Civil War Battles

Battle and location Date Significance

Sumter April 12,  Fort Sumter was cut off from vital supplies and
 Battle of Fort Sumter 1861 reinforcements
 Charleston harbor, S.  The Buchanan administration just ignored this situation
Carolina federal fort
 Pres. Buchanan stated secession is illegal but denied that
US gov had authority to restore Union by force= for
South this meant Union recognized as Confederate
 When Lincoln president, he said he would send food to
the fort- thus gave choice of either permitting the fort
out or opening fire with its shore batteries
 But, Pres Davis wanted a military confrontation to win
support of middle and border south so demanded
surrender of fort
 Southerners attacked = war begins on April 12, 1861

1st Manassas (Bull Run) July 1861  first major battle of war, General McDowell and 30,000
 First Battle of Bull Run troops marched from D.C. to attack C! at Bull Run
 Bull Run Creek at Manassas Creek
Junction, Virginia  the Union seem to win but General Thomas Jackson
counterattacked made them retreat
 Union troops: disorganized, panic, inexperienced
 battle short, myth: C! are invincible
 demonstrate war will be long and hard, greater effort
needed

Fort Donelson Feb 6,  Grant realized that the Forts Henry and Donelson which
 Forts Henry and Donelson 1862 guarded the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers in
 Tennessee northern Tennessee= weak points of C! lines
 Grant’s troop surrounded the fort- forced surrender
 Help north have access to the rivers and made General
Grant a military leader

Monitor vs. Merrimac March 8,  The first battle between two steam powered "ironclad"
 The Battle Of Hampton 1862 ships
Roads  considered one of the most important naval battle
 Hampton Road, Virginia
 C!-C.S.S. Virginia : built on the hull of abandoned
Union frigate Merrimac
 protected from canon fire by iron plates bolted over
wooden sides – destroyed 2 Union wooden ship till
Monitor came
 Union- U.S.S Monitor soon came to aid their ships
 the battle went in a stand still and the two shi[s returned
to their respective resting place
 Eur navies all changed their ships and technology was
more modernized

Shiloh April 6,  Confederate army led by Albert Sidney Johnston and

 near small log church named 1862 PGT Beauregard and General Grant caught each
 Shiloh other by surprise- Grant ensued battle until C!
 Battle of Shiloh withdrew
 The cost in the lives were high but Abraham Lincoln was
pleased “generals who will fight battles and win
victories”

Peninsula Campaign March  General George B. McClellan, insisted his army

 Virginia 1862 train before battle- tested Lincoln’s patience
 McClellan invaded but was stopped by great
tactical skill from Robert E. Lee
 five months Union forced to retreat and back to
Potomac; replace by General John Pope

Battle Date Significance

New Orleans  Fort Jackson and Phillip were thought to be
 Fort Jackson and Fort Phillip April 24 impenetrable
 Mississippi River 1862
 On April 18th 1862 the mortar boats opened fire
 Porter, convinced he could destroy the forts in two
days unable to disable the guns
 The fleet 17 warships.
 2 AM Farragut ordered the fleet forward and
annihilated.
 New Orleans, the South's largest port and second
largest city was forced to surrender.

2nd Manassas (Bull Run) August 28, • Lee took advantage of the change of commanders in
• Northern Virginia 1862 Union by quickly attacking Pope's army
• Lee lured the union army into a trap, and struck the
side of the army
• sent union army back to Bull Run and withdrew to
Washington D.C.

Antietam September • Lee followed victory from Bull Run, and entered into
• The Battle of Antietam 17, 1862 Maryland
• Antietam Creek, Maryland • but McClellan knew C! Battle plan and intercepted
town of Sharpsburg them at Shiloh and Lee retreated to Virginia
• single bloodiest battle in history
• Lincoln said the victory was union's victory but he
was very upset that McClellan did not fight hard
enough
• decisive battle for Union- stopped C! From getting
recognition and aid from foreign power
• Lincoln used this battle for Emancipation Procl.

