The Entire History of the American Civil War - ALL EPISODES — Full Transcript

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because the addition of two more States had the potential to upset the numerical balance between

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slave states and free states on the one hand Northerners and pro- abolitionists in Congress

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argued that the addition of Missouri which seemed to quickly lean toward wanting to become a slave

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state would expand slavery and thus bring them further away from their goals the Southerners

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though were obviously in favor of adding another slave state and thus argued that any new candidate

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for Statehood should have the right to decide for themselves just as the first 13 colonies

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which side on the fence they want to fall on the debate in both the House of Representatives and

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the Senate would continue into 1819 at which point Maine was now brought into the mix as Henry Clay

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the speaker of the house at the time suggested that Missouri should be added to the Union as a

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slave state but that Maine should also be added contrarily as a free state this proposal was

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subsequently debated into yet another year when in 1820 the Senate added to the bill requiring

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that any other territories north of the 36° 30 latitude line that had been agreed upon below

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Missouri's lower border could only enter the Union as free states with everyone finally in

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some level of agreement the Missouri Compromise was signed into law this triggered a tit fortat

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war of adding one new slave state for every new free state and vice versa starting with Arkansas

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in 1836 Michigan the next year and Florida in 1845 and since Florida was a slave state it was

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assumed that the the next territory to enter the Union and statehood would be another free

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state but this became complicated when Texas had a demanding request for the United States Annex us

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now the history of Texas has been a roller coaster thus far and yet it was only now preparing for its

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biggest climb yet Texas up until recently a part of Mexico after being freed from the grip of the

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Spaniards wanted to join a different Union the USA the Texans pleas were initially ignored by the US

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government which wasn't in much favor of annexing the nearby territory with growing pressure from

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Britain for Texas to be an independent nation and America's undeniable thirst for expansion opinions

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would soon change nevertheless and Texas would in fact join the union on December 29th 1845 here was

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the issue that Texas wanted to be a slave state which would offset the balance the Northerners

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had tried so hard to keep furthermore Texas had made claims to territories that put it in direct

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conflict with its former host of Mexico and with Texas newly a part of the United States those

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presumptuous claims were now the responsibility of the US something that Mexico didn't take lightly

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recently elected President James K pulk however didn't care one bit what the Mexicans thought

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instead he was an aggressive supporter of manifest destiny and quickly upon his inauguration hoped to

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seize the contested territories thus pulk at first attempted to purchase his desired lands

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he sent American Diplomat John Slidel to offer the administration in Mexico City $30 million

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in exchange for California New Mexico and disputed territories along the Texas border the Mexicans a

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gast and unshakeably against such an idea declines to even meet sidel which angered pulk the Manifest

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Destiny supporter would not be swayed by this rejection and instead decided that if diplomacy

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wouldn't work he would reel his neighbors into a war he knew the United States would win as a

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result in the early weeks of 1846 the president sent American troops to the Texas border to egg

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the Mexicans on and it worked it only took a few months for Mexican soldiers to fire on the

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Americans and give pulk the excuse to declare war with the Mexican-American War underway debates

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continued within the United States pertaining to the slave state versus free state debacle with the

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free states now outnumbered the Northerners felt that pulk being a southerner himself was actually

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committing his land grab in order to further bolster the slave state Advantage which boosted

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north to south tensions still the war raged on with now famed generals like ulyses srant and

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Robert E Lee showing their prowess and adding to their resumés while the Americans inched closer to

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Mexico's capital the city was eventually taken and War Fair halted leading to the long awaited Treaty

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of Guadalupe hialgo which now forced Mexico to seed not only the contested territories

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in California Arizona Oklahoma and New Mexico but also lands of modern-day Nevada Utah Colorado and

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Wyoming pulk had gotten his way and more but it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows new land meant

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more to fight over back home over the next few years Iowa Wisconsin and California would all

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give their bids for Statehood eventually bringing about the Compromise of 1850 this series of bills

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would address a multitude of things though mostly focused on the institution of slavery within the

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Union in short it determines that California would join the Union as a free state but was required to

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send one pro-slavery Senator to the senate in order to maintain the readjusted balance from

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now on however slave or free States from the remaining territories gained from Mexico would

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be decided as such by popular sovereignty this went all right at first as with the admission

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to statehood of Minnesota in 1858 and Oregon in 1859 but predictably there was simultaneously

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another reason for tensions to rise as part of the new establishment of popular sovereignty

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Senator Steven Douglas suggested applying the strategy to a proposed newly organized Nebraska

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territory that would at once repeal the Missouri compromised slave state border and split the

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Nebraska territory in two now despite a struggle to actually pass the new bill that would become

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known as the Kansas Nebraska Act the population ations of both territories were left to vote on

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whether they wish to permit slavery or not the consequence of this and maybe unpredictably so

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was that settlers began flooding to both Nebraska and Kansas settlers from both sides of the slavery

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debate this slippery slope ushered in a tragic era known as Bleeding Kansas which would eventually

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see Kansas enter the Union in 1861 surpr surprisingly as a free state this would be

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the final state admitted to the union before the start of the Civil War why did things get to this

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point how could such a Young Nation have fallen into battle with itself so fast why were the North

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and South so opposed to each other the issue of slavery and thus the north versus South contention

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can be blamed on vastly different cultural aspects of the two halves of America for the north slavery

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was not really needed as the upper States had quickly become industrialized and thus didn't have

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to rely on as much Manpower this gave Northern citizens the opportunity to unbiasedly consider

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the moral standing of the entire institution of slavery prompting many to call it into question

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supported by the ideas of European immigrants who had come from Nations that had already outlawed

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slavery these Northerners began to turn toward abolitionism this was in total opposition to

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their fellow Americans down south of course but this was because the South had failed to

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industrialize as the North had instead Southerners were more economically dependent on free labor

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for plantations and the like which meant that their personal finances and way of life could

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be entirely affected by the Banning of slavery thus making it hard for a southerner to even

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give the moral aspect a second thought though some did and still supported the institution and with

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the invention of the cotton Jin the matter only became more solidified the South needed slavery

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the problem then arose as the north wondered if southerners wanted to extend slavery even further

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whereas the latter worried that the former was going to take the slaves they already had both

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ironically would be right the North and South were miles away from reconciling this difference

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debatably there was also the issue of federal versus state rights although this factor is hard

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to blame entirely not only did the later formed Confederacy have a shockingly large bureaucratic

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system for a collection of States who were opposed to overbearing Federal governments

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but there had also been previous opportunities such as during the Nullification Crisis a few

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decades prior for the South to go to war with the North or at least raise more of a Ruckus if state

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rights were the core issue still it is true that many people at the time particularly in the South

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had more loyalty to their state than country as a whole and State versus Federal disconnect

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likely played somewhat of a role in tensions even if second fiddle to the slavery argument

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the Fanning of of the Flames however came from a string of amplifying events the Fugitive Slave Act

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for example have been part of the Compromise of 1850 and galvanized abolitionists as it

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had made the federal government responsible for finding returning and penalizing escaped slaves

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and anyone who aided them even if they made it to a free state with the Northerners deeply troubled

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by this development political active citizens of the upper United States would soon form their own

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opposition party to the pro-slavery Democrats the Republican party this new entity would also become

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host to the controversial Abraham Lincoln shortly after its birth Lincoln had previously served in

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the US House of Representatives in 1846 before joining the Republicans and running for Senate

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a decade later although he lost the senate race to St Douglas the series of speeches and debates

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that preceded the election had both catapulted him to popularity in the north while earning him

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a fair share of enemies in the South his mere existence as a political entity thus stirred

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the pot and increased tensions but then so did Bleeding Kansas Guerilla Warfare is one

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way that this period from 1855 through 1859 has been described while Nebraska was somewh whatat

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hit by the flood of both Pro and anti-slavery settlers hoping to sway the coming vote it was

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Kansas that was truly beaten pro-slavery residents of neighboring states used legal

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loopholes to cross the border and vote in Kansas's territorial elections setting off a domino effect

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that would lead to a split government and allout violence historians estimate that anywhere from

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50 to 200 Americans died as a consequence in the 4-year span something akin to pouring a couple

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of gallons of gasoline on the growing fire burning towards Civil War Charles Sumner's

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Congressional speech about Kansas would further heighten the situation a republican northerner

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suar had actually memorized every last word in his impassioned speech titled the crime against Kansas

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in which he lambasted the entire institution of slavery and even took direct Jabs at proslavery

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Senators this instance serves as a clear example of the current level of tensions in the union and

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Congress as South Carolina Representatives Preston Brooks and Lawrence Keat reacted to the damning

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speech by physically assaulting Charles Summoner with a cane beating him so severely that he would

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need three full years of leave to recover and this was only a year before one of the most

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controversial and anger fueling incidents of the entire leadup to the Civil War it was The Dread

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Scott case that soon put the move toward allout military conflict between the North and South

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into hyperdrive the case revolved around a slave since birth by the name of Dread Scott after the

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death of his original owner In 1832 Scott had been purchased by a man named John Emerson and

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upon his death Scott and his family would then be transferred to the ownership of Emerson's wife

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Irene previously scottt and his family have been brought along for travels across multiple free

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states and territories although at no point had they attempted to run or sue for their freedom

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instead once Irene took ownership Scott attempted to buy their freedom off her Irene was obstinate

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and insisted on keeping her slaves around which led dread and his wife Harriet to finally go the

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route of a lawsuit they each filed on the basis of two Missouri statutes as they were currently

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living with Irene in St Louis one stated that any slave taken to a free state would thus be

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free and could not be returned to enslavement even if they left the Free State while the other

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allowed for anyone to file a suit for wrongful enslavement the Scott couple was given logistical

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support from abolitionists fellow churchgoers and ironically the family of their pre previous owner

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this allowed them to actually take their case to court which was first shot down in 1847 on a

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technicality but was given the option of a retrial the next trial would come in January of 1850 and

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this time the Scots actually won their freedom Irene however quickly appealed the decision to

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the Missouri Supreme Court 2 years later the court sided once more with Irene thus rein

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slaving the Scott family unwilling to give up now Scott filed a federal lawsuit with the

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United States circuit court for the District of Missouri the following year before the case could

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be decided upon again Irene would transfer the Scots over to her brother John Sanford hence the

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name of the new case Dread Scott versus Sanford in the spring of 1854 the Federal Court ruled

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in favor of Sanford thus prompting to appeal yet again now to the United States Supreme Court this

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final trial would start on February 11th 1856 with a growing list of abolitionist and even politician

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supporters in favor of the Scots nevertheless less than a month later a decision was made and

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once more Dread Scott had lost and not only this but the judge most notably credited for the final

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ruling as asserted that no African-American even had the right to sue for anything in the federal

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court because they lacked the ability to be United States citizens while the Scots would already

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have their freedom by now thanks to Irene's new abolitionist husband and the help of their Old

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owner family the case itself was the final straw for many abolitionists John Brown had now gone

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down in history as one of America's most infamous abolitionists and on October 16th 1859 he would

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prove exactly why he warned an army Watchman as he and a group of fellow abolitionists launched what

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would be an ambitious But ultimately failed raid on Harper's Ferry after taking several hostages

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from the town and capturing the US Armory and Arsenal the Raiders would be stalled by a local

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militia as General Robert E Lee made his way into the town to wrap things up Brown and his men had

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aimed to spark a local slave rebellion but instead many of the Raiders were killed once Lee and his

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Marines arrived with brown himself being captured and later hanged for his acts of treason against

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the state of Virginia John Brown had failed and he had died but his animosity for the South was

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shared by far too many for the tide to be turned by this point with the election of anti-slavery

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Northern govern ER Abraham Lincoln in 1860 to the presidency enough was enough immediately after the

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future emancipator was elected to office the South Carolina General Assembly called for a convention

