A brief history of the united states

states and parts of states held by the Confederates.

FOOTNOTES
[1] The constitution of the Confederacy was the Constitution of the United

States altered to suit conditions. The President was to serve six years

and was not to be eligible for reëlection; the right to own slaves was

affirmed, but no slaves were to be imported from any foreign country

except the slave-holding states of the old Union. The Congress was

forbidden to establish a tariff for protection of any branch of industry.

A Supreme Court was provided for, but was never organized.
[2] Jefferson Davis was born in 1808, graduated from the Military Academy

at West Point in 1828, served in the Black Hawk War, resigned from the

army in 1835, and became a cotton planter in Mississippi. In 1845 he was

elected to Congress, but resigned to take part in the Mexican War, and was

wounded at Buena Vista. In 1847 lie was elected a senator, and from 1853

to 1857 was Secretary of War. He then returned to the Senate, where he was

when Mississippi seceded. He died in New Orleans in 1889.
[3] Property of the United States seized by the states was turned over to

the Confederate government. Thus Louisiana gave up $536,000 in specie

taken from the United States customhouse and mint at New Orleans.
[4] Read "Inside Sumter in '61" in _Battles and Leaders of the Civil War_,

Vol. I, pp. 65-73.

Civil War_, Vol. I, pp. 85-98; on pp. 149-159, also, read "Going to the

Front."
[6] An interesting account of "Scenes in Virginia in '61" may be found in

_Battles and Leaders of the Civil War_, Vol. I, pp. 160-166.

the United States by defeat," says General Johnston; and no pursuit of the

Union forces was made. "The larger part of the men," McDowell telegraphed

to Washington, "are a confused mob, entirely disorganized." None stopped

short of the fortifications along the Potomac, and numbers entered

Washington. Read _Battles and Leaders of the Civil War_, Vol. I, pp.

229-239. "I have no idea that the North will give it up," wrote Stephens,

Vice President of the Confederacy. "Their defeat will increase their

energy." He was right.
[8] George Brinton McClellan was born in Philadelphia in 1826, graduated

from West Point, served in the Mexican War, and resigned from the army in

1857, to become a civil engineer, but rejoined it at the opening of the

war. In July, 1861, he conducted a successful campaign against the

Confederates in West Virginia, and his victories there were the cause of

his promotion to command the Army of the Potomac. After the battle of

Antietam (p. 363) he took no further part in the war, and finally resigned

in 1864. From 1878 to 1881 he was governor of New Jersey. He died in 1885.

West Point, where his name was registered Ulysses S. Grant, and as such he

was ever after known. He served in the Mexican War, and afterward engaged

in business of various sorts till the opening of the Civil War, when he

was made colonel of the Twenty-first Illinois Regiment, and then commander

of the district of southeast Missouri. When General Buckner, who commanded

at Fort Donelson, wrote to Grant to know what terms he would offer, Grant

replied: "No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be

accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works." This won for

Grant the popular name "Unconditional Surrender" Grant.

sixteen, and when the war opened, was made flag officer of the Western

navy. His gunboats were like huge rafts carrying a house with flat roof

and sloping sides that came down to the water's edge. The sloping sides

and ends were covered with iron plates and pierced for guns; three in the

bow, two in the stern, and four on each side. The huge wheel in the stern

which drove the boat was under cover; but the smoke stacks were

unprotected. Foote died in 1863, a rear admiral.

Ohio River to New Orleans.

(October 4), but were defeated by General Rosecrans.

stretched from Belmont across southern Missouri to Indian Territory; but

Grant drove the Confederates out of Belmont; General Curtis, as we have

seen, beat them at Pea Ridge (in March), and when the year ended, the

Union army was in possession of northern Arkansas.
[14] David G. Farragut was born in 1801, and when eleven years old served

on the _Essex_ in the War of 1812. When his fleet started up the

Mississippi River, in 1862, he found his way to New Orleans blocked by two

forts, St. Philip and Jackson, by chains across the river on hulks below

Fort Jackson, and by a fleet of ironclad boats above. After bombarding the

forts for six days, he cut the chains, ran by the forts, defeated the

fleet, and went up to New Orleans, and later took Baton Rouge and Natchez.

