1. The Civil War in the East 1864-1865 The war becomes one of attrition as General Grant comes East to pound Lee’s army into submission

2. Grant takes command General Grant creates a master plan for the Union to destroy the Confederacy. All Union forces will work together for victory. Union industrial strength and population advantages will be maximized. The Union will break the back of the Confederacy by destroying the home front.

3. The Overland Campaign Grant moves into the Wilderness Terrible and bloody fighting The Union forces are stopped Grant does not retreat but rather moves south to get around Lee’s army

4. Spotsylvania Court House Twelve days of butchery General Sedgwick is killed by sharpshooter The Bloody Angle fighting lasts 18 hours Grant moves south

5. Cold Harbor, June 1864 Bloody disaster for the North “Not war but murder.”

6. The Siege of Petersburg The Federals almost took the town in June 1864, but since they did not take the town, both sides were condemned to a long siege. Federals try to blow up the Confederate lines at “The Crater”- a terrible failure. Petersburg controlled the railroad line into Richmond. If Petersburg fell, then Richmond fell.

7. Life in the trenches The trenches were hot, dusty, muddy, cold and miserable. If men raised their head above the trench line they were killed by snipers. As the months rolled on, the Confederates starved and froze. The Union kept trying to cut off the rail lines, so eventually the trenches stretched over 25 miles.

8. The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864 Jubal Early, C.S.A., tries to clear the Shenandoah Valley of Federals. The Confederates actually get to the outskirts of Washington, D.C. Phil Sheridan, U.S., routs the Southerners on October, 1864. The loss of the Valley is a fatal blow to the Confederacy.

9. Sheridan burns the Valley Scorched earth policy Little organized Confederate resistance Guerilla warfare and bushwhacking

10. The Fall of Petersburg and Richmond The Confederate army starves in the trenches of Petersburg over the winter Lee tries to break out but the Union forces are too strong Grant counter attacks and breaks the Southern defenses Lee evacuates Petersburg and Richmond Richmond burns Confederates try to escape

11. Appomattox Court House April 9, 1865 Grant and Sheridan cut off the Confederates Southerners attack but fail to break Union lines Lee knows that it is hopeless and he asks for terms Lee and Grant meet at the home of Wilbur McLean in Appomattox Village Confederates will be paroled Lee surrenders

12. Lincoln is Assassinated April 14, 1865 Ford’s Theatre “Our American Cousin” John Wilkes Booth Conspiracy Lincoln’s dreams “Now he belongs to the ages” ….