World History index
The United States  lesson plan
 


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Created    1/12/2008

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Government
A stable, independent government helped the United States grow in power. 
In 1800, political power passed from one party to another through a peaceful election.

Two Political Parties


Federalists
Federalists believed only people of wealth and education should hold office.
They wanted the economy to be based on industry.

Democrat-Republicans
They favored power for the states.
They believed that avearge people should lead the country.
They wanted the economy to be based on more on agriculture.

Stable Government
The government in the United States changed hands through peaceful elections.
IN 1800, Thomas Jefferson, a Democrat-Republican became President.
He took the place of John Adams, who was a Federalist President.
this was the first peaceful passing of power.

Voting
1800, only white males who owned property could vote.
New states in the West allowed all adult white males to vote.
Women, slaves, and Indians were not allowed to vote.

Election Campaining
Election Campaining changed to entertainment and advertising.
People sang songs and wore their candidates buttons.
Political parties held parades, parties, dinners, and rallies.
Races involved slogans.
Andrew Jackson was known as "Old Hickory."
He planted hickory trees in town squares.
He gave out hickory canes and brooms.

The Westward Movement
After the Revolutionary War, the Unites Staes claimed all the land east of the Mississippi River.
Thousands traveled across the Appalcahian Mountains.
They followed the Ohio River.

Settlers
Settlers were careful where they built.
It had to be near water.
For safety, it had to be near a large settlement or a fort.
The settler would first clear the land of trees.
He would then build a log cabin.
The cabin had one room and a dirt floor.
Windows were covered with deerskin.
There was a fireplace for heat and cooking.
Settlers wore Native American clothing.
They used Native American herbs as medicne.
They paddled Naive American canoes.
The Native Americans used rifles, iron pots, and woolen blankets.

Native Americans
As settlers moved westward, they came into conflict with the Native Americans.
Settlers were farmers.
Indians were hunters.
The settlers claimed the land.
The Indians believed the land belonged to everyone.
The Indians tried to defend their land against the settlers.
There were more settlers than Indians.
The settlers brought disease and many Native Americans died.
The Indians were pushed farther nad farther west.
Native Americans were eventually were forced to live on reservations. 

Territorial Expansion
Louisiana Purchase
In 1803, the United States had acquired the Louisiana Territory.
It was purchased from France for $15 million dollars.
It gave the United States control of the Mississippi River and the sea port of New Orleans.

Adams-Onis' Treaty
1891, the United States and Spain signed a treaty.
The treaty gave Florida to the United States.

War With Mexico
1821, Mexico became independent.
The Mexican government offered land to Americans who would settle in Mexico.
The Americans had to swear loyalty to Mexico and become Catholics.
By early 1830s, 30,000 Americans were living in a part of Mexico called Texas.
Most were from the South, and they owned slaves.
1824, Mexico outlawed slavery.

Texas Revolution
Texas was part of Mexico.
Tensions were high between American colonists and native Mexicans
This was due to differences in language and culture.
The Mexican government tried to control this region.
Thet already had reaffirmed its Constitutional prohibition against slavery
Established a chain of military posts occupied by convict soldiers.
Restricted trade with the United States.
Mexico ended further American immigration.
The Americans in Texas formed a volunteer army.

Battles
October, 1835  Gonzales
The Battle of Gonzales was the first skirmish of the Texas Revolution.
It was over a cannon given to American colonists by the Mexican government for Indian defense.
When six Mexican soldiers acting on orders from Col. Domingo de Ugartechea tried to take it back, the fight was on.
The canon was a six-pound caliber Spanish gun made from bronze.
September 1835, six of Ugartechea’s men attempted to reclaim the gun from local settlers.
The soldiers were taken captive.
The colonists then buried the cannon in a nearby peach orchard.

Col. Ugartechea sent 100 troops under Lt. Francisco de Castañeda>
He was to make sure that his request for the gun was clearly understood.
Castañeda’s orders were to use force if necessary.
He was to avoid open conflict with the Texian colonists.
Castañeda’s troops reached the Guadalupe River near Gonzales.
High water and 18 Texians blocked his path.
The colonists were busy soliciting reinforcements from nearby settlements.
Castañeda marched his troops upriver to “cross without any embarrassment”.
The Texians followed.

On the morning of October 2nd, the Texians attacked the Mexican camp.
The Texian leader John Henry Moore met with Lieutenant Castañeda.
Castañeda again requested the cannon.
Colonists pointed to its six-pound barrel and said: “There it is—come and take it.”
Castañeda’s men fell back, eventually withdrawing toward Bexar.
Castañeda filed an official report.
“Since the orders from your Lordship were for me to withdraw without compromising the honor of Mexican arms, I did so.”
 

General Cos
1 October, 1835  Goliad Campaign
General Cos entered Goliad.
He had with  him an honor guard of 30, over 400 infantrymen and a unit of local rancheros.
Four days later, he marched almost the entire force to San Antonio, leaving only 75 troops at Goliad.
After he left, Federalist volunteers organized to resist the military occupation.
On October 9th, the Federalists captured the fort and most of its defenders.
Three Mexican soldiers were killed.
The Texian capture of Goliad gave them a huge strategic advantage in the region.
It also solidified the gap between colonists supporting the Constitution of 1824, and those remaining loyal to the Mexican government.
 

Jim Bowie
November, 1835  The Grass Fight
It was reported to the Texans around San Antonio that a shipment of silver was coming from Mexico.
The silver was being transported on a train of pack mules.
It was on its way to pay the soldiers of Mexican General Cos, who then occupied the town.
The Texas scouts kept a close watch for the convoy so that the payload might be intercepted.
On the morning of 28 November, Erastus "Deaf" Smith was on patrol.
He discovered some mules with packs approaching.
He thought this was the expected train.
He reported his discovery to the Texan camp.
A group under Jim Bowie was first to intercept the mule train and a skirmish began.
As reinforcements under Colonel Ed Burleson arrived, the fight was well underway.
The Texans pursued as the enemy dispersed.
This was the end of the celebrated "grass fight".
The Mexicans abandoned their mules as they fled.
The Texans soon found that the packs were filled with grass, rather than the expected silver.
The Mexicans had gone out the night before to gather grass to feed their horses.
The Texans lost one man and two wounded during the fight.
The Mexican loss was much larger.

Ben Milam
December, 1835  Siege of Bexar
San Antonio de Bexar was under the control of Mexican General Perfecto de Cos.
His command consisted of 1200 soldiers from Mexico.
For almost two months, Texas volunteers had camped near the town in a virtual standoff with Cos.
One of the Texas leaders, Ben Milam, returned from a brief absence.
He found that the Texans were about to withdraw to Goliad.
Ben Milam voiced strong opposition to the retreat.
Milam appealed to the Texans with his now-famous words.
"Who will will go with old Ben Milam into San Antonio?"
Some 300 volunteers responded.
Burleson ordered a two-column attack.
One attack was to be carried out by Milam's troops.
The other was to be carried out by those of Colonel Francis W. Johnson.
On December 5, Milam and Johnson launched a surprise attack.
They seized two houses in the Military Plaza.
One of the houses seized belonged to the in-laws of Jim Bowie.
The Texans were unable to advance any further that day.
They fortified the houses and remained there during the night.
They dug trenches and destroyed nearby buildings.
On December 7, the attack continued.
Milam's force captured another foothold in the city.
Milam was killed while leading the attack.
The death of their leader seemed to inspire the Texans.
Colonel Johnson subsequently took command of both his and Milam's men.
He continued the street fighting.
The Mexicans were being driven back into the city.
Cos withdrew into the Alamo.
He was joined by Colonel Ugartechea and 600 reinforcements.
Cos entrenched his position.
Cos presented a plan for a counterattack.
Cavalry officers believed that they would be surrounded by Texians.
Theyrefused their orders.
175 soldiers from four of the cavalry companies left the mission and rode south.
Cos ran after the horseman to tell them to stop and was almost run down.
The Texan artillery pounded the fortified mission.
Cos had 120 soldiers left.
On December 9, after four days of fighting, Cos signalled a Mexican truce.
General Cos and his men could return to Mexico,
The Texans gained all of the public property, guns and ammunition in San Antonio.
All of Cos's men were required to pledge that they would not fight against the Constitution of 1824
During the siege, the Texans lost only four men killed (including Milam) and fifteen wounded.
They gained, however, one of the most important strongholds in Texas.
Within a few months, the Mexicans would return to retake the town during the bloody siege at battle at the Alamo.

      
Santa Anna                                                                                               Colonel William Barret Travis
March, 1836  Alamo
As early as February 16, residents of Bexar began warning the Texians of the Mexican approach.
Travis disregarded the rumors.

On February 21, Santa Anna and his vanguard reached the banks of the Medina River, 25 miles from Bexar.
The garrison was completely unprepared for the Mexican army arrival.
The Texians quickly herded cattle into the Alamo.
They scrounged for food in some of the recently abandoned houses.
A few members of the garrison brought their families into the Alamo for safety.

On February 23, approximately 1,500 Mexican troops marched into Béxar.
This was Santa Anna's first step in a campaign to re-take Texas.
The Mexican troops immediately raised a blood-red flag signifying no quarter.
Travis responded with a blast from the Alamo's largest cannon.
Believing that Travis had acted hastily, Bowie sent Jameson to meet with Santa Anna.
Travis was angered that Bowie had acted unilaterally and sent his own emissary.
The men met with Colonel Juan Almonte and Jose Bartres.
According to Almonte, the Texians asked for an honorable surrender.
They were informed that any surrender must be unconditional.
On learning this, Bowie and Travis mutually agreed to fire the cannon again in defiance to Santa Anna!
For the next twelve days, the two armies engaged in several skirmishes, with minimal casualties.
The first night of the siege was relatively quiet.
The Mexican cavalry was stationed to the north and east of the Alam.
They were to prevent the arrival of Texian reinforcements.
In the first few days of the siege, Mexican soldiers established artillery batteries.
At first, they were about 1,000 feet (300 m) from the south and east walls of the Alamo.
A third battery was positioned southeast of the fort.
Each night the batteries inched closer to the Alamo walls.
The Mexican army kept up a consistent barrage of artillery shells.
During the first week of the siege over 200 Mexican cannon shots landed in the Alamo plaza.
The Texians often picked up the cannonballs and reused them.
At first the Texians matched Mexican artillery fire.
Later they had to conserve.

