PART IV OF V — THE COST OF UNION

Grant, Sherman, the Election of 1864, and the Relentless Struggle to Bring the War to an End

1864

A Country Exhausted by War

By January 1864, the American Civil War had entered its fourth calendar year.

The United States had survived the secession crisis, raised enormous armies, and achieved important victories. The Confederacy had suffered major defeats at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, but its government remained in power, its armies continued fighting, and much of the South remained beyond effective Union control.

The war had already taken an extraordinary human toll.

Soldiers had died in battle, from wounds, and from diseases that spread through crowded military camps. Families had endured years of uncertainty. Farms, railroads, towns, and communities had been damaged or destroyed.

Across the South, enslaved people continued escaping bondage as Union armies advanced. Black Americans were serving in the United States military, and the federal government had committed itself to emancipation in rebellious territory.

Yet the outcome of the conflict remained unsettled.

President Abraham Lincoln faced an increasingly difficult situation.

The Union needed more than individual battlefield victories. It needed to defeat the Confederate armies' ability to continue fighting.

The Confederacy, meanwhile, did not necessarily have to conquer the North. Its leaders hoped to survive long enough to convince the United States that restoring the Union was too costly.

And 1864 was a presidential election year.

For the first time in American history, the nation would hold a presidential election during a civil war.

The military struggle and the future of the federal government were now closely connected.

The year ahead would test not only the armies, but the endurance of the American people and their constitutional institutions.

Ulysses S. Grant Takes Command

By the beginning of 1864, Ulysses S. Grant had become one of the Union's most successful commanders.

His victories at Fort Donelson, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga had demonstrated his ability to coordinate large military operations.

Grant understood that the Confederacy could continue fighting even after losing important cities or individual battles.

Its armies remained the central means by which it defended its independence.

He believed Union forces needed to apply sustained pressure across multiple theaters rather than conduct disconnected campaigns that allowed Confederate armies to reinforce one another.

In March 1864, Grant was promoted to lieutenant general and placed in command of all United States armies.

He developed a coordinated strategy.

In Virginia, Union forces would confront Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.

In Georgia, William Tecumseh Sherman would advance against the Confederate Army of Tennessee and the transportation center of Atlanta.

Other federal armies would operate in the Shenandoah Valley and along additional fronts.

The objective was to prevent Confederate commanders from moving troops freely between threatened regions.

Grant chose to accompany the Army of the Potomac in Virginia, although Major General George G. Meade remained its immediate commander.

Grant would direct the broader campaign while Meade managed much of the army's day-to-day operations.

For the first time, the Union's major offensives were being organized as parts of a coordinated national strategy.

Two Commanders, Two Very Different Problems

Grant and Lee approached the spring campaign under very different circumstances.

Grant commanded the resources of a federal government with a larger population, substantial industry, and the ability to replace losses more readily than the Confederacy.

Lee commanded an experienced army that had repeatedly defeated or frustrated Union offensives.

But Confederate manpower and supplies were increasingly strained.

Lee could use Virginia's terrain, defensive positions, and established transportation routes to his advantage.

He could not easily replace thousands of experienced soldiers.

Grant needed to defeat Lee's army or make it incapable of continuing effective resistance.

Lee needed to prevent that outcome while protecting Richmond and the transportation networks that sustained Confederate forces.

The two armies had fought many campaigns before.

Now they would confront each other in a sustained series of battles unlike anything the eastern theater had yet experienced.

The Wilderness — May 5–7, 1864

In early May, Grant's forces crossed the Rapidan River in Virginia.

The Union army entered a region known as the Wilderness.

Its dense woods, tangled undergrowth, and limited roads made military movement difficult.

Lee moved quickly to confront the advancing federal forces.

On May 5, fighting erupted.

The battle became chaotic.

Thick vegetation restricted visibility.

Units lost contact with one another.

Artillery was difficult to position effectively.

Smoke filled the woods.

In places, fires spread through the underbrush, endangering wounded soldiers who could not escape.

Both armies suffered heavy casualties.

Neither achieved a decisive victory.

The fighting was particularly costly for Union troops, but Confederate forces also suffered serious losses.

Then Grant made a decision that distinguished the campaign from several earlier Union offensives.

