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, 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 3 rd, 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 48 th 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 26 th 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.