February 24, the first fatality of the siege occurred when Texians killed a Mexican scout.
The following morning, 200-300 Mexican soldiers crossed the San Antonio River.
They took cover in abandoned shacks near the Alamo walls.
Several Texians ventured out to burn the huts.
Texians within the Alamo provided cover fire.
After a two-hour skirmish the Mexican troops retreated to Bexar.
Two Mexican soldiers were killed and four wounded; no Texians were injured.

On February 26 Travis ordered the artillery to conserve powder and shot.

On March 3, The Texians watched from the walls as approximately 1,000 Mexican troops arrived.
They were attired in dress uniform.
They marched into Bexar's military plaza to reinforce Santa Anna.
The Texians in the Alamo believed that Sesma had been leading the Mexican forces.
They mistakenly attributed the celebration to the arrival of Santa Anna.
The reinforcements brought the number of Mexican soldiers in Bexar to almost 2,400.

On March 4, the day after his reinforcements arrived, Santa Anna called his senior officers together.
He proposed an assault of the fort.
Many of the participants recommended that the battle wait for the two 12 lb cannons.
They were anticipated to arrive on March 7.

The following morning, Santa Anna announced to his staff that the assault would take place early on March 6.
That evening, James Allen became the last courier to leave the Alamo.
He carried personal messages from Travis and several of the other men.
Legend holds that at some point on March 5, Travis gathered his men.
He explained that an attack was likely imminent, and that the Mexican Army would prevail.
He supposedly drew a line in the sand.
He then asked those willing to die for the Texian cause to cross and stand alongside him.
A bedridden Bowie requested that Crockett and several others carry his cot over the line.
At 10 pm, the Mexican artillery ceased their bombardment.
As Santa Anna had planned, the exhausted Texians soon fell asleep.
The first sleep many had gotten since the siege began.

Final Assault
Just after midnight on March 6 the Mexican army began preparing for the final assault.
The troops were divided into four columns.
They were commanded by Cos, Colonel Francisco Duque, Colonel Jose Marie Romero, and Colonel Juan Morales.
At 5:3.0 a.m. Santa Anna gave the order to advance.
Troops silently moved forward.
Veterans were positioned on the outside of the columns to better control the new recruits in the middle.
Cos and his men approached the northwest corner of the Alamo.
Duque led his men from the northwest to the breach in the Alamo's north wall.
The column commanded by Romero marched towards the east wall.
Morales's column aimed for the low parapet by the chapel.
In the initial moments of the assault Mexican troops were at a disadvantage.
Their column formation allowed only the front rows of soldiers to safely fire.
The new recruits did not realize this.
They blindly fired their guns, injuring or killing the troops in front of them.
The tight concentration of troops also offered an excellent target for the Texian artillery.
Lacking canister shot, Texians filled their cannon with any metal they could find.
They used door hinges, nails, and chopped-up horseshoes, essentially turning the cannon into giant shotguns.
The Mexica troops massed against the walls.
Texians were forced to lean over the walls to shoot.
THis left them exposed to Mexican fire.
Travis became one of the first defenders to die as he fired his shotgun into the soldiers below him.
Mexican soldiers withdrew and regrouped.
Their second attack was again repulsed.
Fifteen minutes into the battle, they attacked a third time.

During the third strike, Romero's column, aimed for the east wall.
They were exposed to cannon fire.
They shifted to the north and  with the second column.
Santa Anna saw that the bulk of his army was massed against the north wall.
Fearing a rout, Santa Anna panicked.
He sent the reserves into the same area.
Most of the Texians fell back to the barracks and the chapel.
Holes had been carved in the walls so that the Texians could fire.
The defenders in the cattle pen retreated into the horse corral.
After discharging their weapons, the small band of Texians scrambled over the low wall.
They circled behind the church and raced on foot for the east prairie.
Mexican cavalry advanced on the group,
Almaron Dickinson and his artillery crew turned a cannon around and fired into the cavalry.
All of these escaping Texians were killed.


Davey Crockett
Davey Crockett and his men were the last left.
They were defending the low wall in front of the church.
Unable to reload, they used their rifles as clubs and fought with knives.
The few remaining Texians in this group fell back toward the church. .
The Mexican army now controlled all of the outer walls and the interior of the Alamo compound.
Mexican soldiers turned their attention to a Texian flag waving from the roof of one building.
Four Mexicans were killed before the flag of Mexico was raised in that location.
By 6:30 a.m. the battle for the Alamo was over.
Mexican soldiers inspected each corpse.
They bayoneted any body that moved.
Even with all of the Texians dead, Mexican soldiers continued to shoot, some killing each other in the confusion.
Mexican generals were unable to stop the bloodlust.
They appealed to Santa Anna for help.
Although he showed himself, the violence continued.
Buglers were finally ordered to sound a retreat.
For 15 minutes after that, soldiers continued to fire into dead bodies.

According to many accounts, between five and seven Texians surrendered.
Santa Anna was incensed that his orders had been ignored,
He demanded the immediate execution of the survivors.
Weeks after the battle, stories began to circulate that Crockett was among those who surrendered.
However, Ben, a former American slave, maintained that Crockett's body was found.
It was surrounded by no less than sixteen Mexican corpses.
It is highly unlikely Davy Crockett would have surrendered.
Texians Killed were between 182-257.
Mexican soldier loses have been put at varying numbers, 400-600 killed and as high as 2000 killed, with 300 wounded.
After 13 days the army of Mexico wipes out the defenders in the Alamo.
Several noncombatants were sent to Gonzales to spread word of the Texian defeat.
The news sparked a panic.
The Texian army, most settlers, and the new Republic of Texas government fled.


   
James W. Fannin                                Mexican General Jose Urrea
27 March, 1836  Goliad Massacre
On February 27, Mexican General Jose Urrea came to the town of San Patricio.
He encountered Frank Johnson and about 50 Texans.
Johnson and four of his men escaped, but the rest were either killed or captured.
A few days later, the Mexicans also fell upon James Grant and another 50 men.
All but one of the Texans were killed.
Citizens of Refugio, the next town in Urrea's path, were slow to evacuate.
To provide assistance, James W Fannin, commander of forces at Goliad, sent two relief forces.
The first of these groups numbered about 30 men under Aaron King.
This was followed by a larger group of some 150 men under William Ward.
Like Johnson's force, both of these groups were eventually killed or captured by the Mexicans.
Fannin was ordered by Sam Houston to retreat with back to Victoria.
Due to indecision and carelessness Fannin failed to accomplish either of these missions.
After a delay of about five days Fannin finally began his retreat.
The Texans found themselves surrounded on open prairie.
Several attacks by Urrea resulted each time in the Mexicans being repulsed by the deadly fire of the Texans.
By dusk, the Texans had lost about sixty men killed or wounded against some 200 of the Mexicans.
The following morning with no water and few supplies, the Texans waved the white flag of truce.
They thought they would be taken prisoner.
Later, they thought they would be released.
The Texans surrendered the morning of March 20.
They were escorted back to Goliad as prisoners.

Colonel Jose Nicolas de la Portilla
Execution
Knowing the prisoners' probable fate, General Urrea departed Goliad.
He left leaving command to Colonel Jose Nicolas de la Portilla.
Urrea later wrote to Santa Anna to ask for clemency for the Texians.
Urrea wrote in his diary that he "...wished to elude these orders as far as possible without compromising my personal responsibility."
Santa Anna was furious that the Texans had not been executed.
A new law stated that all foreigners taken under arms would be treated as pirates and executed.
Santa Anna sent orders to execute the Goliad prisoners.
On March 26, 1836, Portilla received orders to execute the prisoners.
Santa Anna's orders were followed.
On Palm Sunday, the 27th of March, the prisoners were divided into three groups.
They were marched onto the open prairie, and shot.
Almost all of Fannin's command were massacred, collected into piles, and burned.
A few that managed to escape and several physicians and others deemed useful by the Mexicans, were spared.
March 27th, 1836, hundreds of captured Texas revolutionaries were executed.
They were led by James W. Fannin, Jr.
General Santa Anna gave the order to execute them.
They were massacred when they thought they would be released.




Sam Houston
April, 1836  San Jacinto
On the morning of April 21, Houston held a council of war.
The majority of his officers favored waiting for Santa Anna's eventual assault.
Houston, however, decided in favor of his own surprise attack.
With his army of roughly 900 men, he decided to attack Santa Anna.
Most of the assault would come over open ground.
The Texan infantry would be vulnerable to Mexican gunfire.
Houston decided to outflank the Mexicans with his cavalry.
Santa Anna then made a crucial mistake.
During his army's afternoon siesta, he failed to post sentries or skirmishers around his camp.
At 4:30 p.m. on April 21, scout Deaf Smith announced the burning of Vince's Bridge.
This cut off the only avenue of retreat for both armies without having to cross water more than 10 feet deep.
The main Texan battle line moved forward with their approach screened by the trees and rising ground.
They emerging from the woods.
The order was given to advance.
A fifer began playing the popular tune Will you Come to the Bower I Have Shaded for You?
The Texan army moved quickly and silently across the high-grass plain.
When they were only a few dozen yards away they charged Santa Anna's camp.
They shouted "Remember the Alamo!" and "Remember Goliad!,"
They stopped a few yards from the Mexicans to open fire.
Hundreds of the demoralized and confused Mexican soldiers were routed.
Many were driven into the marshes along the river to drown.
The Texans chased after the fleeing enemy.
They yelled, "take prisoners like the Meskins do!"
Some of the Mexican cavalry plunged into the flooded stream by Vince's bridge.
They were shot as they struggled in the water.
Houston was shot in the left ankle.
He had two horses shot from under him.
The combat itself lasted 18 minutes.
The slaughter of the Mexicans continued for another hour or so.
During the battle, Santa Anna disappeared.
A search party was sent out the next morning.
It consisted of James A. Sylvester, Washington H. Secrest, Sion R. Bostick, and a Mr. Cole.
Santa Anna shed his ornate uniform to elude discovery.
It was not until he was saluted as "El Presidente" that suspicion was narrowed.
Unfortunately for Santa Anna, it was well known that he wore silk underwear.
It was discovered that this same person who had been saluted was also wearing silk underwear.
The Texans knew they had captured Santa Anna.
Houston spared his life.
He preferred to negotiate.
Houston wanted an end to the hostilities.
He wanted the withdrawal from Texas of Santa Anna's remaining columns.

