The American Civil War: 1861 - 1865 | Documentary

[Music] the united states of america was born from the yearning of the many people who had traveled there from the old world of europe to be free of the imperial powers that had dominated them for centuries to have democracy liberty justice for all and to take command of their own destiny the birth of the american nation was a painful one first by having to fight against the forces of the british and then against the indigenous people of north america within and from the outside of new borders they had declared in between the many conflicts the new nation had to establish its own laws political system and culture none of which developed overnight obviously there would not always be a consensus over the century after 1776 when the united states of america was born while growing under a political union of states that it was composed of it also saw the widening of a cultural divide between the industrious northern states and the agricultural southern ones perhaps more than anything else the two sides of this divide found themselves at odds over the question of slavery the ethics of owning a person as property became a legal battle between those in support of the practice and those opposed in american courts and halls of power eventually this dispute became a true battlefield more americans died in the american civil war that raged in the north american continent between 1861 and 1865 than in any other war in which americans have fought throughout its history and while the battles have long endured the ramifications of the civil war continue to be felt to this very day in america over issues such as culture and race today we delve into the darkest chapter of american history welcome to wars of the world [Music] the debate over slavery in america actually predates the declaration of independence itself under british rule the american territories were separated into 13 colonies and in one of these colonies rhode island laws were passed in 1774 making slavery illegal within its state boundaries however while many sympathised with the call for the abolition of slavery after 1776 slaves were still a major factor in the economies of many states particularly in the south where the main export was tobacco and the use of slaves to harvest tobacco was seen as simply part of the natural order of things that would change after april 1793 when american inventor eli whitney built the first cotton gin a machine that quickly and easily separated cotton fibers from their seeds enabling much greater productivity than previous manual cotton separation could achieve few could have known that whitney's invention would have such an impact on the course of history beyond the production of cotton-based goods in many ways it was a somewhat humble spark that would eventually ignite the civil war thanks to the cotton gin the cotton trade grew exponentially in profitability creating many fortunes for the landowners engaged in the trade particularly in the south american cotton became highly sought after not just in their own country but across the world especially in the lucrative british markets making it a key american export and port cities such as new orleans in louisiana and charleston in south carolina became major trading hubs growing in size and wealth a major factor in achieving this profitability was the use of slaves acquired from africa to work the cotton fields however in the northernmost states the economy was being fueled more by the advances made in industrialization and manufacturing like the cotton fields in the south northern industry required large numbers of people to power it but instead of importing slaves the manpower was acquired through large numbers of immigrants particularly from places such as ireland where a large percentage of the population felt enslaved by the british crown consequently as the immigrant population in the north grew on the dream of freedom their calls for the abolition of all forms of slavery continued to grow meanwhile america itself was growing by absorbing territory to the west on april 30th 1803 the vast expanse of land stretching from the gulf of mexico to the pacific was acquired by the united states from france for over 11 million dollars in what history now remembers as the louisiana purchase this presented a problem regarding whether or not these new territories would utilize slaves like the south or be so-called free states such as in the north on january 1 1808 the abolitionist movement won a key victory when the u.s federal government banned the import of fresh slaves from africa consequently in the northern states slavery was slowly phased out but for the southern states this was unthinkable and the bound on further imports of fresh slaves threatened to curtail their cotton industry which was still expanding and relied heavily on slavery the need for new slaves in the south would see a surge in the international trade of slaves in america between the north and south the growing abolition of slavery also reinforced the cultural separation between the two sides of the debate something that was exacerbated by the number of immigrants now in the north leading many white southern families who cherish their history in the birth of their nation to consider themselves the more american states as new states were formed after the louisiana purchase a delicate political balance between the north and south was maintained by admitting both slave and free states to the union however the north had a significantly higher population than the south many of whom wished to abolish slavery across the entire of the united states and thus the north came to dominate the political landscape within the house of representatives feeling threatened by this the south sought to redress the balance in 1819 as maine and missouri petitioned for admission to the union the status of slaves in these would-be states became the topic of much debate and would likely affect future states joining the union as the u.s expanded westward after much deliberation it was decided that missouri would be admitted as a slave state and maine as a free state thus maintaining the political balance between the two sides of the debates it was known as the missouri compromise and it outlined that in the future states north of missouri and the 3630 latitude line would be admitted only if they had abolished slavery while the compromise was precisely that many observers at the time noted that the subject of slavery had divided the nation and there appeared no long-term solution that would satisfy either side particularly as southern cotton exports were still growing as were their profits meanwhile tensions with american southern neighbor of mexico whose borders were significantly larger than they are today encompassing the current american states of texas and california began to rise in 1836 texas broke away from mexico declaring itself an independent republic but this resulted in both the mexicans and americans expressing ambitions of absorbing the new country into their own nations in 1843 u.s president john tyler decided to pursue a policy of annexing texas as part of his bid for re-election officially this was to outmaneuver suspected diplomatic efforts by the british government for the freeing of slaves in texas which would he said undermines slavery in the united states tyler's diplomats undertook secret negotiations with the texas government in houston securing a treaty of annexation in april of 1844 when the documents were submitted to the us senate for ratification the details of the terms of the annexation became public and the question of acquiring texas took center stage in the presidential election of 1844 which was won by james k polk polk was a strong supporter for the annexation and it was under his presidency on february 19 1846 that texas became the 28th states although this sparks the two-year-long mexican-american war this war was a watershed in american history firstly it helped solidify america as a true military power on the north american continent and secondly the acquisition of formerly mexican territory reinforced the prevailing idea of america's manifest destiny this was a widely held belief by the people of the united states that its population were destined by god to expand across the north american continents bringing law order american institutions and christianity to the vast frontier but while the war itself helped unify some of the divisions in american society it was in the peace that followed that the divisions particularly around slavery not only reemerged but became inflamed the united states now extended to the pacific ocean and the question of slavery in the new territories was again a topic of debates both the north and the south maintained their respective views and wished to impose those views on texas even before the war was concluded pennsylvania congressman david wilmert proposed a ban on slavery in the new territories in the us's possession to the u.s house of representatives dubbed the wilmut proviso it was ultimately defeated but the debate continued on about what to do with the new territories and slavery in an effort to address the division between the three states and the slave states a package of five separate bills were passed by the united states congress in september of 1850 dubbed the 1850 compromise under this compromise california was admitted to the united states as a free state while the remaining portions of former mexican land were organized into the new mexico and utah territories the decision on slavery within these states was to be determined under the concept of popular sovereignty in which the people of each territory would decide whether or not slavery would be permitted the compromise also included the fugitive slave act which prevented the u.s congress from interfering in the slave trade between states and enabled southern slave owners to take free black people from the north and transport them south if this did not anger the abolitionists in the north enough the act also made it a criminal act for those in the north to aid slaves in escaping their southern masters the compromise of 1850 while it appeared to settle the dispute in the halls of power would only further inflame the north abolitionists who now felt they were being forced into aiding slavery in the south [Music] the debate would come to a head when on january 4th 1854 democrat stephen a douglas introduced a bill to organize the territory of nebraska in order to bring the area under civil control and allow him to build a transcontinental railroad through the territory however southern