Resource Center OLLibrary
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40. The first military
success of the year 1865 was the reduction of Fort Fisher,
the main defence commanding the approach to Wilmington from the
sea. A combined land and naval attack, 
commanded
by General Alfred H. Terry1 and Admiral
Porter,2 was made upon this fort, January 13, when the
fleet opened fire upon the works. The bombardment continued till
the 15th, on which day the fort was carried by assault.
After the entrance to Mobile3 had
been closed by Farragut, Wilmington was the only port for
blockade-running, and it was of the utmost importance to the
rebels to keep it open. An expedition, commanded by General
Butler4 and Admiral Porter, had been sent out against
Fort Fisher in December.5 The fort was bombarded by the
fleet, and troops were landed; but General Butler, deeming the
works too strong to be carried, withdrew his command, and the
attack was given up. Terry was sent, with a larger force,
numbering eight thousand men. The garrison of the fort had also
been reënforced in the mean time. With the fort Terry took
two thousand prisoners. The Union loss was about six hundred and
fifty men.
41. The next morning
Fort Caswell and other defences were abandoned and blown up
by the enemy, who thus surrendered the entire control of the mouth
of Cape Fear River. Terry was now joined by General
Schofield,6 had recently been put in command in North
Carolina. He brought with him a body of troops from General
Thomas's victorious army in Tennessee. The united forces took
Wilmington on the 22d of February.
42. General
Sherman7 waited in Savannah more than a month to
rest and refit his army; but the 1st of February found him again
moving northward on his march to Goldsboro'. Driving before
him, with little loss to himself, the small bodies of the enemy
which obstructed his way, on the 17th he entered Columbia,
the capital of South Carolina, and thence pushed forward towards
Fayetteville, on Cape Fear River.
At Savannah Sherman had arranged for the
government of the city, and assigned to the negroes who had
followed his army, and to other
1 See p. 305, ¶ 44. 2 See p. 288, ¶ 4. 3 See p. 300, ¶ 32.
4 See p. 282 ¶ 14. and p. 291, ¶ 10.
5 Operations at that time were begun by towing a vessel filled with powder near the walls of the fort and exploding it. it was hoped by this means to injure the fort or paralyze its defenders, but the explosion produced no effect.
6 See p. 299, ¶ 28. 7 See pp. 296, ¶ 23--300, ¶ 31.
QUESTIONS. -- 40. Give an account of the capture of Fort Fisher. Of a former attempt to capture Fort Fisher? What further of Terry's successful expedition? 41. What of Fort Caswell and other defences of Wilmington? By whom was Terry now joined? What capture did their united forces effect? 42. When did General Sherman resume his march, and towards what place? What is said of his march northwards and big occupation of Columbia? -- What had Sherman done at Savannah?
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freedmen, the abandoned Sea Islands and rice fields on the
coast of South Carolina and Georgia. On his march he kept
the rebel forces divided. Threatening Charleston, he held
Hardee1 there to defend it. Threatening Augusta, he
detained another rebel force there. Avoiding both these places, he
had but little trouble in clearing his way of such detachments as
Beauregard2 could collect in his front. The cavalry,
under Kilpatrick,2 guarded the army as on the march
from Atlanta. When the Federal troops approached Columbia,
the Confederates fled, leaving bales of cotton burning in the
streets. The flames communicated to the buildings, and the whole
city would have been destroyed but for the Union troops.
43. The movements of
Sherman in South Carolina compelled Hardee1 to evacuate
Charleston on the very day when Columbia was taken
(February 17); and that city, with its harbor defences, Fort
Sumter3 included, was occupied by
Gillmore.4
Thus this famous city, the cradle of the
rebellion, after having withstood so long a siege,5
which had destroyed a large part of it, fell by the operations of
an army many miles in its rear. Hardee, on evacuating Charleston,
destroyed gunboats, rice, and many thousand bales of cotton, and
left the city on fire. The flames spread ruin far and wide before
they could be arrested by the Union troops.
