The Civil War & Reconstruction

The Path to Emancipation & Total War, 1863-1864

To date we have seen the rise of the Confederacy and the Union’s efforts to vanquish the CSA go unrealized.

This presentation spans the years 1863 and 1864 where we see the development of a national emancipation plan, the authorization of black soldiers, and the Union begin to gain an edge in the fighting of the war.

Some of the campaigns covered include Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, the Wilderness, Shenandoah, and Sherman’s March.

Students may rely on the readings to get a sense of soldiers’ lives and developments on the home front.

Path to Emancipation & Total War

This is a critical year of the war.The Emancipation Proclamation (with its manumission

of Confederate slaves and its authorization of black men’s enlistment) goes into effect.

The USA’s Congress authorizes conscription for Union forces.

Rebellion by civilians (over conscription & impressment) and by runaway slaves forces the CSA to fight the war on multiple fronts.

A growing peace movement led by northern Democrats forces Lincoln to fight on multiple fronts.

The tide slowly starts to turn in favor of the USA with measurable victories at Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga.

1863

Although slavery was at the heart of the Confederacy’s campaign for independence, white men on both sides went into the war confident that the war was for USA advocates to preserve the Union and for the CSA to establish an independent country to protect their “way of life” the foundation of which was slavery.

Neither side expected slavery to be touched by the war. Both thought that enslaved people would stay put and that free African Americans would stay out of the issue.

This thinking reflecting much of the racial attitudes of 19th century America that the USA (and by extension the CSA) was a “white man’s government.”

Enslaved and free blacks rejected this argument. Many enslaved people fled their masters and many free blacks called on Lincoln to end slavery and authorize black military service.

Path to Emancipation

Lincoln, Slavery and the War

Lincoln is unwavering

in his determination

to preserve the Union.

He doesn’t want to

provoke the remaining

slaveholding Border

States to leave the

Union and he wants to

return the seceded

states to the Union.

Any policies that

protected or abolished

slavery were less

significant to Lincoln

than returning the

seceded states to the

Union.

Lincoln, Slavery, and the War

Indeed, because the

Constitution

protected property

rights (including

enslaved people),

Lincoln doesn’t

believe that he can

simply abolish

slavery.

He can, however, use

the U.S. military to

return the seceded

states to the Union

and convince

Congress to pass an

amendment to

change the

Constitution.

Lincoln, Slavery, and the War

The president’s

thinking reflected

that of most of

the Republican

Party and the

overwhelming

majority of white

Unionists.

Frederick Douglass

To fight against

slaveholders

without fighting

against slavery,

is but a half-

hearted

business, and

paralyzes the

hand engaged

in it…Fire must

be met with

water…War for

the destruction

of liberty must

be met with

war for the

destruction of

slavery.

The president’s position infuriated abolitionists and free African Americans.

They argued that Lincoln should use the rebellion as cause to strike at the institution and to command the labor of enslaved people.

Enslaved people had different ideas. They understood that the outcome of the war would determine the fate of slavery and many decided to do whatever they could to escape bondage and to help the Union.

African Americans, Slavery & the War

Talk as we may, we are concerned in this fight and our fate hangs upon its issues. The South must be subjugated, or we shall be enslaved. In aiding the Federal government in whatever way we can, we are aiding to secure our own liberty; for this war can end only in the subjugation of the North or the South.

The Anglo-African, New York Newspaper

African Americans rejected the idea that the U.S. was “a white man’s country” and that the Civil War did not involve them.

Rather than stay put, many enslaved people took flight from farms, plantations, stores, businesses, and homes, seeking Union forces.

Over time, their actions would play a critical role in prompting Union generals, members of Congress, and the president to support emancipation.

African Americans, Slavery & the War

The president’s and the Congress’s initial failure to establish policy re: runaway slaves forced generals to cobble together policies to advance the war effort when they encountered enslaved people. African Americans flooded Union camps and

institutions, most of them were ready to work or fight for the Union by supplying intelligence on CSA troop movement or the landscape of the South, growing food, etc.

