Finally, Lincoln found a brilliant general to lead his army: Ulysses S. Grant. Grant was willing to fight. He had already won important victories, such as the Battle of Vicksburg, which gave the Union control of the Mississippi River. But Grant realized that just winning battles was not enough to win the war. The important thing was to take away the South’s ability to keep on fighting. To do this, the Union army had to attack in many places at once.
They had to fight battles one right after another. And they needed to destroy railroads and factories that helped keep the Confederate army going. Grant planned to wear out the South so it would have to surrender. But it would take time. And it would cause many thousands more deaths.
Lincoln relied on Grant more and more. After one terribly bloody battle, many people thought Grant should be fired. But “I can’t spare this man,” Lincoln said. “He fights.”
In the North, fewer men were willing to volunteer as soldiers. So in 1863, Lincoln called for a draft. For the first time in American history, men were forced to enlist in the army. In New York, there were draft riots. Men said they didn’t see why they should die to free black people. Many Northerners were so fed up with the war, they were even willing to just let the rebel states go.
GETTYSBURG NATIONAL CEMETERY
More and more, people blamed Lincoln. He needed to explain why the war had to be fought to the bitter end. But back then the president didn’t often address the nation directly. Lincoln’s chance came at the dedication of the cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg had been a great victory for the Union. Union soldiers had stopped the rebels from pushing their way north. But more than three thousand Union soldiers and almost five thousand Confederate soldiers had been killed, and a special cemetery was created to bury them all.
The dedication of the cemetery took place on November 19, 1863. Even though Lincoln was the president, he was not the main speaker. That was Edward Everett, a man famous for long, fancy speeches. Everett talked for almost two hours. Lincoln spoke for only two minutes. His words were simple and direct. He began by quoting a line from the Declaration of Independence: “All men are created equal.” He reminded his audience that the United States was the first country founded on that idea of equality. In 1776, no one had known if such a country could work. Now people were wondering if it could last. Maybe it was about to fall apart. Lincoln could not give in to the rebels’ demands, because the country had to survive.
The Union was fighting to keep the United States united, but also to guarantee that “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
According to some listeners, the end of Lincoln’s speech was greeted with silence. People were too moved even to clap. Edward Everett wrote that Lincoln, in two minutes, had gotten to the heart of the subject better than his own entire long speech. History agrees with Everett. The Gettysburg Address is widely considered one of the most beautiful and important speeches ever written.
But the war had gone on for almost a thousand days, and there was still no end in sight.
THANKSGIVING
EVER SINCE THE PILGRIMS, AMERICANS HAVE CELEBRATED DAYS OF THANKSGIVING. BUT UNTIL 1863 THERE WAS NO ONE DAY OF THE YEAR THAT PEOPLE THOUGHT OF AS THANKSGIVING DAY. SARAH JOSEPHA HALE (WHO WROTE THE NURSERY RHYME “MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB”) THOUGHT THERE SHOULd BE. STARTING In 1827, SHE WROTE TO EVERY PRESIDENT, URGING HIM TO ESTABLISH ONE. BUT NO ONE LISTENEd UNTIL ABRAHAM LINCOLN. AFTER THE VICTORY AT GETTYSBURG, HE ISSUED A PROCLAMATION SETTING ASIDE THE LAST THURSDAY OF NOVEMBER AS A DAY TO GIVE THANKS FOR THE SURVIVAL OF THE NATION. |