44. Sherman had only
scattered bands of the enemy to contend with till be reached
Fayetteville. Then, however, General Johnston,6 who had
been restored to command, began to concentrate troops to oppose
his march. But Sherman, after crossing Cape Fear River,
fought and beat a large force of the enemy near
Averysboro', and at Bentonsville, Johnston's whole
army, which retreated towards Raleigh. The Union general entered
Goldsboro' March 23, where a junction was formed with
Terry,7 from Wilmington, and Schofield,8
from Newbern, the latter having vanquished a rebel force on his
way.
At Averysboro', March 16, General
Hardee,1 with some twenty thousand men, attempted in
vain to hold the Federal advance in check until Johnston could get
his troops well in hand for a more effectual resistance. That
night the rebels fled. At Bentonsville, three days
afterwards,
1 See p. 300, ¶ 30. 2 See p. 300, ¶ 31.
3 To commemorate, the restoration of Fort Sumter to the national authority, the president directed General Anderson, on the anniversary of its evacuation, April 14 (see p. 240, ¶ 2), to raise on its battlements the same flag which he had lowered four years before.
4 See p. 289, ¶ 6.
5 The actual siege began July 10, 1863, when General Gillmore landed troops on Morris Island. The city had been under fire eighteen months.
6 See p. 297, ¶ 23. 7 See p. 304. ¶ 40. 8 See p. 304, ¶ 41.
QUESTIONS. -- What further particulars can you give of Sherman's march? 43. What resulted from the movements of Sherman in South Carolina? -- What further is said of Charleston, and its evacuation by the rebels? 44. Whom did Sherman find to oppose him after crossing Cape Fear River? What is said of the battles of Averysboro' and Bentonsville? When did Sherman enter Goldsboro', and with whom was a junction there effected? -- What more can you tell of the battle of Averysboro'? of Bentonsville?
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Johnston, with his whole command of forty thousand men,
attacked one wing of the Federal army, and
gained some temporary advantage; but the next day, the rest of the
army having come up, the assail. ants were routed. The march from
Savannah cost the Union army about three thousand men. The enemy's
loss was greater.
45. Sherman now gave his weary troops a
season of rest. By his march from Savannah he had compelled
the Confederates to abandon the sea-coast from Savannah to
Newbern, and had cut a wide swath of desolation through the
Carolinas. His army was now in a position to coöperate with
the troops before Richmond and Petersburg.
Since setting out for Atlanta in
May, 1864, Sherman had marched more than eight hundred miles,
"beaten Johnston, out-manaeuvred Hood, outwitted Beauregard, and
seared away Hardee and Hampton," had captured almost every town
and city along his route, had broken up railways and bridges,
destroyed founderies, mills, workshops, and storehouses, had lived
upon the country through which he passed, and swept a track forty
miles wide of provision for man or beast.1
46. After the capture of
the forts at the entrance of Mobile Bay,2 active
operations against Mobile were suspended for some time. In
March they were resumed by General Canby2 and Admiral Thatcher,
and after a month its strong defences, held by General
Taylor,3 were taken. On the 12th of April the Union
army entered the city, ignorant that the rebellion had received
its death-blow, three days before, by the surrender of
Lee.4
47. While these events were in
progress, two important cavalry expeditions were sent off by
General Thomas.5 One, under General James H. Wilson,
made its way into Central Alabama to operate against the rebel
cavalry under General Forrest,6 and to prevent the
enemy from pending assistance to Johnston in the Carolinas, or to
Taylor at Mobile. The other, under General Stoneman,7
swept through South-western Virginia to Salisbury in North
Carolina, destroying the railroads and bridges by which Lee and
Johnston, if defeated, might attempt to
retreat.