Union Generals & Emancipation

In 1861, When

enslaved people

arrive at Fortress

Monroe (VA),

General Benjamin

Butler labels them

“contraband of war,”

which simply means

enemy property.

He provides

sanctuary for

runaway slaves and

does not return

them to their

masters.

The legal fate of

these people still

hung in the balance.

Contraband of War

John C. Frémont

In 1861, General

John C. Frémont

declared martial

law in Missouri

and declared free

people enslaved

by the CSA.

Lincoln rescinded

the order &

removed Frémont

from command.

David Hunter

In 1862, General

David Hunter

issued an order

freeing persons in

Georgia, Florida,

and South

Carolina.

Lincoln overruled

the order.

In 1861, Congress passed the Confiscation Act, which mandated that when the CSA used enslaved people in the war effort, they forfeited their claim to them.

In 1862, Congress passed another Confiscation Act, which moved the nation closer to emancipation by declaring that enslaved people being used in the CSA war effort would be “forever free.”

In 1862, Congress passed the Military Act which freed slaves and their families owned by the enemy.

In 1862, Congress abolished slavery in Washington, D.C.

Although there were some abolitionists in Congress, the majority of supporters of this legislation saw emancipation as a way to win the war.

The U.S. Congress & Emancipation

Abraham Lincoln, 1862

My paramount

objective...is to save

the Union, and is

not either to save or

destroy slavery. If I

could save the

Union without

freeing any slave I

would do it; and if I

could save it by

freeing all the

slaves, I would do it;

and if I could do it

by freeing some and

leaving others

alone, I would do

that also.Lincoln famously wrote this in response to Horace Greeley’s “Prayer of Twenty Millions” criticism of his failure to use the war to end slavery

As the war continues, as slaves flee plantations, Lincoln’s ideas and policies evolve.

Lincoln tries to develop a plan for compensating slaveholders for manumitting their slaves but Confederates reject this.

To address white Americans’ fears of interracial sex, racial equality, and economic competition between blacks and whites, he tries to develop a plan to repatriate free blacks in Haiti or in Liberia.

Lincoln, Slavery & the War

Abraham Lincoln, 1862

Your race suffer

greatly, many of

them, living

among us, while

ours suffer

greatly from your

presence…

We should be

separated…

But for your race

among us there

could not be

war…

Robert Purvis

The majority of

African Americans

opposed this idea.

They reject the idea

that the war is

somehow the fault

of black people.

Robert Purvis’s

statement reflects

black people’s

thinking:

Sir, this is our

country as much as

it is yours and we

will not leave it.

Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln met with his cabinet on July 22, 1862 for the first reading of a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation

Abraham Lincoln

We know how to

save the

Union...In giving

freedom to the

slave, we assure

freedom to the

free—honorable

alike in what we

give, and what we

preserve. We shall

nobly save, or

meanly lose, the

last best hope of

earth. Other

means may

succeed; this

could not fail.

As a strategic decision to use the Confederates’ most valuable weapon (their slaves and their dependence on their labor) against them, Lincoln issues the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation in the fall of 1862. Read the text of this document at the National Archives site.

Lincoln hopes that this warning shot will make the Confederates put down their arms to protect their institution. However, they dismiss this war measure. The Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect.

Lincoln, Slavery & the War

Lincoln issues declaration that on January 1, 1863, the slaves of masters who were still in rebellion would be “forever free.” He wants to give Confederates 100 days to stop fighting with the

promise that they can keep their slaves.Document reiterated Lincoln’s support for the colonization of

freed blacks to some place outside the U.S.White northerners were divided.

Abolitionists favored it as did people who thought attacking slavery would help to end the bloody war.

Northern Democrats thought it was unconstitutional and an abuse of power.

Although they were exempted, Union supporting slaveholders in the Border States worried that they would lose their slaves too.

White southerners were outragedFree and enslaved African Americans rejoiced but they were

opposed to colonization.

Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

The Proclamation only freed enslaved people in the states and the part of states that were still in rebellion (people who were enslaved in the Border States, the states that never left the Union, or in the areas already controlled by Union forces are not included). More than 800,000 people still enslaved.

It authorized the full enlistment of black soldiers in the Army & Navy.

It marked the beginning of slavery’s legal end in the U.S.It is only the beginning because as long as the war

goes on, slaveholders won’t release their slaves.

Emancipation Proclamation

The

proclamation

excluded more

than 800,000

enslaved people

living in the

Border States

and in the parts

of the

Confederacy

controlled by

Union troops

(the areas of the

map marked in

teal).

Emancipation Proclamation

Effect in the USA: redefined the war. Generals free to free slaves and recruit men into military service.

Generals also provide food and shelter for freedpeople in return for work either for the Union army—barbers, cooks, laundresses, mechanics, officers’ personal servants, laborers, nurses, cultivating food and cotton.

Emancipation Proclamation

Effect in the CSA: reduced chances of international support (Britain could no longer count on cotton for its textile mills and withdraws promise of financial and military support) & increased the number runaway slaves (see Berlin, Foner, and Kolchin).

Slaveholders in the interior move roughly 150,000 enslaved people to Texas, away from Union lines.

Others simply refuse to acknowledge the proclamation and continue to hold people in bondage.

Slavery remains legal in non-Confederate areas until the war ends in 1865 and when the Thirteenth Amendment is issued and goes into effect.

Emancipation Proclamation

Steps to EmancipationApril 1861 Fort Sumter attacked; Civil War begins

May 1861 General Benjamin Butler refuses to return escaped “contrabands” to slavery

August 1861 General John Frémont orders emancipation of slaves in Missouri; Lincoln countermands him

August 1861 First Confiscation Act frees captured slaves used by Confederate Army

April 1862 Congress provides funds for compensated emancipation; border states spurn proposal

May 1862 General David Hunter issues order abolishing slavery in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida & Lincoln revokes it

July 1862 Second Confiscation Act frees all people enslaved by Confederates

Summer 1862 Lincoln concludes that Union victory requires emancipation

September 22, 1862 Lincoln issues Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation after Antietam

January 1, 1863 Emancipation Proclamation takes effect

December 1865 Thirteenth Amendment ratified

Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln met with his cabinet on July 22, 1862 for the first reading of a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation

As a fit and necessary measure for suppressing said rebellion...I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforth shall be free.Abraham Lincoln, Emancipation Proclamation

Also authorizes

the enlistment of

black soldiers.

Emancipation Proclamation

Generals who were desperate for manpower and for men to fight did not wait for Lincoln or the Congress to authorize enlistment.

In 1862, General David Hunter organized one of the first unofficially organized regiments of black troops when he mobilized former slaves from Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina.

General John Phelps mobilized five black regiments to help command Louisiana.

General Benjamin Butler authorized free “colored” Louisiana militia men to volunteer.

In 1862, the War Department sanctioned the recruitment of black soldiers.

The Emancipation Proclamation removes many of the barriers.

Generals and Black Soldiers

Union Recruitment of Black SoldiersState/District Number of Army

Recruits

Kentucky 23,703

Missouri 8,766

Maryland 8,718

Pennsylvania 8,612

Ohio 5,092

New York 4,125

District of Columbia 3,269

Massachusetts 2,966

Rhode Island 1,837

Illinois 1,811

Other* 110,076

Union Total 178,975

*From the Confederacy & other states

Most black men served in the Army. Roughly 9500 men served in the Navy.

Most African American men served as laborers while much smaller numbers actually took up arms against the CSA.Deeply engrained ideas about black racial inferiority

made many Union soldiers object to arming black men.Very few of these men, especially enslaved men, had

experience with weaponry.Serving in the Union Army gave both freed and free

black men an even greater sense of urgency in helping to secure freedom once and for all by helping the Union to win the war.

It also allowed them to claim and express their patriotism and manhood.

