1864-65
The last year of the Civil War
Objectives
• Learn how Grant altered the war plans of the
Union.
• Learn how those plans were carried out by
who and how.
Lt. General U.S. Grant
On March 8, 1864, Grant is promoted to Lieutenant General. He
is the third in U.S. history. The first full rank since George
Washington.
Plan of Attack
Grant and Sherman meet in Cincinnati Ohio and map out a
strategy to wage total war against the South. They intend to
destroy the South’s ability to wage war. Grant will co-ordinate
all armies. To carry out the plans Grant has 622,000 troops in
22 corps. 533,000 are combat ready.
William Tecumseh Sherman
Sherman assumes Grant’s old
command of all western
armies. Je is tasked with
capturing Atlanta with 100,000
men.
Franz Sigel
Sigel is assigned to gain
control of the Shenandoah
Valley, known as the
“breadbasket of the South”.
His army consists of 26,000
troops.
Benjamin Butler
With the Army of the James,
Butler is to march his 30,000
men up the “Peninsula” in
Virginia , capture City Point,
fortify it, then link up with the
Army of the Potomac.
George Gordon Meade
Meade will remain in command
of the 121,000 man strong Army
of the Potomac Traveling with
Meade will be Grant. Meade is
to destroy Lee’s Army of
Northern Virginia. Grant’s
orders to Meade are simple:
“Wherever Lee goes, you shall
go also/”
May 1864
All of the campaigns were to
begin the first week of May,
1864. More than a quarter of
a million men in blue are ready
to attack the South. Waiting
for them would be the
Southern Armies and their
generals.
William Tecumseh Sherman
Sherman’s army began its advance
from Chattanooga towards Atlanta
on May 7. They were opposed by
Braxton Bragg and Joseph E.
Johnston.
Campaign of Maneuver
Joe Johnston forced Sherman to move and move. Eventually
Sherman’s superior numbers reached the outskirts of Atlanta.
Battles for Atlanta
On July 22, 1864 outside
Atlanta, McPherson was shot
and killed while trying to
escape being captured. He
became the highest ranking
officer to die in combat for the
Union. Sherman remarked,
“Had he lived. He would have
outranked all of us.” The Union
marched into the city on
September 2.
“March to the Sea”
Beginning November 15, 1864, Sherman marched in two “wings”
consisting of 60,000 men total. They lived off the land. They
destroyed all properties that could help the Confederate war effort.
Their goal was Savannah on the coast.
Sherman Neckties
Railroads were given special treatment. Rails were removed.
The ties were then piled up and set on fire. Rails were heated
and twisted around trees and poles.
Savannah Captured
On December 21, 1864, Union forces occupied the city. Sherman
wired Lincoln, “I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of
Savannah…”
Franz Sigel
Sigel begins his operations to
conquer the Shenandoah Valley.
But he runs into a huge
obstacle: Jubal Early.
Jubal Early
Early out generals Sigal in the
Shenandoah to the p0int that
Washington D.C. is threatened.
Phillip Sheridan
Sheridan is sent to take charge of
the situation. He defeated Early
at New Market and Cedar Creek.
After Cedar Creek, it was noted,
“Early was late”. The victory
guaranteed the re-election of
Lincoln.
Benjamin Butler
Butler’s Army of the James
moved up the “Peninsula” and
easily occupied City Point.
They fortified the base and it
will become a major supply
depot for the Union as it nears
Richmond.
George Gordon Meade
With a well organized, well
equipped, well rested Army of
the Potomac. Meade was
scheduled to start his
movements against Robert E.
Lee and the Army of Northern
Virginia.
The Wilderness
On May 4, Meade attacked Lee’s army in the thickets known as
the “Wilderness”. The same place where Stonewall Jackson
had defeated Hooker one year before. Meade lost over 17,000
men, Lee 11,000. But instead of retreating, the Union Army
raced around Lee’s right trying to outflank him.
Spotsylvania Courthouse
Beginning May 10, the armies began slugging it out at
Spotsylvania Courthouse. During nearly two weeks of non stop
fighting, the Union lost another 18,000 men. Lee lost 12,6000.
North Anna
Phillip Sheridan asked that his cavalry be detached from the
Army of the Potomac to harass Lee and hunt down the
Confederate cavalry. On May 12, Confederate cavalry
commander J.E. B. Stuart was shot at Yellow Tavern Virginia. He
died the next day in Richmond.