senators objected to this because the region lay north of the latitude 3630 stipulated in the missouri compromise of 1820 meaning nebraska would become a free state which threatened to upset the political balance between the free and slave states in favor of the former therefore to gain the southern senator's support douglas proposed creating two territories in the area named nebraska and kansas and repealing the missouri compromise line as for the question of slavery it was decided to once again leave it up to the people who would actually live there to decide under the policy of popular sovereignty it being presumed that the more northern territory nebraska would oppose slavery while the southern state of kansas would permit it thus maintaining the balance unfortunately some of the more aggressive elements of both sides of the debate wished to make sure that kansas would adopt their way of thinking and flooded into the new territory to shore up their side's numbers and influence the final votes opposing factions were formed and inevitably this led to violence in late 1855 well over a thousand people from the slave state of missouri crossed the border into kansas and attacked the abolitionist town of lawrence which was eventually looted by them a few months later in response to these attacks one of the more radical abolitionists a man named john brown arranged the murder of five supposedly pro-slavery settlers along potowatomi creek there then followed some four months of violence between small armed groups across eastern kansas including a small force raised by john brown built on the reputation of his attack on the five settlers this period became known as bleeding kansas and by the end of 1856 federal troops had to be called in to restore order before the people of kansas voted to become a free state but violence continued for years afterwards albeit more sporadically than in 1856. blood had been shed over the debate for slavery and for extremists like john brown there was no turning back the supporters of abolition were delta blow a year later in 1857 with the case of dred scott a slave whose legal owner took him to the free state of illinois and then to the free territory of wisconsin scott argued therefore that being in these areas where slavery was abolished he was now free himself the supreme court was convened with nine judges tasked to come to a judgment on the case however six of them were in favor of slavery and as a result the court decided that black people were not citizens under the u.s constitution which was drafted in 1787. this decision enraged the abolitionists as the troubles in kansas began to erupt a new political party was founded that would have a dramatic impact on american politics forever more known as the grand old party but more widely referred to in history as the republican party it was founded on march 20th 1854 and as well as promoting classical liberalism and economic reforms it was predominantly made up of abolitionists who wanted to end slavery throughout the union among the new party's membership was one abraham lincoln lincoln came from kentucky and grew up on the frontier in a poor family who lived in a one-room cabin however he was a determined man and after he had essentially provided his own education he became a lawyer an impressive achievement in itself however he soon found his way into politics joining the whig party a predecessor of the republican party eventually rising to the positions of party leader illinois state legislator and congressman in 1849 he decided to leave government office to return to practicing law but he was angered by the success of the democratic party in opening the prairie lands to slavery and thus re-entered politics in 1854. at first he resisted attempts by the new republican party to recruit him preferring to address divisions in his own whig party but over time he would be drawn closer and closer to the republicans who appeared to be more committed to ending slavery than the older party between august and october of 1858 lincoln undertook several key debates with democrat stephen a douglas during the senate election campaign their speeches and debates would be circulated beyond illinois and came to symbolize the problems of slavery in the united states although lincoln lost the election to douglas much of what he said in the debates went on to form his presidential campaign in 1860 and he was solidified as a champion of the anti-slavery movement but the call for total abolition of slavery in the us by peaceful or political means was taking too long for some while holding a meeting with his followers in the free black community of chatham ontario in canada in the winter of 1858 extremist john brown proposed to inspire and equip an insurrection by slaves in northern virginia mounting frustration over the failure to achieve peaceful emancipation of slaves in the south made many abolitionists including the more peaceful ones receptive to brown's violent suggestion those who weren't active members supported him through weapons supplies money or intelligence early in the next year of 1859 brown and his supporters rented a farm near harpers ferry virginia which they used as a base for their planned raid on a nearby federal arsenal on october 16th brown and 21 of his followers carried out their bold plan occupying the federal arsenal with the aim of acquiring arms for their black insurrection however the plan soon fell apart and he was quickly surrounded by the virginia militia commanded by colonel robert e lee in the ensuing fight brown's men were overrun with 10 being killed in the exchange of gunfire while brown himself was wounded and captured brown was tried for treason but endeared himself in the eyes of abolitionists as a martyr whilst conducting a passionate defense of his actions he was found guilty and hanged on december 2nd 1859 but the fallout of the raid was widespread and highly damaging to the political status quo particularly in the south where fears of a northern supported slave uprising were fueled almost out of control for many southern slave owners they began to suspect that the north would never be content with allowing them to keep their slaves and this left them to question their future within the union of states in 1860 the people of the united states were getting ready to go to the polls but behind the usual pompous exterior of a presidential campaign the many states that made up the union were more divided than ever with the democratic party itself being split along northern and southern lines after all the recent troubles concerning slavery into this mix the brash new republican party put forward abraham lincoln as their candidate for president on election day lincoln won just under 40 percent of the votes but significantly he won a majority in the electoral college with 180 electoral votes sweeping the north as well as the pacific coast states of california and oregon his victory would rattle the pro-slavery south because lincoln was seen as something of a headpiece of the american abolitionist movement at the time however lincoln knew he could not simply make slavery illegal given how delicate the union had become over the matter and so pledged not to interfere in the practice in the south in an effort to appease them it was not to be the election of lincoln further alienated the south where he hadn't won a single vote and on december 17 1860 a convention was held in south carolina which was the richest state in the union to repeal the state's ratification of the constitution of the united states in doing so on december 20th south carolina left the united states of america south carolina's secession had a domino effect on other southern states who felt similarly threatened by the republican party presidency and within weeks several other southern states would follow suit mississippi seceded on january 9 1861 followed by florida on january 10th and alabama the next day georgia seceded on january 19th while louisiana would join the breakaway states on january 26th on february 4th representatives of these seceded states met in montgomery alabama and formed a provisional government of their own they called their new political alliance the confederate states of america and as well as adopting their own flag a few days later they selected jefferson davis as president texas would be the last state to join the confederacy breaking away from the union on february 23rd the second time the state had been absorbed by a neighboring power in just 16 years president lincoln had barely got into office and yet he was facing the biggest crisis in u.s history hoping to settle the crisis peaceably in his inauguration as president of the united states on march 4th 1861 he said apprehension seems to exist among the people of the southern states that by the accession of a republican administration their property and their peace and personal security are to be endangered there has never been any reasonable cause for such apprehension indeed the most ample evidence to the contrary has all the while existed and been open to their inspection it is found in nearly all the published speeches of him who now addresses you i do but quote from one of those speeches when i declare that i have no purpose directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists i believe i have no lawful right to do so and i have no inclination to do so unfortunately by this time the situation had spiraled far out of control at fort sumter an incomplete seafort located on an island in south carolina's charleston harbour u.s troops who occupied the fort had been in a standoff with local militia since the states seceded from the union when president lincoln announced he planned to resupply the men at the forts confederate general pgt beregaard ordered his men to bombard the forts on april 12 1861 after a 34-hour exchange of artillery fire between the two sides us army major robert anderson who was in command at the fort along with 86 of his men surrendered the american civil war had begun on april 15 1861 president lincoln issued orders that a 75 000 man army from the states loyal to the union would have to be raised and sent down to what he referred to as an insurrection in the south the outbreak of hostilities and lincoln's call to arms forced states to choose sides and as a result virginia arkansas tennessee and north carolina elected to side with the confederacy despite the confederacy swelling with the addition of these states they had several major disadvantages fighting in a prolonged war with the union firstly the union had a significantly higher population than the confederacy