Prologue: From the Halls of Montezuma

The Mexican War allowed the U.S. to complete its so-called "Manifest Destiny". The Americans won the
Mexican War due to an interest in territorial expansion and President Polk began the move to conquer Mexican
territory. Scott's campaign against Mexico City was regarded the most brilliant in modern warfare, but soon
after winning the land, the country was fighting over a myriad of problems.
McPherson gives a extensive background to the war before launching into what happened at Fort Sumter, as
it helps establish the reason for all the problems.

Chapter 1: The United States at Midcentury

Growth occurred in population, territory, and economy in the 1800s. This led to growth in slavery. This new
growth in slavery led to sectional conflict between the North and the South over its future. Some believed that
slavery was not a republic ideal, while Southerners thought slavery was essential to their culture and their
economy. Strangely enough, non-slave owning whites in the South supported slavery since they believed
emancipation would lead to war and their downfall as blacks were competition.
This split between the North and the South led to a new culture that alienated the two sides and created
sectional pride, which created disunity. Since industrial capitalism was taking place by mid 1800s, many
believed slavery degraded labor and stopped economic development.
McPherson did mention how terrible wage labor was. The working poor in New York were not very emphatic
pre-Civil War era, but wage labor was a form of dependency that went against republic ideals. He also makes
a reference to Thomas Jefferson's agrarian ideal to show how it didn't work and everyone was dependent on
someone else.

Chapter 2: Mexico Will Poison Us

The Mexican War signalled the end of the quest for Manifest Destiny. It also reminded many of Ralph Waldo
Emerson's "prophecy" that "Mexico will poison us" after the U.S. conquered them. This was startlingly
accurate, since the poison was slavery and the new land would only add more slave states and thus, more slave
power.
Many Northerners believed this addition of slave states would increase with the acquisition of Mexican
territory and claimed the war was part of a "slave power conspiracy". The free soil movement also aided in
Northern claims. They believed wage labor was better than slave labor because the promise of money made
people want to work, whereas slavery only degraded people and made work look like a negative aspect of life.
If slavery wasn't allowed then, free labor would prosper there and the white slave owning gentry would lose
power.

Chapter 3: An Empire for Slavery

McPherson states that Southerners prior to the Civil War advocated states' rights and a weak federal
government, except in regards to the Fugitive Law of 1850. This law gave an immense power to the federal
government. Not many fugitives ever escaped from the lower South since there were the most slave-owners
in that area.
The South was also weaker than the North in terms of economic growth. The South also had a lack of
industrialization, due to the South agrarian system. The lack of a home market was due to southern consumers'
buying Northern goods. President Polk also wanted to continue Manifest Destiny to Cuba, though his efforts
failed. Later, Cuban soldier Narciso Lopez organized a new expedition of filibusters and was hailed as a hero
when he burned the governor's mansion in Cardenas, Cuba. But the expected revolution never arose. Once
again, filibustering took place during Pierce's presidency, but his only expansionist achievement was the
Gadsden Purchase.
Chapter 4: Slavery, Rum, and Romanism
Northerners became more violent with the Kansas-Nebraska Act (May 1854). Along with the Burns case, it
was, McPherson claims, the most important single event that pushed the country into civil war. It killed off
the Whig Party and gave rise to the Republican party. The split between the Whigs was in part due to President
Fillmore's efforts to enforce the fugitive slave law.
Stephen A Douglas tried to stop the Missouri Compromise by repealing it. Then, he added the explicit repeal
of the slavery ban north of the latitude line. This looked like a way to keep Kansas in slavery and Nebraska in
freedom. In the election of 1854, Democrats lost most of their party.
Soon, new coalitions formed in the North to oppose slavery. Republicans and Know-Nothings weakened the
Democrat influence in the North.
But, issues over slavery soon split the Know Nothings due to nativist ideals. The nativist movement formed
in part due to the surge in immigrants. Bleeding Kansas convinced most northerners than the slave power a
bigger threat to republican ideals than Catholicism was.

Chapter 5: The Crime Against Kansas

Many antislavery activists decided to turn to violence when Kansas became a slave state. Since Kansas had
two territorial governments - one official one at Lecompton and the unofficial one at Topeka - a war was
inevitable. The 1856 presidential elections many Republicans advocated for free territories and free people.
This frightened many ex-Whigs into voting for Buchanan.
In Kansas, border ruffians came in from Missouri to swell the vote for the proslavery candidate. They won at
first, but further investigation showed that the ballots were frauds. The second time around, free-soil
candidates won most of the elections. Free-soil Kansans outnumbered the proslavery settlers and refused to
obey laws by a fake government and drew up a free-state constitution (the unofficial government),
Some Republicans joined to denounce the Ostend Manifesto, say that it was Congress's right to ban slavery.
Still, the South-Democrat controlled Congress voted to make Kansas a slave state.
After violence ensued, Kansas became a free state in Jan 1861. In 1859, Brown seized a federal area in Virginia
and was eventually killed; he became a martyr in the north because of his insistence on racial equality. This
combined with Democrat issues pushed the Republicans into victory during the presidential elections of 1860.