Black Soldiers

Although white Unionists eventually came to accept black military service, deep racial prejudices influenced the treatment black men received.

Black soldiers were required to be commanded by whites. Black officers were officially opposed but 100 black men held commissions.

Black men experienced discrimination in pay, bonuses, medical services (leading to high casualties).

Their lack of training with the weaponry of war and the difficulty of learning on the fly endangered many men.

They also faced greater threats of retaliation at the hands of Confederates. The CSA estd a policy allowing black prisoners of war to be executed or reenslaved.

Black Soldiers

One example of

the brutality they

faced was at Fort

Pillow when CSA

general Nathan

Bedford

Forrest’s forces

massacred

several hundred

black prisoners

of war in 1864.

Fort Pillow

Slavery still existed after the Emancipation Proclamation. More than 800,000 enslaved people not covered by the proclamation. CSA slaveholders did not acknowledge the proclamation. Finally, the war was not yet over.

Only the conclusion of the war with a Union victory, state laws, and a constitutional amendment would finally end the peculiar institution.

Emancipation Proclamation

West Virginia estd a gradual abolition law as a condition for joining the Union in 1863.

Maryland & Tennessee abolished slavery by constitutional amendment in 1864 and 1865.

Missouri abolished slavery by state convention in 1865.

Congressional Republicans had tried to abolish slavery earlier on but they were overruled.

It is not until January 1865 that Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment.

Putting the nail in slavery’s coffin

Thirteenth Amendment, 1865

“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

In July 1862, the USA called for more volunteers for military service but still found itself fighting a war with no end in sight and doing so with an army that was short by several hundred thousand men.

During the late winter of 1863, Congress passed a national conscription law that held that all male citizens between 20-45 were liable for service. Some exemptions were possible for men with disabilities, elected officials, and men who were the only sons of widows and men with sick parents.

Conscripted men could be called for up to 3 years of service.

If men were called to serve, some avoid service by finding a substitute or paying a fee.

Union ConscriptionSource: Donald et al eds., The Civil War and Reconstruction, 229-230.

From 1863-1865, more than 750,000 men were enrolled but only 46,347 entered the army as draftees, 73,607 found substitutes, 86,724 paid a fee, and others avoided the draft by volunteering.

The exemptions of the law benefitted the middle class and elite and stoked anger and anxiety among the working class, particularly the newly arrived immigrants who had not yet managed to accumulate wealth.

Outraged men attacked the draft offices and rioted on communities throughout the USA.

Union ConscriptionSource: Donald et al eds., The Civil War and Reconstruction, 229-230.

New York City was

the site of the

largest draft riot.

The riot grew from

a convergence of

longstanding

conflict between

CSA sympathizers

v. Unionists;

Democrats v.

Republicans; the

poor v. middle

class/elite; blacks

v. whites;

immigrants v.

native born Ams.

New York Draft Riot

Democrats, who

dominated NY

politics opposed

Lincoln and his

handling of the

war, objected

strongly to the

draft.

This image shows

the mob attacking

the Lincoln-

supporting New

York Tribune.

New York City Draft Riot

Like other

locales where

riots occurred,

there was great

opposition to the

Emancipation

Proclamation

and great racial

hostility toward

African

Americans.

New York City Draft Riot

Rioters moved

from attacking

draft offices to

venting their

frustrations on

African American

individuals and

institutions.

New York City Draft Riot

One mob

attacked the

Colored Orphan

Asylum on Fifth

Avenue.

They burned it to

the ground and

the children

barely escaped.

New York City Draft Riot

Army units from

New York

returned from

Gettysburg to

suppress the

fighting.

119 New Yorkers

died, hundreds

of African

Americans were

wounded, and

thousands fled

the city.

New York Draft Riot

Despite some opposition and frustrations with the commutations and exemptions, more 1 million men

were enlisted from 1863-1865.

