A Short History of the United States by Channing

by Edward Channing

  [Sidenote: Objections to it.]

  427. Grant in Virginia, 1864.--Grant had with him in Virginia the Army of the Potomac under Meade, the Ninth Corps under Burnside, and a great cavalry force under Sheridan. In addition General Butler was on the James River with some thirty thousand men. Lee had under his orders about one-half as many soldiers as had Grant. In every other respect the advantage was on his side. Grant's plan of campaign was to move by his left from the Rappahannock southeastwardly. He expected to push Lee southward and hoped to destroy his army. Butler, on his part, was to move up the James. By this plan Grant could always be near navigable water and could in this way easily supply his army with food and military stores. The great objection to this scheme of invasion was that it gave Lee shorter lines of march to all important points. This fact and their superior knowledge of the country gave the Confederates an advantage which largely made up for their lack in numbers.

  [Sidenote: Battle of the Wilderness, May, 1864.]

  428. The Wilderness, May, 1864.--On May 4 and 5 the Union army crossed the Rapidan and marched southward through the Wilderness. It soon found itself very near the scene of the disastrous battle of Chancellorsville (p. 335). The woods were thick and full of underbrush.

  Clearings were few, and the roads were fewer still. On ground like this Lee attacked the Union army. Everything was in favor of the attacker, for it was impossible to foresee his blows, or to get men quickly to any threatened spot. Nevertheless Grant fought four days. Then he skillfully removed the army and marched by his left to Spotsylvania Court House.

  [Illustration: GENERAL GRANT. From a photograph taken in the field, March, 1865. "Strong, simple, silent, ... such was he Who helped us in our need."--LOWELL.]

  [Sidenote: Spotsylvania, May, 1864.]

  429. Spotsylvania, May, 1864.--Lee reached Spotsylvania first and fortified his position. For days fearful combats went on. One point in the Confederate line, called the Salient, was taken and retaken over and over again. The loss of life was awful, and Grant could not push Lee back. So on May 20 he again set out on his march by the left and directed his army to the North Anna. But Lee was again before him and held such a strong position that it was useless to attack him.

  [Sidenote: Cold Harbor.]

  [Sidenote: Blockade of Petersburg.]

  430. To the James, June, 1864.--Grant again withdrew his army and resumed his southward march. But when he reached Cold Harbor, Lee was again strongly fortified. Both armies were now on the ground of the Peninsular Campaign. For two weeks Grant attacked again and again. Then on June 11 he took up his march for the last time. On June 15 the Union soldiers reached the banks of the James River below the junction of the Appomattox. But, owing to some misunderstanding, Petersburg had not been seized. So Lee established himself there, and the campaign took on the form of a siege. In these campaigns from the Rapidan to the James, Grant lost in killed, wounded, and missing sixty thousand men. Lee's loss was much less--how much less is not known.

  [Illustration: A BOMB PROOF AT PETERSBURG AS IT APPEARS TO-DAY WITH THE TREES GROWING ON THE BREASTWORKS.]

  [Sidenote: Importance of Petersburg.]

  431. Petersburg, June-December, 1864.--Petersburg guarded the roads leading from Richmond to the South. It was in reality a part of the defenses of Richmond. For if these roads passed out of Confederate control, the Confederate capital would have to be abandoned. It was necessary for Lee to keep Petersburg. Grant, on the other hand, wished to gain the roads south of Petersburg. He lengthened his line; but each extension was met by a similar extension of the Confederate line. This process could not go on forever. The Confederacy was getting worn out.

  No more men could be sent to Lee. Sooner or later his line would become so weak that Grant could break through. Then Petersburg and Richmond must be abandoned. Two years before, when Richmond was threatened by McClellan, Lee had secured the removal of the Army of the Potomac by a sudden movement toward Washington (p. 321). He now detached Jubal Early with a formidable force and sent him through the Shenandoah Valley to Washington.

  [Illustration: GENERAL SHERIDAN.]

  [Sidenote: Confederate attack on Washington, 1864.]

  [Sidenote: Sheridan in the Valley. Hero Tales, 263-290.]

  [Sidenote: Confederate disaster, October, 1864.]

  [Sidenote: Lincoln reëlected, November, 1864. McMaster, 425-426.]

