- [Narrator] This video was made possible by Honey. Stick around to learn how you can save money when you shop online. (ominous music) As the Union's struggle to take control in the East continued, elsewhere, the war raged on.
The Confederates attempted an invasion of Kentucky, hoping the state as a whole would join them, but they were pushed back. The Indian territory saw Native American tribes ally with one side or the other in the hopes of securing rights after the war. Along the Mississippi, General Ulysses S.
Grant remained one of the few Union generals scoring major victories. With his best pal General Sherman by his side, Grant led his armies down the Mississippi to the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg. Both sides knew that if Vicksburg fell, the Confederacy would be split in two, and the Confederates prepared for an intense defense of the city.
But back in the East, Lincoln still wanted somebody to march south and take Richmond. Having given General McClellan the boot, he needed a new man in charge. All right, Mr President, option one is General Hooker.
Bit of a nutcase, but a good general. Option two, his qualifications are his name is Burnside, and he has freakin' dope-ass sideburns. Say no more!
So General Burnside was put in charge of the Army of the Potomac and sent south. Lincoln hoped he finally had a general who could succeed. Burnside met General Lee at the city of Fredericksburg, where he intended to rapidly cross the river and take the city.
But the Union War Department was too slow in delivering the pontoon bridges, and the two sides were forced to camp across from each other, close enough to speak. Hey, Yankee, ready to get your butt kicked? Yeah, right, Rebel.
God is on our side. No way! God's on our side!
Oh, ya think so? Well, why don't we ask him? Hey God, whose side are you on?
(lightning zaps) Ow. Dude, uncool. With over 100,000 men, the Union army finally launched their massive attack on the 11th of December.
But by now, the Confederates had amassed their forces. During the battle, wave after wave of brave Union men marched headlong into a brutal Confederate onslaught. Even the Confederates couldn't believe what they were seeing, and in one moment of comradery, a Confederate sergeant, unable to take it, reportedly came out into the field to tend to the Union wounded.
Seeing this, the Union troops held their fire. Still, Burnside and his forces were soundly defeated at Fredericksburg and forced to retreat. Lincoln's popularity and Northern morale continued to plummet, especially as the winter heading into 1863 was bad.
The winter camps were rife with disease. The food was less than appealing. On both sides, men began to leave.
Hey, where do you think you're going? I'm deserting. What?
! Don't you love your country? Yes, I do, and I'm trying to get back to it as quick as I can.
Lincoln, ever the kind and caring man he was, spent much of his time pardoning deserters' death sentences. Oh my, here's a 17-year-old boy sentenced to be hanged. Well, I'd better suspend his sentence or he'll be suspended tomorrow.
(men groaning) What? Try to keep the numbers up, both sides had introduced conscription. There was controversy in the North, however, since Rich men could simply pay to have someone else fight on their behalf.
Riots broke out in New York City, with enraged mobs, furious at the idea of going to fight for slaves, an idea that many of them simply did not support. However, after so much pressure, the Union had finally begun allowing black men to enlist, and these men, knowing what they were fighting for, signed up. By the end of the war, nearly 200,000 troops, 10% of the Union Army, would be black.
The valor and bravery they showed throughout silencing critics. Okay, well that last guy was useless. Let's try this Hooker fellow.
General Joseph Hooker was put in charge of the Army of the Potomac, and once again, Lincoln ordered him to move south and take Richmond. Hooker met Lee at the battle of Chancellorsville, where Hooker had over twice the men Lee did. Lee was forced to defy all military convention and split his smaller force into two.
Lee had absolutely no chance of winning, and Lee won. It was his masterpiece. Lee did suffer one significant loss during the battle, though.
As his right-hand man, Stonewall Jackson, was riding back to the Confederate lines at night, the nervous Confederate troops, unable to recognize him, opened fire. (rifle firing) You boys done goofed up. Jackson died eight days later.
As for Lincoln, he couldn't believe it. It was yet another loss, and Northern support continued to waver. While the Union kept on struggling in the East, out West, Unconditional Surrender Grant was making moves as always.
