Notes

Section 2
00:00:00 Well, in the years 1861 to 1863, most of the victories were going in favor of the Confederacy. Their victories included the Battle of Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, the first and second Battles of Bull Run, and then the Seven Days Battle. The only battle that could be considered a Union victory was the battle of Antietam in Maryland. And it wasn't so much a victory as it was a draw, but
00:00:26 the Union did claim success of this particular battle. As a result, Union morale was very, very low, while Confederate morale was very high. And morale is the feeling that your troops have about the course of the war and their chances for success. Now, the Army in charge of this region is called the Union's Army of the Potomac, and they are the group losing most of these battles.
00:00:51 And Lincoln believes that it's a problem associated with his leadership, the generals in charge of his Army. And so he replaced several, including General George McClellan who's pictured here, Ambrose Burnside, and Joseph Hooker. However, in the West something quite different is happening. Union and Confederate forces are also engaged in the Western Theater, primarily over control of the
00:01:16 Mississippi River which is here. And Union generals are having quite a bit more success. The two commanders who have shown promise are Ulysses S. Grant and William Sherman. And Lincoln is going to turn to these two men to lead the course of the war in the days to come. Here the Union is winning some much needed victories which can hope to shift the morale in favor of the Union.
Section 4
00:00:00 Well now let's take a look at our objectives for this lesson. By the end of the lesson, you should be able to identify the reasons for the Union success in the West, to explain the significance of the capture of Vicksburg and New Orleans, and examine why the Union victory at Gettysburg was a turning point in the war.
Instruction
Section 1
00:00:00 Well let's start by taking a look at our lesson question. What shifted the Civil War in favor of the Union? Well, first we're going to take a look at the war in the West under the leadership of General Grant where the Union wins some badly needed victories. Next, we'll take a look at the Union plan to split the Confederacy in half, and how it's successful after the battles of New Orleans and Vicksburg.
00:00:21 And finally, we'll take a look at the Battle of Gettysburg, the turning point in the war that shifts the war in favor of the Union. But let's start by taking a look at the Western Theater. Why is it so important to Union victory?
Section 2
00:00:00 Well, first let's take a look at this map of the Western Theater and try to understand why it's so important to the war. First, the war is being fought in this area over control of the rivers, and that includes the Ohio River here, the Tennessee River here, and the Mississippi River here. And the reason this is important is because controlling these rivers would split the Confederacy.
00:00:23 So what do we mean by that? Well, let's take a look. Remember, this is the Confederate Territory, this territory here. This is all the Confederacy down here. Well, if the Union controlled these rivers, they would then split the Confederacy into pieces making it much more difficult for troops and supplies to
00:00:43 move over the line. And a great example is Texas here. So Texas has this very long coastline. So goods could come into Texas and then move across and into where all the real action is up here. And that was the Union plan from the beginning. To just split the Confederacy into pieces and make it much more difficult for the Confederates to resupply, to
00:01:04 keep their troops in ammunition and guns, and so forth. So again, controlling these rivers is extremely important. Because if the Confederates maintain control, they're going to be able to maintain those supply routes. So let's take a look at what's going on. The Confederates are controlling key river forts in the region, including Vicksburg in Mississippi when
00:01:24 the war begins. However, the Union's got some very strong armored gunboats, and you can see pictures of those here. And the Union also has more troops in the region, about 90,000 to the Confederacy's 70,000.
Section 4
00:00:00 Well you now know about the Union's plan to divide the Confederacy. One of the most important generals in the execution of that plan was Ulysses S. Grant. Now, he got his start in the Mexican-American War, and he's going to be very successful in the western theater, in those places that we mentioned on the map. As a result, by 1864 he's given command
00:00:22 of all Union armies. And he becomes an American hero. So much in fact that he is elected to the presidency in 1868. So let's take a look at a General Grant and his commanded Union forces in the western theater. As a commander, he was very different than the ones in the east.
00:00:41 Remember, Lincoln's biggest problem with his commanders in the Union Army in the Potomac is that they were not willing to take a risk, and as a result they suffered defeat after defeat. Well this was not Grant's problem. Instead, he was determined, willing to learn from his mistakes. And he is going to make mistakes.
00:00:57 However he's also going to be very successful. In 1862, he captured Fort Henry and For Donelson. These forts are located on the border between Kentucky and Tennessee. And you can see a painting from Fort Donelson, that battle here. And you can see here's the Union soldier in the middle, holding up that American flag.
