He therefore determined to set the slaves free in all
the territory where people were fighting to break up the Union, just as
far as it was conquered by Union troops. "As commander-in-chief of the
Union armies," he reasoned, "I have a right to do this as a war measure."
The famous state paper in which Lincoln declared that such slaves were
free was called the Emancipation Proclamation (January 1, 1863).
This freeing of a part of the slaves not only hastened the end of the war
but led, after its close, to the final emancipation of all the slaves. We
should remember that the man who did most to bring about this result was
Abraham Lincoln, whose name has gone down in history as the great
emancipator.
[Illustration: Lincoln Visiting Wounded Soldiers.]
Passing over the events of the war, which we shall consider later in
connection with its great generals, let us look ahead two years.
On April 9, 1865, General Lee, as we shall see a little later, surrendered
his army to General Grant at Appomattox Court House. By this act the war
was brought to a close, and there was great rejoicing everywhere.
But suddenly the universal joy was changed into universal sorrow, for a
shocking thing happened.
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