Total War And Turning Points

There were many things that affected the outcome of the Civil War; things such as population, resources, etc. One aspect of the war that is overlooked by those who haven't studied it is, Union Generals such as Grant, Sheridan and Sherman conducted total war in order to gain the upper hand. Total war is when there are no restrictions on whether or not an army can attack and harm civilians or their property. General Grant destroyed railroads, bridges and factories on his way to capture Savannah, Georgia. He burnt down the entire city of Atlanta. While this is undoubtedly cruel and seemingly unnecessary, General Sherman once wrote something that causes people to question whether or not the motives of using total war are entirely selfish and cruel. He said, "War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over." The meaning of this is, people will die either way; the less merciful the army is, the sooner the death and pain will end for the people. The sooner it ends, the sooner the people can begin to rebuild and recover. While total war seems inhumane --people are left homeless and without jobs or transportation-- it is my belief that to some extent, total war is acceptable. As long is the goal is to only disadvantage the enemy, not harm or kill innocent civilians, total war isn't always a bad thing. If it ends the war sooner, total war can cause major turning points in the actual war itself.

An idea of what General Sherman and his troops did while making their way to Savannah, Georgia.

Total war wasn't the only turning point for the Union. One of the biggest moments for them was Gettysburg. In the beginning of the war, the Confederacy was winning in the East. After Gettysburg, the Union and Confederate armies had lost a similar number of men; the Union lost 3,155 and the Confederacy lost 2,600-4,500. Even though this number was similar, this was a seemingly larger number for the Confederacy. They only had 1,200,000 man available to them; the Union had 6,000,000. The South took a huge hit in numbers during that battle. They had been looking for supplies to boost moral during that battle, However, afterwards, their moral was only lowered, giving the Union an upper hand when it came to spirits. Confederate General, Robert E. Lee, sent his president a letter telling him of all the important people they had lost in the war. He sent him another letter again, a month later, saying, "I have seen and heard of expression of discontent in the public journals as a result of the expedition... I therefore, in all sincerity, request Your Excellency to take measures to supply my place. I do this with the more earnestness because no one is more aware than myself of my inability for the duties of my position. I cannot even accomplish what I myself desire. How can I fulfill the expectations of others?" The state of moral had gotten so bad the Robert E. Lee, one of the Confederate's most famous, well-respected generals, was questioning whether or not he could actually win the war for the South.

While all of this was happening in the southern states, the exact opposite was occurring in the Union. When President Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address, he changed the purpose of the war for the Union. Before this battle, it was all about uniting the country, keeping the two, disagreeing halves together. But, now, it is all about equality, freeing the slaves, and making sure the soldiers who die fighting for the Union do not die in vain. He said, "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us-- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion." He states that those who have died will not die in vain. It is the duty of the Union to pick up their devotion where they left it and continue to fight. He reiterates this and also changes the point of the war saying, "that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain-- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom-- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth." Now, it is the duty of the Union to keep this country alive and reinvent and broaden their meaning of freedom. This raised moral and purpose in the people of the North, giving them even more determination to win the war.

Freeing the Slaves: The Unlikely Heros

When people think of President Abraham Lincoln, they often think of the man who freed the slaves. He's the powerful benefactor and without him, the United States wouldn't live up to their saying, that "All men are created equal." While this is true to some extent, Lincoln wasn't the only one who was responsible for the emancipation of the slaves. What people often don't understand is that their freedom didn't only come from above (those higher in society working to free the slaves and simply giving it to them). It also came from below, slaves worked hard to get what they wanted and what they deserved. How did this happen though? How is it possible for the freedom of slaves to come from two different sources?

It all started when plantation owners in the South began to flee their homes as the a Union advanced deeper into their territory. The owners would leave their slaves behind in order to escape faster. All of a sudden, freed, abandoned and escaped slaves started to show up at Union army encampments. The officers didn't know what to do. They were required by law to turn in escaped slaves, but there were so many of them that had no place to go. General Ambrose E. Burnside wrote to the Secretary of War, describing what was happening and saying, "it would be utterly impossible if we were so

disposed to keep them outside of our lines as they find their way to us through woods & swamps from every side— By my next dispatch, I hope to report to you a definite policy in reference to this matter, and in the mean time shall be glad to receive any instructions upon the subject which you may be disposed to give—." He and his troops couldn't keep out any escaped slaves because they're all over the place. They have no idea what to do in regards to the slaves and their actions. Instances such as this show that the slaves are taking initiative in the process of freeing themselves. They are not being freed by anyone; they are seeing opportunities and using them to escape captivity. It is because of this that Lincoln ends up officially emancipating slaves.

Lincoln expresses his motivations for the war in a letter response to Horace Greeley. He says, "What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union...I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free." His only motivation for the war is to save the Union and unite it. Despite his personal belief that all men are created equal and deserve to be free, he will only free the slaves if he believes that it will help the Union. While his moral values stood with the slaves, he never stood directly on the slaves' side. However, he does play an important role in freeing the slaves. Without him, they never would've been officially 
emancipated in the eyes of the law.


While Abe Lincoln was important to the process of freeing America's slaves, their freedom truly come from below. It was through their actions and determination that they were able to gain their freedom. 



This is a phot of slaves appearing at a Union encampment after leaving their master's plantation.
http://www.edline.net/files/_yXJhV_/d1a334a11a352b093745a49013852ec4/Docs_XY_Above__Below.pdf