  
President James K. Polk                   Zachary Taylor
Mexican American War
The Mexican-American War erupted as President James K. Polk sought to extend the borders of the nation to the Pacific,
1 March 1845, the United States annexed Texas.
A dispute over the border location also caused problems.
Mexico was angry.
This annexation made war with Mexico inevitable.
The Mexicans refused to meet with a US envoy sent to negotiate a settlement of outstanding issues.
January 1846, President Polk ordered Zachary Taylor and American forces to close to the Mexican border in disputed territory.

 
General Mariano Arista             General Winfield Scott
The Thornton Affair  April 25, 1846
This military action was at Rancho de Carricitos, about 20 miles from Fort Texas, near Matamoros.
25 April 1846, General Mariano Arista fires on two squadrons of dragoons led by Capt. Seth Thornton.
End result of the battle included 14 killed and seven wounded.
Eighty men were captured by the Mexican patrol, which included 1,600 men, consisting of calvary and light infantry.
Upon the report of the capture of the 80 men, Taylor sent a message to Washington, D.C.
He informed President Polk and General Scott that “Hostilities may now be considered as commenced.”
The war was on.

Major Brown killed by cannon shot
Siege of Fort Texas   May 3-9, 1846
General Taylor left Fort Brown with approximately 2,000 soldiers.
He was going to resupply and reinforce his fort at Point Isabel.
He left Major Jacob Brown in charge of Fort Texas.
The remaining 500 soldiers were to protect Fort Brown.
They consisted of the seventh Infantry Battalion and two artillery batteries.
Upon Taylor's departure, General Arista ordered the cannons to begin fire.
The fort withstood the five-day assault.
The only two casualties included a sergeant and Major Brown.
6 May, Major Brown was wounded by a cannon shot.
Captain Edgar S. Hawkins took over the command of the fort upon the death of Brown.
On May 6, General Ampudia sent Captain Hawkins a message demanding the surrender of the fort.
Captain Hawkins refused to surrender the fort.
The siege continued.
On that evening of May 8, General Ampudia received orders from General Arista to withdraw from his siege of the fort.
May 9, Major Brown dies of his wounds.
He was to take his soldiers to the battle lines of Palo Alto.

Major Ringgold falling at Palo Alto
Battle of Palo Alto   May 8,  1846
On May 7, General Taylor was resupplying and reinforcing the fort at Point Isabel.
He was able to hear the beginning of the cannon bombardment of Fort Texas, about 25 miles away.
He decided that priority had to lie in reinforcing Point Isabel.
Taylor sent a small detachment, led by Capt. Sam Walker, to check on the status of Fort Texas.
They were to communicate directly with Major Brown, the commanding officer.
May 7, Taylor continued his refortification of Point Isabel.
May 8, leaves Point Isabel.
On the road back to Fort Texas, Taylor’s scouts encountered Mariano Arista’s 4300 man army by the Palo Alto pond.
Word quickly went back to Taylor.
Taylor had his 2400 troops move from the road and get into skirmish lines.
Before long, Arista had his artillery open fire on the American troops.
The Mexican artillery shells failed to explode.
The American artillery shells were explosive and shredded the stationary Mexican forces.
Because of battlefield terrain, Arista sent his calvary, under General Torrejon, into the battlefield.
The American eighth Infantry met the calvary charge.
Major Ringgold’s troops repelled them.
Major Ringgold, who commanded the artillery battalion, fired on the oncoming calvary troops.
Arista refused to engage his infantry because he felt that he would lose control of them.
The infantry pressured Arista into leaving the battlefield.
The battle ended in a minor victory for Americans.
Major Ringgold was mortally wounded by a small cannon-ball.
It passed through both thighs and through his horse.
Rider and horse both fell to the ground.
The horse was dead.
The major died at Point Isabel four days afterwards.
At the end of the day, neither army was effectively pushed off the battlefield.
The battle would eventually continue.

Battle of Resaca de la Palma   May 9, 1846
On the morning of May 9, Arista withdrew his troops from Palo Alto.
He continued down the road for about five miles.
He redeployed his army in a Resaca, a curved wash or broad, dry riverbed.
The American artillery couldn't do much damage due to the heavy chaparral covering the position.
The chaparral also limited the usefulness of the Mexican calvary.
Taylor observed Arista’s movement from Palo Alto.
Taylor called his officers together to discuss their next move.
Most of them voted to not follow the Mexican army.
The Mexican army had 3100 infantry and calvary.
Taylor ordered his 2000 man army of dragoons, infantry, and artillery to march toward the Mexican army’s position.
To Taylor’s surprise, his troops repelled the initial attack by the Mexican infantry.
Taylor then sent Capt. Charles May’s battalion to attack the Mexican infantry.
May’s dragoons broke the Mexican infantry line.
This allowed the American infantry and artillery to advance on their positions.
Arista launched two calvary counterattacks on the American battle lines with little effect.
The Mexican troops eventually fled toward Matamoros.
They thought Americans were pursuing them,
Many of the Mexican soldiers drowned when they tried to swim across the Rio Grande.
They were dragged down from the weight of their equipment and guns.
The Americans marched on to Fort Texas.
They reunited with the troops that had withstood the Mexican cannon bombardment.
35 Americans and 200 Mexican soldiers were killed.

Battle for New Mexico
American forces first led by General Kearny and then Colonel Doniphson captured New Mexico territory.
American forces then were split.
Some headed for California and the balance to Mexico.

13 May 1846, Congress declares war on Mexico.

15 June 1846, Bear Flag revolt.

15 August 1846, Stephen W. Kearney captures Santa Fe.

Battle of Monterrey   20-24 September 1846
Taylor’s troops occupied Matamoros for about two months.
After training reinforcements, Taylor, with 6,640 troops, headed toward Monterrey.
Monterrey was the largest city in the state of Nuevo Leon.
In August, the Mexican government’s national defense policy ordered each Mexican city to form its own militia.
The Monterrey militia consisted of 400 untrained men and only 130 guns.
The government realized the strategic importance of defending Monterrey.
5000 regular army brigades and militias from other towns in northern Mexico arrived to defend the city.
The Mexican troops strengthened the already well-fortified city.
Mountains protected the city on the north.
A river protected the southern part of the city.
Two hills protected the northwestern side of the city.
A fort named the Citadel, or the Black Fort protected the city’s northeast section.
Three other forts protected the southeast.
The city was surrounded by a wall, which had holes for gun ports.
The northwestern hillsides had fortified artillery positions at the top.

Taylor established camp a few miles outside of the city.
He and his generals made a plan of action.
They decided to split the army into two groups.
One under the command of Taylor and the other under the command of General William Worth.




General William Worth
Worth had Two Objectives
The first was capture the southern road to Saltillo, another strategically placed city.
The second was to take the two fortified hills northwest of the city.
Taylor was to initiate a diversionary skirmish near the Citadel.
This would take some of the direct fire off Worth,
Worth had a group of Texas Rangers with him.
The Rangers were under the command of Colonel Jack Hayes and Capt. Ben McCulloch.
When approaching the road to Saltillo, they met resistance from Lt. Colonel Mariano Moret.
With the help of the Rangers and his infantry Worth repelled Moret’s attacks.
Worth managed to capture the road.
This cut off any hope of reinforcements or supplies for Monterrey.
Worth then moved his troops toward Federation Hill, the first of the two hills he wanted to capture.
The hill had two gun emplacements and 500 men.
The American forces under Worth attacked the hill.
They overwhelmed the Mexican defenders.
They eventually captured the hill.
The Mexican gun emplacements could not be lowered.
They were unable to fire upon the soldiers coming up the hill.

Robert Stockton
Battle of La Mesa
9 January 1847, Robert Stockton with 457 men captures Los Angeles.
At La Mesa, the outgunned and outnumbered Californios were quickly defeated by a force commanded by Commodore Robert F. Stockton.
Stockton's force was largely on foot, but had rifles.
The Californios fought on horseback with only lances.
The Californios fell back and camped at present-day Pasadena, giving up Los Angeles to Stockton.
This battle was the last armed resistance to American domination of California.
 General Flores fled back to Mexico.
The issue of California was settled with the signing of the Treaty of Cahuenga.
It was signed by Lieutenant-Colonel (later Major General) John C. Frémont and General Andres Pico on January 13, 1847.

