Emancipation Proclamation

1. Emancipation Proclamation • Republicans were divided on the issue of slavery • Strong Abolitionist versus those Republicans like Lincoln • Lincoln was an abolitionist but did not want to endanger the loyalty of slave-holding border states that had chosen to remain in the Union

2. Northerners began to agree that slavery had to end for two reasons • To punish the South • To make the soldiers’ sacrifices seem worthwhile • September 22, 1862, encouraged by the Union victory at Antietam, Lincoln issue’s the proclamation • The decree freed all enslaved persons in states still in rebellion after Jan. 1, 1863

3. Critical Issues • The proclamation did not address slavery in the border states (Lincoln did not want to endanger their loyalty to the Union) • The proclamation transformed the conflict over preserving the Union into a war of liberation • The proclamation energized Union forces

4. Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville • Lincoln replaces McClellan with Ambrose Burnside and urges him to destroy Lee’s army • December 1862 at Fredericksburg, Burnside orders a series of bloody assaults against Lee’s forces(Union suffers 12K casualties) • Distressed by the defeat, Lincoln replaces Burnside with Joseph Hooker • May 1863 at Chancellorsville, Lee’s troops outnumbered 2-to-1, attack and force Hooker’s Union army to retreat

5. The Siege of Vicksburg • With the lower half of the Mississippi River under control, Vicksburg was the last Confederate stronghold on the river • Grant’s first attempt failed due to swampy conditions of the area • May 1863, Grant launched two assaults that were repulsed inflicting heavy casualties • Grant decides the only way to take Vicksburg is by siege (cut off food and supplies) • On July 4, 1863, with Confederate troops and citizens starving, Vicksburg surrenders • With the fall of Vicksburg, the Confederacy has been cut in half

6. Road to Gettysburg • Lee sees another opportunity to invade the North and to get needed supplies • Foraging in Pennsylvania, Lee’s forces encounter Union cavalry at the town of Gettysburg • Confederates push the Union troops out of town, Union troops under the leadership of General George Meade take positions in the hills south of town

7. Battle of Gettysburg • On July 3, 1863, Lee sends 15K men under the leadership of General George E. Pickett to break the Union line at Seminary Ridge • The attack becomes known as “Pickett’s Charge” • Union cannons and guns inflict 7K casualties in less than a half hour • Less than 5k Confederates made it up the ridge, the attack was thwarted • Confederate casualties were estimated at 28K

8. Aftermath of Gettysburg • Lee is forced to retreat and will be on the defensive the rest of the war • Gettysburg proves to be another turning point in the war • In November 1863, President Lincoln comes to Gettysburg to dedicate a portion of the battlefield as a military cemetery • His speech becomes known as the “Gettysburg Address” and is considered on of the best-known orations in American history

9. Battle of Chickamauga • Both sides know that the path to Atlanta leads through Chattanooga because of the railroad • Confederate troops launch an assault in September 1863 at Chickamauga Creek just outside of Chattanooga • Union troops retreat to Chattanooga but find themselves almost completely surrounded

10. Battle of Chattanooga • Lincoln sends reinforcements and puts Grant in command of Union forces in Chattanooga • Late November 1863, Union forces attack Confederate positions at Lookout Mountain, forcing them to retreat • Grant send 23K men up Missionary Ridge and to their surprise, Confederates scattered leaving Chattanooga to the Union army

11. Grant Becomes Commander • By the Spring of 1864, Grant has accomplished two crucial objectivesfor the Union: • Capture of Vicksburg giving the Union control of the Mississippi River • Victory at Chattanooga had secured eastern Tennessee, clearing the way for an invasion of Georgia • Lincoln promotes Grant to General-In-Chief of the Union army