DECEMBER 1863: ENDING THE SOUTH'S GLOOMIEST YEAR
12/1/2011
The military advantage had decisively shifted to the North. Significant Confederate resistance had been suppressed in Tennessee, and the Federals began planning to invade Georgia.
The Knoxville Campaign
After the victory at Chattanooga in November, Federal attention turned to Knoxville, Tennessee where Ambrose Burnside’s Federals were besieged by Confederates under James Longstreet. The overall Federal commander, Ulysses S. Grant, dispatched Federals led by William T. Sherman to assist Burnside. However, by the time Sherman arrived, Longstreet had realized that he could not capture Knoxville and slipped away into Virginia.
After briefly pursuing Longstreet, Burnside was replaced as commander of the Department of the Ohio by General John G. Foster. Burnside had asked to be removed because he had long resented accusations of failing to support the Federals at Chattanooga and failing to act decisively in eastern Tennessee. Despite Burnside’s exit, the Confederate withdrawal from Knoxville gave the Federals a complete victory in Tennessee.
In the Union
In Washington, construction on the Capitol dome was completed with the placement of the bronze statue “Freedom” at the top. Cast in Rome, the statue weighed nearly 15,000 pounds. When the war began, many had urged suspending the dome’s construction. However, President Lincoln had insisted that the work go on to symbolize continuance of the Union.
A potential scandal erupted when Emily Todd Helm visited her half-sister, First Lady Mary Lincoln, at the White House. Mrs. Helm was the widow of Confederate General Ben Helm, and some accused Mrs. Lincoln of treason for associating with her. Lincoln diffused the controversy by announcing that Mrs. Helm had been granted amnesty by swearing an oath of allegiance to the Union.
The first session of the Thirty-eighth U.S. Congress assembled and received Lincoln’s annual message. Noting the pessimism that had pervaded the North a year before, Lincoln stated that “the crisis which threatened to divide the friends of the Union is past.” His message ended with a salute to the soldiers, to which “the world must stand indebted for the home of freedom disenthralled, regenerated, enlarged, and perpetuated.”
In the Confederacy
In South Carolina, the Federal naval bombardment of the forts and batteries in Charleston Harbor continued. Over 1,300 rounds of artillery pounded Fort Sumter over seven days. Despite heavy pummeling through much of the year, few Confederate casualties had been sustained, and the harbor forts showed no sign of surrender.
Although the Richmond Dispatch asked southerners to unite against “this decisive crisis in the national affairs,” various southern governors expressed dissatisfaction with the Confederate government. North Carolina Governor Zebulon Vance wrote President Jefferson Davis: “I have concluded that it will be perhaps impossible to remove it (dissatisfaction with the Confederate government), except by making some effort at negotiation with the enemy.”
The fourth session of the First C.S. Congress assembled in Richmond and received President Davis’s annual message. Davis reported that foreign aid was still not forthcoming, finances were poor, and the armies needed more manpower. He also denounced the “savage ferocity” of “these pretended friends of human rights and liberties against the unfortunate negroes…” Davis concluded by stating that although the Confederacy had not yet secured independence, the “patriotism of the people has proved equal to every sacrifice demanded by their country’s need.”
Davis signed many bills into law, including a ban on hiring substitutes to avoid the military draft. This had been recommended by Secretary of War James A. Seddon, who perceived a diminished military effort due to desertion, capture, and attrition. Other bills authorized imposing new taxes to finance the war.
The Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction
President Lincoln issued a proclamation pardoning southerners who swore loyalty to the Union. Included in the proclamation was what became known as the “Ten Percent Plan.” Lincoln proposed that if 10 percent of a state’s voters swore loyalty to the Union and recognized the end of slavery, that state could “re-establish” a government and send Federal representation to Washington.
Radical Republicans opposed the “Ten Percent Plan” because they believed it was too lenient. Moreover, Radicals asserted that Congress, not the president, had the constitutional authority to restore the Union. Lincoln aimed to satisfy both the Radical and conservative wings of the Republican Party by offsetting lenient pardon terms with the abolition of slavery.
Lincoln’s proclamation marked the first significant step toward restoring the Union. This temporarily united the party, but a rift between the Radicals and conservatives was becoming apparent. Lincoln was considered the leader of the conservative wing, while his Treasury Secretary Salmon Chase aspired to lead the Radicals as the 1864 elections loomed.
The Confederate Department of Tennessee
The Confederate defeat at Chattanooga resulted in the removal of Braxton Bragg as commander of the Army of Tennessee. An unpopular leader, Bragg’s departure pleased most of the men in his army. His permanent replacement was General Joseph E. Johnston, a man who was personally disliked by Jefferson Davis but generally respected by the troops.
The 43,000-man Confederate army had suffered from poor leadership and recent defeats, and it was hoped that Johnston would repair its shattered morale. Johnston tried stopping the flood of desertions by offering amnesty to anyone returning to the ranks and creating a furlough system to allow soldiers to briefly return home. The army was also reorganized into two corps: one under William Hardee and one under John Bell Hood.
The Laird Contracts
Confederate agent James Bulloch negotiated a contract with Laird Brothers, a British shipbuilding company, to construct two ironclad vessels that would be used to disrupt the Federal naval blockade of the South. Bulloch had previously acquired and equipped the formidable commerce raiders Alabama and Florida.
The U.S. minister to Great Britain, Charles Francis Adams, informed British officials that building the ironclads would violate British neutrality and prompt U.S. retaliation. After initially ignoring the warnings, British officials refused to allow the ironclads to be delivered to the Confederacy. Bulloch reported: “No amount of discretion or management on my part can effect the release of the ships.” This ended Confederate chances for European recognition.
The End of 1863
Most southerners agreed with the December 31 assessment of the Richmond Examiner: “To-day closes the gloomiest year of our struggle.” The Confederates had seen military success earlier this year, but major defeats at Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga had demoralized the South.
Northerners were cautiously optimistic about the future. The war’s momentum was clearly in their favor and the military victories boosted morale, but the Confederates were still capable of inflicting terrible defeats such as Chancellorsville and Chickamauga. Many began looking forward to the 1864 elections.
WalterCoffey.com
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