In 4 – 5 sentences, respond to the following:
1864 marked a change in the Union’s tactics for fighting against the Confederates. Prior to 1864, many of the battles the Union fought were using a head on approach. After the relief of General McClellan, General Grant began attempting to unify the Union’s attacks against the Rebels. He devised many operations that included different units taking different paths in order to face the Rebels from all angles (McPherson & Hogue, 2010). For the first time since the war began the Unionists began attempting to use flanking tactics to gain the upper hand.
However, these tactics didn’t always prove to be successful. In the east, General Lee continuously anticipated the movements of the Union and usually was able to fend off the attacks. Also, for many different reasons, many of General Grant’s approaches didn’t come to fruition. Once his subordinate leaders set out to reach their objectives, many usually encountered obstacles that slowed their movements down or even made it impossible to reach their goal. Additionally, in 1864 the Union faced many catastrophic losses during the battles in 1864. “His 1864 campaign against Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, however, produced an appalling 55,000 Union casualties…” (Pearlman, 2016).
One benefit to the Union’s tactics, was that General Grant easily and quickly adjusted as the situations dictated. As General Lee was continuously anticipating each movement the Union was attempting to make against the Rebels, General Grant continued to be successful at finding the areas where he would adjust his mission.
Furthermore, the Union proved success on the western front when they overtook Mobile Bay, finally sealing the blockade. As a result of this the South no longer had any use for territories west of Mobile, because they were now unable to get any supplies there (McPherson & Hogue, 2010). Interestingly, once the North sealed off the bay, they were no longer concerned with the South continuing to control Mobile. Simply because Mobile was no threat to the North at that point. In addition to cutting Mobile Bay off, the Union also had plans to gain control of Atlanta and crush the spirit of the Rebels (A House Divided: Northern Plans to End the War, 2016). General Sherman successfully accomplished this mission, which in turn caused the North to have their spirits uplifted once again.
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