For the capture of New Orleans he received the thanks of Congress, and was

made a rear admiral; for his victory in Mobile Bay (p. 379) the rank of

vice admiral was created for him, and in 1866 a still higher rank, that of

admiral, was made for him. He died in 1870.
[15] When it was known in New Orleans that Farragut's fleet was coming,

the cotton in the yards and in the cotton presses was hauled on drays to

the levee and burned to prevent its falling into Union hands. The capture

of the city had a great effect on Great Britain and France, both of whom

the Confederates hoped would intervene to stop the war. Slidell, who was

in France seeking recognition for the Confederacy as an independent

nation, wrote that he had been led to believe "that if New Orleans had not

been taken and we suffered no very serious reverses in Virginia and

Tennessee, our recognition would very soon have been declared." Read

_Battles and Leaders of the Civil War_, Vol. II, pp. 14-21,91-94.

Private," in _Battles and Leaders of the Civil War_, Vol. II, pp. 189-199.

West Point, served in the Mexican War, resigned from the army, and till

1861 taught in the Virginia State Military Institute at Lexington. He then

joined the Confederate army, and for the firm stand of his brigade at Bull

Run gained the name of "Stonewall."
[18] Robert E. Lee was born in Virginia in 1807, a son of "Light Horse"

Harry Lee of the Revolutionary army. He was a graduate of West Point, and

served in the Mexican War. After Virginia seceded he left the Union army

and was appointed a major general of Virginia troops, and in 1862 became

commander in chief. At the end of the war he accepted the presidency of

Washington College (now Washington and Lee University), and died in

Lexington, Virginia, in 1870.
[19] Part of McClellan's army had joined Pope before the second battle of

Bull Run.

of the Civil War_, Vol. II, pp. 686-695; also O. W. Holmes's _My Hunt

after "The Captain_."
[21] West Virginia and Missouri later (1863) provided for gradual

emancipation, and Maryland (1864) adopted a constitution that abolished

slavery.

CHAPTER XXIX

THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN, 1863.--After the defeat at Fredericksburg,

Burnside was removed, and General Hooker put in command of the Army of the

Potomac. "Fighting Joe," as Hooker was called, led his army of 130,000 men

against Lee and Jackson, and after a stubborn fight at Chancellorsville

(May 1-4, 1863) was beaten and fell back. [1] In June Lee once more took

the offensive, rushed down the Shenandoah valley to the Potomac River,

crossed Maryland, and entered Pennsylvania with the Army of the Potomac in

hot pursuit. On reaching Maryland General Hooker was removed and General

Meade put in command.

(July 1-3) Lee attacked Meade. The struggle was desperate. About one

fourth of the men engaged were killed or wounded. But the splendid valor

of the Union army prevailed, and Lee was beaten and forced to return to

Virginia, where he remained unmolested till the spring of 1864. [2] The

battle of Gettysburg ended Lee's plan for carrying the war into the North,

and from the losses on that field his army never fully recovered. [3]
[Illustration: BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. Contemporary drawing.]
[Illustration: THE VICKSBURG CAMPAIGN.]
[Illustration: GRANT'S HEADQUARTERS NEAR VICKSBURG. From a recent

photograph.]

River only from Vicksburg to Port Hudson. The capture of these two towns

would complete the opening of the river. Grant, therefore, determined to

capture Vicksburg. The town stands on the top of a bluff which rises

straight and steep from the river, and had been so strongly fortified on

the land side that to take it seemed impossible. Grant, having failed in a

direct advance through Mississippi, cut a canal across a bend in the

river, on the west bank, hoping to divert the waters and get a passage by

the town. This, too, failed; and he then decided to cross below Vicksburg

and attack by land. To aid him, Admiral Porter ran his gunboats past the

town on a night in April and carried the army across the river. Landing on

the east bank, Grant won a victory at Port Gibson, and hearing that J. E.

Johnston was coming to help Pemberton, pushed in between them, beat

Johnston, and turning against Pemberton drove him into Vicksburg. After a

siege of seven weeks, in which Vicksburg suffered severely from

bombardment and famine, Pemberton surrendered the town and army July 4,

1863.
In less than a week (July 9) Port Hudson surrendered, the Mississippi was

opened from source to mouth, and the Confederacy was cut in two.

a Confederate army under Bragg to quit its position south of Murfreesboro,

and then to leave Chattanooga and retire into northern Georgia. There

Bragg was reënforced, and he then attacked Rosecrans in the Chickamauga

valley (September 19 and 20, 1863), where was fought one of the most

desperate battles of the war. The Union right wing was driven from the

field, but the left wing under General Thomas held the enemy in check and

saved the army from rout. By his firmness Thomas won the name of "the Rock

of Chickamauga."
CHATTANOOGA.--Rosecrans now went back to Chattanooga. Bragg followed, and,

taking position on the hills and mountains which surround the town on the

east and south, shut in the Union army and besieged it. Hooker was sent

from Virginia with more troops, Sherman [4] brought an army from

Vicksburg, Rosecrans was replaced by Thomas, and Grant was put in command

of all. Then matters changed. The troops under Thomas (November 23) seized

some low hills at the foot of Missionary Ridge, east of Chattanooga.

