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The Civil War in the East 1864-1865. The war becomes one of attrition as General Grant comes East to pound Lee’s army into submission. Grant takes command. General Grant creates a master plan for the Union to destroy the Confederacy. All Union forces will work together for victory.
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The Civil War in the East 1864-1865 The war becomes one of attrition as General Grant comes East to pound Lee’s army into submission
Grant takes command • General Grant creates a master plan for the Union to destroy the Confederacy. All Union forces will work together for victory. • Union industrial strength and population advantages will be maximized. • The Union will break the back of the Confederacy by destroying the home front.
The Overland Campaign • Grant moves into the Wilderness • Terrible and bloody fighting • The Union forces are stopped • Grant does not retreat but rather moves south to get around Lee’s army
Spotsylvania Court House • Twelve days of butchery • General Sedgwick is killed by sharpshooter • The Bloody Angle fighting lasts 18 hours • Grant moves south
Cold Harbor, June 1864 • Bloody disaster for the North • “Not war but murder.”
The Siege of Petersburg • The Federals almost took the town in June 1864, but since they did not take the town, both sides were condemned to a long siege. • Federals try to blow up the Confederate lines at “The Crater”- a terrible failure. • Petersburg controlled the railroad line into Richmond. If Petersburg fell, then Richmond fell.
Life in the trenches • The trenches were hot, dusty, muddy, cold and miserable. • If men raised their head above the trench line they were killed by snipers. • As the months rolled on, the Confederates starved and froze. • The Union kept trying to cut off the rail lines, so eventually the trenches stretched over 25 miles.
The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864 • Jubal Early, C.S.A., tries to clear the Shenandoah Valley of Federals. • The Confederates actually get to the outskirts of Washington, D.C. • Phil Sheridan, U.S., routs the Southerners on October, 1864. • The loss of the Valley is a fatal blow to the Confederacy.
Sheridan burns the Valley • Scorched earth policy • Little organized Confederate resistance • Guerilla warfare and bushwhacking
The Fall of Petersburg and Richmond • The Confederate army starves in the trenches of Petersburg over the winter • Lee tries to break out but the Union forces are too strong • Grant counter attacks and breaks the Southern defenses • Lee evacuates Petersburg and Richmond • Richmond burns • Confederates try to escape
Appomattox Court House • April 9, 1865 Grant and Sheridan cut off the Confederates • Southerners attack but fail to break Union lines • Lee knows that it is hopeless and he asks for terms • Lee and Grant meet at the home of Wilbur McLean in Appomattox Village • Confederates will be paroled • Lee surrenders
Lincoln is Assassinated • April 14, 1865 • Ford’s Theatre • “Our American Cousin” • John Wilkes Booth • Conspiracy • Lincoln’s dreams • “Now he belongs to the ages” • ….