General John EWool
Battle of Bunea Vista   February 22-23, 1847
January 27, 1847, Santa Anna left San Luis Potosi with an army of 20,000 men.
Between January 27 and February 13, his army traveled 100 miles of the 240-mile trek.
The final 140 miles were marked with death, desertion, and desertion.
By the time the Mexican army arrived at Agua Nueva, they numbered only 15,000.
Santa Anna had pushed them hard, often without adequate rest or water.
Most of his soldiers did not have tents to sleep in.
Santa Anna expected to meet American forces in Agua Nueva.
The Americans had abandoned it the day before.
The Americans burned buildings and stores of grain.
Taylor let General Wool choose the battlefield location.
He chose a location near the hacienda of Buena Vista.
It had mountains and hills that could be fortified>
The ravines would restrict the movement of the infantry.
February 2, Santa Anna arrived and left Agua Nueva.
He did not allow his troops to get water or rest.
When they arrived at Buena Vista, they were tired, thirsty, and hungry.
Yet, that same afternoon, Santa Anna ordered his men to attack the eastern end of the American position.
They exchanged gunfire and cannon-fire throughout the afternoon and evening.
Neither side gained or lost much during this initial battle.

On the second day, Santa Anna grouped his army into three columns.
General Ignacio de Mora y Villamil led the first column.
General Ampudia commanded a column that was to attack the American positions on the slopes.
General Manuel Maria Lombardini and General Francisco Pacheco led the infantry main column.
General Manuel Micheltorena, once the governor of California, led an artillery battery.
Santa Anna himself was in charge of the reserve troops.
The Mexican army held the better odds of three soldiers to every one American.
Taylor left the battlefield with men to return and protect his supplies at Saltillo.
He left General Wool in charge of the remaining troops.
Captain John Washington was the officer in charge of the artillery.

When the battle began, one of the Mexican columns headed for the road to Saltillo.
That was where Taylor was.
The Mexicans were held off by American artillery.
General Lombardini’s column attacked American troops under the command of Captain John O’Brien.
Lombardini’s troops of over 7,000 men quickly overran O’Brien.
They were able to keep one of the artillery pieces he left behind.
Mexican soldiers overtook the eastern end of the American line.
Ampudia overran the American position on the hills.
Taylor arrived from Saltillo with reinforcements.
After several calvary attacks, Taylor was able to reestablish the battle line.
Throughout the day, Santa Anna ordered troops towards the center of the American battle line.
Taylor used his artillery and fired directly at the oncoming troops.
He killed and injured Mexican troops in masses.
Eventually, toward late afternoon, the battle lost its initial intensity.
The Americans had survived the Mexican offensive.
The next day the Americans found that the Mexicans had left the battlefield.


 

  
Colonel Alexander Doniphan                  General Garcia Conde
Battle for Sacremento   February 28, 1847
Doniphan rested his men in El Paso.
He received word that General Wool had been redirected towards Saltillo, instead of Chihuahua.
This left Doniphan in a tough situation.
Either return to Santa Fe or press on to Chihuahua to attack the city with just the men he had.
He put the decision up to his men.
They voted to attack Chihuahua.
Before he left Major Merriwether Lewis Clark and Captain Richard H. Weightman arrived in El Paso.
They had six artillery pieces for Doniphan.
This artillery put confidence in Doniphan and his troops.
General Garcia Conde led the defenses of Chihuahua.
He had recently arrived from Mexico City with reinforcements.
He outnumbered the Americans three to one.
But Conde realized his troops were inexperienced.
He decided that it would be better to be defensive against Doniphan’s army.
Conde went about 15 miles north of Chihuahua near a ranch called Rancho Sacramento.
The chosen battlefield was outlined with a plateau and a dry riverbed.
This provided a natural defensive position for Conde’s troops.
Doniphan had a 300-wagontrain.
Conde believed that Doniphan’s troops would follow the road to Chihuahua.
But scouts for Doniphan found a way around Conde’s position.
With the use of calvary and his artillery, Doniphan began picking off the Conde’s entrenched troops.
Doniphan first  attacked with the artillery on the fixed positions.
Doniphan then sent in his calvary.
The Americans and Mexicans fought vigorously at each fixed position.
Eventually, Doniphan troops were victorious.
By going around Conde he was able to reduce the fixed defensive position that Conde had made.
Following the battle, Doniphan led his troops into Chihuahua City unopposed.

Siege of Vera Cruz   March 9-29, 1847

Battle of Cerro Gordo  April 18, 1748
After the battle at Buena Vista, Santa Anna and his troops began the long march back to San Luis Potosi.
Two messengers found Santa Anna and forewarned him that his presidency was in jeopardy.
Two political factions were battling for control of the city and the government.
He took some of his healthier soldiers with him as an escort to Mexico City.
He was successful in brokering a deal for peace between the two sides and again was appointed president.
While he was in Mexico City, Santa Anna received news of the defeat at Veracruz.
He quickly left the city.
He began amassing forces near his private home in the state of Veracruz.
He picked a fortified location.
There was a stream on one side, with mountains and hills surrounding a mountain pass.
He placed a majority of his artillery and infantry on and around a hill named Cerro Gordo.
Santa Anna believed that Scott’s only option would be to continue up the National Road to Jalapa.
Scott would march directly into the path of Santa Anna.
Two of Santa Anna’s engineers, Colonel Manuel Robles and Colonel Juan Cano, had scouted Santa Anna’s perimeter defenses.
They found that a nearby hill La Atalaya could eventually be used against him.
It was fortified only by a small number of men and had no artilleryemplacements.
In addition, the American troops could use the northern side of La Atalaya to attack the rear of Santa Anna’s troops.
Santa Anna placed no credence in the opinion of these men.
He did nothing to strengthen La Atalaya.
When all the troops arrived from Veracruz, Scott sent out two of his engineers.
Captain Robert E. Lee and Lieutenant P.T Beauregard assessed Santa Anna’s battlefield positions.
They tried to identify any weaknesses.
They went to great lengths to assess the positions of the Mexican army.
They saw the weaknesses of Santa Anna’s positions.
They saw the advantages the Americans could gain by capturing La Atalaya.
They told Scott that the terrain they had to cross to get there was extremely difficult.
But there was no other way.
The Mexican artillery batteries had all the other routes to Cerro Gordo covered.
On April 17, Scott deployed General Twiggs and his men to go to La Atalaya.
They were to take the hill, and set up artillery batteries there.
Twiggs moved his troops and artillery pieces under the cover of night.
Upon arrival at La Atalaya, Twiggs split his troops.
A small detachment of a few hundred men were left at the base of La Atalaya.
Twiggs proceeded to approach Santa Anna’s rear position, which was located in the town of Cerro Gordo.
Eventually the small American detachment arrived at Cerro Gordo.
They immediately received fire from a large Mexican force of calvary and small artillery.
The Mexicans did not remain to finish the battle.
The Mexican calvary had no way of judging the number of troops.
The Mexicans fled leaving the rear position free for the Americans to take.
They did just that and proceeded to attack the rear forces of Santa Anna.
Meanwhile Twiggs was able to capture La Atalaya.
He began firing on the Mexican fixed artillery and the infantry and artillery placed on Cerro Gordo.
Scott attacked the main line of the Mexican troops with the main body of his troops.
Because of Twiggs’ effectiveness Scott was able to send his full force into battle.
The Mexicans fled the battlefield running from the American onslaught.
The Americans surrounded the Mexican force.
Santa Anna and most of his troops had to escape via the Rio de Plan.
The American troops captured over 3,000 Mexican troops.

Battle of Contreras and Churobusco   August 19-20, 1847
Scott moved up through the Mexican countryside and into the Valley of Mexico.
He was successful in avoiding a confrontation at a place called El Peñon.
This location had been wellfortified and Santa Anna was ready for battle again.
Scott decided to move his troops along a road just behind a lake named Chalco.
They maneuvered their way to the little town of San Agustin.
Upon arrival at San Agustin he sent out his scouts.
They found that Santa Anna’s troops were fortified in a convent by the bridge known as Churubusco.
This bridge was necessary to get into Mexico City.
Scott’s scouts reported a pedregal or an area of concentrated hardened lava.
This area was about five miles wide, and was difficult to travel on.
The rocks were sharp.
He dispatched Captain-engineer Robert E. Lee to explore the pedregal.
He was to determine if there was any possibility of going around it.
Lee’s small detachment was fired on by General Valencia’s troops.
The skirmish quickly ended.
Valencia’s troops escaped through the pedregal.
Lee found a pathway through the lava field.
Scott immediately recognized the importance of this passageway.
On the morning of August 19, Scott sent Lee with 500 soldiers to expand the pass.
Valencia spotted Lee’s troops and the two sides engaged in battle.
By nightfall, neither side had made any substantial gains.
Valencia and Santa Anna were bitter political rivals.
Santa Anna sent a message to Valencia.
He told Valencia that he would not be sent reinforcements.
That night General Persifor Smith requested additional reinforcement troops.
He wanted to surround Valencia’s troops.
Scott sent troops to him and that night he was able to place men in a ravine behind Valencia’s troops.
At daybreak, Smith attacked Valencia’s troops.
Because of the surprise and the position of the troops, the battle became a slaughter.
In less than half an hour, over 700 Mexicans were dead and approximately 815 were captured.
At daybreak, Scott advanced on the Mexican fortifications at Churubusco head on.
The first wave of troops met heavy Mexican resistance and sustained heavy casualties.
The Americans realized their vulnerability and spread out to find cover.
The battle raged on for several hours.
Finally the Americans were able to weaken the defenses at the convent close to the bridge.
They pushed forward to the convent.
Bitter fighting ensued.
American troops fought hand-to-hand with Mexican troops.
They also fought groups of Irish-dominated American deserters known as the San Patricios.
At the end of the battle, over 3,000 Mexican troops and 72 San Patricios had been captured.
The cost was high: 1,000 dead and wounded Americans.
One-half of the San Patricios were hung.

