Summary of MajorCivil War Battles

Western & Eastern

Campaigns

North vs. South in 1861

North South

Advantages

Disadvantages The opposite The opposite

A Call to Action

• “ an insurrection too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary judicial proceedings

• 75,000 troops provided by the states for 3 months ( or 90 days) of service

• No African Americans allowed• 4 other states then seceded, including Virginia –

Capital city of the Confederacy

A Northern View of Jeff Davis

The Confederate Seal

“With God as our Vindicator”

1st Battle of Bull Run– July 21, 1861

• Union General: Irvin McDowell• Conf. General: P.G.T. Beauregard

• Neither sides troops adequately prepared• Lincoln doesn’t want to hear this – orders McDowell to march to Manassas(4 days to march 25 miles• “Picnic Spectators”

• North attacked Conf. left flank well at first, forcing South to retreat• Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson• Fighting slows until fresh group of southern troops arrived and counterattacked• Union army retreated --- “Picnic sprint”

• Union losses: 2896 (up the enlistment period to 2 years)• Conf. losses: 1982

The Anaconda Plan & The Battle of the Ironclads

Aging General Winfield Scott isReplaced by George McClellan

The Virginia (Merrimack)Iron plates on a wooden shipVs.The Monitor

The Battle of Hampton Roads

Ulysses S. Grant’s Early Victories

• Union achieved great success in west, not the east early on in the war

• Battles at Ft. Henry and Donelson, Feb.6, 1862 – control Mississippi River– Defensive forts erected by C along Tenn &

Cumberland Rivers– Engaged his former roommate General Simon

Buckner

• “Unconditional Surrender” Grant

The Battle of Shiloh

• April 6-7, 1862 • U: Grant, 42000• C: Albert Sidney Johnston,

P.G.T. Beauregard, • 2 days of fighting

– 1st day: Union army pushed back to Tenn. River

– 2nd day: Surprise counterattack by Union and Beauregard gave order to retreat

• Union victory “bloodiest battle in U.S. history thus far”

• @ 23000 casualties

Shiloh – log churchPittsburg Landing

The Battle for New Orleans

• April 25, 1862: Union officer David Farragut led the successful assault on New Orleans

• Pushed North and captured Natchez, Mississippi

• By June, only 2 major ports on Miss. River now remain in Confederate hands– Vicksburg, MS and Port Hudson, LA

Lincoln’s Generals

Winfield Scott

Irvin McDowell

George McClellan

Henry W. Halleck

John Pope

McClellan Again

Ambrose Burnside

Joseph Hooker

George Meade

Ulysses S. Grant

Confederate Generals

Robert E. Lee

Stonewall Jackson

P.G.T. Beuaregard

Albert S. Johnston

Joseph Johnston

James Longstreet Jeb Stuart George PickettNathan Forest

War in the East

The Peninsular Campaign – McClellan’s attempt to capture Richmond, VA

• Efficient military leader, but overly cautious• Union moves 100000 troops north to Rich• April 1862, lay siege to Yorktown• May 1862 Battle of Seven Pines

– U: McClellan C: Joseph Johnston (Union Vic)– McClellan asks for more troops rather than

marching to Richmond, within his grasp

War in East

• The Seven Day’s Battle (June 25-July 1, 1862)– McClellan vs. Lee (Jackson)– James Jeb Stuart – cavalry unit– McClellan is pushed back from Richmond– U casualties: 16,000 C casualties: 20,000, but

Confed. victory– Peninsula Campaign unsuccessful –

McClellan is sacked and Halleck appointed War chief of staff; Pope given Field Command

War in the East

Second Battle of Bull Run – Aug. 30, 1862- U: General Pope C: Lee, Jackson, James Longstreet- Pope encounters Lee on way to Richmond- Jackson’s plan with Lee waiting in the wings- Halleck unable to motivate McClellan to reinforce

Pope in timely manner- Pope pushed all the way back to Washington D.C

- U casualties: @13,380 C casualties: @8000- Pope is sacked as Field Commander, Halleck is also

sacked.- McClellan reinstated!

Antietam -Sept. 17, 1862, Sharpsburg, MD• Lee takes the offensive –

1ast attempt to invade North– (hoping for foreign support)

• U: McClellan (Burnside, Hooker) @87,000

• C: Lee (Longstreet, Jackson) @ 40,000

• A moment that alters history “the note” – wrapped around pack of cigar

• Lee had divided his army to attack Harpers Ferry

• “Bloodiest single day battle in all of U.S. military history”

• Union: @12k Conf: @ 10K• Lee retreats (loses about

25% of his army) but McClellan fails to pursue him

http://americancivilwar.com/tl/1862_east_large.jpg

A Shift in War Goals• July 1862 – Legislation allowing

African Americans to serve in Union military

• Lincoln concludes changing war to be about slavery would help weaken southern economy

• Jan. 1, 1863• Free slaves in confederate states• Why not in North?• Over 180,000 fought in Union

army• 54th Mass. Infantry - Ft. Wagner,

July 1863– Robert Gould Shaw– Sergeant William Carney

Battle of Fredericksburg, VA – Dec. 11-13, 1862

• New General – Ambrose Burnside• U: 122,000 C: 72,000• Strategy: march his 122,000 soldiers straight toward Richmond,

cross Rappahannock River, and engage Lee in an unexpected frontal attack

• A depressing defeat for the Union• 1. No element of surprise• 2. Pontoon bridges come up heavy fire by Confederacy• 3. Urban Warfare – Confeds. Occupy the town• 4. 4 foot stone wall fortification on higher ground• 5. Sharpshooters on higher ground devastate Burnside’s men

– “The Great slaughter pen” – Burnside ordered men across open plain field on morning of Dec. 13th (6 union assaults are easily repulsed by Lee whose men were defensively positioned behind a 4ft stone wall on Marye’s Heights

– 12,000 for Union vs. 5,000 for Confeds.

Battle of ChancellorsvilleApril 30, 1863 – May 4, 1863

• General Joseph “Fighting Joe” Hooker replaces Burnside• Union: 134,000, Conf: 60,000• Known as Lee’s Greatest Masterpiece• Hooker’s Plan: divide his large army into 3 parts in order to cut off

supply lines and attack flanks• Hooker overly hesitant as well• Lee’s Perfect battle: divided his army and attacked Union forces

from two sides – Jackson’s daring plan – secret 14 mile march through wilderness (about

25,000 men) undergrowth able to catch Hooker’s troops off guard,– causing flank to crumble within 15 minutes– Hooker continued to fall back, hesitant to attack

• Union casualties: 17,000 Conf: 13,000• The Worst Casualty: Stonewall Jackson

Dead at Chancellorsville