1. Lesson 17.3: The Tide of War Turns

2. Essential Question
What events made it possible for the North to turn the outcome of the Civil War to their favor?

3. Vocabulary
pontoon:
a float or boat used as support for a temporary floating bridge.
flank:
the left or right side of a military formation.
division:
a unit of approximately 10,000 soldiers.

4. What we already know…
General George McClellan did an excellent job training Union troops, but his lack of aggression led Lincoln to fire him after he failed to pursue Lee’s forces after the battle of Antietam.

5. Road to Gettysburg
Lincoln replaced McClellan with Ambrose Burnside, but Burnside also proved to be a disappointment.

6. Road to Gettysburg
Lincoln encouraged Burnside to go move south to pursue Lee and to attack the Confederate capitol of Richmond.

7. Battle of Fredericksburg
To keep his troops supplied, Burnside needed a river and a railroad. He moved to take Fredericksburg, Virginia which would give him access to both.

8. Battle of Fredericksburg
Burnside’s men had to build pontoon bridges to cross the Rappahannock River before they could attack Confederate troops in the town.

9. Battle of Fredericksburg
Burnside’s had to wait ten days for the pontoon boats to arrive in order to build his bridge across the river . By this time Lee’s troops were dug in the hills above Fredricksburg.

10. Battle of Fredericksburg
Burnside had to send landing parties over in boats during the night to drive off
sharpshooters that were firing at the bridge builders.
Mayflower Compact = self rule

11. Battle of Fredericksburg
Once across, Burnside ordered sixteen separate charges by his men to attack the Confederate troops positioned on the high ground above the river.
Mayflower Compact = self rule

12. Battle of Fredericksburg
The Confederates fought from trenches and a stone wall at the top of a hill overlooking the river, and
poured fire
down on the
advancing
Union soldiers.
Mayflower Compact = self rule

13. Battle of Fredericksburg
The Union army suffered 12,653 casualties compare to 5,377 for the Confederacy. It was the largest one sided victory of the entire war.
Mayflower Compact = self rule

14. Battle of Fredericksburg
When news of Fredericksburg reached Lincoln he said, “If there is a worse place than hell, I must be in it.”
Mayflower Compact = self rule

15. A and B Discuss
Fredericksburg was a disaster for the Union. At what point should General Burnside have changed his plans?

16. Road to Gettysburg
Lincoln replaced Burnside with General Joseph Hooker as Commander of the Army of the Potomac.
Mayflower Compact = self rule

17. Battle of Chancellorsville
Hooker pursued Lee’s forces. They met in Chancellorsville, Va. in May of Despite having
twice the number
of men as Lee,
Hooker suffered
a crushing loss.
Mayflower Compact = self rule

18. Battle of Chancellorsville
At the Battle of Chancellorsville. Sentries for the Confederacy accidentally shot General Stonewall Jackson.  
The general survived with
the loss of an arm to 
amputation, but died from 
pneumonia eight days later.
His death was a severe blow
to the Confederacy.
Mayflower Compact = self rule

19. Battle of Chancellorsville
When Lee learned of Jackson’s amputation, and death, Lee remarked, “He has lost
his left arm, but I have lost my right.”
Mayflower Compact = self rule

20. Battle of Chancellorsville
After the battle of Chancellorsville, General Hooker, tired of interference from President Lincoln, resigned. The Army of the Potomac was turned over to General George Meade.
Mayflower Compact = self rule

21. Lee Invades the North Again
Once again, Lee swung North hoping that a Confederate victory in Union territory would fuel Northern discontent and lead European nations to give diplomatic recognition and aid to the Confederacy.
Mayflower Compact = self rule

22. Lee Invades the North Again
As Lee pushed north, further into enemy territory, he lost contact with his cavalry commander Jeb Stuart who was responsible for gathering intelligence and reporting on Union troop movements.
Mayflower Compact = self rule

23. Gettysburg
In late June 1863, Lee crossed into southern Pennsylvania. He learned of a supply of shoes in the town of Gettysburg and sent a 7500 man division to investigate.
Mayflower Compact = self rule