Battle of Molino del Rey  8 September 1847
Following the American victories at Contreras and Churubusco, Scott and Santa Anna agreed to an armistice.
Santa Anna used the cease-fire as an opportunity to fortify Mexico City.
This was a direct violation of the armistice.
On August 27, negotiations began between Nicolas Trist and various representatives from Mexico.
Jose Joaquin de Herrera, a former president of Mexico, was a delegate.
He had favored peace before to the war.
Negotiations quickly stalled.
On September 6, Scott called Santa Anna to surrender outright.
Santa Anna refused and both sides again prepared for battle.
Scott had received a report that a church southwest of the city was converting church bells into cannons.
Scott knew that additional artillery could be detrimental to his army.
He ordered General William Worth to attack the fortified church.
10,000 soldiers defended the church.
They were  under the command of Generals Antonio Leon, Joaquin Rangel, Francisco Perez and Simeon Ramirez.
The Mexican force hid behind the walls of the church.
Worth attacked the church with his artillery and infantry.
He received a rude awakening.
The bloody battle went on for almost three hours.
Mexican forces eventually evacuated their posts in retreat.
The battle had been very costly for both sides.
Over 200 American soldiers died and almost 600 were wounded.
The Mexican army lost nearly 2,000 men and approximately 680 had been captured.
When the American soldiers searched the church and the surrounding buildings, the found only three gun molds.
The American troops paid dearly on the misinformation that Scott received.

Battle of Chapultpec  September 13, 1847
Scott agreed that he could not leavie the fortified castle at his rear.
 He decided to attack the castle.
On September 12, he started an artillery bombardment.
The castle endured more than 14 hours of bombardment and suffered many casualties.
The artillery commander under was General Nicolas Bravo. 
On the morning of the 13th, the infantry attack of the castle began.
Because of the well-fortified walls and superior position of fire, the American casualty rate was high.
When the troops finally got to the walls of the castle, the advancing soldiers stopped.
Santa Anna was asked to send forces to reinforce Chapultepec, but he refused.
The ladders for the assault on the castle had not reached the castle yet.
The soldiers at the bottom of the walls were battling and receiving heavy fire.
Eventually the ladders came up to the walls and the Americans began climbing them while being fired upon.
Some of the ladders were pushed off the walls by the Mexican troops.
Eventually there was such a surge of men that there were too many for the Mexican troops to repel.
Once inside the fortress the Americans made quick work of the rest of the soldiers inside.
This included five of the six boys later to be known as the “Niños Heroes.”
It is said that the sixth boy,
Juan Escutia, refused to surrender.
Instead, he wrapped himself in the Mexican flag and threw himself off the high castle walls, killing himself.

Mexico City was defended by a series of fortresses that guarded the road to the city.
American forces succeeded in approaching the first of the forces by stealth.
12 September 1847, 13,000 American troops attack a fort outside of Mexico City.
"From the Halls of Montezuma" comes from this battle

Battle for Mexico City  September 13-14 1847
After capturing the El Chapultepec castle,  Generals Worth and Quitman took their troops down the causeways.
Worth took his men down the San Cosme causeway.
 Quitman led his men down the Belen causeway.
Both generals encountered stiff resistance.
They overwhelmed the thinly defended causeways.
Santa Anna was forced to defend several different causeways.
He was using up his troops.
Each general eventually entered the city and began fighting building to building.
All along fighting was heavy.
While soldiers remained in the city, many citizens took up arms as well>
Their effort proved fruitless.
That night Santa Anna resigned his presidency and fled the city.
Manuel de la Peña y Peña was appointed acting president.
The decision was made to surrender the city.
In the early hours of September 14, 1847, a Mexican delegation went to General Scott’s headquarters.
They surrendered the city.
Later in the day, General Scott entered the City Square to claim his prize.
Finally Mexico City was in American hands, and the war came to a swift end.


Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
2 February 1848, the treaty gave the United States 1/2 of Mexico's land.
The Rio Grande River was set as the border between Texas and Mexico.

Gadsen Purchase
1853, the United States bought a piece of Mexican land.
James Gadsen arranged the purchase.
The United States needed it to build a railroad to the Pacific.

Oregon Territory
In the 1840s, thousands of American settlers went to Oregon.
The Oregon Trail would take 5 months to cover the 2,000 miles at an average of 15 miles a day. 
The body of the wagon was 4 X 10.
The large wooden wheels could support 2,000 pounds over  rocky rough terrain.
The Oregon Territory was claimed ny the US and Great Britain.
Having the settlers gave the United States control over the area.
1846, the United States and Great Britain divided the territory at the 49th parallel.

Seward's Folly
1784, Russian fur traders established a permanent settlement on Kodiak Island.
The Russian set up trading and hunting settlements as far south as California.
RUssia lost interest in Alaska.
1867, Russia sells Alaska to the United States.


Civil War and Reunion
There was a different way of life in the nortern and southern states.
Between 1861-1865, the North and South fought a Civil War.
1865, the North won the war.

Comparing the Regions
The North
The northern states were industralized.
They had most of the factories, railroads, and canals.
Labor was done by hired workers.
20% of the people lived in cities.
The North had immigrants from all parts of the world.
Northern leaders wanted a strong central government.
They wanted the government to help industry and improve transportation.
They did not want to allow slavery in new areas.

The South
The South depended on agriculture.
Tobacco, rice, sugar cane, and cotton were important.
Crops were grown on large plantations using slave labor.
Slaves made up 1/3 of the population in the South.
Only 10% of the people in the South lived in cities.
Not many people immigrated to the South.
The leaders in the South wanted states to have the right to govern themselves.
The did want to allow slavery in new areas.

Slavery and the Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was the escape route North for runaway slaves.
It was a secret network of boyh black and white people,
They assisted those escaping slavery by providing money, food, clothing, temporary shelter, and transportation.
By the mid-1800s this clandestine operation extended throughout the country.
Most runaways traveled at night by foot, between 10 and 20 miles.
They took advantage of the natural protections offered by swamps, forests, and waterways.
Participants in the movement used the language of the railroad to ensure secrecy—and their safety.
Runaways were often assisted by a "conductor" or "engineer" who would guide them northward.
The escape routes were called “lines."
Fugitives were identified as “freight.”
Abolitionist’s houses or barns served as "stations" where runaways would stop for rest and food.
While the runaway rested a message was sent to the next station to alert its stationmaster that the runaway would be arriving soon.
The "underground" effectively moved hundreds of slaves northward each year.
It resulted in the loss of an estimated 100,000 slaves for the South between 1810 and 1850.

Frederick Douglas
Frederick Douglass experienced the cruelty of slavery and escaped
In 1818, Douglass was born into slavery to a mother that he was soon separated from.
He never knew his father, who was white.
At a young age he was sent to work for a family in Baltimore, where he was taught to read.
In his teens, Douglass was returned to plantation slavery.
He was sent to a “slave breaker” who tried unsuccessfully to break him of his rebellious tendencies.
Douglass’ first attempt to escape slavery failed.
He was sent to work in the shipyards in Baltimore, where, at the age of twenty, Douglass finally escaped slavery.
He then moved north and married a free black woman named Anna Murray, with whom he had five children.

Douglass became a speaker against slavery
Douglass worked at various jobs in New York and New England.
In 1841, he was asked to speak of his experiences as a slave while attending a meeting of abolitionists.
His speech electrified the audience.
Douglass traveled and spoke out against slavery for over 50 years.
He became famous for his moving and eloquent speeches.
Douglass published his first autobiography in 1845.
It remains a classic account of the evils of slavery.

Major Battles
First Bull Run   21 July 1861
Union Army led by General McDowell suffers a defeat.
Union falls back to Washington in a panic.

1861 July 27, Lincoln appoints McClellan Commander of the Potomac replacing McDowell.
1861 November 1, General Winfield Scott resigns.
McClellan is general-in-chief of all Union forces.
1862 January 1, Lincon issues War Order #1.
All United States land and naval troops will advance by February 22.
1862 Feb 6, Grant captures Fort Henry in Tennesse.
1862 Feb 16, Grant captures Fort Donaldson;
1862 Feb 20, Lincoln's 11-year old son Willie dies of a fever.

Monitor and the Merrimac    8-9 March 1862
Confederate Ironclad Merramac sinks two wooden Union ships.
Battles Union ironclad Monitor to a draw.

March, Pennisular Campaign begins.
McClellan's Union army begins advance to Confederate capital, Richmond.
Lincoln takes over as commander.

Shiloh   6-7 April 1862
April 6
In the early morning hours the Confederate troops storm out of the woods.
They attack a surprised Union troops around Shiloh Church.
The surprised Union troops rally after the initial attack but continue to lose ground.
One casualty of the afternoon's combat was General Johnston who lost his life while directing his troops from the front lines.
His death severely affected the Confederate's morale and their belief in victory.
The Confederate attack become disorganized and looses momentum just before nightfall.
Union troops take up defensive positions around Pittsburg Landing.
Buell's reinforcements finally arrived during the night.
Forces under General William H. Wallace, also strengthened the Union lines with 22,500 fresh troops.
April 7
With the break of dawn, Grant attacked.
He pushed the exhausted Confederates steadily back to the area where they started their attack.
They finally began a retreat in the early afternoon that left the field to the Union forces.
The Battle of Shiloh is over.
The Confederate troops withdraw to Corinth, Mississippi.
13,000 Union troops killed and wounded.
Confederates lose 10,000 men
President Linoln is pressured to relieve Grant.
He refuses because Grant fights.
 

1862 April 24, Admiral Farraguat takes New Orleans.

1862 May 31, Battle of Seven Pines.
General Johnston attacks McClellan's troops near Richmond.
McClellan is nearly defeated.
Johnston is badly wounded.
1862 June 2, Lee takes over command from Johnston.

1862 June 25-July 1, The Seven Days Battle, Lee attacks McClellan army near Richmond.
Heavy losses for both sides.
McClellan begins withdrawl back to Washington.
1862 July 11, Lincoln after 4 months of being a commander hands over the job to Gen. Henry "Old Brains" Halleck.


