The American Civil War - OverSimplified (Part 2)

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the Union struggled to take control in the East continued

elsewhere the war raged on the Confederates

attempted an invasion of Kentucky hoping

the state as a whole would join them but they were pushed back the

Indian Territory son Native American tribes ally with one side or the other in

the hopes of securing rights after the war along

the Mississippi General ulysses s grant remained

one of the few Union generals scoring major victories with his best pal General

Sherman by his side grant led his armies down the Mississippi

to the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg

both sites knew that at Vicksburg fell the Confederacy

would be split in two and the Confederates

prepared for an intense defense of the city but

back in the east Lincoln

still wanted somebody to march south and take Richmond having given general McClellan the

boot he needed a new man in charge all right mr.

president option one is general hooker bit of a nut case but a good

general option to his qualifications

are his name is Burnside and his frickin dope-ass sideburns say no more so

general Burnside was put in charge of the Army of the Potomac and

sent South Lincoln hoped he finally

had a general who could succeed Burnside

met General Lee at the city of Fredericksburg where he intended to rapidly cross

the river and take the city but the Union War Department was too slow

and delivering the pontoon bridges and the two sides were forced to camp across

from each other close

enough to speak hey Yankee ready

to get your butt kicked Yeah

right rebel God is on our side no

way God's on our side oh you think so well why don't we ask

him hey God whose side are you on

Wow dude uncool with

over 100,000 men the Union Army finally launched their massive attack on the 11th

of December but by now the Confederates had amassed their forces during

the battle wave after wave of brave

Union men marched headlong into a brutal

Confederate onslaught even the Confederates

couldn't believe what they were seeing and

in one moment of camaraderie a

Confederate sergeant unable to take it reportedly

came out into the field to tend to the Union wounded seeing

this the Union troops held their fire still

burns sight and his forces were soundly defeated at Fredericksburg and forced

to retreat Lincoln's popularity

and northern morale continued

to plummet especially as the winter heading into 1863

was bad the winter camps were rife with disease the

food was less than appealing on

both sides men began to leave hey what

do you think you're going I'm deserting

what don't you love your country yes

I do and I'm trying to get back to it as quick

as I can Lincoln

ever the kind and caring man he was spent

much of his time pardoning

deserters death sentences oh my

here's a 17 year old boy sentenced

to be hanged well

I'd better suspend his sentence or he'll

be suspended tomorrow what

to try to keep the numbers up both sides had introduced conscription

there is controversy in the north however since

Richmond could simply pay to have someone else fight on their behalf riots

broke out in New York City with enraged mobs furious

at the idea of going to fight for slaves an idea

that many of them simply did not support

however after so much pressure Union

had finally begun allowing

black men to enlist and these

men knowing what they were fighting for signed

up by the end of the war nearly

200,000 troops 10% of the Union Army would be black the valor and bravery

they showed throughout silencing

critics okay well that last guy was useless let's

try this Hooker fella General

Joseph Hooker was put in charge of the Army of the Potomac and

once again Lincoln ordered him to move south and take Richmond Hooker

met Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville where

hooker had over twice the men leading Lee

was forced to defy all military Convention

and split his smaller force into two lead

absolutely no chance of winning and Lee

won it was his masterpiece

Lee did suffer one significant

loss during the battle though as his right-hand man Stonewall

Jackson was writing back to the Confederate lines at night the nervous Confederate