  432. Sheridan's Valley Campaigns, 1864.--The conditions now were very unlike the conditions of 1862. Now, Grant was in command instead of McClellan or Pope. He controlled the movements of all the armies without interference from Washington, and he had many more men than Lee.

  Without letting go his hold on Petersburg, Grant sent two army corps by water to Washington. Early was an able and active soldier, but he delayed his attack on Washington until soldiers came from the James. He then withdrew to the Shenandoah Valley. Grant now gave Sheridan forty thousand infantry and fifteen thousand cavalry, and sent him to the Valley with orders to drive Early out and to destroy all supplies in the Valley which could be used by another Southern army. Splendidly Sheridan did his work. At one time, when he was away, the Confederates surprised the Union army. But, hearing the roar of the battle, Sheridan rode rapidly to the front. As he rode along, the fugitives turned back.

  The Confederates, surprised in their turn, were swept from the field and sent whirling up the Valley in wild confusion (October 19, 1864). Then Sheridan destroyed everything that could be of service to another invading army and rejoined Grant at Petersburg. In the November following this great feat of arms, Lincoln was reëlected President.

  [Sidenote: Mobile Bay, 1864. Hero Tales, 303-322.]

  [Sidenote: Kearsarge and Alabama.]

  433. The Blockade and the Cruisers, 1863-64.--The blockade had now become stricter than ever. For by August, 1864, Farragut had carried his fleet into Mobile Bay and had closed it to commerce. Sherman had taken Savannah. Early in 1865 Charleston was abandoned, for Sherman had it at his mercy, and Terry captured Wilmington. The South was now absolutely dependent on its own resources, and the end could not be far off. On the open sea, with England's aid a few vessels flew the Confederate flag.

  The best known of these vessels was the Alabama. She was built in England, armed with English guns, and largely manned by Englishmen. On June 19, 1864, the United States ship Kearsarge sank her off Cherbourg, France. Englishmen were also building two ironclad battleships for the Confederates. But the American minister at London, Mr. Charles Francis Adams, said that if they were allowed to sail, it would be "war." The English government thereupon bought the vessels.

  [Illustration: ADMIRAL FARRAGUT.]

  [Sidenote: Sherman's northern march, 1865.]

  434. Sherman's March through the Carolinas, 1865.--Early in 1865 Sherman set out on the worst part of his great march. He now directed his steps northward from Savannah toward Virginia. The Confederates prepared to meet him. But Sherman set out before they expected him, and thus gained a clear path for the first part of his journey. Joseph E.

  Johnston now took command of the forces opposed to Sherman and did everything he could to stop him. At one moment it seemed as if he might succeed. He almost crushed the forward end of Sherman's army before the rest of the soldiers could be brought to its rescue. But Sherman's veterans were too old soldiers to be easily defeated. They first beat back the enemy in front, and when another force appeared in the rear they jumped to the other side of their field breastworks and defeated that force also. Night then put an end to the combat, and by morning the Union force was too strong to be attacked. Pressing on, Sherman reached Goldsboro' in North Carolina. There he was joined by Terry from Wilmington and by Schofield from Tennessee. Sherman now was strong enough to beat any Confederate army. He moved to Raleigh and completely cut Lee's communications with South Carolina and Georgia, April, 1865.

  [Sidenote: Condition of Lee's army.]

  [Sidenote: Higginson, 317.]

  [Sidenote: Surrender of the Southern
armies, April 1865. Source-book, 329-333].

  435. Appomattox, April, 1865.--The end of the Confederacy was now plainly in sight. Lee's men were starving. They were constantly deserting either to go to the aid of their perishing families or to obtain food from the Union army. As soon as the roads were fit for marching, Grant set his one hundred and twenty thousand men once more in motion. His object was to gain the rear of Lee's army and to force him to abandon Petersburg. A last despairing attack on the Union center only increased Grant's vigor. On April 1 Sheridan with his cavalry and an infantry corps seized Five Forks in the rear of Petersburg and could not be driven away. Petersburg and Richmond were abandoned. Lee tried to escape to the mountains. But now the Union soldiers marched faster than the starving Southerners. Sheridan, outstripping them, placed his men across their path at Appomattox Court House. There was nothing left save surrender. The soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia, now only thirty-seven thousand strong, laid down their arms, April 9, 1865. Soon Johnston surrendered, and the remaining small isolated bands of Confederates were run down and captured.