Rather than retreat northward to reorganize, he ordered his army to continue moving south.

The Union troops marched toward Spotsylvania Court House.

The decision signaled a change in the war's direction.

Grant would continue the offensive despite the losses.

Lee would have to keep responding.

Spotsylvania — The Fighting Does Not Stop

The armies met again near Spotsylvania Court House.

Lee's troops constructed extensive defensive earthworks.

One prominent section of the Confederate line formed a projecting position known as the Mule Shoe.

Grant ordered repeated attacks against the Confederate defenses.

On May 12, Union forces launched a major assault against the Mule Shoe.

They broke into the Confederate position.

Fighting continued for hours in rain, mud, and close quarters.

One section became known as the Bloody Angle.

Soldiers fought across breastworks with rifles, bayonets, and improvised weapons.

Trees were damaged by the concentration of gunfire.

The ground became covered with casualties.

The fighting demonstrated how devastating entrenched warfare could become.

Neither side could easily achieve a decisive breakthrough.

Grant continued trying to move around Lee's position.

Lee continued shifting his army to block the Union advance.

The campaign was becoming a continuous struggle of movement, entrenchment, and combat.

The armies were no longer fighting a single major battle followed by weeks of relative quiet.

They were fighting almost constantly.

The War Becomes a Struggle of Endurance

The Wilderness and Spotsylvania revealed the enormous cost of Grant's strategy.

Union losses were severe.

Confederate losses were also damaging, particularly because Lee had fewer men available to replace them.

Grant's willingness to continue advancing attracted criticism.

Some Americans believed the casualties were excessive.

Others argued that previous Union commanders had failed precisely because they withdrew after costly battles.

The strategic question was difficult.

How could the United States defeat an experienced Confederate army defending favorable terrain?

A successful attack might shorten the war.

An unsuccessful one could cost thousands of lives without achieving the intended objective.

Grant's strategy did not make casualties irrelevant.

It reflected his belief that allowing Confederate armies to recover after every battle would prolong the conflict.

For the soldiers, however, the strategic reasoning did little to ease their immediate suffering.

They marched through rain and mud.

They slept in trenches.

They endured artillery fire, disease, exhaustion, and the constant possibility of death.

The Civil War was becoming a test of human endurance on a vast scale.

Cold Harbor — June 1864

After further maneuvering and fighting along the North Anna River and Totopotomoy Creek, the armies confronted one another near Cold Harbor, northeast of Richmond.

Lee's soldiers constructed formidable defensive positions.

The Confederate line included earthworks and fields of fire that made direct assaults extremely dangerous.

Grant sought a breakthrough.

On June 3, Union troops attacked the entrenched Confederate positions.

The assault failed.

Thousands of federal soldiers were killed or wounded during the fighting.

Cold Harbor became one of the most controversial battles of Grant's military career.

He later acknowledged that ordering the attack had been a mistake.

The battle demonstrated the growing strength of field fortifications when defended by soldiers armed with effective rifles and artillery.

The attacking army could suffer devastating losses before reaching an entrenched position.

But Grant did not abandon the campaign.

He instead sought another way to threaten Richmond.

His next move would shift the fighting toward Petersburg.

Petersburg — The War Moves Into the Trenches

Petersburg, Virginia, was a major railroad and supply center south of Richmond.

Its transportation connections were essential to supporting Lee's army and the Confederate capital.

Grant recognized that threatening Petersburg could force Lee to defend the railroads and supply routes on which Richmond depended.

In June, Union forces crossed the James River in a major operation.

They moved against Petersburg.

Initial attacks failed to capture the city before Confederate reinforcements strengthened its defenses.

The Union army then began extending its positions around Petersburg.

The campaign developed into a prolonged siege-like struggle involving trenches, artillery, raids, and attempts to cut Confederate railroads.

The lines grew increasingly elaborate.

Soldiers constructed earthworks, shelters, and defensive positions.

They endured heat, rain, mud, insects, and disease.

Sharpshooters and artillery made movement dangerous.

The campaign around Petersburg would continue into 1865.

The war in Virginia had entered a new phase.

Rather than relying entirely on open-field battles, the opposing armies fought for control of transportation routes and fortified positions.

The Union sought to tighten its hold.

The Confederacy struggled to keep its remaining supply lines open.