troops unable to recognize him with open fire

you boys done goofed up Jackson

died eight days later

as for Lincoln he couldn't believe it it was yet another loss

and northern support continued

to waver while the Union kept on struggling in the east out

unconditional surrender grant was making moves as always

in an attempt to take Vicksburg on the Mississippi

he made a series of risky and bold movements

he sent the cavalry rape and feigned Sherman North to confuse the enemy then

aided by a fleet of iron clads on the river he raced his army

south to cross the Mississippi aware

that the terrain to the north was restrictive

instead he strategically moved northeast

hitting Vicksburg supply line and defending

his rear from Confederate armies in Jackson once

he reached Vicksburg the Confederate

defense became hardened and grant was forced to settle in for a month-long siege

during which time he got rather bored despite

not taking the city Lincoln

loved it and encouraged

Grant to hold firm it would only be a matter of time before the

Mississippi was in the Union hence around

this time the people in the West of Virginia who had remained loyal to

the Union throughout finally

broke away to form their own stake

they could have named it anything in the world but the creativeminds at the

time came up with the ingenious West

Virginia back in Washington

Lincoln once again wanted a new general to take command oh my goodness

why do all these 19th century generals look so bust look

we got sleepy ice Joe here that's Princess Leia with a mustache et

phoned the doctor fine why don't we give snapping turtle Micky here a shot

so general snapping turtle Micky was put in charge of the Army of the

Potomac and it was a crucial

time for the Union because once again the Confederates

decided to go on the attack so

far they had done exceedingly well militarily

but as the war kept going the Confederate economy was crumbling

riots broke out in the streets of Richmond as the price of bread skyrocketed

supplies were dwindling Jefferson

Davis wanted to send men west to rescue Vicksburg but generally

knew the longer the war

the worst their chance is gone and he still hoped if he could just

threaten DC the already demoralized

north with so in June 1863

with a momentum behind

General Lee once again entered the north fighting

his way through Maryland and into Pennsylvania

general means set out to meet him for what would be the most significant

battle of the entire war if

the Confederates 1dc could fall if the Union won it would be a turning

point as the Confederates

would run out of steam and the small town that was to get caught

up in the crossfire of the largest

battle in American history was

Gettysburg Pennsylvania on June

1st units from each army encountered one another and skirmished

through the town itself the

townspeople were forced to take refuge except

for one man who reportedly ran outside for a strange reason Joseph

what are you doing I'm not gonna let them take my beans how

many times do I have to tell you they're not here

for your beans by

the second day over a hundred thousand men stretched for miles across the battlefield

Lee took the initiative deciding

to hit the enemy's flanks and he came very close to breaking through the

union's disorganized left but

Union Colonel Joshua Chamberlain ordered

a desperate bayonet charge smashing

into the Confederates and forcing

them back the Union forces held across

the line on the

final day Lee believed the Union Army had fortified its flanks so he decided

to finish them off with one massive central assault

the Confederates rushed at the Union lines during general Pickett's Charge and this time

it was the union's turn on leash health Meade

had correctly guessed Lee's strategy

and the Confederates were decimated

forced to turn and flee

it devastated General Lee cold out to his fleeing and wounded men telling

them it was his fault and after

holding for a counter-attack that never came he

ordered a retreat back

into Virginia the North had just managed to score a massive

victory and won they desperately

needed and if that wasn't enough in the West after a month-long siege Vicksburg

finally fell the North now held the Mississippi

and better yet it was the 4th of July with

control of the Mississippi Union

forces moved into Arkansas and Tennessee tennis

in particular saw heavy fighting with Union general Rosecrans masterfully

pushing Braxton Bragg's army of the Tennessee of

Tennessee he suffered a major setback however

at the bloody Battle of Chickamauga and

ended up under Confederate

siege at Chattanooga at one point during the siege a temporary

truce was declared so

that wounded men could be recovered

and often in the Civil War during these small truces men from both sides

would meet in the middle to trade things like tobacco coffee

and maybe even honey

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where was I oh yeah

Vicksburg fourth of July and the

siege of Chattanooga thankfully

General Grant now in charge of all Western Union

armies showed up and karate kicked brag right back into Georgia like

this with Sherman and Hooker grant took on Confederate

positions in the mountains around the city including

the famous battle above the clouds and mission Ridge grant continued

to be Lincoln's number one guy with

these victories Lincoln hoped the war was finally turning

back in Gettysburg the entire town had been turned into a hospital to

care for the scores of wounded men throughout

the war on both sides woman

such as Clara Barton rose to the occasion doing

crucial work on the homefront and volunteering

as nurses for those who had given their lives a new

National Cemetery was to be established at

Gettys and Abraham Lincoln traveled

out to attend the opening ceremony

at the event the main speaker spoke for two hours then

Abraham Lincoln was called forward to give some brief appropriate

remarks in just two minutes he masterfully

and pointedly iterated America's

national purpose and the need to continue the fight the

Gettysburg Address would become one of the most famous speeches in American

history while they were now making progress the

north still couldn't find it as slice of victory in the east and that

was bad news for Lincoln

because his presidency was now in its fourth year in

1864 there was an election coming

the Confederates knew this too and with little hope left of being able to

threaten the North militarily

they believed their last shot at victory maybe in the election since Lincoln Emancipation