48. Meanwhile Grant8
had ordered Sheridan9 to move from his
winter-quarters at Winchester, and make a raid on the enemy's
communications. This gallant officer, leaving his camp with ten
thousand cavalry, after a rapid march reached Waynesboro',
where (March 2) he fell upon Early," who, with
1 See p. 309, ¶ 56. 2 See p. 300, ¶ 32. 3 See p. 288 ¶ 4
4 See p: 307, ¶ 50. 5 See p. 298, ¶ 27. 6 See p. 287, ¶ 1. 7 See p. 299 ¶ 29.
8 See p. 290 & 8--296, ¶ 22. 9 See p. 295, ¶ 20. 10 See p. 294, ¶ 18.
QUESTIONS. -- 45. What more is said of Sherman's march from Savannah? What is said of Sherman's march since setting out for Atlanta? 46. Give an account of the capture of Mobile. V. What of two cavalry expeditions sent off by General Thomas? 48. Meanwhile what orders had Grant given to Sheridan? Give an account of the action at Waynesboro'.
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twenty-five hundred cavalry, was guarding the
passes of the Blue Ridge, captured more than two thirds of his
force, pushed on to the James, west of Richmond, then swept round
north of that city to White House, cutting the canal and railroads
by which the rebel capital received most of its supplies, thence
crossed the James, and (March 27), one month after he left
Winchester, took position near Hatcher's Run, at the left of the
Union army before Petersburg.
During the winter the besieging
army about Petersburg and Richmond remained comparatively
quiet behind its lines of investment; but a severe action occurred
in February near Hatcher's Run, to which stream the lines
of the besiegers were then permanently extended. The Union loss
was about two thousand, being double that of the
enemy.
49. Lee1 was not slow
to perceive to what Grant's combinations were tending. South of
him was Sherman, west Thomas, with Stoneman's cavalry.2
North there was no hope for him, and in his front stood Grant,
ready to crush him in the embrace of death. The rebel chief made a
desperate attempt to break the Union lines, by an attack upon
Fort Steadman, before Petersburg, on the 25th of March. He
was at first successful, and carried the fort by assault, but was
quickly driven back to his intrenchments, with great loss.
50. Grant had now perfected the
arrangements for a final campaign, which resulted in the
capture of Lee's army. His advance began March 29. Within twelve
days the right wing of the Confederates sustained a crushing
defeat at Five Forks; their defences were assaulted and
carried; Jefferson Davis3 and the principal officers of
his government were fugitives; Richmond and
Petersburg were occupied by Union troops, and Lee's
retreating army, pursued, overtaken, and surrounded, was compelled
to surrender (April 9) near Appomattox Court House.
51. These movements began by
pushing the Union left across Hatcher's Run. To meet this, Lee
took all the men he could spare from his intrenchments, and massed
them on his right near Five Forks. This resulted in a
severe battle, in which the Union left, under Sheridan, gained a
complete victory over the Confederate right (April 1), taking
their artillery and more than five thousand prisoners. No sooner
had the sound of the battle at
1 See p. 290, ¶ 9. 2 See p. 306, ¶ 47. 3 See p. 228, ¶ 11.
QUESTIONS. -- What can you tell of Sheridan's movements after the battle of Waynesboro'? -- What is said of the besieging army during the winter? What of the action in February near Hatcher's Run? 49. What is said of Lee and his situation? What attempt did he make, and with what result? 50. For what was Grant now ready? When did he begin his advance? Within twelve days what took place? 51. Give an account of the action near Five Forks.
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Five Forks died away than a terrific cannonade was opened along
the whole Union front-upon the rebel
works, and early the next morning an assault was made
along the line from the Appomattox to Hatcher's Run. The
Confederates were driven to their inner intrenchments, with the
loss of many prisoners. Lee now notified the authorities in
Richmond that he could no longer protect the Confederate capital,
and they made good their escape. During that day and night
Richmond and Petersburg were evacuated, and the next
morning (April 3) were occupied by Federal troops.1 As
had been the case with Charleston and Columbia, Richmond was found
in flames. The retreating enemy had blown up the magazines and
gunboats, and set fire to some large warehouses full of tobacco.
The flames spread, and before they could be arrested had consumed
nearly all the business portion of the city.
