Grant and Lee and the Civil War.
[=The Great Leaders of the Civil War=]
In several of the preceding chapters the causes which led the United
States into its great fratricidal war have been given. In the present
we propose to deal with the war itself; not to describe it in
detail,--that belongs to general history,--but to speak of its great
soldiers and its leading events, which form the chosen topics of this
work. Of the statesmen brought into prominence by the war, President
Lincoln was the chief, and we have given an account of his life. Of
its famous soldiers two stand pre-eminent, Ulysses S. Grant and Robert
E. Lee, and around the careers of these two men the whole story of the
war revolves. They did not stand alone; there were others who played
leading parts,--Thomas, Sherman, Sheridan, McClellan and others, on
the Union side; Jackson, Johnston and others on the Confederate,--but
this is not a work of biographical sketches, and our main attention
must be centred upon the two leading figures in the war, the mighty
opponents who linked arms in the desperate struggle from the Wilderness
to Appomattox.
[=Grant Takes Command=]
Grant was a modest and retiring man. While others were strenuously
pushing their claims to command, he, an experienced soldier of
the Mexican war, held back and was thrust aside by the crowd of
enterprising incompetents, doing anything that was offered him,
the coming Napoleon of the war performing services suitable for
a drill sergeant. But gradually men of experience in war began
to find their appropriate places, and in August, 1861, Grant was
made brigadier-general and given command of a district including
southeast Missouri and western Kentucky. He soon set out to meet the
Confederates, and found them at Belmont, Missouri, where he drove
them back in a hard four hours' fight. Then they were reinforced and
advanced in such strength that Grant and his men were in danger of
being cut off from the boats in which they had come.
"We are surrounded," cried the men, in some alarm.
"Well, then," said Grant, "we must cut our way out, as we cut our way
in," and they did. It was the only retreat in Grant's career.
[=All Quiet on the Potomac=]
Meanwhile, in the East, the battle of Bull Run had been fought, to
the dismay of the Union side, the triumph of the Confederate. There
followed an autumn and winter of weary waiting, which severely tried
the patience of North and South alike, both sides being eager for
something to be done. Early in the following year something was done,
but not in the region where the people looked for it. While attention
was chiefly concentrated upon the Potomac, where McClellan was
organizing and drilling that splendid army which another and a greater
commander was to lead to final victory; while the only response to the
people's urgent call, "On to Richmond!" was the daily report, "All
quiet on the Potomac;" Grant, an obscure and almost unknown soldier,
was pushing forward against Forts Henry and Donelson, eleven miles
apart, on the Tennessee and the Cumberland, near where these rivers
cross the line dividing Kentucky and Tennessee.
[=The Surrender of Fort Donelson=]
He had obtained from his commander, Halleck, a reluctant consent
to his plan for attacking these important posts with a land force,
co-operating at the same time with a fleet of gunboats under Commodore
Foote. It was the month of February and bitterly cold. Amid sleet and
snow the men pushed along the roads, arriving at Fort Henry just after
it had been captured, as the result of a severe bombardment, by the
gunboats. Grant immediately turned his attention to Fort Donelson,
which had been reinforced by a large part of the garrison that had
escaped from Fort Henry. It was held by Generals Buckner, Floyd and
Pillow with 20,000 men. For three days a fierce attack was kept up.
Buckner, who had been at West Point with Grant, and doubtless knew that
he was, as his wife designated him, "a very obstinate man," sent on the
morning of the fourth day, under a flag of truce, to ask what terms
of surrender would be granted. In reply Grant sent that brief, stern
message which thrilled throughout the North, stirring the blood in
every loyal heart: "No terms but unconditional and immediate surrender
can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works."
Buckner protested against the terms; but he was obliged to accept them
and to surrender unconditionally. With Fort Donelson were surrendered
15,000 men, 3,000 horses, sixty-five cannon, and a great quantity
of small arms and military stores. It was the first victory for the
North, and the whole country was electrified. Grant's reply to Buckner
became a household word, and the people of the North delighted to call
him, "Unconditional Surrender Grant." He was made a major-general of
volunteers, his commission bearing date of February 16, 1862, the day
of the surrender of Fort Donelson.
[=The Terrible Struggle at Pittsburg Landing=]
On April 6th, less than two months afterwards, another of Grant's great
battles was fought, at Shiloh, or Pittsburg Landing, in Mississippi.