Chapter 6: Mudsills and Greasy Mechanics for A. Lincoln

The Dred Scott v. Sanford case was an important decision by the Supreme Court. They stated that no African
American (enslaved/free) could be an American citizen, and thus, could not sue in federal court. They also
said that the federal government had no power to enforce or remove slavery in any territory.
Lincoln said that the country would not be able to exist half slave and half free - a premonition of what was
to come: the Civil War. The southern opposition to the transcontinental railroad, homesteads, tariffs, and land-
grant college acts led the Republicans to victory in the presidential election of 1860.
The Panic of 1857 stopped growth and was due to the Crimean War which cut off Rissoam grain from the
European market. American exports had to meet the demand. But, their specie disappeared quickly and a build
up of unsold goods caused many textile mills in the US to close. The depression was shorter than expected.
Republicans made tariff revision one of their priorities, which showed how sectional tension rose. Sectional
division became more clear when the homestead act, Pacific Railroad act and grants to states to establish
agricultural and mechanical colleges were opposed. They reflected a Whig ideology of capital and labor, but
southerners hated the measures. This struggle in Senate, so to speak, marked a terrible beginning to the Civil
War, along with Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry.
Chapter 7: The Revolution of 1860
When the election year 1860 started, everyone was bitter with tension after John Brown's execution. Many
yeomen and slaveholders were ready for war against Black Republican brigands. State legislatures made funds
for purchasing weapons and some joined military companies. Every Yankee in the South was tarred and
feathered and a few were lynched. Republicans and northerners, on the other hand, canonized him, since he
was a martyr now for their cause.
After Douglas's speech, many southern Democrats went to the Democratic National Convention in Charleston
to destroy him. The convention in 1860 told its delegates to walk out of the national convention if the
Democratic party didn't adopt a federal slave code for the territories. All Anti-Douglas southerners walked
out, with a couple of proslavery northerners and upper South delegates. They organized their own convention
and nominated John C. Breckinridge, the current vice president, for president. They used a slave-code
platform; the Douglas loyalists were now even more angered. By the time the Republican National convention
started, Lincoln was revered as a strong candidate.
The election of 1860 was unique because it had two contests: Lincoln vs Douglas in the North; Breckinridge
vs Bell in the South. Republicans were not allowed to be on the ballot in some southern states.
Lincoln swept the votes north of the 41st parallel, getting 60% of the vote.
Chapter 8: The Counterrevolution of 1861
The Confederate States of America organized itself, drafted a constitution, and made Montgomery, Alabama
their center, and elected a provisional president three months after Lincoln was elected. This went by quickly
because states seceded only if it was their wish, and it was not a collective "united" way in which they seceded.
Southerners thought that the North had violated US unity when they elected Lincoln.
Most northerners didn't want disunity, and it was something Buchanan agreed on. In his final message to
Congress, he surprised some of his southern allies with a firm denial of the right of secession. He blamed the
North and Republicans for the problems over slavery and asked them to join the South to adopt a constitutional
amendments protecting slavery in all territories.
Lincoln inherited the problem at Fort Sumter. He learned that the garrison was running short of supplies; he
could shoot his way to the garrison with goods, but that would divide the North while uniting the South.
Secretary of State Seward aided him in his decision to open fire at Fort Sumter against the Confederates
holding it. The war had started.

Chapter 9: Facing Both Ways: The Upper South's Dilemma

The beginning of the war at Fort Sumter posed a problem for the upper South states. What they chose would
decide the fate of the Confederacy since they had most of the South's resources for waging war: they had half
of the southern population, two-thirds of its white population, three-quarters of its industrial capacity, three-
fifths of its livestock and food crops.
Interestingly enough, the claim that Lincoln's call for troops as the reason as to why the Upper South seceded
is wrong. Demonstrations in those areas that they join the other seceded states happened before Lincoln ever
called for troops. However, the majority of the white men in Missouri and Maryland fought for the Union; in
Kentucky, there was a more even divide.
The upper South states' decision had an important effect on the outcome of the war; if they had all seceded,
the Confederacy may have won its independence, bit of all of them had stayed in the Union, the war would
have finished earlier. The upper South states were so divided, they complicated ways in which both sides
could form a strategy.

Chapter 10: Amateurs Go to War

Yankees believed they were fighting for freedom - for their flag and their county. Confederates (even non
slaveholders) fought to uphold slavery, their way of life. Yet, slavery "handicapped" Confederate foreign
policy. They didn't mention slavery when fighting, though, except in relation to northern violation of southern
rights. Instead, they portrayed the South like those in 1776, fighting for self-government and liberty, even as
blacks wanted liberty more.
The North was at a disadvantage, since they didn't prepare for the war; their army was tiny and they also
fought on Confederate land. Confederate forces were able to stay close to their supplies, but northern armies
had to either starve or have long supply lines. They had no strategic plan.
But, the North had a better navy, the South, however, did have a huge amount of human resources. Lincoln,
refusing to accept the Confederacy as a legitimate government, issued a proclamation to treat captured
privateer crews as pirates, and many of them went to northern jails.
McPherson believed the Civil War was mainly a political war - a war of peoples and their beliefs, not armies.