52. Lee, hoping to join
Johnston2 in North Carolina, now crossed the Appomattox
and moved westward; but Grant had anticipated his design,
and Sheridan,3 after a hot pursuit, pierced his line of
retreat (April 6) near Deatonsville, where, after a
spirited action, the rebel General Ewell and his whole corps were
captured. Lee's retreat now became a rout. The flying foe strewed
their way with guns, wagons, and all the equipage of war. Their
provisions had given out, and men and horses dropped on the road
from exhaustion. Many of the rebel troops threw away their arms
and dispersed to their homes. Still the Confederate commander
urged on his retreat. Grant's3 pursuing columns
harassed him unceasingly. At length, on the morning of the 9th,
Lee4 found himself completely hemmed in, near
Appomattox Court House. Escape was impossible, and he
surrendered what was left of his army -- about twenty-seven
thousand men.
53. As tidings of the capture of
Richmond, and, later, of the surrender of Lee's army, spread
through the north, the joy in the loyal states knew no
bounds. Their streets, and hills, and valleys, echoed with shouts,
ringing of bells, and roar of cannon. The end hoped for, fought
for, prayed for, through four long years of terrible war, was now
in view.
54. In the midst of these universal
rejoicings the telegraph flashed over the country the appalling
intelligence that President Lincoln had been
assassinated. He was shot on the evening of April 14, and
died the next morning.
The excitement in the loyal states was
intense. A mingled feeling of horror, indignation, and grief
pervaded the community. Houses and stores
1 The next day President Lincoln held a public reception in the parlor of Jefferson Davis.
2 See p. 306, ¶ 44. 3 See p. 306, ¶ 48. 4 See p. 307, ¶ 49.
QUESTIONS. -- Give an account of the general assault that followed. Result. What further is said of Richmond and Petersburg? 52. What is said of Lee's next movements, and the action near Deatonsville? Of the further retreat of the rebels, and the pursuit? Of the surrender? 53. Effect in the loyal states of tidings of these victories? 54. How were these rejoicings interrupted? -- What is said of the feeling excited in the loyal states by the appalling intelligence?
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were hung with black, and flags were draped in mourning. The
murderer was John Wilkes Booth, 
the
head of a band of conspirators, who, hoping to help the rebel
cause, had plotted to kill the chief officers of the government;
but the president and the secretary of state, Mr. Seward, at that
time confined to his house by illness, were the only persons
actually attacked. Booth stole up behind the president, who was
sitting in a theatre, shot him in the head, and escaped. Almost at
the same time another conspirator made his way into the sick room
of Mr. Seward, and after inflicting dangerous but not mortal
wounds on him and his son, fled. Active search was immediately set
on foot for the assassins and their accomplices. Booth was found
hid in a barn, and refusing to give himself up, was shot. Eight
other conspirators were arrested, and, after trial, four were
hanged and the rest imprisoned.
55. A few hours after President Lincoln's
death, the vice-president, Andrew Johnson,1 took
the oath of office, and became President of the United
States.
56. The rest of the story of the war is
soon told. The decisive victory in Virginia left the rebellion
without hope. Sherman2 occupied Raleigh April 13, and
on the 26th received the surrender of Johnston's3
army of thirty-one thousand men. On the 8th of May General
Taylor4 surrendered the other rebel forces east of
the Mississippi to General Canby,4 who, on the
26th, also received the surrender of the forces west of that
river from General E. Kirby Smith.5 Regular armed
resistance to the national authority was now at an end on the
land, and the announcement that guerrillas found in arms
against the government would be treated as outlaws, caused the
speedy disbanding of these organizations.
1 See p. 303, ¶ 36. 2 See p. 304, ¶ 42. 3 See p. 305, ¶ 44.
4 See p. 306, ¶ 46. 5 See p. 257, ¶ 11.
QUESTIONS. -- What can you tell of the conspiracy to kill the chief officers of the government? What more of the assassination of the president? What of the assault upon Secretary Seward? Fate of Booth and some of his accomplices? 55. Who succeeded to the presidency? 66. What had left the rebellion without hope? What is said of the surrender of Johnston's army? Of the other forces east of the Mississippi? Of the forces west of that river? Of guerrillas?
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© 1999, 2000, 2001 for NEGenWeb Project by Ted & Carole Miller