US History

U.S. History Study Guide

©2018 of 194 shooting fish in a barrel, the fighting then turned hand to hand. Angered by the blast and the presence of black troops, the Confederates took no prisoners and the Battle of the Crater resulted in four thousand Union casualties for no gain. The engagement started off rocky for the Union, but it was a plan meant to take some time. The capture of the Confederate capital, Richmond was seen by many as the critical event to the end of the war, but General Grant understood that depriving Lee's men of supplies was more critical. Petersburg served as the main rail hub servicing the Richmond area and making the citizens of Richmond suffer. The significance of the Petersburg siege was Grant's plan to eliminate Lee's mobility, making him fight on his terms and the ability to cut the Confederate supply lines. Lee understood that the siege at Petersburg marked the likely defeat of his Army of Northern Virginia. He held on until his forces were depleted by desertions and starvation that, by early April 1865, his lone remaining option was a desperate act that eventually resulted in his surrender at Appomattox Courthouse Sherman Captures Atlanta While Grant made his way toward Richmond, Sherman was going through the mountains of North Georgia. On September 2, Sherman’s men entered Atlanta after the Confederate army, now under the command of John Bell Hood, who evacuated the town. The capture of Atlanta was one of the most crucial events of the war. The South’s last remaining hope was that Northern voters might vote Lincoln out of the White House in the November elections and replace him with somebody willing to make peace. The Democrats had nominated George B. McClellan, the former commander of the Army of the Potomac, as their candidate. Had Sherman not taken Atlanta, the casualties inflicted on the Union might have expelled Lincoln from office and ended the war much differently. 13.21 The Election of 1864 This was a very important election in the country, during a Civil War, the Presidential Election would still be held embodying the democracy the Union wanted to display. The election of 1864 had two candidates. The Republican ticket was Abraham Lincoln running for reelection. His vice-presidential candidate was Andrew Johnson from Tennessee. He was looking to balancing the ticket with a Southerner and reward Andrew Johnson for not walking out when all the other Southerners did. The Democratic ticket was George McClellan. McClellan ran on a platform of asking for immediate peace with the states in rebellion, essentially granting them their independence from the Union. Had McClellan and the democrats won the election, there would have likely been two separate nations. Things did not look good for Lincoln the Union Army for a time, Grant was losing a great deal of men and people started getting discouraged and tired of war. Sherman's victory at Atlanta gave the Union renewed hope that the war could, and would, be won and Lincoln gained the victory and the Union was saved. Lincoln won two hundred and twelve electoral votes to McClellan's 21. Lincoln vowed to heal up the nation's wounds. Achieve Page 176