WEBVTT

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Why did the American Civil War happen What 
drove the 11 southern states to break away

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form the Confederate States of America and 
ignite a devastating conflict that tore the

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whole nation apart to understand the American 
Civil War its battles politics and the reason

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why it happened we must travel back to the early 
1800s join us to explore the conflict year by year

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1819 the newly born United States of America 
sat in a state of delicate balance 111 11 free

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states 11 slave states from the outside looking 
in it appeared to be perfect harmony equal States

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equal representation equal influence in federal 
affairs but this was only from the outside looking

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in in reality there was no focus on balance for 
the Americans instead all that mattered now was

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expansion Manifest Destiny that was the reason 
why the United States government was hellbent

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on snagging more and more territory although the 
phrase wouldn't be coined until the mid 1800s the

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belief held by by many Americans that it was the 
nation's Destiny to expand Westward as far as can

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be done drove the us to do just that Delaware 
Pennsylvania New Jersey Georgia Connecticut

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Massachusetts Maryland South Carolina New 
Hampshire Virginia New York North Carolina Rhode

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Island Vermont Kentucky Tennessee Ohio Louisiana 
Indiana Mississippi Illinois and Alabama that was

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the whole of the United States thus far as of 
1819 but only a year later this would change in

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1818 the Missouri territory previously obtained as 
part of the Louisiana Purchase began its push for

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Statehood the following year the District of Maine 
would be allowed to break off from Massachusetts

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and do the same it didn't take long for this to 
cause a conundrum for the Contemporary us however

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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

00:24:46.440 --> 00:24:52.240
clambered to rooftops in hopes of watching 
the Monumental battle occur one by one the

00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:58.079
Confederates began firing upon the union held Fort 
until every available Cannon and mortar across the

00:24:58.079 --> 00:25:04.679
har was bombarding Sumpter the scarcely staffed 
Union Garrison fired back as best they could with

00:25:04.680 --> 00:25:11.279
a little Manpower and cartridges they had but 
not much could be done the Confederates were

00:25:11.279 --> 00:25:17.319
unrelenting the attack would continue into the 
following day at one point setting the roof of

00:25:17.319 --> 00:25:24.679
the fort Ablaze but alas its Defenders refused 
to come out still so impressed by the stubborn

00:25:24.680 --> 00:25:31.080
Valor of their foes the Confederates even began 
to cheer for each shot fired from the fort but

00:25:31.079 --> 00:25:38.319
this was far from enough to stop the south in 
fact the Confederates were becoming increasingly

00:25:38.319 --> 00:25:45.240
more aggressive in the early afternoon of April 
13th the flag pole holding up the Union flag of

00:25:45.240 --> 00:25:52.440
Fort Sumpter was hit and broken this moment of 
foreshadowing was followed by a chaotic period

00:25:52.440 --> 00:25:59.000
of diplomatic negotiations which would finally 
find success it was agreed that the Union troops

00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:06.880
would after all evacuate firing a salute to their 
makeshift tattered flag they were off and the

00:26:06.880 --> 00:26:13.520
Confederates had won the first battle of the Civil 
War as a result of the Battle of Fort Sumpter and

00:26:13.519 --> 00:26:19.920
the undeniable start of what would be a long and 
gruesome bloody domestic War President of the

00:26:19.920 --> 00:26:28.279
Union Abraham Lincoln put out a call on April 15th 
for 75,000 militia volunteers to stop what he ref

00:26:28.279 --> 00:26:34.119
referred to as an illegitimate Rebellion this act 
would trigger the remaining Confederate states to

00:26:34.119 --> 00:26:40.799
be to officially leave the union and Lincoln would 
double down by calling for an additional 40,000

00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:48.200
men to serve for a three-year span Jefferson Davis 
leader of the Confederate States countered with a

00:26:48.200 --> 00:26:56.080
call for an additional 100,000 militia men of 
his own proposing a 12-month service at this

00:26:56.079 --> 00:27:03.799
point in time neither side wanted the war to last 
long in fact some in the South had actually hoped

00:27:03.799 --> 00:27:09.319
that the attack on Fort Sumpter would scare 
the union into diplomacy instead of an armed

00:27:09.319 --> 00:27:14.919
conflict the Confederates knew they were greatly 
outnumbered and were smart enough to recognize the

00:27:14.920 --> 00:27:22.200
obstacles they' need to overcome to beat the north 
however they weren't the only ones with concerning

00:27:22.200 --> 00:27:28.519
weaknesses over in the union many of Lincoln's 
cabinet and his own generals question questioned

00:27:28.519 --> 00:27:35.440
his ability to lead the nation through a war and 
yet Lincoln's generals themselves were their own

00:27:35.440 --> 00:27:43.160
problem many had grown old or even unhealthy and 
nearly incapable altogether leaving the president

00:27:43.160 --> 00:27:49.000
with some difficulty when it came to choosing 
who would lead his armies throughout the conflict

00:27:49.000 --> 00:27:56.440
nevertheless armies needed to be led and plans 
needed to be made and as for what the North had

00:27:56.440 --> 00:28:04.960
in store for the South one must only look at the 
Union's Anaconda Plan Lieutenant General Winfield

00:28:04.960 --> 00:28:10.880
Scott was the man responsible for providing this 
strategy while it was only partially used in

00:28:10.880 --> 00:28:17.440
technicality by the end of the war it seemed that 
Scott had rather precisely predicted the approach

00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:23.600
of his nation's tactics it was his idea that 
the union should focus on a strong defense of

00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:30.639
DC an unforgiving blockade of the south from the 
Atlantic and Gulf coasts and a brutal Land and

00:28:30.640 --> 00:28:37.080
Sea attack along the Mississippi River to sever 
the Confederates in two named for its attempt

00:28:37.079 --> 00:28:43.799
to strangle the South into submission the Anaconda 
Plan seemed doable but the strategy on paper would

00:28:43.799 --> 00:28:50.960
be shelv early into the war due to political 
pressure Lincoln hoped to ease by the end of

00:28:50.960 --> 00:28:58.200
May nevertheless the union had already crossed the 
pomac and took hold of Arlington Heights this set

00:28:58.200 --> 00:29:03.240
off the start of intermittent skirmishes that 
would carry on throughout the war between each of

00:29:03.240 --> 00:29:11.000
the major battles with the first of the latter on 
Virginia soil coming in early June at the Battle

00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:17.319
of big bethl the forces of the Confederates and 
the United States met at the Village of big bethl

00:29:17.319 --> 00:29:24.000
on June 10th 1861 the North had hoped to create 
a buffer for themselves around Fort Monroe one

00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:31.039
of the last Union strongholds in the area this 
would ultimately fail however leading to another

00:29:31.039 --> 00:29:38.200
Confederate Victory and an unexpected direction 
that this war seemed to be going in the incapacity

00:29:38.200 --> 00:29:44.600
of Lincoln's military leaders was showing already 
and the Confederates had starkly the opposite when

00:29:44.599 --> 00:29:51.199
it came to their Generals in a unique win for the 
union however the Wheeling conventions around this

00:29:51.200 --> 00:29:56.960
time resulted in the Northwestern counties of 
Virginia voting to break free from their current

00:29:56.960 --> 00:30:03.240
state and begin the process of forming the new 
state of West Virginia which would Ally with the

00:30:03.240 --> 00:30:11.359
north with momentums and their saes now the union 
decided it was time to begin the main objective

00:30:11.359 --> 00:30:19.319
take Richmond and end the war once and for all 
as General Irvin McDow began the march with his

00:30:19.319 --> 00:30:26.519
35,000 men the largest field Army yet gathered on 
the continent cheering civilians began to follow

00:30:26.519 --> 00:30:33.480
the troops with picnic baskets and unwavering 
excitement they the Northerners believed that

00:30:33.480 --> 00:30:39.680
their men were marching into an assured victory 
that would collapse the Confederacy and rebuild

00:30:39.680 --> 00:30:48.240
their Nation what happened instead was the Battle 
of BU run mcdow's troops were made up almost

00:30:48.240 --> 00:30:54.319
entirely of men who had responded to the Call to 
Arms by President Lincoln following the assault on

00:30:54.319 --> 00:31:00.559
Fort Sumpter meaning that they lacked experience 
or even even understanding of what they were about

00:31:00.559 --> 00:31:07.839
to face nevertheless McDow was leading them to 
seize a crucial railroad's Junction at Manasses

00:31:07.839 --> 00:31:14.519
just near the bullrun stream that stood in their 
way it was here that the Confederate forces sat

00:31:14.519 --> 00:31:22.839
waiting to defend however which all played into 
mcdow's plan the goal was to use his three columns

00:31:22.839 --> 00:31:28.480
to confront the Confederate force in the front 
and right flank to eventually push them into

00:31:28.480 --> 00:31:34.839
abandoning the railroad Junction as the Union Army 
was approaching the Confederate Army of the pomac

00:31:34.839 --> 00:31:41.079
under the command of General Pierre GT borgard 
requested aid from Richmond a request that was

00:31:41.079 --> 00:31:48.279
intended to be answered with reinforcement by the 
army of shenendoa under General Joseph E Johnston

00:31:48.279 --> 00:31:55.480
Johnston though was being stalled by the Union 
force of 18,000 men under Major General Robert

00:31:55.480 --> 00:32:02.039
Patterson Patterson was tasked with preventing 
the army of shenendoa from reaching bullrun

00:32:02.039 --> 00:32:10.680
meanwhile McDow was getting closer and closer to 
board's defenses as they inched near McDow sent

00:32:10.680 --> 00:32:16.960
roughly 5,000 of his men with Brigadier General 
Theodore runan to guard the rear while another

00:32:16.960 --> 00:32:22.559
division under Brigadier General Daniel Tyler was 
dispatched to try and hit the Confederate right

00:32:22.559 --> 00:32:28.919
flank this resulted in a smallscale clash between 
Daniel's force and the Confederate at blackburns

00:32:28.920 --> 00:32:36.680
Ford where the Northerners were beaten back over 
with Patterson the union troops weren't doing much

00:32:36.680 --> 00:32:43.000
better either despite having sent a telegraph to 
DC saying I have succeeded in accordance with the

00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:48.640
wishes of the General in Chief and keeping 
General Johnston's forces at Winchester he

00:32:48.640 --> 00:32:56.480
hadn't instead when Johnston had received word of 
Bard's situation he utilized a Cavalry screen to

00:32:56.480 --> 00:33:04.079
give Patterson the slip and leave Winchester this 
was bad news for McDow Who currently outnumbered

00:33:04.079 --> 00:33:10.119
the Confederate Force he faced by more than 10,000 
if Johnston could make it to bull run before the

00:33:10.119 --> 00:33:16.279
battle was over which the union general soon heard 
was quite the possibility in spite of Patterson's

00:33:16.279 --> 00:33:25.160
confidence otherwise this would change drastically 
unfortunately for McDow the change did happen The

00:33:25.160 --> 00:33:33.120
Clash began on the morning of July 21st 1861 McDow 
sent two divisions from Centerville towards Sudley

00:33:33.119 --> 00:33:39.359
Springs in hopes of ambushing the Confederate Left 
Flank at the same time another division was sent

00:33:39.359 --> 00:33:45.759
as a distraction to the stone bridge intending to 
deceive the southerners this plan seemed doable

00:33:45.759 --> 00:33:51.920
in theory but in reality inexperienced 
men and poor execution meant the Union

00:33:51.920 --> 00:33:57.880
soldiers were fumbling the ball Colonel Nathan 
Evans of the Confederates defending the bridge

00:33:57.880 --> 00:34:04.400
was able to determine that the attack on his force 
was only a distraction and swiftly reacted racing

00:34:04.400 --> 00:34:11.000
with the main fragment of his troops to Matthews 
Hill to meet up with the real Union attack while

00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:17.519
he was unable to stop McDow due to his inferior 
numbers Evans successfully stalled the Northerners

00:34:17.519 --> 00:34:23.960
while reinforcements came his way although these 
reinforcements would soon collapse under Union

00:34:23.960 --> 00:34:33.800
pressure the Confederate defense was failing and 
and its men were on the run there stands Jackson

00:34:33.800 --> 00:34:40.280
like a stone wall rally behinds the virgins 
General Bernard B shouted to his beaten down

00:34:40.280 --> 00:34:46.600
and nearly deserting men as Johnston and borgard 
arrived at Henry house Hill the union troops had

00:34:46.599 --> 00:34:53.119
hesitated and were reorganizing their Advance 
giving the southerners time to do the same after

00:34:53.119 --> 00:34:59.759
an hour the battle was back on and the tide began 
to notably change change Confederate forces were

00:34:59.760 --> 00:35:06.160
able to capture Union artillery guns and the 
northern offensive was falling apart the Rebel

00:35:06.159 --> 00:35:13.679
Yell rang out as the union troops were one by one 
pushed off of Henry house hill by 400 p.m. the

00:35:13.679 --> 00:35:21.279
Confederates that won after losing their position 
the Northerners began what would at first be an

00:35:21.280 --> 00:35:28.640
organized Retreat within the hour however any form 
of organization had gone out the window window

00:35:28.639 --> 00:35:34.359
the southerners followed the fleeing enemy and 
turned the respectable defeat for the union into

00:35:34.360 --> 00:35:41.079
an undeniable route though some of the northern 
troops would arrive home to Washington by the next

00:35:41.079 --> 00:35:48.119
day their campaign had been crushed the weight 
of such a catastrophic and embarrassing loss

00:35:48.119 --> 00:35:54.159
was violently damaging for President Lincoln's 
reputation but there was even more going against

00:35:54.159 --> 00:36:00.480
him by now hey quick pause do you love what 
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00:36:25.199 --> 00:36:31.480
as the fighting got into full swing the union 
president's wartime decisions began to appear

00:36:31.480 --> 00:36:37.760
tyrannical to some a Crackdown on dissension 
wasn't entirely unpredictable but would prove to

00:36:37.760 --> 00:36:44.760
be an infringement on the First Amendment rights 
of many Americans nevertheless male telegraphs and

00:36:44.760 --> 00:36:51.840
the Press became regularly censored and at times 
even silenced meanwhile anyone openly showing

00:36:51.840 --> 00:36:58.400
support for the Confederates was at risk of being 
arrested even a democratic Congress man Clement

00:36:58.400 --> 00:37:04.680
L Valen digam was arrested in his home state for 
speaking out against the war while the office of

00:37:04.679 --> 00:37:11.079
the non-conformist Sunday Chronicle was destroyed 
by government officials all of this made many

00:37:11.079 --> 00:37:17.719
start to think about ideas such as impeachment but 
as Lincoln built up his defenses around DC both