Fredericksburg December • Lincoln replaced McClellan with Ambrose Burnside-

• Fredericksburg, Virginia 1862 reckless attacks worse consequence than McClellan
cautious attack
• Burnside attacked Lee at Fredericksburg an suffered
immense losses: 12,000 dead to C! 5,000 casualties
• b/ union and C! Slow to learn of improved weaponry-
took romance out entrenched position
• no prospect of military victory or either side

Chancellorsville April 1863  General Ambrose Burnside replaced w/Joseph

  Spotsylvania County, Virginia Hooker.
 The Battle of Chancellorsville  Hooker reorganize the Army of the Potomac,
 April 1863, launch attack on Confederate forces. One
army crossed the Rappahannock south of
Fredericksburg, the other crossed the river 12 miles to
the north.
 ordered an end to the advance/partial withdrawal
 Lee reorganizes for the side attack line for Union
 Hooker was forced to withdraw from the South side of
the Rappahannock– both in the North and in the
South,
 Lee's "perfect battle" because of his risky but
successful division of his army in the presence of a
much larger enemy force
Battle Date Significance
Vicksburg Spring of • General Grant mounted offensive in the West designed
• Battle of Vicksburg 1863 to split the C! In half
• Vicksburg, Mississippi • Grant drove down the Mississippi and across the river
near Vicksburg
• having been unable to defeat the army forces, Grant
chose to circle e city and wait for starvation
• C! forces surrendered on July 4, 1863
• one of the most important battle: most important
Union victory
• gave Union control of Mississippi River and split C!
In half
• promoted Grant to Commander in Chief

Gettysburg July 1-3

 the largest number of casualties in the American Civil
War= war's turning point
Day 1: 1863
 Gettysburg, Pennsylvania  Union win- stops Lee attack on North
 First Day Battle of Gettysburg  July 1, 1863, Lee concentrated his forces there
Day 2:  Union was reinforced with troops but C! assaulted
 Little Round Top them from the northwest and north=collapse Union
 Culp’s Hill lines,
 Cemetery’s Hill
 Second Day Battle of  On the second day of battle, Union line defensive hook
Gettysburg like
Day 3:  Lee attack Union left flank= fighting at Little Round
 Cemetery Ridge Top, the Wheatfield, Devil's Den, and the Peach
 Culp’s Hill Orchard= but the Union defenders held their lines.
 On the third day of battle, assault by 12,500
Confederates in center of Union line =Pickett's Charge.
 Lee led his army retreat back to Virginia.
 November, President Lincoln dedicated the battle for
the Gettysburg National Cemetery to honor the fallen
 show his purpose of the war in Gettysburg Address.

Chattanooga October,  important manufacturing center for the production of

 Chattanooga campaign November iron and coke
 Third Battle of Chattanooga 1863  help siege of Chattanooga, Lincoln: ordered 20,000
 Chattanooga, Tennessee reinforcements from the Army of the Potomac to
Chattanooga, appointed U.S. Grant as commander of
 Union troops west .
 General Hooker, captured Lookout Mountain.
 next day General Thomas broke through the center of
the Confederate= C! retreat.
 Confederates began a siege of Union occupied
Chattanooga- for union reinforcing Chattanooga its
highest priority.
 troops from Army of the Potomac= used railroads and
moved 20,000 men with all equipment in eleven days.
 It was the longest and fastest movement of troops in
the 19th century.
 Grant's first goal-open the supply route into
Chattanooga- combined with troops from Chattanooga
to seize the crossings of the Tennessee River near the
Raccoon Mountains or Cracker line=get regular
rations.
 also C! army was in conflict and many quitted
 Grant’s plan called attack on both flanks of the
Confederate lines, while using Thomas's recently
defeated forces as merely a feint in the center.
 Nov 24 Hooker's forces assaulted Lookout mountain
W/ small casualties ( less than 500) Hookers forces
successfully ascended Lookout mountain.
 Sherman forces harder time -make a limited assault in
the center to relieve some of the pressure on Sherman.
 Union soldiers just marched in front of C! lines w/o
orders= surprised generals = chaos
 a few minutes all of the Confederate positions were
overrun
 Missionary Ridge was in Union hands.

