Civil-War_Ch6_homework-1

=**Civil War Ch. 6 Homework #1**=

**From the Wilderness to Cold Harbor**
Ulysses Grant was a survivor. He was forced to resign from the army in 1854, re-entered in 1861, only through political pull, and even with his record of victories, he had twice been relieved of command. In spite of Grant's critics, President Lincoln admired him as a fighter who did his best with whatever he had. After lifting the siege at Chattanooga, Grant was called to Washington, where Lincoln promoted him to lieutenant general in the Regular Army and gave him the responsibility of designing all Union strategy. Grant was an active man who preferred a saddle to a desk. He would go with the Army of the Potomac as it moved against Lee. He promised Lincoln that no matter what happened, he would not turn back.

On May 4, 1864, Grant's army crossed the Rapidan River and moved into that region of Virginia known as the Wilderness. The location suited Lee better than Grant. Its dense woods cancelled the Union's advantage in cavalry and artillery. One soldier described the battle as one without a front or a rear, and another said they were two "howling mobs." Each army had its opportunity to win a major victory. Winfield Hancock's troops broke the South's line on May 6, but just as they came to the clearing where Lee's headquarters were, Longstreet's fresh troops arrived and drove them back. Later that same day, Longstreet broke Hancock's flank, but was shot by one of his own men as he rode back from the line. Brush fires broke out, and at times, the battle stopped so the wounded could be rescued. Grant was told what Lee would probably do next; he told his officers not to think about Lee, but "try to think what we are going to do for ourselves."

On May 7, the armies rested and waited for orders. That evening, the word came from Grant: the Union army was heading south to Spotsylvania. This move was no surprise to Lee, who reasoned that if he were Grant, that would be his target. Richard Anderson (now commanding Longstreet's men) had dug five miles of trenches before the Union arrived. Shaped like the letter U, the trenches allowed rebel troops to easily move from one position jto another and meet Union advances head on. Colonel Emery Upton broke through the line, but was driven back. Then Hancock got through; Lee was there at the front, but his soldiers shouted "General Lee to the rear" and drove Hancock's men back. The weakest spot in the U became known as "Bloody Angle" because of the fierce fighting there. The dead lay three deep in the muddy trenches of "Bloody Angle." In less than three weeks, the Union had lost 6,300 soldiers, but Grant relentlessly moved toward Cold Harbor.

General Phil Sheridan's cavalry beat Lee in the race this time, but the rebel infantry was soon in position and digging in. As Union soldiers prepared to attack the Confederate line, they pinned pieces of paper with their names on them to their uniforms so their families would known where they died. The attack on June 3 was costly for Grant's army, as the men in gray blasted them with rifle and cannon.

__Questions__: 1. What rank was Grant given in 1864? 2. What assignment did LIncoln give him? 3. What did Grant promise to Lincoln? 4. Why did the Wilderness suit Lee better than Grant? 5. What Confederate general was wounded in the Wilderness? 6. Why was fighting interrupted in the battle? 7. Name 2 Union officers who had some success at Spotsylvania. 8. Where did the worst fighting at Spotsylvania take place? 9. Why did soldiers pin their names on their uniforms at Cold Harbor? 10. What happened when Grant attacked June 3?

**Sherman Takes Atlanta and Marches Through Georgia**
When Grant took command of the army, he entrusted the command of his western army to William Tecumseh Sherman. Like Grant, "Cump" Sherman had been a failure for most of his civilian life, but then the Civil War came. At first, he had many critics who pointed out his exaggeration of southern forces in Kentucky and who claimed he was insane. He and Grant first teamed up in the battles of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson and became close friends.

With Grant promoted to general in chief and going east to take charge of the campaign against Lee, he could no longer actively lead the army in the West, so he entrusted that job to Sherman. White Graant presssed Lee's army, Sherman was to drive toward Atlanta, and once it was taken, to march toward the Atlantic coast. General Joseph Johnston intended to block him. Knowing Sherman had the advantage of numbers, Johnston's plan was to find a good position, dig in, make the enemy pay a terrible price for the trench, and when the time came, drop back to another good defensive position. With high enough casualties, the Democrats would win the 1864 election and make peace. His army was ragged and hungry, but they were very loyal to him. Slowly withdrawing, Johnston gave up Dalton, Resaca, Cassville, and Kennesaw Mountain. Grant and Sherman respected his ability, but President Davis did not like him or his strategy. After Generals Braxton Bragg and John Bell Hood falsely accused Johnston of having no plans for defense of Atlanta, Davis relieved Johnston of command on July 17, 1864 and appointed Hood as his replacement.