00:37:17.719 --> 00:37:26.119
metaphorically and physically opposition was left 
in the dark meanwhile pressure from abolitionist

00:37:26.119 --> 00:37:32.759
activists was increasing thus far Lincoln's main 
concern was the restoration of the Union but many

00:37:32.760 --> 00:37:38.520
freed slaves turned activists were cranking up the 
heat on the president with the goal of pushing him

00:37:38.519 --> 00:37:45.440
to make the war about abolition and emancipation 
not just winning back the Confederates Hest AE

00:37:45.440 --> 00:37:51.480
however wasn't yet ready to change the focus of 
the war and instead signed off on the Congress P

00:37:51.480 --> 00:37:57.679
confiscation act of 1861 this act gave the 
federal government the authority to seize

00:37:57.679 --> 00:38:03.279
property from anyone deemed to be participating in 
the Rebellion property including but not limited

00:38:03.280 --> 00:38:10.600
to Slaves these fugitive slaves would be classed 
as Contraband and were often then utilized to work

00:38:10.599 --> 00:38:19.039
as laborers on Union infrastructure far from 
making the war about emancipation 4 days after

00:38:19.039 --> 00:38:25.599
Congress passed the first confiscation act the 
battle was back on Brigadier General Nathaniel

00:38:25.599 --> 00:38:31.719
Leon was about to come fa face to face with 
Brigadier General Ben mccullock and Major General

00:38:31.719 --> 00:38:38.119
Sterling price of the Confederacy in Springfield 
Missouri for what would be known as the Battle

00:38:38.119 --> 00:38:44.159
of Wilson's Creek this would be the first major 
clash of the Civil War west of the Mississippi

00:38:44.159 --> 00:38:50.559
and one of the fewer times that the Union forces 
were actually outnumbered in an almost amusingly

00:38:50.559 --> 00:38:57.920
ironic twist it turned out that both sides as of 
August 9th were planning to Ambush one another

00:38:57.920 --> 00:39:04.119
both of these plans specifically hinging on the 
element of surprise with neither knowing what the

00:39:04.119 --> 00:39:11.639
other was intending General Leon of the Union's 
tactic was to send 1,200 men under Colonel Fran

00:39:11.639 --> 00:39:18.559
SEO wide around the Confederate right to the South 
while the remaining Force involved would swing

00:39:18.559 --> 00:39:26.279
North and hit the southerners left the latter 
however actually had a similar plan but a stroke

00:39:26.280 --> 00:39:34.680
of luck and rain caused General McCulla to abandon 
his plans this left the element of surprise fully

00:39:34.679 --> 00:39:41.919
in the hands of the Northerners the marching of 
the Union broke the Silence of the morning calm

00:39:41.920 --> 00:39:50.480
on August 10th Leon's plan unlike mulla's was 
still on and it had begun now the Confederate

00:39:50.480 --> 00:39:55.920
forces were utterly dumbfounded by the Ambush 
they had failed to anticipate a surprise offensive

00:39:55.920 --> 00:40:01.400
from the union troops and this allowed the lad's 
advance to play out at a swift Pace Lon and his

00:40:01.400 --> 00:40:08.240
men were able to advance all the way to what would 
soon be known as bloody hill before being stalled

00:40:08.239 --> 00:40:13.639
by the palaski Arkansas batter's defense attack 
while the palaski battery kept the Northerners

00:40:13.639 --> 00:40:19.359
from advancing further general price and his men 
regrouped and headed for the hill where a gruesome

00:40:19.360 --> 00:40:26.360
battle would subsequently break out for nearly 6 
hours the union had begun The Clash with a clear

00:40:26.360 --> 00:40:32.559
strategic advance AG but as the Warfare on Bloody 
Hill carried on the tide began to shift in favor

00:40:32.559 --> 00:40:38.920
of the Confederates Mulla was eventually pitted 
against Seagal at sharp Farm where the Northerners

00:40:38.920 --> 00:40:44.800
thus far triumphant flanking maneuver was crushed 
by the Counterattack from the southerners so badly

00:40:44.800 --> 00:40:52.000
the Sigel and his troops abruptly retreated 
meanwhile Leon's luck was fading even more

00:40:52.000 --> 00:40:57.400
drastically himself already weakened by 
wounds he'd obtained in the prior hours of

00:40:57.400 --> 00:41:04.039
ruthless battle leyon was eventually struck down 
by the south requiring a hasty transfer of command

00:41:04.039 --> 00:41:10.800
to Major Samuel Sturgis the northerner new leader 
wasn't incompetent but victory for him by now

00:41:10.800 --> 00:41:17.080
seemed impossible with scarcely any ammunition 
left before the clocks even struck noon the

00:41:17.079 --> 00:41:25.119
union was at a full Retreat back to Springfield a 
few weeks after the battle of Wilson's Creek the

00:41:25.119 --> 00:41:32.199
union would finally get a win but this time by 
sea the Confederates for some time now had been

00:41:32.199 --> 00:41:38.960
authorizing privateering along the Carolina coast 
which predictably triggered a military response

00:41:38.960 --> 00:41:45.679
from the union this reaction however was poorly 
anticipated by the southerners at two forts in

00:41:45.679 --> 00:41:53.879
particular Fort Clark and Fort hatus this resulted 
in both partially constructed forts falling into

00:41:53.880 --> 00:41:59.880
Union hands after a naval bombardment forced 
the troops Manning Fort Clark to flee for Fort

00:41:59.880 --> 00:42:06.119
hatus which itself would soon surrender it was 
a much-needed victory for the north but it was

00:42:06.119 --> 00:42:13.400
followed by an even worse defeat the Confederates 
were about to take Lexington general price and

00:42:13.400 --> 00:42:21.880
his 15,000 men reached Lexington Missouri on 
September 11th 1861 smallscale battle began

00:42:21.880 --> 00:42:27.119
the next day as the Union forces attempted 
to stop the Confederate advance but price

00:42:27.639 --> 00:42:32.960
was better prepared and surely determined 
it wouldn't take long for the southerners

00:42:32.960 --> 00:42:38.119
to pin their opponent down in the college 
housing the union fortifications although

00:42:38.119 --> 00:42:43.639
the remaining Northerners couldn't be beat out 
or into Surrender by the Confederates a twoh hour

00:42:43.639 --> 00:42:50.759
artillery battle and delayed supplies caused price 
to hold off continuing the offensive temporarily

00:42:50.760 --> 00:42:57.120
it is unnecessary to kill off the boys here 
patience will give us what we want he explained

00:42:57.880 --> 00:43:03.720
less than a week later on September 18th 
however it seemed that price was satisfied

00:43:03.719 --> 00:43:10.480
with the patience shown thus far despite strong 
union artillery the Confederates Advanced at

00:43:10.480 --> 00:43:23.240
long last bottling up the Defenders once more 1 
2 3 4 nine hours of cannon fire ensued meanwhile

00:43:23.239 --> 00:43:28.879
the southerners were additionally in the process 
of capturing the nearby Anderson house which was

00:43:28.880 --> 00:43:35.960
in use as a union hospital for wounded soldiers 
this stunning potential War crime at least in

00:43:35.960 --> 00:43:42.000
the eyes of the Union prompted the Northerners to 
storm and retake the house but control would then

00:43:42.000 --> 00:43:50.119
fall back to the Confederates more permanently 2 
Days Later the city as a whole fell into Southern

00:43:50.119 --> 00:43:56.839
Hands the following month would see yet another 
embarrassing defeat for the Union as distrust of

00:43:56.840 --> 00:44:02.920
the president and his abilities were on the rise 
after some poorly executed reconnaissance across

00:44:02.920 --> 00:44:09.480
the pomac river over in Virginia a decision was 
made to launch another Union attack this time

00:44:09.480 --> 00:44:16.760
under the command of Abraham Lincoln's dear friend 
Colonel Edward Baker this Fay would be an utter

00:44:16.760 --> 00:44:24.880
disaster due to horrendous planning and execution 
Baker himself would be slain and his men all

00:44:24.880 --> 00:44:30.800
positions precariously at the edge of balls Bluff 
essentially cornered by the Confederates either

00:44:30.800 --> 00:44:39.000
fled were killed two or leapt to their deaths off 
the bluff many of those who did Escape furthermore

00:44:39.000 --> 00:44:45.000
drowned trying to cross the icy River the generals 
who had been involved in the campaign General

00:44:45.000 --> 00:44:51.480
Charles Stone and even General George mlen were 
heavily scrutinized and stone would eventually be

00:44:51.480 --> 00:44:58.480
blamed and charged with treason as a result mlen 
however was dis distant enough from the disaster

00:44:58.480 --> 00:45:04.480
itself and would eventually be promoted to 
general-in-chief of all Union armies despite deep

00:45:04.480 --> 00:45:11.599
mistrust between himself and the president this 
trust was building between DC and its overseas

00:45:11.599 --> 00:45:17.880
counterparts now as well particularly the bonds 
between the union and Great Britain seemed to

00:45:17.880 --> 00:45:26.280
be dwindling and on November 8th it would appear 
nearly nonexistent Britain thus far was acting a

00:45:26.280 --> 00:45:32.560
bit sympath pathetic to the South largely because 
they missed the crucial cotton exports from the

00:45:32.559 --> 00:45:39.159
now Confederate states as a result communication 
between the two entities led President Jefferson

00:45:39.159 --> 00:45:45.679
Davis to dispatch two envoys over to the British 
mail ship the Trent to try and Garner official

00:45:45.679 --> 00:45:53.639
support and recognition of the Confederacy 
unbeknownst to Washington on November 8th 1861

00:45:53.639 --> 00:46:01.400
the month after the envoys joined the British on 
their ship us Captain wils intercepted the Trent

00:46:01.400 --> 00:46:06.920
the captain then had his Lieutenant board the ship 
to search it at which point the Confederate envoys

00:46:06.920 --> 00:46:13.240
were detained and the Brits told that they could 
leave on their own this triggered a hail storm

00:46:13.239 --> 00:46:18.519
from Britain which deems the acts of Captain 
wils to have been both a violation of British

00:46:18.519 --> 00:46:25.119
neutrality as well as a blatant violation of 
the law eventually under the demand of Great

00:46:25.119 --> 00:46:31.079
Britain and unwillingness to go to war with 
their former overlords DC agreed to release

00:46:31.079 --> 00:46:37.799
the prisoners and toiled to resolve the situation 
diplomatically while this would work for the time

00:46:37.800 --> 00:46:45.400
being it was only the start of British influence 
on what the union was willing to do to win the

00:46:45.400 --> 00:46:55.680
war nearly a year after the outbreak of the 
Civil War the fates of the United States of

00:46:55.679 --> 00:47:03.440
America seemed to hang more in the balance than 
anyone had anticipated both sides of the conflict

00:47:03.440 --> 00:47:10.760
had hoped for a Swift and minimally damaging 
War yet it was clear now that the end was far

00:47:10.760 --> 00:47:19.680
from near and the union despite its laundry list 
of advantages was struggling the start of 1862

00:47:19.679 --> 00:47:27.079
had scarcely seen any significant Confederate 
losses thus far however the north was coming

00:47:27.079 --> 00:47:35.840
into the new year with fresh motivation and 
determination Brigadier General George Thomas and

00:47:35.840 --> 00:47:43.440
His 4,000 Union troops were positioned at Logan's 
Crossroads as rain poured through the growing fog

00:47:43.440 --> 00:47:49.480
the Confederates were only 10 mes away when they 
heard of the Northerners approach despite the poor

00:47:49.480 --> 00:47:54.480
weather the southerners decided to launch an 
offensive with the goal of catching the Union

00:47:54.480 --> 00:48:01.280
forces off guard before reinforc forc Ms could 
arrive the problem with this nevertheless was

00:48:01.280 --> 00:48:08.160
that by the time the Confederate troops arrived 
at Logan's Crossroads they were wet tired and

00:48:08.159 --> 00:48:14.879
unmotivated and their Antiquated Napoleonic typee 
flint lock muskets were horribly suited for such

00:48:14.880 --> 00:48:22.920
rainy conditions still even as the Northerners 
now saw the attack coming General Felix zofer

00:48:22.920 --> 00:48:29.519
LED his Southerners into the battlefield with high 
enthus iasm at first the Confederates seemed to

00:48:29.519 --> 00:48:35.679
have taken the advantage in spite of their poorly 
working Weaponry the 15th Mississippi infantry and

00:48:35.679 --> 00:48:42.000
20th Tennessee managed to push back the fourth 
Kentucky infantry second Minnesota and 10th

00:48:42.000 --> 00:48:48.960
Indiana in the midst of the foggy and chaotic 
Clash however General zofer mistook the union

00:48:48.960 --> 00:48:54.720
troops for his own and began to approach the 
fourth Kentucky infantry at which point he was

00:48:54.719 --> 00:49:00.639
shot dead by the enemy this seemed to turn the 
tide rather quickly against the southerners who

00:49:00.639 --> 00:49:07.199
were soon routed by the Union forces and chased 
into a disorganized Retreat leaving their dead

00:49:07.199 --> 00:49:15.199
wounded and weaponry behind in the utter Panic 
this Victory following another only 9 days earlier

00:49:15.199 --> 00:49:21.799
on January 10th at the Battle of Middle Creek 
finally gave the union something to celebrate and

00:49:21.800 --> 00:49:28.360
some much needed morale boosters Kentucky 2o was 
becoming more weak from a Confederate perspective

00:49:28.360 --> 00:49:35.519
opening up the door for further Northern influence 
in the state and over in Tennessee the union was

00:49:35.519 --> 00:49:44.199
making more moves on February 6th 1862 the 
north took the battle to Fort Henry oddly

00:49:44.199 --> 00:49:49.439
especially considering the potential significance 
of losing the fort the Confederates failed to put

00:49:49.440 --> 00:49:57.119
up strong defenses a union Naval bombardment would 
shortly push the stronghold to surrender however

00:49:57.119 --> 00:50:03.079
Confederate Brigadier General Lloyd Tillman had 
already rounded up his troops from Fort Henry

00:50:03.079 --> 00:50:10.679
and secretly moved them to Fort Donaldson not 
too far away 10 days later Donaldson would fall

00:50:10.679 --> 00:50:16.480
to the union the capture of both Fort Henry 
and Fort Donaldson meant that the Cumberland

00:50:16.480 --> 00:50:21.920
and Tennessee Rivers were no longer accessible 
for the Confederates which would prove to be a

00:50:21.920 --> 00:50:27.559
huge victory for the union and allows the north 
to keep the South cut off from both waterways

00:50:27.559 --> 00:50:35.239
for the rest of the war entirely Union efforts to 
capture Coastal territory continued as well with