Cold Harbor
On June 3rd, massive amounts of
Union troops attacked the
entrenched Confederates. In
about 20 minutes, 7,000 men
were shot down. The night
night before the charge, Union
General Horace Porter had
noticed men were writing their
names on paper and sewing it
to the back of their coats.
Petersburg
After Cold Harbor, Grant ordered a dash for the James River.
The Union engineers were able to build a pontoon bridge across
the river and get a large force in position to attack Petersburg, a
rail hub 10 miles below Richmond.
William F. Smith
Petersburg was defended by
3,000 men command by P.G.T.
Beauregard. William F. Smith
had 20,000, but was too
cautious. Remembering the
slaughter at Cold Harbor, a
frontal assault was called off.
The Union dug in for a siege.
Results
By the end of June, 1864, The Union Army of the Potomac had
suffered 55,000 casualties to Lee’s 33,000. But with the North’s
advantage in population, they could replace the men who were
lost. Also, Lee was surrounded at Petersburg. He had lost his
ability to maneuver.
The Crater
In the IX Corps, commanded by
General Burnside, was the 48th
Pennsylvania, a group of coal
miners. They proposed digging
a tunnel under the Confederate
lines, pack it with explosives,
blow a hole in the defenses, and
charge through. The mine was
set off at 4:40 am on July 30.
Disaster in the Crater
The explosion created a huge crater. Instead of going around the
hole, the Union went into it without ladders to scale the walls.
As the men tried to get out of the hole they were shot, stabbed,
and clubbed. Both sides settled in for a long siege.
John Bell Hood
After Joseph E. Johnston had
evacuated Atlanta, John Bell
Hood took command of the
Army of Tennessee with the goal
of re-capturing Tennessee.
Sherman responded by saying,
“If Hood wants to go to the Ohio,
I will give him rations!”
Army of the Cumberland
Defending Tennessee was the
Army of the Cumberland
commanded by George Henry
Thomas, the “Rock of
Chickamauga”. Thomas had
instructed Hood at West Point.
Union General John Schofield,
commander of the Army of the
Ohio, had tutored him. They
knew he was an aggressive
commander.
Spring Hill
In a race to get to Nashville, Hood
had gotten to Spring Hill, but his
men had left an opening and
Schofield’s men were able to get
through and set up defenses at
Franklin.
Franklin
At the Battle of Franklin, aka
“Gettysburg of the West”, Hood
order his men to march across
two miles of ground to attack
the Union lines. In the assault,
six Confederate generals were
killed including Benjamin
Harden Helm, Lincoln’s brother
in law. Because Schofield
retreated to Nashville, Hood
believed Franklin was a victory.
Nashville
After an ice storm in early December, the weather cleared enough
for General Thomas’ 55,000 man army to attack Hood’s 30,000.
The Union overwhelmed the Confederates. It would be the last
major battle fought in the western theater.
Appomattox Campaign 1865
Beginning March 29, 1865, the Union moved to break the
stalemate at Petersburg. Overwhelming numbers forced Lee to
evacuate and move west.
Five Forks
Known as the “Waterloo of the Confederacy”, the southerners
made a stand at five Forks which proved to be the costliest to
the Rebs. Beauregard and Lee’s son, Rooney, were dislodged
from their positions.
Appomattox
Lee continued west. Outside Appomattox Courthouse, Lee’s
retreat was cut off by the Army of the James. An exchange of
messages went back and forth between Lee, Grant, and
Sheridan. They agreed to meet on April 9.
Wilmer McLean
The residence chosen was that
of Wilmer McLean, the same
man who had let General
Beauregard use his house in
1861 at the First Battle of Bull
Run.
Surrender
Lee surrendered to Grant. Joe Johnston surrendered. The war in
the east was over.
Palmito Ranch
Fought on May 12 and 13, 1865
in Texas, it is the last battle of
the Civil War. The South wins.
John J. Williams becomes the
last soldier to be killed in
combat.
Assassination
On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes
Booth assassinates President
Lincoln at Ford’s Theater in
Washington D. C. On the 26th
of that month, Booth was
cornered in a tobacco barn
and shot to death.
Lincoln Conspirators
Eight others are brought to trial for plotting to kill the President
and some cabinet members. Four are given prison terms, and
four are hanged.