Chapter 11: Farewell to the Ninety Days' War

When Fremont put together a small army to break through Sterling Price's barrier, he was unable to do so. His
reputation dropped and he seemed to have lost half of Missourian command. Then, he issued a proclamation
and declared martial law, announced the death penalty for guerrillas behind Union lines, confiscated property
of Confederates and freed slaves. He did this to gain the favor of antislavery Republicans and needed to
suppress the rebels, but he alienated Lincoln, who wanted to keep Kentucky in the Union. Lincoln later ordered
him to modify his emancipation. The divide between Fremont and Lincoln was in place since Lincoln needed
Kentucky on the Union's side. Kentucky was a border state and had many resources that would be beneficial
to the Confederacy.
This stirred up a controversy, especially after the Union defeat at the Battle of Bull Run. Southerners started
boasting that slavery was the reason they were so strong, which was because slaves were half of the Southern
population, built forts and farmed crops for the rebels. Slave labor was very important to the southern war
effort that the government started drafting slaves before it started drafting white men. Lincoln should now be
allowed to confiscate their property (slaves) since the Confederates had forfeited their rights.
Beauregard created the new Confederate flag. The Confederates became more and more confident as they
won more battles like the Battle of Bull Run (Manassas). Yet, the Union defeats led them to feel like they
were inferior and morale was slowly declining. The Battle of Manassas was important in the Northerner
psychology and explained why McClellan (Army of the Potomac commander) did not want to commit to a
battle. He always believed the enemy was better and more powerful than him.
There was a big difference between Jefferson Davis and Lincoln; Davis was a proud man and could not forget
anything committed against him, whereas Lincoln was willing to do anything just so he may have a victory.
But, by the New Year, Davis still had more confidence than Lincoln; since mid-July, the Confederacy had
won most of the important land battles.

Chapter 12: Blockade and Beachhead: The Salt-Water War, 1861-1862

Unemployment occurred in the British textile industry from 1862-1863. Southerners hoped this would help
them, because the war led to a growth in the iron, shipbuilding, and other industries, and there was a decline
in textiles. British merchants became convinced of a neutrality since they were trading in war weapons with
the North as well. Since there were many Confederate privateers, or commerce raiders, many of the British
ships which took back Northern goods were destroyed. This was a tactic to discourage the British from
intervening in the war.
Southerners decided to embargo cotton exports, thinking King Cotton would convince the British to help them.
Since Britain imported three-fourths of its cotton from the American South, it was a weapon of southern
foreign policy. At first, King Cotton diplomacy seemed to favor the Southerners. The British and French
contemplated joining together to lift the blockade, but in the end, they didn't. Also, the large surplus of cotton
in the South was too much for British mills which could not turn all of it into cotton. Soon, all the cloth was
poling up in warehouse. Then, the cotton growing in Egypt and India supplied most of Europe's cotton imports
for the next three years. Crop failures in western Europe from 1860-1862 increased British dependence on
American grain and flour, provided by the Union North.
By 1862, Britain allowed the northern blockade to increase. Yet, when a Union warship captured a British
vessel thinking it was a ship meant for the Confederates, the British retaliated against the Northern Yankees.
The British government didn't do anything about it then, but they would use it as a justification to seize
American ships carrying contraband fifty years later.
The Confederates also wanted to secure diplomatic recognition of the South's nationhood. But the North's
blockade led to Britain declaring neutrality and northerners rioted, thinking that neutrality meant the British
deemed the Confederacy as a belligerent power.
Lincoln ignored the British, because he believed taking on two wars would destroy the Union. In 1861, British
India was giving the Union saltpeter, an important ingredient of gunpowder. But the war brought the supply
of saltpeter down, so Seward sent someone to buy all available supplies of saltpeter in England and in India.
But the British government put an embargo on all shipments to the US until everything was settled. Still, the
Union military successes in the West helped mollify many Northerners.

Chapter 13: The River War in 1862

Before Feb 1862, there wasn't much fighting on the rivers in Illinois. But this was a very strategic place for
the free states as it grew into a large military and navy base. Forts were created by the Confederacy to defend
against river invasions by the Union. Halleck and Buell, military administrators, were urged by Lincoln to
work together to make an offensive against Johnston. Lincoln believed the North would only win by using its
large numbers to attack everywhere at the same time to stop the Confederacy from moving troops quickly.
But competition between the two didn't allow them to cooperate and Lincoln urged Ulysses S. Grant to go
ahead. He attacked at Fort Henry and used gunboats to capture and destroy Confederate vessels. Soon,
Tennessee had a Union highway into the Deep South. In a war after this, Nathan Bedford Forrest soon became
the South's most important commanders. In another war against Buckner, Grant forced the surrender of
thirteen thousand men, and he was promoted to major general.
Grant's victories made the rebel morale go down, but just like the Northerners after Bull Run, southerners
urged dedication to winning. But criticism of Sidney Johnston, a Southern commander, rose after he lost in
Tennessee many times. Beauregard helped him in some wars, and planned an offensive to regain Tennessee.
At the Battle of Shiloh, Confederate forces surprised Union troops and drove them across the Tennessee River.
Although the Union did get backup and win the battle, it was one of the most bloody battles in the Civil War.
Shiloh completely pushed the country into a total war. Before Shiloh, Grant had believed that just one more
Union victory would let them win completely, but now he believed the only way to save the Union was to
completely invade the Confederate states and force them to give up their power.
Lincoln's wish to attack at different places at the same time and mobilize the large Northern population finally
worked when Union forces captured New Orleans. They forced army divisions out of Louisiana as well as
some gunboats. Although they won again at Drewry's Bluff, Southerners were starting to lose their morale.
This lead to enacting martial law and conscription by the Confederates. Due to inflation, the Confederate
dollar dropped. At the same time, the Union government released political prisoners, suspended conscription,
and had enough money for the war to keep them afloat.