00:50:35.239 --> 00:50:43.919
another Northern General Ambrose Burnside eyeing 
up the island of Rowan o on January 11th General

00:50:43.920 --> 00:50:51.000
Burnside had set off with a fleet of 80 ships and 
15,000 men down to their destination at the Outer

00:50:51.000 --> 00:50:56.639
Banks though the trip would only take a couple of 
days the actual battle would be delayed by several

00:50:56.639 --> 00:51:04.159
several weeks due to unideal weather conditions 
still with 10,000 of his troops Burnside would

00:51:04.159 --> 00:51:09.960
soon launch his offensive at which point he 
found himself face to face with confederate

00:51:09.960 --> 00:51:18.720
Colonel Henry Shaw and only 2,500 men the Union's 
previous victories and notable numeric Advantage

00:51:18.719 --> 00:51:24.639
seemed to foreshadow the results of the clash as 
the Triumph would be clear and precise with yet

00:51:24.639 --> 00:51:32.239
another southern surrender after being overwhelmed 
by Northern forces on February 8th the island fell

00:51:32.239 --> 00:51:40.159
to the union and the Takeover of the coasts seemed 
to be in full swing giving the North and Lincoln a

00:51:40.159 --> 00:51:47.599
long craved swell of optimism with this new Boost 
of confidence and momentum President Lincoln had

00:51:47.599 --> 00:51:53.119
his troops hitting the Confederates at any weak 
points they could Arkansas and Missouri became

00:51:53.119 --> 00:51:58.880
significant targets throughout this period as the 
north pushed through the border states and into

00:51:58.880 --> 00:52:05.360
the South with both Union and Confederate forces 
of Missouri Under New Management it appeared that

00:52:05.360 --> 00:52:12.800
a nearby struggle was imminent on one side was the 
Union Army of the Southwest under the command of

00:52:12.800 --> 00:52:19.880
Brigadier General Samuel Ryan Curtis whereas the 
Confederate Army of the West took its orders from

00:52:19.880 --> 00:52:28.000
Major General Earl Van Dorne the latter boasted 
about 16,000 men while whilst the union this

00:52:28.000 --> 00:52:36.199
time was outnumbered by over 5,000 predictably 
then it was the Confederates who were planning

00:52:36.199 --> 00:52:43.319
an attack General Van Dorne concocted a plan to 
meet the Union forces where they were stationed

00:52:43.320 --> 00:52:51.320
around Little Sugar Creek and Ambush them from the 
rear an ambitious plan and exhausting Journey the

00:52:51.320 --> 00:52:59.160
campaign wouldn't be easy but Van Dorne believed 
it' be worth it thus as the Confederates neared

00:52:59.159 --> 00:53:06.039
the Northerners the general split his forces in 
two one force under molik to swing around the west

00:53:06.039 --> 00:53:12.199
of P Ridge and the other portion under general 
price would go through the Bentonville detour

00:53:12.199 --> 00:53:19.719
to Telegraph Road and meets up with mullik as they 
jointly attacks the union rear near Elkhorn Tavern

00:53:19.719 --> 00:53:26.559
in actuality the Union forces got a heads up and 
instead of waiting for the Ambush Curtis LED his

00:53:26.559 --> 00:53:33.279
men to meet with Confederates near the tavern 
shots were soon fired and the battle ensued with

00:53:33.280 --> 00:53:39.840
a major hit to Southern morale coming early on 
when General Mulla was killed in action followed

00:53:39.840 --> 00:53:47.440
shortly by his second in command James McQueen 
mckintosh being slain as well nevertheless the

00:53:47.440 --> 00:53:54.000
Confederates though without their leaders managed 
to take the tavern and Telegraph Road by the day's

00:53:54.000 --> 00:54:00.519
end still the following day would see curtis' 
successful Counterattack pushing the southerners

00:54:00.519 --> 00:54:07.960
back and in time handing the union control of 
neighboring Missouri and a foothold remaining in

00:54:07.960 --> 00:54:16.480
Arkansas what had started as a strong war effort 
for the Confederates was beginning to look like a

00:54:16.480 --> 00:54:24.519
crumbling defense nonetheless the union had its 
own challenges at hand one in particular coming

00:54:24.519 --> 00:54:33.039
in the form of General George B mclen aside 
from the issue of mlen having a near complete

00:54:33.039 --> 00:54:39.400
lack of trust in and apparent absence of respect 
for President Lincoln via contemporary stories

00:54:39.400 --> 00:54:46.360
told of the General George's strategy throughout 
the Civil War could almost be described as timid

00:54:46.360 --> 00:54:52.920
after the indecisive results of the history-making 
battle of iron clads the union was hoping to find

00:54:52.920 --> 00:55:00.000
new triumph over at Richmond General mlen was 
put in charge of this new campaign but he had

00:55:00.000 --> 00:55:06.320
a different idea of how to go about it than the 
president did while Lincoln wanted to send George

00:55:06.320 --> 00:55:13.680
South to Richmond the latter was more inclined to 
head up via the peninsula by the York and James

00:55:13.679 --> 00:55:20.719
Rivers opening up his land Army to Naval Aid 
and utilizing the union held Fort Monroe as a

00:55:20.719 --> 00:55:27.559
Launchpad although it wasn't his first plan the 
president agreed to authorize mlen version and

00:55:27.559 --> 00:55:33.719
the campaign was ready to begin the problem with 
this however was that the Confederates had been

00:55:33.719 --> 00:55:41.239
expecting an incursion from that exact position 
and thus were readily prepared though lacking

00:55:41.239 --> 00:55:48.879
in numbers compared to the 100,000 Union troops 
and nearly 400 ships the southerners were Keen to

00:55:48.880 --> 00:55:58.000
defend their city and mlen was willing to do his 
part but slowly The General eneral though not bad

00:55:58.000 --> 00:56:05.800
at his job was a detailed planner and hesitant in 
times he quite likely didn't need to be throughout

00:56:05.800 --> 00:56:11.560
the campaign upon the outbreak of armed action 
at Yorktown mlen had already been under the

00:56:11.559 --> 00:56:17.719
impression that the enemy forces numbered the 
same or maybe even more than his own this wasn't

00:56:17.719 --> 00:56:25.159
entirely true but George nevertheless formed his 
strategy accordingly reacting overly cautious much

00:56:25.159 --> 00:56:31.480
to the annoyance of President Lincoln eventually 
after the month-long Siege he had chosen over

00:56:31.480 --> 00:56:38.679
an assault on the Southern Line mlen and his 
troops would take Yorktown though only because

00:56:38.679 --> 00:56:44.319
the Confederates evacuated this was a planned 
withdrawal by the south in order to head back

00:56:44.320 --> 00:56:52.400
to defend Richmond more closely but the slow to 
acts mlen saw it as his own victory in reality all

00:56:52.400 --> 00:57:00.079
he'd really done was given the Confederates time 
to regroup and reinforce the real defense with

00:57:00.079 --> 00:57:07.159
mlen yet again taking a slower paced and possibly 
poorly calculated approach the southerners led by

00:57:07.159 --> 00:57:13.199
General Joseph E Johnston made their way back 
to Fort McGruder to set up their new defensive

00:57:13.199 --> 00:57:19.679
establishing a rear guard Johnston positioned 
his men along a series of routs while Major

00:57:19.679 --> 00:57:26.359
General James Long Street brought his troops to 
Fort McGruder directly the Union force commanded

00:57:26.360 --> 00:57:33.480
by Major General Joseph Hooker launched the next 
step in the Peninsula Campaign an attack on Fort

00:57:33.480 --> 00:57:40.400
McGruder before the clock could even strike 
noon the battle was on the union aggression

00:57:40.400 --> 00:57:45.519
was met with a powerful Confederate counter 
offensive launching hooker's line back this

00:57:45.519 --> 00:57:51.360
was a good start for the South but more Union 
troops led by Brigadier General Philip Kierney

00:57:51.360 --> 00:57:57.360
soon arrived to reinforce the offensive line and 
this time it was the Confederates who were pushed

00:57:57.360 --> 00:58:03.640
back into their defenses the bloody battle raged 
on into the dark of night before the Confederates

00:58:03.639 --> 00:58:11.239
once more carried out an intentional withdrawal 
back toward Richmond as expected mlen portrayed

00:58:11.239 --> 00:58:18.359
this as yet another victory for himself but in 
reality the southerners saw the entire battle

00:58:18.360 --> 00:58:24.559
as having only been a means of stalling the 
union to begin with which they did their real

00:58:24.559 --> 00:58:31.840
objective was of course Force to protect Richmond 
and now having stalled the Peninsula Campaign from

00:58:31.840 --> 00:58:37.400
its end goal for over a month the Confederates 
had given themselves ample time to build up the

00:58:37.400 --> 00:58:45.240
Manpower needed to protect their Capital the war 
was looking more and more tiring but it was only

00:58:45.239 --> 00:58:55.039
mid 1862 and there was so much fighting left to 
do up and cominging star of the Union Civil War

00:58:55.039 --> 00:59:02.279
effort General ulyses S Grant had been leading his 
own Army over in Tennessee near Shiloh Church when

00:59:02.280 --> 00:59:10.080
on April 6th General Johnston and his men pounced 
the Union forces were blindsided by the incursion

00:59:10.079 --> 00:59:15.119
and the Confederates found early success as they 
drove the Northerners back in the direction of

00:59:15.119 --> 00:59:21.199
Pittsburgh Landing this early success on the part 
of the South came in spite of the fact that many

00:59:21.199 --> 00:59:28.799
men on both sides had scarcely if ever seen battle 
before and what seemed to be a swift Confederate

00:59:28.800 --> 00:59:33.840
victory was soon becoming more of a challenge 
as reinforcements commanded by Union general

00:59:33.840 --> 00:59:41.000
Don Carlos bule began to arrive as the Confederate 
effort was suddenly weakened under the union push

00:59:41.000 --> 00:59:47.079
back General Albert Sydney Johnston would become 
a Monumental casualty after being shot through

00:59:47.079 --> 00:59:53.920
an artery in his leg and bleeding to death on the 
battlefield when command shifted to General board

00:59:53.920 --> 01:00:00.720
as Knight set in the attack was called off and 
the rebels retreated the union could call this a

01:00:00.719 --> 01:00:07.839
win but some would say it was a peric victory in 
reality due to the record setting and startling

01:00:07.840 --> 01:00:17.120
number of casualties the brutal brawl had killed 
wounded or lost over 13,000 Union men while the

01:00:17.119 --> 01:00:24.000
Confederates counted more than 10,000 casualties 
this was the most deadly battle in US history thus

01:00:24.000 --> 01:00:33.199
far and no one was taking it lightly on a brighter 
note for the north however a late April campaign

01:00:33.199 --> 01:00:39.359
ended in the seizure of the vital Confederate City 
of New Orleans and better control of the Lower

01:00:39.360 --> 01:00:45.680
Mississippi and in more promising Fortune for the 
South Stonewall Jackson Was preparing for a new

01:00:45.679 --> 01:00:53.799
Confederate offensive with the odds seemingly in 
his favor I do not remember having ever seen such

01:00:53.800 --> 01:01:00.120
rejoicing the people seemed near frantic with 
joy our entrance into Winchester was one of the

01:01:00.119 --> 01:01:07.559
most stirring scenes of my life Jackson recalled 
of the event the Confederates had been entangled

01:01:07.559 --> 01:01:13.519
with Union forces under General Nathaniel banks 
at Strasburg before the latter began a feverish

01:01:13.519 --> 01:01:19.239
Retreat toward the town of Winchester Jackson 
was quick to react to this and gave Chase but he

01:01:19.239 --> 01:01:25.399
was struggling to determine the intended route of 
the retreating Northerners and subsequently began

01:01:25.400 --> 01:01:32.440
dividing up his own men to chase down the Union 
Soldiers from any angle some of Jackson's troops

01:01:32.440 --> 01:01:37.240
would meet up with the Northerners as a result 
dashing their hopes of reaching safety for the

01:01:37.239 --> 01:01:44.039
Yankees at Middletown Valley Pike and New Town 
General Banks's remaining men would eventually

01:01:44.039 --> 01:01:51.400
reach Abrams Creek Camp Hill and Bowers Hill 
where they braced for Jackson's arrival the

01:01:51.400 --> 01:01:58.519
morning of May 25th was lit up with confederate 
fire as the f began the first Target of Stonewall

01:01:58.519 --> 01:02:04.759
Jackson was the union Left Flank which had been 
perched at top Camp Hill this initial objective

01:02:04.760 --> 01:02:09.560
however was proving to be a bit too difficult 
for the general to see its worth anymore and he

01:02:09.559 --> 01:02:16.519
soon turned to Bower's Hill and its Defenders it 
wouldn't take long in fact only an hour for the

01:02:16.519 --> 01:02:22.960
Confederates to regain the upper hand and send 
the Northerners back on the run the citizens

01:02:22.960 --> 01:02:30.199
of Winchester made Banks's new Retreat even more 
difficult as in a stunning display of opposition

01:02:30.199 --> 01:02:36.039
they started shooting at the union men trying 
to flee Stonewall and his soldiers contrarily

01:02:36.039 --> 01:02:43.679
were greeted with cheers and open arms as they 
attempted to yet again pursue the Northerners

01:02:43.679 --> 01:02:49.319
the worn out and stalled Confederates eventually 
fell back enough to let the surviving Union forces

01:02:49.320 --> 01:02:56.039
slip by and the aftermath of this Southern Victory 
nearly saw Jackson get pinched between a fresh sh

01:02:56.039 --> 01:03:01.719
of Union troops taken from the Richmond campaign 
with the aim of trapping the Confederate Stonewall

01:03:01.719 --> 01:03:08.439
Brigade the latter managed to squeeze through 
the Gap however and the union was out of luck

01:03:08.440 --> 01:03:17.320
once more General George B mclen despite recent 
setbacks was still focused on taking Richmond

01:03:17.320 --> 01:03:24.840
and Confederate General Robert E Lee was just as 
determined to stop him General Joseph E Johnston

01:03:24.840 --> 01:03:31.280
was responsible for taking on the inevitable Union 
attack on Richmond prompting Lee and Confederate

01:03:31.280 --> 01:03:38.240
President Jefferson Davis to urge the general 
toward making an updated plan Johnston got to work

01:03:38.239 --> 01:03:44.559
and he quickly noted something quite convenient 
the Union Fourth Corp under the command of General

01:03:44.559 --> 01:03:52.239
arasmus D Keys was on its own mullen's Force had 
been first divided into two but the fourth core

