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U.S. History Honors Unit 8: The Crisis of the Union 1 Major Battles of the Civil War 1861 Fort Sumter Dates: April 12-13 Location: Charleston Harbor, South Carolina Commanders: Maj. Robert Anderson (US); Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard (CS) Forces Engaged: US: 80; CS: est. 500 Casualties: none Victor: Confederacy Significance: Lincoln responded to the Confederate attack by calling up troops and establishing blockades of southern ports; four more southern states seceded as a result; generally considered the spark that started the Civil War Bull Run/Manassas Date: July 21 Location: Manassas, Virginia Commanders: Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell (US); Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston and Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard (CS) Forces Engaged: US: 28,450; CS: 32, 230 Casualties: 4,700 total (US: 2,950; CS: 1,750) Victor: Confederacy Significance: neither side was ready for battle – both armies were basically novice and untrained; Union troops were completely routed and fairly fled from the battlefield in chaos (weapons dropped, wagons overturned); prevented Union troops from advancing on Richmond (public pressure in the North encouraged “Forward to Richmond”); the loss taught Lincoln that victory would not be quick or easy – he signed a bill within four days of the battle that authorized the enlistment of 1 million men over three years; Gen. Thomas Jackson gained his nickname when Gen. Bee rallied the Confederate soldiers by saying, “look, there is Jackson standing like a stone wall – rally behind the Virginians” 1862 Fort Donelson Date: February 16 Location: western Tennessee Commanders: Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Flag-Officer A.H. Foote (US); Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd, Brig. Gen. Gideon Pillow, and Brig. Gen. Simon B. Buckner (CS) Forces Engaged: Army in the Field (US: 50,000); Fort Donelson Garrison (CS: 15,000) Casualties: 17,500 total (US: 2,500; CS: 15,000 [1,420 killed or wounded, the rest captured in surrender]) Victor: Union Significance: first Union success of the war; Tennessee was strategically important to the Union because of the two major water transportation routes in the Confederate west (the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers), the railroad that ran from Richmond to Memphis, and the pockets of Unionism that existed in eastern Tennessee (Lincoln thought that East Tennessee could become a new Union state if the North could capture it); the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers became Union highways for the movement of troops and material; opened up northern Tennessee for a Union advance up the rivers; ensured that Kentucky would stay Union; the first Confederate capital fell when Union troops arrived in Nashville on February 24 U.S. History Honors Unit 8: The Crisis of the Union 2 Pea Ridge Dates: March 7-8 Location: northwest Arkansas Commanders: Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis (US); Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn (CS) Forces Engaged: Army of the Southwest (US); Army of the West (CS) Casualties: 5,949 total (US: 1,349; CS: 4,600) Victor: Union Significance: gave the Union control of Missouri for the next two years Monitor vs. Merrimack (Virginia) Date: March 9 Location: off the coast of Virginia near the James River Forces Engaged: USS Monitor; CSS Virginia (the confiscated USS Merrimack) Casualties: two large Union ships sank, killing at least 240 soldiers Victor: not decisive (Union strategic victory) Significance: first battle of the ironclads – the era of the wooden naval ship was effectively over; the Monitor protected the Union navy and preserved the Union blockade of the James River Shiloh Dates: April 6-7 Location: near Pittsburg, Tennessee Commanders: Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell (US); Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston and Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard (CS) Forces Engaged: Army of the Tennessee and Army of the Ohio (US: 65,085); Army of the Mississippi (CS: 44,968) Casualties: 23,746 total (US: 13,047; CS: 10,699) Victor: Union Significance: bloodiest battle of the war and in American history up to that time; the nation was shocked by the number of dead and by the battle itself (the battle was larger than Waterloo had been); Grant himself also shocked – he “gave up all idea of saving the Union, except by complete conquest”; Confederate troops were forced to retreat into Mississippi; Johnston was killed in battle; ultimately proved to inflict a mortal wound on the Confederacy’s attempt to control the western theater: the North quickly captured the strategic town of Corinth, Mississippi, the river city of Memphis, and New Orleans New Orleans Dates: April 25-May 1 Location: New Orleans, Louisiana Commanders: Flag-Officer David G. Farragut and Maj. Gen. Benjamin