Second Battle of Bull Run  29-30 August 1862
75,000 Federal troops under Pope are defeated by 55,000 Confederates under Sonewall Jackson and Longstreet.
August 28
Jackson ordered an attack on a Federal column that was passing across his front on the Warrenton Turnpike.
He did this in order to draw Pope's army into battle,
The fighting at Brawner Farm lasted several hours and resulted in a stalemate.
Pope became convinced that he had trapped Jackson.
He concentrated the bulk of his army against him.
August 29
Pope launched a series of assaults against Jackson's position along an unfinished railroad grade.
The attacks were repulsed with heavy casualties on both sides.
At noon, Longstreet arrived on the field from Thoroughfare Gap and took position on Jackson's right flank.
August 30
Pope renewed his attacks, seemingly unaware that Longstreet was on the field.
Massed Confederate artillery devastated a Union assault by Fitz John Porter's command.
Longstreet's wing of 28,000 men counterattacked in the largest, simultaneous mass assault of the war.
The Union left flank was crushed.
The army driven back to Bull Run.
Only an effective Union rearguard action prevented a replay of the First Manassas disaster.
Pope's retreat to Centreville was precipitous, nonetheless.

The next day, Lee ordered his army in pursuit.
This was the decisive battle of the Northern Virginia Campaign.
The Union army retreats to Washington.
Lincoln relieves Pope.

1862 Sept 4-9, Lee and 50,000 troops head to Harper's Ferry.
McClellan and 90,000 men purse Lee.


Antietam    17 Sept. 1862
The bloodiest day of the Civil War.
Lee is stopped at Antietam in Maryland by McClellans superior force.
26,000 men are dead, wounded, or missing.
Lee retreats to Virginia.

1862 September 22, Lincoln issues preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.
1862 November 7, Lincoln replaces McClellan with General Burnside.
McClellan was slow to follow up on the victory at Antietam.

Frederickburg   13 December 1862
On November 14, Burnside sent a corps to occupy the vicinity of Falmouth near Fredericksburg.
The rest of the army soon followed. 
Lee reacted by entrenching his army on the heights behind the town.
On December 11, Union engineers laid five pontoon bridges across the Rappahannock under fire.
On the 12th, the Federal army crossed over.
On December 13, Burnside mounted a series of futile frontal assaults on Prospect Hill and Marye’s Heights.
The attack resulted in staggering casualties.
Meade’s division, on the Union left flank, briefly penetrated Jackson’s line.
But they were driven back by a counterattack.
Union generals C. Feger Jackson and George Bayard, and Confederate generals Thomas R.R. Cobb and Maxey Gregg were killed.
On December 15, Burnside called off the offensive and recrossed the river, ending the campaign. 

Burnside loses 12,653 men and suffers a defeat at Fredericksburg, Virginia.
The Confederates lost 5,309 men.
Burnside ordered 14 frontal assaults on entrenched Confederates at Marye's Hill.

1863 January 1, Lincoln frees the slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation.
Lincoln advocates using blacks as soldiers.
Burnside initiated a new offensive in January 1863, which quickly bogged down in the winter mud.
1863 January 25, Lincoln replaces Burnside with Gen. "Fighting Joe" Hooker.
1863 January 29, Grant is appointed commander of the Amy of the West.
Grant is ordered to capture Vicksburg.
1863 March 3, Congress begins a military draft.
Males 20-45 are affected.
You are exempted if you pay $300 or find a substitute.


Chancellorsville  1-4 May 1863
On April 27, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker led the V, XI, and XII Corps on a campaign to turn the Confederate left flank.
He crossed the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers above Fredericksburg.
On April 30 and May 1, he passed the Rapidan via Germanna and Ely’s Fords.
The Federals concentrated near Chancellorsville.
The III Corps was ordered to join the army via United States Ford.
Sedgwick’s VI Corps and Gibbon’s division remained to demonstrate against the Confederates at Fredericksburg.
In the meantime, Lee left a covering force under Maj. Gen. Jubal Early in Fredericksburg.
Lee marched with the rest of the army to confront the Federals.
As Hooker’s army moved toward Fredericksburg on the Orange Turnpike, they encountered increasing Confederate resistance.
Hooker had reports of an overwhelming Confederate force.
Hooker ordered his army to suspend the advance and to concentrate again at Chancellorsville.
Pressed closely by Lee’s advance, Hooker adopted a defensive posture, thus giving Lee the initiative. 
On the morning of May 2, Lt. Gen. T.J. Jackson directed his corps on a march against the Federal left flank.
Fighting was sporadic on other portions of the field throughout the day.
At 5:20 pm, Jackson’s line surged forward in an overwhelming attack that crushed the Union XI Corps.
Federal troops rallied, resisted the advance, and counterattacked.
Disorganization on both sides and darkness ended the fighting.
While making a night reconnaissance, Jackson was mortally wounded by his own men and carried from the field.
J.E.B. Stuart took temporary command of Jackson’s Corps.
On May 3, the Confederates attacked with both wings of the army and massed their artillery at Hazel Grove.
This finally broke the Federal line at Chancellorsville.
Hooker withdrew a mile and entrenched in a defensive “U” with his back to the river at United States Ford.
Union generals Berry and Whipple and Confederate general Paxton were killed.
On the night of May 5-6, after Union reverses at Salem Church, Hooker recrossed to the north bank of the Rappahannock.
This battle was considered by many historians to be Lee’s greatest victory.
Hooker is defeated by a smaller Confederate force at Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia.
Hooker retreats.
The Union lost 17,000 killed, wounded, or missing from their 130,000 man army.
The Confederates lost 13,000 men of their 60,000 man army.
Hooker said, "I lost confidence in Joe Hooker."
1863 May 10, Stonewall Jackson dies of his wounds.
Lee says, "I have lost my right arm."

1863 June 3, Lee with his Confederate Army of 75,000 begins his Second Invasion of the North.
He crosses the Potomac and enters Pennsylvania.
Major cities in the North such as Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington were under threat of attack.
1863 June 23, Lincoln appoints Gen. Meade, as Commander of the Potomac, replacing Hooker.
Union Army of the Potomac under its very new and untried commander, General George G Meade, marched to intercept Lee.
On Tuesday morning, June 30, an infantry brigade of Confederate soldiers searching for shoes headed toward Gettysburg. T
he Confederate commander looked through his field glasses and spotted a long column of Federal cavalry heading toward the town.
He withdrew his brigade and informed his superior, Gen. Henry Heth.
Gen. Heth told his superior, AP Hill,he would go back the following morning and "get those shoes."

Gettysburg  1-3 July 1863
Wednesday morning, July 1,
Two divisions of Confederates headed back to Gettysburg.
They ran into Federal cavalry west of the town at Willoughby Run and the skirmish began.
Events would quickly escalate. Lee rushed 25,000 men to the scene. The Union had less than 20,000.
After much fierce fighting and heavy casualties on both sides, the Federals were pushed back through the town of Gettysburg.
They regrouped south of the town along the high ground near the cemetery.
Lee ordered Confederate General R.S. Ewell to seize the high ground from the battle weary Federals "if practicable."
Gen. Ewell hesitated to attack.
This gave the Union troops a chance to dig in along Cemetery Ridge.
The Union moved in reinforcements with artillery.
By the time Lee realized Ewell had not attacked, the opportunity had vanished.
Meade arrived at the scene and thought it was an ideal place to do battle with Lee's Army.
Meade expected reinforcements totaling up to 100,000 men to arrive and strengthen his defensive position.
Confederate General James Longstreet saw the Union position as nearly impregnable.
He told Lee it should be left alone.
He argued that Lee's Army should instead move east between the Union Army and Washington.
They could then build a defensive position.
This would force the Federals to attack them instead.
But Lee believed his own army was invincible.
He was also without his much needed cavalry.
They served as his eyes and ears during troop movements.
Cavalry leader Jeb Stuart had gone off with his troops to harass the Federals.
Stuart's expedition would turn out to be for the most part a wild goose chase.
This left Lee at a disadvantage until he returned.
Lee decided to attack the Union Army's defensive position at the southern end of Cemetery Ridge.
He thought it was less well defended.

10 a.m. the next morning, Thursday, July 2,
Gen. Longstreet was ordered by Lee to attack.
But Longstreet was quite slow in getting his troops into position.
He didn't attack until 4 p.m. that afternoon.
That gave the Union Army even more time to strengthen its position.
When Longstreet attacked, some of the most fierce fighting of the Civil War took place.
Places such as Little Round Top, Devil's Den, the Wheat Field and the Peach Orchard would be remebered.
Longstreet took the Peach Orchard.
He was driven back at Little Round Top.
About 6:30 p.m. Gen. Ewell attacked the Union line from the north and east at Cemetery Hill and Culp's Hill.
The attack lasted into darkness.
The attack was unsuccessful at Cemetery Hill.
The Rebels did seize some trenches on Culp's Hill.
By about 10:30 p.m., the day's fighting came to an end.
The Federals had lost some ground during the Rebel onslaught.
But they still held the strong defensive position along Cemetery Ridge.
Both sides regrouped and counted their causalities.
The moaning and sobbing of wounded men could be heard all night.
Generals from each side gathered in war councils to plan for the coming day.
Union commander Meade decided his army would remain in place and wait for Lee to attack.

Lee's Plan
Longstreet again tried to talk Lee out of attacking such a strong position.
But Lee thought the battered Union soldiers were nearly beaten.
He thought they would collapse under one final push.
Lee decided to gamble to win the Battle of Gettysburg and in effect win the Civil War.
He would attack the next day at the center of the Union line along Cemetery Ridge where it would be least expected.
To do this he would send in the fresh troops of Gen. George Pickett.
Along with this, Gen. Ewell would renew the assault on Culp's hill.

