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Sherman for some time kept up a cannonade night
and day upon the city. At length, by throwing 
his
main force south, and threatening the rebel communications, be
compelled Hood to evacuate Atlanta, which was immediately occupied
by the national troops (September 2). There is reason to believe
that the loss of the enemy thus far had been more than thirty-five
thousand men, while Sherman's was about thirty thousand. During
the campaign both armies were reënforced.
26. Johnston, too weak to take the
offensive, had conducted the retreat from Dalton with masterly
skill. But his "retreating policy" was not approved at Richmond,
and General Hood, an officer of great reputation for energy and
impetuous bravery, was appointed to succeed him. With the change
of commanders came a change of policy which cost the rebels dear
in their operations before Atlanta. The second battle before this
city, July 22, was the severest fought in Georgia, and in it fell
one of the bravest and most efficient officers of the Union army,
General McPherson,1 whose command was afterwards given
to General Oliver O. Howard.2 During the siege of
Atlanta, detachments of cavalry were sent off to cut the
railroads, by which the city was supplied. In one of these
expeditions General Stoneman3 and a large force of his
troopers were taken prisoners. At length Hood sent his cavalry to
operate on Sherman's communications, and posted another part of
his army beyond the defences of the city, at Jonesboro, to protect
his own. The Federal general quickly took advantage of this
mistake, swept with most of his forces westward round Atlanta, and
defeated the part of the rebel army at Jonesboro'. Hood was
now forced to abandon the city.
27. After the fall of
Atlanta, Hood, having been reënforced, began to
threaten Sherman's communications with the north. The Federal
general pursued him into Northern Alabama, and watched him till it
became evident that he intended to move northward. Sherman then
sent reënforcements to General Thomas,4 who had
already been despatched to guard Tennessee, and leaving him to
cope with Hood, returned to Atlanta, breaking up the railroads in
his rear to prevent pursuit.4
28. Hood advanced into Tennessee,
and Thomas gradually drew in his forces towards Nashville, where
be wished to concentrate his command before coming to a general
engagement
1 See p. 297, ¶ 24. 2 See p. 313, ¶ 65. 3 See p. 283, ¶ 72. 4 See p. 300, ¶ 30.
QUESTIONS. -- When and how did Sherman at length get possession of the city? What were the losses on both sides thus far? 26. What is said of Johnston's retreating policy, and the effect of a change of commanders? Of the battle before Atlanta, July 22? What further particulars can you give of operations during the siege, and of the capture of the city? 27. What is said of the movements of Hood after the fall of Atlanta, and of Sherman's pursuit of him? Whom had Sherman sent to Tennessee, and for what purpose? What did Sherman leave Thomas to do. and what did he do himself?
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On the last day of November the invaders were
repulsed, with heavy loss, in an attack on a strong Federal column
under General Schofield,1 who, to delay their progress,
made a stand at Franklin.2 Schofield, at night,
fell back to Nashville. Soon the Confederates appeared
before this 
city,
and prepared to lay siege to it. On the 15th of December, Thomas
sallied out and attacked them; and the next day he renewed the
battle, and put them to total rout. Hood fled into Alabama with
the demoralized fragments of his army.
The opposing forces in this battle
numbered about forty thousand on each side. Thomas's loss in the
Tennessee campaign was about ten thousand men. Hood's was more
than double that number. After the decisive victory before
Nashville, Thomas vigorously pursued the enemy for several days,
capturing many prisoners.
29. During the summer East
Tennessee and Kentucky were kept in constant alarm by
bands of guerrillas, who, rushing over from Virginia, would dash
upon an isolated post, devastate the adjacent country, and escape
before they could be overtaken. In June, the guerrilla chief
Morgan,3 who had escaped from his captivity in Ohio,
entered Kentucky, and, mounting his followers on stolen
horses, made his way to Lexington. Soon, however, General
Burbridge broke up his band, which escaped in scattered parties
into Virginia. Morgan, too restless to be long idle, again
collected a small band, and made a raid into East
Tennessee, where he was surprised and killed, early in
September. General Breckinridge4 entered East Tennessee
to act in concert with Hood, in the central part of the state. In
December General Stoneman,5 who had recently been
exchanged, chased him back into Virginia. The disaster of Hood
before Nashville caused the rebel designs upon Tennessee to be
given up, and other reverses gave full occupation elsewhere to all
the troops of the Confederacy.
1 See p. 297, ¶ 24. 2 Eighteen miles south of Nashville. 3 See p. 278 ¶ 58.
4 See p. 261, ¶ 22. 5 See p. 298, ¶ 26.
QUESTIONS .-- Give an account of Hood's campaign in Tennessee, including the battles at Franklin and Nashville. -- What further can you say of the victory before Nashville and the Tennessee campaign? 29. What can you tell of guerrillas in East Tennessee and Kentucky? Give an account of Morgan's raid into Kentucky. Of his raid into East Tennessee. Of Breckinridge's invasion of East Tennessee.
