The North puts on a valiant, courageous effort in storming Fredericksburg but loses over 10,000 men in what really amounted to a suicide mission. The South continues to win key battles mainly because the North has such inept generals, according to this Ken Burns TV documentary.
Finally, after numerous strategic mistakes by Northern military leaders, Lincoln turns to Ulysses S. Grant to lead the Union. Conditions continue to be brutal, not just for the undermanned but for the North. Food and supplies are scarce and costly. Men are going AWOL by the thousands The Emancipation Proclamation has made Lincoln very unpopular, both with the South and North.
Thousands of blacks are shipped off to Texas, so they don't wind up fighting against the South. (Reportedly, there are many northern sympathizers in the South and they fight for the Union.)
Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson dies midway through the year, a huge loss for the Confederates. Next to General Robert E. Lee, Jackson is the most beloved soldier the South had, I believe. (See the motion picture, "Gods and Generals," by the way, for a thorough look at Jackson.)
Finally, after numerous strategic mistakes by Northern military leaders, Lincoln turns to Ulysses S. Grant to lead the Union. Conditions continue to be brutal, not just for the undermanned but for the North. Food and supplies are scarce and costly. Men are going AWOL by the thousands The Emancipation Proclamation has made Lincoln very unpopular, both with the South and North.
Thousands of blacks are shipped off to Texas, so they don't wind up fighting against the South. (Reportedly, there are many northern sympathizers in the South and they fight for the Union.)
Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson dies midway through the year, a huge loss for the Confederates. Next to General Robert E. Lee, Jackson is the most beloved soldier the South had, I believe. (See the motion picture, "Gods and Generals," by the way, for a thorough look at Jackson.)