In this battle Sherman was Grant's chief lieutenant, and the two men
tested each other's qualities in the greatest trial to which either had
as yet been exposed. The battle was one of the turning-points of the
war. The Confederates, 50,000 strong, under Albert Sidney Johnston,
one of their best generals, attacked the Union force of 40,000 men at
Shiloh Church. All day on Sunday the battle raged. The brave Johnston
was killed; but the Union forces were driven back, and at night their
lines were a mile in the rear of their position in the morning. Grant
came into his headquarters' tent that evening, when, to any but the
bravest and most sanguine, the battle seemed lost, and said: "Well,
it was tough work to-day, but we will beat them out of their boots
to-morrow." "When his staff and the generals present heard this,"
writes one of his officers, "they were as fully persuaded of the result
of the morrow's battle as when the victory had actually been achieved."
The next day, after dreadful fighting, the tide turned in favor of
the Union forces, which had been strongly reinforced by General Buell
during the night. In the afternoon Grant himself led a charge against
the Confederate lines, under which they broke and were driven back.
Night found the Union army in possession of the field, after one of the
severest battles of the war.
A man who wins victories is apt to become a fair foil for criticism
from those who lose them. "Grant is a drunkard," said his opponents.
This charge came to the President's ears. "Grant drinks too much
whisky," some fault-finder said. Lincoln replied, with his dry humor.
"I wish you would tell me what brand of whisky General Grant uses; I
should like to send some of it to our other generals."
[=The War in the East=]
It would doubtless have been better if this general, who drank a
fighting brand of whisky, had been brought to the East, where the war
was proceeding in a manner far from satisfactory. For six days the
armies of Lee and McClellan met in desperate battle before Richmond,
the Union army being driven from all its positions, and forced to
seek a new base on the James River. This disaster was followed by a
second conflict at Bull Run, which ended in one of the most sanguinary
defeats of the Union side during the war. The repulse was in a measure
retrieved by McClellan at Antietam, yet affairs did not look very
bright for the Union cause, and in the winter of 1862-63 there was much
depression in the North. The terrible defeats at Fredericksburg and
Chancellorsville added to the anxiety of the people, and the necessity
of some signal success seemed urgent. Such a success came in double
measure in the following summer, at Gettysburg and at Vicksburg.
[=The Vicksburg Problem=]
On a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River, which
pursues a winding course through its fertile valley, stands the town of
Vicksburg. From this point a railroad ran to the eastward, and from the
opposite shore another ran westward through the rich, level country of
Louisiana. The town was strongly fortified, and from its elevation it
commanded the river in both directions. So long as it was held by the
Confederate armies, the Mississippi could not be opened to navigation;
and the line of railroad running east and west kept communication
open between the western and eastern parts of the Confederacy. How to
capture Vicksburg was a great problem; but it was one which General
Grant determined should be solved.
For eight months he worked at this problem. He formed plan after plan,
only to be forced to abandon them. Sherman made a direct attack at the
only place where a landing was practicable, and failed. Weeks were
spent in cutting a canal across the neck of a peninsula formed by a
great bend in the river opposite Vicksburg, so as to bring the gunboats
through without their passing under the fire of the batteries; but a
flood destroyed the work. Meanwhile great numbers of the troops were
ill with malaria or other diseases, and many died. There was much
clamor at Washington to have Grant removed, but the President refused.
He had faith in Grant, and determined to give him time to work out the
great problem,--how to get below and in the rear of Vicksburg, on the
Mississippi River.
This was at last accomplished. On a dark night the gunboats were
successfully run past the batteries, although every one of them was
more or less damaged by the guns. The troops were marched across the
peninsula, and then taken down the river on the side opposite the town;
and on April 30th the whole force was landed on the Mississippi side,
on high ground, and at a point where it could reach the enemy.
[=Passing the Batteries=]
The railroad running east from Vicksburg connected that city with
Jackson, the state capital, which was an important railway centre, and
from which Vicksburg was supplied. Grant made his movements with great
rapidity. He fought in quick succession a series of battles by which
Jackson and several other towns were captured; then, turning westward,
he attacked the forces of Pemberton, drove him back into Vicksburg, cut
off his supplies, and laid siege to the place.
[=The Siege of Vicksburg=]
The eyes of the whole nation were now centred on Vicksburg. More than
two hundred guns were brought to bear upon the place, besides the
batteries of the gunboats. In default of mortars, guns were improvised
by boring out tough logs, strongly bound with iron bands, which did
good service. The people of Vicksburg took shelter in cellars and caves
to escape the shot and shell. Food of all kinds became very scarce;
flour was sold at five dollars a pound, molasses at twelve dollars a
gallon. The endurance and devotion of the inhabitants were wonderful.