in 1861 the confederacy was comprised of around nine and a half million people but this figure included some three and a half million slaves to put this into a modern day perspective the population of new york city alone was 8.5 million but the confederate forces had to protect over 770 000 square miles of land even before the final four states joined after the war began by contrast the union had a population in the region of 18 and a half million and would muster a force which peaked at 2.2 million soldiers compared to the confederacy's approximately 1 million troops if this were not problematic enough for the confederacy the more industrious union possessed thousands of miles more railroad track meaning the union could redeploy troops and keep them supplied much faster the outbreak of hostilities also severely damaged their cotton industry since not only were many workers called away to fight but lincoln had ordered that the union navy blockade major confederate ports finally confederate presidents jefferson davis often found it difficult to maintain unity amongst the member states of his confederacy they had after all left the union to maintain their individual rights and so there was a prevailing feeling amongst them that the needs of their own states came first whatever they may be thus as the two sides marched upon one another for the first big battle of the american civil war there were many who felt it would be mere months before a union victory or at least some agreed upon peace with virginia arkansas tennessee and north carolina siding with the confederacy on may 3 president lincoln expanded the union army yet again with a call for an additional 43 000 volunteers on may 24th union forces crossed the potomac river and occupied arlington heights in virginia which was the home of former u.s army colonel robert e lee who had commanded the force that captured james brown at harpers ferry and was now one of the confederate army's first generals on the same day union troops occupied the nearby town of alexandria while there union colonel elmer ellsworth commander of the 11th new york infantry and a close personal friend of president lincoln went to remove a large confederate flag from the marshall house an inn run by a devoted successionist james w jackson jackson opened fire on ellsworth as the union officer descended some stairs from the roof having taken down the flag hitting him in the chest one of ellsworth's men fired back at jackson hitting him in the face and killing him but it was too late for ellsworth who died from his injuries and in doing so became the first union officer killed in the civil war both men effectively became martyrs for their respective causes with elsworth's body lying in state at the white house before his burial over a week later on june 3rd the confederates and union armies would clash for the first time when early in the morning after a gruelling march through a rainstorm two columns of union forces under the command of colonel kelly and colonel demont with a total of three thousand men attacked 800 poorly armed confederate recruits under the command of colonel george potterfield at philippa virginia after a brief exchange of fire the confederate troops withdrew the battle fueled further protests in the western part of virginia against secession and a few days later in wheeling the wheeling convention nullified the virginia ordinance of secession and named francis h pierpont governor as the first governor of the state of west virginia accepted as the 35th state of the union two years later on january 20th 1863. in the wake of this success the people of the north felt assured of a quick victory president lincoln instructed brigadier general ervin mcdowell to mount an offensive that would decisively defeat the confederates and open the way to richmond leading to the capture of the city before the next confederate congress was due to meet there believing this would bring the war to a quick end the offensive would center around an attack on more than 20 000 confederate troops under the command of general p g t borough camped near manassas junction virginia approximately 25 miles from washington dc along a little river known as bowl run on sunday july 21 1861 the two armies met in the first major land battle of the american civil war now remembered as the first battle of bull run the battle began when 35 000 union troops marched from the federal capital in washington dc and attacks the smaller confederate force however the union attack was poorly conducted and was unable to destroy the confederates as had been anticipated to compound problems for the union confederate reinforcements under brigadier general joseph e johnston arrived by railroad while a brigade of virginians under brigadier general thomas j jackson proved so immovable that jackson would forever have to be known famously by the nickname stonewall after fighting defensive actions for most of the day the rebels organized themselves and were able to break the union's right flank which sent the union troops into a disorganized retreat back towards washington this confederate victory was a terrifying blow for the union particularly for the people in washington dc who feared that confederate troops would capture the city their confidence before the battle was shattered and there was a scramble to erect defenses around the city it also made everyone realize that the civil war was not going to be the short affair many had anticipated confederates and union forces were also preparing for the next major engagement this time taking place in missouri a union army under the command of general nathaniel lyon attacked a confederate force which included state militia southwest of the city of springfield in the battle of wilson's creek after a day of brutal fighting the union forces were compelled to retreat but not before lyon was killed becoming the first union general to die in the war according to a union witness lion was killed by a soldier named john morgan who shot the general with an old-fashioned horse pistol after lyon hurled a rock at him when he refused to surrender like so many already lyon became yet another martyr the union would enjoy victory again however on august 28th when their naval forces attacked the newly completed forts clark and hatteras in cape hatteras north carolina 880 union men from the 9th and 10th new york volunteers sailed in small boats and landed on the shore under the cover of knights the confederates abandoned fort clark for hatteras to await reinforcements after which they could retake the forts but they never arrived and after a heavy bombardment by union warships in which over 3 000 shells were fired in three hours the confederates surrendered it was the start of the union campaign to close confederate ports and strangle their vital cotton trade [Music] upon the outbreak of civil war the confederate government quickly began a diplomatic campaign to secure vital war materials from britain and france to help address their industrial imbalance with the north in november of 1861 the british mail ship rms trent departed havana cuba with two passengers on board confederate commissioners james m mason and john sliddle carrying them to london the two confederates had already had quite the journey evading union forces to reach cuba but it seems their look had run out and the trent was intercepted in the international waters of the bahamas canal by the u.s warship san jacinto commanded by captain charles wilkes acting without official instructions wilkes forcibly removed the two commissioners and interned them at fort warren in boston while he was praised by many in the north their seizure aboard a british ship contravened earlier understandings of the law of the sea upon the outbreak of the war the british adopted the official position that the civil war was a strictly internal affair of the american people but britain also relied extremely heavily on the cotton produced by the confederate states for its textile industry and it was therefore in their interest to keep the supply line open the united states however viewed the situation differently and accused great britain of siding with the confederacy something union diplomats had warned would result in war the british drafted a strong response in which they in turn threatened war with the union if the men were not returned to british custody the british government went so far as to even convene a special cabinet committee to make preparations for war ordering reinforcements to canada and dispatching royal navy warships into north american waters they also halted the sale of saltpeter vital for the manufacturing of gunpowder to foreign countries in anticipation that british forces would need it in the coming months fortunately tempers were called and a diplomatic compromise was arranged which averted war between britain and the union mason and slidell were released by january 1862 but while britain would maintain its officially neutral stance british shipyards would build ships for the confederate navy knowing full well that once they left british waters they would be armed and used as warships and raiders back on land on october 21st 1861 around 1 700 union troops met an equal number of confederates at the battle of balls bluff in virginia union colonel edward d baker a senator from oregon and another friend of president lincoln led troops across the potomac river but were subsequently forced back to the river's edge whereupon baker was killed in the evening confederate reinforcements arrived forcing the union to withdraw back across the river an effort in which many union soldiers drowned in the icy waters despite their runaway successes the beginning of the war had been a series of disasters for lincoln and the union the new year brought a fresh wave of battles between the union and the confederates starting in kentucky a state which had declared itself neutral on the outbreak of war however the confederate army disregarded their declaration sending troops into the state on september 3rd 1861 prompting the union to send troops in under the command of brigadier general ulysses s grant on january 10th 1862 two opposing forces of just over 2 000 men each met in the battle of middle creek which ended in a union victory on january 19 1862 the two sides met in the battle of mill springs but despite the confederates enjoying a marginal numerical superiority they were poorly equipped and having marched through a rain-swept knight were exhausted the union forces outflanked them and the confederates were forced into a retreat all the way back to tennessee much of the blame for