well as the loyal slave states. The U. Navy had accepted black sailors from the beginning of the war.
In a single stroke of his pen, Abraham Lincoln issued the most revolutionary measure ever to come from an American President up to that time. Thus, Lincoln used his reelection victory in to promote a constitutional amendment that would end slavery everywhere in the nation. The Republican platform of endorsed the Thirteenth Amendment—which the U.
Senate had passed in April. Lincoln used all the powers of his office, including patronage, to push it through the House, which adopted the amendment on January 31, The Thirteenth Amendment was ratified in December Read the full text of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Chase, creates the system for a national bank. Congress passes a conscription law, requiring military service. Following his success, Lee decides to begin a second invasion into the North. General Stonewall Jackson is wounded in the Battle of Chancellorsville, accidentally shot by his own troops; his left arm must be amputated. Jackson catches pneumonia and dies on May The Territory of Idaho is created from existing territories. This territory later includes the states of Montana and Wyoming.
The Battle of Gettysburg, the war's greatest engagement, occurs. General George E. Meade, who replaced McClellan, meets him accidentally at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. After two days of battle, Lee makes his greatest blunder and sends General George Picket and 15, men on a suicidal charge across Cemetery Ridge. By July 4, both sides are exhausted; the following day, Lee's troops retreat across the Potomac, never to return to the North.
The South suffers greatly with nearly 30, killed, wounded, or missing; the North endures 23, casualties. For the remainder of the war, Lee will fight on the defensive.
Meanwhile, Meade fails to pursue the retreating Confederate troops, frustrating Lincoln. After an engagement of months, General Ulysses S. Grant finally captures Vicksburg, Mississippi, a Confederate stronghold. Capturing Vicksburg gives the Union control over the entirety of Mississippi.
Angry over the draft, rioters in New York City protest the conscription act. More than one-hundred people, many of them African-American, are killed. Lincoln has units from Gettysburg rush to the city to end the fighting. Lincoln makes his famous Gettysburg Address -- consisting of three short paragraphs -- on the bloodstained battlefield. Ceremonies take place which include the dedication of a national cemetery. Andrew Johnson is nominated as his new vice president. Horace Greeley, a radical Republican, is eager for peace.
Lincoln opens peace negotiations and tells Greeley that emissaries from Jefferson Davis are in Canada. Without proper authority, however, negotiations at Niagara Falls, New York, fail. McClellan, the former Union commander, for the presidency and George Pendleton for the vice-presidency. Claiming the war effort a failure, the Democrats support a ceasefire and peace conference. In congressional elections, the Republicans increase their power in both houses.
They now hold majorities of in the Senate and in the House. Along with 55 percent of the popular vote, Lincoln wins electoral votes to McClellan's After burning Atlanta, General Sherman begins his notorious mile march to the sea with 62, men. Traveling roughly ten miles a day, the Union troops ravage the countryside, leaving a path of destruction fifty miles wide; they capture Savannah in late December.
Sherman then turns toward South Carolina. Salmon P. Chase is appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Formerly Governor of Ohio and then secretary of the treasury under Lincoln, Chase kept the nation out of financial ruin through Legal Tender Act in Chase had also orchestrated the first income tax in With Lincoln's influence, the House of Representatives approves the Thirteenth Amendment, which calls for the emancipation of all slaves and no compensation to their owners.
The amendment was passed by the Senate in but failed to receive the necessary votes in the House. By December of , enough states ratify the amendment to make it constitutionally binding. The Senate had passed the amendment in April With Congress's approval, the amendment then went to the states for ratification. By December , enough states had ratified the amendment to make it constitutionally binding.
The Thirteenth Amendment had two sections. Prior to becoming president, Abraham Lincoln had compromised on the slavery issue in the political arena.
Although Lincoln clearly hated slavery, he assumed the presidency promising not to interfere with it. During the American Civil War, President Lincoln noted again and again that his purpose in fighting the South was to save the Union, not to free the slaves.
But as the war dragged on and more and more slaves from the South fled to the Union Army, Lincoln began to reconsider slavery, and he came under more and more pressure to free the slaves. In July , the president announced to his cabinet that he would issue the Emancipation Proclamation in his capacity as commander in chief of the armed forces in time of war.
After the Union Army defeated the Confederates at the Battle of Antietam in September , Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation and warned that if the war did not end by January 1, , the Emancipation would go into effect and the Union would move to destroy slavery in the rebel states forever.
During his reelection campaign of , President Lincoln promoted a constitutional amendment that would end slavery throughout the country. Lincoln used all the powers of his office to have Congress pass the amendment. Lincoln, however, did not live to see the Thirteenth Amendment become part of the Constitution. The president was assassinated in April , and the amendment was ratified in December of that year.
Lee overall command of the Confederate armies. Previously, President Jefferson Davis had served as commander. Congress creates the Freedmen's Bureau to help Southern blacks affected by the war. The Bureau supplies blacks with food, clothing, and medical care, and will orchestrate the placement of freedmen on abandoned lands. Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as president for his second term while Andrew Johnson succeeds Hannibal Hamlin as vice-president.
Desperate for manpower, the Confederate Congress approves the recruitment of , slaves for military involvement. Jefferson Davis declares that all volunteers and their families will be given freedom. Lee surrenders to General Grant, marking the end of the Civil War. The failure of the Sherman led some 60, soldiers on a mile march from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. The victories forced the At the Battle of Nashville, which took place from December 15 to December 16, , during the American Civil War , the once powerful Confederate Army of Tennessee was nearly destroyed when a Union army commanded by General George Thomas swarmed over the Rebel Live TV.
This Day In History. History Vault. William T. Recommended for you. General Sherman Captures Atlanta. Vicksburg Campaign. Campaign Tech.
Dardanelles Campaign In March , during World War I , British and French forces launched an ill-fated naval attack on Turkish forces in the Dardanelles in northwestern Turkey, hoping to take control of the strategically vital strait separating Europe from Asia.
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