But the siege was so rigidly and relentlessly maintained that there
could be only one end. On July 3d, at ten o'clock, flags of truce were
displayed on the works, and General Pemberton sent a message to Grant
asking for an armistice, and proposing that commissioners should be
appointed to arrange terms of capitulation.
On the afternoon of the same day, Grant and Pemberton met under an
oak between the lines of the two armies and arranged the terms of
surrender. It took three hours for the Confederate army to march out
and stack their arms. There were surrendered 31,000 men, 250 cannon,
and a great quantity of arms and munitions of war. But the moral
advantage to the Union cause was far beyond any material gain. The fall
of Vicksburg carried with it that of Port Hudson, a few miles below,
which surrendered to Banks a few days later; and at last the great
river was open from St. Louis to the sea.
[=The Great Victories and Their Effect=]
The news of this great victory came to the North on the same day
with that of Gettysburg, July 4, 1863. The rejoicing over the great
triumph is indescribable. A heavy load was lifted from the minds of the
President and his cabinet. The North took heart, and resolved again to
prosecute the war with energy. The name of Grant was on every tongue.
It was everywhere felt that he was the foremost man of the campaign. He
was at once made a major-general in the regular army, and a gold medal
was awarded him by Congress.
Grant's next striking victory was at Chattanooga, an important railway
centre in the valley of the Tennessee River, near where it enters
Alabama. South of the town the slope of Lookout Mountain rises to
a height of 2000 feet above sea-level. Two miles to the east rises
Missionary Ridge, 500 feet high. Both Lookout Mountain and Missionary
Ridge were occupied by the army of General Bragg, and his commanding
position, strengthened by fortifications, was considered by him
impregnable.
[=Chickamauga and Chattanooga=]
The disastrous battle of Chickamauga, in September, 1863, had left the
Union armies in East Tennessee in a perilous situation. General Thomas,
in Chattanooga, was hemmed in by the Confederate forces, his line of
supplies was endangered, and his men and horses were almost starving.
The army was on quarter rations. Ammunition was almost exhausted, and
the troops were short of clothing. Thousands of army mules, worn out
and starved, lay dead along the miry roads. Chattanooga, occupied by
the Union army, was too strongly fortified for Bragg to take by storm,
but every day shells from his batteries upon the heights were thrown
into the town. This was the situation when Grant, stiff and sore from
a recent accident, arrived at Nashville, on his way to direct the
campaign in East Tennessee.
"Hold Chattanooga at all hazards. I will be there as soon as possible,"
he telegraphed from Nashville to General Thomas. "We will hold the town
until we starve," was the brave reply.
[=Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge=]
Grant's movements were rapid and decisive. He ordered the troops to
be concentrated at Chattanooga; he fought a battle at Wauhatchie, in
Lookout Valley, which broke Bragg's hold on the river below Chattanooga
and shortened the Union line of supplies; and by his prompt and
vigorous preparation for effective action he soon had his troops
lifted out of the demoralized condition in which they had sunk after
the defeat of Chickamauga. One month after his arrival were fought the
memorable battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, by which
the Confederate troops were driven out of Tennessee, their hold on the
country was broken up, and a large number of prisoners and guns were
captured. Nothing in the history of war is more inspiring than the
impetuous bravery with which the Union troops fought their way up the
steep mountain sides, bristling with cannon, and drove the Confederate
troops out of their works at the point of the bayonet. An officer of
General Bragg's staff afterward declared that they considered their
position perfectly impregnable, and that when they saw the Union
troops, after capturing their rifle-pits at the base, coming up the
craggy mountain toward their headquarters, they could scarcely credit
their eyes, and thought that every man of them must be drunk. History
has no parallel for sublimity and picturesqueness of effect, while the
consequences, which were the division of the Confederacy in the East,
were inestimable.
[Illustration: GENERAL LEE'S INVASION OF THE NORTH
The Confederate army under General Lee twice invaded
the North. The first invasion was brought to a
disastrous end by the Battle of Antietam, September
17, 1862. The second invasion ended with greater
disaster at Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863. Gettysburg was
the greatest and Antietam the bloodiest battles of the
war.]
[Illustration: THE SINKING OF THE "ALABAMA," THE MOST FAMOUS OF ALL
CONFEDERATE CRUISERS
The battle between the _Kearsarge_ and the _Alabama_
took place off the coast of Holland, June, 1864. "The
famous cruiser was going down, and the boats of the
_Kearsarge_ were hurriedly sent to help the drowning
men. The stern settled, the bow rose high in the air,
the immense ship plunged out of sight, and the career
of the _Alabama_ was ended forever."]