their defeat was placed upon the shoulders of their commander major general george g crittenden who was accused of being drunk on duty during the course of the battle the battles of middle creek and mill springs cemented union control of eastern kentucky and allowed them to carry the war into tennessee in february there on february 6 the union forced the confederate contingent of fort henry to surrender in the face of a combination of accurate and effective naval gunfire heavy rain and the poor sitting of the fort in the tennessee river where it was nearly flooded by rising water levels the surrender of the fort opened the tennessee river to union vessels south of the alabama border in the wake of the battle between february 6th and february 12th the union conducted a number of raids using iron-clad boats to destroy confederate shipping and railroad bridges along the river on february 16th general ulysses s grant's forces would capture another major fort along the river fort donelson upon the walls he would famously etch the words fort donaldson will hereafter be marked in capitals on the maps of our united country against this apparent reversal of fortunes compared to the opening rounds of the war the confederate states of america inaugurated jefferson davis as their president on february 22nd 1862. more successes for the union would follow the next month on march 7 1862 over 23 000 soldiers fought at pea ridge in missouri which would prove to be the most pivotal battle of the war west of the mississippi river union forces led by brigadier general samuel r curtis marched south from central missouri driving confederate forces into northwestern arkansas the confederates counter-attacked hoping to recapture northern arkansas and missouri but curtis held off the attack on the first day then on the next forced them into a retreat despite the confederates enjoying numerical superiority the victory secured the state for the union and allowed them to challenge confederate forces in arkansas while fighting on land resembled countless battles fought decades before and from across the world at sea and along north american rivers the warships used by the union and confederacy were in the midst of a major technological revolution while sail was still the primary means of propulsion it was quickly being backed up by steam engines which would be used to keep a ship mobile even if the masts had been shot away which would have disabled sail only ships steam power also meant that ships could now leave their harbors without having to wait for a favorable wind just as revolutionary was the addition of new armor and armaments on vessels in the 1820s navies had begun to adopt cannons that fired explosive shells rather than the traditional cannonball the damage these would inflict on wooden vessels was immense prompting navies the world over to begin cladding their ships in iron armor birthing the term ironclad the french used ironclad floating gun batteries to great effect during the crimean war where they absorbed a considerable amount of punishment while silencing russian shore guns and in 1856 the french launched the first ironclad warship the glory the u.s had begun work on an ironclad warship in 1854 but the work was constantly delayed after the confederate states seceded they began work on converting the former uss merrimack to an ironclad and renaming it the css virginia the union feared the damage this ship could do and so they quickly finished work on their ship and christened it to the uss monitor as a counter to the virginia the monitor didn't look like any other ship around at the time having a hole that didn't extend very far out the water making the deck very wet in poor weather the most prominent feature of the monitor was that it housed its main armaments a pair of 280 millimeter guns in a rotating turret which afforded it a wide firing arc compared to the old fixed weapons traditionally used on warships finally completed the uss monitor was ready to enter the fray and on march 8 1862 at the battle of hampton roads in virginia the crew of the union ironclad learned that its confederate counterpart had engaged a union blockade sinking two union ships and forcing another the uss minnesota to run aground the next day the virginia returns to finish the job but to the confederate surprise the uss monitor appeared and put itself between the virginia and the grounded minnesota for the first time in history two ironclad warships engaged one another in combat during the course of the battle monitor's turrets became damaged forcing the crew to simply keep it turning and firing whenever it came to bear on the virginia after two hours of battle both vessels had taken fire that would have sunk any ship 10 years before still the fighting had taken its toll with monitor briefly becoming disabled while the captain of the virginia was forced to concede that he had no weapons with which to sink the union ironclad both sides then withdrew to make repairs the battle between the ironclads was a significant first in the annals of naval history but it was not the last and efforts were underway in the confederate states to unleash a whole new and potentially world beating weapon to the fray meanwhile the war at sea continued with both sides making efforts to disrupt the others commercial shipping in an effort to damage their economies either by blockading their ports or hunting them down with armed warships back on land the union continued their advance into tennessee after their capture of forts donaldson and henry leading to the battle of shiloh on april 6. confederate general albert sidney johnson considered by many to be one of the most competent commanders in the south had regrouped a force of over 40 000 men in western tennessee in order to face the union forces under the command of general grant who had over 60 000 men on the first day of the battle johnston was killed leading a charge against grant's forces he was hit by a bullet behind his right knee which has led many to believe that since he was leading a charge against the enemy he must have sustained it as a result of one of his own men accidentally striking him as they fired on the union forces he would be the highest ranking confederate officer to die in the war the next day grant attacked again and overwhelms the confederates forcing them to retreat and in doing so opening up northern mississippi to the union in late april a union fleet of gunships under admiral david farragut made a series of attacks on confederate forts guarding the mouth of the mississippi river before sailing into the confederate city of new orleans there farragut demanded the surrender of the city and on april 29th he along with 250 union marines removed the louisiana state flag from the city hall by may 2 new orleans was declared recovered by the union in virginia the confederates were to enjoy success against the union when confederate general stonewall jackson captured a union garrison and their supplies in the battle of front royal on may 23rd two days later jackson's men met a smaller union force under major general nathaniel banks in the first battle of winchester forcing them to retreat across the pontomac river into maryland with jackson in pursuit on may 31st confederate general joseph e johnston attempted to overwhelm two union corps that appeared isolated south of the chickahominy river it succeeded in inflicting heavy casualties leading to the union calling for reinforcements the confederates in turn had to call for their own reinforcements and both sides battled it out in what is remembered as the battle of seven pines after the battle concluded both sides declared victory although in reality it was an inconclusive result that cost nearly 1800 men their lives the battle for the control of the vital mississippi river saw another union success when on june 6 in the battle of memphis a union flotilla under commodore charles davis successfully defeated a confederate flotilla forcing memphis to surrender consequently the mississippi came under almost total union control save for its course west toward the city of vicksburg the last southern stronghold on the great river between june 25th and july 1st 1862 confederate general robert e lee's army attacks the union's army of the pontemac in virginia under the command of general george mcclellan in a succession of battles remembered as the seven days battles these actions ended with the union's army retreating to the relative safety of james river having suffered almost 16 000 casualties while lee's force had lost 20 000. lee was convinced that this force was no longer a threat to the confederate capital of richmond and relocated his forces further north to put pressure on union forces along the virginia maryland border back on the mississippi river union admiral farragut carried out attacks on shore batteries defending vicksburg mississippi but with little success and the arrival of a single makeshift confederate ironclad forced his flotilla of 38 ships to withdraw on july 17th the union forces who were fighting for the freedom of slaves in america finally approved the enrollment of black troops to take up arms as a part of union militias come august union forces in northern virginia under the command of general john pope who had recently transferred from the western theatre were operating in scattered pockets and were facing general lee's forces marching northward on august 9th both sides clashed in decisively at cedar mountain and sporadically through the month until lee sent stonewall jackson's veteran force on a brutal 50-mile march around the union position to outflank them this allowed jackson to capture pope's supply depot where the confederates feasted wildly before destroying whatever was left jackson's men then attacked a column of union soldiers nearby in a brutal fight at brawner's farm alarmed by this pope dispatched a force to destroy jackson's men before he could be reinforced amazingly the two sides clashed near where the battle of bull run was fought almost a year earlier over two days the opposing units fought one another but unfortunately for the union troops jackson's men managed to hold them off long enough for reinforcements to outflank the northerners under cover of darkness the defeated union army withdrew across bull run towards the safety of washington and its defenses this confederate victory opened the way for the south's first invasion of the north for the confederate cause this couldn't have come at a better time president lincoln had by now formulated the emancipation proclamation which would free all slaves in the so-called rebellious states