CIVIL WAR, 1864- AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

A

Overview

The year 1864 began optimistically for the North, which expected Grant, its new general-in-chief, to bring victory. However, the bloody Overland Campaign in Virginia during May and June, which featured clashes at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor, depressed Northern morale, as did the failure of General Sherman to capture Atlanta. A swift strike through the Shenandoah Valley brought a small Confederate army to the outskirts of Washington in early July, which further alarmed the North. By August, Northern morale had reached its lowest point of the war, and there were expectations that Lincoln would be defeated in his bid for reelection in November. As Grant and Lee settled into a siege along the Petersburg-Richmond lines, Union victories at Mobile Bay in late August, at Atlanta in early September, and in the Shenandoah Valley in September and October raised Northern morale and ensured Lincoln’s reelection. Lincoln’s political triumph in turn guaranteed that the North would continue to prosecute the war vigorously. The year ended with Union victories at Franklin and Nashville, Tennessee, in November and December, and Sherman’s destructive march across the interior of Georgia. Hopes for Confederate success had virtually ended, the Northern blockade was tightening, and civilian and military morale in the South sagged badly.

For 1864 Grant planned an aggressive campaign. In the spring, when the roads had dried, the Army of the Potomac, still under Meade’s direct command, moved against Lee in Virginia. Union General Benjamin F. Butler’s Army of the James would advance from Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, on the James River. Sherman, now in full command in the West, would take the offensive against Johnston’s army and Atlanta. For these moves the Union armies could muster 235,000 men. The Confederates had no more than 150,000 to oppose them.

B

The Wilderness

On May 4 the Army of the Potomac crossed the Rapidan River in Virginia and camped in the Wilderness, a region of tangled woods and underbrush south of the old battlefields of Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg. The next day the federal troops engaged Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. A two-day battle followed. Maneuvering was next to impossible, and much of the time the men of the two armies could barely see one another. The losses, however, were heavy: about 18,000 on the Union side and about 11,000 for the Confederates.

C

Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor

When such losses had been inflicted on the Army of the Potomac in the past, its commanders had either halted or retreated. Now a new man was giving orders. Advance, Grant said, and strike Lee on his right flank. From May 8 to May 18, fighting swirled around the hamlet of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia. The Union lost more than 17,000 men without decisive results. Grant again ordered an advance around Lee’s right flank. This time, Lee shifted his army to meet the Union drive head on. At Cold Harbor, Virginia, north of the Chickahominy River and within sight of Richmond, Grant called for a frontal advance. On June 3 the federal troops suffered 7000 casualties during one day of the Battle of Cold Harbor, as the Union troops struggled against the entrenched Confederates, who lost fewer than 1500. For the next ten days the two armies were inactive, camped within sight of each other.

D

Petersburg

Grant then decided to cross the James River, circle around Lee’s army and the Confederate capital to Petersburg, and fall suddenly on Richmond from the south before Lee could come to its defense. The plan was skillfully put into operation and almost succeeded. Just in time, however, the Confederates became aware of Grant’s movements. Beauregard, with a numerically inferior force, managed to stop Grant’s advance at Petersburg. Heavy fighting took place from June 15 to June 18, when Lee arrived from Richmond with his main army. Unable to take Petersburg by direct assault, Grant prepared to starve the city into surrender. Before the siege ended almost a year later, the entire Confederacy was on the verge of collapse.

E

Sinking of the Alabama

Grant’s failure to take Richmond in a smashing attack spread gloom in the North. An important Union naval victory was won at the same time, but news of it was slow in coming.

The Confederate cruiser Alabama, since its commissioning in May 1862, had sunk or captured more than $6.5 million worth of Union merchant ships and cargoes. On June 11, 1864, the Alabama entered the harbor at Cherbourg, France, to land prisoners and be repaired. Three days later the USS Kearsarge, which had been tracking the raider, came into port to pick up the Alabama’s prisoners. Ordered to withdraw beyond the territorial limits, Captain John A. Winslow of the Kearsarge waited for his prey. Captain Raphael Semmes of the Alabama sent out word that as soon as he had taken on coal he would come out and fight. The duel began on the morning of June 19 and ended less than two hours later, when the Alabama, mortally wounded, slipped stern first into the sea. The Kearsarge had destroyed the Confederacy’s greatest single menace to Northern commerce.