[=Grant Made Lieutenant-General and Commander-in-Chief=]
After Grant's success in Tennessee, the popular demand that he should
be put at the head of all the armies became irresistible. In Virginia
the magnificent Army of the Potomac, after two years of fighting, had
been barely able to turn back from the North the tide of Confederate
invasion, and was apparently as far as ever from capturing Richmond.
In the West, on the other hand, Grant's armies had won victory after
victory, had driven the opposing forces out of Kentucky and Tennessee,
had taken Vicksburg, opened up the Mississippi, and divided the
Confederacy in both the West and the East. In response to the call
for Grant, Congress revived the grade of lieutenant-general, which had
been held by only one commander, Scott, since the time of Washington;
and the hero of Fort Donelson, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga was nominated
to this rank by the President, confirmed by the Senate, and placed in
command of all the armies of the nation.
The relief of President Lincoln at having such a man in command was
very great. "Grant is the first _general_ I've had," he remarked to a
friend. "You know how it has been with all the rest. As soon as I put a
man in command of the army, he would come to me with a plan, and about
as much as say, 'Now, I don't believe I can do it, but if you say so
I'll try it on,' and so put the responsibility of success or failure
upon me. They all wanted _me_ to be the general. Now, it isn't so with
Grant. He hasn't told me what his plans are. I don't know, and I don't
want to know. I am glad to find a man who can go ahead without me."
[=The Virginia Campaign of 1864-65=]
Never were the persistent courage, the determined purpose, which formed
the foundation of Grant's character, more clearly brought out than in
the Virginia campaign of 1864, in which he commanded; and never were
they more needed. Well did he know that no single triumph, however
brilliant, would suffice. He saw plainly that nothing but "hammering
away" would avail. The stone wall of the Confederacy had too broad and
firm a base to be suddenly overturned; it had to be slowly reduced to
powder.
During the anxious days which followed the battle of the Wilderness,
Frank B. Carpenter, the artist, relates that he asked President
Lincoln, "How does Grant impress you as compared with other generals?"
"The great thing about him," said the President, "is cool persistency
of purpose. He is not easily excited, and he has the grip of a
bull-dog. _When he once gets his teeth in, nothing can shake him off._"
His great opponent, Lee, saw and felt the same quality. When, after
days of indecisive battle, the fighting in the Wilderness came to a
pause, it was believed in the Confederate lines that the Union troops
were falling back. General Gordon said to Lee,--
"I think there is no doubt that Grant is retreating."
The Confederate chief knew better. He shook his head.
"You are mistaken," he replied earnestly,--"quite mistaken. Grant is
not retreating; _he is not a retreating man_."
The battles of Spottsylvania and North Anna followed, and then came the
disastrous affair at Cold Harbor. Then Grant changed his base to James
river and attacked Petersburg. Slowly but surely the Union lines closed
in. "Falling back" on the Union side had gone out of fashion. South or
North, all could see that now a steady resistless force was back of the
Union armies, pushing them ever on toward Richmond.
[=The End of The War=]
Grant's losses in the final campaign were heavy, but Lee's slender
resources were wrecked in a much more serious proportion; and for
the Confederates no recruiting was possible. Their dead, who lay so
thickly beneath the fields, were the children of the soil, and there
were none to replace them. In some cases whole families were destroyed;
but the survivors still fought on. In the Confederate lines around
Petersburg there was often absolute destitution. An officer who was
there testified, shortly after the end of the struggle, that every cat
and dog for miles around had been caught and eaten. Grant was pressing
onward; Sherman's march through Georgia and the Carolinas had proved
that the Confederacy was an egg-shell; Sheridan's splendid cavalry was
ever hovering round the last defenders of the bars and stripes. Grant
saw that all was over, and on April 7, 1865, he wrote that memorable
letter calling upon Lee to surrender and bring the war to an end. Lee,
whose army was cut off beyond possibility of escape, was obliged to
consent, and the terrible four years' conflict ceased.
We have told the chief incidents in the career as a soldier of the
great Union general; we have now to deal with that of his equally great
opponent in the final year of the war, the brilliant commander of the
Confederate forces, General Robert E. Lee.
[=Character of General Lee=]
Of all the men whose character and ability were developed in the Civil
War, there was perhaps not one in either army whose greatness is more
generally acknowledged than that of the man just named. His ability as
a soldier and his character as a man are alike appreciated; and while
it is natural that men of the North should be unwilling to condone
his taking up arms against the government, yet that has not prevented
their doing full justice to his greatness. It is not too much to say
that General Lee is recognized, both North and South, as one of the
greatest soldiers, and one of the ablest and purest men, that America
has produced.
