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Battles of The American Civil War
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Battle of Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter marked the start of the American Civil War. A few months prior to the attack on the fort South Carolina had seceded from the Union and after the engagement four other states would follow. Jefferson Davis ordered P.G.T Beauregard to surround the fort and the fired cannons and mortars before a quick union surrender. There was one death upon evacuation, the first of 600,000 caused by the civil war. -
First Battle of Bull Run
Union General McDowell led troops from Washington D.C. towards Richmond VA and Lincoln excepted a swift and quick end to the confederate rebellion except it wasn’t. Untrained and unorganized Union troops made an initial push but General Stonewall Jackson would provide confederate reinforcements that would get them a victory in the first major battle of the civil war -
Battle of Shiloh
The battle of Shiloh was a major war early in the Civil War when the confederate army launched a suprise attack on the union army who was led by Ulysses S Grant. After initial confederate success the Union was able to force a retreat and a victory for the North. It was a bloody battle resulting in 23,000 deaths which was shocking to both sides -
Battle of Antietam
The battle of Antietam was a major turning point for the Union and was the single bloodiest day in U.S history with 23,000 casualties. The battle was fought under General Robert E Lee (Confederate) and General George B McCllean (union). Despite a Union victory President Lincoln was not happy with McClleans over cautiousness. Abe Lincoln would shortly after announce the Emancipation Proclomation and helped keep France and Britain out of the war by not recognizing the confederacy -
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville is known as Lee’s perfect battle as he was able to make smart risky decisions that combined with timid tactics by Joeseph Hooker helped the confederate troops win a battle in which they were heavily outnumbered. The one downside was
that General Stonewall Jackson was apart of the heavy casualties after getting hit by friendly fire and dying a week later due to complications caused by an arm amputation -
Battle of Vicksburg
In a series of month long maneuvers by Ulysses S Grant and the Union Army they were able to complete the task of dominating the Mississippi River and the Anaconda plan. Vicksburg was the last Confederate strong hold along the Mississippi and would cut off the eastern and western parts of the confederacy from each other and cause difficulty in quick transportation. This was described by Lincoln as “the key to the war”. -
Battle of Gettysburg
A few days before the end of Vicksburg the battle of Gettysburg would start and end when Robert E Lee and the confederates would attempt to invade the Union in Pennsylvania and would be a major turning point towards the end of the war and swing momentum in the favor of the union. Due to smart tactics by George Meade and the union and some ignorance and over belief by Lee, the Union was able to prevent an invasion that some speculate would have been the end of the war (confederate independence) -
The Battle of Chickamauga
The battle of Chickamauga was fought in Southeastern Tennessee and Nothwestern Georgia and would mark the end of a Union offensive led by General Rosecran. General Bragg on the confederate side would help his troops defend Chattanooga and drive back union forces in their worst loss in the western theater in a bloody victory -
The Battle of Atlanta
The battle of Atlanta helped the union significantly in many ways, for starters it helped that the union gained control of a hub for supplies and railroads in the confederacy. It also would help set up the march to the sea that would devestate the confederacy and help the union seal the victory. The battle of Atlanta also helped boost Union support and morale and most importantly solidify Lincoln’s reelection by a large margin -
The Battle of Appomattox Station and Courthouse
This was one of the last battles of the civil war and was when General Robert E Lee Surrendered to Ulysses S Grant and the Union Army after a confederate retreat found them trapped from all sides. Instead of having mass destruction of his forces Lee decided to surrender which would cause a snowball of surrenders leading t the end of the civil war.