01:03:52.239 --> 01:03:58.199
had separated itself from The Others When Keys 
moved them to a vill by the name of seven pines to

01:03:58.199 --> 01:04:04.799
the great pleasure of the Confederates there were 
only three main roads leading to this town and one

01:04:04.800 --> 01:04:12.080
sketchy Grapevine Bridge Johnston's plan thus fell 
into place and his men would encircle seven pines

01:04:12.079 --> 01:04:20.079
via 9M Road Charles City Road and Williamsburg 
Road meanwhile recent rainfall would make the

01:04:20.079 --> 01:04:29.119
bridge path more or less impossible to cross the 
battle would then ensue in reality a combination

01:04:29.119 --> 01:04:35.079
of bad weather and administrative Kur fuff made 
Johnston's plan look a little more chaotic than

01:04:35.079 --> 01:04:41.519
had been anticipated as the Confederates stumbled 
over to seven pines Northern General Silas Casey

01:04:41.519 --> 01:04:48.360
caught sight of the approaching Army nevertheless 
when Wy confederate general DH Hill launched his

01:04:48.360 --> 01:04:54.079
portion of the attack Casey had failed to prepare 
his own troops for defense and was rapidly pushed

01:04:54.079 --> 01:05:00.440
back Hills men ever were on their own as he hadn't 
waited for the rest of the Confederate Wings to

01:05:00.440 --> 01:05:06.639
get to their positions and as the union third core 
began to enter the battlefield Hill was starting

01:05:06.639 --> 01:05:13.119
to see the consequence of his decision General 
GW Smith answered the call from Hill to Aid his

01:05:13.119 --> 01:05:19.400
attack at the same time Union general Edwin 
V suner was taking his second core across the

01:05:19.400 --> 01:05:25.639
Great Vine bridge to rescue his own comrades 
somehow the rickety Bridge managed to hold

01:05:26.199 --> 01:05:30.960
and allowed the troops to pass through despite 
the Confederate assumption that it wouldn't be

01:05:30.960 --> 01:05:37.280
doable this meant that instead of helping Hill 
beat back the fourth core the Confederate backup

01:05:37.280 --> 01:05:43.519
was suddenly face to face with the second core 
by the end of the night the battle was growing

01:05:43.519 --> 01:05:50.519
and the fourth core was no longer surrounded 
meaning both sides could keep funneling in troops

01:05:50.519 --> 01:05:57.519
over on the Confederate side the situation wasn't 
seeming too bad as Johnston began to examine the

01:05:57.519 --> 01:06:05.199
lines the problem was that he was shot in the arm 
moments later and then hit in the leg and chest by

01:06:05.199 --> 01:06:11.599
fragments from a union artillery shell though he 
was cautioned by one of his men that he rode far

01:06:11.599 --> 01:06:17.719
too close to the Flying bullets from the battle he 
Shrugged off the concern with a confident Colonel

01:06:17.719 --> 01:06:24.159
there is no use dodging when you hear them they 
have passed from there the Confederate offensive

01:06:24.159 --> 01:06:29.839
snowballed although they locked out given the 
Northerners equal exhaustion and unwillingness

01:06:29.840 --> 01:06:36.240
to continue The Clash came to an indecisive end 
and General Lee was subsequently sent to take

01:06:36.239 --> 01:06:42.679
over the Confederate troops involved in light of 
Johnston's incapacity the war was looking more

01:06:42.679 --> 01:06:52.119
and more tiring but it was only mid 1862 and there 
was so much fighting left to do over the following

01:06:52.119 --> 01:06:57.400
months the union took nearly full control of 
the Mississippi iipp River with a success at

01:06:57.400 --> 01:07:04.960
the Battle of Memphis leaving now only Vicksburg 
in their way this was before Lincoln signed off on

01:07:04.960 --> 01:07:10.599
the second confiscation act which expanded on 
the first and supplied more opportunities for

01:07:10.599 --> 01:07:16.440
confederate slaves to be freed that was followed 
by the Battle of Cedar Mountain and the Second

01:07:16.440 --> 01:07:22.760
Battle of Bull Run which saw a Confederate victory 
that would soon be overshadowed by Northerners

01:07:22.760 --> 01:07:28.760
discovering General Lee's plans for the next 
engagement that next Clash would be the Battle

01:07:28.760 --> 01:07:37.240
of antium which remains to this day the bloodiest 
24 hours in the history of the entire Civil War

01:07:37.239 --> 01:07:43.439
the Confederate attempts to launch a large-scale 
invasion of Union territory had failed around the

01:07:43.440 --> 01:07:50.039
same time that the South's hopes of winning over 
Kentucky through the Heartland campaign still the

01:07:50.039 --> 01:07:55.679
pressure was increasing from Great Britain as it 
was on the verge of joining the war diplomatically

01:07:55.679 --> 01:08:02.359
ly in support of the Confederates willing to do 
almost anything to prevent such a catastrophe for

01:08:02.360 --> 01:08:08.320
the north president linkoln finally announced his 
intention to pass the Emancipation Proclamation

01:08:08.320 --> 01:08:15.960
by the start of 1863 if the war was not over 
by now though the Native Americans had also

01:08:15.960 --> 01:08:21.880
been picking sides choosing whoever they believed 
would win and provide them with additional rights

01:08:21.880 --> 01:08:29.880
by the war's end the final month of 18 62 saw the 
brutal Battle of Fredericksburg which allegedly

01:08:29.880 --> 01:08:35.880
got so bad for the union that a Confederate 
Sergeant Kirkland couldn't help but run onto

01:08:35.880 --> 01:08:42.640
the battlefield and begin treating the Yankee 
wounded prompting a temporary ceasefire in the

01:08:42.640 --> 01:08:48.720
end however the union war department had been 
too slow to provide supplies for their men and

01:08:48.720 --> 01:08:55.560
the soldiers were unable to keep up the poorly 
organized attack the South had won yet another

01:08:55.560 --> 01:09:02.920
battle with Northern morale plummeting Lincoln's 
popularity dropping and Union men deserting

01:09:02.920 --> 01:09:09.399
president Davis of the Confederacy finally reacted 
to the proposed Emancipation Proclamation he

01:09:09.399 --> 01:09:16.960
declared that it was nothing more than an attempt 
to excite survi war and furthermore added that any

01:09:16.960 --> 01:09:24.279
black US soldiers would not be treated by the 
same standards as white prisoners of War Days

01:09:24.279 --> 01:09:31.159
Later the Battle of Stones River would finally 
bring about some Union revenge and a much needed

01:09:31.159 --> 01:09:38.599
morale boost it also marked the final days of 1862 
over a year and a half of the war had already gone

01:09:38.600 --> 01:09:49.000
by but it was far from over January 1st 1863 
marks the Monumental shift of meaning for the

01:09:49.000 --> 01:09:57.560
Civil War although not in the way that many today 
are under the impression at did the Emancipation

01:09:57.560 --> 01:10:05.080
Proclamation didn't actually free all slaves 
and in fact was only intended to free slaves

01:10:05.079 --> 01:10:12.960
in Rebel States though not all of them southern 
secessionist states that were already occupied

01:10:12.960 --> 01:10:20.880
by the north were exempt from the proclamation as 
were all border states furthermore those States

01:10:20.880 --> 01:10:27.159
who had left the union for the Confederacy and 
were not exempt weren't going to just let go of

01:10:27.159 --> 01:10:34.239
the slaves that they've been fighting all this 
time to keep this meant that Northern military

01:10:34.239 --> 01:10:43.159
enforcement would be required for the proclamation 
to mean anything nevertheless the act itself meant

01:10:43.159 --> 01:10:52.159
something to so many it also officially allowed 
black men to join the Union Army and Navy opening

01:10:52.159 --> 01:10:59.119
the doors for hundreds of thousands of freedom 
craving men to join the war effort by the end of

01:10:59.119 --> 01:11:08.159
it all roughly 200,000 black soldiers had risked 
their lives to protect their fellow countrymen

01:11:08.159 --> 01:11:14.639
at the same time the north enacted a draft for 
its citizens the Confederacy had done the same

01:11:14.640 --> 01:11:23.240
a year prior but for the union this was a sign 
of the times the war wasn't going as smoothly as

01:11:23.239 --> 01:11:30.840
President Lincoln had hoped thus as conscription 
went into effect in the north both sides prepared

01:11:30.840 --> 01:11:40.319
for battle once more the union had two goals at 
the moment take down General Lee and Richmond

01:11:40.319 --> 01:11:48.399
and capture Vicksburg thus fully controlling the 
Mississippi River the latter objective was highly

01:11:48.399 --> 01:11:55.239
concerning for the South which had thus far been 
struggling to maintain their Tennessee Border as

01:11:55.239 --> 01:12:01.399
as the Mississippi Tennessee and Cumberland 
Rivers made it hard to keep the Northerners

01:12:01.399 --> 01:12:08.639
out furthermore General Grant had already seized 
control of the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers

01:12:08.640 --> 01:12:16.119
with a capture of Fort Henry and Fort donalson 
Union Admiral David faragate had also taken New

01:12:16.119 --> 01:12:22.319
Orleans cutting the Confederates off from the Gulf 
of Mexico while the capture of Memphis had nearly

01:12:22.319 --> 01:12:29.920
wrestled the Mississippi away from the south 
already still without Vicksburg this couldn't

01:12:29.920 --> 01:12:41.239
be done Grant was now determined to take the city 
and the river with it in the summer of 1862 he had

01:12:41.239 --> 01:12:47.920
made his first attempt alongside General William T 
Sherman but the early attempt ended in a decisive

01:12:47.920 --> 01:12:55.520
defeat and withdraw at the Battle of the chikasaw 
Bayou although the Northerners were ready to Try

01:12:55.520 --> 01:13:04.000
Again by The Following spring up until this point 
Grant and his men had struggled to even gain

01:13:04.000 --> 01:13:12.600
access to Vicksburg due to the surrounding swamps 
bayu and otherwise seemingly impregnable terrain

01:13:12.600 --> 01:13:21.600
feeling Innovative and quite a bit stubborn Grant 
put his men to work to change this for weeks they

01:13:21.600 --> 01:13:28.640
drained bayus built Bridges and formed roads 
that could actually be utilized to reach the

01:13:28.640 --> 01:13:36.960
city trekking along their newly constructed path 
through Louisiana and across the river Grant and

01:13:36.960 --> 01:13:46.000
his army marched into battle having been called on 
by the general to assist rear Admiral David Dixon

01:13:46.000 --> 01:13:52.840
Porter led a naval Force along the river to back 
the land troops despite being under heavy fire

01:13:52.840 --> 01:14:00.079
from Confederate defenses Porter and his men ran 
the gauntlet like Champs losing only a single ship

01:14:00.079 --> 01:14:10.559
in the process and providing necessary support to 
Grant by April 29th 1863 everyone was in position

01:14:10.560 --> 01:14:19.720
and ready to launch the attack Grant's plan was 
as follows Sherman would be sent to feain an

01:14:19.720 --> 01:14:27.360
attack at Snyder's Bluff Colonel Benjamin Garrison 
would leave need a raid further Inland to bring

01:14:27.359 --> 01:14:34.799
Confederate forces away from Vicksburg Porter 
would continue to provide reinforcement to the

01:14:34.800 --> 01:14:43.000
lands troops and Major General John A mcland and 
his 13th Army Corps would aim for another landing

01:14:43.000 --> 01:14:50.479
on the East Bank of grand Gulf this bank was 
heavily fortified with confederate Defenders at

01:14:50.479 --> 01:14:58.759
the ready but Grant was confident in his strategy 
starting off the Fay was Porter and his gunboats

01:14:58.760 --> 01:15:06.760
which opened fire around 8:00 a.m. targeting Fort 
Wade followed by Fort cin and their defenses the

01:15:06.760 --> 01:15:12.480
southerners responded with their own artillery 
fire rather immediately triggering a battle

01:15:12.479 --> 01:15:20.159
that would last for hours into the afternoon the 
union Navy eventually overpowered Fort Wade but

01:15:20.159 --> 01:15:27.720
then began to struggle with the less susceptible 
Fort cin even with the initial success against

01:15:27.720 --> 01:15:34.000
the first Fort subsequently Porter and Grant 
eventually decided to pull back as they saw

01:15:34.000 --> 01:15:41.520
the second line of defense as impenetrable the 
battle of the grand Gulf had ended and Grant had

01:15:41.520 --> 01:15:50.280
once more hit a brick wall Vicksburg was feeling 
more and more Untouchable but the general refused

01:15:50.279 --> 01:15:58.679
to quit while Grant had his sights locked on 
Berg Union general Joseph Hooker was tasked

01:15:58.680 --> 01:16:08.200
with something about the thorn in the north 
side that thorn was General Lee Hooker also had

01:16:08.199 --> 01:16:14.519
Ambitions of seizing the Confederate capital 
city but that couldn't be done without first

01:16:14.520 --> 01:16:23.640
getting the Slick Virginian out of his way thus 
hooker and his army of 115,000 prepared for an

01:16:23.640 --> 01:16:32.119
attack on Lee's DWI kindled force of only 60,000 
the union Commander split his troops into three

01:16:32.119 --> 01:16:38.479
sending two thirds over to Frederickburg to feain 
an assault there while hooker took the rest of his

01:16:38.479 --> 01:16:47.399
men to the real Target Lee knowing what was coming 
decided to take a strategic gamble considering his

01:16:47.399 --> 01:16:55.559
numerical inferiority he first divided out 10,000 
of his 60,000 men which would be Comm commanded by

01:16:55.560 --> 01:17:03.680
General jubil early these troops would remain in 
Fredericksburg to defend the city meanwhile Lee

01:17:03.680 --> 01:17:11.560
would take the left over 50,000 soldiers to face 
off with hooker's Army of the bomac in a forest

01:17:11.560 --> 01:17:20.520
just west of Chancellorsville battle erupted for 
some reason despite the clear advantage in numbers

01:17:20.520 --> 01:17:27.640
and his prior enthusiasm hooker suddenly ordered 
his men to fall back in defensive positions giving

01:17:27.640 --> 01:17:35.039
Lee a new Edge in yet another bold move the 
confederate general then split his troops yet

01:17:35.039 --> 01:17:41.519
again this time sending his trusty colleague 
Stonewall Jackson with one portion around the

01:17:41.520 --> 01:17:48.600
Union's Left Flank Stonewall marched his men 
straight into battle with the Union 11 Corp

01:17:48.600 --> 01:17:54.960
Lee on the other hand would soon catch wind of 
an approaching Union force to the east prompting

01:17:54.960 --> 01:18:03.159
him to again divide his men so he could Face Off 
With His attackers near Salem Church the battle