Lee, like Grant, was a graduate of West Point and had seen service in
the Mexican war, in which he won high honor. It was he who, when John
Brown made his raid against Harper's Ferry, was despatched with a body
of troops for his capture. The raiders had entrenched themselves in the
engine house of the arsenal, but Lee quickly battered down the door,
captured them, and turned them over to the civil authorities.
[=Lee's Devotion to His State=]
Lee, the son of "Light Horse Harry Lee," a famous general of the
Revolutionary War, cherished an attachment to the Union which his
father had helped him to form, and at the breaking out of the Civil
War was in great doubt as to what course he should take. He disapproved
of secession, but was thoroughly pervaded with the idea of loyalty to
his state,--an idea which was almost universal in the South, though
not entertained by the people of the North. He had great difficulty in
arriving at a decision; but when at last Virginia adopted an ordinance
of secession, he resigned his commission in the United States army.
Writing to his sister, he said, "Though I recognize no necessity for
this state of things, and would have forborne and pleaded to the end
for redress of grievances, yet in my own person I had to meet the
question whether I should take part against my native state. With all
my devotion to the Union, and the feeling of loyalty and duty as an
American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind to raise
my hand against my relatives, my children, my home. I have therefore
resigned my commission in the army, and, save in defence of my native
state, I hope I may never be called upon to draw my sword."
[=Lee in Command at Richmond=]
It was not a case in which a soldier who believed in state supremacy
could long hesitate. Virginia was invaded, and Lee drew his sword
"in defence of his native state," his first service being as
brigadier-general in Northwestern Virginia, where he was opposed to
General Rosecrans. Here no important battle was fought, and in the
latter part of 1861 he was sent to the coast of North Carolina, where
he planned the defences which were held good against Union attack until
the last year of the war. After the wounding of General J. E. Johnston
at Fair Oaks, Lee was called to the command of the forces at Richmond,
and on June 3, 1862, took charge of the army defending the Confederate
capital.
[=The Six Day's Fight=]
The task before him was no light one. McClellan lay before Richmond
with a powerful and well-appointed army, and that city was in
considerable danger of capture. But the generals opposed to each other
were of very different calibre. McClellan was of the cautious and
deliberate order; Lee was one of those ready to dare all "on the hazard
of a die." On June 26th he made a vigorous assault on the Union army,
and continued it with unceasing persistence day after day for six days,
driving McClellan and his men steadily backward. On the final day, July
1st, the Union army, strongly posted on Malvern Hill, defeated Lee, who
suffered heavy loss. But McClellan continued to retreat until the James
River was reached and the siege of Richmond abandoned.
A few months passed, and then, with a sudden and rapid sweep north, Lee
fell upon the large army which had been gathered under General Pope,
on the old battlefield of Bull Run. Here a terrible struggle took
place, ending in the disastrous defeat of Pope. In this bloody battle
the Unionists lost 25,000 men, of whom 9,000 were made prisoners. The
Confederates lost about 15,000. As the defeated army had fallen back on
Washington, that city was safe against assault, and on September 4th,
with another of his brilliant and rapid movements, Lee marched his army
into Maryland, hoping that this State would rise in his support.
[=Second Bull Run and Antietam=]
He was disappointed in this; the Marylanders proved staunch for the
Union; but one great advantage was gained in the capture of Harper's
Ferry by Stonewall Jackson, with nearly 12,000 prisoners and immense
quantities of munitions of war. It was a bloodless victory, as valuable
in its results for the Confederacy as had been the sanguinary battle of
Bull Run. A few days later, on September 17th, the two late opponents,
McClellan and Lee, met in conflict at Antietam, in the most bloody
battle, for the numbers engaged, of the war. Lee had taken a dangerous
risk in weakening his army to despatch Jackson against Harper's Ferry.
But the alert Jackson was back again, and the Confederates had 70,000
men to oppose to the 80,000 under McClellan. The result was in a
measure a drawn battle, but Lee was so severely handled that he did not
deem it safe to wait for a renewal of the conflict, and withdrew across
the Potomac. The failure of McClellan to pursue with energy brought his
career to an end. He was removed from command by the government and
replaced by General Burnside.
[=Fredericksburg And Chancellorsville=]
It cannot be said that the change of commanders was a successful one.