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to consider secession much to the pleasure of the locals South Carolina thus voted unanimously

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to leave the United States of America days later they issued a document justifying their decision

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to seced and making one dramatically important point in the process a geographical line has

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been drawn across the union and it truly had 10 more Southern States would follow suit and join

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the newly founded Confederate States of America led by their chosen President Jefferson Davis

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the union President Abraham Lincoln refused to recognize the Confederacy as legitimate insisting

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that he wished to take no one's slaves and simply wanted to keep the Union together this meant nil

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to the southerners who were rapidly attempting to create a unified Nation out of a handful of

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States who had all made a big fuss about State autonomy and not just that but the South was at

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a major disadvantage for the impending War precise numbers are debated but it can be estimated that

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at the time of the mass secession and formation of the Confederacy the union boasted a population of

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roughly 22 million million in comparison to the South's approximate 9 million of those numbers

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the union would eventually enlist around 2 million soldiers whilst the Confederates would only tally

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about 900,000 furthermore the Northerners had something close to 20,000 Mi worth of railroads

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which was double what the Confederate States could claim thus giving the Union a better Advantage for

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moving troops and supplies in Wartime and while it's often argued that the Confederate generals

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such as Robert E Lee Stonewall Jackson James Long Street Nathan Bedford Forest and Patrick

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curn gave the South a tactical military Edge on their upstairs neighbors the north was surely

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ahead in other ways like the fact that they produced around 90% of goods in the former

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United States at the time but still the union was losing its grip on the south and only had limited

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Holdings left in Confederates States and it was about to lose another Fort Sumpter was the last

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Union stronghold in South Carolina and strong is being generous it was outmanned and under

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supplyed to say the least and with Southerners now cracking down on Union property within their

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borders it was surrounded the Confederates attempted to force the little remaining Union

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forces at the Fort to surrender the latter refused and the Confederates opened fire the Civil War had

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begun Fort Sumpter failed to be evacuated by the Confederate deadline 6,000 Southerners now had

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Charleston Harbor surrounded Cannon and mortar stared down the fort at 4:30 a.m. on April 12th

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1861 a gunner at Fort Johnson set off a 10in mortar sending the explosive into the early

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morning skies above Fort Sumpter the detonation lighting up the blue and telling all those around

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one thing the Civil War had begun as the men of Fort Sumpter scurried to prepare local citizens

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clambered to rooftops in hopes of watching the Monumental battle occur one by one the

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Confederates began firing upon the union held Fort until every available Cannon and mortar across the

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har was bombarding Sumpter the scarcely staffed Union Garrison fired back as best they could with

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a little Manpower and cartridges they had but not much could be done the Confederates were

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unrelenting the attack would continue into the following day at one point setting the roof of

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the fort Ablaze but alas its Defenders refused to come out still so impressed by the stubborn

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Valor of their foes the Confederates even began to cheer for each shot fired from the fort but

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this was far from enough to stop the south in fact the Confederates were becoming increasingly

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more aggressive in the early afternoon of April 13th the flag pole holding up the Union flag of

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Fort Sumpter was hit and broken this moment of foreshadowing was followed by a chaotic period

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of diplomatic negotiations which would finally find success it was agreed that the Union troops

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would after all evacuate firing a salute to their makeshift tattered flag they were off and the

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Confederates had won the first battle of the Civil War as a result of the Battle of Fort Sumpter and

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the undeniable start of what would be a long and gruesome bloody domestic War President of the

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Union Abraham Lincoln put out a call on April 15th for 75,000 militia volunteers to stop what he ref

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referred to as an illegitimate Rebellion this act would trigger the remaining Confederate states to

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be to officially leave the union and Lincoln would double down by calling for an additional 40,000

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men to serve for a three-year span Jefferson Davis leader of the Confederate States countered with a

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call for an additional 100,000 militia men of his own proposing a 12-month service at this

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point in time neither side wanted the war to last long in fact some in the South had actually hoped

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that the attack on Fort Sumpter would scare the union into diplomacy instead of an armed

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conflict the Confederates knew they were greatly outnumbered and were smart enough to recognize the

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obstacles they' need to overcome to beat the north however they weren't the only ones with concerning

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weaknesses over in the union many of Lincoln's cabinet and his own generals question questioned

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his ability to lead the nation through a war and yet Lincoln's generals themselves were their own

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problem many had grown old or even unhealthy and nearly incapable altogether leaving the president

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with some difficulty when it came to choosing who would lead his armies throughout the conflict

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nevertheless armies needed to be led and plans needed to be made and as for what the North had

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in store for the South one must only look at the Union's Anaconda Plan Lieutenant General Winfield

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Scott was the man responsible for providing this strategy while it was only partially used in

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technicality by the end of the war it seemed that Scott had rather precisely predicted the approach

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of his nation's tactics it was his idea that the union should focus on a strong defense of

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DC an unforgiving blockade of the south from the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and a brutal Land and

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Sea attack along the Mississippi River to sever the Confederates in two named for its attempt

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to strangle the South into submission the Anaconda Plan seemed doable but the strategy on paper would

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be shelv early into the war due to political pressure Lincoln hoped to ease by the end of

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May nevertheless the union had already crossed the pomac and took hold of Arlington Heights this set

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off the start of intermittent skirmishes that would carry on throughout the war between each of

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the major battles with the first of the latter on Virginia soil coming in early June at the Battle

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of big bethl the forces of the Confederates and the United States met at the Village of big bethl

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on June 10th 1861 the North had hoped to create a buffer for themselves around Fort Monroe one

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of the last Union strongholds in the area this would ultimately fail however leading to another

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Confederate Victory and an unexpected direction that this war seemed to be going in the incapacity

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of Lincoln's military leaders was showing already and the Confederates had starkly the opposite when

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it came to their Generals in a unique win for the union however the Wheeling conventions around this

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time resulted in the Northwestern counties of Virginia voting to break free from their current

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state and begin the process of forming the new state of West Virginia which would Ally with the

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north with momentums and their saes now the union decided it was time to begin the main objective

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take Richmond and end the war once and for all as General Irvin McDow began the march with his

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35,000 men the largest field Army yet gathered on the continent cheering civilians began to follow

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the troops with picnic baskets and unwavering excitement they the Northerners believed that

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their men were marching into an assured victory that would collapse the Confederacy and rebuild

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their Nation what happened instead was the Battle of BU run mcdow's troops were made up almost

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entirely of men who had responded to the Call to Arms by President Lincoln following the assault on

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Fort Sumpter meaning that they lacked experience or even even understanding of what they were about

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to face nevertheless McDow was leading them to seize a crucial railroad's Junction at Manasses

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just near the bullrun stream that stood in their way it was here that the Confederate forces sat

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waiting to defend however which all played into mcdow's plan the goal was to use his three columns

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to confront the Confederate force in the front and right flank to eventually push them into

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abandoning the railroad Junction as the Union Army was approaching the Confederate Army of the pomac

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under the command of General Pierre GT borgard requested aid from Richmond a request that was

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intended to be answered with reinforcement by the army of shenendoa under General Joseph E Johnston

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Johnston though was being stalled by the Union force of 18,000 men under Major General Robert

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Patterson Patterson was tasked with preventing the army of shenendoa from reaching bullrun

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meanwhile McDow was getting closer and closer to board's defenses as they inched near McDow sent

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roughly 5,000 of his men with Brigadier General Theodore runan to guard the rear while another

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division under Brigadier General Daniel Tyler was dispatched to try and hit the Confederate right

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flank this resulted in a smallscale clash between Daniel's force and the Confederate at blackburns

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Ford where the Northerners were beaten back over with Patterson the union troops weren't doing much

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better either despite having sent a telegraph to DC saying I have succeeded in accordance with the

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wishes of the General in Chief and keeping General Johnston's forces at Winchester he

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hadn't instead when Johnston had received word of Bard's situation he utilized a Cavalry screen to

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give Patterson the slip and leave Winchester this was bad news for McDow Who currently outnumbered

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the Confederate Force he faced by more than 10,000 if Johnston could make it to bull run before the

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battle was over which the union general soon heard was quite the possibility in spite of Patterson's

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confidence otherwise this would change drastically unfortunately for McDow the change did happen The

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Clash began on the morning of July 21st 1861 McDow sent two divisions from Centerville towards Sudley

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Springs in hopes of ambushing the Confederate Left Flank at the same time another division was sent

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as a distraction to the stone bridge intending to deceive the southerners this plan seemed doable

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in theory but in reality inexperienced men and poor execution meant the Union

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soldiers were fumbling the ball Colonel Nathan Evans of the Confederates defending the bridge

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was able to determine that the attack on his force was only a distraction and swiftly reacted racing

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with the main fragment of his troops to Matthews Hill to meet up with the real Union attack while

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he was unable to stop McDow due to his inferior numbers Evans successfully stalled the Northerners

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while reinforcements came his way although these reinforcements would soon collapse under Union

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pressure the Confederate defense was failing and and its men were on the run there stands Jackson

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like a stone wall rally behinds the virgins General Bernard B shouted to his beaten down

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and nearly deserting men as Johnston and borgard arrived at Henry house Hill the union troops had

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hesitated and were reorganizing their Advance giving the southerners time to do the same after

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an hour the battle was back on and the tide began to notably change change Confederate forces were

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able to capture Union artillery guns and the northern offensive was falling apart the Rebel

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Yell rang out as the union troops were one by one pushed off of Henry house hill by 400 p.m. the

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Confederates that won after losing their position the Northerners began what would at first be an

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organized Retreat within the hour however any form of organization had gone out the window window

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the southerners followed the fleeing enemy and turned the respectable defeat for the union into

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an undeniable route though some of the northern troops would arrive home to Washington by the next

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day their campaign had been crushed the weight of such a catastrophic and embarrassing loss

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was violently damaging for President Lincoln's reputation but there was even more going against

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as the fighting got into full swing the union president's wartime decisions began to appear

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tyrannical to some a Crackdown on dissension wasn't entirely unpredictable but would prove to

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be an infringement on the First Amendment rights of many Americans nevertheless male telegraphs and

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the Press became regularly censored and at times even silenced meanwhile anyone openly showing

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support for the Confederates was at risk of being arrested even a democratic Congress man Clement

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L Valen digam was arrested in his home state for speaking out against the war while the office of

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the non-conformist Sunday Chronicle was destroyed by government officials all of this made many

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start to think about ideas such as impeachment but as Lincoln built up his defenses around DC both

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metaphorically and physically opposition was left in the dark meanwhile pressure from abolitionist

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activists was increasing thus far Lincoln's main concern was the restoration of the Union but many

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freed slaves turned activists were cranking up the heat on the president with the goal of pushing him

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to make the war about abolition and emancipation not just winning back the Confederates Hest AE

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however wasn't yet ready to change the focus of the war and instead signed off on the Congress P

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confiscation act of 1861 this act gave the federal government the authority to seize

37:57

property from anyone deemed to be participating in the Rebellion property including but not limited

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to Slaves these fugitive slaves would be classed as Contraband and were often then utilized to work

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as laborers on Union infrastructure far from making the war about emancipation 4 days after

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Congress passed the first confiscation act the battle was back on Brigadier General Nathaniel

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Leon was about to come fa face to face with Brigadier General Ben mccullock and Major General

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Sterling price of the Confederacy in Springfield Missouri for what would be known as the Battle

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of Wilson's Creek this would be the first major clash of the Civil War west of the Mississippi

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and one of the fewer times that the Union forces were actually outnumbered in an almost amusingly

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ironic twist it turned out that both sides as of August 9th were planning to Ambush one another

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both of these plans specifically hinging on the element of surprise with neither knowing what the

39:04

other was intending General Leon of the Union's tactic was to send 1,200 men under Colonel Fran