01:18:03.159 --> 01:18:10.960
overall would result in an unexpected and rather 
spectacular Confederate Victory but there would

01:18:10.960 --> 01:18:19.319
be one Casualty that the South would soon suffer 
heavily from in particular the death of stone wall

01:18:19.319 --> 01:18:26.920
Jackson while returning to camp in the dark of 
night alongside some of his men the 18th North

01:18:26.920 --> 01:18:32.760
Carolina Infantry Regiment opened fire without 
waiting for the group to identify themselves as

01:18:32.760 --> 01:18:40.520
they believed them to be Union Soldiers Stonewall 
was shot three times in the process twice in the

01:18:40.520 --> 01:18:49.280
left arm and once in the right hand over the next 
few days he would have his left arm amputated

01:18:49.279 --> 01:18:55.880
and shortly died of pneumonia complications 
the response from General Lee would indicate

01:18:55.880 --> 01:19:03.440
what a symbolic blow this was for the South 
I have lost my right arm I'm bleeding at the

01:19:03.439 --> 01:19:12.960
heart after the rebel Victory though at a steep 
cost the Confederates looked for another win

01:19:12.960 --> 01:19:19.880
diplomatically responding to the Emancipation 
Proclamation Jefferson Davis solidified his

01:19:19.880 --> 01:19:25.520
earlier statements and more through the 
retaliatory act which went so so far as

01:19:25.520 --> 01:19:33.960
enabling the execution of Northern black soldiers 
and their white officers this Hefty political move

01:19:33.960 --> 01:19:40.239
was followed by another series of armed clashes 
of course the Battle of Raymond would see a union

01:19:40.239 --> 01:19:47.880
Triumph in Mississippi but the Battle of Jackson 
was a bit more indecisive meanwhile Grant had

01:19:47.880 --> 01:19:54.640
been busy finally chipping away at the path 
to his ultimate Target the roads to Vicksburg

01:19:55.319 --> 01:20:02.199
is open grants told William T Sherman in a 
request for reinforcements the Confederate

01:20:02.199 --> 01:20:07.800
higher ups were currently caught in disputes 
over their next move opening up the door for

01:20:07.800 --> 01:20:16.199
the union to take full advantage this would result 
in the highly significant Battle of champion Hill

01:20:16.199 --> 01:20:24.359
and the hill of death as deemed by Alvin P hovi 
after the fact the result was a Monumental Union

01:20:24.359 --> 01:20:31.039
victory Tory and a huge step forward for Grant 
and his Vicksburg campaign another Triumph for

01:20:31.039 --> 01:20:36.720
the campaign at the Battle of The Big Black River 
Bridge would follow putting increasing pressure

01:20:36.720 --> 01:20:45.280
on Vicksburg as the Yankees were Now set up to 
besiege the city 15 miles of trenches were in the

01:20:45.279 --> 01:20:55.079
works as the siege of vickburg began Grant was 
confident that this time the city would be his

01:20:55.079 --> 01:21:02.600
The Siege began on May 18th trapping the 29,000 
strong Confederate Force Under General John C

01:21:02.600 --> 01:21:10.200
pton and the civilians of Vicksburg in the city 
with no supplies and under constant brain rattling

01:21:10.199 --> 01:21:18.599
bombardment pton and all those remaining in the 
city after 47 days surrendered on the 4th of July

01:21:18.600 --> 01:21:30.600
1863 Grant's dreams had come true he had taken 
Vicksburg and thus the Mississippi but a lot had

01:21:30.600 --> 01:21:38.200
happened elsewhere in his absence the Battle 
of Brandy Station in Virginia played out in

01:21:38.199 --> 01:21:45.920
early June and would set the record as the largest 
Cavalry clash in the entire War the tussle ended

01:21:45.920 --> 01:21:51.600
with the Union troops being styed and another 
battle only days later the Battle of second

01:21:51.600 --> 01:21:58.920
Winchester cleared the Yankees from the shenon DOA 
Valley it seems that Grant's luck was better than

01:21:58.920 --> 01:22:07.399
his comrades although the Union as a whole found a 
victory on June 20th when West Virginia officially

01:22:07.399 --> 01:22:14.599
joined it as a new state this gave the Northerners 
something to celebrate but just days later and

01:22:14.600 --> 01:22:21.440
hours before Grant would seize Vicksburg one of 
the most tragic events of the war and America's

01:22:21.439 --> 01:22:31.159
history was to take place the Battle of Gettysburg 
General Robert E Lee was the man responsible

01:22:31.159 --> 01:22:37.559
hoping to move the conflict out of War exhausted 
Virginia Lee looked to take the fighting straight

01:22:37.560 --> 01:22:47.039
to the north starting in Pennsylvania with a 
75,000 strong Army Lee marched into the union

01:22:47.039 --> 01:22:56.279
state tailed by Union General George Gordon me and 
his 95,000 men the opposing forces march on until

01:22:56.279 --> 01:23:03.159
they reach the town of Gettysburg where Lee stops 
and begins preparation for the brutal attack that

01:23:03.159 --> 01:23:11.319
is to come meanwhile Confederate Major General 
Henry Heth was on his way to wle when his Force

01:23:11.319 --> 01:23:18.840
stumbles upon that of Union Brigadier General 
John Buford the latter fires on the former and

01:23:18.840 --> 01:23:27.119
the battle unexpectedly Begins the Confederates 
respond well to Union fire and start pushing the

01:23:27.119 --> 01:23:34.559
Northerners back along Chambersburg Pike though 
stalled the southerners are not being stopped

01:23:34.560 --> 01:23:41.800
Major General John F Reynolds Union 1 and 11 
cores soon arrive to support Buford but it still

01:23:41.800 --> 01:23:48.720
wouldn't be enough Reynolds is fatally shot in 
the neck just as the battle is picking up and more

01:23:48.720 --> 01:23:55.760
Confederate reinforcements are joining the fight 
General Robert rhs and general juble early clash

01:23:55.760 --> 01:24:03.280
with the Union troops nearby and together the 
rebels begin to box the Yankees in at Gettysburg

01:24:03.279 --> 01:24:11.599
as the union line collapses many soldiers are able 
to flee along a nearby railroad but others are now

01:24:11.600 --> 01:24:19.720
stuck in the town the remaining Defenders decide 
to regroup on Cemetery Hill to the South holding

01:24:19.720 --> 01:24:27.440
out in a fish hook formation the union men are 
still surrounded by Southerners though the battle

01:24:27.439 --> 01:24:35.919
is not yet lost Union general Dan sickles acts 
next taking his three cores up to emmittsburg

01:24:35.920 --> 01:24:42.560
Road and the peach orchard where they run into 
Confederate forces under the command of General

01:24:42.560 --> 01:24:50.440
James Long Street sickle's plan backfires abruptly 
requiring General Mees to send the entirety of his

01:24:50.439 --> 01:24:58.000
five core troops to support him with long street 
now focusing his attack on the union left General

01:24:58.000 --> 01:25:05.359
Lee sends Hill to take the center and general 
Richard uul to go for the right long Street's

01:25:05.359 --> 01:25:12.279
men hit sickles around Devil's Den and little 
rounds top but to shockingly no avail as the

01:25:12.279 --> 01:25:19.599
union scrambles to bring in more reinforcements 
over at the peach orchard to the contrary sickle's

01:25:19.600 --> 01:25:28.079
men Faire quite worse casualties are already 
t in up in unimaginable numbers as day two of

01:25:28.079 --> 01:25:35.439
the battle rages on the Yankees quickly fill the 
Gap left behind by the reinforcements sent to Aid

01:25:35.439 --> 01:25:42.679
sickle and managed to knock the rebels back at the 
center to the right generals uul and early aim to

01:25:42.680 --> 01:25:50.440
Route the Northerners on and around Cemetery Hill 
as Darkness rolls in the union holds off at first

01:25:50.439 --> 01:25:56.839
but the Confederates soon overwhelm The Defenders 
nor than reinforcements would shortly renew the

01:25:56.840 --> 01:26:03.520
fighting on the hill however but meanwhile 
another confederate general Edward Johnson

01:26:03.520 --> 01:26:10.120
launches an attack on the union extreme right 
at kulps Hill with many of these troops having

01:26:10.119 --> 01:26:17.880
been sent to assist elsewhere Union General George 
Green is left with only 1,300 men to fight off the

01:26:17.880 --> 01:26:28.199
4,500 Confederates numerical superiority AIDS the 
southern but Green's men hang in there as day two

01:26:28.199 --> 01:26:37.000
winds to a close Gettysburg has already become the 
bloodiest battle of the Civil War day three will

01:26:37.000 --> 01:26:46.359
be no better for most as morning comes General Lee 
sends reinforcements to his men at culps Hill but

01:26:46.359 --> 01:26:54.359
so does General me the tables have now turned 
and it's the rebels who lack proper numbers

01:26:54.359 --> 01:27:03.319
nevertheless the Confederates engage and a 7-hour 
fay commences at first the Confederates seemed to

01:27:03.319 --> 01:27:11.079
be better off but by noon the tide has turned 
in the Union's favor Lee instead of calling

01:27:11.079 --> 01:27:18.760
more troops to the aid of the right orders a 
fullscale attack on the union left something me

01:27:18.760 --> 01:27:27.600
had stunningly predicted making him the first to 
actually outsmart Robert E Lee the center assault

01:27:27.600 --> 01:27:34.960
would turn into the largest artillery barrage to 
ever occur in the Western Hemisphere a spectacular

01:27:34.960 --> 01:27:42.319
show but to no success for the Confederates as the 
southerners are forced to March through a mile of

01:27:42.319 --> 01:27:50.479
open unprotected ground leading across emmittsburg 
Road the Northerners open heavy fire ripping apart

01:27:50.479 --> 01:27:57.439
the rebel attack as Lee pushes for the assault 
to continue the Confederates attempt a last ditch

01:27:57.439 --> 01:28:05.719
effort to collapse the union rear with an attack 
led by General Jeb Stewart but this fails too the

01:28:05.720 --> 01:28:14.560
entire Southern offensive is collapsing on every 
side and it soon becomes clear that the Yankees

01:28:14.560 --> 01:28:21.960
have won the Battle of Gettysburg eventually 
accepting that fact Lee withdraws toward the

01:28:21.960 --> 01:28:31.000
pomac and back into Virginia it is said that Lee 
told his men as early as in their Retreat that the

01:28:31.000 --> 01:28:37.920
entire situation was his fault and he believed 
this so deeply that he offered his resignation

01:28:37.920 --> 01:28:46.319
to President Jefferson Davis after the fact and 
his guilt was not without reason his attempts to

01:28:46.319 --> 01:28:53.000
take the war to the North had caused casualties so 
high that the wounded alone outnumbered citizens

01:28:53.000 --> 01:29:02.560
of the town 12 to1 more than 50,000 men had been 
killed wounded or missing by the end of the 3

01:29:02.560 --> 01:29:09.520
days homes and churches had to be transformed 
into hospitals for the wounded and bullet holes

01:29:09.520 --> 01:29:16.000
riddle the town part of the battlefield would 
shortly be turned into a national cemetery for

01:29:16.000 --> 01:29:25.680
fallen Union Soldiers slain Confederates were not 
so lucky after the catastrophe that was Gettysburg

01:29:25.680 --> 01:29:33.360
the Union victory was in many ways overshadowed 
by the tragedy itself and the still ongoing War

01:29:33.359 --> 01:29:39.639
not only that but the excitement for many of the 
54th Massachusetts colored infantry becoming the

01:29:39.640 --> 01:29:46.560
first African-American volunteer regiment to see 
combat in the war was marred by the draft riots

01:29:46.560 --> 01:29:53.039
that followed angry New Yorkers who felt that 
the conscription system favored the rich began

01:29:53.039 --> 01:30:01.600
to attack the Dr craft office and black churches 
and the anger swiftly spread the South was fairing

01:30:01.600 --> 01:30:07.760
little better however as the war was radically 
draining its economy and raising the question

01:30:07.760 --> 01:30:15.159
of how much longer they could even continue to 
fight skirmishes and smallscale clashes carried

01:30:15.159 --> 01:30:23.760
on through July at the end of the month President 
Lincoln issued general order 252 declaring that

01:30:23.760 --> 01:30:31.440
for for every black us prisoner of war executed by 
the south one Confederate prisoner of war would be

01:30:31.439 --> 01:30:41.079
killed in return tensions were on the rise and 
the rebels didn't react well Laurence Kansas

01:30:41.079 --> 01:30:50.000
was set to face the South's wrath as the day 
began on August 21st 1863 Rebel gorillas led by

01:30:50.000 --> 01:30:57.439
William Clark quantril led a raid on the town that 
resulted in a massacre much of Lawrence was burnt

01:30:57.439 --> 01:31:07.319
to the ground and at least 160 men and boys were 
murdered this wasn't even War it was a mass scale

01:31:07.319 --> 01:31:15.519
homicide and it represented the extreme anger and 
Desperation felt by many from the south as the war

01:31:15.520 --> 01:31:24.040
carried on and the Confederacy struggles to keep 
up as such the union soon captured Chattanooga

01:31:24.039 --> 01:31:31.439
GA Tennessee elsewhere at the Battle of chaga the 
Confederates found some hope with a victory and

01:31:31.439 --> 01:31:39.559
general braxon Bragg followed It Up by launching 
a Siege on Union occupied Chattanooga Lee and me

01:31:39.560 --> 01:31:45.840
meanwhile clashed in Virginia at the Bristo 
station campaign Abraham Lincoln gave the

01:31:45.840 --> 01:31:52.520
Gettysburg address at the dedication of the 
soldiers National Cemetery and Lee was aiming

01:31:52.520 --> 01:31:59.280
to hold out the Confederate War efforts just 
long enough to manipulate low Northern morale

01:31:59.279 --> 01:32:07.319
into electing a southern sympathizer in Lincoln's 
upcoming reelection sadly for the rebels however

01:32:07.319 --> 01:32:14.279
the siege of Chattanooga eventually failed and 
Bragg was forced into Georgia while another

01:32:14.279 --> 01:32:23.960
Confederate Siege on Knoxville also fell short the 
South had started the war strong but it seems that

01:32:23.960 --> 01:32:32.520
all the North's technical advantages were finally 
paying off both sides wanted the war to end but

01:32:32.520 --> 01:32:41.360
neither was ready to give in Lee's ultimate plan 
could still work but Lincoln had another offer to

01:32:41.359 --> 01:32:51.759
make any Confederate willing swear an oath to the 
United States and your Rebel acts will be forgiven