Union Conscription

CSARobert E. LeeArmy of Northern

Virginia60,892 soldiers

13,303 casualties1,665 killed9,081 wounded2,018

captured/missing

Victor-Confederacy

Joseph HookerArmy of the Potomac133,868 soldiers

17,197 casualties1,606 killed9,672 wounded5,919

captured/missing

Chancellorsville

USA

Hailed as a

strategic win for

Lee, despite high

casualty figures

(similar results

would eventually

make it harder for

the CSA to fight).

Claimed the life

of Stonewall

Jackson.

Lincoln removed

Hooker from

command.

Battle of Chancellorsville

Kurz and Allison image depicts the wounding of Robert E. Lee

CSARobert E. Lee71,699 soldiers23,231 casualties

4,708 killed12,693 wounded5,830

captured/missing

George G. Meade 93,921 soldiers23,055 casualties

3,155 killed1,4531 wounded5,369

captured/missingVictor—Union

Gettysburg (Pennsylvania)

USA

Gettysburg

Lee invaded the

North in PA.

Meade (who

replaced Hooker)

held the line but

failed to

vanquish Lee.

The CSA & USA

clashed over

three days and

the Union won a

decisive victory.Currier and Ives image depicts events of July 3, 1863

In 1863, the USA was still trying to control the entire Mississippi (they gained control of the upper part of the river in 1862 via victories at Forts Henry and Donelson and at Shiloh).

The USA focused on Chattanooga and Vicksburg.Chattanooga was vital because it was the

center of railroad lines that delivered troops and supplies to the CSA.

Taking Vicksburg would give the USA access to and control of the lower river as well as control over railroad lines heading to Texas.

Western Campaigns

CSAJohn C. PembertonArmy of Vicksburg33,000 soldiers

3,202 killed or wounded

29,495 captured

Ulysses S. GrantArmy of the

Tennessee77,000 soldiers

4,835 casualtiesVictor—Union

Vicksburg (Mississippi)

USA

Union forces

tried several

times to take

Vicksburg.

Grant moved

above Vicksburg

(at Milliken’s

Bend) where he

coordinated with

the navy and

then crossed the

river and took

the area around

the city.

Siege at Vicksburg

Siege of Vicksburg--13, 15, & 17 Corps, Commanded by Gen. U.S. Grant, assisted by the Navy under Admiral Porter--Surrender, July 4, 1863, by Kurz and Allison

Vicksburg Blockade

The siege lasted

for 6 weeks

before

Pemberton

surrendered.

This victory

coincided with

the victory at

Gettysburg.

It boosted

civilian and

military morale

in the USA.

There were a total of three battles for control over Chattanooga. In the 1862 campaigns, CSA forces led by John Hunt Morgan and Nathan Bedford Forrest managed to disperse Union forces in what were indecisive outcomes.

It was not until 1863 that Bragg evacuated the city (August) and Grant finally defeated Bragg (November) that Union forces could claim victory in Chattanooga, only to face defeat at Chickamauga.

Chattanooga Campaigns

CSABraxton BraggArmy of Tennessee65,000 soldiers18,454 casualties

2,312 killed14,674 wounded1,468

captured/missingVictor—Confederacy

William RosecransArmy of the

Cumberland60,000 soldiers16,710 casualties

1,657 killed9,756 wounded4,757

captured/missing

Chickamauga (Georgia)

USA

Some historians

argue that the

casualty rates here

rival those at

Gettysburg and

Antietam.

The CSA went on

surround the USA

in Chattanooga.

Grant and

Sherman’s forces

vanquished

Bragg’s army at

Lookout Mountain

(above

Chattanooga),

leaving TN in

Union hands.

Chickamauga

Kurz and Allison’s Battle of Chickamauga

With victories in Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga, the Union started to deplete the economic and military forces of the CSA.

Though most in the USA still wanted the war to end quickly, the successes boosted morale to continue fighting.

This morale boost was needed because despite suffering significant losses, the CSA was no where near ready to surrender. Their victory in Chancellorsville proved their ability to continue waging war and exacting high Union casualties.