39:11

SEO wide around the Confederate right to the South while the remaining Force involved would swing

39:18

North and hit the southerners left the latter however actually had a similar plan but a stroke

39:26

of luck and rain caused General McCulla to abandon his plans this left the element of surprise fully

39:34

in the hands of the Northerners the marching of the Union broke the Silence of the morning calm

39:41

on August 10th Leon's plan unlike mulla's was still on and it had begun now the Confederate

39:50

forces were utterly dumbfounded by the Ambush they had failed to anticipate a surprise offensive

39:55

from the union troops and this allowed the lad's advance to play out at a swift Pace Lon and his

40:01

men were able to advance all the way to what would soon be known as bloody hill before being stalled

40:08

by the palaski Arkansas batter's defense attack while the palaski battery kept the Northerners

40:13

from advancing further general price and his men regrouped and headed for the hill where a gruesome

40:19

battle would subsequently break out for nearly 6 hours the union had begun The Clash with a clear

40:26

strategic advance AG but as the Warfare on Bloody Hill carried on the tide began to shift in favor

40:32

of the Confederates Mulla was eventually pitted against Seagal at sharp Farm where the Northerners

40:38

thus far triumphant flanking maneuver was crushed by the Counterattack from the southerners so badly

40:44

the Sigel and his troops abruptly retreated meanwhile Leon's luck was fading even more

40:52

drastically himself already weakened by wounds he'd obtained in the prior hours of

40:57

ruthless battle leyon was eventually struck down by the south requiring a hasty transfer of command

41:04

to Major Samuel Sturgis the northerner new leader wasn't incompetent but victory for him by now

41:10

seemed impossible with scarcely any ammunition left before the clocks even struck noon the

41:17

union was at a full Retreat back to Springfield a few weeks after the battle of Wilson's Creek the

41:25

union would finally get a win but this time by sea the Confederates for some time now had been

41:32

authorizing privateering along the Carolina coast which predictably triggered a military response

41:38

from the union this reaction however was poorly anticipated by the southerners at two forts in

41:45

particular Fort Clark and Fort hatus this resulted in both partially constructed forts falling into

41:53

Union hands after a naval bombardment forced the troops Manning Fort Clark to flee for Fort

41:59

hatus which itself would soon surrender it was a much-needed victory for the north but it was

42:06

followed by an even worse defeat the Confederates were about to take Lexington general price and

42:13

his 15,000 men reached Lexington Missouri on September 11th 1861 smallscale battle began

42:21

the next day as the Union forces attempted to stop the Confederate advance but price

42:27

was better prepared and surely determined it wouldn't take long for the southerners

42:32

to pin their opponent down in the college housing the union fortifications although

42:38

the remaining Northerners couldn't be beat out or into Surrender by the Confederates a twoh hour

42:43

artillery battle and delayed supplies caused price to hold off continuing the offensive temporarily

42:50

it is unnecessary to kill off the boys here patience will give us what we want he explained

42:57

less than a week later on September 18th however it seemed that price was satisfied

43:03

with the patience shown thus far despite strong union artillery the Confederates Advanced at

43:10

long last bottling up the Defenders once more 1 2 3 4 nine hours of cannon fire ensued meanwhile

43:23

the southerners were additionally in the process of capturing the nearby Anderson house which was

43:28

in use as a union hospital for wounded soldiers this stunning potential War crime at least in

43:35

the eyes of the Union prompted the Northerners to storm and retake the house but control would then

43:42

fall back to the Confederates more permanently 2 Days Later the city as a whole fell into Southern

43:50

Hands the following month would see yet another embarrassing defeat for the Union as distrust of

43:56

the president and his abilities were on the rise after some poorly executed reconnaissance across

44:02

the pomac river over in Virginia a decision was made to launch another Union attack this time

44:09

under the command of Abraham Lincoln's dear friend Colonel Edward Baker this Fay would be an utter

44:16

disaster due to horrendous planning and execution Baker himself would be slain and his men all

44:24

positions precariously at the edge of balls Bluff essentially cornered by the Confederates either

44:30

fled were killed two or leapt to their deaths off the bluff many of those who did Escape furthermore

44:39

drowned trying to cross the icy River the generals who had been involved in the campaign General

44:45

Charles Stone and even General George mlen were heavily scrutinized and stone would eventually be

44:51

blamed and charged with treason as a result mlen however was dis distant enough from the disaster

44:58

itself and would eventually be promoted to general-in-chief of all Union armies despite deep

45:04

mistrust between himself and the president this trust was building between DC and its overseas

45:11

counterparts now as well particularly the bonds between the union and Great Britain seemed to

45:17

be dwindling and on November 8th it would appear nearly nonexistent Britain thus far was acting a

45:26

bit sympath pathetic to the South largely because they missed the crucial cotton exports from the

45:32

now Confederate states as a result communication between the two entities led President Jefferson

45:39

Davis to dispatch two envoys over to the British mail ship the Trent to try and Garner official

45:45

support and recognition of the Confederacy unbeknownst to Washington on November 8th 1861

45:53

the month after the envoys joined the British on their ship us Captain wils intercepted the Trent

46:01

the captain then had his Lieutenant board the ship to search it at which point the Confederate envoys

46:06

were detained and the Brits told that they could leave on their own this triggered a hail storm

46:13

from Britain which deems the acts of Captain wils to have been both a violation of British

46:18

neutrality as well as a blatant violation of the law eventually under the demand of Great

46:25

Britain and unwillingness to go to war with their former overlords DC agreed to release

46:31

the prisoners and toiled to resolve the situation diplomatically while this would work for the time

46:37

being it was only the start of British influence on what the union was willing to do to win the

46:45

war nearly a year after the outbreak of the Civil War the fates of the United States of

46:55

America seemed to hang more in the balance than anyone had anticipated both sides of the conflict

47:03

had hoped for a Swift and minimally damaging War yet it was clear now that the end was far

47:10

from near and the union despite its laundry list of advantages was struggling the start of 1862

47:19

had scarcely seen any significant Confederate losses thus far however the north was coming

47:27

into the new year with fresh motivation and determination Brigadier General George Thomas and

47:35

His 4,000 Union troops were positioned at Logan's Crossroads as rain poured through the growing fog

47:43

the Confederates were only 10 mes away when they heard of the Northerners approach despite the poor

47:49

weather the southerners decided to launch an offensive with the goal of catching the Union

47:54

forces off guard before reinforc forc Ms could arrive the problem with this nevertheless was

48:01

that by the time the Confederate troops arrived at Logan's Crossroads they were wet tired and

48:08

unmotivated and their Antiquated Napoleonic typee flint lock muskets were horribly suited for such

48:14

rainy conditions still even as the Northerners now saw the attack coming General Felix zofer

48:22

LED his Southerners into the battlefield with high enthus iasm at first the Confederates seemed to

48:29

have taken the advantage in spite of their poorly working Weaponry the 15th Mississippi infantry and

48:35

20th Tennessee managed to push back the fourth Kentucky infantry second Minnesota and 10th

48:42

Indiana in the midst of the foggy and chaotic Clash however General zofer mistook the union

48:48

troops for his own and began to approach the fourth Kentucky infantry at which point he was

48:54

shot dead by the enemy this seemed to turn the tide rather quickly against the southerners who

49:00

were soon routed by the Union forces and chased into a disorganized Retreat leaving their dead

49:07

wounded and weaponry behind in the utter Panic this Victory following another only 9 days earlier

49:15

on January 10th at the Battle of Middle Creek finally gave the union something to celebrate and

49:21

some much needed morale boosters Kentucky 2o was becoming more weak from a Confederate perspective

49:28

opening up the door for further Northern influence in the state and over in Tennessee the union was

49:35

making more moves on February 6th 1862 the north took the battle to Fort Henry oddly

49:44

especially considering the potential significance of losing the fort the Confederates failed to put

49:49

up strong defenses a union Naval bombardment would shortly push the stronghold to surrender however

49:57

Confederate Brigadier General Lloyd Tillman had already rounded up his troops from Fort Henry

50:03

and secretly moved them to Fort Donaldson not too far away 10 days later Donaldson would fall

50:10

to the union the capture of both Fort Henry and Fort Donaldson meant that the Cumberland

50:16

and Tennessee Rivers were no longer accessible for the Confederates which would prove to be a

50:21

huge victory for the union and allows the north to keep the South cut off from both waterways

50:27

for the rest of the war entirely Union efforts to capture Coastal territory continued as well with

50:35

another Northern General Ambrose Burnside eyeing up the island of Rowan o on January 11th General

50:43

Burnside had set off with a fleet of 80 ships and 15,000 men down to their destination at the Outer

50:51

Banks though the trip would only take a couple of days the actual battle would be delayed by several

50:56

several weeks due to unideal weather conditions still with 10,000 of his troops Burnside would

51:04

soon launch his offensive at which point he found himself face to face with confederate

51:09

Colonel Henry Shaw and only 2,500 men the Union's previous victories and notable numeric Advantage

51:18

seemed to foreshadow the results of the clash as the Triumph would be clear and precise with yet

51:24

another southern surrender after being overwhelmed by Northern forces on February 8th the island fell

51:32

to the union and the Takeover of the coasts seemed to be in full swing giving the North and Lincoln a

51:40

long craved swell of optimism with this new Boost of confidence and momentum President Lincoln had

51:47

his troops hitting the Confederates at any weak points they could Arkansas and Missouri became

51:53

significant targets throughout this period as the north pushed through the border states and into

51:58

the South with both Union and Confederate forces of Missouri Under New Management it appeared that

52:05

a nearby struggle was imminent on one side was the Union Army of the Southwest under the command of

52:12

Brigadier General Samuel Ryan Curtis whereas the Confederate Army of the West took its orders from

52:19

Major General Earl Van Dorne the latter boasted about 16,000 men while whilst the union this

52:28

time was outnumbered by over 5,000 predictably then it was the Confederates who were planning

52:36

an attack General Van Dorne concocted a plan to meet the Union forces where they were stationed

52:43

around Little Sugar Creek and Ambush them from the rear an ambitious plan and exhausting Journey the

52:51

campaign wouldn't be easy but Van Dorne believed it' be worth it thus as the Confederates neared

52:59

the Northerners the general split his forces in two one force under molik to swing around the west

53:06

of P Ridge and the other portion under general price would go through the Bentonville detour

53:12

to Telegraph Road and meets up with mullik as they jointly attacks the union rear near Elkhorn Tavern

53:19

in actuality the Union forces got a heads up and instead of waiting for the Ambush Curtis LED his

53:26

men to meet with Confederates near the tavern shots were soon fired and the battle ensued with

53:33

a major hit to Southern morale coming early on when General Mulla was killed in action followed

53:39

shortly by his second in command James McQueen mckintosh being slain as well nevertheless the

53:47

Confederates though without their leaders managed to take the tavern and Telegraph Road by the day's

53:54

end still the following day would see curtis' successful Counterattack pushing the southerners

54:00

back and in time handing the union control of neighboring Missouri and a foothold remaining in

54:07

Arkansas what had started as a strong war effort for the Confederates was beginning to look like a

54:16

crumbling defense nonetheless the union had its own challenges at hand one in particular coming

54:24

in the form of General George B mclen aside from the issue of mlen having a near complete

54:33

lack of trust in and apparent absence of respect for President Lincoln via contemporary stories

54:39

told of the General George's strategy throughout the Civil War could almost be described as timid

54:46

after the indecisive results of the history-making battle of iron clads the union was hoping to find

54:52

new triumph over at Richmond General mlen was put in charge of this new campaign but he had

55:00

a different idea of how to go about it than the president did while Lincoln wanted to send George

55:06

South to Richmond the latter was more inclined to head up via the peninsula by the York and James

