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Confederate Forces The Last Stronghold on the Mississippi River • After the capture of New Orleans by Union forces in 1862, the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, MS was now the last obstacle to Union control of the Mississippi River. If Vicksburg could be captured then the Confederacy would be split in two and the Union would accomplish the second part of their Anaconda Plan. • After recovering from the Battle of Shiloh, General Ulysses S. Grant laid siege to Vicksburg. For now Vicksburg stubbornly refused to surrender but they could not hold out forever. Battle of Chancellorsville • After the disaster at Fredericksburg, Lincoln replaced General Burnside with General Joseph Hooker. Gen. Hooker decided to launch a diversionary attack on Fredericksburg before swinging the rest of his army around to attack Lee from behind… • Hooker’s plan didn’t work. Lee anticipated the move and used his own tactical genius to outmaneuver the Union Army, leaving only a small force at Fredericksburg and attacking Hooker before he can get into position. • Chancellorsville is considered to the be Robert E. Lee’s masterpiece victory. Lee once again defeated an army much larger than his own. However the Confederacy suffered a tragic loss during the battle… Civil War Battle Log: Chancellorsville Chancellorsville (April 30 – May 6, 1863) • Where: Spotsylvania County, VA • Union Forces: 97,382 men • Confederate Forces: 57,352 men • Outcome: Confederate Victory • Casualties: 30,764 (Union: 17,304, Confederate: 13,460) Significance: -Confederate General “Stonewall” Jackson is killed by friendly fire. -Union morale is lowered by another Confederate victory. -Lincoln fires General Hooker. -Lee decides to invade Pennsylvania hoping to win a victory in on Northern soil and shatter Union morale. Lee Invades Again • Although Lee was deeply saddened after losing “Stonewall” Jackson, he seized the opportunity to invade the north again before the Union Army could recover. • Lee’s Army had won so many battles against overwhelming odds that some began to feel it could not be beaten. • Lincoln replaced General Hooker with General George Meade and ordered him to find and destroy Lee’s Confederate Army. • The two armies met at a small town in Pennsylvania called Gettysburg. The greatest battle of the war was about to begin. The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3) • Gettysburg was the largest battle of the Civil War and it would also be a turning point in the war. • On the first day the Confederate army chased the Union army out of the town of Gettysburg. On the second day the two armies took up positions on opposing hillsides and launched attacks at each other across an open field between them. • After the second day, Lee is convinced that the Union army is ready to break and so he puts together an aggressive plan. • On the third day of the battle, Confederate General George Pickett led 12,500 men in a massive charge against the Union center. Pickett’s Charge • General Lee had severely misjudged the strength of the Union position. Pickett’s Charge on July 3rd, 1863 was a complete disaster. • In less than an hour the Confederate Army lost 6,500 (out of 12,500) men during the charge. • Lee quickly realizes his blunder. Knowing he has lost the battle, General Lee rides out to meet the survivors of Pickett’s Charge and told them “It’s all my fault.” Lee told General Pickett to rally his division but Pickett, bitter at his loses, told Lee “General, I have no division.” He never forgave Lee. • The Battle of Gettysburg ended in a clear and decisive Union victory. Having lost about 1/3rd of his army, Lee was forced to retreat back to Virginia. Civil War Battle Log: Gettysburg Gettysburg (July 1 – 3, 1863) • Where: Gettysburg, PA • Union Forces: 93,921 men • Confederate Forces: 71,699 men • Outcome: Union Victory • Casualties: 51,112 (Union: 23,049, Confederate: 28,063) Significance: -Gettysburg was the turning point of the Civil War. -Lee’s invasion of the North was turned back. -The Confederate Army would never again be able to invade the north. -Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. Vicksburg Surrenders! (July 4, 1863) • After holding out for over 40 days, the garrison at Vicksburg was running short on food, supplies, and ammunition. Grant launched attacks from land while the Union Navy used Ironclad gunboats to fire on the city from the Mississippi River. • Finally on July 4th, 1863, Vicksburg surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant. • The victory came only a day after Gettysburg and on Independence Day. It was celebrate in the North and Grant was hailed as a hero. The Mississippi River was now under Union control. Lincoln believed he had finally found his general. Civil War Battle Log: Vicksburg Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) • Where: Vicksburg, MS • Union Forces: 77,000 men (estimate) • Confederate Forces: 33,000 men (estimate) • Outcome: Union Victory • Casualties: 37,402 (Union: 4,910, Confederate: 32,492) Significance: -The Union gains control of the Mississippi River. -The Confederacy is split in two. -General Ulysses S. Grant becomes famous in the North. -President Lincoln chooses a new Commanding General for the Union Army… Civil War Telegraph News Bulletin During the Civil War, journalists from both the north and the south witnessed battles first hand. There was often a race to see who could write a report about a battle and send it by telegraph first. In your journal write a Telegraph News Bulletin about the battle of Fort Wagner, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, or Vicksburg. You may write this article from the perspective of a northerner or a southerner. Since longer telegraphs took longer to send you NEED to explain and summarize the significance of the battle you saw in as few words as possible. (Use your Battle Logs to help you complete this assignment). This will be part of your next Journal Check..
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