In this year, 1862, Lin-coln sent out a bill that said "the slaves should be free then, and for all time." And it was then thought that it would be a good thing for the black man to help in this war that had made him free. So there came to be black troops made up of the free slaves. By this time the cost of the war had grown great, and the U-nion side felt that it was time to bring things to a close. [Illustration: AR-MY HUTS.] The South took heart and came with their troops in to a free State; and a great fight took place near a town by the name of Get-tys-burg. There was great loss on both sides. But Lee had to fly with his men, and this fight put an end to the hopes of the South. At the time of the last shot in fight, Gen-er-al Grant, far off in Vicks-burg, brought the foe to terms. Vicks-burg was a place on high bluffs, and it had guns on all sides to stop our ships on their way up the stream. It stood a long siege of more than a month, but at last it fell. But as time went on, it grew more and more hard to get men for the war. There had to be a draft, and the folks did not like that. In a draft, one has to draw a lot, and no one knew on whom the lot would fall. In New York there were some who felt a sort of spite at the black folks, as they held them to be the cause of the war, and there was a mob that set on them in the streets. It went on for three days, and some black men fell struck by stones from the mob. But at last it was brought to an end. The next year Grant made some good moves, and, on the whole, the sky grew more clear. Lin-coln said, "Peace does not seem so far off as it did. I hope it will come soon and come to stay, and come so that it will be worth all we have done for it." In 1864, Gen-er-al Grant was put at the head of all the troops. He had shown that he knew a great deal of war, and he had done good work. He soon made a plan of two great moves that should go on at the same time. One of these was to march on Rich-mond with one branch of the troops, while Gen-er-al Sher-man should take one branch through the States of the South, from mount to sea. [Illustration: WIL-LIAM T. SHER-MAN.] Gen-er-al Grant did not swerve from the course he had laid out. He said, "I will fight it out on this line," and he did, spite of all loss. He laid siege to Rich-mond, but for a time they held out. At sea the ships of the South at first won on all sides. They drove our ships out, and got off with no harm, till the time that the Al-a-ba-ma was sunk. One more grand fight with ships took place in Mo-bile Bay. This bay was a great place for boats to run in with food and stores to the foe. Our ships could not make their way there, for there were two forts, a ram of great strength, and shells that would blow them up set in the way. Far-ra-gut put false bows on his ships, so that they might charge the ram, and at last it was sunk.