The Battle of the Crater — July 30, 1864

During the Petersburg campaign, Union soldiers developed an unusual plan.

Men from a Pennsylvania regiment with mining experience excavated a tunnel beneath a Confederate defensive position.

Explosives were placed under the earthworks.

The intention was to destroy part of the Confederate line and create an opening through which Union troops could advance.

On July 30, the mine exploded.

The blast created an enormous crater and killed Confederate defenders.

But the Union assault that followed was poorly coordinated.

Instead of moving effectively around the crater and beyond the broken defenses, many attacking soldiers became trapped in the excavation.

Confederate troops regrouped and counterattacked.

The Union assault failed.

Black Union soldiers were among the forces committed to the fighting and suffered heavy casualties. Some were killed after attempting to surrender or after being captured.

The Battle of the Crater became another costly failure.

It demonstrated that engineering ingenuity alone could not overcome poor coordination and battlefield confusion.

The Petersburg lines remained intact.

The struggle continued.

Black Soldiers and the Meaning of Military Service

By 1864, Black Americans had become an important part of the Union war effort.

Black soldiers served in infantry and artillery units.

They guarded supply routes, defended positions, participated in major battles, and performed essential military duties.

Their service was especially significant because the country had not yet established equal citizenship rights for African Americans.

Black troops faced discrimination in pay, assignments, and treatment.

Congress acted in June 1864 to establish equal pay for Black soldiers, with provisions addressing earlier service.

But equality in military compensation did not eliminate broader racial discrimination.

Black soldiers also faced particular dangers if captured by Confederate forces.

Confederate authorities did not consistently recognize them as entitled to the same treatment as white prisoners of war.

For formerly enslaved soldiers, capture could mean a threat of re-enslavement.

For many Black soldiers, the war was therefore not only a military conflict.

It was a struggle directly connected to their own liberty, their families, and the future of African Americans in the United States.

Their participation would become central to the larger questions of citizenship and equal protection that followed the war.

Fort Pillow — April 12, 1864

One of the most disturbing episodes of the war occurred at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.

The Union-held fort was defended by a garrison that included Black soldiers and white Tennessee Unionists.

On April 12, Confederate cavalry under Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest attacked the position.

Confederate forces overwhelmed the defenders.

Large numbers of Union soldiers were killed, including Black troops who were reportedly shot after attempting to surrender.

The exact sequence of events and individual responsibility have been examined and debated by historians.

But substantial historical evidence supports the conclusion that Confederate troops killed Black Union soldiers who were no longer actively resisting.

The episode became widely known as the Fort Pillow Massacre.

It intensified anger in the North and reinforced fears about the treatment of captured Black soldiers.

For African American troops, Fort Pillow became a symbol of the dangers they faced.

The incident also exposed the racial violence that remained central to the conflict over slavery and freedom.

Sherman Moves Toward Atlanta

While Grant confronted Lee in Virginia, William Tecumseh Sherman led a major Union offensive in the West.

Sherman commanded several armies operating from Chattanooga, Tennessee.

His objective was Atlanta, Georgia.

Atlanta was an important Confederate transportation, manufacturing, and supply center.

Its railroad connections made it strategically valuable.

The Confederate Army of Tennessee, commanded initially by General Joseph E. Johnston, defended the approaches to the city.

Sherman began advancing in May 1864.

The campaign involved repeated maneuvers and battles through the mountainous and wooded terrain of northern Georgia.

Sherman often attempted to move around Confederate defensive positions rather than attack them directly.

Johnston withdrew from one position to another, seeking opportunities to resist while preserving his army.

The armies fought at Resaca, New Hope Church, and other locations.

The advance was difficult.

Roads were poor.

Rain complicated transportation.

Railroads were essential to keeping the Union armies supplied.

The campaign became a contest of maneuver, defense, and logistical endurance.

Kennesaw Mountain — June 27, 1864

Near Marietta, Georgia, Confederate forces occupied strong defensive positions around Kennesaw Mountain.

Sherman had frequently relied on maneuvering around Johnston's positions.

But in late June, he ordered a direct assault.

On June 27, Union troops attacked the Confederate defenses.

The assaults failed.

Union forces suffered significant casualties.

