1. By Crystal True
CROSSROADS OF FREEDOM

2. Chapter One
In May of 1861, the eleven
states of the Confederacy had
established a functioning
government at Richmond, and
had armies to control all
750,000 miles of it. In order to
be the victor, all the South
needed to do was to protect
what it already possessed.
Accordingly, in order for the
Union to win, it had to invade
the Confederacy, defeat it’s
armies, conquer and occupy
it’s territories, and destroy it’s
government. Although the
Union met with many defeats
in the first year of war, along
with the Union blockade being
ineffective. Additionally,
General George B. McClellan
was defective, and also
disdained abolitionists and
President Lincoln. He also
came down with typhoid fever
and had to be replaced. As a
result , an unknown Brigadier
General named Ulysses S.
Grant took control of the
Union troops, and overnight,
the Union began to triumph
Grant formed a join navy-army
effort in order to capture the
South’s forts and open the
river to Union gunboats.

3. Chapter One
Fort Henry was captured on
February 6, Nashville on
February 25, and General
Burnsides captured Roanoke
Island, New Bern, Fort Macon,
Beaufort, as well as other ports
on the North Carolina Sounds.
Despite theses losses, the
Confederate’s elected Jefferson
Davis as president on February
22. On April 6, the battle of
Shiloh was fought to capture
Corinth. It was the most intense
battle yet, and casualties on both
sides equaled 15, ooo. Eventually,
Corinth surrendered, as well as
Natchez, Baton Rouge, and on
June 6, Memphis. After McClellan
recovered from typhoid in
January 1862, Lincoln pressured
him to move against the
Confederate army in the
Manassas, Centreville area.
McClellan always overestimated
the size of the Confederate army,
so prepared to lay seige, with
heavy artillery. This frightened
the Confederates and they
retreated. The Confederates
began to lose hope, and their
only hope was Europe who relied
heavily their cotton industry.
England said that they would
only give diplomatic recognition
when they witnessed the South’s
ability to survive.

4. Chapter Two
The first instance of the Union
not doing so well was in the
Shenandoah Valley in 1862. The
new Confederate General
“Stonewall “ Jackson was so
successful that he was feared in
the North. The Confederate’s
main victory was at Winchester
on May 25 when they drove
Bank’s routed division in
precipitate flight all the way
across the Potomac into
Maryland. Confederate General
Johnston attacked a portion of
McClellan’s army but was
wounded and replaced by Robert
E. Lee. Lee became Davis’s
military adviser. The Seven days
battle was even more good news
for the South, and caused a panic
in the North, and in Wall Street,
and sent stocks and the value of
the new greenback dollar into a
freefall. Although McClellan
failed in this battle, the
Democratic press blamed the
administration and Secretary of
War Stanton for failing to send
him the reinforcements he
needed. On June 17, Lincoln
summoned General John Pope to
take command of the Army of
Virginia. Pope and McClellan
disdained each other. He also
appointed Henry W. Halleck
general in chief on July 11.

5. Chapter Two
On July 1, Lincoln issued a call
for 300,000 new three year
volunteers. Congress also
authorize Lincoln to call state
militia into federal service for 9
months, and also to draft.
England and France began to
call for an intervention once
they heard of the South’s
recent success. However,
British Prime Minister
Palmerston would not take
any action until he saw more
Southern victories. Also,
slavery was a huge stumbling
block for Europeans, and some
said that the south must first
abolish slavery. If Lincoln
abolished slavery this could
cripple the South, but he had
no constitutional power to do
so. On August 6, 1861,
Congress passed a confiscation
act that authorized the seizure
of all property including
slaves, that had been used in
aiding the rebellion. The North
also made the resolution to
become more severe in it’s
dealings with the South
because of Jackson and Lee’s
bold counteroffensives.

6. Chapter Three
The Union continued to fail.
In late June of 1862, the
Union gunboat flotilla, and
part of Farragut’s fleet met
at Vicksburg and tried to win
control of this “Gibraltar of
the West.” However, the
Confederates had built their
own gunboat, the CSS
Arkansas, and won the
battle. Additionally, a battle
to capture Chattanooga
failed, supply depots
destroyed, Union prisoners
taken, a much depended on
railroad destroyed, and
three bridges burned. Illness
also struck many of
McClellan’s men, prompting
him to ask for
reinforcements. The second
battle of Bull Run began on
August 28, and ended on
September 1, and was
another humiliating defeat
for the Union when it ended
only fifteen miles from
Washington.

7. Chapter Three
Although Lincoln, and
many others in his
administration despised
McClellan, they once
again asked him to take
command of all Union
troops. His arrival revived
the spirits of the soldiers.
After this, Lee proposed
to invade Maryland, and
his troops began crossing
the Potomac forty miles
upriver from Washington
on September 4. He
believed he would be
well received in
Maryland, assuming that
the people had southern
sympathies and wished
to be free from the
Union, however he was
met with a lukewarm
welcome.

8. Chapter Four
Lee had launched his invasion of
Maryland with 55,000 men , but
within a week to ten days, 10,000
of these had dropped out for
physical rather than ideological
reasons. As the Army of the
Potomac marched northward
through Maryland, the friendly
welcome they received in
Maryland revived their spirits.
Before the battle of Sharpsburg
began, a union corporal
discovered orders and battle
plans made by General Lee.
Ultimately however, this find did
not help the North, because
McClellan like always waited to
act, and did so for 18 hours giving
Lee all the time he needed to
avert disaster. On Sept. 14, the
Union fort Harpers Ferry
surrendered to the Confederates.
However, on the night of Sept.
14-15 the southern casualties
amounted to almost a quarter of
all the troops that were not
besieging Harpers Ferry. In order
to save his army, Lee retreated
to Virginia and abandoned his
campaign. When Lee received
the news that he had captured
Harper’s Ferry, he had made it as
far as Sharpsburg and decided to
stay there.

9. Chapter Four
On Sept. 15, McClellan
arrived on the east side of
Antietam Creek. Eventually,
Lee had fewer than 4,000
men to defend against
Burnside’s 13,000, although
the Confederate’s continued
to hold high ground.
Burnside at last got his
whole line moving forward
across the hills and fields
south of Sharpsburg.
Although the Confederates
put up a stiff resistance, the
weight of the Union
numbers pushed them back
to the edge of Sharpsburg.
However, the Confederate
A.P. Hill arrived just in time
and created a domino effect
on other Union regiments.
McClellan then received
more reinforcements and
the battle halted. During the
night of September 18, the
Army of Northern Virginia
got away, much to the
delight of McClellan.

10. Chapter Five
The Army of Northern
Virginia had been badly
hurt and would not
resume the offensive for
another eight months.
On Sept. 13th Lincoln
met with a delegation of
Chicago clergy who
urged him to make a
proclamation of
emancipation. Five days
later, Lincoln called a
special meeting of the
cabinet and declared that
it was the right time to
issue the proclamation.
Though many disagreed,
in the end, it would be
sustained by the great
mass of the loyal people.
In England, the news of
Confederate defeats
cause Palmerston to
back away from the idea
of intervention, and the
emancipation
proclamation furthered

11. Chapter Five
On Sept. 24, Lincoln
also issued a second
edict suspending the
writ of Habeas Corpus,
and authorized military
trials. Northern
Democrats declared
the emancipation
proclamation as
unconstitutional and
tried to appeal to the
racial prejudices of
many Northern voters.
After even more delays
and blunders made by
McClellan, Lincoln
finally removed him
from command and
ordered Burnside to
take control of the army
on November 7.