Section 3: The Tide of War Turns

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Chapter 11

• Section 3 The Tide of War Turns

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Victories for General Lee

• Ambrose Burnside became Commander of the Union
  forces
• The Battle of Fredericksburg
• Burnside quickly advanced into VA
• Decided to cross the Rappahannock River directly
  in front of Lees forces

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• Thought Lee would be surprised
• Lee let them cross the river
• December 13, 1862
• Burnside ordered charge after charge
• Heavy losses for the Union
• Burnside was relieved of command

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The Battle of Chancellorsville

• Joseph Fighting Joe Hooker
• Plan was to move the Union Army around
  Fredericksburg attack the Confederate strong
  defense from behind
• Gen Jeb Stuart discovered Hookers force camped
  near Chancellorsville

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• Lee sent most of his army there
• Battle began on May 1, 1863
• Union began to march towards Fredericksburg
  found Lees army right in front of them
• Union pulled back into the woods to build defenses

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• When Confederates didnt attack, North thought
  they retreated
• Instead Lee divided his army again sent Jackson
  on a 12 mile march around the Union
• Attack was halted by darkness (good for the Union)

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• Jackson other officers went to scout Union, on
  their way back, their troops thought they were
  the enemy shot out
• Jackson was hit three times, one shattering his
  left arm (amputated)
• Confederate victory on May 3rd
• Jackson died on May 10th

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The Battle of Gettysburg

• June 1863- Lee marched north
• Food supplies were becoming scarce
• Hoped to get some in PA hoped for a victory on
  northern soil

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July 1, 1863

• At first Confederates outnumbered the Union
• Pushed them back onto some hills south of the
  town
• Gen. George Meade was the new Commander for the
  north

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• Center of their line was a long hill called
  Cemetery Ridge
• Confederates- another series of hills called
  Seminary Ridge
• Between these two ridges was a large field
  several hundred yards wide

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• Confederates won day 1
• Lee decided to attack again
• July 2
• Gen. James Longstreet- Lees second in command,
  wasnt ready to fight until 4pm
• Gave Meade the chance to bring up reinforcements

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• South noticed that Little Round Top was almost
  undefended they rushed up to capture the hill
• Col. Joshua Chamberlain 350 soldiers were
  ordered to defend the position
• Held off repeated attacks until they ran out of
  ammo

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• Chamberlain ordered a bayonet charge
• Confederates retreated back down the hill
• July 3rd
• Began with a brief Confederate attack on the
  north end of the Union line

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• Then there was quiet
• Then 150 Confederate cannons started firing
• Some Union Generals thought they were covering
  their retreat
• Lee decided to risk everything against a charge
  on the center of the Union line

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• After two hours the Union guns stopped firing
• Longstreet then ordered a direct attack
• Union ceased fire to save ammo
• Union saw everything from Cemetery Ridge

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• Picketts Charge
• Three southern commanders led infantry divisions
  of about 5,000 men each
• Union artillery resumed firing
• Over in about 30 minutes

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• Ended the bloodiest battle of the war
• Union- 23,000 casualties
• Confederates 28,000 casualties
• Confederates retreated back to VA only July 4th

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Vicksburg, Mississippi

• Union needed to capture Vicksburg Port Hudson,
  LA to control the Mississippi
• Grant attacks
• Between Dec. 1862 April 1863 made several
  attempts to capture or bypass the city

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• Sent Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman to attack from
  the north- failed
• Dug a canal to bypass the citys guns- was too
  shallow
• Attacked from the north sent gunboats down
  another river- also failed

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• April 1863
• Marched his army down the LA side of the river
  crossed into Miss. South of Vicksburg
• Then moved east attacked Jackson, Miss.
• Drew forces away from Vicksburg to defend the
  capital

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• May 16th
• The two armies clashed at Champions Hill
• Grant won but couldnt capture Pembertons army
• Went back to Vicksburg

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• Late May
• After two more unsuccessful attacks Grant began a
  siege
• The Siege of Vicksburg
• Attacked from land sea for nearly a month
• To avoid being killed they dug caves on hillsides
• July 4th, they surrendered

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The Importance of 1863

• Started out awful for the north
• Former slaves could now celebrate independence
  day
• Marked the turning point in the war
• Vicksburg was in Union hands
• July 8th Port Hudson surrendered, Confederacy was
  cut in two

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The Gettysburg Address

• Nov. 19, 1863- 15,000 people gathered at
  Gettysburg
• Purpose was to dedicate a cemetery in honor of
  Union soldiers
• Reminded listeners of the norths reason for
  fighting the war- to preserve a young country