Hood was described by Lee as "all lion and no fox." His courage was unquestioned. His arm was crippled at Gettysburg, a leg was amputated after Chickamauga, and he had to be strapped in his saddle to ride. The army was furious at the change of command, and even Hood became uncertain that he was the right choice. By this time, the Confederates were backed up to the 12 miles of trenches protecting Atlanta. Rather than wait for Sherman to attack, Hood sent armies out to strike him first, but they were repulsed at Peachtree Creek. William Hardee then tried to break the Union line east of the city, but that move also failed. Sherman, however, was also having trouble. S.D. Lee held off a Union advance at Ezra's Church, west of Atlanta, and Joe Wheeler's cavalry defeated three large Union cavalry units.

Sherman began shelling Atlanta while sending troops in a wide arc to cut off its railroad connections to the south. Failing to drive off Union troops at Jonesboro, Hood set fire to everything of military value and left Atlanta on September 1, 1864. Sherman telegraphed Lincoln that "Atlanta is ours, and fairly won." Sherman ordered everyone to leave the city, then in November he burned the city, and his army began its famous March to the Sea. Hood moved northward, but General George Thomas, with 60,000 men, kept him from doing much harm. For Sherman's 62,000 men, the March to the Sea was almost a peaceful stroll. On December 21, 1864, Savannah fell.

__Questions__: 1. Where did Sherman and Grant start working together? 2. What made it possible for Sherman to assume command in the West? 3. What was the city he was ordered to capture? 4. Who was the first Confederate commander to oppose him? 5. What major battles were fought as the Confederates retreated? 6. Who persuaded Davis to fire Johnston? 7. How did Hood try to defend Atlanta? 8. What Confederate cavalry officer did an outstanding job? 9. Why was Sherman unpopular among Atlantans for many years after the war? 10. What was the first seacoast city to fall to Sherman?

**The Meeting at Appomattox:**
It was April once again, nearly four years since Fort Sumter, this was the time to plant next year's crop, and for the farmers who made up the builk of the Confederate army, thoughts were drifting away to home. Some could not resist the temptation to desert; they knew that Grant's army was getting larger, and his supplies were increasing daily. They also knew there was no food for them, and even if they were paid, the money was worthless. Why not go back to take care of family needs? Others were determined to see it through to the end; they had put too much of their lives into this cause to quit before it waqs over.

To the south, Sherman was meeting organized resistance again. After Lee was appointed general in chief, he had reappointed Joseph Johnston in February of 1865 to command an army of 22,000 men against Sherman, now with 90,000 men. As in the past, Johnston's tactic was to give ground, but punch whenever a good opportunity presented itself.

Grant's troops kept extending their line around Petersburg, and Lee realized that unless he did something soon, his army would be stretched so thin taht he would easily be defated by a sudden Union thrust anywhere along the line. Some engagements in the last weeks of the siege at Petersburg was as fierce as any in the war. On March 25, 1865, the Confederates captured Fort Stedman, a major earthwork on the Union line. The thrill of victory was brief, and the next day most of the Confederates involved were dead, injured, or captured.

The next major engagement was at Five Forks, where Sheridan's cavalry clashed with Confederates on March 30 to April 1. After suffering heavy casualties there, Lee, realizing he could no longer hold Petersburg, sent a message to President Davis that he was withdrawing. He then planned his next move. He would head west to Amelia Courthouse on the Richmond and Danville Railroad. Once there, his men would head south to join with Johnston's army. The withdrawal did not fool Grant, and Union troops were hot in pursuit, capturing stragglers and supply trains. On April 9, Lee knew he was cut off and could not make it to Amelia Courthouse. A time was arranged, and Wilmer McLean's house in Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, was selected as the place of surrender.