  [Sidenote: Murder of Lincoln, April 14, 1865. Higginson, 322-323; Source-book, 333-335.]

  436. Lincoln murdered, April 14, 1865.--The national armies were victorious. President Lincoln, never grander or wiser than in the moment of victory, alone stood between the Southern people and the Northern extremists clamoring for vengeance. On the night of April 14 he was murdered by a sympathizer with slavery and secession. No one old enough to remember the morning of April 15, 1865, will ever forget the horror aroused in the North by this unholy murder. In the beginning Lincoln had been a party leader. In the end the simple grandeur of his nature had won for him a place in the hearts of the American people that no other man has ever gained. He was indeed the greatest because the most typical of Americans. Vice-President Andrew Johnson, a war Democrat from Tennessee, became President. The vanquished secessionists were soon to taste the bitter dregs of the cup of defeat.

  [Illustration: MAYOR'S OFFICE, APRIL 15th, 1865, Death notice of Abraham Lincoln]

  QUESTIONS AND TOPICS

  [Use maps constantly while studying this period. The maps provided in Dodge's Bird's-Eye View are admirably adapted to this purpose.]

  CHAPTER 37

  § 380.--a. What did Lincoln say about the Union? What did he say about slavery? What oath did Lincoln take?

  b. Was his inaugural conciliatory to the South?

  §§ 381, 382.--a. What was the result of Buchanan's attempt to send supplies to Fort Sumter?

  b. Why did Lincoln inform the governor of South Carolina of his determination to succor Fort Sumter?

  c. What was the effect on Northern opinion of the attack on Fort Sumter?

  d. Could the Southerners have done otherwise than fire on the flag?

  §§ 383-385.--a. Why were the Virginians so divided? What resulted from this division?

  b. What were the "border states"? Could these states have been neutral?

  c. Describe the especial importance of Maryland.

  d. What oath had the officers of the United States army and navy taken? Did Lee and other officers who resigned necessarily believe in the right of secession? Give your reasons.

  CHAPTER 38

  §§ 386, 387.--a. State the advantages of the Southerners from the geographical point of view.

  b. Explain how rivers were lines of defense.

  c. Describe carefully the plan of the Bull Run campaign.

  d. Why was the Shenandoah Valley so important?

  §§ 388-390.--a. Why was McClellan placed in command of the Army of the Potomac?

  b. Of what advantage to the South were the negroes?

  c. Describe the plan of the Peninsular Campaign. What was the great objection to it?

  § 391.--a. Describe the Merrimac, the Monitor. Compare them with the Congress.

  b. What effect did the Monitor-Merrimac fight have on McClellan's campaign?

  §§ 392, 393.--a Describe the Peninsular Campaign. Why were not more soldiers sent to McClellan?

  b. What is meant by the phrase "change of base"?

  c. How did Lee secure the removal of McClellan's army from the James?

  §§ 394, 395.--a Why did Lee invade Maryland? b. Describe the battle of Antietam, of Fredericksburg. What was the result of each of these battles?

  §§ 396, 397.--a. Give an account of the early life and training of Grant and of Thomas.

  b. Why were the seizures of Cairo and Paducah and the battle of Mill Springs important?

  c. What is meant by the phrase "unconditional surrender"?

  §§ 398, 399.--a. Explain carefully the importance to the South of New Orleans and the lower Mississippi.

  b. Give an account of Farragut's early life. How did it fit him for this work?

  c. Describe the operations against New Orleans.

  § 400.--a. Explain carefully the plan of the campaign to Corinth Why was Corinth important?

  b. What quality in Grant was conspicuous at Shiloh?

  § 401.--a. What was Bragg's object in invading Kentucky? How far did he succeed? Why was Chattanooga important?

  CHAPTER 39

  §§ 402, 403.--a. What is a blockade? What was the effect of the blockade on the South?

  b. Had sea power been in Southern hands, could the Union have been saved?

  c. Why was Charleston so difficult to capture? (Compare with the Revolutionary War.)

