campaign roughly 54,000 Union soldiers were killed or wounded. Things were better for Sherman. After a long siege at Atlanta the city fell and was evacuated. Sherman’s men then went into the city and destroyed everything that could be used by the South for war. Sherman then marched through Georgia ruining everything in his path: crops, houses, livestock etc. Meanwhile, Grant was slowly taking hold of Richmond. By November the end of the war was in sight for the Union. In the election of 1864 recent Union victories gave Lincoln much support and sure enough, Lincoln was reelected on November 8, 1865. He had won by almost half a million votes out of some four million cast. Lincoln felt he should now, after winning the election, push for a Constitutional Amendment permanently outlawing slavery everywhere in the United States. Lincoln pressured anti-abolition Congressmen who apposed the amendment in the winter of ’64. Finally, on January 31, 1865 Congress passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution outlawing slavery “within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” On March 4, 1865 Lincoln was sworn into office. In his address he denigrated slavery, calling it a hateful and evil practice. He said that now that slavery had been abolished it was time for healing. However, Lincoln said he did not feel “malice” towards Southerners. Even as Lincoln spoke, the Union victory machine was in action. Sherman marched up the coast capturing the city of Savannah. Then, he moved up towards Virginia and on his w...