Kennesaw Mountain demonstrated that even a larger and well-supplied army could not easily overcome fortified defenders.

Sherman returned to maneuvering.

He eventually forced Johnston to abandon the Kennesaw positions by threatening Confederate lines of communication.

The Union continued advancing toward Atlanta.

But the campaign had already cost thousands of lives.

The closer Sherman came to the city, the more urgent the situation became for the Confederate government.

A Change in Confederate Command

In July 1864, Confederate President Jefferson Davis replaced Joseph E. Johnston with General John Bell Hood.

Davis had become dissatisfied with Johnston's repeated withdrawals.

Hood favored a more aggressive approach.

He launched attacks against Sherman's armies in an effort to disrupt the Union advance.

Major battles followed at Peachtree Creek, Atlanta, and Ezra Church.

The fighting was severe.

Confederate forces suffered substantial casualties.

The attacks failed to force Sherman to abandon the campaign.

Sherman continued maneuvering to cut the railroads supplying Atlanta.

Hood's army could not prevent the Union from threatening the city's remaining transportation connections.

The Confederate position became increasingly difficult.

The Fall of Atlanta — September 1864

In late August, Sherman moved much of his army south of Atlanta to cut important railroad connections.

Union forces fought Confederate troops near Jonesborough.

The Confederate position deteriorated.

Hood decided to evacuate Atlanta.

On September 2, 1864, Union forces entered the city.

The capture of Atlanta was one of the most important Union victories of the year.

It deprived the Confederacy of a major transportation and industrial center.

It demonstrated that Union armies could penetrate deep into Confederate territory.

And it had a powerful effect on Northern public opinion.

For months, Americans had received reports of enormous casualties and slow progress.

Now the Union had captured one of the Confederacy's most important cities.

The victory strengthened confidence that the war could eventually be brought to an end.

It also changed the political atmosphere surrounding the presidential election.

The War Reaches Washington's Doorstep

During the summer, Confederate forces attempted to relieve pressure on Lee's army by threatening the Shenandoah Valley and the approaches to Washington.

General Jubal Early led Confederate troops northward.

In July, his forces entered Maryland.

On July 9, Union troops under General Lew Wallace fought Early at the Battle of Monocacy.

The Union force was defeated, but its resistance delayed the Confederate advance.

Early continued toward Washington.

Confederate troops approached the capital's defenses.

On July 11 and 12, fighting occurred near Fort Stevens.

Lincoln visited the defenses during the confrontation.

The Confederate force eventually withdrew.

The attack demonstrated that even after Gettysburg and Vicksburg, the Confederacy could still threaten Northern territory.

It also showed how the war remained connected to the security of the national capital.

Grant responded by strengthening Union operations in the Shenandoah Valley.

Philip Sheridan and the Shenandoah Valley

The Shenandoah Valley had long been strategically important.

Its farms produced food.

Its roads provided routes for moving troops.

Confederate forces had repeatedly used the valley to threaten Union positions and divert federal armies.

Grant selected Major General Philip Sheridan to command a new offensive against Confederate forces in the region.

Sheridan confronted Early's army.

In September, Union forces won major victories at Third Winchester and Fisher's Hill.

Sheridan then directed the destruction of crops, barns, mills, and other resources that could support Confederate military operations.

The campaign became known in the valley as the Burning.

Its purpose was to weaken the Confederacy's ability to supply armies.

But the destruction also imposed severe hardships on civilians.

Families lost food, livestock, and property.

The campaign reflected a broader change in Union strategy.

Federal commanders increasingly targeted not only Confederate soldiers, but also the economic infrastructure that allowed Confederate armies to continue fighting.

Cedar Creek — October 19, 1864

Despite Sheridan's victories, Early's army remained capable of launching attacks.

On October 19, Confederate troops surprised Union forces near Cedar Creek.

The attack began before dawn.

Union positions were overrun.

Federal soldiers retreated in disorder.

For a time, the Confederates appeared to have achieved a major victory.

Sheridan had been away from the battlefield.

After learning of the attack, he rode toward his army and helped organize a counteroffensive.

Union forces rallied.

Later that day, they attacked the Confederate positions.

Early's army was driven from the battlefield.

The Union had transformed a serious morning defeat into an important victory.