  §§ 405, 406.--a. What help did the Southerners hope to obtain from Great Britain and France? Why? How were their hopes disappointed?

  b. What do you think of the action of the English mill operatives?

  c. Describe the Trent Affair. What do you think of Lincoln's action? Did the British government act wisely?

  §§ 406, 407.--a. What had the Republican party declared about slavery in the states? What had Lincoln said in his inaugural?

  b. How had the war altered Lincoln's power as President?

  c. Why was it necessary for Lincoln to follow Northern sentiment?

  d. What is contraband of war? How were the slaves contraband?

  §§ 408, 409.--a. What steps had already been taken by Congress toward freeing the slaves?

  b. How was the Emancipation Proclamation justified? Upon what would its enforcement depend?

  c. What slave states were not affected by this proclamation?

  d. How was slavery as an institution abolished throughout the United States?

  §§ 410, 411.--a. Why was not the North united upon this war?

  b. What is the force of the writ of habeas corpus? Why is it so important?

  c. What was the "draft," and why was it necessary?

  CHAPTER 40

  §§ 412-415.--a. Explain the position of the armies at the beginning of 1863.

  b. Why was the conquest of Vicksburg so difficult? How was it finally captured?

  c. What effect did the control of the Mississippi have upon the Confederacy?

  § 416.--a. What was Lee's object in invading Pennsylvania?

  b. What position did the Union army keep as regards the Confederates?

  §§ 417-419.--a. Describe the battle-field of Gettysburg. Why was the battle so important?

  b. Describe in detail the principal events of each day of the battle.

  c. Learn Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address." How was this ground hallowed? What was the great task before the people?

  §§ 420, 421.--a. Describe the battle of Chickamauga. Review Thomas's services up to this time.

  b. Describe the three parts of the battle of Chattanooga.

  CHAPTER 41

  §§ 422, 423.--a. How had Grant shown his fitness for high command? Was it wise to have one man in command of all the armies? Why?

  b. Review Sherman's career up to this time. Why did Grant impose trust in him?

  c. What was the result of Hood's attacks?

  §§ 424-426.--a. What was the real object of Sherman's march to the sea?

  b. Describe the
destruction of Hood's army. What does it show as to Thomas's ability?

  c. What did Sherman's army accomplish on its way to the sea?

  §§ 427-430.--a. Compare the conditions of the two armies in Virginia.

  Explain the advantages of the Confederates.

  b. Describe the battle of the Wilderness, noting the conditions favorable to the Confederates.

  c. Describe the movement to the James. What advantages had Grant not possessed by McClellan?

  §§ 431, 432.--a. Why was Petersburg important?

  b. How did Lee try to compel the withdrawal of Grant? Why did he not succeed?

  c. Describe Sheridan's work in the Shenandoah Valley. Read a short account of Sheridan's career to 1865, and state his services to the Union cause.

  §§ 433.--a. How had Sherman's victories affected the blockade?

  b. What aid had Great Britain given to the Confederates? Why did she not give more assistance?

  §§ 434, 435.--a. How did Sherman's occupation of Raleigh affect Lee?

  b. Describe the condition of Lee's army. How was its capture accomplished?

  § 436.--a. Why was Lincoln's death a terrible loss to the South?

  b. Why is he the greatest of all Americans?

  GENERAL QUESTIONS

  a. Review the steps which led to the war for the Union.

  b. What were Lincoln's personal views as to slavery? Why could he not carry them out?

  c. What were Lincoln's leading characteristics? Give illustrations to support your view.

  d. Study Grant's military career and try to find out why he succeeded where others failed.

  e. Arrange a table of the leading campaigns, giving dates, leaders, end to be attained, important battles, and result.

  f. Give the two most important battles of the war. Why do you select these?

  TOPICS FOR SPECIAL WORK.

  a. Life in Southern prisons.

  b. The Shenandoah Valley in the war.

  c. Any important battle or naval action, or leading general, or naval commander.

  d. The part played by your own state or town in the war, or the history of one of your state regiments.

  SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS

  A few days spent upon a study of the field of war will save a great deal of time. Channing's Students' History will enable the teacher to indicate the most important strategic points. Maps have been sparingly provided in this book, as the simple plans in Dodge's Bird's-eye View can easily be reproduced on the blackboard. In general, campaigns should be studied rather than battles.