Chapter 14: The Sinews of War

Since the South was now losing many battles, they started to hate Jefferson Davis. Unlike Lincoln, he was a
proud man and was unwilling to convince his people that he was a good leader and lashed back at critics in
such a way that more people ended up hating him.
By December of 1861, the Southern Confederates no longer had enthusiasm of the war. Conscription was
initiated to start volunteering by threat of coercion instead of actually coercing people into joining the army;
this idea worked and the Confederate increased by 200,000 in 1862. Still, conscription was the most unpopular
act passed by the Confederate government; yeomen farmers could not buy their way out of the conscription
so, instead they ran away.
Conscription represented government power that extended too far, especially in terms of Confederate
provisionary government. Suddenly, the "weak" federal government that Confederates desired was forcing
them to do things they didn't want.
There were three ways to finance the war: taxation, borrowing, and fiat money. Taxation was the least
inflationary, but was also the least desired by the southerners. Before the war, they had not been taxed much
at all and since the South didn't have many public services -and one-third of the population was slaves, taxes
were not necessary like they were in the industrial free North.
The Confederates financed itself through paper dollars and its value depreciated almost immediately. Soon,
Southern states and most everyone was issuing notes and small-denomination "shinplasters". This shortage of
valuable paper and engravers meant that most of the Confederate notes were not printed the way they are
printed now and counterfeit happened frequently. Soon, the South had inflation, leading to riots as people
couldn't afford goods with their inflated dollars. This inflation became a "confiscatory taxation" that mostly
affected the poor. It also led to more class tension and the lower white classes began to feel alienated to the
Confederate cause as they suffered. (I find this so strange since these people probably didn't have slaves either,
so they were basically blindly following regional prejudice without thinking about how slavery actually
affected them, though perhaps they feared competition from free blacks.)
The Confederate economy failed miserably, and by 1862, it was slowly dying under inflation, more attacks
by the Union, and the Union blockade. The northern economy, on the other hand, was more adapted to the
war. It relied on loans for only a part of its war financing. The rest of its financing, it did through revenues
and increased taxes a lot. The Union enacted the first federal income tax ever in American history on August
5, 1861. The government passed this since it needed to make sure there was enough money to pay interest on
bonds. This tax was progressive, since it exempted most wage-earners and only taxed the rich (those who
earned annually more than $800).
This new society with an industrial base, capital-intensive agriculture, and big business, was all due to the
Civil War, which forced the people and government to adapt in order to survive. Slowly, the Southern agrarian
economy started to crumble.

Chapter 15: Billy Yank's Chickahominy Blues

In mid-1862, Confederate survival was not promising. The fall of the Confederate capital seemed to be only
a matter of time.
Lee used Jackson on Shenandoah Valley; he instilled a sense of pride in his men. Soon, he made victories at
Front Royal and Winchester. His campaign provided relief of pressure against Richmond, but the Union army
was quick to retaliate. Still, Lincoln's diversion of troops to chase after Jackson was wrong and may have
killed half of his army. They would have to move quickly to get Richmond.
The Chickahominy river runs north of Richmond. Confederate army commander Johnston commanded the
Southern army in the field near Seven Pines, east of Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital. When he
was shot, Robert E Lee took control. The battle at Seven Pines continued, but cost the Confederates more than
6,000 men. Lee had a new plan; he believed Richmond could not be held against the enormous Union army.
The Confederates had only three options: abandon Richmond, fight a defensive battle for Richmond, or attack.
Lee urged the Confederacy to attack. He was planning to launch an attack along with Stonewall Jackson, but
when Jackson didn't show up, he went alongside the Chickahominy and defeated the Unionist McClellan.
Called the Seven Days' War, there were the most number of casualties in it.
Gaines Mill Aftermath (700)The high casualties during the battles was due to the traditional tactics being
employed and the modern weapons being used. During the 18th century, Napoleonic warfare was practiced,
with formations of soldiers trained to move together; this was used very well in the Mexican War. But the
transition from smoothbore had many effects. It increased casualties and strengthened the defensive instead
of staying on the offensive as soldiers used to. When generals used close-order assaults, more people were
killed since marksmen could kill off the men from far distances. Interestingly enough, more generals and
officers were killed because they were on horseback and their uniform was so unique. Soon, they began to
disguise themselves as privates.
Attacks changed throughout the war as the new rifle came into soldiers' hands. The strategy used by many
generals - the close-front attack - explains why the Civil War was so long and cost so many lives.

