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Vicksburg Gettysburg

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Important Battles. Vicksburg Gettysburg. Siege at Vicksburg. The Confederates were in high spirits because of victories at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville The Union needed to change the tide Soon, they captured New Orleans and Memphis - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: Important Battles

Vicksburg

Gettysburg

Page 2: Important Battles

Siege at Vicksburg• The Confederates were in high spirits because of

victories at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville• The Union needed to change the tide• Soon, they captured New Orleans and Memphis• Battle of Vicksburg, MS – Grant tried several

times to overtake it– Came up with a new plan:

• Attacked Jackson, Mississippi and then turned west and attacked Vicksburg from behind enemy lines (South)

• Meanwhile, Sherman confused Confederates by attacking from the North

Page 4: Important Battles

The Siege

– For 6 weeks laid a siege – a military encirclement of an enemy position in order to force it to surrender.

– On July 4, 1863, the Confederates surrendered at Vicksburg this split the Confederacy into 2 parts!

Page 5: Important Battles

Battle of Gettysburg • Lee decided to try and take the North by

surprise

• If he succeeded in overtaking Gettysburg, he then planned to march south and capture Washington, D.C.

• The Battle of Gettysburg was a three day battle that was one of the most important in the war Turning Point!

Page 6: Important Battles
Page 7: Important Battles

Day 1 – July 1, 1863

• Battle began with the Confederate troops spotting General Buford’s Union cavalry

• The Union was outnumbered and managed to scramble up to Cemetery Hill

• The first day was seen as a Confederate advantage

Page 8: Important Battles

Day 2 – July 2, 1863• Armies continued to add forces

– 75,000 Confederates, 95,000 Union

• The Union line on Cemetery Hill was shaped like a fishhook.– General Meade was in charge (5th day as head of army)

• General Lee wanted the South to overtake the hilltops particularly Little Round Top.– At Round Top – Longstreet (C) and Chamberlain (U)

• If Longstreet won he could blast the Union from his position• 5 times Maine was driven away and fought back.• Chamberlain lost 130 out of his 386 men but defeated the men

from Alabama by shooting from both sides.

Page 9: Important Battles

Day 2 Continued

• Sickles (U) army was in the peach orchard and his army was massacred– Example: 1st Minnesota started with 262 men

and only 42 survived

• It was a bloody day – thousands of men fought and died

• Lee was not able to overtake the hills

Page 10: Important Battles

Picture of the battlefield taken by Mathew Brady

Battle Map of Day 2

Page 11: Important Battles

Day 3 – July 3, 1863• Confederate Plan – blast the Union line with intense

cannon fire and then attack the center of the Union troops– Cavalry led by Jeb Stuart held up – this time by George

Armstrong Custer– Confederates try to take Cemetery Hill The Confederate

charge was led by Major General George E. Pickett (Pickett’s Charge)

• Confederate General Longstreet was against the idea of charging up the center Argued it was an out of date tactic

– The Union center was held by General Hancock. From the hill, they continued to pick off the Confederates coming up the middle.

– The field was soon littered with bodies Half of Pickett’s men were lost and he was angry!

Page 12: Important Battles

Day 3- July 3, 1863

Page 13: Important Battles

End of Gettysburg

• Plan failed – it turned into a massacre.– 51,000 men died at Gettysburg either in the

battle or from injuries bloodiest battle of the war

– North – 23,000 and the South – 28,000

• General Lee blamed himself for the loss

• Lincoln disappointed because Meade did not continue down and take Richmond

Page 14: Important Battles

Result of Gettysburg• The North celebrated the 4th of July with the

victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg.• Aftermath – The citizens of Gettysburg were

faced with the daunting task of burying all of the bodies Over 50,000 men were left dead or wounded

• Lincoln agreed to come and say something for the soldiers

• Gettysburg Address – name of the speech Lincoln delivered talking about the war and equality

Page 15: Important Battles

More results• Lee tried to resign after Gettysburg but Davis would not

let him• Lincoln replaced Meade with Grant

– Grant used the idea of total war - destroy food, equipment, and anything else the enemy might need

• The war would continue to last for 2 more years!!!– The Wilderness – woods caught fire and burned thousands of

soldiers– Sherman’s March to Sea – Nov. 16, 1864

• Grant ordered William Tecumseh Sherman to capture Atlanta, GA and then March to the Atlantic coast

• His army destroyed everything and burned most of the city to the ground.