Franklin Butler (US); Maj. Gen. Mansfield Lovell (CS) Forces Engaged: Department of the Gulf (US); Department No. 1 (CS) Casualties: none Victor: Union Significance: largest port and the second largest city in the Confederacy had fallen to the Union; New Orleans was considered an international city, the Union occupation of it was a major international event; almost all of the Mississippi valley was in Union hands U.S. History Honors Unit 8: The Crisis of the Union 3 Seven Days’ Battle Dates: June 25-July 1 Location: Virginia Commanders: Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan (US); Gen. Robert E. Lee (CS) Forces Engaged: Army of the Potomac (US: 140,000); Army of Northern Virginia (CS: 90,000) Casualties: 30,000 total (US: 10,000; CS: 20,000) Victor: Confederacy Significance: final battle of McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign; ended the Union threat on Richmond (Union forces bottled up in Harrison Landing) despite the Confederacy taking twice the casualties; the first time the war took on the modern element of warfare (daily battles, devastating losses); McClellan extremely disheartened by the outcome – did not want to see anymore of his men die (as he telegraphed Lincoln), thus he stayed put for the next month; Lee took confidence in this victory, in subsequent successes (Second Bull Run), and in McClellan’s generally cautious behavior to begin planning an invasion of the North (which would culminate in Antietam) Murfreesboro Date: July 13 Location: Murfreesboro, Tennessee Commanders: Brig. Gen. Thomas T. Crittenden (US); Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest (CS) Forces Engaged: US: 900; CS: 1,400 Casualties: 1,040 total (US: 890; CS: 150) Victor: Confederacy Significance: Confederate troops destroyed Union supplies and the major Union supply center on the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad after all Union units had surrendered to Forrest; diverted Union forces from a drive on Chattanooga; concentrated Confederate forces and made an invasion into Kentucky possible Second Bull Run/Second Manassas Dates: August 29-30 Location: Manassas, Virginia Commanders: Maj. Gen. John Pope (US); Gen. Robert E. Lee and Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson (CS) Forces Engaged: Army of the Potomac (US: 75,000); Army of Northern Virginia (CS: 55,000) Casualties: 25,251 total (US: 16,054; CS: 9,197) Victor: Confederacy Significance: Union troops sent back to Washington in retreat; Lincoln forced to put McClellan back into command (“If he can’t fight himself, he excels in making others ready to fight”); the Confederacy was able to protect supply lines through the Shenandoah Valley to Richmond; final encouragement for Lee to begin his push into northern soil Antietam/Sharpsburg Date: September 17 Location: Antietam Creek, Maryland Commanders: Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan (US); Gen. Robert E. Lee (CS) Forces Engaged: Army of the Potomac (US: 90,000); Army of Northern Virginia (CS: 50,000) Casualties: 23,500 total (US: 12,500; CS: 11,000) Victor: not decisive (Union strategic victory) Significance: bloodiest single day of the war and in American military history; the war could have ended that day had McClellan recognized that he faced a much smaller army and had attacked with his unused forces (40,000 men); Confederates held off a much larger force, yet ultimately withdrew, ending Lee’s attempted invasion of the North; spurred Lincoln to issue a preliminary emancipation of the slaves U.S. History Honors Unit 8: The Crisis of the Union 4 Perryville Date: October 8 Location: Perryville, Kentucky Commanders: Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell (US); Gen. Braxton Bragg (CS) Forces Engaged: Army of the Ohio (US: 58,000); Army of the Mississippi (CS: 30,000) Casualties: 7,407 total (US: 4,211; CS: 3,196) Victor: non decisive (Union strategic victory) Significance: marked the end of Bragg’s Kentucky Campaign; was the last time the Confederacy engaged in an offensive campaign in the west; the battle once again exhibited the indecisive and tactically poor nature of Union commanders – Buell did not take advantage of his superior numbers (he kept half of his force in reserves while the rest of the men were fighting for their lives) – and the poor training of Union soldiers (many of the troops were so green, they did not know how to aim the artillery properly); Bragg also suffered from indecision and mismanagement of his forces Fredericksburg Date: December 11-15 Location: Fredericksburg, Virginia Commanders: Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside (US); Gen. Robert E. Lee (CS) Forces Engaged: Army of the Potomac (US: 122,000); Army of Northern Virginia (CS: 78,500) Casualties: 17,929 total (US: 13,353; CS: 4,576) Victor: Confederacy Significance: one of the worst Union defeats of the war; Union forces were able to secure the town, but not the heights above; seven separate Union assaults of