Some of Lee's officers wanted to form guerilla units and live off the land, but Lee opposed the idea, and they gave in to his wishes. Much as been written about the meeting. Lee wore a dress uniform, Grant a dirty coat and mud-covered boots. After small talk about their service together in the Mexican War, Lee asked Grant for the terms of surrender and found them to be generous. The Confederates would be paroled, allowed to take their horses and mules home with them, and given 25,000 rations.

As the news spread, there was great joy among the Union soldiers. Then the ragged but proud Army of Northern Virginia stacked their arms, and there was silence as soldiers who had fought so hard now faced each other in peace. For all present, the moment would never be forgotten.

__Questions__: 1. What reasons did Confederate deserters have for leaving? 2. Who was back in charge of the Confederate forces in the deep south? 3. What fort on the Petersburg line was captured by the Confederates in March? 4. What happened to the troops that captured the fort? 5. What battle convinced Lee he would have to give up Petersburg? 6. What town did Lee hope to reach? 7. What did Lee hope to do after he reached it? 8. At whose home was the surrender signed? 9. What were the terms of surrender? 10. What was the reaction of the Union soldiers as Confederate troops stacked their arms?

**The Confederate Government Collapses**
On April 2, 1865, there was a rush of activity as government officials in Richmond scurried around closing up their offices, then raced home to pack their bags and arrange for transportation out of town. If they had had time to reflect that day, they would have wondered what had happened to the enthusiasm and confidence so often expressed just four years before. So many hopes had been held back in 1861. The North would let the South go without a fight. If a war occurred, one Confederate could whip 10 Northerners. Then they pinned their hopes on the superior generalship of Lee and Jackson. The blockade could be broken with an ironclad ripping holes in wooden Union ships. England would come to help because their textile mills would be starved for Confederate cotton. So many dreams had not been realized.

It is easier to spot the mistakes of the past than it is to prevent them from happening in our own time. Let's look back to see where some of the mistakes were that led to the Confederate government moving from Richmond to Danville, North Carolina, where it spent the last few days of its existence. The mistakes are not listed in order of importance, but in the approximate order they occurred.

1. The Confederates had underestimated Lincoln. He was a country lawyer with little national experience. He was not much of a public speaker, yet people understood him. He seemed slow to make decisions, but once they were made, he usually picked the best way to go. His moves to secure Maryland and Kentucky, two slave-holding border states, proved to be a move of genius.

2. In the early days of the blockade, it was very easy to get supplies through. It would have been an ideal time to bring in far more arms, gunpowder, medicine, and other vital items than the Confederacy actually did. After losing Port Royal, Norfolk, New Orleans, and Mobile Bay, the South was running short on good ports through which supplies could be delivered.

3. "King Cotton diplomacy" assumed that if England and France were cut off from southern cotton, they would fight their way through the blockade to get it. If cotton had been sold overseas, the South could have bought more of the equipment and supplies it needed and been able to pay for them in gold.

4. The decision not to tax put a burden on the public far worse than any reasonable tax could. When money became worthless and people were forced to barter, their opinion of the government suffered.

5. The doctrine of states' rights had given a motive for leaving the U.S., but extremists like Vice President Alexander Stephens and Georgia's governor, Joe Brown, were blind to the necessity of putting unity first, and then, after the war, rearranging the government to allow more freedom for states.

6. Slaves were counted on to help win the war, and durign the war there were no massive slave rebellions, but work slowed down to a near stop on many farms as slaves waited for some Union officer to ride over the hill and tell them they were free. General Patrick Cleburne concluded that blacks might make as good soldiers in gray as in blue uniforms. However, it was naturally difficult for the South to accept such a notion after telling themselves for centuries that blacks were inferior.

__Questions__: 1. Why was there so much activity on April 2, 1865? 2. What was the first hope of 1861 to fail? 3. To what city did the Confederates move the government? 4. Why did southerners think Lincoln would be easy to handle? 5. What needed supplies were brought through the blockade? 6. Why did the decision not to tax hurt loyalty to the Confederacy? 7. What aws the idea behind King Cotton diplomacy? 8. How did Alexander Stephens and Joe Brown make the job of winning the war harder? 9. How did slaves hurt the Confederacy, even when they did not revolt? 10. Who suggested brining black soldiers into the Confederate army?

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