55:13

Rivers opening up his land Army to Naval Aid and utilizing the union held Fort Monroe as a

55:20

Launchpad although it wasn't his first plan the president agreed to authorize mlen version and

55:27

the campaign was ready to begin the problem with this however was that the Confederates had been

55:33

expecting an incursion from that exact position and thus were readily prepared though lacking

55:41

in numbers compared to the 100,000 Union troops and nearly 400 ships the southerners were Keen to

55:48

defend their city and mlen was willing to do his part but slowly The General eneral though not bad

55:58

at his job was a detailed planner and hesitant in times he quite likely didn't need to be throughout

56:05

the campaign upon the outbreak of armed action at Yorktown mlen had already been under the

56:11

impression that the enemy forces numbered the same or maybe even more than his own this wasn't

56:17

entirely true but George nevertheless formed his strategy accordingly reacting overly cautious much

56:25

to the annoyance of President Lincoln eventually after the month-long Siege he had chosen over

56:31

an assault on the Southern Line mlen and his troops would take Yorktown though only because

56:38

the Confederates evacuated this was a planned withdrawal by the south in order to head back

56:44

to defend Richmond more closely but the slow to acts mlen saw it as his own victory in reality all

56:52

he'd really done was given the Confederates time to regroup and reinforce the real defense with

57:00

mlen yet again taking a slower paced and possibly poorly calculated approach the southerners led by

57:07

General Joseph E Johnston made their way back to Fort McGruder to set up their new defensive

57:13

establishing a rear guard Johnston positioned his men along a series of routs while Major

57:19

General James Long Street brought his troops to Fort McGruder directly the Union force commanded

57:26

by Major General Joseph Hooker launched the next step in the Peninsula Campaign an attack on Fort

57:33

McGruder before the clock could even strike noon the battle was on the union aggression

57:40

was met with a powerful Confederate counter offensive launching hooker's line back this

57:45

was a good start for the South but more Union troops led by Brigadier General Philip Kierney

57:51

soon arrived to reinforce the offensive line and this time it was the Confederates who were pushed

57:57

back into their defenses the bloody battle raged on into the dark of night before the Confederates

58:03

once more carried out an intentional withdrawal back toward Richmond as expected mlen portrayed

58:11

this as yet another victory for himself but in reality the southerners saw the entire battle

58:18

as having only been a means of stalling the union to begin with which they did their real

58:24

objective was of course Force to protect Richmond and now having stalled the Peninsula Campaign from

58:31

its end goal for over a month the Confederates had given themselves ample time to build up the

58:37

Manpower needed to protect their Capital the war was looking more and more tiring but it was only

58:45

mid 1862 and there was so much fighting left to do up and cominging star of the Union Civil War

58:55

effort General ulyses S Grant had been leading his own Army over in Tennessee near Shiloh Church when

59:02

on April 6th General Johnston and his men pounced the Union forces were blindsided by the incursion

59:10

and the Confederates found early success as they drove the Northerners back in the direction of

59:15

Pittsburgh Landing this early success on the part of the South came in spite of the fact that many

59:21

men on both sides had scarcely if ever seen battle before and what seemed to be a swift Confederate

59:28

victory was soon becoming more of a challenge as reinforcements commanded by Union general

59:33

Don Carlos bule began to arrive as the Confederate effort was suddenly weakened under the union push

59:41

back General Albert Sydney Johnston would become a Monumental casualty after being shot through

59:47

an artery in his leg and bleeding to death on the battlefield when command shifted to General board

59:53

as Knight set in the attack was called off and the rebels retreated the union could call this a

1:00:00

win but some would say it was a peric victory in reality due to the record setting and startling

1:00:07

number of casualties the brutal brawl had killed wounded or lost over 13,000 Union men while the

1:00:17

Confederates counted more than 10,000 casualties this was the most deadly battle in US history thus

1:00:24

far and no one was taking it lightly on a brighter note for the north however a late April campaign

1:00:33

ended in the seizure of the vital Confederate City of New Orleans and better control of the Lower

1:00:39

Mississippi and in more promising Fortune for the South Stonewall Jackson Was preparing for a new

1:00:45

Confederate offensive with the odds seemingly in his favor I do not remember having ever seen such

1:00:53

rejoicing the people seemed near frantic with joy our entrance into Winchester was one of the

1:01:00

most stirring scenes of my life Jackson recalled of the event the Confederates had been entangled

1:01:07

with Union forces under General Nathaniel banks at Strasburg before the latter began a feverish

1:01:13

Retreat toward the town of Winchester Jackson was quick to react to this and gave Chase but he

1:01:19

was struggling to determine the intended route of the retreating Northerners and subsequently began

1:01:25

dividing up his own men to chase down the Union Soldiers from any angle some of Jackson's troops

1:01:32

would meet up with the Northerners as a result dashing their hopes of reaching safety for the

1:01:37

Yankees at Middletown Valley Pike and New Town General Banks's remaining men would eventually

1:01:44

reach Abrams Creek Camp Hill and Bowers Hill where they braced for Jackson's arrival the

1:01:51

morning of May 25th was lit up with confederate fire as the f began the first Target of Stonewall

1:01:58

Jackson was the union Left Flank which had been perched at top Camp Hill this initial objective

1:02:04

however was proving to be a bit too difficult for the general to see its worth anymore and he

1:02:09

soon turned to Bower's Hill and its Defenders it wouldn't take long in fact only an hour for the

1:02:16

Confederates to regain the upper hand and send the Northerners back on the run the citizens

1:02:22

of Winchester made Banks's new Retreat even more difficult as in a stunning display of opposition

1:02:30

they started shooting at the union men trying to flee Stonewall and his soldiers contrarily

1:02:36

were greeted with cheers and open arms as they attempted to yet again pursue the Northerners

1:02:43

the worn out and stalled Confederates eventually fell back enough to let the surviving Union forces

1:02:49

slip by and the aftermath of this Southern Victory nearly saw Jackson get pinched between a fresh sh

1:02:56

of Union troops taken from the Richmond campaign with the aim of trapping the Confederate Stonewall

1:03:01

Brigade the latter managed to squeeze through the Gap however and the union was out of luck

1:03:08

once more General George B mclen despite recent setbacks was still focused on taking Richmond

1:03:17

and Confederate General Robert E Lee was just as determined to stop him General Joseph E Johnston

1:03:24

was responsible for taking on the inevitable Union attack on Richmond prompting Lee and Confederate

1:03:31

President Jefferson Davis to urge the general toward making an updated plan Johnston got to work

1:03:38

and he quickly noted something quite convenient the Union Fourth Corp under the command of General

1:03:44

arasmus D Keys was on its own mullen's Force had been first divided into two but the fourth core

1:03:52

had separated itself from The Others When Keys moved them to a vill by the name of seven pines to

1:03:58

the great pleasure of the Confederates there were only three main roads leading to this town and one

1:04:04

sketchy Grapevine Bridge Johnston's plan thus fell into place and his men would encircle seven pines

1:04:12

via 9M Road Charles City Road and Williamsburg Road meanwhile recent rainfall would make the

1:04:20

bridge path more or less impossible to cross the battle would then ensue in reality a combination

1:04:29

of bad weather and administrative Kur fuff made Johnston's plan look a little more chaotic than

1:04:35

had been anticipated as the Confederates stumbled over to seven pines Northern General Silas Casey

1:04:41

caught sight of the approaching Army nevertheless when Wy confederate general DH Hill launched his

1:04:48

portion of the attack Casey had failed to prepare his own troops for defense and was rapidly pushed

1:04:54

back Hills men ever were on their own as he hadn't waited for the rest of the Confederate Wings to

1:05:00

get to their positions and as the union third core began to enter the battlefield Hill was starting

1:05:06

to see the consequence of his decision General GW Smith answered the call from Hill to Aid his

1:05:13

attack at the same time Union general Edwin V suner was taking his second core across the

1:05:19

Great Vine bridge to rescue his own comrades somehow the rickety Bridge managed to hold

1:05:26

and allowed the troops to pass through despite the Confederate assumption that it wouldn't be

1:05:30

doable this meant that instead of helping Hill beat back the fourth core the Confederate backup

1:05:37

was suddenly face to face with the second core by the end of the night the battle was growing

1:05:43

and the fourth core was no longer surrounded meaning both sides could keep funneling in troops

1:05:50

over on the Confederate side the situation wasn't seeming too bad as Johnston began to examine the

1:05:57

lines the problem was that he was shot in the arm moments later and then hit in the leg and chest by

1:06:05

fragments from a union artillery shell though he was cautioned by one of his men that he rode far

1:06:11

too close to the Flying bullets from the battle he Shrugged off the concern with a confident Colonel

1:06:17

there is no use dodging when you hear them they have passed from there the Confederate offensive

1:06:24

snowballed although they locked out given the Northerners equal exhaustion and unwillingness

1:06:29

to continue The Clash came to an indecisive end and General Lee was subsequently sent to take

1:06:36

over the Confederate troops involved in light of Johnston's incapacity the war was looking more

1:06:42

and more tiring but it was only mid 1862 and there was so much fighting left to do over the following

1:06:52

months the union took nearly full control of the Mississippi iipp River with a success at

1:06:57

the Battle of Memphis leaving now only Vicksburg in their way this was before Lincoln signed off on

1:07:04

the second confiscation act which expanded on the first and supplied more opportunities for

1:07:10

confederate slaves to be freed that was followed by the Battle of Cedar Mountain and the Second

1:07:16

Battle of Bull Run which saw a Confederate victory that would soon be overshadowed by Northerners

1:07:22

discovering General Lee's plans for the next engagement that next Clash would be the Battle

1:07:28

of antium which remains to this day the bloodiest 24 hours in the history of the entire Civil War

1:07:37

the Confederate attempts to launch a large-scale invasion of Union territory had failed around the

1:07:43

same time that the South's hopes of winning over Kentucky through the Heartland campaign still the

1:07:50

pressure was increasing from Great Britain as it was on the verge of joining the war diplomatically

1:07:55

ly in support of the Confederates willing to do almost anything to prevent such a catastrophe for

1:08:02

the north president linkoln finally announced his intention to pass the Emancipation Proclamation

1:08:08

by the start of 1863 if the war was not over by now though the Native Americans had also

1:08:15

been picking sides choosing whoever they believed would win and provide them with additional rights

1:08:21

by the war's end the final month of 18 62 saw the brutal Battle of Fredericksburg which allegedly

1:08:29

got so bad for the union that a Confederate Sergeant Kirkland couldn't help but run onto

1:08:35

the battlefield and begin treating the Yankee wounded prompting a temporary ceasefire in the

1:08:42

end however the union war department had been too slow to provide supplies for their men and

1:08:48

the soldiers were unable to keep up the poorly organized attack the South had won yet another

1:08:55

battle with Northern morale plummeting Lincoln's popularity dropping and Union men deserting

1:09:02

president Davis of the Confederacy finally reacted to the proposed Emancipation Proclamation he

1:09:09

declared that it was nothing more than an attempt to excite survi war and furthermore added that any

1:09:16

black US soldiers would not be treated by the same standards as white prisoners of War Days

1:09:24

Later the Battle of Stones River would finally bring about some Union revenge and a much needed

1:09:31

morale boost it also marked the final days of 1862 over a year and a half of the war had already gone

1:09:38

by but it was far from over January 1st 1863 marks the Monumental shift of meaning for the

1:09:49

Civil War although not in the way that many today are under the impression at did the Emancipation

1:09:57

Proclamation didn't actually free all slaves and in fact was only intended to free slaves

1:10:05

in Rebel States though not all of them southern secessionist states that were already occupied

1:10:12

by the north were exempt from the proclamation as were all border states furthermore those States

