History Lecture Notes: The Final Stages of the American Civil War

Course Logistics and Final Examination Details

• Class Schedule Changes:     * Next week is the final week of class.     * The instructor will be traveling with the golf team from Saturday through Tuesday.     * Class will not meet this coming Tuesday; it is designated as a study day for all students to catch up on projects, papers, and exams.     * The final class meeting will take place next Thursday, one week from today.
• Final Exam Logistics:     * The final exam will open next Thursday immediately after the last class concludes.     * Students will have a $48$-hour window to complete the exam.     * The exam requires writing between four and six paragraphs.     * By finishing before final exam week, students can devote the following week to other courses.

Fundamental Philosophy: Understanding Divergent Perspectives

• The Nature of the Civil War: The instructor characterizes the Civil War as the greatest crisis in the nation's history—a period where the nation was deeply divided and "fought ourselves."
• Multi-Perspective Approach: A core objective of the course is to understand people better by looking at history from all sides: The United States (the North/Union/Blue) versus the Confederate States (the South/Gray).
• Divergent Reasons for Fighting: The instructor emphasizes that while the two sides participated in the same conflict, they fought for fundamentally different reasons.

Abraham Lincoln: Evolution of War Aims

• Initial Motivation: Union: President Abraham Lincoln initially began the Civil War to maintain the Union. For him, the supreme goal was keeping the United States united.
• The Shift toward Emancipation: Lincoln's motivation began to evolve in $1862$.
• The Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam): Following this minor victory against Robert E. Lee's army, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
• The Emancipation Proclamation:     * Effective date: $01/01/1863$.     * Terms: It set slaves free specifically in the Confederate (Southern) states.     * The Border States: Lincoln did not free slaves in the North or the border states of Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware. These were slave states that remained loyal to the Union, and Lincoln could not afford to lose their support.
• The Gettysburg Address: Following George Meade's victory over Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg, Lincoln delivered a speech dedicating the national cemetery. He spoke of a "new birth of freedom," specifically targeting freedom for African American slaves.
• Final Transition: Having gained momentum and no longer fearing the loss of the border states, Lincoln transitioned the war's purpose from preserving the Union to both restoring the Union and ending slavery.

Jefferson Davis and the Confederate Perspective

• Initial Motivation: Slavery: Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, did not fight for the Union; his states had seceded from it.
• States' Rights: While Davis used the term "state's rights," the specific right he was defending was the right to own slaves.
• Comparison of Aims: An essay choice for the final exam involves discussing these reasons for fighting from both the perspective of Lincoln and Davis simultaneously.

Strategic Turning Points: July 1863

• Robert E. Lee's Strategy: Lee invaded the North (Pennsylvania) to save the South. His specific goals were to protect the Confederate capital of Richmond and to divert Ulysses S. Grant away from the siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi.     * Lee hoped Lincoln would recall Grant from Vicksburg to defend Washington D.C. and the North.
• The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863): George Meade's Northern Army engaged Lee’s Southern Army for three days. On July 3, the Southern offensive was broken and Lee was defeated.
• The Dual Victory of July 4, 1863:     * Lee began his retreat south into Virginia.     * In the West, Confederate forces at Vicksburg surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant.     * Result: The North gained total control of the Mississippi River, fundamentally weakening the Confederacy.

The War of Attrition and Grant’s Total War Strategy

• Home Front Instability: By $1863$, the war was highly unpopular on both sides.     * North: The New York City Draft Riots illustrated civilian unrest.     * South: The bread riots in Richmond illustrated the desperation of civilians making sacrifices.
• The Rise of Ulysses S. Grant: Lincoln promoted Grant to commanding General-in-Chief of all forces.
• Grant's Mathematical Strategy: Grant recognized the North's superior resources in "shot, shell, feed, food, supplies, and soldiers." He understood that Northern soldiers could be replaced multiple times, whereas Southern resources were finite and spread thin.
• The Two-Pronged Offensive:     1. William Tecumseh Sherman: Grant’s loyal lieutenant took command of the Western army. His mission was to march from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean, slicing the Deep South in half.     2. George Meade and Grant: Grant traveled with Meade’s army in the East. Their objective was not the capital (Richmond), but the "heart of the Confederacy": Robert E. Lee himself. Grant aimed to "wear that old man out."

The Overland Campaign: Exhausting the Army of Northern Virginia

• The Art of Empathy: Robert E. Lee was a master at empathizing with his opponents to predict their moves. He correctly anticipated Grant’s movements during the campaign.
• The Battle of the Wilderness (May 1864):     * Casualties: Over $18,000$.     * Outcome: Lee’s lines held. Traditionally, a defeated Union general would retreat to D.C. and be replaced. Grant, however, refused to quit and attempted an "end run" to the East.
• The Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse:     * Lee anticipated the maneuver and arrived two hours before Grant.     * Casualties: $12,000$.     * Condition: A grass fire on the field caused wounded soldiers to be burned alive in the summer heat. Lee’s lines held again.
• The Battle of Cold Harbor:     * Grant attempted another end run. Lee beat him by $11$ minutes.     * Casualties: $8,000$ in just $40$ minutes.     * Outcome: Lee’s lines held; Grant was defeated again but continued to push forward.

The Siege of Petersburg and the Election of 1864

• The Siege of Petersburg: Grant swung around Richmond to Petersburg, Virginia. This changed the war from a mobile "boxing match" to an "arm wrestling" siege. This stationary battle favored Grant's larger numbers and disadvantaged Lee's ability to move.
• The Election of 1864:     * Lincoln faced reelection against Democrat George McClellan (a former Union general).     * McClellan campaigned on negotiating peace to end the unpopular war.     * Grant was publicly labeled "the Butcher" due to high casualty rates.
• The Impact of William Tecumseh Sherman:     * The North was demoralized until Sherman captured Atlanta (a major supply hub).     * As Confederates abandoned Atlanta, they burned their own supplies to prevent them from falling into Northern hands, leading to the city's destruction (referenced in the movie Gone with the Wind).     * The fall of Atlanta right before the election shifted public opinion and secured Lincoln's reelection.

The Final Confederate Gambit and the Shift in Aims

• The Exhaustion of the South: By January $1865$, Lee’s lines were so thin that two soldiers had to cover $30$ to $40$ yards. The South had no men left to recruit.
• Lee’s Proposal: After Christmas holidays in January $1865$, Lee met with Davis in Richmond. He proposed that any slave willing to join the Confederate Army should be granted freedom.
• Jefferson Davis’s Final Shift: Davis agreed to Lee’s plan, showing that his priority had shifted from preserving slavery to preserving the Confederate nation (Southern Union).
• Symmetry of Shifts:     * Lincoln: Started for Union $\rightarrow$ Ended for Slavery.     * Davis: Started for Slavery $\rightarrow$ Ended for Union.
• The Conclusion: Before African American slaves could be integrated into the Confederate lines, Lee’s lines at Petersburg broke.

Questions & Discussion

• Question (Implicit): Does anyone have any questions about the exam, the exam schedule, or our class schedule next week?     * Response: The instructor confirmed that everyone was clear on the schedule and the study day on Tuesday.
• Question (Student Prompt): Where did Lincoln set the slaves free in the Emancipation Proclamation?     * Response: The Confederate states (Southern states). He explicitly excluded the border states (Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware) to ensure their continued loyalty.
• Question (Student Prompt): Why was Jefferson Davis fighting this war?     * Response: Slavery and state's rights (the right to own slaves).
• Question (Student Prompt): What is Ulysses S. Grant identified as the heart of the confederacy?     * Response: Robert E. Lee. Grant's strategy was to target the man, not the capital city.