4:30 AM Friday, July 3
Lee's timetable was undermined as Union cannons pounded the Rebels on Culp's Hill to drive them from the trenches.
The Rebels did not withdraw, but instead attacked the Federals around 8 a.m.
Thus began a vicious three hour struggle with the Rebels charging time after time up the hill only to be beaten back.
The Federals finally counter attacked and drove the Rebels off the hill and east across Rock Creek.
Around 11 a.m. the fighting on Culp's Hill stopped.
An eerie quiet settled over the whole battlefield.
Once again Lee encountered opposition to his battle plan from Longstreet.
Lee estimated about 15,000 men would participate in the Rebel charge on Cemetery Ridge.
Longstreet responded, "It is my opinion that no 15,000 men ever arrayed for battle can take that position."
But Lee was unmoved.
The plan would go on as ordered.
Throughout the morning and into the afternoon amid 90° heat and stifling humidity the Rebels moved into position.
They were in the woods opposite Cemetery Ridge for the coming charge.
Interestingly, some Union troops were moved away from Cemetery Ridge on Meade's orders.
He thought Lee would attack again in the south.
Several hours before, Meade had correctly predicted Lee would attack the center.
Now he thought otherwise.
He left only 5,750 infantrymen stretched out along the half-mile front.
They were going to have to face a 15,000 man Rebel charge.
Lee sent Jeb Stuart's recently returned cavalry to go behind the Union position.
They were to divert Federal forces from the main battle area.
Around noon, Union and Confederate cavalry troops clashed three miles east of Gettysburg.
Stuart was eventually repulsed by punishing cannon fire and the Union cavalry led in part by 23 year old Gen. George Custer.
The diversion attempt failed.
Just after 1 p.m. about 170 Confederate cannons opened fire on the Union position on Cemetery Ridge.
This was to pave the way for the Rebel charge.
This was the heaviest artillery barrage of the war.
Many of the Rebel shells missed their targets and flew harmlessly overhead.
The Federals returned heavy cannon fire.
Soon big clouds of blinding smoke and dust hung over the battlefield.
Around 2:30 p.m. the Federals slowed their rate of fire, then stopped all together.
They were trying to conserve ammunition and to fool the Rebels into thinking the cannons were knocked out .
That's exactly what the Rebels did think.
Pickett went to see Longstreet and asked, "General, shall I advance?"
Longstreet, now overwhelmed with emotion, did not respond.
He simply bowed his head and raised his hand.
Thus the order was given.
"Charge the enemy and remember old Virginia!" yelled Pickett.
12,000 Rebels formed an orderly line that stretched a mile from flank to flank.
In deliberate silence they slowly headed toward the Union Army.
A mile away on Cemetery Ridge the Federals gazed in silent wonder at this spectacular sight.
But as the Rebels got within range, Federal cannons using grapeshot opened up.
Deadly accurate rifle volleys ripped into the Rebels.
Many Rebels were killed and holes were torn in the advancing line.
The line of Rebel infantry, became a horrible mess of dying and wounded.
But the Rebels continued on.
As they got very close, the Rebels stopped and fired their rifles once at the Federals.
Then they lowered their bayonets and commenced a running charge while screaming the Rebel yell.
A fierce battle raged for an hour with much brutal hand to hand fighting, shooting at close range and stabbing with bayonets.
For a brief moment, the Rebels nearly had their chosen objective, a small clump of oak trees atop Cemetery Ridge.
But Union reinforcements and regrouped infantry units swarmed in and opened fire on the Rebel ranks.
The battered, outnumbered Rebels finally began to give way.
The great human wave that had been Pickett's Charge began to recede as the men drifted back down the slope.
The supreme effort of Lee's army had been beaten back, leaving 7,500 of his men lying on the field of battle.
Lee rode out and met the survivors, telling them, "It is all my fault."
And to Pickett he said, "Upon my shoulders rests the blame."
Later when he got back to headquarters Lee exclaimed, "Too bad. Too bad! Oh, too bad!"
The gamble had failed.
The tide of the war was now permanently turned against the South.
Confederate causalities in dead, wounded and missing were 28,000 out of 75,000.
Union casualties were 23,000 out of 88,000.
That night and into the next day, Saturday, July 4, Confederate wounded were loaded aboard wagons.
They began the journey back toward the South.
Lee was forced to abandon his dead.
The Confederates begin a long slow withdrawal of his army back to Virginia.
Union commander Gen. Meade did not immediately pursue Lee.
This infuriated President Lincoln.
He wrote a bitter letter to Meade (never delivered) saying he missed a "golden opportunity" to end the war right there.

Chickamuga  19-20 September 1863
A decisive Confederate victory for Gen Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennesse.
After the Tullahoma Campaign, Rosecrans renewed his offensive, aiming to force the Confederates out of Chattanooga.
The three army corps comprising Rosecrans’ s army split and set out for Chattanooga by separate routes.
In early September, Rosecrans consolidated his forces scattered in Tennessee and Georgia.
Rosecrans forced Bragg’s army out of Chattanooga, heading south.
The Union troops followed it and brushed with it at Davis’ Cross Roads.
Bragg was determined to reoccupy Chattanooga.
He decided to meet a part of Rosecrans’s army, defeat them, and then move back into the city.
On the 17th he headed north, intending to meet and beat the XXI Army Corps.
As Bragg marched north on the 18th, his cavalry and infantry fought with Union cavalry and mounted infantry.
They were armed with Spencer repeating rifles.
On the morning of the 19th, fighting began.
Bragg’s men hammered but did not break the Union line.
The next day, Bragg continued his assault on the Union line on the left.
In late morning, Rosecrans was informed that he had a gap in his line.
In moving units to shore up the supposed gap, Rosencrans created one.
James Longstreet’s men promptly exploited it.
He drove one-third of the Union army, including Rosecrans himself, from the field.
George H. Thomas took over command and began consolidating forces on Horseshoe Ridge and Snodgrass Hill.
Although the Rebels launched determined assaults on these forces, they held until after dark.
Thomas then led these men from the field leaving it to the Confederates.

The Union retired to Chattanooga while the Rebels occupied the surrounding heights.

1863 Octobr 16, Lincoln appoints Grant commander of all operations in the West.

Gettysburg Address  November 19, 1863
On November 19, President Lincoln went to the battlefield to dedicate it as a military cemetery.
The main orator, Edward Everett of Massachusetts, delivered a two hour formal address.
The president then had his turn.
He spoke in his high, penetrating voice and in a little over two minutes delivered the Gettysburg Address.
Many people in the audience were surprised by its shortness and leaving others quite unimpressed.
The speech and its words, "government of the People, by the People, for the People," have come to symbolize democracy.


Chattanooga  23-25 November 1863
On November 23-24, Union forces struck out and captured Orchard Knob and Lookout Mountain.
On November 25, without orders, Union soldiers assaulted and carried the seemingly impregnable Confederate position on Missionary Ridge.
One of the Confederacy’s two major armies was routed.
The Federals held Chattanooga, the “Gateway to the Lower South."
Chattanooga became the supply and logistics base for Sherman’s 1864 Atlanta Campaign.
Grant defeats the siege of Confederate Gen. Bragg's army.
Federal troops avenge the defeat at Chickamauga.
 

Grant Takes Charge
1964 March 9, Lincoln makes Grant commander of all the armies.
Gen Sherman succeeds Grant as Commander of the West.
1864 May 4, Grant and 120,000 troops begin to advance on Richmond.
Grants intends to engage Lee in a war of attrition.
Lee had 60,00 troops in his Army of Northern Virginia.
Major battles are fought Wilderness May 5-6, Spotsylvania May 8-12


Cold Harbor  1-3 June 1864
On May 31, Sheridan’s cavalry seized the vital crossroads of Old Cold Harbor.
Sheridan is relying heavily on their new repeating carbines and shallow entrenchments.
Early on June 1, , Sheridan’s troopers threw back an attack by Confederate infantry.
Confederate reinforcements arrived from Richmond and from the Totopotomoy Creek lines.
Late on June 1, the Union VI and XVIII Corps reached Cold Harbor.
They assaulted the Confederate works with some success.
By June 2, both armies were on the field.
They formed a seven-mile front that extended from Bethesda Church to the Chickahominy River.
At dawn June 3, the II and XVIII Corps, followed later by the IX Corps, assaulted along the Bethesda Church-Cold Harbor line.
Grant makes a mistake and 7,000 soldiers are killed in 20 minutes.
Many of the Union soldiers had predicted the outcome.
One dead soldier's entry in his diary dsaid, "I was killed."
Grant commented in his memoirs that this was the only attack he wished he had never ordered.
The armies confronted each other on these lines until the night of June 12.
Grant again advanced by his left flank and marched to James River.
On June 14, the II Corps was ferried across the river at Wilcox’s Landing by transports.
On June 15, the rest of the army began crossing on a 2,200-foot long pontoon bridge at Weyanoke.
Abandoning the well-defended approaches to Richmond, Grant sought to shift his army quickly south of the river to threaten Petersburg.

1864 June 15, Union misses chance to capture Petersburg.
This would have cut off the Confederate railroad.
Grant's forces surround Lee for nine months.

1864 June 20, Sherman battles Rebels under Gen Hood in Atlanta.
1864 Sept 2, Sherman captures Atlanta.

1864 Oct 19, Union victory by calvary Gen Sheridan in the Shenndioah Valley against Jubal Early.

Siege of Peterburg
The Siege of Petersburg lasted from June 1864 to March 1865.
Both sides dug their trenches, boosted their fortifications, and waited for the other to attack, or be starved out.
On multiple instances, sallies were attempted.
None were as devastating as the Battle of the Crater.
The plan was for Union engineers to dig a tunnel directly under Confederate lines.
Then they would load a pit with explosives, and blow a gaping hole into the Confederate lines.
Black troops were specially trained under General Burnside for this attack.
They were to rush into the breach, fan out, and force the Confederate lines back for more Union troops to enter.
The plan failed.
General George Meade, commanding general of the Army of the Potomac, feared that the attack would fail.
He thought he would suffer severe political repercussions due to the use of black troops to breach the Confederate lines.
To avoid accusations of racism and political fallout, Meade replaced the specially trained black troops at the last minute.
Brigadier General James Ledlie's troops were selected to lead the charge into the breach.
He failed to tell his men or train them properly.
He was also drunk on the morning of the battle, away from the front lines, and not providing leadership for his troops.
Instead, when Union troops rushed in, they failed to go around, and piled into the crater en masse.
They thought it would be of better use as a rifle pit.
They were stuck, with more and more troops piling into the pit.
The Confederates began to turn their guns and artillery onto the troops in the pit.
By the end of the battle, over 5,000 Union soldiers were killed or wounded.
The Confederates lost slightly over 1,000.

