Savannah was one of the chief cities of secessionist Georgia, and a favourite port of the blockade-runners.
Sherman's March to the Sea (Union invasion of Georgia) ended at Savannah, where he expected a battle with the small Confederate army under General Hardee. But that army escaped across the river into South Carolina, where Sherman would presently follow him. Meanwhile, noting that it was December 24th, he was able to send a joke-telegram to Lincoln, offering him the city of Savannah as a Christmas present.
Sherman's punitive raids in Georgia had been highly destructive of property, and he might have burned down Savannah as well, just to drive home the point. Perhaps he felt the point had been made by that time, which it certainly had. But there is a lingering belief that he spared the city because he had once loved a girl from there - a touching thought, as we celebrate the survival of this most gracious and harmonious of American cities.
Chat with our AI personalities
Lincoln's appeal for volunteer Union troops after the surrender of Fort Sumter.
The Union armies were against slavery, as one of their key points to fight about, and freed slaves often would join in. Slaves could also usually remain free in the North (thus, the Union Army) and many other slaves wished to be free. If the Union were to win the Civil War, then it was highly likely that slaver would be abolished so many salevs chose to help fight in side with the Union for that reasons.
Congress allowed black soldiers to join the Union Army in July 1862, with the passage of the Second Confiscation and Militia Act. This act authorized the military enlistment of African Americans and paved the way for the formation of the United States Colored Troops (USCT).
The Civil War ended in 1865. Nebraska (1867), Colorado (1876), North Dakota (1889), South Dakota (1889), Montana (1889), Washington (1889), Idaho (1890), Wyoming (1890), and Utah (1896) joined the union after the end of the Civil War.
slaves ran away from plantation to join the Union.