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1st Bull Run
Prince William County, Virginia, near Manassas.
Commanders: Irvin McDowell (Union leader) and P.G.T Beauregard (Confederate leader)
60, 680 soldiers were involved in this land battle between the two armies. Irvin McDowell marched from Washington against the Confederate army. P.G.T Beauregard led Confederate forces against attacks from the Union
The Confederates made the victory despite being disorganized. First major land battle between the armies. -
Wilson’s Creek
Springfield, Missouri
Nathaniel Lyon (Union) and Sterling Price (Confederate)
“The Confederate victory buoyed southern sympathizers in Missouri and sustained Price's Missouri State Guard activities in the state. Wilson’s Creek, the most significant 1861 west of the Mississippi River, gave the Confederates control of southwestern Missouri. " -
Fort Donelson
Tennessee
Ulysses S. Grant(union) and Simon B. Buckner(confederate)
40, 732 combined forces were involved in the capture of Fort Donelson. Grant stormed in and weakened the fort’s defenses and Simon B. Buckner, later reluctantly surrendered the rest of his garrison. “The capture of Fort Donelson was a major victory for Grant and a catastrophe for the South. It helped ensure that Kentucky would stay in the Union and opened up Tennessee for Union advances up the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers.” -
Shiloh
Ulysses S. Grant (union) and Albert Sidney Johnston (confederate)
Hardin County, TN
“The Confederate defeat ended any hopes of blocking the Union advance into northern Mississippi. The two day battle at Shiloh produced more than 23,000 casualties and was the bloodiest battle in American history up to that time.”
Significance: Union army gained greater control over the Mississippi River Valley. -
New Orleans
Orleans Parish and St. Bernard Parish
Flag-Officer David G. Farragut and Maj. Gen. Benjamin Franklin Butler [Union]; Maj. Gen. Mansfield Lovell [Confed]
Significance: turning point of the war, it was a huge moral boost for the Union. -
New Orleans
Orleans Parish and St. Bernard Parish
Flag-Officer David G. Farragut and Maj. Gen. Benjamin Franklin Butler [Union]; Maj. Gen. Mansfield Lovell [Confed]
Significance: turning point of the war, it was a huge moral boost for the Union. -
2nd Bull Run
Prince William County, Virginia, near Manassas.
Commanders: John Pope (Union) and Robert E. Lee (confederate)
125,000 soldiers were in this land battle, on the same ground as the 1st bull run. The powers of John Pope and Robert E. Lee fought for days to end with 22, 177 casualties (much greater than the first bull run). Confederates won and the Union was crushed once again at the same place. This battle had more casualties and forces than on the same ground of another battle. -
Richmond
Richmond, Kentucky
William Nelson (union) and E.Kirby Smith (confederate)
4,900 Union casualties (of 6,850 total Union forces that were part of the Battle of Richmond). Maj. Gen. William Nelson and some men escaped and headed back north.
Significance: first major battle that occured at the Kentucky Campaign. -
Antietam
- Commanders: George B. McClellan (Union) and Robert E. Lee (Confederate)
- “Fought primarily on September 17, 1862, between the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, it ended Gen. Robert E. Lee’s first invasion of a northern state.” This battle resulted in the bloodiest day of the Civil War along with the single most bloodiest day in of the American History.
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Fredericksburg
Ambrose E. Burnside (Union) and Robert E. Lee
Fredericksburg, VA
Union engineers laid five pontoon bridges across the Rappahannock under fire. Meade’s division, on the Union left flank, briefly penetrated Jackson’s line but was driven back by a counterattack. Union generals C. Feger Jackson and George Bayard, and Confederate generals Thomas R.R. Cobb and Maxey Gregg were killed.
The abortive “Mud March” and other failures led to Burnside’s replacement by Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker in January 1863. -
Chancellorsville
Spotsylvania County, VA
Commanders: Joseph Hooker (union) and Robert E. Lee (confederate)
“Chancellorsville battle resulted in a Confederate victory that stopped an attempted flanking movement by Maj. Gen. Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker’s Army of the Potomac against the left of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. The Southern victory was diminished by the loss of Lt. Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.” Stonewall Jackson dies, encourages Lee to invade the north hoping to end the war -
Vicksburg
Mississippi River
Ulysses S. Grant and John C. Pemberton (confederate)
The battle lasted over 5 weeks, Grant’s forces outnumbered Pemberton and his army. Resources depleted for the Confederates, and Grant was in control. On July 4th, Pemberton surrendered and Grant’s victory boosted his reputation.
Significance: gave total control of the Mississippi River to the Union, and the Confederacy was split into two. -
Donaldsonville
Ascension Parish
Major Joseph D. Bullen [Union]; Brig. General Tom Green [Confederate]
The Union had built Fort Butler, which the Rebels had to take before occupying the town.On the night of June 27, Green, within a mile and a half of the fort, began moving troops ahead to attack. Futile Confederate assaults continued for some time but they eventually ceased their operations and retired. -
Gettysburg
Gettysburg, PA
George G. Meade (Union) and Robert E. Lee
A Union victory that prevented Robert E. Lee’s second invasion of the North. More than 50,000 soldiers fell (dead) during a 3-day battle, which made it the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War. -
Fort Wagner
Quincy A. Gillmore (union) and P.G.T Beauregard (confed)
Charleston, SC
The unit’s colonel, Robert Gould Shaw, was killed. Members of the brigade scaled the parapet but after brutal hand-to-hand combat were driven out with heavy casualties. The Federals resorted to siege operations to reduce the fort.
Significance: This was the fourth time in the war that black troops played a crucial combat role, proving to skeptics that they would fight bravely if only given the chance. -
Chattanooga
Chattanooga, TN
Commanders: Ulysses S. Grant (Union) and Braxton Bragg (Confed.)
“The Battle Of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was an important Union victory in the Civil War. The city was a vital rail hub that, once taken, became the gateway for later campaigns in the Deep South, including the capture of Atlanta and Sherman’s March to the Sea. A Confederate soldier called the Battle of Chattanooga ‘the death knell of the Confederacy.’” -
Wilderness
Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee
Orange County, VA
Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant fought Robert E. Lee and his army in a battle of horrendous casualties that eventually resulted in a draw. Robert E. Lee backed out and headed on his way but Grant pushed his forces onward; ordered them to sustain offensive.
Significance: The battle is inconclusive and it was the first time that any leader ordered to continue offensive after an opening battle in Virginia. -
Cold Harbor
Near Richmond, Va
Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee (Confed)
Battle of Cold Harbor was intended to cut Robert E. Lee off from his supply lines, and isolate him from the Confederate capital. But Ulysses S. Grant’s plans did not go as even though his manpower held 108,000 soldiers, he ended being badly defeated by the est. 62,000 Confederate soldiers. “Battle of Cold Harbor was a frontal assault on Confederate lines that was one of the most brutal confrontations of the war.” -
Petersburg
Ulysses S. Grant (union) and Robert E. Lee (confederate)
Around Richmond and Petersburg, VA
After the defeat at the Battle of Cold Harbor, Ulysses S. Grant decided to capture Petersburg (a railroad city). But instead of siege, Grant’s troops were met by the powers of P.G.T Beauregard, and the Union was defeated once again.
Significance of Petersburg is that it’s a railroad city, the transportation site would have enabled the Union forces.
