United States History Student Edition

09 Changing Fortunes and the War’s End

Southern Victories Continue GUIDING QUESTION What factors contributed to the early success of the Confederate forces?

READING STRATEGY Analyzing Key Ideas and Details As you read, use a diagram like this one to note the circumstances of the major battles starting in the summer of 1863 and the effects of each battle.

The military leadership of Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson was a key factor in the Confederates’ military success in the East. With their knowledge of the land and ability to inspire troops, these two generals often defeated larger Union forces. The Union’s lack of skilled military leaders often hampered its efforts early in the war. Battles in Virginia After Antietam, Robert E. Lee moved his army out of Maryland into Virginia. This encouraged the newly named Union commander, General Ambrose Burnside, to march the Union Army of the Potomac toward the Confederate capital at Richmond. Lee intercepted Burnside near Fredericksburg. Lee’s forces dug trenches in hills south of the town. This gave them the advantage of higher ground from which to fight. On December 13, 1862, Union forces attacked. Lee’s entrenched (ihn•TREHNCHT) troops drove them back with heavy losses. Devastated, Burnside resigned. In May 1863, Lee met Union forces led by General Joseph Hooker in the Battle of Chancellorsville. Although Hooker had twice as many men, Lee divided his forces. One group confronted the main Union force. Another, under the leadership of Stonewall Jackson, secretly marched to a spot at the far end of the Union line. While Jackson’s army surprised the Union force with a crushing attack on its flank (FLANGK), or side, Lee struck from the front. Caught between the two Confederate forces, Hooker eventually withdrew his men. The Confederate victory came at a high cost. In the confusion of battle, Confederate soldiers fired on and wounded Jackson. Surgeons amputated Jackson’s arm, prompting Lee to say, “He has lost his left arm, and I have lost my right.” After a week of suffering, Jackson died.

Battle Circumstances Effects

FLORIDA BENCHMARKS

• SS.8.A.1.2 • SS.8.A.5.3 • SS.8.A.5.5 • SS.8.A.5.6 • SS.8.A.5.7 • SS.8.CG.1.3 • SS.8.CG.2.3 • SS.8.CG.2.6 • SS.8.CG.3.1 • SS.8.G.1.2 • SS.8.G.6.2 • ELA.K12.EE.4.1 • ELA.K12.EE.5.1 • ELA.K12.EE.6.1

entrenched positioned in trenches

flank side

Confederate troops fight from behind a stone wall in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in this 1886 engraving.

PHOTO: North Wind Picture Archives/Alamy Stock Photo; TEXT: Bruce, Philip Alexander. Robert E. Lee. Philadelphia: George W. Jacobs & Company, 1907.

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