01:32:51.760 --> 01:32:59.520
by now the union was ready to try and truly [ __ ] 
the Confederacy by launching a campaign aimed at

01:32:59.520 --> 01:33:07.000
digging even deeper into important Southern 
territories this would be the largest army

01:33:07.000 --> 01:33:14.840
navy combined campaign to be launched at any point 
throughout the war the main target was the capital

01:33:14.840 --> 01:33:22.159
of Louisiana shreport which if captured could 
potentially give the Northerners an opportunity

01:33:22.159 --> 01:33:31.479
to next dig into Texas the whole thing however 
was problematic from the very start for one on

01:33:31.479 --> 01:33:38.199
the Navy side rear Admiral David Dixon Porter had 
agreed to join the campaign under the assumption

01:33:38.199 --> 01:33:45.199
that Major General William T Sherman would be the 
land commander and Sherman himself had intended to

01:33:45.199 --> 01:33:52.239
do so but with General ulyses Grant preoccupied 
with other Northern objectives and insisting

01:33:52.239 --> 01:33:58.920
that Sherman stay and assist him Major General 
Nathaniel P Banks would instead be the one to

01:33:58.920 --> 01:34:07.319
take the Reigns something Porter nor Sherman were 
pleased to hear in fact Sherman even went as far

01:34:07.319 --> 01:34:14.840
to send a contingent of his own men 10,000 of 
his very best torter specifically stating that

01:34:14.840 --> 01:34:22.319
this favor was in case Banks abandoned the naval 
forces if his own land troops got into trouble and

01:34:22.319 --> 01:34:30.039
the problem with General Banks was that he wasn't 
even much of a military man technically he wasn't

01:34:30.039 --> 01:34:38.720
one at all he was a politician more than anything 
which is exactly why he needed this campaign for

01:34:38.720 --> 01:34:46.400
the military experience and hopefully success 
that it would bring him the problem then with

01:34:46.399 --> 01:34:53.879
Banks's plan was the fact that he intended to 
use three entirely separate forces Porter's 19

01:34:53.880 --> 01:35:01.840
boat strong Fleet Banks own 20,000 men from the 
New Orleans area and Major General Frederick steel

01:35:01.840 --> 01:35:07.960
with another 10,000 coming from Little Rock since 
none of these groups could communicate with each

01:35:07.960 --> 01:35:16.159
other easily throughout the campaign the entire 
plan begs to become an unorganized disaster or

01:35:16.159 --> 01:35:25.399
as one Union general said one damn blunder from 
beginning to end the red River campaign ended in

01:35:25.399 --> 01:35:32.399
a Yankee Retreat and a much- needed break for the 
Rebels the Confederates also managed to seize Fort

01:35:32.399 --> 01:35:40.119
Pillow in Tennessee around the same time murdering 
300 surrendered Union soldiers in the process

01:35:40.119 --> 01:35:47.199
many of whom were black General Grant shortly 
after demanded that all prisoner exchange talks

01:35:47.199 --> 01:35:55.239
be halted until the South agreed to treat black 
prisoners of war the same as white Grant was also

01:35:55.239 --> 01:36:02.319
busy preparing for what would be one of the most 
horrendous engagements of his entire career the

01:36:02.319 --> 01:36:13.639
battle of the Wilderness Lee's army will be your 
objective where he goes there you will go also

01:36:13.640 --> 01:36:22.520
and thus the Northerners would this Lee chasing 
Army consisted of the army of the pomac jointly

01:36:22.520 --> 01:36:30.040
commanded by Major generals Governor K Warren 
Winfield s Hancock and John Sedrick alongside

01:36:30.039 --> 01:36:38.560
Ambrose Burnside and his independent ninth Corp on 
the Confederate side was General Lee the chased at

01:36:38.560 --> 01:36:46.400
the helm working with him however was a bit of a 
rag tag group of commanders as the South was still

01:36:46.399 --> 01:36:53.519
reeling and struggling to recover from the loss 
of Stonewall Jackson Lee's right hand nevertheless

01:36:54.159 --> 01:37:01.559
AP Hill and Richard s uul though not as skilled 
as Stonewall were ready to fill the gaps and

01:37:01.560 --> 01:37:08.600
Lee's close friend at James Long Street was 
prepared to tag along in the early days of

01:37:08.600 --> 01:37:15.079
May General Grant had opted to take his men out 
of the Wilderness of Spotsylvania and into open

01:37:15.079 --> 01:37:21.960
ground in their preparations for a face off with 
the Confederates Lee on the other hand had ordered

01:37:21.960 --> 01:37:27.920
his men to try and trap tra the union troops in 
a battle within the Wilderness as the difficult

01:37:27.920 --> 01:37:35.119
terrain would give the southerners the upper hand 
these simultaneous strategies eventually led to

01:37:35.119 --> 01:37:41.720
the Northerners catching wind of the approaching 
Rebels General Warren reacted by sending out a

01:37:41.720 --> 01:37:47.640
division to investigate the situation while the 
rest of the Union forces attempted to avoid a

01:37:47.640 --> 01:37:55.079
possible Clash before escaping the wooded terrain 
the situation however would not end in the Yankees

01:37:55.079 --> 01:38:02.559
favor the very moment we appeared they gave us 
a volley at long range but evidently with very

01:38:02.560 --> 01:38:09.280
deliberate aim and with serious effect a union 
officer would later Testify the Confederate

01:38:09.279 --> 01:38:16.359
force that Warren had aimed to Simply investigate 
was actually the entire core under General Ule

01:38:16.359 --> 01:38:24.599
and upon being watched they reacted with rapid 
hostility the battle began at saund field and

01:38:24.600 --> 01:38:31.720
evolved into what one described as bushwacking 
on a grand scale as the thick foresting made for

01:38:31.720 --> 01:38:38.480
a confusing Battlefield over with General Hill 
another battle had broken out Along The Plank

01:38:38.479 --> 01:38:44.159
Road as the Confederates there ran into General 
sedwick's division in their attempts to cut the

01:38:44.159 --> 01:38:51.880
Northerners off from the highly important Brock 
Road for the first portion of each engagement the

01:38:51.880 --> 01:38:58.880
favor seems to shift back back and forward with 
no clear winner but the outnumbered Southerners

01:38:58.880 --> 01:39:05.880
were surely disadvantaged under Hill General Long 
Street was intended to come and assist Hill and

01:39:05.880 --> 01:39:12.440
his attack as nightfell which caused the ladder 
to hold off from re-engaging at dawn As Long

01:39:12.439 --> 01:39:20.559
Street was yet to arrive this meant that the union 
attacks that morning proved disastrous for Hill

01:39:20.560 --> 01:39:28.240
that is until long Street's heroic AR Ral hours 
behind schedule the battle around Plank and Brock

01:39:28.239 --> 01:39:33.960
roads would thus carry on for a while longer 
with what seemed to be a growing Confederate

01:39:33.960 --> 01:39:42.720
favor for some time but would eventually end 
in eventual though partial Union victory the

01:39:42.720 --> 01:39:48.880
southerners would complete the Endeavor with the 
upper hand however after General John B Gordon

01:39:48.880 --> 01:39:56.279
routed Yankee troops along the turnpike on May 
6th even taking two Union Generals as prisoners

01:39:56.279 --> 01:40:03.199
in the process the consequence for the north 
was damning the battle had cost them double the

01:40:03.199 --> 01:40:10.720
number of casualties as it had the South and the 
situation became so dire that General Grant wildly

01:40:10.720 --> 01:40:19.000
uncharacteristically broke down in tears in his 
tent at word of the situation yet Grant nor the

01:40:19.000 --> 01:40:26.720
north was ready to give up instead of following 
the Battle with a full retreat they marched on

01:40:26.720 --> 01:40:36.199
Deeper South to Richmond throughout May the union 
was now daringly carrying out two simultaneous

01:40:36.199 --> 01:40:44.800
campaigns grants Overland and Sherman's Atlanta 
the Overland campaign had begun with the battle

01:40:44.800 --> 01:40:51.199
of the Wilderness and the depressing draw at 
best couples with the Raging Fire the battle

01:40:51.199 --> 01:40:58.479
had caused it all seemed like a bad Omen for 
the newly launched campaign but as Grant told

01:40:58.479 --> 01:41:07.839
a reporter there is no turning back the campaign 
was far from over in fact the next Clash occurred

01:41:07.840 --> 01:41:14.480
only hours later at the Spotsylvania Courthouse 
where Lee managed to stall his adversary yet

01:41:14.479 --> 01:41:23.439
again for 2 weeks straight until Grant finally 
disengaged after losing roughly another 18,000

01:41:23.439 --> 01:41:30.199
men the union general pushed on for Richmond 
off and on clashes would follow as Grant and

01:41:30.199 --> 01:41:36.000
his men trudged towards the Confederate capital 
and the Battle of Cold Harbor would see the

01:41:36.000 --> 01:41:45.279
union take another unwanted hit after 6 weeks the 
campaign came to a close but not before racking up

01:41:45.279 --> 01:41:53.559
around 55,000 Northern casualties and seeing the 
third and fourth bloodiest battles of the entire

01:41:53.560 --> 01:42:01.960
War still Grant was aiming for a war of attrition 
now and to this extent with the battle of the

01:42:01.960 --> 01:42:11.119
South having totaled around 33,000 casualties the 
union had actually claimed a strategic victory

01:42:11.119 --> 01:42:16.399
over with General Sherman he and his men had 
been ordered to take the key Confederate city

01:42:16.399 --> 01:42:23.439
of Atlanta and thus beginning in Tennessee 
they started their March as the campaign

01:42:23.439 --> 01:42:32.599
carried on a few things were happening elsewhere 
in the Union on June 8th 1864 for example Abraham

01:42:32.600 --> 01:42:38.880
Lincoln officially received the nomination 
for reelection unfortunately for Grant news

01:42:38.880 --> 01:42:46.680
for him was less positive as many in DC were now 
calling him the butcher due to his strategy of

01:42:46.680 --> 01:42:54.680
sacrificing tens of thousands of men now in hopes 
of saving more later by ending the war or sooner

01:42:54.680 --> 01:43:01.800
furthermore other battles were ongoing such as the 
Battle of Bryce's Crossroads where General Samuel

01:43:01.800 --> 01:43:07.840
Sturgis was crushed by the highly outnumbered 
Confederate Force Under General Nathan Bedford

01:43:07.840 --> 01:43:16.079
Forest Sherman however was Ill concerned about 
his comrades labors as his campaign would prove

01:43:16.079 --> 01:43:23.239
triumphant after a string of combat along 
the way the Confederates under General John

01:43:23.239 --> 01:43:29.439
Hood would eventually Retreat from the city of 
Atlanta entirely surrendering it to the incoming

01:43:29.439 --> 01:43:35.839
Yankees the latter would hold the city until 
November at which point Sherman had ordered for

01:43:35.840 --> 01:43:42.760
all military resources in the city to be burned 
to the ground which would unintentionally result

01:43:42.760 --> 01:43:50.520
in an out ofcontrol fire that leveled the city as 
the heat of the summer beat down on both battle

01:43:50.520 --> 01:43:57.520
worn and battle ready men of North and South 
the Confederates too were attempting to make

01:43:57.520 --> 01:44:04.760
significant moves confederate general jubil early 
was hoping to take pressure off of Petersburg and

01:44:04.760 --> 01:44:10.600
Richmond which had been under siege by the 
union since the end of the Overland campaign

01:44:10.600 --> 01:44:17.600
thus he clashed with Northerners at the Battle of 
Monocacy in Maryland where he would ultimately win

01:44:17.600 --> 01:44:23.120
but many from the north still claimed it to be 
a tactical Victory and stopping the Confederates

01:44:23.119 --> 01:44:29.960
from reaching DC early would eventually reach the 
defenses of Washington nonetheless but he would

01:44:29.960 --> 01:44:36.960
withdraw from the attack the same day as the war 
thus raged on through the summer it wasn't just

01:44:36.960 --> 01:44:43.760
the land forces who saw battle one contest in 
particular saw a joint effort at the start of

01:44:43.760 --> 01:44:52.039
August when the north aimed its sights at Mel 
Alabama the Battle of Mel Bay technically just

01:44:52.039 --> 01:44:58.479
outside of moel B Alabama was a joint land 
and Naval effort by the north to capture the

01:44:58.479 --> 01:45:04.359
Confederate Port that had become increasingly 
crucial for the south after the fall of New

01:45:04.359 --> 01:45:12.960
Orleans Union Admiral David faragut sped his Fleet 
through the bay behind four ironclads to take on

01:45:12.960 --> 01:45:19.840
the small Confederate flotilla and two formidable 
forts standing in the way the battle was well

01:45:19.840 --> 01:45:27.039
fought by the Confederates But ultimately ended 
in a I Victory though the city of Mel itself would

01:45:27.039 --> 01:45:36.359
remain in Confederate hands nevertheless the port 
now belonged to the north violence was still at a

01:45:36.359 --> 01:45:43.639
high around Petersburg as well Jew to the ongoing 
Siege and the following month a battle broke out

01:45:43.640 --> 01:45:52.000
at Winchester again for the third time following 
his attempted attack on Washington General jubil

01:45:52.000 --> 01:45:57.600
early had remained in the shenendoa valley 
which the South had been using for some time

01:45:57.600 --> 01:46:04.680
now to launch their incursions against the north 
this eventually led to the union deciding it was

01:46:04.680 --> 01:46:13.400
time to free the shin andoa of their adversaries 
sending General Philip Sheridan to do the deed the

01:46:13.399 --> 01:46:19.639
battle officially broke out at Winchester when 
General Sheridan and his army of the shenendoa

01:46:19.640 --> 01:46:25.960
were attempting to pass through the narrow canyon 
near Barry rille Pike the Confederates in the form

01:46:25.960 --> 01:46:33.079
of General Steven D ramer's division open fire 
essentially trapping the soldiers and wagon trains

01:46:33.079 --> 01:46:40.359
within the canyon the goal wasn't necessarily 
to defeat the drastically larger Union force

01:46:40.359 --> 01:46:46.639
but rather to stall its Advance giving General 
early enough time to race the remainder of his

01:46:46.640 --> 01:46:54.320
forces to join the defense after having heard 
of Sheridan's upcoming attack by the time the

01:46:54.319 --> 01:47:00.159
Northerners finally gathered themselves enough 
to launch their own assault Major General Robert

01:47:00.159 --> 01:47:10.399
E rhs and John B Gordon had arrived to Aid Ramer 
and the fight was on the Yankees slowly but surely

01:47:10.399 --> 01:47:17.239
beat down the Confederates under Ramer while his 
comrades fought their own battles all around him

