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IX. The Beginning of the End

A. The CSS Hunley

The CSS Hunley was designed and built by Horace L. Hunley
After a successful test run, the Hunley was brought to Charleston, SC in August of 1863
PGT Beauregard, after being relieved of his command after Shiloh, was sent to see to the defenses of Charleston
The Hunley was taken to Charleston and placed under his command- not the Navy
The Hunley was given to the Navy shortly after the Union began the bombardment of Charleston from Morris Island
It is then that the first crew of the Hunley was assembled
The Hunley made its first tragic dive to the bottom on August 29, 1863- it was reported that the commander of the ship had stepped on the dive plane causing the submarine to dive with the hatches open: 5 of the 9 crew drowned
Within 72 hours, Beauregard had fished the submarine off the bottom and work began to restore it
H.L. Hunley convinced the navy that they should allow he and others familiar with the sub to man it- they were allowed
H.L. Hunley gathered a crew of eight for the submarine’s second dive
On October 15, 1863, H.L. Hunley and her crew set out on a maneuver to pass underneath a ship- that was their method attacking (torpedo)
An error in the dive, followed by an error in releasing the keel ballasts caused the Hunley to dive and drive itself nose first in the icy harbor bottom- all eight men, including Hunley were lost
The Hunley was retrieved several days later and was put back under the command of the army & LT. George Dixon
Lt. Dixon found a crew of nine and led them on what would become a historical mission
Improvements had made on the Hunley- instead of dragging the torpedo, they used a spar torpedo (a 10 foot spear with the torpedo attached)
On February17, 1864, Lt. Dixon and the crew of the Hunley set out from Charleston to sink the USS Housatonic
The spar torpedo impacted the Housatonic and as the Hunley pulled away it exploded sinking quickly
However, the Hunley suffered from the impact as well and sank to the bottom of the harbor

The Recovery

The Hunley was lost for 131 years until it was discovered in 1995 in the harbor
The Hunley was raised in 2000 and the crew of the Hunley was laid to rest on April 17, 2004 in Magnolia Cemetery with the other 2 crews- 140 years after they perished

B. Virginia Campaign

March 9, 1864: Ulysses S. Grant is promoted to Lt. General and General-in-Chief
Halleck became strictly administrative, while Grant took field command
Grant eliminated sideshows and concentrated forces
Grant’s solution for success
Capturing southern land meant nothing
Union must destroy the two principle armies

C. The Final Armies

West

Overall Command: William T. Sherman

Army of the Tennessee: Gen. James B. McPhereson
Army of the Cumberland: Gen. George H. Thomas

Army of the Ohio: Gen. John M. Schofield

East

Overall Command: Ulysses S. Grant

Army of the Potomac: Gen. George G. Meade

Army of the James: Gen. Benjamin Butler

The CSA had two principle armies fighting the Union
Army of Northern Virginia:

Gen. Robert E. Lee

Army of Tennessee:

Gen. Joseph E. Johnston

D. Battle of the Wilderness

Grant crosses the Rapidan River and marches through the Wilderness
Grant is headed for Richmond in order to draw Lee out into the open
Lee catches Grant in the wilderness and hits him there
Day 1 of the Wilderness

Grant’s numerical & artillery advantage are nullified in the woods

Union control most of the early fighting

The tide turns when Longstreet arrives and joins the fight

Fighting was confused and occurred in small patches

Forest fires break out & burn through the night killing most of the wounded soldiers

Day 2 of the Wilderness

Union progress is stopped by General Longstreet

Longstreet controls the center and pushes Burnside back

CSA attacks fail as well as Union advances

Longstreet is shot by his own men

G. Spotsylvania

Grant sidesteps and tries to get in between Lee and Richmond
Lee realizes Grant’s plan and beats him to Spotsylvania Courthouse
May 9, 1864 begins 12 days of fighting between the two armies
Yellow Tavern:

Gen. Sheridan’s cavalry attempts to raid Richmond

Gen. Stuart’s cavalry cuts Sheridan off at Yellow Tavern

CSA stop Sheridan, but Stuart is mortally wounded and dies in Richmond the next day

H. Battle of Spotsylvania

Grant had Gen. Hancock attack Ewell at a salient in the CSA line
Gen. John B. Gordon stopped the Union advance
The fiercest fighting occurred at what was known as the bloody angle
Gen. Anderson ends the 4th day of fighting by stopping the Union progress

I. Cold Harbor

June 3: Grant orders an all out attack on CSA lines
CSA lines were solid as their trenches were zigzagged- Union soldiers took fire from the front and side

5 mile killing zone

Battle lasted one hour and Union casualties were high (12,000)

J. Sherman’s Campaign and Atlanta

Sherman went directly after Joe Johnston and the CSA
Every time Sherman hit, Johnston would retreat further south
Sherman’s overconfidence led to a massive Union defeat at Kennesaw Mountain
Though, Johnston won Kennesaw Mt., he continued the retreat toward Atlanta
Fed up with this tactic, Davis replaces Johnston with Gen. John B. Hood
Gen. Hood was not the best selection- he had no use of his arm and his right leg was amputated

