But Burnside, feeling that he was expected to fight, crossed the river on December 12, and on the following day attacked the Confederates on the heights. It was a desperate attempt. The slaughter was frightful and the effort soon found to be hopeless. From behind a long stone wall the Confederate fire mowed down the Federal forces in thousands. In the end they were obliged to retreat, after losing more than twelve thousand men. Soon after, Burnside was removed from his command, and replaced by General Hooker.

The Proclamation of Emancipation.-The year's struggle in Virginia had been almost uniformly disastrous to the Union forces. The battle of Antietam came nearest to a victory, and President Lincoln took advantage of it to perform an act which he had for some time contemplated. On September 22, 1862, a few days after the battle, he issued a proclamation, in which he announced that on the next New-Year's day all the slaves in territory then in arms against the Union should be free.'

This proclamation was issued as a war measure, on the ground that the slaves were being used to support the Confederate cause. From this time forward negroes and

1 In 1861, General Fremont issued a proclamation in Missouri, declaring all slaves freemen. General Hunter in 1862 issued a similar proclamation, and mustered a regiment of negroes into the service. These actions were disavowed by the President. What to do with slaves who fell into Union hands was from the first a problem. General Benjamin F. Butler solved it. Some slaves who had made their way into his camp while at Hampton, Virginia, were demanded by their owner under the Fugitive Slave Law. As the slaves said that they were to be used in building fortifications, Butler refused to deliver them, saying that they were "contraband of war," and put them to work himself. From that time forward slaves were known as " trabands."

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fugitive slaves were used in the Union armies, and the emancipation of the slaves became one of the purposes of the war.'

6. THE CAMPAIGNS OF 1863.

The Beginning of the End.-During the year 1863 the high tide of the war of secession was reached. It culminated on Independence Day in two momentous events, the retreat of Lee from the battle-field of Gettysburg and the surrender of Vicksburg to General Grant. These events fatally weakened the Confederacy. There were no more aggressive movements of Lee's army. From that day it fought on the defensive. And the loss of Vicksburg gave the Union forces full control of the Mississippi, and cut off the three States of Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas from the Confederacy. The 4th of July, 1863, marked the beginning of the end.

Battle of Chancellorsville.-The close of 1862 and spring of 1863 formed a period of disaster to the Union armies in Virginia. The terrible defeat of Burnside at Fredericksburg has been mentioned. General Hooker, who succeeded Burnside, did not venture to repeat the attack on Lee's works, but tried the effect of a flank movement. Marching up the Rappahannock, he crossed that river some distance above the town. He had ninety thousand men and Lee only forty-five thousand. But Lee did not hesitate to march against him, and on May 2 the two armies met in the thickly

1 The proclamation of emancipation was followed by the enlistment of many negroes into the armies of the North, a measure which was opposed by many in the North and drew severe resolutions from the Confederate Congress. The negroes proved eager to enlist, and made good soldiers. In December, 1863, there were over fifty thousand of them under arms, and four times that number before the war ended.

wooded region of Chancellorsville. The battle was a desperate one. It was decided by a flank attack made by Stonewall Jackson, who unexpectedly fell upon and routed the Union right wing. But the Confederates suffered a severe loss. Jackson was mortally wounded, and died a few days afterward.'

The battle continued during the next day, and ended in Hooker recrossing the river. It was the most destructive defeat experienced by the Union armies during the war. The total loss in killed and wounded was thirty thousand, of which Hooker's army lost about seventeen thousand.

Lee's Advance to Pennsylvania.-The victories of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville gave the greatest encouragement to the South, and there was a wide-spread feeling that now was the time to invade the North and win some signal success. Washington or Baltimore might be captured, possibly Philadelphia or New York. Vast supplies might be gained, and perhaps terms of peace dictated from the national capital or the great cities of the North.

Inspired by the vision of such splendid possibilities, Lee began a rapid march northward through the Shenandoah Valley, crossed the Potomac into Maryland, and advanced through that State to Pennsylvania, reaching the small town of Gettysburg on the 1st of July.

March of the Union Army.-The threatening movement of Lee, and doubt as to his purpose, threw the Union commanders into a state approaching consternation. To guard Washington was the first thought, and a hasty march north began, with the mountain ridge that bounds the Shenandoah

1 Jackson was shot by his own men. He had been reconnoitring the Union line, and on his return he and his staff were mistaken for Federal cavalry and were fired upon.

Valley on the east between the two armies. On the discovery that Lee was advancing into Pennsylvania, Hooker's

army was hastened forward by forced marches to cover Harrisburg and Philadelphia. On the march General Hooker resigned, on account of differences of opinion with the War

Department. General George G. Meade took command in his place.

The First Day's Battle at Gettysburg.-That a great battle was imminent was evident. Events decided where it should be fought. The Confederate advance reached Gettysburg on July 1, and was there met by an advance force of Union cavalry. A fight began. Reinforcements were hurried up on both sides and the skirmish became a battle. In the end the Federal forces were driven back and General Reynolds was killed. Retreating through the town, the defeated army took a position along the crest of Cemetery Ridge, a range of elevated ground just south of Gettysburg. The position was a strong one for defence, and Meade hurried up the rest of the army by forced marches to secure it. All that night regiments and brigades marched up by moonlight and took their allotted posts. But when morning came much of the army was still miles away.'

The Second Day's Battle.-Lee's army, which was about seventy-three thousand strong, extended along Seminary Ridge in a concave line, facing the convex ridge on which Meade's army was posted. The lines occupied were about twelve miles in length. Meade's army was about eighty thousand strong, but part of it was still a day's march distant, pressing forward with all speed.

The battle of July 2 was mainly between Sickles's and Longstreet's corps, the struggle being largely for the pos

It is said that mere chance made Gettysburg the field of battle. Meade had selected a position at Pipe Creek, fifteen miles to the southeast, to make his stand. The movement of cavalry which brought on the battle was intended merely to screen his line of march. On the other hand, Lee had not proposed to fight except on the defensive, but found himself forced to attack his foe or retreat, his line of advance being cut off.