DK - The American Civil War

he nature of the war changed decisively with President

Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation on the first day of 1863.

The extent of slavery had been one of the war’s principal causes, but

from now a Union victory would mean its effective abolition. The

mobilization of black troops would also bring an important addition

to Union strength. After all the disappointments and command

changes of the previous months, 1863 saw the Union begin to

deploy its strength with real effectiveness, with Lincoln at last finding

the commanders with the administrative competence and ruthless

aggressiveness to bring this power to bear.

The Confederacy until now had had most of its successes in

the Eastern Theater, but was clearly under pressure elsewhere. The

Union blockade was growing ever tighter, and Union forces were

advancing steadily up and down the Mississippi. By year’s end, after

T

THE UNION TIGHTENS ITS GRIP

Hancock at Gettysburg

On July 1, stiff Union

resistance helps General

Winfield Scott Hancock

create a steady Federal line

at the end of the first day of

fighting. Hancock appears

here in a vast mural of

the battle painted by

F. D. Briscoe in 1885.

Lee at Chancellorsville

This portrait of Robert E. Lee is

by French-born artist L. M. D.

Guillaume, who painted

portraits of a number of

Confederate leaders.

Chancellorsville is considered

one of Lee’s greatest victories.

EASTERN THEATER

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NORTH CAROLINA
Cape Charles
Cape Henry
York River
Delaware
Bay
WEST
VIRGINIA
NEW
JERSEY
DELAWARE
MARYLAND
PENNSYLVANIA
VIRGINIA
DISTRICT OF
COLUMBIA
Hampton
Portsmouth
Roanoke
Gettysburg
Charlottesville
Petersburg
Newport News
HarrisonburgFredericksburg
Lynchburg
Harpers Ferry
Manassas
Centreville
Chancellorsville
Baltimore
Richmond
Philadelphia
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Winchester
R o c k y M o u n t a i
n
s
(^) Sn
ake River
(^) Col
orado River
P A C I F I C O C E A N
San Francisco
Santa Fe
Sacramento
Portland
Virginia
City
Salt Lake City
CALIFORNIA
OREGON
COLORADO
TERRITORY
WASHINGTON
TERRITORY
UTAH
TERRITORY
NEW MEXICO
TERRITORY
NEVADA
TERRITORY
IDAHO
TERRITORY
ARIZONA
TERRITORY
CANADA
MEXICO
Invading the North
Lee’s army crosses the
Potomac to invade the
North. With a presidential
election to come in the
fall, Lee and President
Davis feel that a
Confederate victory on
Northern soil may pay
untold political dividends.
The death of Jackson
At the Battle of Chancellorsville,
Confederate general Stonewall
Jackson is shot by accident in
growing darkness by his own
troops. His death soon
afterward leaves Lee without
his most gifted lieutenant,
an event recorded in
history as a crucial moment
in the Civil War.
States of the Union
Territory gained by the Union
Confederate states
Territory gained by the Confederacy
Disputed territory
TERRITORY GAINED BY DECEMBER 1863