Battle Of Bull Run

The Battle of Bull Run was Virginia's first major land battle. It took place on July 16, 1861 when the Union army under General Irvin McDowell came down from Washington to face the Confederate army, which was stationed behind Bull Run in Centreville. The Union army attacked on July 21 and the fighting lasted all day. The Confederates were finally driven back to Henry Hill. Finally Confederate reinforcements came in and defeated the Union. This battle showed the Lincoln administration that the war was going to be a drawn out process and very costly. General McDowell was fired and replaced by General George B. McClellan.

 

 

Second Bull Run

An attack was ordered, by Jackson, on a Federal column in hopes to draw Pope's army into battle. This happened on August 28, 1862 on the Warrenton Turnpike. Pope was certain that he had trapped Jackson and his main concern was the size of the army against him. Jackson was positioned along the unfinished railroad grade, and on August 29, Pope attacked Jackson several times. As a result there were many casualties from these attacks. Around noon Jackson received some help from Longstreet, from Thoroughfare Gap. Pope renewed his attacks on August 30 apparently unaware that Longstreet was on Jackson's side. When the Confederate's artillery smashed a Union assault by Fitz John Porter's command, Longstreet's army, which consisted of 28,000 men, counterattacked thus resulting in largest mass assault of the war. The Union was crushed driving them back to Bull Run. The only thing that prevented another image of the First Manassas disaster was an effective Union rearguard. Pope retreated back to Centreville, and the next day Lee's army was in pursuit of him.

 

 

Battle Of Shiloh

The Confederate army under the command of General Albert Sidney Johnston had to fall back because of the fall of Fort Henry and Donelson. Therefore, they had to give up Kentucky and some of Tennessee. He chose Corinth, Mississippi as a major transportation center, and also a place where he could go against General Ulysses S. Grant who was the commander of the Tennessee Army. He chose this transportation center before the Army of Ohio under General Don Carlos Buell could. This was a surprise to the Union forces. So, Grant took about 40,000 men and prepared for battle along the Tennessee River. Later Grant received a letter telling him to wait for Buell's army from Ohio. Grant then began to train his troops because many of them were raw recruits. Johnston began attack on April 6 and he really surprised them. Some Federals established a battle line at the sunken road. They called it "Hornets Nest." The artillery helped the Confederates surround the Union troops; therefore, killing many and wounding most. Johnston was wounded and General P.G.T. Beauregard took over. After establishing another line with artillery, finally Buell's men began to arrive and take position. The Federals held on as the fighting continued until after dark. The next morning the Federal forces were still strong with about 40,000 men, compared to Beauregard's army with less than 30,000 men. Beauregard ordered a counterattack around 6:00am, in response to a two -mile advance of William Nelson's division of Buell's army because he was unaware of the arrival of Buell's army. At first the attempt was successful, but the Union troops began forcing the Confederates back. Beauregard ordered another counterattack to break the Union's advance, but it didn't work. Because of all the casualties Beauregard realized he couldn't win, so he went back to Corinth. On April 8, General William T. Sherman, and General Thomas J. Wood were sent by General Grant in pursuit of Beauregard. They later ran into the Rebel rearguard, which was commanded by Col. Nathan Bedford Forrest. Forrest had aggressive tactics that persuaded the Union troops to return to Pittsburg Landing. Grant defeated the Confederates and the Confederates continued to fall back.

 

 

Battle Of Fort Sumter

This battle began on April 10, 1861 when Confederate forces in Charleston, South Carolina ordered the surrender of Fort Sumter, which is located in Charleston Harbor. The commander refused, and two days later the Confederates opened fire on the fort. On April 13, Fort Sumter surrendered and evacuated the next day. The battle of Fort Sumter was just the beginning to the Civil War. The final result was there were no casualties, but several injuries due to a canon exploding.

 

 

Antietam

General George B. McClellan faced Lee's Army of Northern Virginia at Sharpsburg, Maryland on September 16, 1862. The morning of September 17, Hooker launched a powerful assault on Lee. This resulted in the bloodiest day in American military history. There were attacks and counterattacks on Miller's cornfield. The fighting was all around the Dunker Church. The Union finally defeated the Confederate center, but the Federal advantage wasn't followed up. Later on Burnside's corps crossed the Antietam creek and defeated the Confederate Right. A.P. Hill's army came in from Harpers Ferry and counterattacked, thus driving Burnside back and saving the day. Lee was greatly outnumbered, yet he still sent his entire force into battle, and McClellan sent in less than three-fourths of his army. This helped Lee to fight the Federals to a standstill. Lee's division suffered many casualties, but he continued to fight with McClellan. McClellan did not try to attack again; therefore Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia withdrew across the Potomac into the Shenandoah Valley.

