Lincoln was sworn in....

...again as President in 1865. The speech he gave at the inauguration was focused on the evils of slavery ("A violation of equality and liberty"). He also said that the country should come together by "binding up its wounds".

At Petersburg outside Richmond, Grant had...

...trapped Lee's army in a siege for nine months!! Grant had taken many casualties trying to take the many trenches and forts while Lee's army was in desperate shape. Grant came up with a plan for the Union soldiers to dig a tunnel under Confederate trenches, fill the tunnel with gunpowder, and blow a hole in the South's defenses. Then specially trained African Americans would race in and overwhelm the confederates. Ambrose Burnside was in charge of this but at the last moment, he switched out the special black troops with untrained white troops that did not know what they had to do. It ended as many Union casualties and a failure for Grant.

Grant used a huge number of fresh Union troops to attack Petersburg and he..

...captured or killed MOST of Lee's army. Lee and parts of his army managed to escape to the west towards Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia. Part of Grant's Union army marched into the Confederate capital of Richmond. Other troops FOLLOWED LEE TO APPOMATTOX COURTHOUSE.

What did Lee do at Appomattox Courthouse? Why?

Lee had no choice but to surrender to Grant (Union). He met Grant in a farmhouse to discuss the terms of the surrender.

1. Grant allowed officers to.... 2. Confederates...

1. ...keep their pistols. 2. ...turned in their guns but got to keep their horses for their farms back at home. They were not to be bothered by the Government.

After the confederates turned in their guns, Union soldiers cheered but Grant said...

..."The rebels are our countrymen again".

Soldiers had been recognized in several ways for their service. Over 1,500 soldiers were given a...

...Medal of Honor, the highest medal America gives to the military.

The Four-Years-Long Civil War cost more than...

...600,000 soldiers their lives. The war cost 20 BILLION DOLLARS, still the most expensive thing the country has ever done. After the war, people thought about America as ONE UNDIVIDED NATION.

What about the slaves??

The slaves were now free and there was much work to do to create a strong nation where all were equal.