Civil War

Thirteenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment ratified after the Civil War that forbade slavery and involuntary servitude.

Benjamin Grierson

Took 1700 troops on a cavalry raid through Mississippi. This distracted the Confederate forces defending Vicksburg and enabled Grant to move his troops south of the city.

How did Northern military strategy change after General Ulysses S. Grant took command of the Union army?

After General Grant took command the military strategy changed. Grant didn't sit around and plan for the next war. He just fought. The men fought one battle after another without rest. All the fighting had added 20 years to their age.

What was the effect of Farragut's blockade of Mobile Bay?

Although Farragut did not capture Mobile, he did seal off the bay. Blockade runners moving goods in and out of the Mississippi could no longer use any port on the Gulf of Mexico which meant the South could not get their supplies.

Pickett's Charge

An infantry assault ordered by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee against Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Union positions on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg

Sherman neckties

Nickname given to the twisted steel left behind when the union destroyed Atlanta's railroads Railroad rails were heated and tied around trees and telegraph poles

March to the Sea

Sherman's march from Atlanta, Georgia, to Savannah, Georgia which cut off confederate supplies received by the sea. They wanted to destroy the Southern economy and morale, leading to Southern surrender.

Philip Sheridan

Union General that marched through the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, destroying farms, livestock, crops, and anything else in his path.

William Tecumseh Sherman

Union General who destroyed South during "march to the sea" from Atlanta to Savannah, example of total war

George Meade

Union General who replaced Hooker and defeated Lee at Gettysburg

Joseph Hooker

Union general who replaces Burnside was defeated at the battle of Chancellorsville.

Geography and History Why was capturing Vicksburg important for the Union?

Capturing Vicksburg was a major victory for the union because now they controlled the Mississippi River which would enable the union to use the river as a transportation waterway for supplies and reinforcements, and the South was now cut off.

Describe how General Grant conducted the Confederate surrender

General Grant guaranteed that the Confederate soldiers would not be charged with treason. Grant agreed to let them take their horses home.

Ambrose Burnside

General who replaced McClellan. He resigned his command voluntarily after his failure at the battle of Fredericksburg

Explain why the Union victory at Gettysburg was so important

It was a turning point in the Civil War, eliminating the idea that Lee would have a quick win. The Union's victory strengthened the Republicans politically and ensured that the British would not recognize the Confederacy.

mandate

an authoritative command, formal order, authorization; (v.) to issue such an order

siege

military blockade or bombardment of an enemy town or position in order to force it to surrender

Appomattox Courthouse

the Virginia town where Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant in 1865, ending the Civil War

pillage

to rob of goods by open force (as in war), plunder; (n.) the act of looting; booty

Forage

to rummage, scavenge, graze for food

John Wilkes Booth

was an American stage actor who, as part of a conspiracy plot, assassinated Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1865.