1:10:20

who had left the union for the Confederacy and were not exempt weren't going to just let go of

1:10:27

the slaves that they've been fighting all this time to keep this meant that Northern military

1:10:34

enforcement would be required for the proclamation to mean anything nevertheless the act itself meant

1:10:43

something to so many it also officially allowed black men to join the Union Army and Navy opening

1:10:52

the doors for hundreds of thousands of freedom craving men to join the war effort by the end of

1:10:59

it all roughly 200,000 black soldiers had risked their lives to protect their fellow countrymen

1:11:08

at the same time the north enacted a draft for its citizens the Confederacy had done the same

1:11:14

a year prior but for the union this was a sign of the times the war wasn't going as smoothly as

1:11:23

President Lincoln had hoped thus as conscription went into effect in the north both sides prepared

1:11:30

for battle once more the union had two goals at the moment take down General Lee and Richmond

1:11:40

and capture Vicksburg thus fully controlling the Mississippi River the latter objective was highly

1:11:48

concerning for the South which had thus far been struggling to maintain their Tennessee Border as

1:11:55

as the Mississippi Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers made it hard to keep the Northerners

1:12:01

out furthermore General Grant had already seized control of the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers

1:12:08

with a capture of Fort Henry and Fort donalson Union Admiral David faragate had also taken New

1:12:16

Orleans cutting the Confederates off from the Gulf of Mexico while the capture of Memphis had nearly

1:12:22

wrestled the Mississippi away from the south already still without Vicksburg this couldn't

1:12:29

be done Grant was now determined to take the city and the river with it in the summer of 1862 he had

1:12:41

made his first attempt alongside General William T Sherman but the early attempt ended in a decisive

1:12:47

defeat and withdraw at the Battle of the chikasaw Bayou although the Northerners were ready to Try

1:12:55

Again by The Following spring up until this point Grant and his men had struggled to even gain

1:13:04

access to Vicksburg due to the surrounding swamps bayu and otherwise seemingly impregnable terrain

1:13:12

feeling Innovative and quite a bit stubborn Grant put his men to work to change this for weeks they

1:13:21

drained bayus built Bridges and formed roads that could actually be utilized to reach the

1:13:28

city trekking along their newly constructed path through Louisiana and across the river Grant and

1:13:36

his army marched into battle having been called on by the general to assist rear Admiral David Dixon

1:13:46

Porter led a naval Force along the river to back the land troops despite being under heavy fire

1:13:52

from Confederate defenses Porter and his men ran the gauntlet like Champs losing only a single ship

1:14:00

in the process and providing necessary support to Grant by April 29th 1863 everyone was in position

1:14:10

and ready to launch the attack Grant's plan was as follows Sherman would be sent to feain an

1:14:19

attack at Snyder's Bluff Colonel Benjamin Garrison would leave need a raid further Inland to bring

1:14:27

Confederate forces away from Vicksburg Porter would continue to provide reinforcement to the

1:14:34

lands troops and Major General John A mcland and his 13th Army Corps would aim for another landing

1:14:43

on the East Bank of grand Gulf this bank was heavily fortified with confederate Defenders at

1:14:50

the ready but Grant was confident in his strategy starting off the Fay was Porter and his gunboats

1:14:58

which opened fire around 8:00 a.m. targeting Fort Wade followed by Fort cin and their defenses the

1:15:06

southerners responded with their own artillery fire rather immediately triggering a battle

1:15:12

that would last for hours into the afternoon the union Navy eventually overpowered Fort Wade but

1:15:20

then began to struggle with the less susceptible Fort cin even with the initial success against

1:15:27

the first Fort subsequently Porter and Grant eventually decided to pull back as they saw

1:15:34

the second line of defense as impenetrable the battle of the grand Gulf had ended and Grant had

1:15:41

once more hit a brick wall Vicksburg was feeling more and more Untouchable but the general refused

1:15:50

to quit while Grant had his sights locked on Berg Union general Joseph Hooker was tasked

1:15:58

with something about the thorn in the north side that thorn was General Lee Hooker also had

1:16:08

Ambitions of seizing the Confederate capital city but that couldn't be done without first

1:16:14

getting the Slick Virginian out of his way thus hooker and his army of 115,000 prepared for an

1:16:23

attack on Lee's DWI kindled force of only 60,000 the union Commander split his troops into three

1:16:32

sending two thirds over to Frederickburg to feain an assault there while hooker took the rest of his

1:16:38

men to the real Target Lee knowing what was coming decided to take a strategic gamble considering his

1:16:47

numerical inferiority he first divided out 10,000 of his 60,000 men which would be Comm commanded by

1:16:55

General jubil early these troops would remain in Fredericksburg to defend the city meanwhile Lee

1:17:03

would take the left over 50,000 soldiers to face off with hooker's Army of the bomac in a forest

1:17:11

just west of Chancellorsville battle erupted for some reason despite the clear advantage in numbers

1:17:20

and his prior enthusiasm hooker suddenly ordered his men to fall back in defensive positions giving

1:17:27

Lee a new Edge in yet another bold move the confederate general then split his troops yet

1:17:35

again this time sending his trusty colleague Stonewall Jackson with one portion around the

1:17:41

Union's Left Flank Stonewall marched his men straight into battle with the Union 11 Corp

1:17:48

Lee on the other hand would soon catch wind of an approaching Union force to the east prompting

1:17:54

him to again divide his men so he could Face Off With His attackers near Salem Church the battle

1:18:03

overall would result in an unexpected and rather spectacular Confederate Victory but there would

1:18:10

be one Casualty that the South would soon suffer heavily from in particular the death of stone wall

1:18:19

Jackson while returning to camp in the dark of night alongside some of his men the 18th North

1:18:26

Carolina Infantry Regiment opened fire without waiting for the group to identify themselves as

1:18:32

they believed them to be Union Soldiers Stonewall was shot three times in the process twice in the

1:18:40

left arm and once in the right hand over the next few days he would have his left arm amputated

1:18:49

and shortly died of pneumonia complications the response from General Lee would indicate

1:18:55

what a symbolic blow this was for the South I have lost my right arm I'm bleeding at the

1:19:03

heart after the rebel Victory though at a steep cost the Confederates looked for another win

1:19:12

diplomatically responding to the Emancipation Proclamation Jefferson Davis solidified his

1:19:19

earlier statements and more through the retaliatory act which went so so far as

1:19:25

enabling the execution of Northern black soldiers and their white officers this Hefty political move

1:19:33

was followed by another series of armed clashes of course the Battle of Raymond would see a union

1:19:40

Triumph in Mississippi but the Battle of Jackson was a bit more indecisive meanwhile Grant had

1:19:47

been busy finally chipping away at the path to his ultimate Target the roads to Vicksburg

1:19:55

is open grants told William T Sherman in a request for reinforcements the Confederate

1:20:02

higher ups were currently caught in disputes over their next move opening up the door for

1:20:07

the union to take full advantage this would result in the highly significant Battle of champion Hill

1:20:16

and the hill of death as deemed by Alvin P hovi after the fact the result was a Monumental Union

1:20:24

victory Tory and a huge step forward for Grant and his Vicksburg campaign another Triumph for

1:20:31

the campaign at the Battle of The Big Black River Bridge would follow putting increasing pressure

1:20:36

on Vicksburg as the Yankees were Now set up to besiege the city 15 miles of trenches were in the

1:20:45

works as the siege of vickburg began Grant was confident that this time the city would be his

1:20:55

The Siege began on May 18th trapping the 29,000 strong Confederate Force Under General John C

1:21:02

pton and the civilians of Vicksburg in the city with no supplies and under constant brain rattling

1:21:10

bombardment pton and all those remaining in the city after 47 days surrendered on the 4th of July

1:21:18

1863 Grant's dreams had come true he had taken Vicksburg and thus the Mississippi but a lot had

1:21:30

happened elsewhere in his absence the Battle of Brandy Station in Virginia played out in

1:21:38

early June and would set the record as the largest Cavalry clash in the entire War the tussle ended

1:21:45

with the Union troops being styed and another battle only days later the Battle of second

1:21:51

Winchester cleared the Yankees from the shenon DOA Valley it seems that Grant's luck was better than

1:21:58

his comrades although the Union as a whole found a victory on June 20th when West Virginia officially

1:22:07

joined it as a new state this gave the Northerners something to celebrate but just days later and

1:22:14

hours before Grant would seize Vicksburg one of the most tragic events of the war and America's

1:22:21

history was to take place the Battle of Gettysburg General Robert E Lee was the man responsible

1:22:31

hoping to move the conflict out of War exhausted Virginia Lee looked to take the fighting straight

1:22:37

to the north starting in Pennsylvania with a 75,000 strong Army Lee marched into the union

1:22:47

state tailed by Union General George Gordon me and his 95,000 men the opposing forces march on until

1:22:56

they reach the town of Gettysburg where Lee stops and begins preparation for the brutal attack that

1:23:03

is to come meanwhile Confederate Major General Henry Heth was on his way to wle when his Force

1:23:11

stumbles upon that of Union Brigadier General John Buford the latter fires on the former and

1:23:18

the battle unexpectedly Begins the Confederates respond well to Union fire and start pushing the

1:23:27

Northerners back along Chambersburg Pike though stalled the southerners are not being stopped

1:23:34

Major General John F Reynolds Union 1 and 11 cores soon arrive to support Buford but it still

1:23:41

wouldn't be enough Reynolds is fatally shot in the neck just as the battle is picking up and more

1:23:48

Confederate reinforcements are joining the fight General Robert rhs and general juble early clash

1:23:55

with the Union troops nearby and together the rebels begin to box the Yankees in at Gettysburg

1:24:03

as the union line collapses many soldiers are able to flee along a nearby railroad but others are now

1:24:11

stuck in the town the remaining Defenders decide to regroup on Cemetery Hill to the South holding

1:24:19

out in a fish hook formation the union men are still surrounded by Southerners though the battle

1:24:27

is not yet lost Union general Dan sickles acts next taking his three cores up to emmittsburg

1:24:35

Road and the peach orchard where they run into Confederate forces under the command of General

1:24:42

James Long Street sickle's plan backfires abruptly requiring General Mees to send the entirety of his

1:24:50

five core troops to support him with long street now focusing his attack on the union left General

1:24:58

Lee sends Hill to take the center and general Richard uul to go for the right long Street's

1:25:05

men hit sickles around Devil's Den and little rounds top but to shockingly no avail as the

1:25:12

union scrambles to bring in more reinforcements over at the peach orchard to the contrary sickle's

1:25:19

men Faire quite worse casualties are already t in up in unimaginable numbers as day two of

1:25:28

the battle rages on the Yankees quickly fill the Gap left behind by the reinforcements sent to Aid

1:25:35

sickle and managed to knock the rebels back at the center to the right generals uul and early aim to

1:25:42

Route the Northerners on and around Cemetery Hill as Darkness rolls in the union holds off at first

1:25:50

but the Confederates soon overwhelm The Defenders nor than reinforcements would shortly renew the

1:25:56

fighting on the hill however but meanwhile another confederate general Edward Johnson

1:26:03

launches an attack on the union extreme right at kulps Hill with many of these troops having

1:26:10

been sent to assist elsewhere Union General George Green is left with only 1,300 men to fight off the

1:26:17

4,500 Confederates numerical superiority AIDS the southern but Green's men hang in there as day two

1:26:28

winds to a close Gettysburg has already become the bloodiest battle of the Civil War day three will

1:26:37

be no better for most as morning comes General Lee sends reinforcements to his men at culps Hill but

1:26:46

so does General me the tables have now turned and it's the rebels who lack proper numbers

1:26:54

nevertheless the Confederates engage and a 7-hour fay commences at first the Confederates seemed to

1:27:03

be better off but by noon the tide has turned in the Union's favor Lee instead of calling

