Chapter 11 Section 4
Devastation and Freedom
Battle of the Wilderness
• May 1864
• Intense fighting mostly
in wooded areas
• So intense it set the
wooded areas on fire
• Many of the wounded
burned to death
• Thick smoke led to
many instances of
friendly fire
Battle of the Wilderness
• Grant’s forces took
tremendous losses
• But he refused to
retreat like previous
Union generals
• He moved his army
around the
Confederates and
continued heading
South
What did the Battle of the Wilderness
reveal about Grant’s strategy?
• Under Grant’s
leadership, troops
would not retreat
quickly
• The Union Army would
be more aggressive but
be criticized for the
tremendous loss of life
Battle of Spotsylvania
• Happened 2 days after
Battle of the Wilderness
• Heavy fighting- in some
spots Union dead were
piled up 4 deep
• Northerners began to
protest the huge loss of
life
• Grant vowed to continued
to fight on anyway
Battle of Cold Harbor
• 8 miles from Richmond
(Confederate capital)
• Grant launches to direct
charges on the
Confederates- who
were behind strong
fortifications
• 7,000 Union soldiers fall
• Grant lost 65,000 in 2
months
• Many troops began
pinning their names and
address on their
uniforms so they could
be identified
What had the South hoped for in the
election of 1864?
• For Lincoln’s defeat and
McClellan’s victory
• McClellan promised to
negotiate an end to the
war
• However…
Describe General Sherman’s March to
the Sea
• November 1864
• Sherman leads 62,000
Union troops to capture
Savannah, Georgia
• Before he left for Georgia,
he ordered Atlanta burnt
to the ground
• Destroyed everything
from Atlanta to Savannah
– 300 miles of destruction
How did General Sherman affect the
outcome of the 1864 election and the end
of the Civil War?
• Sherman’s capture of
Atlanta changed the
political climate of the
North
• Now northerners
believed they could win
and no longer wanted
to negotiate
• More people would
now support Lincoln
What were the terms of General Lee’s
surrender to General Grant?
• Appomattox Court House,
Virginia
• April 1865
• Southern soldiers could
take their horses and
mules and go home
• The would not be
considered traitors as
long as they obeyed the
laws where the lived
• Grant then offered to
feed Lee’s army
Guerrilla
• Soldiers who use
surprise raids and hit
and run tactics
– Many of Lee’s
commanders suggested
this rather than
surrendering
– Lee rejected this, fearing
it would lead to more
devastation to Virginia
Who was John Wilkes Booth?
• Actor
• Southern sympathizer
• Originally wanted to
kidnap Lincoln in
exchange for southern
prisoners of war
– Led to unsuccessful
attempts
• Decided to kill him
instead (as well as
General Grant and Vice
President Johnson)
• Only able to kill Lincoln,
shooting him in the
back of the head
• Lincoln died shortly
after
• Booth was eventually
cornered in a tobacco
barn in Virginia
• Shot (against orders)
– Northern leaders wanted
him to stand trial
Thirteenth Amendment
• Became law December
18, 1865
• The amendment ended
slavery in the United
States