Civil War Battles 1862-Civil War Battles 1862-18641864

September 1862September 1862• Great Britain was ready to formally

recognize the Confederacy as an independent nation, but were waiting for a major win on Union soil.

• On September 4, 1862 Lee began crossing the Potomac River into Maryland.

• Union forces lost track of the Confederate troops for 4 days.

• McClellan met Lee at Antietam in MD.• The Battle of Antietam raged all day

and became the bloodiest single-day battle in all of U.S. military history.

Antietam cont…Antietam cont…

• Casualties: 12,000 Union 13,000

Confederate• The Union won, but Lincoln fired

McClellan.• Significance: Showed Lee could be

defeated; Lincoln issued a preliminary draft of the Emancipation Proclamation.

African American African American SoldiersSoldiers

• In August 1862 the first black regiments were organized in the Union army.

• Many of them served in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry.

• They led the charge in the attack on Fort Wagner, which guarded the entrance to the Charleston Harbor.

• Union army did not offer them full equality; they earned half the pay of white soldiers.

• In 1865, Martin Delany became the 1st African American promoted to the rank of major.

December 1862December 1862

• After Antietam, Lincoln chose Ambrose Burnside to replace McClellan.

• In December 1862, Burnside sent Union soldiers across the Rappahannock River near Fredericksburg, VA

• Lee’s soldiers controlled the hills above the town.

• On December 13, as the Union crossed an open plain, the Confederate fired on them.

• Casualties: 12,000 Union 5,000 Confederate

April 1863April 1863

• Lincoln made yet another change in the Union leader, who now was Joseph Hooker.

• By April 30, 1863 Hooker positioned his men in a deep forest known as the Wilderness, near Chancellorsville, VA.

• The Confederate attacked them from 2 sides, causing Hooker to withdraw.

• Significance: Stonewall Jackson was accidentally shot by his own men which led to the amputation of his arm. He died 8 days later.

RIP STONEWALL

JACKSON

June 1863June 1863

• In June 1863 Lee crossed into Pennsylvania.

• Lincoln once again replaced his general, the new man: George Meade.

• On the 2nd day of the Battle of Gettysburg the Confederates rushed the Union on the top of a ridge, and many were killed.

• This became known as Pickett’s Charge.

• Bad weather prevented Meade from pursuing the Confederates and Lee retreated to Virginia.

Gettysburg cont…Gettysburg cont…

• After 3 days of fighting the casualties were: Union= 23,000

Confederate= 28,000• In November 1863 Lincoln

dedicated a cemetery at the battlefield and spoke for a few minutes, delivering his famous Gettysburg Address.

July 1863July 1863

• Grant knew that gaining full control of the Mississippi River required taking Vicksburg, MS

• Grant and Union troops trapped Confederate troops during the Siege of Vicksburg. Reinforcements were not able to help the trapped Confederate troops.

• On July 3, 1863 General Grant and Confederate general John Pemberton met to discuss the terms of surrender.

• This and another victory gave the Union total control over the MS River, which cut Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas off from the rest of the Confederacy.

September 1864September 1864

• Union general William Tecumseh Sherman undertook a campaign to destroy southern railroads and industries.

• On September 2, 1864 Atlanta fell and the Confederates lost their last railroad link across the Appalachian Mts.

• Sherman’s success renewed hope that the conflict would soon end.

• It also boosted Lincoln’s popularity and allowed him to win the 1864 presidential election.

• Sherman proposed to fight a total war, meaning that to win the war the Union must strike at the enemy’s economic resources.

IN-CLASS/HOMEWORKIN-CLASS/HOMEWORK

• Read Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address on pg 391

• Put into your own words what Lincoln was saying

• Go over your notes and find out where the battles took place

• Label them on your map