00:01:16 Now these victories are going to be very important. They helped the Union maintain control of Kentucky, and also seize the vast majority of Tennessee. Next, we have the battle of Shiloh, which occurs in 1862. This is when the Confederates are going to strike back. This battle takes place in Shiloh, Tennessee, and it's one the most famous battles of the Civil War. It was a surprise attack led by the Confederates, and many
00:01:42 of his commanders urged General Grant to retreat, but he decided that he wasn't going to retreat. He's going to hold on and wait for reinforcements. And he successfully did that and then forced the Confederacy to retreat. Now, there were very, very heavy casualties, 20,000 total on each side. And just as a reminder, casualty means the number of
00:02:05 people who were either injured or killed in battle. And again, both sides are going to claim victory, but, again the Union did force the Confederacy to retreat. And it really shows Grant's toughness as a leader and his willingness to win at all costs.
Section 6
00:00:00 Well let's take another look at our lesson question. What shifted the Civil War in favor of the Union? And you now know about the Union plan to split the Confederacy in half by seizing the Mississippi River. And you've learned that one important general in this effort is General Ulysses S. Grant. Well, now we're going to take a look at two important events that are going to lead to the conclusion
00:00:22 that the Union desires. The first is the capture of the Port of New Orleans, and then the Battle of Vicksburg. Let's start with New Orleans.
Section 7
00:00:01 Now the Port of New Orleans was extremely important to the Confederacy. It's a key port at the mouth of the Mississippi River, and it was vital to Confederate trade. Now this fort was heavily defended by the Confederates. However, a Union admiral by the name of David Farragut is going to make a daring raid on the fort. He is successful, and you can see the battle
00:00:24 was absolutely fierce. This painting commemorates that event. But in the end, the Union does win and seized control of the city in late April of 1862. '62 Now that left just one fort left on the Mississippi River, that is the fort of Vicksburg. And you can see it here, it's the last fort
00:00:46 protecting the river. And once the Union controlled this fort, they would control the entire course of the river and they would also succeed in dividing the Confederacy. Now remember, the Confederate states of Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas would then be cut-off in trade with this part of the Confederacy here. So again, that was part of the Union plan to divide the
00:01:09 Confederacy in half, and seizing the port of Vicksburg would allow that to happen.
Section 9
00:00:00 Now, to capture the city of Vicksburg was going to be very, very difficult indeed. The city was extremely well defended. And the Union twice tried to take the city by force, first in 1862, and then 1863. And both times, Union forces were defeated. So a new plan of attack was needed. So Grant decides to place a siege on the city.
00:00:26 Now, a siege is a blockade, which means you cut the city off from supplies. You prevent people and supplies from coming or going into the city. And that siege began in 1863. And if you take a look at the picture here, you can see there's people dug into the hillsides here. That's because they're trying to protect themselves from the
00:00:49 bombs that are going off, in order to not be wounded in the attacks that are occurring. You can see this is just an ordinary house here. And then people are digging into the hillside beside this house. Now, as a result, living conditions were very, very challenging in the region. People start running out of food.
00:01:09 They don't have access to clean water. And eventually, they siege works. And about a month and a half later, the Confederacy surrenders the fort to the Union. Now again, the people who lived in Vicksburg went through a lot. So next you're going to read an excerpt from a diary of a woman who survived the siege at Vicksburg.
Section 11
00:00:00 Now, whenever you study wars, like the Civil War, it's very important that you are able to identify turning points. Because these are the event that helps shift the tide in favor of one side or the other. And it's important to note that the capture of Vicksburg is one such turning point. As a result of this battle, the Union wins the war in the west.
00:00:20 And as a result, they can take all those resources they had fighting in that theater and move everything to the east to win the war and bring it to a victory. It divided the Confederacy. Remember that was the Union plan, to cut off the eastern half of the Confederacy from resupply. It raised Union morale and hurt Confederate morale and also, importantly, led to Grant taking control of all
00:00:45 Union armies. So for the first time the Union army is headed up by a general with a track record for winning. And that's important to the war effort as well.
Section 13
00:00:01 Well, let's take another look at our lesson question. What shifted the Civil War in favor of the Union? Well, you now know that the war in the west is over. The Union has been successful. They've seized control of the Mississippi and they've split the Confederacy in half. They are therefore able to turn all of their attention to the east, and an important battle's about to occur, the
00:00:22 Battle of Gettysburg, which will shift the tide in favor of the Union until victory is assured.
Section 14
00:00:01 Well remember, the Confederate army is led by General Robert E. Lee. And up until 1863, he had not been defeated. He had won victory after victory. And with the exception of Antietam, which was a draw, he had been very, very successful. The problem was, almost all the battles had been fought in his home state of Virginia.