In an attempt to take Vicksburg on the Mississippi, he made a series of risky and bold movements. He sent a cavalry raid, and feigned Sherman north to confuse the enemy. Then, aided by a fleet of ironclads on the river, he raced his army south to cross the Mississippi.
Aware that the terrain to the north was restrictive, instead, he strategically moved northeast, hitting Vicksburg's supply line and defending his rear from Confederate armies in Jackson. Once he reached Vicksburg, the Confederate defense became hardened, and Grant was forced to settle in for a month-long siege, during which time, he got rather bored. Despite not taking the city, Lincoln loved it, and encouraged Grant to hold firm.
It would only be a matter of time before the Mississippi was in Union hands. Around this time, the people in the west of Virginia, who had remained loyal to the Union throughout, finally broke away to form their own state. They could have named it anything in the world, but the creative minds at the time came up with the ingenious West Virginia.
Back in Washington, Lincoln once again wanted a new general to take command. Oh my goodness. Why do all these 19th century generals look so bust?
Look, we got Sleepy Eyes Joe here. That's Princess Leia with a mustache. E.
T. , phone the doctor! Fine.
Why don't we give Snapping Turtle McGee here a shot? So General Snapping Turtle McGee was put in charge of the Army of the Potomac, and it was a crucial time for the Union, because once again, the Confederates decided to go on the attack. So far, they had done exceedingly well militarily, but as the war kept going, the Confederate economy was crumbling.
Riots broke out in the streets of Richmond as the price of bread skyrocketed. Supplies were dwindling. Jefferson Davis wanted to send men west to rescue Vicksburg, but General Lee knew the longer the war lasted, the worse their chances got, and he still hoped if he could just threaten DC, the already demoralized North would surrender.
So in June, 1863, with the momentum behind him, General Lee once again entered the North, fighting his way through Maryland and into Pennsylvania. General Meade set out to meet him for what would be the most significant battle of the entire war. If the Confederates won, DC could fall.
If the Union won, it would be a turning point, as the Confederates would run out of steam, and the small town that was to get caught up in the crossfire of the largest battle in American history was Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. On June 1st, units from each army encountered one another and skirmished through the town itself. The townspeople were forced to take refuge.
Except for one man, who reportedly ran outside for a strange reason. Joseph, what are you doing? I'm not gonna let them take my beans!
How many times do I have to tell you, they're not here for your beans! By the second day, over 100,000 men stretched for miles across the battlefield. Lee took the initiative, deciding to hit the enemy's flanks, and he came very close to breaking through the Union's disorganized left, but Union Colonel Joshua Chamberlain ordered a desperate bayonet charge, smashing into the Confederates and forcing them back.
The Union forces held across the line. On the final day, Lee believed the Union army had fortified its flanks, so we decided to finish them off with one massive central assault. The Confederates rushed at the Union lines during General Pickett's charge, and this time, it was the Union's turn to unleash hell.
Meade had correctly guessed Lee's strategy, and the Confederates were decimated, forced to turn and flee. A devastated General Lee called out to his fleeing and wounded men, telling them it was his fault. And after holding for a counterattack that never came, he ordered a retreat back into Virginia.
The North had just managed to score a massive victory, and one they desperately needed. And if that wasn't enough, in the West, after a month-long siege, Vicksburg finally fell. The North now held the Mississippi, and better yet, it was the 4th of July.
With control of the Mississippi, Union forces moved into Arkansas and Tennessee. Tennessee in particular saw heavy fighting with Union General Rosecrans masterfully pushing Braxton Bragg's Army of the Tennessee out of Tennessee. He suffered a major setback, however, at the bloody battle of Chickamauga, and ended up under a Confederate siege at Chattanooga.
At one point during the siege, a temporary truce was declared so that wounded men could be recovered. And often in the Civil War, during these small truces, men from both sides would meet in the middle to trade things like tobacco, coffee, and maybe even honey. Do you like honey?