Chapter 16: We Must Free the Slaves or Be Ourselves Subdued

Despite the number of casualties in the Seven Days' War, the Southerners' morale rose again. Northern morale
plummeted and Lincoln realized that stopping recruitment was a bad idea. He was afraid that implementing a
draft would worry the public, so Seward made a plan to tell the public that they had to "volunteer" and defeat
the rebellion once and for all. They began paying those who were in the army as an incentive to join. But in
several areas, especially Irish Catholic neighborhoods, they met the draft with resistance. Now, the North
would have to destroy their society and build a new one from scratch.
But, if McClellan's Peninsula campaign had worked, the war may have ended and the Union and the South
would have been joined again and the South wouldn't have become so destroyed; slavery would have still
existed. When Lee defeated McClellan, he only lengthened the war and ensured the destruction of slavery.
After Lee's victory, the Union took a turn into a total war. (I don't quite understand why McPherson keeps
pointing out what-if situations, but I suppose it enhances the narrative approach style he employs.)
Soon, the abolitionist movement began to show an influence. A radical among them, Wendell Phillips, lectured
everywhere. Soon, Republicans were sure that the fate of the nation could not be separated from the fate of
slavery. Many began preparing for universal emancipation and antislavery bills poured into Congress. Lincoln
called in border-state congressmen to urge compensated emancipation and from then on, he would take on a
more radical position.

On the other hand, the "copperhead" faction (part of the northern Democrats) opposed turning the Civil War
into a total war, which would eventually destroy the old South instead of restore the entire Union. This term
was coined by Republicans, since they felt that opposing the way the war was turning into was going against
the Republicans and their way of life.

Chapter 17: Carry Me Back to Old Virginny

While Lee was driving McClellan away and winning, in the West, Union forces were still failing, All of their
land triumphs disappeared. Halleck divided the Army of the Tennessee under Grant for different duties, but
despite what he did, other campaigns in the West still failed. Guerrillas cut supply lines and since forces were
behind Confederate lines, many of them starved and died. Then, Nathan Bedford Forrest captured a Union
garrison, wrecked a railroad, and escaped. The Confederacy was thoroughly being beaten.
Buell's campaign (major Union effort in the West) showed the strengths and weaknesses of railroads. The iron
horse could transport more men and goods than the normal kind. The Union forces relied more on railroads
than did their Confederate counterparts. Unlike Napoleon, who stole supplies when their transportation failed,
Buell was unwilling to do so, and failed. At Lexington, Kirby Smith's army prepared to inaugurate a
Confederate governor at Frankfort, Kentucky.
Kentuckian women came forward to treat many of the men, but few Confederates wanted to fight.
At Corinth, Grant tried to destroy the Confederate Army, but failed. Kirby Smith and Bragg moved north from
Knoxville and Chattanooga, and Jackson and Lee moved north from Richmond. Although the western battles
covered more land, the eastern campaigns led to more deaths.
Antietam, called Sharpsburg by the South, was one of the few battles in which commanders of both sides
chose the field on purpose and pre-planned their tactics. The Confederates used cover instead of trenches.
McClellan used many troops and crated diversions. Still, it was not very well executed.
Still, Antietam could be considered a Union success. One-third of the rebels died. When Lincoln recognized
it as a Union victory, Confederates gave up hope for British recognition. Antietam, would soon lead to the
Emancipation Proclamation, showing that Antietam was a big turning point in the war.

Chapter 18: John Bull's Virginia Reel

The war in 1862 led to Confederate hope that they might get European diplomatic recognition again. Many
Englishmen believed the South's revolution against the Union was justified. Soon, Liverpool secretly built a
commerce raider warship and sent it to the Confederates. The British officials also allowed southern agent
Bulloch to get his cruisers out of the country. Also, there was a cotton famine in Britain and the South and
plenty of cotton.
Yet, the British view of Southerners as trying to get their freedom failed since they had slavery. The English
prided themselves on stopping the transatlantic slave trade and abolishing slavery in the West Indies; thus,
they couldn't support the South. But, also, since the North didn't fight for freedom, the British didn't see how
they were any better. Since they didn't care about removing slavery, the British didn't support them.
The Battle at Antietam ended the Confederacy's hope of British intervention. This was mentioned in the
previous chapter as well; because the Union said that Antietam was their victory, the British stopped caring,
since the Confederacy wasn't winning any important battles. The Battle of Antietam also led to issuing of the
Emancipation Proclamation. The battle was also significant since it warned the British that they shouldn't fight
against a government that now wanted freedom, since Britishers had claimed they would support the Union if
they worked to abolish slavery.
After the Proclamation was issued, many were confused; even though it didn't immediately free any slaves, it
was still a statement to the world. This was also unconstitutional to remove slavery in states that were loyal to
the Union. Then, the Democrats made emancipation their issue in control of Congress. Lincoln's suspension
of habeas corpus to enforce the militia draft also hurt the Republicans; the continuation of the war, combined
with all these other issues, led to the Democrats gaining a lot in the 1862 elections.
Southern response to emancipation was terrible. Many abolition prisoners were executed. These massacres
bothered the Union, who threatened to attack; this was a reason why they were afraid to use blacks in combat,
since they could be captured and killed. Still, the Union now had the British support and the Emancipation
Proclamation was a turning point in the war.