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30. At Atlanta
Sherman1 destroyed all the storehouses and
public property, everything that could be
of use to an army, and, about the middle of November, abandoned
the place, and set out on his famous march to the sea. His
way lay through the heart of Georgia. By threatening different
points, he skilfully masked his designs, and prevented any
considerable gathering of the enemy to obstruct his path. In less
than a month he reached the vicinity of Savannah. He carried
Fort McAllister2 by assault, December 13, and
thus opened communication with the Federal fleet off the coast. On
the 21st he entered Savannah, its garrison, under the rebel
General Hardee,3 having fled the night before.
31. Sherman's army, on this
march, numbered sixty thousand infantry and fifty-five hundred
cavalry. The right wing was led by General Howard;4 the
left, by General Henry W. Slocum. General Kilpatrick5
commanded the cavalry, which hovered in the front and on the
flanks of the army, and met in several encounters squadrons of
rebel horsemen. In vain did Beauregard,6 now commanding
in that department, make the most frantic appeals to the Georgians
to rise and oppose the march. No serious resistance was offered.
Ten thousand negroes joined the army while on the march, and
accompanied it to the coast. Hardee destroyed what he could of
government property in Savannah, two iron-clads and other vessels
in the river, and fled with his army towards Charleston.
Some military movements in the south-west
were undertaken to coöperate with Sherman. General
Canby,7 at New Orleans, sent out an expedition which
threatened Mobile and other places, thus employing the enemy in
Southern Mississippi, and preventing their interfering with
Sherman. General Grierson8 set out from Memphis, and
made a raid to Vicksburg, thus performing a like service in the
northern part of the state.
32. In August Admiral
Farragut9 ran his fleet past Forts Gaines and
Morgan, which guarded the entrance to Mobile Bay, captured,
destroyed, or drove away the rebel fleet within, and, with a
detachment from General Canby's7 command, took the
forts. These operations closed Mobile to blockade-runners, and
prepared the way for its fall the next year.
Even Farragut's previous brilliant
exploits were rivalled by his achievements here. Lashing his
wooden vessels two abreast, that they might
1 See p. 298, ¶ 27. 2 See P. 282, ¶ 69. 3 See p. 305, ¶¶ 43, 44. 4 See p. 298, ¶ 26.
5 See p. 289, ¶ 7. 6 See p: 293: ¶ 14. 7 See p. 288, ¶ 4. 8 See p. 380, ¶ 65.
9 See p. 281, ¶ 67.
QUESTIONS. -- 30. Give an account of Sherman's march to the sea. What is said of the capture of Fort McAllister and Savannah? 31. What further particulars can yon give of this march? -- What can you tell of movements in the south-west to coöperate with Sherman? 82. Give an account of the capture of Forts Gaines and Morgan. -- What particulars of this capture can you give?
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better protect and assist each other, he boldly steamed up
between the forts, attended by the monitors of his fleet, entered
the bay, and having disposed of the enemy's gunboats, encountered
the great iron ram Tennessee. Unable to pierce her sides with
shot, the strongest vessels of the Union fleet rushed against her
at full speed, and after a fierce combat the Tennessee struck her
flag. The admiral directed the movements of his fleet from the
main-top of the Hartford, his flag-ship. Troops had already been
landed, under General Gordon Granger, in the rear of Fort Gaines,
which surrendered August 7. They were then transferred to the rear
of Fort Morgan, which surrendered on the 23d. The enemy lost
nearly fifteen hundred prisoners. The Federals lost one
iron-clad1 and a few more than three hundred
men.2
33. General Rosecrans3 had
command of the small Union force left in
Missouri.4 This state, during the year, was the
scene of another invasion by General Price,5 who
entered it from Arkansas, with some fifteen thousand men, but was
driven out with heavy loss. This was the last rebel invasion of
Missouri.
On the 27th of September he attacked
Pilot Knob, forced the garrison to retreat, and then
advancing to the Missouri, made his way westward by the line of
the river. Near the border of the state he was encountered
and defeated, October 23, by troops from Kansas, under General
Curtis,6 and by a pursuing body of cavalry under
General Pleasonton. They now retreated southward. The Federals
pursued, and the retreat soon became a disorderly flight. Finally
the invaders escaped into Arkansas, having lost artillery, trains,
and many prisoners.
34. Three English-built rebel
cruisers7 were captured in 1864: the
Alabama, Captain Semmes,8 June 19, on the coast
of France, off Cherbourg, by the Kearsarge, Captain John A.
Winslow; the Georgia, August 15, off Portugal, by the
Niagara, Commodore Craven; and the Florida, October
7, in the port of Bahia, Brazil, by the Wachusett,
Commander Collins.
The destruction of the Alabama
caused much rejoicing in the north. She had captured more than
sixty American merchantmen, and for nearly two years had eluded
pursuit. Soon after the Alabama ran into the harbor of Cherbourg,
the Kearsarge appeared outside. The rebel commander sent
Captain Winslow a challenge to fight, and Sunday morning, June 19,
moved out to the combat. The neighboring French shore was thronged
with people to witness the novel spectacle of a sea-fight between
steam-ships.