the Wilderness May-June  beginning of the end of the civil war

 Forty Days Campaign 1864  General Banks campaign to Louisiana's Red River and
 Virginia reach Shreveport had ships to support him
 April 8th, Bank attack by C! at Sabine Crossroads-
Union troops were forced to retreat.
 The next day, Taylor come back w/ Pleasant Hill had
to withdraw. T
 problem: Red River water dropped Porter's fleet was
stranded above the rapids at Alexandria.
 led to the building of a series of dams

Cold Harbor May 31,  1864 the Army of the Potomac formed near Cold
 Battle of Cold Harbor 1864 Harbor the old battleground of McClellan and Robert
 central Virginia E. Lee in June, 1862.
 It was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War for
the Union.
 Thousands died in a frontal assault on = no advantage
from the battle.
 On May 31, Sheridan’s army seized crossroads of Old
Cold Harbor.
 C! help arrived from Richmond late on June 1, Union
Corps reached Cold Harbor and assaulted the
 Confederate works with some success.
 By June 2, both armies form a seven-mile front
 June 3, union was slaughtered at all points.
 Grant sought to shift his army quickly south of the
river to threaten Petersburg.

Petersburg June 9,  On June 9, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler dispatched

 Petersburg 1864 army at 2,500 Confederate defenders of Petersburg.
 First Battle of Petersburg  he retreated and failed to get Petersburg
 Battle of Old Men and Young June 15
Boys 1864  Marching from Cold Harbor, Meade’s Army of the
 Second Battle of Petersburg Potomac crossed the James River on transports and
 Assault of Petersburg bridge
 June 15 attack C! and C! driven to Harrison Creek.
 June 16, II Corps capture section of the Confederate
line; 17th, the IX Corps gained more
 .Beauregard stripped the Howlett Line= Lee rushed to
Petersburg= Union attacked with heavy casualties.
 C! heavily manned and siege Petersburg
 Union Gen. James St. Clair Morton, chief engineer of
the IX Corps, was killed on June 17.
 used a lot of trench warfare

Mobile Bay August 2-  Union force wanted to blockade Mobile Bay to.
 Passing of Forts Morgan and 23, 1864  Some on Dauphin Island and laid siege to Fort Gaines.
Gaines
 Battle of Mobile Bay  August 5, Farragut’s eighteen ships entered Mobile
 Mobile County and Baldwin Bay = fire from Forts Gaines and Morgan and other
County points.
 After passing the forts, Farragut forced C! naval forces,
to surrender=closed Mobile Bay.
 August 23, Fort Morgan, fell shut down port= city,
remained uncaptured
 closure was the final step in completing the blockade
in that region.
 This Union victory, together with the capture of
Atlanta, was a significant boost for Abraham Lincoln's
bid for re-election.

Sherman’s March November  1864, General William Sherman left on a campaign of

 Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia 12- destruction across Georgia
December  advocated total war= destroy everything, burned
22, 1864 everything cotton fields, barns, houses- anything
enemy uses to survive
 He was able to strike in the heart of the Confederacy.
 help break the will of Confederacy and destroy will to
fight on

Richmond August  Rebel cavalry, while moving north from Big Hill on
 Battle of Richmond 29-30, the road to Richmond, Kentucky, on August 29,
 Richmond, Kentucky 1862 encountered Union troopers and C! retreat to Big Hill
 Brig. Gen. Mahlon D. Manson, who commanded
Union forces, ordered a brigade to march to
 Rogersville, toward the Rebels.
 The Union and C! forces fought attacking all sides
 C! captured 4,000 Union
 The way to north was open.

Appomattox Courthouse April 9,  Early on April 9, John Brown Gordon’s troops and
 Appomattox County, Virginia 1865 Lee’s forces formed at Appomattox Court House.
 Battle of Appomattox  Gen. Robert E. Lee determined to escape the closing
Union pincers and reach his supplies
 C! cautiously moved but Union, stopped the advance
in its tracks.
 Lee’s army was now surrounded on three sides.
 Lee surrendered to Grant on April 9.
 Grant gave fair and respectable negotiations to Lee and
agreed to surrender and signed agreement
 final major fight of the Civil War.
 General Lee surrendered to General Grant and the
American Civil War came to an end.