Hooker (November 24) carried the Confederate works on Lookout Mountain,

southwest of the town, in a fight often called "the Battle above the

Clouds." Sherman (November 24 and 25) attacked the northern end of

Missionary Ridge. Thomas (November 25) thereupon carried the heights of

Missionary Ridge, and drove off the enemy. Bragg retreated to Dalton in

northwestern Georgia, where the command of his army was given to General

J. E. Johnston.

left. One under Lee was lying quietly behind the Rappahannock and Rapidan

rivers, protecting Richmond; the other under J. E. Johnston [5] was at

Dalton, Georgia. The two generals chosen to lead the Union armies against

these forces were Grant and Sherman. Grant (now lieutenant general arid in

command of all the armies) with the Army of the Potomac was to drive Lee

back and take Richmond. Sherman with the forces under Thomas, McPherson,

and Schofield was to attack Johnston and enter Georgia. The Union soldiers

outnumbered the Confederates.
[Illustration: JOSEPH E. JOHNSTON.]
MARCHING THROUGH GEORGIA.--On May 4, 1864, accordingly, Sherman moved

forward against Johnston, flanked him out of Dalton, and drove him, step

by step, through the mountains to Atlanta. Johnston's retreat forced

Sherman to weaken his army by leaving guards in the rear to protect the

railroads on which he depended for supplies; Johnston intended to attack

when he could fight on equal terms. But his retreat displeased Davis, and

at Atlanta he was replaced by General Hood, who was expected to fight at

once.
In July Hood made three furious attacks, was repulsed, and in September

left Atlanta and started northward. His purpose was to draw Sherman out of

Georgia, but Sherman sent Thomas with part of the army into Tennessee, and

after following Hood for a while, [6] turned back to Atlanta.
After partly burning the town, Sherman started for the seacoast in

November, tearing up the railroads, burning bridges, and living on the

country as he went. [7] In December Fort McAllister was taken and Savannah

occupied.

possession of the Long Island Historical Society.]

Sherman set out to attack Johnston in Georgia, the Army of the Potomac

began the campaign in Virginia. General Meade was in command; but Grant,

as commander in chief of all the Union armies, directed the campaign in

person. Crossing the Rapidan, the army entered the Wilderness, a stretch

of country covered with dense woods of oak and pine and thick undergrowth.

Lee attacked, and for several days the fighting was almost incessant. But

Grant pushed on to Spottsylvania Court House and to Cold Harbor, where

bloody battles were fought; and then went south of Richmond and besieged

Petersburg. [8]

Washington, and sent General Early down the Shenandoah valley. Early

crossed the Potomac, entered Maryland, won a battle at the Monocacy River,

and actually threatened the defenses of Washington, but was forced to

retreat. [9]
[Illustration: PHILLIP H. SHERIDAN.]
To stop these attacks Grant sent Sheridan [10] into the valley, where he

defeated Early at Winchester and at Fishers Hill and again at Cedar Creek.

It was during this last battle that Sheridan made his famous ride from

Winchester. [11]

many Confederate strongholds on the coast. In the West, Thomas had

destroyed Hood's army in the great battle of Nashville (December, 1864).

In the East, Grant was steadily pressing the siege of Petersburg and

Richmond, and Sherman was making ready to advance northward from Savannah.

The cause of the Confederacy was so desperate that in February, 1865,

Alexander H. Stephens, Vice President of the Confederate States, was sent

to meet Lincoln and Secretary Seward and discuss terms of peace. Lincoln

demanded three things: the disbanding of the Confederate armies, the

submission of the seceded states to the rule of Congress, and the

abolition of slavery. The terms were not accepted, and the war went on.
SHERMAN MARCHES NORTHWARD, 1865.--After resting for a month at Savannah,

Sherman started northward through South Carolina, (February 17) entered

Columbia, the capital of the state, and forced the Confederates to

evacuate Charleston. To oppose him, a new army was organized and put under

the command of Johnston. But Sherman pressed on, entered North Carolina,

and reached Goldsboro in safety.

hold Richmond and Petersburg any longer. He retreated westward. Grant

followed, and on April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House,

seventy-five miles west of Richmond. [12]

Johnston surrendered to Sherman near Raleigh on April 26; Jefferson Davis

was captured at Irwinville, Georgia, on May 10, and the war on land was

over. [13]

elect a President and Vice President. The Republicans nominated Lincoln

and Andrew Johnson. The Democrats selected General McClellan and George H.