Sherman's March to the Sea   15 November 1864
Burning of Atlanta
When he entered Atlanta, Sherman issued an order requiring all the people to leave within five days.
Hood protested against this order.
The mayor and council of Atlanta appealed to Sherman to withdraw.
They pointed out that most of the inhabitants were women and children.
Sherman would not revoke his orders.
When preparations for the southward march had been made, the people had been forced to depart.
Sherman burned Atlanta to the ground.
Sherman destroyed warehouses and railroads.

The March Begins
Sherman left behind all disabled or weak men, and made up a fine army of 60,000.
5,000 of them were cavalry.
The army was to feed itself on the country.
Each brigade had a party of foragers, called "bummers."
These men were instructed to take all necessary provisions, horses and mules.
They were ordered not to enter dwellings, nor insult the people.
They were told to leave a part of their property to every family, so that none would be destitute.
Where the army was not opposed, Sherman ordered that mills, cotton gins and houses should not be destroyed.
If resistance were made they were to be burned.
All these orders were very badly obeyed.
There was no effort to enforce the instructions.

The Bummers
The "bummers" found the barns bursting with grain, fodder, and peas.
The outhouses  were full of cotton and the yards crowded with hogs, chickens, and turkeys.
The soldiers in the Southern armies were starving.
Not because there was no food, but because the rail roads had been destroyed.
It was impossible to send supplies to the front.
Sherman was not content simply to use what food and supplies he needed.
He boasted that he would "smash things to the sea" and make Georgia howl.  
His men entered dwellings, taking everything of value that could be moved, such as silver plate and jewelry.
They killed and left dead in the pens thousands of hogs, sheep and poultry.
Many dwellings were burned without any justification.
Sherman in his own Memoirs testifies to the conduct of his men.
He estimated that he had destroyed $80,000,000 worth of property.
One of the most serious aspects of his work was the destruction of the railroads.
The Central from Macon to Savannah, for instance, was almost totally ruined.  

Atlanta to Midgeville
The march was directed toward the capital, Milledgeville.
Sherman divided his army into two divisions.
The right wing was commanded by General O. O. Howard.
He was to follow the railroad by Jonesboro and McDonough.
He had orders to stop at Gordon, on the Central of Georgia Railroad.
The left wing was under General H. W. Slocum.
He was to march by way of Decatur and Covington to Madison.
From there he was to go Milledgeville.
General Sherman was leading the left wing.
The army would spread out, visiting the important towns in that section of the state.
On November 15, the movement from Atlanta began.
By the 23rd, Sherman and the left wing reached Milledgeville.
Howard and the right wing had stopped at Gordon.
Sherman did not destroy the capitol buildings at Milledgeville.

Midgeville to Savannah
On November 24th the march was resumed in the direction of Savannah.
Sherman's army visited in this section Sandersville, Tennille, Louisville, Millen and other towns.  
In Louisville Sherman's men piled all deed books in front of the court house and burned them.  
The logic was that the big plantations would not be able to prove land ownership.  
These actions are the bane of Georgia and South Carolina genealogists.  
The cavalry, under Kilpatrick, passed through many places not visited by the army, such as Waynesboro.
In this part of Georgia Sherman was opposed by small bodies of cavalry and infantry under various generals.
These small forces did not expect to stop Sherman's army.
They hoped to keep it in a narrow path, so as to limit the amount of destruction.

The Fall of Savannah
On December 9^th the Federal army reached the neighborhood of Savannah.
The city was defended by General Hardee with 10,000 men.
Savannah was well protected by forts>
The rice swamps had also been flooded.
Cannon fire was exchanged, but the city was not damaged.
Federal gunboats controlled the coast and the mouths of the rivers.
Hardee saw that it would be impossible to hold Savannah.
On December 21st, in order to save his army, Hardee withdrew across the Savannah River into South Carolina. 
On the following day Sherman entered Savannah.
He sent this telegram to President Lincoln.
"I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the City of Savannah."
"With one hundred and fifty guns and plenty of ammunition."
"Also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton."
Sherman left behind a 60 mile by 300 mile swath of destruction.

1864 December 15-16, Gen Hood's Rebel army of 26,000 is crushed at Nashville by 55,000 Federals.
Blacks were in the Union Army led by Gen George Thomas.

1865 January 31, Congress abolishes slavery with the 13th Amendment.

The Beginning of the End
1865 March 25, Lee attack the center of Grant's army.
Four hours later the attack is broken.
1865 April2, Grant begins a general advance.
They break through Lee's lines.
Confederate General Ambrose Hill is killed.
Lee evacuates Petersburg.
Richmond is evacuated.
Fires and looting break out.
The next day, Union troops enter the city.


Lee Surrenders  9 April 1865
Lee surrenfders to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia.
Grant allows Rebel officers to keep their sidearms.
Soldiers may keep their horses and mules.
The Civil War resulted in freedom for 4,000,000 enslaved African Americans and the preservation of the Union.

Lincoln Assasinated   14 April 1865
John Wilkes Booth was a well-known actor and a Confederate spy from Maryland.
He had formulated a plan to kidnap Lincoln in exchange for the release of Confederate prisoners.
April 11, Booth attends a speech in which Lincoln promoted voting rights for blacks.
Booth changed his plans and determined to assassinate the president.
He learned that the President and First Lady would be attending Ford's Theatre.
His co-conspirators were to assassinate Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William H. Seward.

Lincoln's main bodyguard Ward Hill Lamon was not with Lincoln.
Lincoln had told Lamon about his dream regarding his own assassination.
Lincoln left to attend the play Our American Cousin on April 14, 1865.
Lincoln sat in his state box (Box 7) in the balcony.
Booth crept up behind the President.
He waited for what he thought would be the funniest line of the play "You sock-dologizing old man-trap."
He hoped the laughter would muffle the noise of the gunshot.
When the laughter began, Booth jumped into the box and aimed a single-shot, round-slug 0.44 caliber Henry Deringer at his head.
He fired at point-blank range.
Major Henry Rathbone momentarily grappled with Booth but was cut by Booth's knife.
Booth then leapt to the stage and shouted "Sic semper tyrannis!"  Latin for "Thus always to tyrants" and escaped
Booth broke his leg in the leap to the stage.
A twelve-day manhunt ensued.
Booth was chased by Federal agents under the direction of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton.
He was eventually cornered in a Virginia barn house and shot, dying of his wounds soon after.
Other conspirators were arrested.
They were brought to trial, convicted, and hung.

Famous People of the Civil War
Abraham Lincoln
Robert E. Lee
Uylsses S. Grant
Stonewall Jackson
George McClellan
William T Sherman
Phillip Sheridan
Jeb Stuart
George Pickey
James Longstreet

Reconstruction
As important as the war itself was the tangled problem of how to reconstruct the defeated South.
The rebuilding of the South started right away.
Reconstruction had some important achievements.
The right to vote was secured for African-Americans.
Blacks could serve in Congress.
It guaranteed blacks equal protection under the law.
Encouraged by the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution, African Americans at last nourished hopes for full equality.
Their hopes were to be dashed.
Compromise of 1877, called for federal troops to leave the South.
Southern white resistance brought about the "redemption" of the South and African Americans were disenfranchised.
The redemption measures enforced greater racial separation and increased white intimidation and violence.
Former Confederates held racist views about the new roles for African-Americans in the South.
They were fearful of a social and economic system in which Africa-Americans were now free.
Intimidation through violence emerged throughout the South,
This kept most African-Americans from experiencing their full rights of citizenship.
It would take another 100 years for the goals of Reconstruction to be fully and permanently realized.

 

Cultural Changes
By 1870, the United States was becoming a strong industralized country.
It was also becoming a world power.
Urbanization changed life in the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
A large number of immigrants came to Amercian cities.
City life provided jobs and education.

Classes
The lives of lower, middle, and the upper class differed greatly.

Upper Class
They lived in huge homes staffed with servants.
Upper class men held business and professional jobs.
Their wives rarely worked outside the home.
Children attended tax supported public schools.

Middle Class
They lived in apartment houses.
They were six to eight stories high with two apartments on each floor.
Another type of house was the row house.
It was a private house that shared a side wall with a neighbor.
Some lived in two family houses.
Some lived in single-familt residences.
Middle class men held business and professional jobs.
Their wives rarely worked outside the home.
Children attended tax supported public schools.

Lower Class
Lived in old houses or commercial buildings made into apartments called tenements.
Areas of large numbers of tenements were called slums.
Lower class men and women worked in factories.
Lower class children rarely went past elementary school.

Daily Life
The invention of the refrigerator ended the need for daily shopping.
People had time to read magazines, books, and newspapers.
They enjoyed music and the theater.
City governments set land aside for parks.

Bibliography
"A Nation Divided." The History Place.  http://www.historyplace.com/civilwar/index.html

Greenblatt, Miriam, and Lemmo, Peter. Human Heritage A World History. Columbus, Ohio: McGraw-Hill, 2001.

Villescas, Daniel. The Mexican American War. http://www.dpsk12.org/programs/almaproject/pdf/Mex-AmericanWar.pdf

Images
"Alamo." Clipart ETC.  http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/17300/17364/alamo2_17364.htm 

"James W. Fannin." Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=4282

"Jim Bowie." Southern History. http://www.knowsouthernhistory.net/Biographies/James_Bowie/

"William Barrett Travis." Remember the Alamo.  http://rememberthealamo.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/travis.jpg