as they came back under union control it only needed to be enacted however lincoln's advisors now warned him against enacting it in the wake of lee's victory even more problematic for the president was an upcoming midterm election and he needed a reversal of fortune soon to secure his position and enforce the proclamation aware of all of this lee put forward special order 191 on september 9th which outlined his plan to attack union forces in maryland and northern virginia by splitting his force in two however two union soldiers stumbled across a sealed copy of these orders and handed them to their commander who passed it on to general mckellen aware of lee's plan mckellen's forces gave the confederate stiff resistance on september 14th at sharpsburg prompting lee to order his forces to regroup a nearby antietam creek what followed was a bloodbath the union troops attacked lee's left flank after a heavy fog had lifted in the morning the confederates tired and hungry put up a valiant fight but were subdued with 15 000 casualties sustained by both sides in just eight hours by nightfall that number had risen to 23 000 with 3650 debt making it the bloodiest day in the civil war so far and the next day lee ordered his bloodied confederates to withdraw south back to virginia expecting mcallen to follow however mckellen remained in maryland much to the disappointment of lincoln who felt that the general had missed an opportunity to strike a crucial blow against the confederates nevertheless lincoln had his victory and on september 22nd the emancipation proclamation was preliminarily issued frustrated by mckellen's decision lincoln replaced him as commander of the army of pontomac with general ambrose burnside who was pressured by lincoln to take a more aggressive stance against lee's forces burn aside reluctantly accepted command and organized a force of 120 000 men to launch a two-pronged attack against lee at fredericksburg in eastern virginia lee had just 80 000 men under his command when burnside attacked but the confederates were well prepared and made great use of their defensive positions on the high ground burnside's force was subsequently defeated following the largest battle of the war which both re-energized the confederates and devastated union morale it was a sad end to the year for lincoln as the war entered its second year both sides were reeling from the pains of conflict the confederates who had always been at a numerical disadvantage compared to the union had already instigated a military draft to keep their numbers up as high as possible it was mostly the quality of their military leadership that had allowed them to keep from being overwhelmed now having had their own numbers bled by battle after battle the union introduced military conscription beginning in march however the parameters for who should be called upon were not popular since they seem to focus on the poor and low skilled many of whom were already struggling to make a living now they were being taken away from their families who would have to find some way of coping without them and this began to inspire resentment towards the union course and to the newly emancipated black communities in whose name the war was fought the following month on both the eastern and western fronts of the war the union went on the offensive instigating a new campaign in virginia against general lee's army still camped at fredericksburg in the west the union army moved in to surround vicksburg mississippi in an effort to take the last confederate stronghold on the mississippi river on april 30th lee with 60 000 men found 80 000 enemy troops placed behind him thanks to a brilliantly executed march and river crossing by union major general joseph hooker hooker proclaimed that lee could either ingloriously fly or give battle on our ground but it would be hooker who would ultimately cost the union their victory he had been unnerved by a series of sharp counter-attacks delivered by the confederate rear guard and squandered his advantage by halting to erect defenses against them despite his superiority in numbers lee alongside stonewall jackson thus had time to plan and execute their own flanking maneuver over the following days by may 6th hooker was forced to retreat having lost 17 278 casualties to lee's 12 826. it was a hollow victory for the confederates however as during the fighting jackson was killed by confederate troops who mistook him and his party for a union force lee wasted no time in taking advantage of his victory and rallied his men to charge north into pennsylvania but he also knew that his force was in a poor state food ammunition and horses to transport his army were all in short supply and he counted on capturing what he needed from the enemy as he advanced becoming aware of lee's advance general hooker sent a cavalry raid back across the river to attack the confederates at brandy station the confederates put up a stiff resistance and the union cavalry split up to attack from two separate sides but through excellent reallocation of his men confederate general j e b stewart was able to fend off the union cavalry who retreated later in the day almost a week later at the battle of second winchester confederate troops under general richard ewell defeated general robert milroy's union forces securing the shenandoah valley over the coming month the confederates passed through york and reached the bridge over the susquehanna river at colombia only to find that union militia had burned it seriously slowing their advance in washington dc there were fears that the confederates would eventually reach the city and so lincoln having once again lost faith in one of his commanders this time general hooker replaced him with major general george gordon mead mead immediately raised a force to pursue lee's army which was now in pennsylvania and approaching the town of gettysburg upon arriving the confederates found that a small union force had already arrived and these were quickly driven into retreats on july 1st however now it was the confederates who failed to capitalize on this early gain and didn't pursue them allowing them to merge with union reinforcements and strengthen their defensive line over cemetery hill the next day lee ordered an attack on the union troops who were entrenching themselves before him however the attack was poorly organized and the confederate troops were hours late in engaging the enemy the confederates did make some progress but were halted by nightfall after some particularly brutal fighting the next day the union counter-attacked while lee who had wrongly believed his forces were on the verge of defeating the union ignored advice from his subordinates and ordered an attack across an open field which he believed would secure him victory the union troops were instead well equipped dug in and protected by stone walls and they cut down the confederate men realizing his mistake lee quickly scrambled to reorganize his men into a defensive line he anticipated a union attack the next day on july 4th but alas one never came and under the cover of darkness and heavy rainfall he ordered his men to withdraw union casualties in the battle numbered 23 000 while the confederates had lost some 28 000 men more than a third of lee's army in terms of war debt gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of the entire civil war as if things were not bad enough for the confederates as lee withdrew from gettysburg the union forces under general ulysses s grant accepted the surrender of the confederate garrison at vicksburg thus securing the mississippi river for the union and denying a vital supply line for the confederate states in the west such defeats meant that any hopes of the confederacy receiving foreign recognition were dashed and once again there was a feeling in the air that the confederacy would eventually fall to the union a week after vicksburg fell union naval and land forces attacked confederate defenses near charleston south carolina among the union troops committed to capturing the city was the 54th massachusetts colored infantry the first african-american regiment of volunteers to see combat the regiment's first battlefield action took place in a skirmish with confederate troops on james island south carolina on july 16th during which the regiment stopped a confederate assault their arrival was the source of curiosity and hope for the local black community but sadly this milestone would be marred by violence in new york city a series of riots broke out over the parameters of the draft and the war itself with violence being committed against black churches and their congregations over the course of three days on july 18th the 54th helped lead an assault on battery wagner but at the cost of their commander colonel robert gould shaw who was killed and then buried with the dead of his regiment in contrast to the battles and modern military methods that typified the fighting in the civil war the fighting along the kansas missouri border more often took the form of a bloody and brutal guerrilla style of warfare for many involved it was the chance to renew the fighting that occurred during the kansas bleeds affair and even get some revenge passions often overwhelmed the fighters and this was typified by the bloodbath that occurred in lawrence kansas on august 21 1863. around 450 confederate soldiers under the command of william clark quantrill attacked a union encampment on the outskirts of the town forcing them to carry out a disorderly retreat that would see their ranks split into two one group of union soldiers mostly black volunteers fled to a nearby river and attempted to cross it before the confederate fighters could pursue however witnesses amongst quantrill's men said later that none made it across the other union soldiers retreated into the town quantrill followed and ordered his men to shoot any union troops or sympathisers they came across but to leave the women and children lawrence was not just any town however it had been the scene of a brutal sacking during the kansas bleeds affair and was the home of a union senator general james lane in an orgy of murder and destruction 175 men and boys were killed while many homes were destroyed lane's home was ransacked and many trophies lane had taken from the south were recovered but lane himself was not there this massacre outraged the union and lane felt it personally he took revenge destroying homes belonging to southern men and often killing their male owners east of kansas in tennessee union forces captured knoxville and the vital railroad city of chattanooga through which some 50 percent of confederate