The Civil War began as an equal battle between the Union and the Confederacy; the early battles resulted in wins from both opponents. By the battle of Gettysburg, though, the tables began to turn. This battle was fought in Pennsylvania, which was Union territory. The outcome of the battle greatly favored the Union, and was the first sign of the Union’s superiority over the Confederate army. The charts below give figures of the casualties after the battle; even though the numbers are relatively similar, the ratios between soldiers and deaths were drastically different. Where both armies averaged around 20,000 casualties, the Union army had 918,000 soldiers while the Confederacy only had 278,000 (according to Doc B). Along with soldiers, the Confederacy lost important war figures during the battle of Gettysburg. In General Lee’s letter to the Confederate President Davis, written on July 4, 1863, he names multiple Generals that died or were wounded, and also added that the Confederacy’s “losses embrace many other valuable officers and men…” (taken from Edline, http://www.edline.net/files/_zGHaC_/07d31f6f8504e9f13745a49013852ec4/Gettysburg_DBQ_-_Student_Version.pdf ). This battle proved to be such a turning point, that it caught President Lincoln’s attention, causing him to write the Gettysburg Address. At this point in time, the Union had a clear advantage over the Confederacy, which is why this battle is considered a turning point.
Taken from Edline.
As the Civil War progressed, the Union army developed a new tactic in winning: total war. While the Union occupied the South, they enacted total war, which is defined as “a war that is unrestricted in terms of weapons used, the territory or combatants involved, or the objects pursued” by Dictionary.com. Union general Grant’s first act of total war was a siege, which is defined as “a tactic in which an enemy is surrounded and starved in order to make it surrender”, according to “The Civil War- A Total War” (accessed on Edline). This was an extreme measure in order to gain possession of Vicksburg, the only city on the Mississippi River that the Union didn’t control. Although this technique was successful, it was very devastating to the civilians living in Vicksburg. Grant continued to create total war, and advised his officers to follow in his footsteps. After receiving a letter from Grant that commanded him to “do all the damage to railroads and crops” as possible, Sheridan devastated the Shenandoah Valley and reported that Southerners were “getting sick of the war” as a result. Sherman was another officer that followed the total war strategy. Even though his tactics caused around 17,000 Confederate deaths, he believed that “the crueler it [war] is, the sooner it will be over”. Even though the above officers destroyed Southern town through total war, it served as an efficient way to shorten the war. Total war was an intelligent, though aggressive, tactic that the Union used to pressure the South into surrender. The act may not have been moral, but was beneficial to the Union’s success and in ending the Civil War.
Taken from Edline
With total warfare came a quicker ending to the Civil War. For the most part, the nation celebrated the ending of a long and challenging war. Soldiers especially were glad with the termination of war, for obvious reason. Fireworks were lit in Washington D.C, because civilians were relieved to have the war over. Some Southerners were somber due to the loss of slavery, but overall most were glad the war would no longer disrupt their lives. Unfortunately, not all Americans were happy with the results. A group of conspirators against the government formed, with the goal of overturning the government. John Wilks Booth is a well-known member of this group. His assassination of President Lincoln caused a nationwide grieving. The picture to the right exemplifies how distraught Americans were from the death of their beloved president. The nation celebrated the end of the war, but grief came along with it when Lincoln was assassinated soon after.
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