 

 

Fredricksburg

Burnside, the commander of the Army of the Potomac, sent part of his army in to guard Falmouth, which was near Fredericksburg on November 14, 1862. Later on he sent the rest of his army in to help. The Union engineers built five bridges across the Rappahannock on December 11. On December 12, the Federal army crossed over and on December 13, Burnside led a series of assaults on Marye's Heights and Prospect Hill. These assaults resulted in many casualties. Meade who was on the Union side was dominating the battle for a short while, until Jackson launched a counterattack and drove them back. Two Confederate generals, Thomas R.R. Cobb and Maxey Gregg, were killed. Two Union generals, C. Feger Jackson and George Bayard, were also killed. Burnside finally called off the attack and crossed back over the river on December 15; thus, ending the campaign. In January of 1863, Burnside ordered another attack which did not work because of all the winter mud. This so called "Mud March" and other failures of Burnside led to General Joseph Hooker replacing him in the same month.

 

 

Battle Of Chancellorsville

The Federal Army of the Potomac was very happy under the command of General Joseph Hooker. He reorganized the army, and he wanted to attack Lee's army while Longstreet's division was in the Suffolk area. The Federal cavalry raided Lee's line of communications at Richmond. They believed that Lee would retreat, and Hooker was confident in his soldiers ability to defeat the Confederates as the were retreating. Hooker's cavalry and three army corps crossed Kelly's Ford on April 29, and after crossing they split up. The cavalry went west and the army corps went to Getmanna and Ely's fords. The next day they met up at Chancellorsville. In reaction to the rumors of the Federals in the Wilderness, Lee sent General Richard Anderson's division to investigate it. His division found the Northerners in the woods around Chancellorsville. The Confederate reinforcements under Stonewall Jackson tried to help block the Federals, but they did not arrive in time. The Confederates were not planning to retreat. After Hooker's division carried out what is considered the most daring march of the war, they rested at Chancellorsville. The Confederates went across Lee's front without being noticed, but the cavalry raid failed. Hooker's force was trapped in the Wilderness without any warning that Lee was coming.

 

 

Vicksburg

In May and June of 1863, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's armies converged on Vicksburg, overtaking a Confederate army under Lt. Gen. John Pemberton. On July 4, Vicksburg, after prolonged siege operations, surrendered. This brought together one of the most brilliant military campaigns of the war. Along with the loss of Pemberton's army the Confederacy lost a vital stronghold on the Mississippi. This split the Confederacy in half. The success of Grant in the West boosted his reputation and lead ultimately to his appointment as General-in-Chief of the Union armies.

 

 

Gettysburg

At the crossroads county seat of Gettysburg Gen. Robert E. Lee concentrated his full strength against Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Army of the Potomac. The Union defenders were driven back through the streets to the Cemetery Hill by the Confederate forces who converged on the town from west and north. During the night reinforcements arrived for both sides. Lee attempted to envelop the Federals on July 2, first striking the Union left flank at the Peach Orchard, Wheatfield, Devil's Den, and the Round Tops with Longstreet's and Hill's divisions, and then attacking the Union right at Culp's and East Cemetery Hill's and Ewell's divisions. By that evening, the Federals had retained Little Round Top and had repulsed most of Ewell's men. The Confederate infantry was driven from its last toe-hold on Culp's Hill during the morning of July 3. That afternoon, after a preliminary artillery bombardment, Lee attacked the Union center on Cemetery Ridge. The Pickett- Pettigrew assault (also known as, Pickett's Charge) momentarily pierced the Union line but was driven back with severe casualties. Stuart's Calvary attempted to gain the Union rear but was repulsed. Lee began withdrawing his army toward Williamsport on the Potomac River. His train of wounded stretched more than fourteen miles.

 

 

Cold Harbor

The thirty-first of May 1864, Sheridan and his cavalry took the crossroads of Old Cold Harbor. On June 1, Sheridan's troops once again attacked a confederate infantry after relying on their trenches and new repeating carbines. Later on that day the confederates received reinforcements from Richmond, and from the Totopotomoy Creek Lines. Also the same day Union troops VI and XVIII Corps reached Cold Harbor and attacked Confederate troops with success. By June the second both troops were on the field, forming a seven-mile front that extended From Bethesda Church to the Chickahominy River. June 3, Grant assaulted with II and XVIII Corps, and later followed by IX, at the Bethesda Church-Cold Harbor Line, and were slaughtered at all points. The siege lasted for 10 days before Grant advanced his left flank, marching to the James River. They ferried across the river at Wilcox's Landing and on June 15, the rest of the troops came to so they could go south of the river to threaten Petersburg.

 

 

Chickamauga

Rosecran was ready to renew his offense by driving the Confederates out of Chattanooga. In Early September 1863, Rosecran gathered his forces and from Tennessee and Georgia and Forced Bragg's army out of Chattanooga, going further south. Bragg was determined to get back to Chattanooga so he planned to defeat a part of Rosecran's army and then return to the city. Bragg was on his way to get to the XXI Corps and fight them, but they fought with Union cavalry, which had Spencer repeating rifles. The two armies clashed for a day and a half before the Union exploited one of Rosecran's mistakes and was able to push them back from the field. George Thomas left the field to the confederates and went back to Chattanooga.