The Florida, second among the great Confederate raiders, was captured in violation of international law in the harbor at Bahia (now Salvador), Brazil, in October 1864. The Shenandoah, which had been taking prize vessels, chiefly whalers, in the Pacific, did not learn that the war was over until August 2, 1865. It succeeded in making its way to Liverpool, England, in November 1865, and there its captain turned it over to the English authorities.

F

Sherman Moves Into Georgia

While the Kearsarge was establishing Union supremacy at sea, a great Union land victory was developing. In March 1864, when Grant became general-in-chief, Sherman was appointed supreme commander in the West. Soon Sherman started south with 105,000 Union troops of the Army of the Cumberland, the Army of Tennessee, and the Army of the Ohio. At Dalton, in northern Georgia, Johnston had posted the Confederate Army of Tennessee in a strong position. Sherman sent his troops around the Confederate left flank. On May 12 Johnston dropped back to Resaca, Georgia, 24 km (15 mi) farther south, and took another strong position. Again Sherman moved around Johnston’s left flank. Again Johnston retreated, this time to Allatoona, Georgia. In a month, Sherman advanced 129 km (80 mi). There had been continuous fighting but no large battles and no heavy casualties.

G

Atlanta

On June 27 Sherman, whose patience was worn out by Johnston’s evasive tactics, decided to attack the Confederate lines on Kennesaw Mountain. In a few hours, Sherman learned the lesson that Cold Harbor had taught Grant. The Union troops were repulsed with a loss of 2000 killed and wounded. Johnston had about 500 casualties.

After Kennesaw Mountain, Sherman resorted again to flanking movements. Johnston continued to retreat, thus keeping his army intact and ready to deliver a stinging blow should he catch Sherman off guard. By early July, Johnston had drawn back to the outskirts of Atlanta. Sherman shifted his troops into a crescent, confronting Johnston on the northwest, west, and southwest.

On July 17 Jefferson Davis, who disliked Johnston and had little faith in his ability, relieved him and appointed General John B. Hood in his place. Hood, who was brave but rash, could be counted on to use tactics different from those of his predecessor. On July 20 and on July 22, Hood sent his men from their trenches to strike at Sherman’s lines. Both attacks were repulsed. On July 28 Hood tried again, with the same result. By this time, in the fighting around Atlanta, the Federals had lost 9000 men; the Confederates, with smaller forces, had lost 10,000 killed, wounded, and captured.

H

Attempt on Washington, D.C.

While Sherman faced Atlanta, waiting for a chance to pierce the lines of the defenders, and while Grant besieged Petersburg, the Confederate high command made a desperate move. Lee sent one of his corps commanders, General Jubal A. Early, to threaten the Union capital. Early went down the Shenandoah Valley, crossed the Potomac River, and took supplies and money from the communities through which he passed. On July 9, at a point on the Monocacy River, 48 km (30 mi) from Washington, Union General Lew Wallace faced Early with a small force. The federal commander courted certain defeat, but he delayed Early long enough to permit troops from Grant’s army to reach Washington and defend the city. Although Early took up a position within sight of the Capitol on July 11, he realized that an assault was hopeless and returned to the valley.

I

Fall of Mobile

As the summer advanced, the war took a new and decisive turn. On August 5 a federal fleet commanded by Admiral Farragut forced its way into Mobile Bay, in Alabama. Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan, which defended the city, surrendered on August 8 and August 23, and Mobile was closed to blockade-runners and lost to the Confederacy.

J

Fall of Atlanta

The pace of the war continued to quicken, bringing fresh Union victories. On September 1 Hood evacuated Atlanta. The next day, Sherman’s troops marched into the city, flags flying and bands playing. The fall of Atlanta was extremely important to the Union because of its strategic position and its impact on Southern morale.

K

Shenandoah Valley

Other Union victories followed. After Early’s threat to Washington, Lee gave him a free hand to operate in the Shenandoah Valley. Lee hoped that Grant would be forced to weaken his grip on Petersburg to meet the new threat. Grant acted as Lee anticipated, but the federal commander sent a general who proved to be more than a match for Early. In three battles, at Winchester on September 19, at Fishers Hill on September 22, and at Cedar Creek on October 19, Philip H. Sheridan not only drove Early’s troops from the valley but also devastated the area so thoroughly that its rich farms could no longer send food and supplies to Lee’s troops.