Chapter 19: Three Rivers in Winter, 1862-1863

Even though McClellan failed at beating Lee at Antietam, Lincoln still expected the Army of the Potomac to
fight the rebels. But McClellan protested; he thought he was the hero of Antietam and believed he could do
whatever he wanted. On November 7, Lincoln replaced McClellan with Burnside.
Burnside fought at the battle of Fredericksburg, but lost. The commanders in the Union forces were terrible,
whereas the Confederate side had good fighting skills and leadership. The Union suffered many casualties,
but the Confederates lost less than 5,000. This led to a drop in morale for the North. Many rumors swept the
Union. The Republican senators met in caucus later and decided that there would be a reorganization of the
cabinet. They wanted to victimize Seward, and showed the conflict between conservative and radical
Republicans (or the rivalry between Seward and Chase). Chase made it seem like Seward was exercising
influence over Lincoln, leading to emancipation, appointment of antislavery generals and black soldiers.
Lincoln defended Seward and Chase offered to resign, but Lincoln refused both resignations.

Meanwhile, the Confederates seemed to be winning in the West. They attacked the Union forces, though the
Union army managed to resist. Sheridan's brigade most helped in this, but he was decimated. At Stones River,
the Army of Tennessee claimed to win and appeased the copperhead offensive against the war policy in the
North. More problems arose for the North, however, when the Army of the Potomac traveled through
Rappahannock and led to a "Mud March". Burnside had to call the whole thing off. Lincoln appointed Joe
Hooker as Burnside's successor.
Hooker was a popular man among his men; he helped improve food, make sure corrupt men were not in lead,
cleaned up camps and hospitals, and instilled pride in his troops. Morale rose in all of the army. Sickness
declined, desertion rates dropped, and amnesty led AWOLs to return to their posts.
On the other hand, Grant's army was suffering. Despite Lincoln's faith in him, he allowed Secretary of State
Stanton to investigate what was going on in the Army of the Tennessee. Grant was considered a good leader,
despite his drinking. Most stories about his drunkenness were false. He was a binge drinker, but never got
drunk during military operations. He himself believed it was a moral weakness and struggled for self-
discipline, thus allowing him to understand his troops.

Chapter 20: Fire in the Rear

"The fire in the rear" was Lincoln's fear of the northwest Democrats. Vallandigham became leader of the Peace
Democrats in 1863 and wanted to restore the Union. Many Peace Democrats believed the Republicans caused
the war and believed he could do better. The suspension of habeas corpus, the violation of speech and freedom,
and the debt and taxes that the Republicans were imposing were only ruining the Union even more. That
became their platform for the next two years.
In Butternut regions of the Midwest, due to economic issues, many southerners believed the same thing and
began to support Peace Democrats. For a while, they were commanding the support of a large minority of the
party. This Butternut identity with the south and the hatred of the northeast led to western Democrats talking
of a "Northwest Confederacy" that would change the Union for the better when it hurt the northeast.
The National Banking Act, passed in 1863, also alienated western Democrats. This was passed because
Secretary of Treasury Chase wanted to flood the market with war bonds.
Then, Vallandigham was arrested for disloyalty; his supporters attacked Republicans, but a military
commission convicted him for expressing sympathy for the enemy and weakening the power of the
government. Lincoln banished him, but in exile, he was nominated by the Ohio Democrats.
The Enrollment Act of 1863 was implemented to stimulate volunteering by the threat of a draft. (This was
actually mentioned in a previous chapter). Democrats began using this in their platform as well as a Republican
sin. Still, it was a corrupt system since the rich could get out of the draft. People started believing, however,
that the bounty given for "volunteering" was worse than just being drafted. The draft also forced men from
ages 35 to 45 into the war and poor families starved. The exemption of one white man on every plantation
with twenty or more slaves also angered Northerners.
Lincoln went through more generals, like Benjamin Butler, whose martial law reduced crime. But his notoriety
soon led to him being replaced by Nathaniel P. Banks. Banks tried to ban trade with the enemy and tried to
use peace to work with the natives but that didn't work. The North needed cotton, however, and still used it.
Lincoln maintained that cotton was necessary for export and for its own industries, and thus couldn't ban trade.
But, Banks believed that cotton was the corrupter of the Civil War.

Chapter 21: Long Remember: The Summer of '63

Grant was confident he would get food for his soldiers even as people around him starved. After what
happened when his supplies were destroyed, he decided to travel light and live off the land. Many regiments
just looted supplies and food to survive.
On July 4, 1863, the Confederacy went away from Gettysburg, and in Mississippi, Union troops captured
Vicksburg. This was the most important northern strategic victory; Grant believed the Confederacy fell
because of this victory. But, the Union, McPherson claims, won the war because of its many victories in the
West, since the Confederacy came close to winning in the East.
Joe Hooker didn't use his troops as efficiently during the battle, but the Chancellorsville battle, which the
Confederates won, cost them. About a third of their forces were killed and Stonewall Jackson died. The boost
in morale that followed after this battle for the Confederates actually proved to be bad; many of them believed
too much in their abilities and a hatred against the Unionists and believed they couldn't be defeated.
Longstreet then ordered the attack on the Union line at Gettysburg since it seemed the Confederates thought
they had disabled the Union's weaponry. Pickett's charge represented the Confederate war effort, McPherson
claims; they seemed to have a deep sense of identity and pride; they were brave and it would like they were
winning, but eventually they only lost.
The Union weapons had not been destroyed; the Union forces were merely hiding and when they
counterattacked, the Confederates collapsed. Although they breached the first Union line, many were killed.
Of the 14,000 Confederates that began at the beginning of the battle, less than half returned.
Southern morale was completely crushed; still, the Union suffered many casualties at Gettysburg and even
more Confederates were killed. Lee was depressed by the outcome of his campaign and offered his resignation.