Burnside attacked the vigilant Lee at Fredericksburg, on December 13th,
and met with one of the most disastrous defeats of the war, losing
nearly 14,000 men to a Confederate loss of 5,000. General Hooker, who
succeeded him, met with a similar defeat. Supplied with a splendid
army, over 100,000 strong, he attacked Lee at Chancellorsville on May
3, 1863, and met with a terrible repulse, through a brilliant flank
movement executed by Stonewall Jackson, losing over 17,000 men. The
Confederates had a loss, not less severe, this being the death of
Jackson, their most brilliant leader after Lee.
His great successes at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville led Lee to
venture upon a daring but dangerous movement, an invasion of the North;
one which, if successful, might have placed Philadelphia, Baltimore,
and Washington in his hands, but which, if unsuccessful, would leave
him in a very critical position.
[=The Armies at Gettysburg=]
[=The Union Victory at Gettysburg=]
It was, as all readers know, unsuccessful. General Meade, who replaced
Hooker in command, followed the Confederates north with the utmost
haste, and placed himself across their path at Gettysburg, in western
Pennsylvania. On July 1st, the advance columns of the two armies met,
and engaged in a preliminary struggle, which ended in a repulse of the
Union forces. These fell back and took up a strong position on Cemetery
Ridge, where during the night they were strongly reinforced by the
troops hurrying up from the south. During the next two days the Union
army fought on the defensive, Lee making vigorous onslaughts upon it
and fighting desperately but unsuccessfully to break Meade's line or
seize some commanding point. The end of this fierce struggle--which
is ranked among the decisive battles of the world--came on the 3d,
when Lee launched a powerful column, 15,000 strong, under General
Pickett, against the Union centre. It ended in a repulse, almost an
annihilation, of the charging force, and the great battle was at an
end. The next day Lee retreated. He had lost in all about 30,000 men.
The Union loss aggregated about 23,000.
[=The 4th of July, 1863=]
The 4th of July, 1863, was in its way as great a day for the American
Union as the 4th of July, 1776, for it was the great turning point in
the war. On this day Grant took possession of Vicksburg, with 30,000
prisoners, and cut the Confederacy in two. And on the same day Lee
began his retreat, disastrously beaten in his last act of offensive
warfare. During the remainder of his career he was to stand on the
defence, until driven to bay and forced to surrender by the hammer-like
blows of "Unconditional surrender Grant."
[=The Great Struggle for Richmond=]
But while brilliant in offensive war, Lee was in his true element in
defence, and never has greater skill and ability, or more indomitable
resistance, been shown than in his struggle against his vigorous
adversary. Grant was appointed commander-in-chief of the Union armies,
on March 1, 1864. Having sent Sherman to conduct a campaign in the
South, he himself, on May 4 and 5, crossed the Rapidan River for a
direct advance on Richmond. A campaign of forty-three days followed,
in which more than 100,000 men, frequently reinforced, were engaged
on either side. Grant came first into encounter with Lee in the
Wilderness, near the scene of Hooker's defeat a year before. Here,
after two days of terrible slaughter, the battle ended without decided
advantage to either side, though the Union loss was double that of the
Confederates.
Finding Lee's position impregnable, Grant advanced by a flank
movement to Spottsylvania Court House. Here, on May 11th, Hancock,
by a desperate assault, captured Generals Johnson and E.H. Stewart,
with 3000 men and 30 guns, while Lee himself barely escaped. But no
fighting, however desperate, could carry Lee's works. Sheridan with
his cavalry now made a dashing raid toward Richmond. He fought the
Confederate cavalry, killed their ablest general, J. E. B. Stuart, and
returned, having suffered little damage, to Grant. On May 17th, Grant,
having executed another flank movement, reached the North Anna River.
But Lee had fallen back with his usual celerity, and the advancing
army found itself again in face of strong entrenchments. As a vigorous
attack failed to carry Lee's works, Grant made a third flank march,
which brought him to the vicinity of Richmond.
Here once more he found his indefatigable opponent in his front, very
strongly posted at Cold Harbor. Grant, perhaps incensed at seeing this
man always blocking up his road, hurled his tried troops upon the
impregnable works of the enemy. It was a vain effort, leading only
to dreadful slaughter. The Unionists lost in this hopeless affair
over 10,000 in killed and wounded, while the Confederates escaped
practically without loss.
[=Grant's March on Petersburg=]
Grant now executed the most promising of his flank movements. He
secretly crossed the James River about June 15th and made a dash on
Petersburg, hoping to seize the railroads leading south and to cut the
line of supply of Richmond. But unforeseen delays and strong resistance
enabled Lee to throw a force of his veterans into the town, and the
movement failed. And now for months it was a question of attack and
defence. Both sides threw up entrenchments of enormous strength, and
the following fall and winter were occupied in an incessant artillery
duel, marked by a few assaults, which had little effect other than that
of loss of life.