1:27:11

more troops to the aid of the right orders a fullscale attack on the union left something me

1:27:18

had stunningly predicted making him the first to actually outsmart Robert E Lee the center assault

1:27:27

would turn into the largest artillery barrage to ever occur in the Western Hemisphere a spectacular

1:27:34

show but to no success for the Confederates as the southerners are forced to March through a mile of

1:27:42

open unprotected ground leading across emmittsburg Road the Northerners open heavy fire ripping apart

1:27:50

the rebel attack as Lee pushes for the assault to continue the Confederates attempt a last ditch

1:27:57

effort to collapse the union rear with an attack led by General Jeb Stewart but this fails too the

1:28:05

entire Southern offensive is collapsing on every side and it soon becomes clear that the Yankees

1:28:14

have won the Battle of Gettysburg eventually accepting that fact Lee withdraws toward the

1:28:21

pomac and back into Virginia it is said that Lee told his men as early as in their Retreat that the

1:28:31

entire situation was his fault and he believed this so deeply that he offered his resignation

1:28:37

to President Jefferson Davis after the fact and his guilt was not without reason his attempts to

1:28:46

take the war to the North had caused casualties so high that the wounded alone outnumbered citizens

1:28:53

of the town 12 to1 more than 50,000 men had been killed wounded or missing by the end of the 3

1:29:02

days homes and churches had to be transformed into hospitals for the wounded and bullet holes

1:29:09

riddle the town part of the battlefield would shortly be turned into a national cemetery for

1:29:16

fallen Union Soldiers slain Confederates were not so lucky after the catastrophe that was Gettysburg

1:29:25

the Union victory was in many ways overshadowed by the tragedy itself and the still ongoing War

1:29:33

not only that but the excitement for many of the 54th Massachusetts colored infantry becoming the

1:29:39

first African-American volunteer regiment to see combat in the war was marred by the draft riots

1:29:46

that followed angry New Yorkers who felt that the conscription system favored the rich began

1:29:53

to attack the Dr craft office and black churches and the anger swiftly spread the South was fairing

1:30:01

little better however as the war was radically draining its economy and raising the question

1:30:07

of how much longer they could even continue to fight skirmishes and smallscale clashes carried

1:30:15

on through July at the end of the month President Lincoln issued general order 252 declaring that

1:30:23

for for every black us prisoner of war executed by the south one Confederate prisoner of war would be

1:30:31

killed in return tensions were on the rise and the rebels didn't react well Laurence Kansas

1:30:41

was set to face the South's wrath as the day began on August 21st 1863 Rebel gorillas led by

1:30:50

William Clark quantril led a raid on the town that resulted in a massacre much of Lawrence was burnt

1:30:57

to the ground and at least 160 men and boys were murdered this wasn't even War it was a mass scale

1:31:07

homicide and it represented the extreme anger and Desperation felt by many from the south as the war

1:31:15

carried on and the Confederacy struggles to keep up as such the union soon captured Chattanooga

1:31:24

GA Tennessee elsewhere at the Battle of chaga the Confederates found some hope with a victory and

1:31:31

general braxon Bragg followed It Up by launching a Siege on Union occupied Chattanooga Lee and me

1:31:39

meanwhile clashed in Virginia at the Bristo station campaign Abraham Lincoln gave the

1:31:45

Gettysburg address at the dedication of the soldiers National Cemetery and Lee was aiming

1:31:52

to hold out the Confederate War efforts just long enough to manipulate low Northern morale

1:31:59

into electing a southern sympathizer in Lincoln's upcoming reelection sadly for the rebels however

1:32:07

the siege of Chattanooga eventually failed and Bragg was forced into Georgia while another

1:32:14

Confederate Siege on Knoxville also fell short the South had started the war strong but it seems that

1:32:23

all the North's technical advantages were finally paying off both sides wanted the war to end but

1:32:32

neither was ready to give in Lee's ultimate plan could still work but Lincoln had another offer to

1:32:41

make any Confederate willing swear an oath to the United States and your Rebel acts will be forgiven

1:32:51

by now the union was ready to try and truly [ __ ] the Confederacy by launching a campaign aimed at

1:32:59

digging even deeper into important Southern territories this would be the largest army

1:33:07

navy combined campaign to be launched at any point throughout the war the main target was the capital

1:33:14

of Louisiana shreport which if captured could potentially give the Northerners an opportunity

1:33:22

to next dig into Texas the whole thing however was problematic from the very start for one on

1:33:31

the Navy side rear Admiral David Dixon Porter had agreed to join the campaign under the assumption

1:33:38

that Major General William T Sherman would be the land commander and Sherman himself had intended to

1:33:45

do so but with General ulyses Grant preoccupied with other Northern objectives and insisting

1:33:52

that Sherman stay and assist him Major General Nathaniel P Banks would instead be the one to

1:33:58

take the Reigns something Porter nor Sherman were pleased to hear in fact Sherman even went as far

1:34:07

to send a contingent of his own men 10,000 of his very best torter specifically stating that

1:34:14

this favor was in case Banks abandoned the naval forces if his own land troops got into trouble and

1:34:22

the problem with General Banks was that he wasn't even much of a military man technically he wasn't

1:34:30

one at all he was a politician more than anything which is exactly why he needed this campaign for

1:34:38

the military experience and hopefully success that it would bring him the problem then with

1:34:46

Banks's plan was the fact that he intended to use three entirely separate forces Porter's 19

1:34:53

boat strong Fleet Banks own 20,000 men from the New Orleans area and Major General Frederick steel

1:35:01

with another 10,000 coming from Little Rock since none of these groups could communicate with each

1:35:07

other easily throughout the campaign the entire plan begs to become an unorganized disaster or

1:35:16

as one Union general said one damn blunder from beginning to end the red River campaign ended in

1:35:25

a Yankee Retreat and a much- needed break for the Rebels the Confederates also managed to seize Fort

1:35:32

Pillow in Tennessee around the same time murdering 300 surrendered Union soldiers in the process

1:35:40

many of whom were black General Grant shortly after demanded that all prisoner exchange talks

1:35:47

be halted until the South agreed to treat black prisoners of war the same as white Grant was also

1:35:55

busy preparing for what would be one of the most horrendous engagements of his entire career the

1:36:02

battle of the Wilderness Lee's army will be your objective where he goes there you will go also

1:36:13

and thus the Northerners would this Lee chasing Army consisted of the army of the pomac jointly

1:36:22

commanded by Major generals Governor K Warren Winfield s Hancock and John Sedrick alongside

1:36:30

Ambrose Burnside and his independent ninth Corp on the Confederate side was General Lee the chased at

1:36:38

the helm working with him however was a bit of a rag tag group of commanders as the South was still

1:36:46

reeling and struggling to recover from the loss of Stonewall Jackson Lee's right hand nevertheless

1:36:54

AP Hill and Richard s uul though not as skilled as Stonewall were ready to fill the gaps and

1:37:01

Lee's close friend at James Long Street was prepared to tag along in the early days of

1:37:08

May General Grant had opted to take his men out of the Wilderness of Spotsylvania and into open

1:37:15

ground in their preparations for a face off with the Confederates Lee on the other hand had ordered

1:37:21

his men to try and trap tra the union troops in a battle within the Wilderness as the difficult

1:37:27

terrain would give the southerners the upper hand these simultaneous strategies eventually led to

1:37:35

the Northerners catching wind of the approaching Rebels General Warren reacted by sending out a

1:37:41

division to investigate the situation while the rest of the Union forces attempted to avoid a

1:37:47

possible Clash before escaping the wooded terrain the situation however would not end in the Yankees

1:37:55

favor the very moment we appeared they gave us a volley at long range but evidently with very

1:38:02

deliberate aim and with serious effect a union officer would later Testify the Confederate

1:38:09

force that Warren had aimed to Simply investigate was actually the entire core under General Ule

1:38:16

and upon being watched they reacted with rapid hostility the battle began at saund field and

1:38:24

evolved into what one described as bushwacking on a grand scale as the thick foresting made for

1:38:31

a confusing Battlefield over with General Hill another battle had broken out Along The Plank

1:38:38

Road as the Confederates there ran into General sedwick's division in their attempts to cut the

1:38:44

Northerners off from the highly important Brock Road for the first portion of each engagement the

1:38:51

favor seems to shift back back and forward with no clear winner but the outnumbered Southerners

1:38:58

were surely disadvantaged under Hill General Long Street was intended to come and assist Hill and

1:39:05

his attack as nightfell which caused the ladder to hold off from re-engaging at dawn As Long

1:39:12

Street was yet to arrive this meant that the union attacks that morning proved disastrous for Hill

1:39:20

that is until long Street's heroic AR Ral hours behind schedule the battle around Plank and Brock

1:39:28

roads would thus carry on for a while longer with what seemed to be a growing Confederate

1:39:33

favor for some time but would eventually end in eventual though partial Union victory the

1:39:42

southerners would complete the Endeavor with the upper hand however after General John B Gordon

1:39:48

routed Yankee troops along the turnpike on May 6th even taking two Union Generals as prisoners

1:39:56

in the process the consequence for the north was damning the battle had cost them double the

1:40:03

number of casualties as it had the South and the situation became so dire that General Grant wildly

1:40:10

uncharacteristically broke down in tears in his tent at word of the situation yet Grant nor the

1:40:19

north was ready to give up instead of following the Battle with a full retreat they marched on

1:40:26

Deeper South to Richmond throughout May the union was now daringly carrying out two simultaneous

1:40:36

campaigns grants Overland and Sherman's Atlanta the Overland campaign had begun with the battle

1:40:44

of the Wilderness and the depressing draw at best couples with the Raging Fire the battle

1:40:51

had caused it all seemed like a bad Omen for the newly launched campaign but as Grant told

1:40:58

a reporter there is no turning back the campaign was far from over in fact the next Clash occurred

1:41:07

only hours later at the Spotsylvania Courthouse where Lee managed to stall his adversary yet

1:41:14

again for 2 weeks straight until Grant finally disengaged after losing roughly another 18,000

1:41:23

men the union general pushed on for Richmond off and on clashes would follow as Grant and

1:41:30

his men trudged towards the Confederate capital and the Battle of Cold Harbor would see the

1:41:36

union take another unwanted hit after 6 weeks the campaign came to a close but not before racking up

1:41:45

around 55,000 Northern casualties and seeing the third and fourth bloodiest battles of the entire

1:41:53

War still Grant was aiming for a war of attrition now and to this extent with the battle of the

1:42:01

South having totaled around 33,000 casualties the union had actually claimed a strategic victory

1:42:11

over with General Sherman he and his men had been ordered to take the key Confederate city

1:42:16

of Atlanta and thus beginning in Tennessee they started their March as the campaign

1:42:23

carried on a few things were happening elsewhere in the Union on June 8th 1864 for example Abraham

1:42:32

Lincoln officially received the nomination for reelection unfortunately for Grant news

1:42:38

for him was less positive as many in DC were now calling him the butcher due to his strategy of

1:42:46

sacrificing tens of thousands of men now in hopes of saving more later by ending the war or sooner

1:42:54

furthermore other battles were ongoing such as the Battle of Bryce's Crossroads where General Samuel

1:43:01

Sturgis was crushed by the highly outnumbered Confederate Force Under General Nathan Bedford

1:43:07

Forest Sherman however was Ill concerned about his comrades labors as his campaign would prove

1:43:16

triumphant after a string of combat along the way the Confederates under General John

1:43:23

Hood would eventually Retreat from the city of Atlanta entirely surrendering it to the incoming

1:43:29

Yankees the latter would hold the city until November at which point Sherman had ordered for

1:43:35

all military resources in the city to be burned to the ground which would unintentionally result