The result greatly weakened organized Confederate resistance in the Shenandoah Valley.

It also strengthened Northern confidence shortly before the presidential election.

The military developments of 1864 were increasingly shaping the political future of the country.

The Presidential Election of 1864

The United States faced an extraordinary constitutional test.

The nation was fighting a civil war.

Eleven Confederate states were outside federal control.

Hundreds of thousands of men were serving in the armed forces.

Political disagreements over the war remained intense.

Yet the presidential election proceeded.

Lincoln sought reelection under the National Union Party banner, an electoral coalition organized around Republicans and pro-Union Democrats.

Andrew Johnson, a Tennessee Unionist Democrat, became his running mate.

The Democratic Party nominated former Union General George B. McClellan.

McClellan had commanded the Army of the Potomac before Lincoln removed him in 1862.

The Democratic platform called for efforts toward an immediate cessation of hostilities and a negotiated peace.

McClellan personally rejected the idea of abandoning the Union and differed from parts of his party's platform.

The election therefore involved complicated disagreements about military strategy, peace negotiations, emancipation, and the future of the United States.

Lincoln supported continuing the war until the Union was restored.

His party also supported a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery.

The election offered voters a choice between different approaches to ending the conflict.

And the outcome was far from certain during much of the year.

Lincoln's Fear of Defeat

During the summer of 1864, Lincoln privately believed he might lose reelection.

The war had become deeply unpopular among some Americans.

Casualty lists continued growing.

Union armies had suffered costly setbacks.

The Petersburg campaign appeared stalled.

Political opponents criticized Lincoln's military decisions and wartime policies.

In August, Lincoln wrote a memorandum expressing his belief that his administration was likely to be defeated.

He also indicated that, if defeated, he would have a duty to cooperate with the president-elect in an effort to preserve the Union before the inauguration.

The memorandum is revealing.

Even amid civil war, Lincoln contemplated the possibility of losing an election and transferring power through constitutional procedures.

The country was fighting over whether the Union would survive.

Yet its presidential election continued.

The peaceful transfer of political authority remained an essential principle of the government Lincoln was attempting to preserve.

November 8, 1864 — The People Vote

By Election Day, the military situation had changed.

Sherman had captured Atlanta.

Sheridan had won major victories in the Shenandoah Valley.

These successes strengthened public confidence in the Union war effort.

On November 8, voters in the participating states cast their ballots.

Lincoln defeated McClellan.

He received approximately 55 percent of the popular vote and won 212 electoral votes to McClellan's 21.

Military voters also participated where state laws permitted absentee voting or where arrangements allowed soldiers to return home to cast ballots.

The Confederate states did not participate in the presidential election.

Lincoln's victory gave his administration another term and strengthened its ability to continue the war.

But the election's significance extended beyond the result.

A constitutional republic had conducted a national election during a devastating internal conflict.

Political opposition remained active.

Voters debated the war and the government's policies.

And the presidency was determined through an election rather than the abandonment of constitutional procedures.

The United States had preserved a central feature of representative government even while fighting for its own survival.

The Thirteenth Amendment Moves Forward

The Emancipation Proclamation had changed the Union's wartime policy.

But it did not abolish slavery throughout the United States.

Lincoln and other antislavery leaders understood that a constitutional amendment would provide a more permanent legal foundation for ending the institution.

In April 1864, the United States Senate approved a proposed Thirteenth Amendment.

The amendment would prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime following conviction.

But the proposal failed to obtain the required two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives in June.

The issue remained unresolved.

The National Union Party platform supported the amendment.

Lincoln's reelection strengthened the political position of those seeking its passage.

The House would consider the amendment again in 1865.

The constitutional future of slavery was now a central national question.

Military emancipation had begun changing conditions across the South.

But permanent abolition required the formal amendment process established by the Constitution.

The war was transforming not only national policy, but the nation's fundamental law.

Sherman Changes Direction

After capturing Atlanta, Sherman faced a new strategic decision.

Holding the city required supplies and troops.

Confederate forces under Hood continued operating in the region and threatening Union transportation routes.

Sherman concluded that he could use his army to strike deeper into Georgia.

His objective was to weaken the Confederacy's capacity to sustain the war.

Rather than remain tied to a long railroad supply line, he planned to march toward the Atlantic coast.