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So thank you. Now, where was I? Oh yeah, Vicksburg, 4th of July, and the siege of Chattanooga.
Thankfully, General Grant, now in charge of all western Union armies, showed up and karate-kicked Bragg right back into Georgia, like this. (Bragg thumping) With Sherman and Hooker, Grant took on Confederate positions in the mountains around the city, including the famous Battle Above the Clouds and Mission Ridge. Grant continued to be Lincoln's number one guy.
With these victories, Lincoln hoped the war was finally turning. Back in Gettysburg, the entire town had been turned into a hospital to care for the scores of wounded men. Throughout the war, on both sides, women such as Clara Barton rose to the occasion, doing crucial work on the home front and volunteering as nurses for those who had given their lives.
A new national cemetery was to be established at Gettysburg, and Abraham Lincoln traveled out to attend the opening ceremony. At the event, the main speaker spoke for two hours. Then Abraham Lincoln was called forward to give some brief appropriate remarks.
In just two minutes, he masterfully and poignantly iterated America's national purpose and the need to continue the fight. The Gettysburg Address would become one of the most famous speeches in American history. While they were now making progress, the North still couldn't find a decisive victory in the East, and that was bad news for Lincoln, because his presidency was now in its fourth year.
In 1864, there was an election coming. The Confederates knew this too, and with little hope left of being able to threaten the North militarily, they believed their last shot at victory may be in the election. Since Lincoln, emancipation, and the war itself weren't exactly popular, people in the North were sick of war and wanted to put it behind them.
Robert E. Lee hoped that if he could just hold out and continue to inflict more defeats, the people of the North would vote Lincoln out and replace him with a Southern sympathizer who may be willing to negotiate. Lincoln knew now he desperately needed a victory.
Now, I know what you're thinking. "But OverSimplified, if Lincoln loves General Grant so much, then why doesn't he put him in charge of the campaign in the East? " Well, guess what, loyal subscriber?
You've hit the nail on the head. You're bold, Grant. I'll grant you that.
I'm promoting you to general-in-chief, and I ain't taking you for granted. Now, I want you to go defeat Lee. Grant me my wish!
Please stop. So Grant was put in charge, and he came up with a new plan. He wanted to press the Confederates on all fronts.
With General Banks to capture Mobile, Alabama, General Sherman moving south to Atlanta, and Grant joining the Army of the Potomac as they advanced through Virginia, in May, 1864, that plan went into action. Sherman steadily advanced on Atlanta, facing off against the smaller Confederate army under General Joseph E. Johnston.
In addition, a cruel yet highly skilled cavalry general, and winner of the funniest Confederate statue award, Nathan Bedford Forrest, was also nearby, doing his best to threaten Sherman's advance. But in a series of battles, Sherman dominated, and pushed Johnson back to the city, but he was held just outside of Atlanta itself, and was forced to lay siege. Meanwhile, the main show was happening to the east in Virginia.
The Union's top general was finally about to face off against the Confederacy's. Lincoln hoped Grant would bring something new to the Eastern theater, and bring something new he did. As Grant began moving south, Lee still regularly outmaneuvered him and inflicted heavy casualties, hoping to demoralize the North as much as he could.
But here's what set Grant apart from others. He knew Lee was running out of men, and that the North by comparison had plenty. Grant would throw his forces at Lee, and even when Lee repelled them, Grant, rather than pulling back, would give the order to keep moving forward and flank Lee, again and again.
In under six weeks, 80,000 men would be killed, wounded, or missing. In DC, Grant was criticized for being a butcher. At the Battle of the Wilderness, the Union casualties were so heavy that Grant reportedly began to weep.
But still, Grant could replace his losses. Lee couldn't, and he was being pushed all the way back to Richmond. Lee knew once he got there, he'd be under siege.
Then it would only be a matter of time. Close to Richmond, Grant again suffered horrific casualties in a miscalculated assault at Cold Harbor. Then, trying to be a tricksty trickster, instead of moving on Richmond directly, Grant moved towards Petersburg to fight the Confederate capital and cut its supply line.