1:43:42

in an out ofcontrol fire that leveled the city as the heat of the summer beat down on both battle

1:43:50

worn and battle ready men of North and South the Confederates too were attempting to make

1:43:57

significant moves confederate general jubil early was hoping to take pressure off of Petersburg and

1:44:04

Richmond which had been under siege by the union since the end of the Overland campaign

1:44:10

thus he clashed with Northerners at the Battle of Monocacy in Maryland where he would ultimately win

1:44:17

but many from the north still claimed it to be a tactical Victory and stopping the Confederates

1:44:23

from reaching DC early would eventually reach the defenses of Washington nonetheless but he would

1:44:29

withdraw from the attack the same day as the war thus raged on through the summer it wasn't just

1:44:36

the land forces who saw battle one contest in particular saw a joint effort at the start of

1:44:43

August when the north aimed its sights at Mel Alabama the Battle of Mel Bay technically just

1:44:52

outside of moel B Alabama was a joint land and Naval effort by the north to capture the

1:44:58

Confederate Port that had become increasingly crucial for the south after the fall of New

1:45:04

Orleans Union Admiral David faragut sped his Fleet through the bay behind four ironclads to take on

1:45:12

the small Confederate flotilla and two formidable forts standing in the way the battle was well

1:45:19

fought by the Confederates But ultimately ended in a I Victory though the city of Mel itself would

1:45:27

remain in Confederate hands nevertheless the port now belonged to the north violence was still at a

1:45:36

high around Petersburg as well Jew to the ongoing Siege and the following month a battle broke out

1:45:43

at Winchester again for the third time following his attempted attack on Washington General jubil

1:45:52

early had remained in the shenendoa valley which the South had been using for some time

1:45:57

now to launch their incursions against the north this eventually led to the union deciding it was

1:46:04

time to free the shin andoa of their adversaries sending General Philip Sheridan to do the deed the

1:46:13

battle officially broke out at Winchester when General Sheridan and his army of the shenendoa

1:46:19

were attempting to pass through the narrow canyon near Barry rille Pike the Confederates in the form

1:46:25

of General Steven D ramer's division open fire essentially trapping the soldiers and wagon trains

1:46:33

within the canyon the goal wasn't necessarily to defeat the drastically larger Union force

1:46:40

but rather to stall its Advance giving General early enough time to race the remainder of his

1:46:46

forces to join the defense after having heard of Sheridan's upcoming attack by the time the

1:46:54

Northerners finally gathered themselves enough to launch their own assault Major General Robert

1:47:00

E rhs and John B Gordon had arrived to Aid Ramer and the fight was on the Yankees slowly but surely

1:47:10

beat down the Confederates under Ramer while his comrades fought their own battles all around him

1:47:17

General Gordon and his men were locked in one of those clashes although they seemed to be fairing

1:47:23

in a bit better for the time being the grass and Earth was cut and torn up by a perfect sheet of

1:47:29

lead bullets sought the hiding places of the men with fatal accuracy blood was on everything was

1:47:37

everywhere was spattered on bushes was gathered in ghastly puddles on the ground was the description

1:47:44

given by one of the Union Soldiers present General rhs was also launching a strong Counterattack

1:47:51

nearby as both Ramer and Gordon were gaining ground even if it was ground they had previously

1:47:58

lost as the battles raged on the Northerners began to worry that the whole exertion could end

1:48:05

up going in the rebels favor thus General Sheridan decided to call in backup from an old friend I've

1:48:14

got crook here with 10,000 men and I am going to throw them in and whip these fellows in the end

1:48:23

Sheridan wasn't entirely wrong the Confederates would face defeat and the city fell to the union

1:48:30

and what seems to be a pattern of recent this would prove to be the bloodiest battle ever fought

1:48:36

in the shed andoa Valley with Sheridan losing over 10% of his entire Army in the hard-fought

1:48:42

victory the Confederates would lose roughly 4,000 scarcely less than the much larger Union force

1:48:49

they had faced yet Sheridan was wasn't done with jubil early in fact he still wanted him out of

1:48:58

the shenendoa entirely after the battle of third Winchester early had worked to withdraw back to

1:49:06

Fisher's Hill which he believed would provide safety for his absolutely rattled troops known

1:49:14

as the Gibralter of the valley the hill could be a crucial grounds to hold if properly defended early

1:49:22

however was unable to even set up proper defenses before Sheridan and his army arrived on their

1:49:29

heels General crook sent off by Sheridan ambushed jubil early and his men on their Left Flank while

1:49:38

the other Union forces served as a distraction the Confederates despite their best efforts were

1:49:44

forced to retreat yet again being chased until Woodstock the following months would see the union

1:49:52

Ina the burning to downright destroy the Bread Basket of the Confederacy and eventually wrestle

1:49:59

the whole of the shenendoa Valley from the south alt together the union was looking more and more

1:50:07

Grim for the rebels over in the union it appeared that the war was as close as ever to ending in the

1:50:16

previous months it had been General Robert E Le's belief that if he and his Confederates could hold

1:50:23

off for just long enough the war exhausted and dissatisfied Northerners would choose to elect a

1:50:30

southern sympathizing president in their upcoming election this never came to fruition however the

1:50:39

election had come down to a Faceoff between the Republican incumbent President Abraham Lincoln

1:50:44

of course and his old wishy-washy General George mclen of the democratic party President Lincoln

1:50:52

and his VP Andrew Johnson would win in an electoral college Landslide though the popular

1:51:00

vote wasn't embarrassingly far off between the two candidates the electoral votes divided up to

1:51:06

212 votes for the commanderin-chief and 21 for his Challenger if Lee had any hopes left of the Union

1:51:15

government ending the war favorably for both sides they must have been like a dying Flame rubbing

1:51:23

salt into the wound in November General Sherman of the north began his March to the Sea after

1:51:31

the fall of Atlanta and the subsequent Confederate Retreat Sherman decided to really Hammer home his

1:51:37

Triumph splitting his army in two Sherman himself took one portion 62,000 strong on a journey

1:51:46

through the state of Georgia until they reached Savannah with a sole goal of wreaking havoc

1:51:53

the Northerners on one hand began to destroy Confederate infrastructure and Necessities

1:51:59

such as Farms railroads and the like at the same time while Sherman ordered his men to refrain from

1:52:06

murdering any Southern civilians he also wanted to make their lives absolutely miserable the thought

1:52:14

process was that if the rebels lost Mass amounts of infrastructure and material as well as the

1:52:21

support of their Everyday People people their war effort would collapse and the union would

1:52:26

officially win once and for all thus the yanes did just that as they marched towards the Savannah for

1:52:35

the most part no one Disturbed their destruction effort though at one point Sherman and his army

1:52:43

skirmished with a wildly outnumbered Confederate Cavalry that ended up having to flee alt together

1:52:50

they too ironically took a scorched Earth approach on their March ahead of the Union men Burning

1:52:57

Bridges Barns and anything the Northerners could have used to their advantage the latter still

1:53:04

reached Savannah as planned and took the city presenting it to the newly reelected president

1:53:11

as an early and grandiose Christmas gift the end of the year also saw the battle move to Tennessee

1:53:19

where the southerners were crushed at the Battle of Nashville and as the holidays passed 1864 wound

1:53:27

to a close as the war still failed to be resolved though the South appeared to be losing Steam and

1:53:35

the north quite the contrary the Confederates were yet to consider surrender it would be difficult

1:53:42

but not impossible to carry on and so they would fittingly as if to come full circle the focus of

1:53:53

the war now lay on the Carolinas where it all began the union brought the battle to North

1:54:01

Carolina in the early days of 1865 with a second assault on the crucial Confederate stronghold of

1:54:09

Fort fiser a few months prior the North had actually attempted to take the North Carolina

1:54:15

Port but It ultimately failed and thus decided to try again in January for before this endeavor

1:54:23

to seize the South's only remaining sea port on the Atlantic Major General Alfred Terry was put

1:54:29

in charge of the army of the James portion of the campaign while rear Admiral David D Porter led a

1:54:36

Navy Marine force of roughly five dozen vessels and their troops the land troops would be split

1:54:44

into two portions one US colored Troops commanded by Brigadier General Charles J Payne and the other

1:54:51

division teaming up with the Marines and sailors under Brigadier General adelbert Ames the latter

1:54:58

would hit the fort itself while the former aims to take out the Confederate Defenders under Major

1:55:04

General Robert hul the incursion went remarkably smoothly Hox scarcely put up any real resistance

1:55:13

and though fighting over the fort itself proved rough the Yankees found victory that same evening

1:55:20

this was not only a military Triumph but also a major win for Grant's strategy of a war of

1:55:27

attrition and it was just the start of the Union's harassment of the Carolinas General Sherman was on

1:55:35

his way a month after the hit on North Carolina Sherman invaded its lower neighbor the target was

1:55:44

Colombia and the goal was actually an utter Rampage through the already evacuated City

1:55:52

a drunken soldier with a musket in one hand and a match in the other is not a pleasant visitor to

1:55:58

have about the house on a dark windy night one Union general remarked of the sack between the

1:56:05

destruction dished out by the soldiers themselves and raging fires that no one quite knows who

1:56:11

actually started the city was over half leveled by the end of it all in the words of Sherman himself

1:56:19

though I never ordered it and never wished it I have never shed any tears over the event because

1:56:26

I believe that it hastened what we all fought for the end of the war back up north only days later

1:56:34

the Confederates faced another disaster the union capture of Fort fiser and the later evacuation of

1:56:41

Fort Anderson on the Cape Fear River meant that the Yankees had a pretty easy shot at moving all

1:56:48

the way down to seiz Wilmington and rendevu with Sherman and his men General hul on the

1:56:55

other hand was aiming to set up a strong defense over Wilmington while waiting for reinforcements

1:57:01

under Lieutenant General William J Hardy to arrive Ho's early defense would be impressive

1:57:09

even earning him the nickname of the ston wall of Forks Road nevertheless inferior numbers forc the

1:57:16

rebels to tactically withdraw from Sugarloaf and move their defensive lines to Forks Road Hox sent

1:57:24

word to Hardy that he believed they could in fact keep the Union forces out of Wilmington upon his

1:57:31

arrival but Hardy would never arrive after all in fact it was General braxon Bragg's authority

1:57:40

to the former who ordered Hardy not to go to Wilmington and stunningly despite hoa's continued

1:57:48

successful efforts to repel Union attacks at Forks Road mags then ordered the tenacious General and

1:57:54

his thousands of seasoned veterans to abandon Wilmington altogether and so they did back home

1:58:04

in the Union as the war raged on down south the second inauguration of Abraham Lincoln took place

1:58:11

on March 4th 1865 as eager Northerners flooded DC in the face of incessant rain and ridiculously

1:58:21

muddy roads to witness the historic event one would almost fail to believe that the general

1:58:27

satisfaction in President Lincoln had actually suffered greatly at times throughout the war

1:58:34

even among the cheering crowds however there still stood those who refused to see the good in their

1:58:41

leader one such man in particular was John wils Booth the president's future assassin although

1:58:52

would not act now it is said that he later made remarks about how close he was to Lincoln and how

1:58:58

easily he could have killed him at that moment furthermore underscoring the state of tensions

1:59:05

in the north despite the president's successful reelection famed abolitionist and freed slave

1:59:11

Frederick Douglas stated of the inauguration I felt then that there was murder in the air

1:59:18

I felt that I might see him fall that day it was a vague presentiment but Abraham Lincoln

1:59:27

would not fall that day and the inauguration went on steadily enough as the president gave

1:59:33

a powerful speech to eager citizens hanging on to his every word it marked a day of Celebration and

1:59:41

hope which would days later be starkly contrasted to the mood of the South as General Sherman took

1:59:50

yet another one of his cities the paper said Sherman and his army were struggling through