00:00:21 So this region, Virginia, is under heavy pressure. With many battles fought in the countryside, Lee got the idea that perhaps he could invade Union territory in order to take some of that pressure off. Now it's important to note that Lee has no intention of seizing all of the North. He doesn't need to conquer the North. All he needs to happen is for the North's will
00:00:43 to fight to be gone. He needs the people of the North to put pressure on their government to bring about a peace because, again, the Confederacy just wants to be left alone. They just want to become a separate nation. And if they start winning battles in Northern territory, he thinks that the people of the Union will not stand for it.
00:01:03 They'll start putting pressure on the government to negotiate with the Confederacy. So his plan is put into action in July of 1863. He decides to take his forces and invade the state of Pennsylvania. There, he's going to face an army led by General George Meade of the Union. Now in 1863, the two sides are going to meet in the town of
00:01:28 Gettysburg. And the Confederates are very successful on the first day of battle. They push the Union forces into defensive positions. And it looks like they're going to win. You can see here the battle is going to have very high casualties, very, very destructive. And in fact, it's one of the most significant battles in
00:01:47 the Civil War, when it comes to loss of life. So let's take a look and see what happens next. On July 2, the second day of the battle, Union reinforcements have arrived. Lee is going to try to break through those Union lines, but he's not going to be successful. And he tries again the next day on July 3. Now on this particular day, a battle
00:02:10 occurs within the battle. It's called Pickett's Charge. And it's called Pickett's charge after the name of the Confederate leader who led that charge. And he's going to lead 14,000 men into battle. And about half of them are going to be killed or wounded. And as a result of those very heavy losses General Lee is forced to retreat back to Virginia.
00:02:30 So let's take a look at our casualties. This is very significant for the Confederacy because, as you see here, they're going to lose about 1/3 of their forces in this one battle. And Lee is never going to recover from these losses. We can also see that the Union losses are also quite high, but they have a little more room to work with, and they have more reinforcements available.
00:02:56 So again, this particular battle is going to spell an end for the Confederacy. They're not going to win many battles after this. In fact, this is when the Union starts to turn the tide towards victory.
Section 16
00:00:00 Now, Gettysburg is also a turning point in the war. So why is it a turning point? First, it ended hopes of Europe allying with the Confederacy. Many Confederates had hoped that either Britain or France would come and recognize the Confederacy as an independent nation or even provide it with military aid. And most European leaders, after this battle, felt that
00:00:23 the Union would certainly win the war and no one was willing to negotiate with the Confederacy any longer. It also, as we discussed, greatly weakened Lee's army from which it could never recover. And then, finally, it really raised Union morale and hurt Confederate morale. Because remember up until that point Lee had been victorious in virtually every battle.
00:00:44 People felt he was unbeatable. And this really showed how fallible he truly was. So the morale is definitely going to shift to the Union. And again, this is really the turning point that's going to decide the war for good. After the battle was over, again, remember the loss of life was just horrendous. And in 1863, the Union decided to construct a military
00:01:10 cemetery at Gettysburg. And President Lincoln is going to give a speech at the dedication of that cemetery called the Gettysburg Address. It's perhaps the most famous speech given by a president in American history. It's certainly one of the most influential. And you will be reading excerpts from that speech in your assignment.
Section 18
00:00:00 Well, in addition to being home to a national cemetery, Gettysburg is also a national military park. It's one of many parks across the eastern seaboard with Civil War ties, and it gets maintained by the National Park Service. It's visited by thousands of guests every year, including students like yourself.
Summary
Section 1
00:00:00 Well, you should now be able to answer your lesson question. What shifted of the Civil War in favor of the Union?
Section 2
00:00:00 Well let's take a look at what you learned in this lesson. First you learned about the Western Theater. Remember battles were fought in this theater over control of the rivers, especially the Mississippi River. Now remember, during this time period General Grant becomes one of the most important and successful of the Union generals. He is later going to become the commander of all of the
00:00:21 Union forces in the Union. And again, he survived the Battle of Shiloh and captured key forts along the river in order to help the Union win control of the region. Now remember, in order to control the river, they needed to control both the Port of New Orleans and the Fort at Vicksburg, which is located in Mississippi. The Union successfully captured the Port of New
00:00:45 Orleans under the leadership of Navy Admiral David Farragut. They forced the Fort on Vicksburg to surrender in July, 1863, after a month long siege. And by the time Vicksburg fell, the Union forces controlled the Mississippi River and all the forts along that river, successfully dividing the Confederacy in half.
00:01:07 This, of course, was a turning point in the war. Next we turned our attention to the Battle of Gettysburg. Now remember, Lee had invaded the Union in hopes of encouraging Union populations to try to put pressure on the government to end the war. Now, Gettysburg was Lee's greatest defeat. The loss of life was tremendous on both sides. But the Confederate army would never recover from this loss.
00:01:35 It greatly weakened the Confederacy and strengthened Union morale, and turned the tide in favor of the Union.