Hood proceeds to attack the Union

Hood attacks McPhereson and fails- Hood suffers 8,000 casualties but McPhereson is killed

Hood attacks Sherman and fails- 2,500 casualties

Sherman opens the artillery on the city of Atlanta
Sherman cuts the last rail line to the city and Hood evacuates in September of 1864

K. Sherman’s March to the Sea

Sherman dispatches 30,000 men under Gen. Thomas to guard Nashville
Sherman’s line was 60 miles wide as he destroys everything in his path
Sherman met no resistance until Savannah
9,000 men guarded the city
Sherman takes Savannah on December 21
Sherman sends a message to Lincoln: “I beg to present to you a Christmas Gift, the city of Savannah

L. 1st Assault on Petersburg

Significance of Petersburg

23 miles south of Richmond

The hub of 5 RR

The rail lifeline of Richmond

Petersburg was well guarded by trenches and 55 artillery batteries
Grant’s Plan:

June 6: Grant sends Sheridan & the cavalry on diversionary attacks in Charlottesville forcing Lee to dispatch Wade Hampton & the CSA cavalry

July 12: Grant sends Butler with his 2 corps across the James River headed for Petersburg

Butler crossed over a pontoon bridge near Petersburg
PGT Beauregard had been shifted to the defense of Petersburg
Butler attacks the CSA in small groups capturing parts of the CSA line
Lee dispatches A.P. Hill to Petersburg as reinforcement- Beauregard faced a force of 60,000 compared to his 10,000
Butler’s attacks are driven back
Grant calls for more attacks, but the Union is driven back by Lee’s veterans- the Union must now engage in a siege of Petersburg

M. Siege and the Battle of the Crater

The CSA could not afford to give up the town
The Union had good supply lines, while the CSA sometimes went weeks without food rations
During the siege, the 48th PA coal miners devised a plan to dig a tunnel underneath the CSA trenches

They began on June 25 and finished 1 month later

They packed the shaft with 4 tons of black powder

The explosion occurred on July 30 around 5pm

The hole created was 30 ft. deep, 80 ft. wide, and 170 ft. long

The CSA lost 278 men and a battery of artillery

The Union sent 2 divisions into the crater
Lee’s artillery and infantry fired directly into the crater at the trapped Union soldiers- this was disastrous for the Union
Grant then realized, the only way to take Petersburg was to exploit his numerical advantage and overextend the CSA lines
1864 closes with Lee’s 50,000 men fighting off starvation and trying to survive the winter
The final assault on Petersburg the following spring saw Grant extend his trenches in a circle around the city- 50 miles long
Lee realizes he can no longer defend Petersburg or Richmond

N. Five Forks

Major intersection that led to the last rail line open to the CSA

Lee sent George Pickett

Grant sent Sheridan

Lee gave strict orders to take the intersection at all costs
Pickett arrived first, poorly placed his men, and then attended a shad bake
Sheridan plowed over the CSA defenses and the Union took control of the intersection
Pickett was relieved of command

O. Fall of Richmond

Lee informed Davis that he could no longer protect Richmond and Lee withdraws to Amelia
Grant orders an all-out assault on Richmond

April 2: Richmond is evacuated

Davis and his cabinet are moved to Danville, VA
CSA set fire to the military equipment- blaze gets out of hand and half the city burns
A.P. Hill is shot and killed back at Petersburg
Lee is desperate to get to Lynchburg to join up with Johnston, but his army needs food- they receive a train load of supplies, but no food
Lee continues the retreat on April 6
Along the retreat, at the rear of the column, Gen. Ewell and 1/3 of Lee’s men are captured at Saylor’s Creek
Grant asks Lee to surrender
Lee tries to push on to rejoin Johnston, but when he reached Appomattox Courthouse, he found Sheridan in his way
The CSA were strong enough to move him and Grant was closing in from behind

P. Lee Surrenders

April 9, 1865: Lee met Grant at the house of Wilmur McClean in Appomattox
Surrender Terms:

CSA must lay down their arms and supplies

Officers may keep side arms (swords)

Soldiers must sign paroles- no federal troop will bother a CSA soldier returning home in peace

Grant allowed the men with their own horses to keep them for the plowing season

Grant ordered 25,000 rations to be given to CSA soldiers

When news reached outside the house, cheering erupted
Grant put a stop to the celebration saying: “The rebels are our countrymen again”

The formal surrender:

April 12: The surrender would take place without Lee & Grant

It took place between the soldiers: Gen. John B. Gordon surrendered to Gen. Joshua L. Chamberlain

Other surrenders:

April 26: Johnston surrenders to Sherman

May 26: Gen. Kirby Smith surrenders to Gen. Edmund Canby

The Last Casualty of War

Lincoln was attending a play at Ford’s Theatre, “Our American Cousin” on April 14, 1865
An actor and southern sympathizer, John Wilkes Booth, creeped up the stairway and shot Lincoln in the back of the head
The plot was a conspiracy to kill Lincoln, Sec. of State Seward, and Vice-President Johnson. It included Mary Surrat, John Surrat, George Atzerodt, and Booth.
Lincoln never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead on April 15.