But during all this time Lee's army was weakening, while that of Grant
was kept in full strength. At the end of March, 1865, the final events
of the great struggle were at hand. Grant sent Warren and Sheridan to
the south of Petersburg, to cut the Danville and Southside Railroads,
Lee's avenues of supply. On April 1st the Confederate right wing was
encountered and defeated at Five Forks, and on the following day the
whole line of works defending Petersburg was successfully assailed.
[=The End of the Conflict=]
Richmond could no longer be held. Lee evacuated it that night, and
retreated towards Danville with about 35,000 men. But the Union cavalry
under Sheridan pursued with such celerity that escape was cut off, and
the Confederates were surrounded at Appomattox Court House, and forced
to surrender on April 9, 1865.
Lee had made for himself a world-wide reputation. While the bulldog
persistence of Grant had enabled him to crush army after army of
the Confederacy, Lee had shown himself one of the most brilliant of
generals, successful in all his assaults except at Gettysburg, and
almost without a peer in defensive warfare. Only the utter exhaustion
of the country behind him and the slow grinding of his army into
fragments brought final success to his opponents.
We can only refer briefly to the careers of some of the abler
subordinate commanders in the war. First among them was Sherman, whose
exploits in great measure place him on a level with Grant and Lee. In
truth, there was no more brilliant operation in the entire war than his
famous "March through Georgia."
[=Sherman's March on Atlanta=]
This striking event was the culmination of a series of successful
battles and flank movements, by which Johnston was gradually forced
back from Chattanooga to Atlanta. Here the able Johnston was removed
and replaced by the dashing but reckless Hood, who attacked Sherman
fiercely, but only to meet a disastrous repulse. A final flank
movement, which cut off Hood's sources of supply, forced him to
evacuate Atlanta, which Sherman occupied on September 1, 1864. It was
the most brilliant success of the year, and Sherman became the hero of
the hour. Hood, finding that he could do nothing there, made a dash
into Tennessee, hoping to draw Sherman after him for the defence of
Nashville.
Sherman had no intention of doing anything of the kind. The removal of
Hood from his vicinity was just what he wanted, and he remarked in a
chuckling tone, "If Hood will go to Tennessee I will be glad to furnish
him with rations for the trip." What he had in view was something very
different; namely, to abandon his long line of supplies, march across
Georgia to Savannah, nearly three hundred miles away, and live upon
the country as he went, while destroying one of the richest sources of
Confederate supply.
[=Marching Through Georgia=]
The Confederate generals did not dream of a movement of such unusual
boldness, and left the field clear for Sherman's march. For a month
he and his men simply disappeared. No one knew where they were, or
if they were not annihilated. They had plunged into the heart of the
Confederacy, far away from all means of communication, and the people
of the North could only wait and hope. "I know which hole he went in
at," said Lincoln to anxious inquirers, "but I know no more than you at
which hole he will come out."
He came out at Savannah. He had cut a great swath, thirty miles wide,
through Georgia, his soldiers living off the country and rendering it
incapable of furnishing supplies for the Confederate armies, and on
December 23d he sent Lincoln a despatch that carried joy throughout
the North: "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of
Savannah, with one hundred and fifty guns and plenty of ammunition, and
about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton."
[=Sherman Marches North=]
The remainder of Sherman's movement may be briefly told. Marching
northward, he took Charleston, which had so long defied Union assault,
without a shot. Reaching North Carolina, he found himself opposed again
to Johnston, but before much fighting took place the news of Lee's
surrender came, and nothing was left for Johnston except to yield up
his force. Meanwhile, Thomas, who had saved the army at Chickamauga,
hurried to Nashville to meet the hard-fighting Hood, and there defeated
him so utterly and dispersed his army so completely that it never came
together again.
[=General Early's Raid on Washington=]
There is only one further exploit of the Union generals that calls
here for special mention, that of Sheridan's famous ride. In 1864 Lee
sent General Early with 20,000 men to the Shenandoah Valley, recently
cleared of its defenders, the purpose being to threaten Washington
and possibly oblige Grant to weaken his forces for its defence.
Success attended Early's movement. He invaded Maryland, defeated Lew
Wallace near Frederick, and reached the suburbs of Washington, which
an immediate attack might have placed in his hands. Not venturing,
however, to attack the capital, he soon returned, with large spoils in
horses and cattle, to the Valley, where he defeated General Crook at
Winchester.