and the war itself weren't

exactly popular people in the north were sick of war and wanted to put

it behind them robert

e lee hoped that if he could just hold out and continue

to inflict more defeats the people of the north would vote Lincoln out and

replace him with a southern sympathizer who

may be willing to negotiate Lincoln

knew now he desperately needed

a victory now I know what you're thinking but oversimplified

if Lincoln loves General Grant so much then why doesn't he put him in

charge of the campaign in the east

will guess what loyal subscriber

you've hit the nail on the head

you're bold grant I'll grant

you that I'm promoting you to General in chief and I ain't taking you

for granted now I want you to go defeat Lee grant

me my wish please

stop so grant was put in charge and he came up with a new

plan he wanted to press the Confederates on all fronts with general banks to

capture Mobile Alabama General Sherman moving

south to Atlanta and grant

joining the Army of the Potomac as

they advanced through Virginia in May 1864

that plan went into

Sherman steadily advanced on Atlanta facing

off against a smaller Confederate

Army under General Joseph Johnston

in addition a cruel yet highly skilled cavalry

general and winner of the funniest Confederate

statue award Nathan Bedford Forrest was

also nearby doing his best to threaten Sherman's advance but

in a series of battles Sherman

dominated and Johnson back to the city but

he was held just outside

of Atlanta itself and was forced to lay siege meanwhile

the main show is happening to the east and Virginian the union's top General

was finally about to face off against

the Confederacy's Lincoln hooked grant would bring something new to the eastern theater and

bring something new he

did as grant began moving south Lee still regularly outmaneuvered

him and inflicted a heavy casualties hoping

to demoralize the north as much as he could but here's what set Grant

apart from others knew

Lee was running out of men and that the north by comparison had plenty

Brandt would throw his forces athlete and even when Lee repelled them grant rather

than pulling back would give the order to keep moving forward and point

Lee again and again

in under six weeks 80,000

men would be killed wounded

or missing in DC

Grant was criticized for being a butcher at the Battle of the wilderness the

Union casualties were so heavy that Grant reportedly

began to weep but still grant

could replace his losses

Lee couldn't and he was being pushed all the way back to Richmond Lee

knew once he got there he'd be under siege then

it would only be a matter of time

close to Richmond grant again suffered horrific casualties

in a miscalculated assault at Cold Harbor then

trying to be a trickster trickster instead

of moving on Richmond directly grant move towards Petersburg

to fight the Confederate capital and cut its supply line but

just like Sherman grant

was halted outside of the city and he too was forced to settle in

for a siege two

identical sieges would not be good enough for Lincoln's

the people of the north saw the casualties

Grant had been taking and they weren't happy to make matters worse Lee

had sent Jubal Early north to threaten DC with the hope of forcing Grant

to withdraw troops from Richmond early

was repelled on the outskirts

of the city with President Lincoln even attending as an observer but the North

had been given a fright so with

the war currently in a stalemate who

was to be Lincoln's opponent in the critical 1864

election who with the Democrats

choose guess what baby I'm back

that's right General George B McClellan

would run for president against

Abraham Lincoln my fellow countrymen

if you elect me I the

great General George will fearlessly and valiantly

win the or unlike

this douchebag many Democrats

however including McClellan's running mate wanted

to end the war so it's possible McClellan

may have ended up fearless Lee and valiantly making

peace with the Confederates

which is exactly what they were hoping for with the war in a stalemate

and Lincoln's still not popular it looked like McClellan

would win and the Confederacy may have a chance at surviving

after all Lincoln himself said

that without some kind of major victory

it seemed exceedingly probable that

this administration will not be reelected will

fret not Abe because

of it's a major victory you

want it's a major

you'll get Atlanta had been under siege by General Sherman for just over a

month after a number of battles around the city Sherman centa Forsyth to sever

the city supply line and Confederate

general hood was forced to abandon it Atlanta

one of the Confederacy's

most important cities had fallen into Union hands for

many it was clear that the Confederacy's

defeat was now inevitable

and the war would soon be over when the final results came in Lincoln

had won with an electoral

college landslide with the troops in particular voting overwhelmingly for

Lincoln which must have been touching

for their commander-in-chief hey

man looks like you lost no

hard feelings I didn't

lose a merely failed to win in January

Lincoln involved himself heavily in ensuring the 13th amendment made it through Congress in

a narrow and historic

vote the amendment passed slavery

would now be constitutionally

banished throughout the nation black

men and women watching

the vote from the galleries knew

the work had only just begun a couple

months later at his second inauguration with victory right around the corner he didn't