weaponry passed which put them in a position to strike south into georgia aware of this the confederates tried to contain them there by laying siege to the city and its occupation force grant eventually assumed command there and organized a campaign to relieve the besieged city on november 23rd he led union troops to reinforce the city and then strike at the confederate lines breaking them and routing the southern troops along with gettysburg it was a key victory that began to turn the war in the union's favor while the siege was still underway in virginia general lee attempted to flank general mead and force him into battle however this failed and resulted in a skirmish at bristow station on october 14th late the next month meade's army of the pontomac marched against lee's army south of the rappadan river lee quickly responded by establishing a line of defenses along the banks of mine run creek and after several days of probing these new defenses mead withdrew north of the rapidan to go into his winter quarters more or less ending large military engagements in the states for the rest of the year confederate troops under general james longstreet instead laid siege to the city of knoxville held by union forces under general ambrose burnside beginning on november 27th long street then attacked on november 30th but was repulsed sustaining heavy losses in the process union reinforcements arrived at the beginning of december forcing him to withdraw to greenville where his army spent the winter as the year came to a close president lincoln issued a controversial proclamation that any confederate soldiers who agreed to stop fighting and pledge allegiance to the union would be pardoned he hoped that it would inspire mass defections from the south and speed the end of the war but despite all their setbacks the confederacy was far from finished the arrival of the new year brought with it to lincoln the prospect of elections near the end of the year the country may have been embroiled in a bitter civil war but democracy had not been suspended while the conflict had appeared to turn in the union's favor the confederacy continued to raid union shipping often using subversive methods to do so and this was damaging the union economy lincoln needed good news from the war to keep morale up and prevent frustrations being vented at him and his party for him to have any chance of a successful election campaign fortunately he did not have to wait long for an inspiring story to arrive for on february 9th after weeks of digging an estate tunnel 109 union officers held prisoner at the notorious libby prison made their bid for freedom in what would prove the largest and most sensational escape of the war the confederates launched a massive manhunt for the escapees eventually recapturing 48 of them and returning them to their incarceration two escapees would later drown fleeing their pursuers but 59 were able to make their way back to union lines less than a week later union forces under general william t sherman after a month of advancing through the centre of mississippi entered the city of meridian and secured it for the union the city's capture was a massive blow to the confederate war effort being one of the most industrious in the confederacy the loss of war material produced and distributed via the city severely impeded the confederate leadership's ability to sustain their armies in the deep south and west of the mississippi river on february 17 1864 the uss housatonic a 1200 ton union warship was enforcing a blockade against charleston in south carolina when lookout spotted a strange object partially submerged under the water's surface approaching the side of their ship at around 8 45 pm they then realized they were under attack by a submerged enemy vessel and tried to bring their guns to bear upon it but to no avail and shortly afterwards the ship was rocked by an explosion just five minutes later the 1200-ton ship sank and in doing so became the first ship in history to be sunk by an enemy submarine the submarine involved was the hl hundley built in alabama and was the latest in a series of u.s and subsequently confederate efforts to produce a reliable submarine the bravery of the submarine's commander lieutenant george e dixon and his seven-man crew on board cannot be overstated for the confederacy had lost 21 men in previous tests of the submarine during which it sank repeatedly and had to be raised and repaired to continue the program the attack on the housatonic was not actually the first confederate attempt to sink a union warship with a submarine since another confederate sub named david made an unsuccessful attack on the charleston blockade on october 5th the year before but while their courage was rewarded with a successful attack dixon and his men would not return to their base with the wreck of h.l hunley being discovered near the wreck of the housatonic upon the war's conclusion it would take many decades for submarine warfare to be perfected to the lethal and efficient levels of the first and second world war but it all began here with the hl hundley and the housatonic on march 2 1864 union general grant was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and became commander of all union forces in the field most union leaders felt that the confederacy itself was all but finished however there were concerns of reports of some 000 french troops being deployed to mexico it was feared that the confederates would strike a secret deal with the french and these troops would come into the war on the confederate side however no such deal emerged many union commanders felt that what was needed now was to force the confederate soldiers into battle where they would use up their remaining stores and be overwhelmed by the superior numbers of the union forces granted wanted to envelop the main confederate armies by capturing mobile alabama and then wearing them down into submission however union general in chief henry w halleck instead proposed a military campaign along the red river involving both army and navy units the campaign had four objectives firstly to destroy the confederate army commanded by general taylor secondly to capture shreveport in louisiana and secure the red river to the north allowing the union to occupy east texas thirdly to confiscate as much as 100 000 bales of cotton from the plantations along the red river further damaging the confederate economy finally the union forces would then organize pro-union state governments in captured regions the campaign began on march 10th when a combined force comprised of both army and navy units advanced along the river through louisiana on march 14th they captured fort de rossi where they seized the confederates only large caliber guns in the area the navy meanwhile broke through a giant raft placed across the river to block their advance and faced with both these events confederate general taylor retreated effectively handing over south and central louisiana to the union however in the following days the union force began to lose its cohesion with some units arriving late to their designated areas leading to tempers sometimes flaring amongst the commanders commanding the union army was major general nathaniel p banks who was ambitious and well connected which is what mainly afforded his rank since prior to the war he had no formal military training in 1864 he had his site set firmly on challenging lincoln for presidency and a major military victory would go a long way towards achieving that goal through the rest of march the union continued their advance pursuing taylor's retreating forces on april 8th taylor decided it was time to make a stand and chose mansfield as the place where he would confront banks taylor concentrated his forces at sabine crossroads aware that reinforcements were nearby while banks his own force had yet to fully assemble reportedly many of the confederate reinforcements were prisoners from texas paroled in order to shore up taylor's numbers in the subsequent battle bank's front line collapsed and the confederates now found themselves pursuing the union back before banksmen organized a new defensive line and managed to store them on the river the union navy under rear admiral david dixon porter also retreated upon learning of bank's retreats fearing his fleet would have no support on land commanders within the union forces were finding themselves repeatedly at odds with one another through a combination of frustration and ego and this severely inhibited their ability to function cohesively this was an obstacle shared by both sides since taylor was equally frustrated by the lack of support from another confederate general namely kirby smith meanwhile porter's fleet became blocked by a series of dams along the river which focused his and banks attention as they tried to break through after an almost bloodless battle on may 16th at mansura the two sides fought again at the yellow bayou on may 18th the union forces attacks the confederates hoping to block their pursuits the union troops succeeded in turning back the confederates only to have them again counter-attack both sides advanced and retreated several times until the area around them caught fire forcing a cessation of hostilities the battle marks an end of the red river campaign but it did buy the union time to organize a retreat rather than lose an entire army for banks it marks an end to his military career and the stigma of the defeat would hang over him as he tried to recover his political aspirations elsewhere the confederates enjoyed additional successes including the capture of fort pillow in tennessee on april 12th confederate cavalry under nathan bedford forest attacked and overwhelmed the union garrison base there among which were a number of black volunteers the confederate soldiers proceeded to murder every one of them even though they had surrendered by may of 1864 confederate general lee had established a formidable series of defenses along his side of the rapidan river in virginia aimed at holding back grants forces on the opposite side which were double lee's strength grant devised a major campaign against lee's forces that would have three main objectives first grant's forces would cross the rapper dan down river from these defenses and then turn onto the confederate position in conjunction with this attack another union army commanded by major general benjamin f butler was to advance up the james river to capture the confederate capital of richmond and surround lee's position a third union force under major general fran sigel was to thread south through the shenandoah valley to challenge