Though the war continued for two more years, Gettysburg and Vicksburg proved to have been the final turning
point.

Chapter 22: Johnny Reb's Chattanooga Blues

Lincoln believed that just one more victory would crush the Confederacy. When Van Dorn's Confederate army
transferred to Mississippi, northern Arkansas didn't have any defense. So, Samuel R. Curtis's Union force
advanced to Little Rock. Confederate Thomas C. Hindman made a conscription that created a 20,000-man
army and went on the offensive. Eventually, the Union attacked on each side, and the Confederate army
scattered.
Desertions from southerner armies rose and morale plummeted yet again. Bragg created a plan to cut the
Union forces off from Chattanooga, but failed. This became the bloodiest battle in the west. Again, at
Chickamauga, Bragg refused to participate and George Thomas took charge, winning.
Longstreet and Forrest wanted to push on to destroy Union forces, but Bragg was so worried that they'd lost
so many people (30% of his army). Bragg refused to pursue after Union forces, but hoped to starve them out.
Halleck ordered Sherman to take some divisions from Vicksburg to Chattanooga and rebuild the railroad;
eventually, some corps were transferred by rail. Once Grant was in charge of the Division of the Mississippi,
he replaced Rosecrans with Thomas as commander of the Army of the Cumberland.
For Lincoln, all the victories in the west led to success at home. Republicans were in good shape, but the Ohio
and Pennsylvania gubernatorial elections were about to take place. Vallandingham (discussed in previous
chapter) conducted his campaign for Ohio governor position from Canada in exile.
Because Republicans now had many war successes, the Democrats could only use the issue of emancipation
as their platform, but anti-abolitionism and racism no longer seemed to be that important. The attack by the
54th Massachusetts Infantry against a Confederate army was significant since they were a black army. They
took a lot of casualties and soon newspapers were talking about their valour and bravery. This set the main
idea for this time: opposing emancipation was equal to opposing northern victory. The Republicans won by a
large margin.

Chapter 23: When This Cruel War Is Over

The Confederate Congress elections occurred in 1863, when southern morale was very low. The Davis
administration was hated even more because of the political structure; there were no formal political parties
and Southerners believed they needed to present a united front against any issue. This was a weakness; in the
North, the two-party system allowed different sides to be heard and allowed political activity as there was
competition.
The Republicans mobilized war resources, raised tariffs and taxes, created a new financial system, started the
process of emancipation, and enacted conscription. The Democrats opposed most of these measures and this
opposition allowed the voters could identify who they most agreed with and vote for them. But in the
Confederacy, the Davis administration had no way to figure out who supported them.
In the North, most state governors were Republicans and they were bound together in the war effort; in the
South, governors had different ideas in mind and stopped the centralization of a war effort since the
Confederacy emphasized states' rights and not a national government right.
Also, the Confederate Constitution only allowed a single 6-year term, so Davis didn't have to create a party
with followers in order to be re-elected. Everyone who ran against the Davis administration were individuals
and had no party to back them up. Thus, it was harder for the administration to actually retaliate against the
accusations by opponents.
"Proto-parties" began forming in the Confederacy by 1863. Former Whigs became the major opposition. In
both the Confederacy and the Union, there were two factions: those for war and those against.
Lincoln always maintained that secession was illegal and that southern states were still in the Union; his job
was to remove all the rebels. Still, it was obvious that southern states had left the Union and formed a new
government.
The Wade-Davis bill best showed the difference between the president's and congress's policy. When Lincoln
vetoed it, Congress had no way to retaliate, but it showed that there was tension in his administration. His
renomination and re-election was not guaranteed, even as people warned that changing power during the war
was dangerous to the unity of the Union. The Republican Party had many men who could have won, but in
the end, Lincoln was re-elected for his second consecutive term, even when Chase ran against him and used
Treasury Department patronage. Even with anger at Lincoln's reconstruction policy, he was no match. Most
Republicans joined with Lincoln.

Chapter 24: If It Takes All Summer

In 1864, the Union seemed to be doing very well and it looked like the Confederacy was about to come to an
end. They didn't have much food, had few people left for their armies, and had less than half of the numbers
the Union had. Still, the Union had its flaws. Because of all its success, it had to use many armies to watch
over conquered territory, thus dropping defences.
The Army of the Northern Virginia still seemed to want to continue fighting; in the Union, many veterans
were supposed to go home, but Congress forced those veterans to re-enlist. Still, there was a lot of disunity
between veteran soldiers and the new recruits and the apparent superiority the North had in numbers
disappeared in 1864.