celebrate he didn't gloat instead

he emphasized the need for reunification and

binding up wounds to

him Americans north or south were to again be

compatriots however listening to Lincoln's speak that day was a man who had no

interest in reunification John

Wilkes Booth an actor

living in DC was also a deep southern sympathizer

and as the or turned against the Confederacy depressed

and full of hate he was already plotting his revenge on

the man he held responsible

with further Confederate losses it was pretty clear at this point who would win

but still Jefferson Davis showed no sign of giving

in the North were frustrated

to see the conflict being dragged down why

waste more lives in Atlanta

General Sherman believed he had the key to forcing

the Confederacy's hand he had an unusually

modern concept that an army could only survive with the support of the people

to strike at the people and the army collapses

Sherman decided to do something unprecedented he

would remove his 62,000

men from their supply line and marched through the heartland of the Confederacy

where they would live off the land there

they would wreak havoc as they marched they tore up railroads

burned farms and destroyed

communication lines they also liberated

thousands of slaves the

damage done was estimated

at 1.4 billion dollars

the tactics were cruel but to Sherman it was better than losing yet more

men in battle in December

he reached Savannah Georgia but

he wasn't done yet next

he turned north to inflict his punishment on the first state to secede South

Carolina as he moved he came ever closer to General Lee's army still holding

out at Petersburg the

siege of Petersburg had

lasted for 292 days

60,000 of Lee's men had deserted numerous

Union attempts to break through had failed but when the breakthrough finally came it

came quick on April

2nd a Union assault finally pushed the Confederates from their defenses hey

man there's no need to evacuate right you'll

rescue us like last time right

sorry can't hear you Lee

narrowly escaped the city hoping he'd be able to meet up with general Johnson

and continue the fight Brant

chased him down Richmond

was evacuated and Jefferson

Davis went on the run as they left the competitor to

military buildings but the flames burned out of control and

as the Union troops arrived they

became firefighters a couple

of days later Abraham

Lincoln visited the war-torn city

grant caught up to Lee at Appomattox Courthouse

where he trapped his forces he

was here on April

9th 1865 that Lee saw no point in continuing

sir listen bub I drink a bit too much last night and now I'm

hanging like a fruit bat on a hot day so whatever you have to

say I don't want to hear it General

Lee says he wants to surrender but

Diggity Dog Brandon Lee met in the home of a nearby farm family owned

by a man who had tried his best to escape the Civil War years

earlier Wilmer MacLean all right can we all just hurry up and get this

over way Martha not

now I'm cleaning do

you want us to get rats Branton

Lee after years of war now

spoke respectfully to one another when

Lee left his face filled with emotion Grant's

men began to cheer but

grant ordered them to stop he

knew that now was the time for reconciliation

just over two weeks later general

Johnson would surrender to Sherman ending

the war for eighty nine thousand Confederate soldiers in the largest surrender

of the war not

every Confederate state had surrendered but the war was as good as over across

the north church bells rang out and celebrations

erupted in Washington Lincoln gave a speech from the White House to a jubilant

crowd in which among various things he expressed his support for black voting rights

Lincoln had seen the nation through its deepest

crisis the presidency had visibly aged him he

had lost over 20 pounds he

said sometimes I think I am the tiredest

man on earth I'm not sure tiredest as a word but geez the man's

exhausted cut him some slack on a carriage

ride with Mary Lincoln

clearly was looking forward to being a president in a time of peace he

was apparently very cheerful

surprising his wife and he told her that between the war and the loss

of their son that

both been very miserable

now it was time to be happy on the evening of April 14th when

Lincoln attended a play with his wife and some friends at Ford's Theater it

was a comedy and the president appeared to be enjoying it very much in

a nearby bar John

Wilkes Booth swallowed two glasses of brandy he

slipped quietly into the president's

booth and awaited for the audience's

laughter to rise the

president was shot in the back of the head booth

fled the city soldiers

carried Lincoln to a boarding house across the street there

doctors declared there was nothing they could do

rounded by his heartbroken

wife son and members

of cabinet at 7:22

the next morning President

Lincoln passed away never

before had a president

been murdered a shocked

nation mourned as a 12-day

funeral procession carried Lincoln back to his home in Springfield

Illinois on April 26th

Union cavalry found John Wilkes Booth in a barn in Virginia where

he was shot not

long after Confederate President Jefferson Davis

was also tracked down and arrested in prison

for two years he

was eventually released the

North didn't want to put him on trial for fear the jury may rule

that southern secession had in fact been legal to

ensure reconciliation other Confederate

generals and politicians were

allowed to re-enter life in the now restored

Union scattered fighting continued into May when the last Confederate forces in Texas disintegrated

the southern states came under northern military occupation

to prevent any further rebellion

and a very difficult era of reconstruction began

over three million Americans

had fought brother against

brother the Civil War remains

the bloodiest conflict in US

history but the Union had been preserved

you could say the real winners were those who were to never again be

slaves further amendments passed by Congress gave black individuals

the right to citizenship

and to vote significant

progress had been made however

entering into the 20th century

it was clear the fight for equality would

continue in modern America

the man who fought to preserve the nation and never gave up in the

darkest of times stands

as a symbol of honesty

empathy humility perseverance and courage

a continuous reminder of what has forged America

and what it should ever strive to be