lee's left flank and disrupt his supply lines thus lee would find himself starved of supplies and caught in a three-pronged trap in which his army would be bled to death the campaign began on may 4th but on may 5th lee did the unexpected and instead of fighting defensively against grant's army he instead launched an attack upon the force that had crossed the rapidan leading to the so-called battle of the wilderness moving through dense forestry and underbrush both sides were largely denied the use of their cannons and combat was close range and savage by may 7th granted decided to withdraw to the south south-east having repelled several confederate attacks in order to position his force between lee and richmond the next day union troops launched an unsuccessful attack on confederate troops at laurel hill sparking the long battle of spot sylvania on may 10th grant began a series of attacks against the confederate defensive lines culminating in a 15 000 man attack on the confederate position known as moleshu on may 12th the attack was initially successful but the confederate leadership rallied and eventually repulsed this incursion union troops then struck on the western edge of the mole shoe which would be remembered afterwards as the bloody angle as it would involve almost hours of vicious hand-to-hand fighting launching a final attack on may 18th the union again had nothing to show for their efforts the next day the confederates launched a reconnaissance mission under lieutenant general richard s ewell towards harris farm but this time it was they who would suffer at the hands of the union defenders and the force was beaten back on may 21st grant decided to withdraw once again to the south east and prepare for the next major engagement beginning on may 23rd both sides fought a series of smaller scale engagements along the north anna river grant's force managed to establish a beachhead along the river and capture the chesterfield bridge to counter the union force's superior numbers lee conceived a plan to build defensive earthworks in a v-shape that would force the union army to split in two the plan appeared to be working initially but unfortunately the confederates were unable to make the most of this advantage because lee was struck with an intestinal illness that incapacitated him damaging the confederate leadership's ability to function effectively the subsequent battle was indecisive and grant relocated yet again this time towards cold harbor on may 31st as grant's army once again swung around the right flank of lees union cavalry seized the crossroads of old cold harbour about 10 miles northeast of the confederate capital city of richmond the confederate army attempted to retake the crossroads but fierce union resistance meant that they held out until reinforcements arrived on the evening of june 1st fresh union troops assaulted the confederate works to the west of the crossroads with some success the next day the remainder of both armies amassed to face one another with the confederates building yet more elaborate fortifications and defensive positions which eventually stretched some seven miles long three cores of union troops attacked the confederates on the southern end of the line but were easily repulsed with massive casualties attempts to assault the northern end of the line also failed as did further assaults on the southern side grant said of the battle in his personal memoirs quote i have always regretted that the last assault at cold harbor was ever made no advantage whatever was gained to compensate for the heavy loss we sustained the two armies fought ferociously over the coming days along the defensive line established by lee until on the night of general 12th grant yet again relocated his men marching them to the james river it was an impressive defensive victory for lee but in a cruel twist despite his victories against grant in the overland campaign his own losses were so proportionally high compared to the unions that the campaign was something of a defeat for the confederacy after the inconclusive battle of saint mary's church on june 24th lee found himself falling back to the city of petersburg a vital supporting city to richmond which the confederate general knew could not fall into union hands there lee again constructed an extremely intricate series of defenses including trenches aimed at keeping grant's forces out of the city limits over the coming months grant would make numerous attempts to breach these defenses which would have little success and fearing a confederate counter-attack the union armies constructed their own defensive lines fortifications and trenches in order to contain the confederates in the city it was the start of the siege of petersburg and would last into the following year the nature of the often static trench warfare provided something of a dark omen of what was to come half a century later in europe on june 8th lincoln received his party's nomination for president in the upcoming elections two days later a confederate force routed the numerically superior union troops at the battle of bryce's crossroads in mississippi then the war suddenly came right to lincoln's doorstep in a stunning manner after defeating union forces at the battle of monacasi in central maryland on july 9th confederate major general j a early pressed home his advantage and moved south towards the union capital of washington dc with the intention of raiding it hoping this would seriously demoralize the union side and re-energize the confederacy on july 11th early's exhausted force reached the outskirts of washington near silver spring and he began probing the city's fortifications for weaknesses at the time the city was mainly defended by militia composed of old men and even soldiers recovering from wounds sustained in the battle but during the night union reinforcements from grant's army besieging petersburg were horribly redeployed in troop transports to bolster the city's defenses on july 12 early attacked fort stevens one of the positions in the union defensive line north of the city but his men were rebuffed by grant's newly arrived veteran troops in the afternoon the union troops counter-attacked and drove the confederate raiders back from their positions in front of fort stevens an action personally observed by lincoln who watched from the forts and came under direct fire from a confederate sniper realizing he had lost his window to take the city following the arrival of grant's men early withdrew to the pontomac he is reported to have told one of his staff officers afterwards we didn't take washington but we scared abe lincoln like hell as lee and grant fought in virginia the union was also undertaking another campaign to the south with the objective of capturing the city of atlanta in georgia union major general william sherman invaded georgia from the vicinity of chattanooga tennessee and forced a retreat of confederate forces in may of 1864. sherman's forces pursued the confederates who put up a fierce fight trying to hold back the union troops throughout the summer in a series of skirmishes and battles however union forces pressed on and on september 1st the confederate troops stationed in atlanta under general john hood were forced to abandon the city allowing sherman to march in and take it over it was another devastating blow to the confederates who now fought the union troops defending their prize through until november when sherman undertook his famous march to the sea on november 15th before the union troops left atlanta however sherman had them destroy any piece of industry within the city that contributed to the confederate war effort after leaving atlanta sherman and roughly 60 000 of his soldiers headed towards savannah georgia with the intention of frightening the state's civilian population into abandoning the confederate course sherman's troops did not destroy any of the towns in their path hoping this would make it easier for the populations to turn to the union rather than portray his men as merely union raiders however when they did encounter resistance then the homes of those resisting were destroyed sending a clear message to the population that if you fought back you would be punished on december 10th sherman's army arrived at savannah completing the march to the sea having only encountered sporadic pockets of militia to oppose them at savannah his troops took fort mcallister forcing the confederate defenders to evacuate the city after abandoning atlanta general john bell tried to strike north at sherman's supply lines hoping to force the union general to retreat instead sherman left union forces in tennessee to deal with the threats leading to the battle of nashville a two-day engagement beginning on december 15 1864 with the force of union major general george h thomas in one of the largest victories achieved by the union army during the war thomas attacked and routed hud's army largely destroying it and ending the confederate threat to tennessee the closing of the year brought with it the election campaign for lincoln in order to garner support from the so-called war democrats members of the democratic party who supported the union as well as his republicans he ran under the banner of the national union party lincoln was re-elected in a landslide victory which meant he could refocus his attention to ending the war few would deny that the confederate will to resist was still alive at the start of 1865 but the strategic and logistical situation they found themselves in implied eventual defeat on january 15th union forces assaulted and captured fort fisher in north carolina at the mouth of the cape fear river this closed the confederates river access to wilmington north carolina the last southern seaport on the east coast that was being used by blockade runners and commercial shipping union troops eventually subdued the ports on february 22nd on february 1st sherman's army left savannah to march through the carolinas this time pillaging supplies and burning settlements as they went before capturing colombia on february 17th on march 4th 1865 lincoln delivered his second inaugural address as presidents in which as well as outlining his hopes for a swift victory he also expressed his hopes for repairing the damage done and reuniting the nation quote with malice towards none with charity for all with firmness in the right as god gives us to see the rights let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation's wounds to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations meanwhile sherman's force continued their charge across north carolina occupying fayetteville on