His army would obtain many supplies from the countryside while destroying transportation and military resources along its route.

The campaign would also demonstrate that Confederate authorities could not effectively protect much of their interior territory.

In November 1864, Sherman began the March to the Sea.

His forces left Atlanta and advanced toward Savannah.

The March to the Sea

Sherman's army moved across Georgia in separate columns.

Union soldiers destroyed railroad tracks, military supplies, and other resources useful to the Confederate war effort.

They also seized food and livestock.

The destruction varied from place to place.

Some property was deliberately targeted under military orders.

Other damage resulted from unauthorized looting or misconduct.

For Confederate civilians, the march brought fear, hardship, and substantial property losses.

For enslaved people, the arrival of Union troops could create opportunities to escape bondage.

Thousands of formerly enslaved people followed or sought assistance from Sherman's army.

Their presence raised difficult questions about food, transportation, protection, and the responsibility of federal military commanders toward people seeking freedom.

The campaign reflected a changing understanding of warfare.

Union commanders increasingly believed that defeating the Confederacy required damaging the transportation, economic, and logistical systems that supported its armies.

Sherman's operations were intended to weaken the Confederacy's capacity and willingness to continue fighting.

But the campaign also imposed serious costs on civilians.

Its consequences would remain controversial long after the war.

Savannah — December 1864

As Sherman's forces approached the Atlantic coast, Confederate defenders prepared to resist.

But Union troops continued advancing.

In December, Sherman's army reached Savannah.

Confederate forces evacuated the city.

Union troops occupied Savannah on December 21, 1864.

The capture provided another major victory.

It also established a new Union position on the Atlantic coast.

Sherman reported the city and its military resources to Lincoln as a Christmas gift.

The language reflected the military and political importance of the achievement.

The Union had marched from Atlanta to the sea.

The Confederacy had been unable to stop the advance.

And the federal government now controlled another important Southern city.

But the war was not over.

Confederate armies remained active in Virginia, Tennessee, and other regions.

The final campaigns still lay ahead.

Hood's Campaign in Tennessee

While Sherman marched across Georgia, Confederate General John Bell Hood moved his army northward into Tennessee.

Hood hoped to threaten Union positions, disrupt federal operations, and perhaps draw Union forces away from Georgia.

The campaign produced severe fighting.

On November 30, Confederate troops attacked Union forces at Franklin, Tennessee.

The assault was devastating.

Confederate soldiers advanced against entrenched federal positions and suffered enormous casualties.

Several Confederate generals were killed.

Hood's army continued toward Nashville.

There, Union General George H. Thomas assembled a substantial force.

On December 15 and 16, Thomas attacked.

The Battle of Nashville ended in a decisive Union victory.

Hood's army was badly defeated and retreated southward.

The campaign effectively ended the Confederate Army of Tennessee's ability to operate as a major offensive force.

The Confederacy had suffered another severe military setback.

By the end of December, the strategic situation had shifted further in the Union's favor.

The Human Cost of 1864

The military campaigns of 1864 were among the most destructive of the war.

The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Atlanta, Franklin, and Nashville produced enormous casualties.

Soldiers experienced prolonged periods of combat and exposure.

Many lived in trenches for weeks or months.

Others marched through difficult terrain with inadequate rest.

Medical personnel struggled to care for wounded men.

Disease remained a major cause of death.

Prisoner-of-war camps also became sites of suffering.

At Andersonville, Georgia, thousands of Union prisoners died from disease, malnutrition, exposure, and inadequate sanitation.

Confederate prisoners also endured severe conditions in Union camps, although mortality rates and circumstances varied considerably among facilities.

The breakdown of prisoner exchanges, shortages, overcrowding, and government decisions contributed to the crisis.

The suffering extended beyond the armies.

Civilians in occupied and contested regions faced displacement, shortages, destroyed property, and uncertainty.

Enslaved families continued seeking freedom.

Black communities faced the dangers of war and racial violence.

Women and children carried additional responsibilities as military service removed men from farms, businesses, and households.

The war's cost could not be measured solely through battlefield casualties.

It was transforming communities and families across the country.

The Confederacy Faces Increasing Pressure

By the end of 1864, the Confederacy confronted serious military and economic difficulties.