1:59:58

the swamps in the Carolinas and it was greatly feared that the Confederates would get together

2:00:03

and do them up before they could get to Coast what a lot of faint Hearts they must be down

2:00:09

there in New York the words of Theodore Upson demonstrated the Steep irony of the worried

2:00:15

Northerners who had no idea of the scorched Earth Rampage Sherman and his men had been on

2:00:22

taking and burning towns to the ground the general and his army were far from struggling and not only

2:00:29

were the Confederates failing to get together and defeat the Yankees but the rebels were

2:00:35

instead evacuating City by city as Sherman would near and the next of these towns to fall to the

2:00:43

union would be fville as North Carolina continues to be battered by the Northerners finally though

2:00:52

Sherman would face significant resistance as he attempted to lead his men out of fville

2:00:58

toward Bentonville the southerners in spite of it all still weren't ready to throw in the towel

2:01:06

assume command of the army of Tennessee and all troops in Department of South Carolina Georgia

2:01:12

and Florida concentrate all available forces and drive back Sherman these were General Lee's words

2:01:20

to General Joseph E Johnston whom he'd recently convinced President Jefferson Davis to approve

2:01:26

as the replacement for General PGT borgard who had thus far failed to impress the Confederate

2:01:33

commanderin-chief as Sherman was inching closer and closer to meeting up with General Grant Lee

2:01:40

knew that something had to be done and Sherman knew something was coming on the one hand with the

2:01:49

Yankees divided into two thir 3,000 strong groups under orders to keep a close eye out for incoming

2:01:56

Confederates those Rebels they spoke of were not yet United either General Hardy had just arrived

2:02:04

at Raleigh after a small Skirmish at fville while the hesitant to participate in what he saw as a

2:02:10

lost cause General Johnston was still on his way to join his comrade I can whip Joe Johnston

2:02:18

Sherman had confidently asserted as he and his men marched to W Goldsboro under the shadow of the

2:02:24

impending attack but as more Confederate troops came near it didn't seem quite so clear that the

2:02:31

Northerners would in fact whip their adversaries when the battle actually began the Confederates

2:02:39

did take an early Advantage it wasn't until the union managed to get off their Counterattack that

2:02:45

the tidde changed and the Yankee reinforcements pushed Johnston and his troops into a withdrawal

2:02:52

I can do no more than annoy him Johnston told Lee of the man who had been all too prepared to

2:02:59

win from the start Sherman couldn't be stopped now nor could the union and the South knew it

2:03:07

it would only be a matter of weeks before no one was left in denial the Confederate

2:03:13

flame was dying like a match scarcely shielded from a swift gust of icy wind Lee knew it John

2:03:22

knew it they all did and yet they weren't ready to give up not yet General Lee and General John

2:03:31

B Gordon in particular couldn't let go just yet instead they opted to embark on what would become

2:03:38

known as Lee's last offensive as the struggle was closing in on Petersburg Virginia at the end of

2:03:46

March Lee and Gordon concocted a daring plan with the aim of seizing Union controlled Fort Stedman

2:03:55

with generals William Wallace James Walker and Robert ransome Gordon awaited the perfect

2:04:02

second to launch his ingenious Ambush one of the General's Sharpshooters Oscar Whitaker describes

2:04:09

the waiting period thus General Gordon got us to close up around him that night while he stood on

2:04:15

a stump and told us how Lee was situated what a long line we were having to keep up in front of

2:04:22

us he said was Fort Stedman he told us if we would take it he would have our names in every paper in

2:04:29

the south of course we being old Soldiers told him he would do it he told us for not a man to

2:04:37

load his gun and at a signal from him to rush over to the Fort knock down and drag out and he

2:04:44

would have 50,000 troops in behind us the troops next did their best Shakespearean performance

2:04:52

sending out a group of armed soldiers to the federal picket line to feain desertion as their

2:04:57

Commander convincingly shouted oh boys come back don't go the next sounds to be heard were that of

2:05:06

gunfire at hands toand combat with a three- shot signal from Gordon's revolver the battle was on

2:05:15

daylight was yet to break as the Confederates launched themselves into action in a formation

2:05:21

with Pioneer detachments leading Columns of Sharpshooters followed by infantry the southerners

2:05:27

moved forward the deception tactic continued as Gordon's commanders had already learned the

2:05:33

identity of the fort's officers so they could pass as more Confederate deserters or even fellow Union

2:05:40

troops who were simply falling back while the chaos erupted under the early morning Darkness

2:05:47

the rebels focused on their targets battery 10 for General General Walker and batteries 11 and

2:05:54

12 for General Evans furthermore a Cavalry Force stayed position to join the scuffle once the union

2:06:02

obstacles were dealt with truly rounding out the southern assault for the union men of the fort

2:06:10

nothing made sense Slumber card games and what it seems to be a typical night on guard were

2:06:17

interrupted by gunfire cheering Southerners as batteries were beaten and the unexpected presence

2:06:24

of Rebel Sharpshooters right in their faces eventually the fort opened fire with cannons but

2:06:31

the Confederates under Captain Carson managed to escape the line of fire unscathed the captain then

2:06:38

ordered men to put a bullet through any Yankee in sight and it wouldn't take long for northerners

2:06:44

to begin to surrender still two entire Union regiments were yet to even realize that the Amber

2:06:51

was underway until they themselves were bombarded by the Invaders any chance of

2:06:58

the Yankees putting up any relevant defensive seemed nearly non-existent by now and a brave

2:07:04

yet insufficient effort to retake what they were losing under brette Brigadier General Napoleon

2:07:09

McLaughlin crumbled in an instant as general Gordon waltzed into the fort to personally

2:07:15

relieve McLaughlin of his command claiming at this point that his men's success had thus far exceeded

2:07:23

his own expectations if the South needed a morale booster they were getting it now after taking Fort

2:07:32

Stedman the Confederates turned their sights on the nearby Fort Haskell and Fort mcgilvery

2:07:38

the first thing the boys knew they were firing down our line from the right to the left of the

2:07:43

regiment one northerner recall to the next Advance the boys were asleep in their bunks at the first

2:07:49

volley but grabbed guns and CAU boxes not even stopping to dress some were barefooted some only

2:07:57

with shirts and pants on the regiment had been practically cut in two the right took shelter

2:08:03

in the rear in some old rifle pits while C B&G ran into Fort Haskell he continued unfortunately

2:08:11

for General Gordon however the Defenders of this fort had actually been alerted of the approaching

2:08:16

Army and the rebels proved unable to push past the subsequent gunfire as they arrived the Confederate

2:08:24

forces elsewhere were also meeting some resistance now as the element of surprise no longer aided

2:08:30

them but alas the Yankees were still struggling to stay upright the attackers were inches away from

2:08:38

a total Victory as day broke and the union men voled to keep them out of additional Forts and

2:08:44

City Point Confederates attempting to take Fort mcgilvery were captured others were hammered with

2:08:51

Union fire General Gordon was growing exacerbated what had happened to his spectacular assault the

2:08:59

southerners were now not only grasping to regain the upper hand but they were trapped they still

2:09:07

held Fort stemman but Forts mcgilvery and Haskell remained in Union hands as did the

2:09:13

land surrounding Fort stman meaning the rebels had nowhere to even go without a surrender

2:09:23

running out of ammunition and opportunity General Gordon made The Reluctant call to

2:09:29

attempt a retreat a place of fearful Slaughter the retreat was called as the Yankees drilled the

2:09:36

fleeing Confederates with artillery and gunfire the victims had ceased fighting and were now

2:09:43

struggling between imprisonment on the one hand and death or home on the other 2,600 of those

2:09:51

victims Southerners wouldn't make it home the utterly heart-shattering loss for the

2:09:58

Confederates at Fort stemman would be quickly followed by another defeat at the Battle of

2:10:02

Five Forks by this point General Lee was beginning to accept the fate of his efforts seeing no hope

2:10:10

left of holding off the North Lee decided it was finally time to abandon Petersburg and Richmond

2:10:17

letting both crucial cities fall to the Union in a monument mental blow to what was left of

2:10:24

the Confederate resistance the war was dwindling to a close but the biggest hit was Yet to Come

2:10:33

April 9th would see the worst of it all for the Confederates the next few hours would Mark

2:10:39

possibly the biggest Fall From Grace of the entire War as Lee and his men withdrew from the besieged

2:10:47

cities of Petersburg and Richmond their journey to toward North Carolina and their fellow troops

2:10:54

under Johnston took them in the direction of appam matic's Courthouse with Yankees hot on their tail

2:11:02

many Rebels were simply giving up and deserting while few were left with any eagerness or real

2:11:08

hope Lee was becoming increasingly surrounded as the union closed in on the biggest thorn in

2:11:14

their side for the past few years armed conflict erupted once more more though stunningly at the

2:11:24

Confederate initiative the unshakable and rather ambitious General Gordon wanted to

2:11:31

try yet another offensive triggering a battle at aamax Courthouse Gordon's plan just as at Fort

2:11:39

Stedman started with Great Southern favor but the tide eventually turned and the exacerbated

2:11:45

Lee knew that there was no coming back from this point beaten exhausted and and out of options Lee

2:11:53

said there is nothing left for me to do but to go and see General Grant and I would rather die

2:11:59

a thousand deaths unfortunately for Lee and his wish for death over surrender the ladder was the

2:12:08

only plausible option for his army of Northern Virginia thus Lee sent word to grant that it was

2:12:16

time to come to the table at 1:00 in the home of Wilmer McLean the two great generals of the Civil

2:12:24

War were now face to face the meeting began with an odd exchange of small talk between the men who

2:12:31

had scarcely known each other prior with their only real interaction having come from during

2:12:37

the Mexican American War the interaction quickly evolved into surrender negotiations during which

2:12:44

Grant was quite generous in offering out Pardons and even Union rations for the starving Rebels

2:12:51

Lee would soon accept the set out terms and the surrender was concluded Grant had finally bested

2:12:59

his Southern counterpart but when his men began to cheer in celebration he silenced all those

2:13:06

celebrating in the face of Lee the war is over the rebels are our countrymen again the war as

2:13:16

granted said was over at least for the most part smallscale battles would continue through April

2:13:23

into may but none more than last ditch efforts by rebels in denial General Johnston and his

2:13:31

troops would surrender on April 26th General Richard Taylor on May 4th and the last major

2:13:37

Army under General Simon bivar Buckner on May 26th after the final battle and Confederate

2:13:44

win on the 12th in palmo Ranch Texas When The War ended the United States of America were no

2:13:53

longer referred to as a plural unit people went from saying the United States are to the United

2:14:00

States is though reconstruction and healing would take time it would work out but even if

2:14:09

in the end there was unity and more strength than ever before there was also a Monumental amount of

2:14:16

money and lives that have been lost this bloody war in US history costing $6.7 billion saw the

2:14:26

death of 290,000 rebels 365,000 Yankees 50,000 civilians and 880,000 slaves it was the first

2:14:38

modern war in terms of its upgraded weaponry and Technology adjacent to the scale of Destruction

2:14:45

and the conflict itself in the end the side of emancipation unity and industrialization among

2:14:54

much more one America survived though hundreds of thousands of its men women and children did Not

2:15:06

Looking Back Now the Civil War can be viewed as a senseless period of violence that could have been

2:15:12

solved instead by words and policies for others it's viewed as a moral war between good and bad

2:15:21

or Freedom versus slavery the real meaning and necessity of the conflict May forever be up for

2:15:29

debate but today if you ask anyone outside the United States every American is a Yankee thank

2:15:40

you for watching our video you can get early access to all of our videos plus exclusive

2:15:46

content we are building just for our members here on YouTube and on patreon check out out the links

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The Entire History of the American Civil War - ALL EPISODES

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