But just like Sherman, Grant was halted outside of the city, and he too was forced to settle in for a siege. Two identical sieges would not be good enough for Lincoln's re-election. The people of the North saw the casualties Grant had been taking, and they weren't happy.
To make matters worse, Lee had sent Jubal Early north to threaten DC, with the hope of forcing Grant to withdraw troops from Richmond. Early was repelled on the outskirts of the city, with President Lincoln even attending as an observer. But the North had been given a fright.
So with the war currently in a stalemate, who was to be Lincoln's opponent in the critical 1864 election? Who would the Democrats choose? Guess what, baby?
I'm back! That's right, General George B. McClellan would run for president against Abraham Lincoln.
My fellow countrymen, if you elect me, I, the great General George McClellan, will fearlessly and valiantly win the war, unlike this douchebag. Many Democrats, however, including McClellan's running mate, wanted to end the war. So it's possible McClellan may have ended up fearlessly and valiantly making peace with the Confederates, which is exactly what they were hoping for.
With the war in a stalemate and Lincoln still not popular, it looked like McClellan would win, and the Confederacy may have a chance at surviving after all. Lincoln himself said that without some kind of major victory, it seemed "exceedingly probable that this administration will not be re-elected. " Well, fret not, Abe, because if it's a major victory you want, it's a major victory you'll get.
Atlanta had been under siege by General Sherman for just over a month. After a number of battles around the city, Sherman sent a force south to sever the city's supply line, and Confederate General Hood was forced to abandon it. Atlanta, one of the Confederacy's most important cities, had fallen into Union hands.
For many, it was clear that the Confederacy's defeat was now inevitable, and the war would soon be over. When the final results came in, Lincoln had won with an Electoral College landslide, with the troops in particular voting overwhelmingly for Lincoln, which must have been touching for their commander-in-chief. Hey man, looks like you lost.
No hard feelings? I didn't lose, I merely failed to win! In January, Lincoln involved himself heavily in ensuring the 13th Amendment made it through Congress.
In a narrow and historic vote, the amendment passed. Slavery would now be constitutionally banished throughout the nation. Black men and women, watching the vote from the galleries, knew the work had only just begun.
A couple months later, at his second inauguration, with victory right around the corner, he didn't celebrate, he didn't gloat. Instead, he emphasized the need for reunification and binding up wounds. To him, Americans, North or South, were to again be compatriots.
However, listening to Lincoln speak that day was a man who had no interest in reunification. John Wilkes Booth, an actor living in DC, was also a deep Southern sympathizer, and as the war turned against the Confederacy, depressed and full of hate, he was already plotting his revenge on the man he held responsible. With further Confederate losses, it was pretty clear at this point who would win, but still, Jefferson Davis showed no sign of giving in.
The North were frustrated to see the conflict being dragged out. Why waste more lives? In Atlanta, General Sherman believed he had the key to forcing the Confederacy's hand.
He had an unusually modern concept that an army could only survive with the support of the people. Strike at the people, and the army collapses. Sherman decided to do something unprecedented.
He would remove his 62,000 men from their supply line and March through the heartland of the Confederacy, where they would live off the land. There, they would wreak havoc. As they marched, they tore up railroads, burned farms, and destroyed communication lines.
They also liberated thousands of slaves. The damage done was estimated at $1. 4 billion.
The tactics were cruel, but to Sherman, it was better than losing yet more men in battle. In December, he reached Savannah, Georgia, but he wasn't done yet. Next he turned north to inflict his punishment on the first state to secede, South Carolina.
As he moved, he came ever closer to General Lee's army, still holding out at Petersburg. The siege of Petersburg had lasted for 292 days. 60,000 of Lee's men had deserted.
Numerous Union attempts to break through had failed. But when the breakthrough finally came, it came quick. On April 2nd, a Union assault finally pushed the Confederates from their defenses.
Hey man, there's no need to evacuate, right? You'll rescue us like last time, right? Sorry.