In one respect this movement had failed. Grant was not induced to
weaken his forces to any important extent. Had it been Stonewall
Jackson in the Valley it might have been different, but he contented
himself with sending Sheridan to take care of Early. Sheridan bided his
time, despite the growing impatience in the country. Grant visited him,
intending to propose a plan of operations, but he found that Sheridan
was in full touch with the situation, and left him to his own devices.
[="Whirling Through Winchester."=]
At length, in September, Early incautiously divided his command, and
Sheridan, who was closely on the watch, attacked him, flanked him right
and left, broke his lines in every direction, and sent him, as he
telegraphed to Washington, "Whirling through Winchester." "I have never
since deemed it necessary to visit General Sheridan before giving him
orders," said Grant afterwards. Sheridan again attacked and defeated
Early at Fisher's Hill, driving him out of the valley and into the gaps
of the Blue Ridge.
[Illustration: SURRENDER OF GENERAL LEE TO GENERAL GRANT, AT
APPOMATTOX COURTHOUSE, APRIL 9, 1865
"The two generals met at the house of Major McLean,
in the hamlet of Appomattox Courthouse, where Lee
surrendered all that remained of the Confederate
Army, which for nearly four years had beaten back
every attempt to capture Richmond. Grant's terms, as
usual, were generous. He did not ask for Lee's sword,
and demanded only that he and his men should agree
not again to bear arms against the Government of the
United States."]
[Illustration: THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION WHICH DECIDED UPON THE
ELECTION OF PRESIDENT HAYES
Composed of three Republican and two Democratic
Senators, three Democratic and two Republican
Representatives, three Republican and two Democratic
Justices of the Supreme Court; total, eight
Republicans and seven Democrats. By a strict party
vote the decision was given in favor of Mr. Hayes,
who, two days later, March 4, 1877, was inaugurated
President of the United States.]
Sometime afterwards took place the most famous event in Sheridan's
career. During an absence at Washington his camp at Cedar Creek was
surprised by Early, the men were driven back in disorderly rout,
and eighteen guns and nearly a thousand prisoners were lost.
Sheridan, on his way back from the capital, had stopped for the
night at Winchester. On his way to the front the next morning the
sound of distant guns came to his ears. Perceiving that a battle was
in progress, he rode forward at full speed. Soon he began to meet
frightened fugitives, and guessed what had happened. Taking off his
hat, he swung it in the air as he dashed onward at a gallop, shouting,
"Face the other way, boys; face the other way. We're going back to lick
them out of their boots!"
[=Sheridan's Ride=]
His words were electrical. The fugitives did "face the other way."
As he came nearer and met the retreating companies and regiments, he
rallied them with the same inspiring cry. The men turned back. The
Confederates, who were rifling their camp, were astounded to find a
routed army charging upon them. Dismay spread through their ranks,
they were thrown into disorder, and were soon in full flight, having
lost all the captured guns and twenty-four more, with a heavy loss in
killed, wounded, and prisoners. Since that day "Sheridan's ride" has
been celebrated in song and story as the most dramatic incident of the
war.
[=Stonewall Jackson and His Exploits=]
We have told some of the exciting events of the conflict from the Union
side. The Confederates also had their dashing generals and thrilling
deeds of valor. But this chapter is already so extended that we must
confine ourselves to an account of but one in addition to Lee, the
renowned Stonewall Jackson. It is well known how Thomas J. Jackson got
this title of honor. In the battle of Bull Run his men stood so firm
amid the disordered fragments of other corps, that General Bee called
attention to them: "Look at those Virginians! They stand like a stone
wall." The title of "Stonewall" clung to their leader until his death.
His most famous work was done in the Shenandoah Valley. In March, 1862,
he retreated before Banks some forty miles, then suddenly turned and
with only 3,500 men drove him back in dismay. But his most brilliant
exploit was in April, when he whipped Milroy, Banks, Shields, and
Fremont, one after another, in the Valley, and then suddenly turned,
marched to Lee's aid, and helped to defeat McClellan at Gaines's Mills,
the first victory in the memorable six days' fight.
In August, 1862, he drove Pope back from the Rappahannock, and by
stubborn fighting held him fast until Longstreet could get up to aid
in the victory of the second Bull Run. We have told of his striking
exploit at Harper's Ferry, and how he won the day at Chancellorsville.
Here he was wounded by a mistaken volley from his own men, was soon
after attacked with pneumonia, and died on May 10, 1863. Thus fell
the ablest man, after Lee, that the great contest developed on the
Confederate side.