Editing Abraham Lincoln (section)

====Promoting General Grant====

{{main|Ulysses S. Grant}}

General Ulysses Grant's victories at the [[Battle of Shiloh]] and in the [[Vicksburg campaign]] impressed Lincoln. Responding to criticism of Grant after Shiloh, Lincoln said, "I can't spare this man. He fights."{{sfn|Thomas|2008|p=315}} Meade's failure to capture Lee's army after Gettysburg and Grant's success at [[Chattanooga campaign|Chattanooga]] persuaded Lincoln to promote Grant to commander of all Union armies.<ref name=anb/> Grant then waged the bloody [[Overland Campaign]], which exacted heavy losses on both sides.{{sfn|McPherson|2009|p=113}} 

Amid the turmoil of military actions, on June 30, 1864, Lincoln signed into law the Yosemite Grant enacted by Congress, which provided unprecedented federal protection for the area now known as [[Yosemite National Park]].{{sfn|Schaffer|1999|p=48}} According to Rolf Diamant and Ethan Carr, "[T]he [[Yosemite National Park#Yosemite Grant|Yosemite Grant]] was a direct consequence of the war ... an embodiment of the ongoing process of remaking government ... an intentional assertion of a steadfast belief in the eventual Union victory."{{sfn|Diamant|Carr|2022|pp=54&ndash;55}}
Lincoln reacted to Union losses by mobilizing support throughout the North.{{sfn|Thomas|2008|pp=422–424}} Lincoln authorized Grant to target infrastructure—plantations, railroads, and bridges—to weaken the South's morale and fighting ability. He emphasized defeat of the Confederate armies over destruction for its own sake.{{sfn|Neely|2004|pp=434–458}} As Grant continued to weaken Lee's forces, efforts to discuss peace began. At one point, Confederate Vice President [[Alexander H. Stephens|Stephens]] led a meeting with Lincoln, Seward, and others at [[Hampton Roads Conference|Hampton Roads]]. Lincoln refused to negotiate with the Confederacy as a coequal.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=565}} In early April, the Confederate government evacuated Richmond and Lincoln visited the conquered capital, whereupon on April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered his [[Army of Northern Virginia]] to Grant at [[Appomattox Court House National Historical Park|Appomattox]].{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=589}}