march 11th before turning northward until march 16th where they met and engaged with confederate troops after a day of combat the confederates withdrew during the night having succeeded in their aim of slowing the union force down three days later sherman's forces encountered the entrenched defenses of confederate general johnston's army who put up a bitter fight until both sides dug in to face one another the next day sherman sent reinforcements to the battlefield expecting johnston to withdraw but while the confederate general held firm only minor sporadic fighting would take place until the third day where the union troops outflanked their confederate opponents and attacked them from the rear the confederates were able to repel the attack but realizing that long term his position was untenable johnston elected to withdraw from the battlefield in the night back in virginia the siege of petersburg went on hoping to tip the balance back in his favor confederate general lee concocted a plan to attack the union garrison at fort steadman a key point in the siege line around the city dubbed by many as lee's last great offensive the confederate forces succeeded in capturing the fort but could not hold it for more than a few hours and by the end of the day they had retreated back to the city with the strategic situation unchanged by their efforts on march 31st the situation in the city and by association the confederate capital of richmond was made all the more desperate when union forces defeated the confederates on the white oak road west of the city threatening to destabilize their entire flank lee therefore sent a force to hold the vital crossroad of five forks but they didn't have enough time to construct effective defenses when the union attacked on april 1st and the confederates were soundly defeated feeling the noose close in around him the next day on april 2nd lee gave the order to abandon both petersburg and the confederate capital of richmond confederate president jefferson davis and his cabinets quickly relocated to danville and less than two days later lincoln was given a tour of davis office in richmond lee took what was left of his army and marched towards johnston's army hoping to join up with him but on april 6 a third of this surviving force was cornered along the banks of sailors creek and annihilated lee pressed on with his remaining men but hopes of reaching johnston's army were dashed when on april 9th they found their route blocked by union cavalry at the apomatox courthouse lee launched a swift attack believing that the union force consisted entirely of lightly armed cavalry who could be cut down and allow him and his men to escape however this was not the case and he soon found himself confronted with large numbers of union infantry lee knew his situation was hopeless and after making his last stand for the confederate states of america he was left with no choice but to surrender to union general ulysses s grant president lincoln would not have long to bask in the glory of this success on april 14th he was assassinated by actor and confederate sympathizer john wilkes booth at ford's theater in washington d.c he was succeeded by andrew johnson who would preside over the end of the civil war on the same day lincoln was shot fort sumter in south carolina the place where the first official shots of the war were fired was reoccupied by union troops confederate general johnston finally signed the surrender document for the confederate army of the tennessee and miscellaneous southern troops attached to his command on april 26th at bennett's place near durham north carolina then on may 10th confederate president davis was captured near irwinville georgia along with his wife on may 19th he was imprisoned at fortress monroe on the coast of virginia iron shackles were riveted to his ankles at the order of general nelson miles who was in charge of the fort and he was allowed no visitors nor books saved for the bible by now the confederacy ceased to exist as an entity but skirmishes continued at palmetto ranch in texas union and confederate forces had been observing an unofficial truce since the beginning of 1865 but union colonel theodore h barretts commanding an all-black unit suddenly ordered an attack on a confederate camp near fort brown for unknown reasons on may 12th barrett had yet to see combat and some have suspected the attack was part of a last-ditch effort to win himself glory before the war ended the union attackers captured a few prisoners but the following day they were repulsed by confederate colonel john salmon fort and somewhat ironically the last battle of the civil war resulted in a union defeat this confederate success was thanks largely to the use of their heavy cannons which many suspected came from the french army over the border in mexico in this battle union private john j williams of the 34th indiana infantry regiment is credited as being the last man killed in this engagement and therefore the last man killed in the war on may 26 1865 with the formal surrender of the last confederate army the civil war officially ended however in a caveat to the story of the american civil war news of the surrender didn't reach everyone for quite some time after in fact warships of both sides operating in europe south america and off the canadian coast wouldn't hear of the end of the war for sometimes weeks afterwards a month after the official end of the war a group of whaling ships operating in the barren sea were stunned to find themselves under attack by a confederate raider the css shenandoah the wailing crews tried to convince the confederate captain james waddle that the war was over even producing a newspaper telling of lee's surrender waddle refused to believe that the confederacy was gone but later after encountering other ships it became clear this was the case waddle then sailed his ship down the west coast of the americas and around cape horn and then back up the atlantic to liverpool in england a journey some three months long the ship sailed up the river mercy on november 6th with its confederate flag flying proudly for the curious british onlookers to see before waddles surrendered to the captain of the british warship hms dongle her flag was the last sovereign confederate flag to be officially filled while the shenandoah itself was credited for having fired the last shot of the civil war across the bow of a whaler weeks after the war was over unlike when two countries go to war the peace after a civil war is far more delicate to maintain as both belligerents have to return to a shared existence under the same government for the loser this is an especially difficult thing to do and many former confederate soldiers found themselves on the wrong side of the law in the reunified united states perhaps most notably this included frank and jesse james who went on the run after being implicated in carrying out a number of atrocities along with william quantrill who raided lawrence in kansas one of the key points that would help repair the divide was that while the south were forced to abolish slavery they were allowed to maintain their identities as southern states many confederate leaders like general lee were admired for their military prowess rather than the cause they fought for as for the cost of the war an estimated 1 million thirty thousand americans became casualties in the fighting a staggering three percent of the total population at the outbreak of the war of those more than eight hundred thousand are believed to have been killed while the remainder would suffer life-altering injuries such as amputations this number accounts for more american war debt than in all other u.s wars combined while the war would finally see the end of slavery in the united states there was little in the way of an effort to help integrate the african-american community into wider society many of them had no choice but to seek employment from their former slave masters where they continued to live in squalid conditions and paid extremely low wages in the south especially but also in the north the white and black communities began to separate at almost all levels leading to segregated communities and legislation that would enforce this separation the african-american community would have to wait over a hundred years for the civil rights movement to finally win them equal status within the laws of america's states an often overlooked party in the civil war the native american populations fought on both sides fearing reprisals if they did not nevertheless they were still brutally persecuted during and after the war leading to historians such as megan kate nelson in 2020 to declare them a third party in the war and a losing one no matter which side they fought for however racial divisions in the united states remain a serious problem that authorities still struggle to address today and continues to lead to bloodshed on june 17 2015 a white supremacist gunman opened fire on a church congregation in charleston south carolina killing nine people in the wake of the atrocity there were calls for all references of the confederacy in the southern states to be abolished with statues of confederate heroes to be torn down and the confederate flag to be made illegal the descendants of the confederates argued that they were americans and believed in american values but the confederacy and its legacy were part of their heritage and should be maintained some historians argue that we should not forget the confederacy or wash it out of the history books because it is an unpleasant part of history we must remember the past so we can address the mistakes made then and so we do not repeat them in the future speaking on the topic to time magazine in march of 2020 historian cody mars said i tried to situate the confederate memorials as not actually memorials for the confederacy but retroactive stories about what the confederacy was about and what the civil war was about there's a difference from my perspective they're not actually lessons in the history of the civil war they're lessons in the history of american memories about the civil war [Music]

Channel: WarsofTheWorld

Views: 1,751,840

Keywords:

Id: 38KcVu5DkhA

Length: 89min 46sec (5386 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 02 2022

Reddit Comments

[u/AcidNewports]

SS: I found it a great video on the topic that had a differing take then the normal narrative. By that I mean a little more focus on the Western front then the Eastern. I wonder if that's because it wasn't done by an American? Usually just the big battles in the East are covered with some mention of the West.