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