At the same time, the loss of such generals as Stonewall Jackson and the CSA’s own very high casualty rates will start to catch up with them as will a growing revolt among the white civilian and enslaved populations.

1863 Balance Sheet

This year will be marked by:The cumulative effect of the USA’s blockade on the

CSA’s ability to provide for the civilian and soldier population.

The CSA’s nearly insurmountable problem of making their states’ rights doctrine fit into the federal government’s desperate need for authorization to mobilize all resources to wage war.

Grant’s stunning defeat at Cold Harbor.The 1864 election.Sherman’s capture of Atlanta.High desertion in the CSA.

1864

Both the CSA and the USA struggled for control of northern Virginia and Union forces continued their mission to claim Richmond.

Butler failed to take Richmond when he had the chance but Grant was determined to capture Lee and take the city. After multiple skirmishes, the CSA continued to command Richmond & Petersburg.

Union forces responded by constructing a mine underneath CSA works, filling it with powder, and lighting it on July 30.

Virginia Campaigns

The Union’s

explosion of the

mine created huge

crater.

In the battle that

ensued, Union

soldiers piled into

the crater and

fought it out with

Confederates who

also surrounded the

crater & fired into it.

The Union lost 4000

men and the CSA

lost 1500.

Of the Union’s 450

men from the USCT,

322 were lost.

Battle of the Crater

CSARobert E. LeeArmy of Northern

Virginia61,025 soldiers11,125 casualties

1,495 killed7,928 wounded1,702

captured/missing

Ulysses S. Grant & George G. Meade

Army of the Potomac101,895 soldiers17,666 casualties

2,246 killed12,037 wounded3,383

captured/missing

Battle of the Wilderness (Virginia)

USA

Grant’s forces met

Lee’s in the

wilderness, instead

of the open area.

In bloody

campaign, Grant

refused to retreat

and pushed on to

Cold Harbor where

Lee delivered

stunning defeat

that bolstered the

peace movement.

Campaign also

noted for the

deadly brush fires.

Battle of the Wilderness

Kurz and Allison’s Battle of the Wilderness - Desperate Fight on the Orange C.H. Plank, near Todd’s Tavern, May 6, 1864

The “Dictator”

siege mortar at

Petersburg.

The figure in the

foreground on

the right is

Henry J. Hunt,

chief of artillery

of the Army of

the Potomac.

Petersburg

Union forces continued their mission to take Richmond the the CSA continued to defend the city.

While Grant was working through the Wilderness campaign, Philip Sheridan moved toward the Confederate capitol.

Rather than take a city his forces could not hold, Sheridan destroyed the CSA’s provisions and munitions and disrupted its supply lines by breaking up railroad lines.

He moved from there to continue severing CSA lines. Confederates civilians retaliated which elicited Sheridan’s ire and increased his willingness to wage war by any means against disloyal civilians who targeted Union soldiers.

Sheridan’s Valley Campaign

Philip Sheridan’s Campaign in the Shenandoah Valley

Sheridan’s forces

met resistance at

Winchester and at

Fisher’s Hill but they

continued fighting

their way south

through the valley.

One feature of this

campaign, in addition

to the attacks on CSA

forces was

Sheridan’s

destruction of civilian

property—burning of

houses and barns,

destroying food, and

removing enslaved

people—which some

called total war or

hard war.

Grant sent

Sheridan into the

Shenandoah

Valley to

vanquish the

CSA’s Jubal

Early who had

staged a raid on

Washington, D.C.

that Union forces

put down and

retaliation

burned

Chambersburg,

PA.

Sheridan’s Valley Campaign

Frank Leslie’s

“Sherman’s

Campaign in the

Valley of the

Shenandoah –

Battle of Summit

Point, August 21,

1864.

Sheridan’s Valley Campaign

William T. Sherman

Sherman gained

national and

historical fame

for his “March to

the Sea,” in

which he led his

forces from

Tennessee to

Atlanta and on a

scorched earth

campaign

throughout

Georgia and the

Carolinas.