1 The Tecumseh, destroyed by a torpedo while passing the forts. 2 See p. 306, ¶ 46.
3 See p. 277, ¶ 55. 4 See p. 278, ¶¶ 59, 60. 5 See p. 256, ¶ 16.
6 See p. 258, ¶ 15. 7 See p. 286, ¶ 77, and p. 286, ¶ 78. 8 See p. 252, 33.
QUESTIONS. -- 33. Give an account of Price's invasion of Missouri. -- What particulars can you give of this invasion? 34. What three rebel cruisers were captured this year? -- What particulars can you give of the Alabama and her capture?
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The Alabama was sunk
after an action of about an hour. None were killed on board the
Kearsarge, and
but one mortally wounded.1 Several new
privateers made their appearance on the ocean this year. One
of them, the Tallahassee, coasted along the loyal states,
and in ten days destroyed more than thirty
vessels.2
35. Many rebels had sought refuge in Canada, where, aided by sympathizers in the provinces and in the Northern States, they formed various schemes against the government of the United States and the loyal people. One of these plots was to liberate several thousand rebel prisoners confined on Johnson's Island, in Lake Eric. Another was to release the eight thousand prisoners held in Camp Douglas, Chicago, plunder the city, and make a raid through the Western States. These plots were thwarted by the vigilance of the national authorities. In October a gang of armed men made a raid into the village of St. Albans, Vermont, fired upon the defenceless people, wounding some of them, robbed the banks, and then, on stolen horses, made for Canada, where they were sheltered by the authorities. Another scheme, concocted in Canada, was to burn the chief cities of the loyal states. In November an attempt was made by rebel emissaries to set fire to some of the principal hotels and theatres in New York. But the fires were extinguished before much damage was done.
1 An English steam yacht came out of the harbor of Cherbourg at the same time with the Alabama, picked up Captain Semmes and a part of his crew while struggling in the water, and steamed away to England with them. 2 See p. 310, ¶ 57.
QUESTIONS. -- What is said of new privateers? Of the Tallahassee? 35. What is said of schemes formed by rebel refugees in Canada? What plots were formed to liberate rebel prisoners, and how were they thwarted? What can you tell of the raid on St. Albans? Mention another scheme concocted in Canada. Result.
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36. In the autumn the
people of the loyal states pronounced in favor of the policy of
the administration, and for the vigorous prosecution of the war,
by the reëlection of Mr. Lincoln. Andrew
Johnson,1 of Tennessee, who, when surrounded by
traitors, had been conspicuous for his steadfast adherence to the
Union, was elected vice-president.2
Mr. Lincoln's reelection crushed the hopes which
many of the rebels had cherished that a change in the
administration might be effected, and that this would divide the
north, and give success to their treason.
37. Nevada3 became a
state this year in season to take part in the presidential
election. This was the second state, California being the first,
formed from the territory gained by the Mexican
war.4
38. The number of Federal troops
in active service this year was somewhat less than that of 1863,
being about six hundred thousand men.5 The rebel
armies in the field have been estimated at three hundred and
fifty thousand men.
Yet the contest was not so unequal as
this disparity of numbers would seem to indicate. Each national
advance required new communications to be guarded and new posts to
be garrisoned, while the rebels, having no conquests to protect,
could concentrate their whole strength against the Federal columns
actually in motion.
39. Events of 1865. -- At the beginning
of the year the armies of the Union were rapidly
increasing, and were abundantly supplied. The loyal people were
hopeful and confident. The armies of the Confederacy were
wasting away by desertion, disease, and the casualties of battle.
In March, when Grant's pressure began to be intolerable, the
Confederate government authorized the arming of slaves; but this
measure added nothing to its military strength. The rebel soldiers
in the field were scantily fed and clothed, while their families
at home were destitute and suffering. The Confederates were fast
losing heart in their cause.
1 See p. 255, ¶ 6.
2 These candidates received the electoral vote of all the loyal states but three -- New Jersey, Delaware, and Kentucky.
3 The mountain range bounding this state on the west is the Sierra Nevada -- a Spanish name, signifying mountains snow-covered. Hence the name of the state.
4 See p. 218, ¶ 7. 5 See p. 311 note 1.
QUESTIONS. -- 36. What was the result of the presidential election this year? How did Mr. Lincoln's reëlection affect the hopes of the rebels? 37. What new state was admitted this year? -- What further is said of Nevada? 38. What was the strength of the Federal and the rebel armies this year? -- What is said of the inequality of the contest? 39. What is said of the Union armies and the loyal people at the beginning of 1865? Of the armies of the Confederacy? Of rebel soldiers in the field, and their families at home?
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© 1999, 2000, 2001 for NEGenWeb Project by Ted & Carole Miller