Pendleton. Lincoln and Johnson were elected and on March 4, 1865, were

inaugurated.
DEATH OF LINCOLN.--On the night of April 14, the fourth anniversary of the

day on which Anderson marched out of Fort Sumter, while Lincoln was seated

with his wife and some friends in a box at Ford's Theater in Washington,

he was shot by an actor who had stolen up behind him. [14] The next

morning he died, and Andrew Johnson became President.

SUMMARY
1. In 1863, Lee repulsed an advance by Hooker's army, and invaded

Pennsylvania, but was defeated by Meade at Gettysburg.
2. In the West, Grant took Vicksburg, and the Mississippi was opened to

the sea. The Confederates defeated Rosecrans at Chickamauga, but were

defeated by Grant and other generals at Chattanooga.
3. In 1864, Grant moved across Virginia, after much hard fighting, and

besieged Petersburg and Richmond, and Sherman marched across Georgia to

Savannah.
4. In 1865, Sherman marched northward into North Carolina, and Grant

forced Lee to leave Richmond and surrender.

sight. Weight, 32 lb.]

FOOTNOTES
[1] Jackson was mortally wounded by a volley from his own men, who mistook

him and his escort for Union cavalry, in the dusk of evening of the second

day at Chancellorsville. His last words were: "Let us cross over the river

and rest under the shade of the trees."

War, Vol. III, pp. 369-385. The field of Gettysburg is now a national park

dotted with monuments erected in memory of the dead, and marking the

positions of the regiments and spots where desperate fighting occurred.

Near by is a national cemetery in which are interred several thousand

Union soldiers. Read President Lincoln's beautiful Gettysburg Address.

composed of volunteers. When it became apparent that the war would not end

in a few months, Congress passed a Draft Act: whenever a congressional

district failed to furnish the required number of volunteers, the names of

able-bodied men not already in the army were to be put into a box, and

enough names to complete the number were to be drawn out by a blindfolded

man. In July, 1863, when this was done in New York city, a riot broke out

and for several days the city was mob-ruled. Negroes were killed, property

was destroyed, and the rioters were not put down till troops were sent by

the government.

Point, and served in the Seminole and Mexican wars. He became a banker in

San Francisco, then a lawyer in Kansas, in 1860 superintendent of a

military school in Louisiana, and then president of a street car company

in St. Louis. In 1861 he was appointed colonel in the regular army. He

fought at Bull Run, was made brigadier general of volunteers, and was

transferred to the West, where he rose rapidly. After the war, Grant was

made general of the army, and Sherman lieutenant general; and when Grant

became President, Sherman was promoted to the rank of general. He was

retired in 1884 and died in 1891 at New York.

West Point, and served in the Black Hawk, Seminole, and Mexican wars. When

the Civil War opened, he joined the Confederacy, was made a major general,

and with Beauregard commanded at the first battle of Bull Run. Johnston

was next put in charge of the operations against McClellan (1862); but was

wounded at Fair Oaks and succeeded by Lee. In 1863 he was sent to relieve

Vicksburg, but failed. In 1864 he was put in command of Bragg's army after

its defeat, and so became opposed to Sherman.

Dallas he sent a division to capture a garrison and depots at Allatoona,

commanded by General Corse. Sherman, who was following Hood, communicated

with Corse from the top of Kenesaw Mountain by signals; and Corse, though

greatly outnumbered, held the fort and drove off the enemy. On this

incident was founded the popular hymn _Hold the Fort, for I am Coming_.

rails, heated red-hot in fires made of burning ties, were twisted around

trees or telegraph poles. Stations, machine shops, cotton bales, cotton

gins and presses were burned. Along the line of march, a strip of country

sixty miles wide was made desolate.
[8] While the siege of Petersburg was under way, a tunnel was dug and a

mine exploded under a Confederate work called Elliott's Salient (July 30,

1864). As soon as the mass of flying earth, men, guns, and carriages had

settled, a body of Union troops moved forward through the break thus made

in the enemy's line. But the assault was badly managed. The Confederates

rallied, and the Union forces were driven back into the crater made by the

explosion, where many were killed and 1400 captured.
[9] On October 19, 1864, St. Albans, a town in Vermont near the Canadian