In Georgia, Sherman confronted the CSA’s Joseph Johnston with Grant’s command to destroy Johnston’s army, capture Atlanta, and advance as far into CSA territory as possible, inflicting as much damage as possible.

Sherman’s campaign was no easy one. He was in enemy territory and he faced a highly skilled enemy in Johnston who destroyed bridges and railway tracks to make sure the USA couldn’t use them, kept Sherman’s men moving in pursuit, and fought as much as possible behind entrenchments. Despite Johnston’s ability to match Sherman, the CSA government replaced him with John Hood.

Sherman captured Atlanta on September 2, 1864 and burned the city.

Sherman’s Campaign

In November, Sherman began his famous “march to the sea” to assert Union dominance over Georgia and then the Carolinas.

Sherman is said to have wanted to “make Georgia howl,” by waging a relentless war against not only the soldiers but also the civilian population through the destruction of their property.

This relentless war was motivated by the conviction that all Confederates need to bear the costs of waging war.

For 163 days, Sherman advanced from Atlanta to Raleigh, foraging on CSA goods, destroying houses, barns, farms, crops, roads, bridges, and municipal buildings.

Sherman’s Campaign

Sheridan and Sherman wrought hell in their campaigns.

Lincoln wins the election despite a strong campaign by his Republican and Democratic opponents to halt his reelection.

With such significant losses, Jefferson Davis finds it harder to maintain support for continuing the war, as civilians start to withdraw support and his armies melt away under high casualty and desertion rates.

Neither side is quite ready to thrown in the towel but looking back on this year, we can see that 1864 was the beginning of the end.

1864 Balance Sheet

David Hunter: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/David_Hunter.jpg/200px-David_Hunter.jpg

Declaring Contraband: http://www.contrabandhistoricalsociety.org/history.asp

John C. Fremont: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/JCFr%C3%A9mont.jpg

Philip Sheridan: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/Philip_Sheridan_1-restored.jpg/220px-Philip_Sheridan_1-restored.jpg

William T. Sherman: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/William-Tecumseh-Sherman.jpg

Images

David Hunter: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/David_Hunter.jpg/200px-David_Hunter.jpg

Emancipation Proclamation portrait: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/almintr.html Emancipation Proclamation Map:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Emancipation_Proclamation.PNG NYDR Attacking NY Tribune: http://0.tqn.com/d/history1800s/1/0/S/2/-/-/Tribune-rioters.jpg NYDR First Avenue: http://0.tqn.com/d/history1800s/1/0/K/2/-/-/First-Avenuebattle.jpg “Hanging and Burning”: http://blog.insidetheapple.net/2009/07/civil-war-draft-riots-day-2.html NYDR Mob attacking African American: http://0.tqn.com/d/history1800s/1/0/J/2/-/-/Clarkson-st02.jpg. Colored Orphan Asylum: http://0.tqn.com/d/history1800s/1/0/O/2/-/-/Orphan-fire01.jpg. NY Draft Riot Morgue: http://0.tqn.com/d/history1800s/1/0/N/2/-/-/Morgue-riots.jpg Chancellorsville: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Battle_of_Chancellorsville.png Gettysburg:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Battle_of_Gettysburg,_by_Currier_and_Ives.png. Vicksburg: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Battle_of_Vicksburg,_Kurz_and_Allison.png Chickamauga: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Chickamauga.jpg Battle of the Wilderness: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Battle_of_the_Wilderness.png Dictator at Petersburg: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Battle_of_the_Crater.jpeg Battle of the Crater: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Battle_of_the_Crater.jpeg Sheridan Crossing River:

http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1865/march/sheridan-shenandoah-valley-campaign.htm Frank Leslie’s Valley of the Shenandoah: http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/11800/11867/shenandoah_11867.htm

Images

Confederate and Union Home Fronts.WomenCivilian LifePolitical Culture

The Eastern Campaigns.Lincoln’s Assassination.The Collapse of the Confederacy.

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