By 1863, the Civil War’s course had changed, and it began to assume the attributes of total war. Total war is a war in which armies try to demoralize the other side by attacking its military targets as well as undermining its ability to fight by destroying its resources. The forces of both the Union and the Confederacy decided to move towards such a war.
Total war required from governments the mobilization of all resources, which expanded their impact on the lives of their citizens as never before. What became apparent in 1863 as well as how much the combat was influencing governments’ size and scope. Both the Union and the Confederacy had to keep on growing to manage to recruit the ever-growing number of soldiers, as well as maintain the army.
Moreover, in early 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in the rebellion areas. This altered the war’s purpose: whereas before, the North fought for the preservation of the Union, now it fought for the freedom of enslaved African Americans.
In the field, the forces of the Union governed by Grant captured the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and divided the Confederacy into two parts, depriving it of one of its main transportation avenues. In addition to that, General Meade in the east stopped the invasion of Confederates at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
One more important fact: in New York City, the combination of people’s dissatisfaction with the Emancipation Proclamation and the Union draft gave rise to loud manifestations of white racism. In July 1863, a couple of days after the first draft lottery, violence took over the city. The rioters were choosing targets related to either the Union Army or African Americans.
As for the latter, black New Yorkers were attacked and killed, with about a fifth of the city’s black population fleeing it in fear. It is also interesting to note that, since the war had begun, thousands of slaves had been fleeing to the Union lines’ safety. They were labeled contrabands and protected by the military, not being returned to their owners. The aim was not only to help the slaves but, what was even more important, to deprive the southerners of a valuable manpower source.