24. Gettysburg
On July 1, 1863, 7,500 Confederate soldiers met with the 3,200 Union soldiers who were recently equipped with breech loading carbines, thus giving the appearance of being a much larger force. Both sides called for reinforcements and the Battle of Gettysburg was on.
Mayflower Compact = self rule

25. Gettysburg
All during the first day both Union and Confederate reinforcements pour into Gettysburg. By the end of the day the Union forces were pushed out of Gettysburg and took up positions on Cemetery Ridge south of Gettysburg.
Mayflower Compact = self rule
Gettysburg

26. Gettysburg
During second day, Union forces tried to hold their ground while the Confederate soldiers tried to dislodge them.
Mayflower Compact = self rule
Gettysburg

27. Gettysburg Pickett’s Charge
After Confederate attacks on both Union flanks had failed, Lee was determined to strike the Union center on the third day. A strategy General Meade correctly predicted.
Mayflower Compact = self rule

28. Gettysburg Pickett’s Charge
On July 3, Lee ordered three divisions to the middle of the Union line. Leading the center division was General George Pickett. The assault became known as Pickett’s Charge.
Mayflower Compact = self rule

29. Gettysburg Pickett’s Charge
13,000 Confederate troops charged up the ridge into heavy Union fire.
Mayflower Compact = self rule

30. Gettysburg Pickett’s Charge
Pickett’s men were torn to pieces by Union soldiers who chanted, “Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg !”
Less than half of the Southern troops survived.
Mayflower Compact = self rule
Pickett’s Charge

31. Gettysburg
With Lee’s greatest hope, came his greatest defeat. At the Battle of Gettysburg the North had lost 23,000 men, but over one-third of Lee’s
army, 28,000
men, lay dead
or wounded.

32. Gettysburg
Lee’s hopes for a Confederate victory in the North were crushed. Lee retreated to Virginia never again would he lead his troops into northern states. The war would rage on for twenty one months.
Gettysburg

33. The Gettysburg Address
On November 19, 1863, President Lincoln
spoke at the dedication of a cemetery in Gettysburg for the
Union soldiers buried there.
Mayflower Compact = self rule

34. The Gettysburg Address
In his address, Lincoln declared that the nation was founded on “the proposition that all men are created equal.” He ended with a plea to continue the fight for democracy so that “government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.”
Mayflower Compact = self rule

35. The Gettysburg Address
His speech was short, and few who heard it were impressed. Lincoln himself called it “a flat failure.”
History would show the Gettysburg Address has since been recognized as one of the greatest speeches of all time.
Mayflower Compact = self rule

36. Get your whiteboards and markers ready!

37. Why was the Battle of Gettysburg considered an important turning point in the Civil War?
A. It ended Lee's second invasion of the North.
B. The Union victory helped Lincoln win reelection in 1864.
C. It revealed Grant as a Union general who could win tough victories.
D. The defeat ended Southern hopes of European diplomatic recognition and aid.
(Choose all that apply)

38. Which of the following is true about Gettysburg’s strategic importance?
A. It lay at an intersection of several roads and contained a shoe warehouse.
B. It had a commanding position along a major Northern river.
C. It held a position overlooking a sharp bend in the Mississippi River.
D. Its bridge was the only means of crossing the Allegheny River.

39. Which of the following is NOT true about Gettysburg’s unique geographic features?
A. A broad valley containing several fields lay south of the town.
B. A long, low hill called Cemetery Ridge ran southward from the town
C. A small, steep hill called Little Round Top lay beyond the fields south of town.
D. The bluffs along the river west of town protected the town from any attack from that direction.

40. Which of the following is NOT true about Lee’s attempts to defeat the Union troops at Gettysburg?
A. Lee drove the Union troops from the town on the first day, but could not win complete victory.
B. He tried to send troops through the Devil’s Den to outflank Union forces on Little Round Top.
C. His troops destroyed the bridge to prevent Union reinforcements from arriving.
D. He sent General Pickett to launch a massive attack against the Union main force.

41. A and B Discuss
Why do you think historians call the Battle of Gettysburg the turning point of the Civil War? Can you think of more than one reason?