L

Political Conventions

While the armies went about their deadly business in the spring and summer of 1864, Northern politicians started the machinery for another presidential election. Many people in the North were dissatisfied with Lincoln. Battle losses in the East had been staggering, and Grant had neither destroyed Lee’s army nor taken Richmond. Many Republicans complained that Lincoln was too moderate on the slavery question or was too easygoing in the prosecution of the war. A great many Democrats had come to believe that the South could not be defeated and wanted peace at almost any price.

The Republican National Convention met in Baltimore, Maryland, on June 7. To attract War Democrats, the name of the party was changed to the National Union Party. Although many delegates would have been happy to replace Lincoln, the administration’s control of the party machinery secured his renomination with ease. His running mate was Andrew Johnson, a Democrat from Tennessee who had remained loyal to the Union. The platform called for the unconditional restoration of the Union.

On August 29 the Democratic National Convention met in Chicago, Illinois. The delegates hoped to elect their candidate by playing up the war situation as it was at that moment, with Grant’s having failed to take Richmond and Sherman stalled outside Atlanta. The Democratic platform declared the war a failure and demanded that immediate efforts be made to bring the fighting to an end. The delegates nominated George B. McClellan for president and George H. Pendleton, senator from Ohio, for vice president. Ten days later, McClellan accepted the nomination but he refused to support the platform plank that called for peace without the restoration of the Union, thinking that it was an affront to the troops he had commanded.

M

Election of 1864

The election in the North took place on November 8. As late as August 23, 1864, Lincoln had commented to his Cabinet that it seemed “exceedingly probable” that he would not be reelected. However, he had not foreseen the steady succession of Northern victories. Before November the mood of the people changed. On election day the popular vote was 2,218,388 for Lincoln and 1,812,807 for McClellan. The popular margin was not nearly so large as that in the electoral college, where Lincoln polled 212 to McClellan’s 21.

There was no 1864 presidential election in the South. Under the Confederate constitution, the president was elected for six years, and thus no election was held after 1861.

N

Sherman’s March to the Sea

One week after the election, Sherman’s troops, numbering about 60,000 men, marched out of Atlanta toward the east. They did not know their destination, but following parallel routes, they marched across Georgia along a 97-km (60-mi) front. Although under strict orders not to destroy private property, they burned and looted plantations and public buildings. Slaves by the thousands left their masters and followed the Union troops to freedom. Neither the Confederacy nor Georgia could offer much resistance. In his 1864 march across Georgia, Sherman applied the military concept of war against civilian property. He made a desert of the land through which he passed, destroying major Confederate sources of supply for Southern armies. He also brought home the war to the Southern people behind the lines in the hope that, by breaking their morale, he would weaken the will to fight. In short, he fulfilled his grim boast: “I can make this march, and make Georgia howl!”

On December 10 Sherman deployed his men around Savannah, Georgia. Fort McAllister, the principal defense of the city, fell on December 13. On December 20 General William J. Hardee, who commanded the small force that the Confederate government could spare for the defense of the city, withdrew his men to positions north of the Savannah River. Two days later, Sherman telegraphed to Lincoln: “I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton.”

While holding Atlanta, Sherman had tried time after time to corner the Confederate army that Hood had withdrawn from that city. Hood kept out of reach. Sherman assumed that when Hood left Atlanta, he would strike north into Tennessee. To defend the state and prevent an invasion of the North, Sherman placed Thomas in command of all the troops left behind on the western front.

O

Nashville

Thomas concentrated his forces in Nashville, Tennessee. General John M. Schofield, following the Confederates with part of the Union troops, clashed with Hood on November 30 in the bloody Battle of Franklin. Although victorious, Schofield withdrew his troops to Nashville. Hood followed and took up positions on the high ground south of the city.

Thomas made his plans deliberately, so deliberately that Grant, impatient at the delay, almost removed him from his command. On December 15 Thomas struck. The Confederates fought stubbornly but lost ground. The next day, Thomas renewed the attack. The result was a smashing Union victory. Hood’s army was so disastrously defeated that it fell apart. Many of the Confederates drifted back to their homes, the war over so far as they were concerned.