The Union controlled the Mississippi River.

New Orleans and Atlanta had fallen.

Sherman had marched across Georgia and captured Savannah.

The Confederate Army of Tennessee had suffered a devastating defeat at Nashville.

In Virginia, Lee's army remained entrenched around Petersburg and Richmond.

The Union blockade continued restricting overseas commerce.

Railroads were damaged or under pressure.

Food shortages and inflation created hardship for soldiers and civilians.

The Confederate government struggled to maintain adequate supplies and manpower.

Desertion and war weariness became increasing concerns.

Yet Confederate resistance continued.

Lee's army remained capable of fighting.

Confederate forces still held important territory.

Jefferson Davis and other Confederate leaders continued seeking independence.

The outcome was becoming clearer, but it was not yet settled.

WHAT 1864 CHANGED

The fourth calendar year of the Civil War brought major developments.

First, the Union adopted a more coordinated military strategy.

Grant directed simultaneous offensives intended to prevent Confederate armies from reinforcing one another.

Second, the war in Virginia became a prolonged struggle of attrition and entrenchment.

The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg demonstrated the enormous human cost of sustained operations against experienced armies.

Third, Union forces achieved major victories in the West and South.

The capture of Atlanta, Sherman's March to the Sea, and the victory at Nashville weakened Confederate military and transportation resources.

Fourth, Black soldiers continued expanding their role in the Union war effort.

Their service contributed to federal military operations while exposing the continuing struggle over racial equality and the treatment of prisoners.

Fifth, the United States held a presidential election during civil war.

Lincoln's reelection demonstrated that constitutional political processes could continue during a national emergency.

Finally, the movement toward permanent abolition advanced.

The Senate approved the proposed Thirteenth Amendment, and the issue became part of the 1864 election.

The Confederacy had not surrendered.

But its ability to continue fighting had been seriously weakened.

THE GREAT EXPERIMENT AND THE COST OF PRESERVING THE UNION

The American founding had established a constitutional republic based on representative government, divided powers, and the consent of the governed.

Its institutions were intended to provide a framework through which political disagreements could be addressed without destroying the nation.

But the founding generation had left slavery unresolved.

By 1861, the conflict over slavery and its expansion had contributed directly to secession and war.

In 1864, the country was confronting the consequences.

The federal government had expanded its military and economic powers.

The Union was using its industrial resources, transportation networks, and armed forces to defeat the rebellion.

The Confederacy was struggling to maintain independence despite mounting military losses and economic hardship.

Millions of Americans had experienced the war through military service, displacement, shortages, bereavement, and uncertainty.

The struggle had also begun transforming the meaning of freedom.

Black Americans were fighting for the Union.

Enslaved people were escaping bondage.

The federal government was moving toward permanent constitutional abolition.

And the nation had conducted a presidential election despite the extraordinary pressures of civil war.

The conflict had revealed the weaknesses and contradictions of the American founding.

But it was also testing whether the constitutional system could endure its greatest crisis.

By December 1864, the Union appeared increasingly capable of prevailing.

Yet victory would not erase the suffering.

It would not automatically reunite divided communities.

And it would not settle the difficult questions of freedom, citizenship, and political equality.

Those challenges remained ahead.

The United States was approaching the end of the Civil War, but the work of rebuilding the nation had barely begun.

THE STORY CONTINUES

PART V — THE WAR ENDS, THE QUESTIONS REMAIN (1865)

The final year would bring the collapse of the Confederacy's principal armies.

The Union would continue tightening its hold around Petersburg and Richmond.

Sherman's forces would advance through the Carolinas.

Congress would approve the proposed Thirteenth Amendment, sending it to the states for ratification.

Lincoln would begin his second presidential term and deliver an inaugural address focused on the war's meaning and the difficult task of national reconciliation.

In April, Union forces would break through the Confederate defenses at Petersburg.

Richmond would fall.

Robert E. Lee would surrender the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House.

But the nation would soon experience another tragedy.

President Abraham Lincoln would be assassinated.

The war would end through a series of Confederate surrenders, and the country would face the enormous task of restoring civil government, securing freedom, and determining the rights of millions of formerly enslaved Americans.

The Civil War would come to an end.

The struggle over what the United States would become would continue.

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