The Confederacy hoped to use these problems to their advantage. If they could wait until the 1864 election,
the North may become tired of the war and vote in a Peace Democrat who could negotiate Confederate
independence. They had many casualties, but the Union had even more.
Grant attempted to bring Lee into open-field combat, but failed; despite his large numbers and huge quantity
in gunpowder, Lee was able to defend against Grant. This could have scared northern voters into not allowing
Lincoln a second term, McPherson claims. Thus, Grant took all summer to finish it off. After seven weeks, at
the Wilderness, it fought and many were killed. Still, they killed a similar percentage on Lee's army and cut
off his communication with the rest of the Confederacy. Thus, the Army of Northern Virginia slowly declined
in fame and Lee was defeated.
Sherman decided to fight for Atlanta. When he began his campaign in Atlanta, he ordered a garrison
commander to find Forrest and fight him so that he wouldn't cut the railroad. Still, they lost and it was one of
the worst Union defeats in the west, but it diverted Forrest from the Tennessee railroad. He didn't inflict as
many casualties hoped and the Unions believed the south was now in good spirits.

Chapter 25: After Four Years of Failure

After Grant and Sherman's campaign, Atlanta became a symbol of resistance and nationality. Still, in
Richmond, the cabinet worried, believing Atlanta was lost to them. Grant's siege of Petersburg was not very
successful and northerners began to feel the weight of the war at last. Still, it led to a stalemate between Lee
and Grant; finally, Grant forced the Confederate army to abandon Petersburg and Richmond, and then pursued
them after isolating them from the South. Finaly, Lee surrendered.
From July and August of 1861, the northern morale plummeted again. Many of the homefront war songs that
had become popular during the time shifted from a patriotic tone to a longing for peace, just like the
Confederates had hoped would happen. "When This Cruel War Is Over" became a best-seller in 1864.
Nothing, it seemed, could remove the Northern depression. Even after David Farragut made sure to take the
last blockade-running port in the Gulf (east of Texas) out of business, people were still depressed. Later, they
realized how amazing it had been as the war still continued in Virginia and Georgia.
Some Southerners tried to get Peace Democrats into a war against their own government. This never happened,
since the leaders of the Peace Democrats could never mobilize their people. Most of them didn't want to create
a counterrevolution since they believed their chances of overthrowing Lincoln were getting better.
Many accused Lincoln of fighting only for the abolition of slavery and not for the Union, which he vehemently
denied. He almost gave in to demands that they should ignore abolition in sake of peace. But, his peace terms
remained as the Union and emancipation and believed that he would be defeated because of his platform. He
expected McClellan to win since he was the most popular Democrat and was a symbol of opposition against
Lincoln's policies. Still, McClellan was a War Democrat and many no longer wanted to support him, even
though he said that he would still call for a peace treaty.
When Atlanta was finally taken, Lincoln said that the war was a victory.

Chapter 27: South Carolina Must Be Destroyed

The Atlanta Campaign seemed to be over after Sherman invaded Georgia from Chattanooga, Tennessee in
May 1864. After winning against Confederate Johnston, Johnston's Army of Tennessee withdrew towards
Atlanta, becoming isolated from the rest of the South as Sherman cornered them. In July, President Davis
replaced Johnston with the aggressive John Bell Hood.
Hood challenged the Union army through many assaults; finally, he laid a siege on Atlanta and the city fell.
This would lead to Sherman's March to the Sea after the city falls. It signals the beginning of the end of the
war.
During this time, the northern economy turned out butter and guns. It also had enough manpower and energy
to continue westward expansion. Gold production had remained steady, new mines with copper and silver
were found, and Lincoln said they had to finish the transcontinental railroad.
New industries formed in the southern economy during the war, like gunpowder mills ordnane plants, and
machine shops. The Tredegar Works in Richmond produced iron for weapons for the Confederacy. Still, the
Union forces raided much of their new industries and anything of value, especially due to Sherman's March
to the Sea. By the end of the war, the South was completely destroyed. Farms were burned and in need of
repair, two-fifths of livestock were killed, and two-thirds of assessed southern wealth was gone during the
war. After Winfield Scott's Anaconda Plan, the South continued to deteriorate.
The southern economy which was completely destroyed caused the 1860s to become the decade with the least
amount of economic growth; the average income of southerners was two-thirds that of the North. After the
war, the southern income continued to fall and didn't rise again for the rest of the 1800s.

Chapter 28: We Are All Americans

Abraham Lincoln followed the Union soldiers to Richmond to see it. Meanwhile, at Appomattox Courthouse,
Lee was cornered; finally, he surrendered to Grant. As the news of the surrender spread, many started cheering
and shooting; Grant put a stop to it, saying that the Union was now one. He also sent rations for Lee's army.
Three days later, a formal ceremony took place in which Confederate troops gave up their weapons and
surrender their flags. Confederate officers and soldiers were allowed to go back home and take their horses
with them. All of these actions led to reuniting the North with the South. Lincoln promised to have a new
policy for reconstructing the Union.

Epilogue: The Shoals of Victory

How blacks would receive their freedom and what their boundaries would be continued to be an issue, but
mostly everyone agreed that blacks should have rights, even southerners. Many southerners began to believe
that slavery was ruining their lifestyle. Secession and slavery were forever gone.
People started referring to the United States as a singular country. The nation became more centralized, taxed
the people directly, and created an internal revenue bureau to collect the taxes. A shift in power from the South
to the North occurred, as it took more than a century before a resident in an ex-Confederate state became
president.
Union victory made sure that the South was completely destroyed and the Republican and the northern way
of life would dominate the country.