01:47:17.239 --> 01:47:23.000
General Gordon and his men were locked in one of 
those clashes although they seemed to be fairing

01:47:23.000 --> 01:47:29.439
in a bit better for the time being the grass and 
Earth was cut and torn up by a perfect sheet of

01:47:29.439 --> 01:47:37.000
lead bullets sought the hiding places of the men 
with fatal accuracy blood was on everything was

01:47:37.000 --> 01:47:44.000
everywhere was spattered on bushes was gathered in 
ghastly puddles on the ground was the description

01:47:44.000 --> 01:47:51.279
given by one of the Union Soldiers present General 
rhs was also launching a strong Counterattack

01:47:51.279 --> 01:47:58.920
nearby as both Ramer and Gordon were gaining 
ground even if it was ground they had previously

01:47:58.920 --> 01:48:05.640
lost as the battles raged on the Northerners 
began to worry that the whole exertion could end

01:48:05.640 --> 01:48:14.520
up going in the rebels favor thus General Sheridan 
decided to call in backup from an old friend I've

01:48:14.520 --> 01:48:23.160
got crook here with 10,000 men and I am going to 
throw them in and whip these fellows in the end

01:48:23.159 --> 01:48:30.559
Sheridan wasn't entirely wrong the Confederates 
would face defeat and the city fell to the union

01:48:30.560 --> 01:48:36.080
and what seems to be a pattern of recent this 
would prove to be the bloodiest battle ever fought

01:48:36.079 --> 01:48:42.519
in the shed andoa Valley with Sheridan losing 
over 10% of his entire Army in the hard-fought

01:48:42.520 --> 01:48:49.680
victory the Confederates would lose roughly 4,000 
scarcely less than the much larger Union force

01:48:49.680 --> 01:48:58.680
they had faced yet Sheridan was wasn't done with 
jubil early in fact he still wanted him out of

01:48:58.680 --> 01:49:06.920
the shenendoa entirely after the battle of third 
Winchester early had worked to withdraw back to

01:49:06.920 --> 01:49:14.239
Fisher's Hill which he believed would provide 
safety for his absolutely rattled troops known

01:49:14.239 --> 01:49:22.199
as the Gibralter of the valley the hill could be a 
crucial grounds to hold if properly defended early

01:49:22.199 --> 01:49:29.159
however was unable to even set up proper defenses 
before Sheridan and his army arrived on their

01:49:29.159 --> 01:49:38.039
heels General crook sent off by Sheridan ambushed 
jubil early and his men on their Left Flank while

01:49:38.039 --> 01:49:44.760
the other Union forces served as a distraction 
the Confederates despite their best efforts were

01:49:44.760 --> 01:49:52.199
forced to retreat yet again being chased until 
Woodstock the following months would see the union

01:49:52.199 --> 01:49:59.800
Ina the burning to downright destroy the Bread 
Basket of the Confederacy and eventually wrestle

01:49:59.800 --> 01:50:07.920
the whole of the shenendoa Valley from the south 
alt together the union was looking more and more

01:50:07.920 --> 01:50:16.840
Grim for the rebels over in the union it appeared 
that the war was as close as ever to ending in the

01:50:16.840 --> 01:50:23.239
previous months it had been General Robert E Le's 
belief that if he and his Confederates could hold

01:50:23.239 --> 01:50:30.199
off for just long enough the war exhausted and 
dissatisfied Northerners would choose to elect a

01:50:30.199 --> 01:50:39.279
southern sympathizing president in their upcoming 
election this never came to fruition however the

01:50:39.279 --> 01:50:44.880
election had come down to a Faceoff between the 
Republican incumbent President Abraham Lincoln

01:50:44.880 --> 01:50:52.920
of course and his old wishy-washy General George 
mclen of the democratic party President Lincoln

01:50:52.920 --> 01:51:00.000
and his VP Andrew Johnson would win in an 
electoral college Landslide though the popular

01:51:00.000 --> 01:51:06.840
vote wasn't embarrassingly far off between the 
two candidates the electoral votes divided up to

01:51:06.840 --> 01:51:15.600
212 votes for the commanderin-chief and 21 for his 
Challenger if Lee had any hopes left of the Union

01:51:15.600 --> 01:51:23.480
government ending the war favorably for both sides 
they must have been like a dying Flame rubbing

01:51:23.479 --> 01:51:31.279
salt into the wound in November General Sherman 
of the north began his March to the Sea after

01:51:31.279 --> 01:51:37.960
the fall of Atlanta and the subsequent Confederate 
Retreat Sherman decided to really Hammer home his

01:51:37.960 --> 01:51:46.079
Triumph splitting his army in two Sherman himself 
took one portion 62,000 strong on a journey

01:51:46.079 --> 01:51:52.519
through the state of Georgia until they reached 
Savannah with a sole goal of wreaking havoc

01:51:53.479 --> 01:51:59.439
the Northerners on one hand began to destroy 
Confederate infrastructure and Necessities

01:51:59.439 --> 01:52:06.599
such as Farms railroads and the like at the same 
time while Sherman ordered his men to refrain from

01:52:06.600 --> 01:52:14.640
murdering any Southern civilians he also wanted to 
make their lives absolutely miserable the thought

01:52:14.640 --> 01:52:21.000
process was that if the rebels lost Mass amounts 
of infrastructure and material as well as the

01:52:21.000 --> 01:52:26.279
support of their Everyday People people their 
war effort would collapse and the union would

01:52:26.279 --> 01:52:35.880
officially win once and for all thus the yanes did 
just that as they marched towards the Savannah for

01:52:35.880 --> 01:52:43.119
the most part no one Disturbed their destruction 
effort though at one point Sherman and his army

01:52:43.119 --> 01:52:50.439
skirmished with a wildly outnumbered Confederate 
Cavalry that ended up having to flee alt together

01:52:50.439 --> 01:52:57.239
they too ironically took a scorched Earth approach 
on their March ahead of the Union men Burning

01:52:57.239 --> 01:53:04.599
Bridges Barns and anything the Northerners could 
have used to their advantage the latter still

01:53:04.600 --> 01:53:11.600
reached Savannah as planned and took the city 
presenting it to the newly reelected president

01:53:11.600 --> 01:53:19.680
as an early and grandiose Christmas gift the end 
of the year also saw the battle move to Tennessee

01:53:19.680 --> 01:53:27.039
where the southerners were crushed at the Battle 
of Nashville and as the holidays passed 1864 wound

01:53:27.039 --> 01:53:35.159
to a close as the war still failed to be resolved 
though the South appeared to be losing Steam and

01:53:35.159 --> 01:53:42.960
the north quite the contrary the Confederates were 
yet to consider surrender it would be difficult

01:53:42.960 --> 01:53:53.079
but not impossible to carry on and so they would 
fittingly as if to come full circle the focus of

01:53:53.079 --> 01:54:01.960
the war now lay on the Carolinas where it all 
began the union brought the battle to North

01:54:01.960 --> 01:54:09.600
Carolina in the early days of 1865 with a second 
assault on the crucial Confederate stronghold of

01:54:09.600 --> 01:54:15.480
Fort fiser a few months prior the North had 
actually attempted to take the North Carolina

01:54:15.479 --> 01:54:23.399
Port but It ultimately failed and thus decided 
to try again in January for before this endeavor

01:54:23.399 --> 01:54:29.920
to seize the South's only remaining sea port on 
the Atlantic Major General Alfred Terry was put

01:54:29.920 --> 01:54:36.600
in charge of the army of the James portion of the 
campaign while rear Admiral David D Porter led a

01:54:36.600 --> 01:54:44.000
Navy Marine force of roughly five dozen vessels 
and their troops the land troops would be split

01:54:44.000 --> 01:54:51.399
into two portions one US colored Troops commanded 
by Brigadier General Charles J Payne and the other

01:54:51.399 --> 01:54:58.479
division teaming up with the Marines and sailors 
under Brigadier General adelbert Ames the latter

01:54:58.479 --> 01:55:04.919
would hit the fort itself while the former aims 
to take out the Confederate Defenders under Major

01:55:04.920 --> 01:55:13.480
General Robert hul the incursion went remarkably 
smoothly Hox scarcely put up any real resistance

01:55:13.479 --> 01:55:20.759
and though fighting over the fort itself proved 
rough the Yankees found victory that same evening

01:55:20.760 --> 01:55:27.720
this was not only a military Triumph but also 
a major win for Grant's strategy of a war of

01:55:27.720 --> 01:55:35.680
attrition and it was just the start of the Union's 
harassment of the Carolinas General Sherman was on

01:55:35.680 --> 01:55:44.960
his way a month after the hit on North Carolina 
Sherman invaded its lower neighbor the target was

01:55:44.960 --> 01:55:52.399
Colombia and the goal was actually an utter 
Rampage through the already evacuated City

01:55:52.399 --> 01:55:58.159
a drunken soldier with a musket in one hand and 
a match in the other is not a pleasant visitor to

01:55:58.159 --> 01:56:05.039
have about the house on a dark windy night one 
Union general remarked of the sack between the

01:56:05.039 --> 01:56:11.680
destruction dished out by the soldiers themselves 
and raging fires that no one quite knows who

01:56:11.680 --> 01:56:19.520
actually started the city was over half leveled by 
the end of it all in the words of Sherman himself

01:56:19.520 --> 01:56:26.040
though I never ordered it and never wished it I 
have never shed any tears over the event because

01:56:26.039 --> 01:56:34.920
I believe that it hastened what we all fought for 
the end of the war back up north only days later

01:56:34.920 --> 01:56:41.680
the Confederates faced another disaster the union 
capture of Fort fiser and the later evacuation of

01:56:41.680 --> 01:56:48.000
Fort Anderson on the Cape Fear River meant that 
the Yankees had a pretty easy shot at moving all

01:56:48.000 --> 01:56:55.560
the way down to seiz Wilmington and rendevu 
with Sherman and his men General hul on the

01:56:55.560 --> 01:57:01.960
other hand was aiming to set up a strong defense 
over Wilmington while waiting for reinforcements

01:57:01.960 --> 01:57:09.520
under Lieutenant General William J Hardy to 
arrive Ho's early defense would be impressive

01:57:09.520 --> 01:57:16.760
even earning him the nickname of the ston wall of 
Forks Road nevertheless inferior numbers forc the

01:57:16.760 --> 01:57:24.920
rebels to tactically withdraw from Sugarloaf and 
move their defensive lines to Forks Road Hox sent

01:57:24.920 --> 01:57:31.640
word to Hardy that he believed they could in fact 
keep the Union forces out of Wilmington upon his

01:57:31.640 --> 01:57:40.480
arrival but Hardy would never arrive after all 
in fact it was General braxon Bragg's authority

01:57:40.479 --> 01:57:48.000
to the former who ordered Hardy not to go to 
Wilmington and stunningly despite hoa's continued

01:57:48.000 --> 01:57:54.800
successful efforts to repel Union attacks at Forks 
Road mags then ordered the tenacious General and

01:57:54.800 --> 01:58:04.320
his thousands of seasoned veterans to abandon 
Wilmington altogether and so they did back home

01:58:04.319 --> 01:58:11.920
in the Union as the war raged on down south the 
second inauguration of Abraham Lincoln took place

01:58:11.920 --> 01:58:21.359
on March 4th 1865 as eager Northerners flooded 
DC in the face of incessant rain and ridiculously

01:58:21.359 --> 01:58:27.719
muddy roads to witness the historic event one 
would almost fail to believe that the general

01:58:27.720 --> 01:58:34.680
satisfaction in President Lincoln had actually 
suffered greatly at times throughout the war

01:58:34.680 --> 01:58:41.840
even among the cheering crowds however there still 
stood those who refused to see the good in their

01:58:41.840 --> 01:58:52.400
leader one such man in particular was John wils 
Booth the president's future assassin although

01:58:52.399 --> 01:58:58.639
would not act now it is said that he later made 
remarks about how close he was to Lincoln and how

01:58:58.640 --> 01:59:05.079
easily he could have killed him at that moment 
furthermore underscoring the state of tensions

01:59:05.079 --> 01:59:11.319
in the north despite the president's successful 
reelection famed abolitionist and freed slave

01:59:11.319 --> 01:59:18.479
Frederick Douglas stated of the inauguration 
I felt then that there was murder in the air

01:59:18.479 --> 01:59:27.039
I felt that I might see him fall that day it 
was a vague presentiment but Abraham Lincoln

01:59:27.039 --> 01:59:33.720
would not fall that day and the inauguration 
went on steadily enough as the president gave

01:59:33.720 --> 01:59:41.960
a powerful speech to eager citizens hanging on to 
his every word it marked a day of Celebration and

01:59:41.960 --> 01:59:50.600
hope which would days later be starkly contrasted 
to the mood of the South as General Sherman took

01:59:50.600 --> 01:59:58.240
yet another one of his cities the paper said 
Sherman and his army were struggling through

01:59:58.239 --> 02:00:03.519
the swamps in the Carolinas and it was greatly 
feared that the Confederates would get together

02:00:03.520 --> 02:00:09.280
and do them up before they could get to Coast 
what a lot of faint Hearts they must be down

02:00:09.279 --> 02:00:15.519
there in New York the words of Theodore Upson 
demonstrated the Steep irony of the worried

02:00:15.520 --> 02:00:21.960
Northerners who had no idea of the scorched 
Earth Rampage Sherman and his men had been on

02:00:22.520 --> 02:00:29.560
taking and burning towns to the ground the general 
and his army were far from struggling and not only

02:00:29.560 --> 02:00:35.280
were the Confederates failing to get together 
and defeat the Yankees but the rebels were

02:00:35.279 --> 02:00:43.880
instead evacuating City by city as Sherman would 
near and the next of these towns to fall to the

02:00:43.880 --> 02:00:52.159
union would be fville as North Carolina continues 
to be battered by the Northerners finally though

02:00:52.159 --> 02:00:58.159
Sherman would face significant resistance as 
he attempted to lead his men out of fville

02:00:58.159 --> 02:01:06.159
toward Bentonville the southerners in spite of 
it all still weren't ready to throw in the towel

02:01:06.159 --> 02:01:12.239
assume command of the army of Tennessee and all 
troops in Department of South Carolina Georgia

02:01:12.239 --> 02:01:20.319
and Florida concentrate all available forces and 
drive back Sherman these were General Lee's words

02:01:20.319 --> 02:01:26.719
to General Joseph E Johnston whom he'd recently 
convinced President Jefferson Davis to approve

02:01:26.720 --> 02:01:33.360
as the replacement for General PGT borgard who 
had thus far failed to impress the Confederate

