Download Civil War Battles

The Civil War
(1861-1865)
Battles of the Civil War
First Bull Run: July 21, 1861,
or the Battle of Manassas
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Union: General Irvin McDowell
Confederate: General PGT Beauregard
Obj: Manassas, VA, railroad junction
Confederate: General Jackson’s “Stonewall
Defense”
• Union loss
• Pres. Lincoln places George McClellan in
charge of Union forces
• What are casualties?
Tactics and Technology
• Still fought in the European fashion:
overwhelming the enemy with massive charge of
troops
• Cannons and muskets not accurate
• New rifles accurate up to 500 yards (that’s 5
football fields!!)
• New bullets with angled head, spiraled barrels
• What are shells and canisters?
Fort Henry Feb. 6, 1862
Fort Donelson Feb. 16, 1862
• Tennessee
• Union: General Ulysses S. Grant
• Obj:Cumberland and Tenn. Rivers=access
to western Confederacy
• Steampowered gunboats shell the forts into
submission
• Grant captures both forts by mid-February
Battle of Shiloh
April 6-7, 1862
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Union: Gen. Grant
South: Gen. Albert S. Johnston
Obj: Corinth, MS, railroad center
USG: “Retreat? No, I propose to attack at
daylight and whip them.”
• Casualties: N-13,000; S-11,000
• Union win
Capture of New Orleans
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April 25, 1862
Naval commander David Farragut
Union win
Why is this significant to the Union war
effort?
Battle of Seven Pines
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Near Richmond
Union victory
Death of Confederate Joseph Johnston
Robert E. Lee now in command
Capture of Memphis June 6,
1862 Union
Battle of Seven Days June 25July 1, 1862
• CSA win
• Gen. Lee split his forces here in a risky
move to “outflank” his enemy
• This would be a tactic that Lee would use
throughout the war
Second Bull Run Aug. 29-30,
1862
• CSA victory
Battle of Antietam Sept.17, 1862
Union
• Single bloodiest day
of the war
– 12,000 casualties in
the 1st 3 hours of battle
• One of the only
battles in Union
territory (Maryland,
border state)
• Denied REL a victory
on Union soil
Battle of Fredericksburg
12/13/1862 CSA
• Ambrose Burnside vs.
Robert E. Lee
• Gen. Burnside lost
13,000 troops against
REL
• “sideburns”
Battle of Murfreesboro Dec.31,
1862-Jan.2, 1863
• Tennessee
• Union win
mid-April 1863 Union capture
Jackson ,MS
Battle of Chancellorsville
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Hooker vs. Stonewall, Stuart, and Lee
Lee flanks again
Stonewall killed by friendly fire after battle
May 1, 1863
Battle of Gettysburg
• July 1-3, 1863
• Meade win vs. Lee, Longstreet, Pickett
• Pickett’s fateful “charge” of Cemetary
Ridge
Vicksburg
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Grant vs. Pemberton
Siege lasts from late May to July
Pemberton surrender July 4, 1863
Turning Point along with Gettysburg
– Joyous July 4th for the Union
– They have successfully split the Confederacy in two
(control of Miss. River-Vicksburg) and denied REL a
much-needed victory on Union soil
Sherman’s
“March
to the
Sea”
through
Georgia,
1864
The Fall of Richmond
• Lee told Davis the
capital was in danger
• Davis ordered
evacuation
• Union forces took
Richmond
• Lincoln toured the city
soon after
The remains of buildings after the
Union invasion, April 1865
Surrender at Appomattox
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Lee realized his position was hopeless
Asked to meet with Grant
Met in Appomattox on April 9, 1865
Lenient surrender terms
An artist’s
rendition of the
meeting
Impact of the War
Freedmen disinter bodies of soldiers killed at
Cold Harbor for reburial after the war
Impact of the War: the Union
• 111,000 killed in action
• 250,000 killed by non-military causes (mostly
disease)
• Over 275,000 wounded
• Estimated cost in today’s dollars: $6.19 billion
Union dead at
Gettysburg
Impact of the War:
the Confederacy
• 93,000 killed in
battle
• 165,000 killed by
non-military
causes
• Over 137,000
wounded
• Estimated cost in
today’s dollars:
$2.10 billion
Destruction in Atlanta after Sherman’s
troops took the city
Discussion Questions
1. Why did Grant’s “total war” policy meet with
resistance even in the North? Do you think the
policy was a good idea? Why?
2. How did Grant and Sherman’s military
campaigns help Lincoln win reelection in 1864?