Can't hear you. (car engine revving) Lee narrowly escaped the city, hoping he'd be able to meet up with General Johnson and continue the fight. Grant chased him down.
Richmond was evacuated, and Jefferson Davis went on the run. As they left, the Confederates set fire to military buildings, but the flames burned out of control, and as the Union troops arrived, they became firefighters. A couple of days later, Abraham Lincoln visited the war-torn city.
Grant caught up to Lee at Appomattox Court House, where he trapped his forces. It was here, on April 9th, 1865, that Lee saw no point in continuing. Sir?
Listen, bub, I drank a bit too much last night, and now I'm hanging like a fruit bat on a hot day. So whatever you have to say, I don't want to hear it. General Lee says he wants to surrender.
Hot diggity dog! Grant and Lee met in the home of a nearby farm family, owned by a man who had tried his best to escape the Civil War years earlier, Wilmer McLean. - All right, can we all just hurry up and get this over with?
(vacuum roaring) Martha! Not now! - I'm cleaning!
Do you want us to get rats? - [Narrator] Grant and Lee, after years of war, now spoke respectfully to one another. When Lee left, his face filled with emotion, Grant's men began to cheer, but Grant ordered them to stop.
He knew that now was the time for reconciliation. Just over two weeks later, General Johnson would surrender to Sherman, ending the war for 89,000 Confederate soldiers in the largest surrender of the war. Not every Confederate state had surrendered, but the war was as good as over.
Across the North, church bells rang out and celebrations erupted. In Washington, Lincoln gave a speech from the White House to a jubilant crowd, in which, among various things, he expressed his support for black voting rights. Lincoln had seen the nation through its deepest crisis.
The presidency had visibly aged him. He had lost over 20 pounds. He said, "Sometimes, I think I am the tiredest man on Earth.
" I'm not sure tiredest is a word, but geez, the man's exhausted. Cut him some slack. On a carriage ride with Mary, Lincoln clearly was looking forward to being a president in a time of peace.
He was apparently very cheerful, surprising his wife, and he told her that between the war and the loss of their son, they'd both been very miserable. Now it was time to be happy. On the evening of April 14th, Lincoln attended a play with his wife and some friends at Ford's Theater.
It was a comedy, and the president appeared to be enjoying it very much. In a nearby bar, John Wilkes Booth swallowed two glasses of brandy. He slipped quietly into the president's booth, and awaited for the audience's laughter to rise.
(crowd laughing) The president was shot in the back of the head. Booth fled the city. Soldiers carried Lincoln to a boarding house across the street.
There, doctors declared there was nothing they could do. Surrounded by his heartbroken wife, son, and members of cabinet, at 7:22 the next morning, President Lincoln passed away. Never before had a president been murdered.
A shocked nation mourned as a 12-day funeral procession carried Lincoln back to his home in Springfield, Illinois. On April 26th, Union cavalry found John Wilkes Booth in a barn in Virginia, where he was shot. Not long after, Confederate President Jefferson Davis was also tracked down and arrested.
Imprisoned for two years, he was eventually released. The North didn't want to put him on trial for fear the jury may rule that Southern secession had in fact been legal. To ensure reconciliation, other Confederate generals and politicians were allowed to re-enter life in the now restored Union.
Scattered fighting continued into May, when the last Confederate forces in Texas disintegrated. The southern states came under northern military occupation to prevent any further rebellion, and a very difficult era of reconstruction began. Over 3 million Americans had fought, brother against brother.
The Civil War remains the bloodiest conflict in US history, but the Union had been preserved. You could say the real winners were those who were to never again be slaves. Further amendments passed by Congress gave black individuals the right to citizenship and to vote.
Significant progress had been made. However, entering into the 20th century, it was clear the fight for equality would continue. In modern America, the man who fought to preserve the nation and never gave up in the darkest of times stands as a symbol of honesty, empathy, humility, perseverance, and courage.
A continuous reminder of what has forged America and what it should ever strive to be.