02:01:33.359 --> 02:01:40.479
commanderin-chief as Sherman was inching closer 
and closer to meeting up with General Grant Lee

02:01:40.479 --> 02:01:49.359
knew that something had to be done and Sherman 
knew something was coming on the one hand with the

02:01:49.359 --> 02:01:56.599
Yankees divided into two thir 3,000 strong groups 
under orders to keep a close eye out for incoming

02:01:56.600 --> 02:02:04.720
Confederates those Rebels they spoke of were not 
yet United either General Hardy had just arrived

02:02:04.720 --> 02:02:10.640
at Raleigh after a small Skirmish at fville while 
the hesitant to participate in what he saw as a

02:02:10.640 --> 02:02:18.360
lost cause General Johnston was still on his 
way to join his comrade I can whip Joe Johnston

02:02:18.359 --> 02:02:24.399
Sherman had confidently asserted as he and his 
men marched to W Goldsboro under the shadow of the

02:02:24.399 --> 02:02:31.839
impending attack but as more Confederate troops 
came near it didn't seem quite so clear that the

02:02:31.840 --> 02:02:39.720
Northerners would in fact whip their adversaries 
when the battle actually began the Confederates

02:02:39.720 --> 02:02:45.640
did take an early Advantage it wasn't until the 
union managed to get off their Counterattack that

02:02:45.640 --> 02:02:51.840
the tidde changed and the Yankee reinforcements 
pushed Johnston and his troops into a withdrawal

02:02:52.560 --> 02:02:59.039
I can do no more than annoy him Johnston told 
Lee of the man who had been all too prepared to

02:02:59.039 --> 02:03:07.199
win from the start Sherman couldn't be stopped 
now nor could the union and the South knew it

02:03:07.199 --> 02:03:13.239
it would only be a matter of weeks before 
no one was left in denial the Confederate

02:03:13.239 --> 02:03:22.079
flame was dying like a match scarcely shielded 
from a swift gust of icy wind Lee knew it John

02:03:22.079 --> 02:03:31.239
knew it they all did and yet they weren't ready 
to give up not yet General Lee and General John

02:03:31.239 --> 02:03:38.840
B Gordon in particular couldn't let go just yet 
instead they opted to embark on what would become

02:03:38.840 --> 02:03:46.640
known as Lee's last offensive as the struggle was 
closing in on Petersburg Virginia at the end of

02:03:46.640 --> 02:03:55.640
March Lee and Gordon concocted a daring plan with 
the aim of seizing Union controlled Fort Stedman

02:03:55.640 --> 02:04:02.200
with generals William Wallace James Walker 
and Robert ransome Gordon awaited the perfect

02:04:02.199 --> 02:04:09.599
second to launch his ingenious Ambush one of the 
General's Sharpshooters Oscar Whitaker describes

02:04:09.600 --> 02:04:15.920
the waiting period thus General Gordon got us to 
close up around him that night while he stood on

02:04:15.920 --> 02:04:22.800
a stump and told us how Lee was situated what a 
long line we were having to keep up in front of

02:04:22.800 --> 02:04:29.840
us he said was Fort Stedman he told us if we would 
take it he would have our names in every paper in

02:04:29.840 --> 02:04:37.239
the south of course we being old Soldiers told 
him he would do it he told us for not a man to

02:04:37.239 --> 02:04:44.639
load his gun and at a signal from him to rush 
over to the Fort knock down and drag out and he

02:04:44.640 --> 02:04:51.640
would have 50,000 troops in behind us the troops 
next did their best Shakespearean performance

02:04:52.319 --> 02:04:57.880
sending out a group of armed soldiers to the 
federal picket line to feain desertion as their

02:04:57.880 --> 02:05:06.119
Commander convincingly shouted oh boys come back 
don't go the next sounds to be heard were that of

02:05:06.119 --> 02:05:15.319
gunfire at hands toand combat with a three- shot 
signal from Gordon's revolver the battle was on

02:05:15.319 --> 02:05:21.759
daylight was yet to break as the Confederates 
launched themselves into action in a formation

02:05:21.760 --> 02:05:27.960
with Pioneer detachments leading Columns of 
Sharpshooters followed by infantry the southerners

02:05:27.960 --> 02:05:33.920
moved forward the deception tactic continued 
as Gordon's commanders had already learned the

02:05:33.920 --> 02:05:40.800
identity of the fort's officers so they could pass 
as more Confederate deserters or even fellow Union

02:05:40.800 --> 02:05:47.720
troops who were simply falling back while the 
chaos erupted under the early morning Darkness

02:05:47.720 --> 02:05:54.400
the rebels focused on their targets battery 10 
for General General Walker and batteries 11 and

02:05:54.399 --> 02:06:02.319
12 for General Evans furthermore a Cavalry Force 
stayed position to join the scuffle once the union

02:06:02.319 --> 02:06:10.159
obstacles were dealt with truly rounding out the 
southern assault for the union men of the fort

02:06:10.159 --> 02:06:17.439
nothing made sense Slumber card games and what 
it seems to be a typical night on guard were

02:06:17.439 --> 02:06:24.000
interrupted by gunfire cheering Southerners as 
batteries were beaten and the unexpected presence

02:06:24.000 --> 02:06:31.279
of Rebel Sharpshooters right in their faces 
eventually the fort opened fire with cannons but

02:06:31.279 --> 02:06:38.359
the Confederates under Captain Carson managed to 
escape the line of fire unscathed the captain then

02:06:38.359 --> 02:06:44.199
ordered men to put a bullet through any Yankee in 
sight and it wouldn't take long for northerners

02:06:44.199 --> 02:06:51.840
to begin to surrender still two entire Union 
regiments were yet to even realize that the Amber

02:06:51.840 --> 02:06:58.000
was underway until they themselves were 
bombarded by the Invaders any chance of

02:06:58.000 --> 02:07:04.159
the Yankees putting up any relevant defensive 
seemed nearly non-existent by now and a brave

02:07:04.159 --> 02:07:09.760
yet insufficient effort to retake what they were 
losing under brette Brigadier General Napoleon

02:07:09.760 --> 02:07:15.760
McLaughlin crumbled in an instant as general 
Gordon waltzed into the fort to personally

02:07:15.760 --> 02:07:23.480
relieve McLaughlin of his command claiming at this 
point that his men's success had thus far exceeded

02:07:23.479 --> 02:07:32.399
his own expectations if the South needed a morale 
booster they were getting it now after taking Fort

02:07:32.399 --> 02:07:38.960
Stedman the Confederates turned their sights 
on the nearby Fort Haskell and Fort mcgilvery

02:07:38.960 --> 02:07:43.800
the first thing the boys knew they were firing 
down our line from the right to the left of the

02:07:43.800 --> 02:07:49.400
regiment one northerner recall to the next Advance 
the boys were asleep in their bunks at the first

02:07:49.399 --> 02:07:57.000
volley but grabbed guns and CAU boxes not even 
stopping to dress some were barefooted some only

02:07:57.000 --> 02:08:03.279
with shirts and pants on the regiment had been 
practically cut in two the right took shelter

02:08:03.279 --> 02:08:11.039
in the rear in some old rifle pits while C B&G 
ran into Fort Haskell he continued unfortunately

02:08:11.039 --> 02:08:16.720
for General Gordon however the Defenders of this 
fort had actually been alerted of the approaching

02:08:16.720 --> 02:08:24.560
Army and the rebels proved unable to push past the 
subsequent gunfire as they arrived the Confederate

02:08:24.560 --> 02:08:30.800
forces elsewhere were also meeting some resistance 
now as the element of surprise no longer aided

02:08:30.800 --> 02:08:38.039
them but alas the Yankees were still struggling to 
stay upright the attackers were inches away from

02:08:38.039 --> 02:08:44.279
a total Victory as day broke and the union men 
voled to keep them out of additional Forts and

02:08:44.279 --> 02:08:51.159
City Point Confederates attempting to take Fort 
mcgilvery were captured others were hammered with

02:08:51.159 --> 02:08:59.639
Union fire General Gordon was growing exacerbated 
what had happened to his spectacular assault the

02:08:59.640 --> 02:09:07.560
southerners were now not only grasping to regain 
the upper hand but they were trapped they still

02:09:07.560 --> 02:09:13.840
held Fort stemman but Forts mcgilvery and 
Haskell remained in Union hands as did the

02:09:13.840 --> 02:09:21.360
land surrounding Fort stman meaning the rebels 
had nowhere to even go without a surrender

02:09:23.079 --> 02:09:29.359
running out of ammunition and opportunity 
General Gordon made The Reluctant call to

02:09:29.359 --> 02:09:36.559
attempt a retreat a place of fearful Slaughter 
the retreat was called as the Yankees drilled the

02:09:36.560 --> 02:09:43.160
fleeing Confederates with artillery and gunfire 
the victims had ceased fighting and were now

02:09:43.159 --> 02:09:51.479
struggling between imprisonment on the one hand 
and death or home on the other 2,600 of those

02:09:51.479 --> 02:09:58.119
victims Southerners wouldn't make it home 
the utterly heart-shattering loss for the

02:09:58.119 --> 02:10:02.840
Confederates at Fort stemman would be quickly 
followed by another defeat at the Battle of

02:10:02.840 --> 02:10:10.400
Five Forks by this point General Lee was beginning 
to accept the fate of his efforts seeing no hope

02:10:10.399 --> 02:10:17.479
left of holding off the North Lee decided it was 
finally time to abandon Petersburg and Richmond

02:10:17.479 --> 02:10:24.239
letting both crucial cities fall to the Union 
in a monument mental blow to what was left of

02:10:24.239 --> 02:10:33.920
the Confederate resistance the war was dwindling 
to a close but the biggest hit was Yet to Come

02:10:33.920 --> 02:10:39.480
April 9th would see the worst of it all for 
the Confederates the next few hours would Mark

02:10:39.479 --> 02:10:47.799
possibly the biggest Fall From Grace of the entire 
War as Lee and his men withdrew from the besieged

02:10:47.800 --> 02:10:54.199
cities of Petersburg and Richmond their journey 
to toward North Carolina and their fellow troops

02:10:54.199 --> 02:11:02.239
under Johnston took them in the direction of appam 
matic's Courthouse with Yankees hot on their tail

02:11:02.239 --> 02:11:08.319
many Rebels were simply giving up and deserting 
while few were left with any eagerness or real

02:11:08.319 --> 02:11:14.840
hope Lee was becoming increasingly surrounded 
as the union closed in on the biggest thorn in

02:11:14.840 --> 02:11:24.400
their side for the past few years armed conflict 
erupted once more more though stunningly at the

02:11:24.399 --> 02:11:31.039
Confederate initiative the unshakable and 
rather ambitious General Gordon wanted to

02:11:31.039 --> 02:11:39.199
try yet another offensive triggering a battle at 
aamax Courthouse Gordon's plan just as at Fort

02:11:39.199 --> 02:11:45.639
Stedman started with Great Southern favor but 
the tide eventually turned and the exacerbated

02:11:45.640 --> 02:11:53.200
Lee knew that there was no coming back from this 
point beaten exhausted and and out of options Lee

02:11:53.199 --> 02:11:59.840
said there is nothing left for me to do but to 
go and see General Grant and I would rather die

02:11:59.840 --> 02:12:08.000
a thousand deaths unfortunately for Lee and his 
wish for death over surrender the ladder was the

02:12:08.000 --> 02:12:16.079
only plausible option for his army of Northern 
Virginia thus Lee sent word to grant that it was

02:12:16.079 --> 02:12:24.559
time to come to the table at 1:00 in the home of 
Wilmer McLean the two great generals of the Civil

02:12:24.560 --> 02:12:31.560
War were now face to face the meeting began with 
an odd exchange of small talk between the men who

02:12:31.560 --> 02:12:37.240
had scarcely known each other prior with their 
only real interaction having come from during

02:12:37.239 --> 02:12:44.479
the Mexican American War the interaction quickly 
evolved into surrender negotiations during which

02:12:44.479 --> 02:12:51.119
Grant was quite generous in offering out Pardons 
and even Union rations for the starving Rebels

02:12:51.680 --> 02:12:59.800
Lee would soon accept the set out terms and the 
surrender was concluded Grant had finally bested

02:12:59.800 --> 02:13:06.880
his Southern counterpart but when his men began 
to cheer in celebration he silenced all those

02:13:06.880 --> 02:13:16.680
celebrating in the face of Lee the war is over 
the rebels are our countrymen again the war as

02:13:16.680 --> 02:13:23.840
granted said was over at least for the most part 
smallscale battles would continue through April

02:13:23.840 --> 02:13:31.239
into may but none more than last ditch efforts 
by rebels in denial General Johnston and his

02:13:31.239 --> 02:13:37.719
troops would surrender on April 26th General 
Richard Taylor on May 4th and the last major

02:13:37.720 --> 02:13:44.640
Army under General Simon bivar Buckner on May 
26th after the final battle and Confederate

02:13:44.640 --> 02:13:53.320
win on the 12th in palmo Ranch Texas When The 
War ended the United States of America were no

02:13:53.319 --> 02:14:00.880
longer referred to as a plural unit people went 
from saying the United States are to the United

02:14:00.880 --> 02:14:09.000
States is though reconstruction and healing 
would take time it would work out but even if

02:14:09.000 --> 02:14:16.000
in the end there was unity and more strength than 
ever before there was also a Monumental amount of

02:14:16.000 --> 02:14:26.800
money and lives that have been lost this bloody 
war in US history costing $6.7 billion saw the

02:14:26.800 --> 02:14:38.760
death of 290,000 rebels 365,000 Yankees 50,000 
civilians and 880,000 slaves it was the first

02:14:38.760 --> 02:14:45.800
modern war in terms of its upgraded weaponry and 
Technology adjacent to the scale of Destruction

02:14:45.800 --> 02:14:54.480
and the conflict itself in the end the side of 
emancipation unity and industrialization among

02:14:54.479 --> 02:15:06.199
much more one America survived though hundreds of 
thousands of its men women and children did Not

02:15:06.199 --> 02:15:12.519
Looking Back Now the Civil War can be viewed as a 
senseless period of violence that could have been

02:15:12.520 --> 02:15:21.440
solved instead by words and policies for others 
it's viewed as a moral war between good and bad

02:15:21.439 --> 02:15:29.519
or Freedom versus slavery the real meaning and 
necessity of the conflict May forever be up for

02:15:29.520 --> 02:15:40.760
debate but today if you ask anyone outside the 
United States every American is a Yankee thank

02:15:40.760 --> 02:15:46.159
you for watching our video you can get early 
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02:15:46.159 --> 02:15:51.559
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02:15:51.560 --> 02:16:06.640
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