In 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves in Confederate states and the Homestead Act providing land in the West. Grant was ordered to capture Vicksburg, seen as key to Union control of the Mississippi. The Union suffered defeat at Chancellorsville but halted Lee's second invasion of the North at Gettysburg in July. On the same day, Grant captured Vicksburg, dividing the Confederacy. Draft riots in New York City targeted African Americans, reflecting opposition to the war. Lincoln met with Douglass and redefined the war's purpose in his Gettysburg Address.

1. A SURVEY OF
AMERICAN HISTORY
Unit 2: Westward Expansion and Civil War
Part 19: The Civil War (III)

2. FREEDOM AND
OPPORTUNITY
• On September 22, 1862,
Abraham Lincoln issued a
proclamation that promised
freedom to all slaves who lived
in the Confederate States and
were willing to join the war
efforts of the Union.
• The proclamation did not apply
to slaves in the Border States,
and would come into effect on
January 1, 1863.
• It came into effect together with
the Homestead Act of 1862,
which eased the conditions of
acquiring land in the West.

3. FREEDOM AND
OPPORTUNITY
• In passing these two pieces of
legislation, Lincoln aimed to
deplete the resources of the
Confederate States.
• The Emancipation Proclamation
reduced the Confederacy’s
supply of free labor, affecting
the Confederate economy.
• The Homestead Act appealed
to young conscripts in the
Confederate Army, offering
them the opportunity to start a
new life outside the South.

4. “VICKSBURG
IS THE KEY”
• In March 1863, Lincoln issued
Ulysses S. Grant with orders to
capture the fortified city of
Vicksburg, Mississippi.
• “Vicksburg is the key,” Lincoln
wrote. “The war can never be
brought to a close until the key
is in our pocket.”
• Vicksburg was strategically
located on a bend in the
Mississippi River.
• The capture of Vicksburg would
end the campaign along the
Mississippi, resulting in total
Union control of the waterway.

5. THE BATTLE OF
CHANCELLORSVILLE
• In April 1863, as Grant began his
Vicksburg Campaign in the
West, Lincoln again ordered the
Army of the Potomac to capture
Richmond, Virginia.
• This was the fifth time the Union
advanced on Richmond,
following several failed attempts
at the First Battle of Bull Run,
the Battle of Hampton Roads,
the Battle of Seven Pines, and
the Battle of Fredericksburg
towards the end of 1862.
• On April 30, the Union’s Army of
the Potomac marched against
the forces led by Robert E. Lee.

6. THE BATTLE OF
CHANCELLORSVILLE
• The Union forces vastly
outnumbered the Confederate
forces: 134,000 to 61,000.
• Nevertheless, Lee’s men won
the battle due to tactical
indecision in the Union
leadership and a risky but
strategically important splitting
of Confederate forces.
• More than 30,000 men on both
sides were killed or wounded.
• Stonewall Jackson was killed
by friendly fire after the battle.

7. THE BATTLE OF
GETTYSBURG
• Emboldened by his success at
Chancellorsville, Lee embarked
on an invasion of the northern
states in June and July 1863.
• This was his second invasion of
the North, after his defeat at the
Battle of Antietam brought his
Maryland Campaign to an end.
• This new invasion was intended
to win international recognition
of the independence and
sovereignty of the Confederacy
by proving to Great Britain and
France that the Confederate
States could win a war.

8. THE BATTLE OF
GETTYSBURG
• Lee’s advance was halted at
the Battle of Gettysburg, the
largest battle of the Civil War,
on July 4, 1863.
• Lee had advanced as far north
as the town of Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania, before Union
forces intercepted him.
• The Union and Confederate
forces were almost evenly
matched: 93,000 to 72,000.
• The Union forces formed a
defensive line to protect the
town from their opponents.

9. THE BATTLE OF
GETTYSBURG
• Three days of battle ended with
a massive Confederate assault
on the Union. The assault was
known as Pickett’s Charge and
involved more than 12,000 men
charging against the Union line.
• At least 46,000 men on both
sides were killed or wounded,
and possibly up to 51,000.
• Lee led his surviving forces on a
retreat back to Virginia.
• Lee’s loss significantly reduced
the likelihood of international
recognition of the Confederacy.

10. THE SIEGE OF
VICKSBURG
• On the same day as Lee’s
defeat at Gettysburg, Grant
captured the city of Vicksburg.
• Grant’s forces had surrounded
the city since late May, cutting
off its supplies and placing it
under siege for six weeks.
• Grant’s victory propelled him to
nationwide fame and crippled
the Confederacy, cutting off
Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana
from the rest of the South.

11. THE NEW YORK
DRAFT RIOTS
• Despite the recent Union
victories, the war was ongoing
and the high rate of casualties
led the Congress to introduce
conscription (draft) laws.
• The laws allowed any conscript
to commute his draft, deferring
it indefinitely, for a fee of $300.
• Because only the wealthiest
conscripts could afford the
commutation fee, actual
conscripts were overwhelmingly
working class immigrants.

12. THE NEW YORK
DRAFT RIOTS
• In mid-July 1863, anti-draft riots
broke out amongst Irish
communities in New York City.
• The rioters at first targeted the
authorities responsible for the
draft, but then targeted
innocent African Americans.
• More than one hundred African
Americans were killed.
• The rioters were stopped by
militia troops who were diverted
to New York after having just
served at Gettysburg.

13. LINCOLN AND
DOUGLASS MEET
On August 10, 1863, Frederick
Douglass met Abraham Lincoln in
Washington, DC. Douglass was the
first African American ever to be
invited to the White House. He said
that Lincoln expressed thoughts on
slavery which were “[e]vidence
conclusive that the [Emancipation
P]roclamation… was not effected
merely as a [military] necessity.”

14. THE BATTLE OF
CHICKAMAUGA
• After the Union victories at
Gettysburg and Vicksburg,
Union confidence was high.
• Union forces had also captured
the city of Chattanooga,
Tennessee, which held an
important railway supply line.
• In September 1863, however,
Confederate forces stopped the
Union advance through
Tennessee at Chickamauga.
• The Union forces retreated to
Chattanooga as the men of the
Confederacy held their ground.

15. THE GETTYSBURG
ADDRESS
On November 19, 1863, Lincoln
traveled to Gettysburg to deliver an
official address as the battlefield
was transformed into a national
memorial. In his address, Lincoln
recast the Civil War as a struggle to
preserve the achievements of the
American Revolution and to resolve
the problems of its aftermath.

16. A SURVEY OF
AMERICAN HISTORY
Unit 2: Westward Expansion and Civil War
Part 19: The Civil War (III)