text: "I have never advocated war except as a means of peace." - General Ulysses S. Grant, from his Personal Memoirs, 1886
  
  As the war raged on two separate fronts, west and south, multiple commanders were needed to effectively manage
  each sides' campaign against the other. Union General William Rosecrans and his army were besieged in and around Chattanooga in Tennessee by a stronger Confederate army. If he was not relieved soon, all of the momentum the Union army had gained earlier in the year was in danger of being lost, as from Chattanooga the Confederates could march through Virginia up to the capital.
  
  Lincoln put Grant, now in command of all armies in the western theater, on the task of providing aid to General Rosecrans. With General Grant's leadership, the Union was able to storm the Confederate's fortifications at Chattanooga, and in response, Lincoln appointed Grant to control all of the armies in the United States.
  
  Meanwhile, as the year of 1864 draws to a close, Lincoln is reelected as President of the United States, overcoming his former general, George McClellan, by a landslide. Lincoln is able to win 22 states in opposition to McClellan's measly three.
  
  General Grant, with his army of Union soldiers now 120,000 strong, marches south towards Richmond on May 8th, 1864, with the end of the war beginning to appear in their sights. On the bloody path to the Confederate capital, many battles were fought in order to inch ever closer to the heart of the Confederacy. Eventually, however, Grant and his army made their way to within a few of Cold Harbor. Once again using his military prowess, General Lee constructed a seven-mile barricade along the fields, blocking the Union army's advance. Although Grant's army still proved stronger and larger than Lee's, this blockade was easily one of the most daunting maneuvers in the war, making even the battle-hardened soldiers quiver in their boots.
  
  General Grant saw two viable options for dealing with this blockade. The first was to spread out his larger force along the barricades, picking off the Confederate soldiers forming them slowly. However, even with their superior numbers, the Confederate troops were nearly just as likely to be able to pick the Union troops off if they were spread too thin. Also, this approach would cost them valuable time, which, with the casualties in this war reaching the hundred-thousands, was not something they could afford to give freely.
  
  The second option was about as safe as marching into hell with no shoes on - the full brunt of Lee's forces could smash the lines of Confederate soldiers directly. While this option was risky, it would safe them time from having to spread along the seven mile radius, and there might even be a chance to dissolve the fortifications of soldiers entirely, that is, if the hole they punched through was big enough.
  
  General Grant sat in his tent weighing his options, sweat running down his brow. Outside, he heard almost no chatter from his soldiers: many were praying that the night would not be their last. Thousands of lives rested on Grant's decision. Whatever decision he made would have sacrifices, but he had to choose the one which had the least. This was the gritty reality of war.
  
  > send a large force forward to rip a hole in their barricade
  "I had seen nothing to exceed this. It was not war; it was murder." - Confederate General Evander McIvor Law
  
  This decision by Grant initially seems to be a drastic mistake for the Union.
  
  Within the first 20 minutes of a full force of Union soldiers attacking the line of Confederate infantry head-on, nearly 7,000 Union soldiers lie dead. Grant's stomach sinks, and he worries he has just lost the war for the side of good.
  
  However, the sacrifice turns out to pay off (albeit bittersweetly), as a second force of Union soldiers charge again at the now weary Confederate soldiers, eventually ripping a hole in their firing lines. As the casualties on both sides built-up, General Grant marches towards Petersburg, Virginia, with the now battle-weary but newly-moralized Union troops following behind, breaking up the last of the seven-mile blockade. However, General Lee was not far behind.
  
  Ferrying supplies across the James River in Petersburg, Union troops missed a valuable opportunity - seizing control of the railroad junctions before the Confederate army caught up with them. As Lee advanced on Petersburg, a stalemate was formed - Grant had the better position and supplies, but the invaluable railroad junction now lay in Confederate hands. Thus began the nine-month siege of Petersburg.
  
  "Hold on with a bulldog grip, and chew and choke as much as possible." - Abraham Lincoln in a telegraph to Ulysses S. Grant during the Siege of Petersburg, 1864.
  
  As General Grant works to hold Petersburg, Virginia, General William Tecumseh Sherman maneuvered his army to the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia, the "Gate City of the South." With his army of 62,000 men, Sherman easily takes Atlanta and marches towards Savannah in December of 1864. As Savannah is raided by Union troops, Sherman telegraphs President Lincoln on December 21st, offering Savannah to him as a "Christmas present."
  
  > March to the Sea and victory
  As 1865 rolls around, the thirteenth amendment to the Constitution is passed by Congress, which will forever abolish slavery in the United States.
  
  Meanwhile, Grant and Lee's forces clash at Petersburg, the stalemate nearing an end. Lee decides to make a strong
  offensive on Grant's forces, but it proves to be futile. Four hours from the start of the offensive, the attack is broken by the bolstered Union army. Taking their chance, Union troops blast through Lee's troops at Petersburg shortly after. In response, Lee has no choice but to evacuate not only Petersburg, but Richmond, the Confederate capital, as well. With nothing in the way to stop their advance now, the Union army marches through Virginia and takes Richmond. The stars the stripes are raised above the now desolate Confederate city.
  
  Precisely one week later, the Confederate army under General Lee surrenders to the Union. After much death, carnage, and suspense, the Confederate States of America are no more, and slavery is but a thing of the past. It will take decades before the country is built up again from the wreckage and heartbreak it endured, but for now, the bloodshed has stopped.
  
  "Thank God I have lived to see this. It seems to me that I have been dreaming a horrid dream for four years, and now the nightmare is gone." - President Abraham Lincoln, upon hearing Richmond, the Confederate capital, had fallen.
  
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