Marye’s Heights above the Rappahannock River were halted with staggering Union casualties; Union forces were forced to withdraw from yet another attempt on Richmond; military struggle in the east had reached stalemate 1863 Chancellorsville Dates: May 1-4 Location: Chancellorsville, Virginia Commanders: Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker (US); Gen. Robert E. Lee and Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson (CS) Forces Engaged: Army of the Potomac (US: 133,868); Army of Northern Virginia (CS: 60,892) Casualties: 30,099 total (US: 17,278; CS: 12,821) Victor: Confederacy Significance: Union forces exhibited poor leadership and general incompetence (stopped in Chancellorsville against Hooker’s orders, Hooker himself lost his nerve and withdrew rather than advance, no preparations were made when it was clear that Jackson was going to attack the flank); Confederacy was once again able to best a force twice its size, largely due to Lee’s superior leadership; Stonewall Jackson was killed by friendly fire U.S. History Honors Unit 8: The Crisis of the Union 5 Vicksburg Dates: May 22-July 4 Location: Vicksburg, Mississippi Commanders: Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (US); Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton (CS) Forces Engaged: Army of the Tennessee (US); Army of Vicksburg (CS) Casualties: 19,233 total (US: 10,142; CS: 9,091) Victor: Union Significance: the culmination of one of the most successful Union campaigns of the entire war; Confederate surrender of its “Gibraltar of the West” and, a few days later, of Fort Hudson, the only other point the South controlled on the Mississippi (which surrendered upon hearing of the loss at Vicksburg), put the river entirely within Union control Gettysburg Dates: July 1-4 Location: near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Commanders: Maj. Gen. George G. Meade (US); Gen. Robert E. Lee (CS) Forces Engaged: Army of the Potomac (US: 83,289); Army of Northern Virginia (CS: 75,054) Casualties: 51,112 total (US: 23,049; CS: 28,063) Victor: Union Significance: Lee was concerned that time was not working in the favor of the South (the Confederacy’s resources and men were diminishing in a greater proportion to the Union), thus he decided it was the time for a daring troop movement that would bring about a decisive battle; Confederate efforts hindered by a lack of intelligence (Lee was cut off from his cavalry led by J.E.B. Stuart); the tide of the battle shifted over the course of the three days (on the 1st day, Confederate troops forced the Union forces to retreat; on the 2nd day, the Union army succeeded in repulsing Confederate attacks on Cemetery Ridge and surrounding hills; on the 3rd day, the Confederate charge was overwhelmed by superior Union firepower); the 3rd day of the battle saw the largest Confederate artillery attack of the war; the last time that the Confederacy attempted to fight a major battle on Union soil; Lee lost 33% of his army; often seen as the turning point of the war Chickamauga Dates: September 16-20 Location: Chickamauga, Georgia Commanders: Maj. Gen. William S. Rosencrans and Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas (US); Gen. Braxton Bragg and Lt. Gen. James Longstreet (CS) Forces Engaged: Army of the Cumberland (US: 58,222); Army of Tennessee (CS: 66,326) Casualties: 34,624 total (US: 16,170; CS: 18,454) Victor: Confederacy Significance: bloodiest battle of the western theater; Longstreet and his reinforcements broke through the Union lines, forcing the Union army to retreat to Chattanooga; Thomas’ last ditch defense, which allowed an orderly Union withdrawal, earned him the nickname “Rock of Chickamauga” U.S. History Honors Unit 8: The Crisis of the Union 6 Chattanooga Dates: November 23-25 Location: Chattanooga, Tennessee Commanders: Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (US); Gen. Braxton Bragg (CS) Forces Engaged: Military Division of the Mississippi (US); Army of Tennessee (CS) Casualties: 12,485 total (US: 5,815; CS: 6,670) Victor: Union Significance: in order to break the Confederate siege on Chattanooga, Lincoln ordered 20,000 reinforcements from the Army of the Potomac to Chattanooga (they arrived in 11 days – the longest and fastest troop movement of the 19th century) and appointed Grant as commander of all Union troops west of the Alleghenies (Sherman became the commander of the western armies); Grant reestablished supply lines to Chattanooga; Gen. Thomas’ assault on the center of the Confederate line succeeded against expectations (it had only been intended to relieve the pressure on Union forces at the end of the line) and against orders (the Union troops, shouting “Chickamauga! Chickamauga!” rushed up Missionary Ridge without orders, surprising their commanders and the Confederates); the attack caused the Confederate forces to fall back in disarray; the Confederate troops fell back to Atlanta; Bragg was replaced by Gen. Johnston 1864 Wilderness Dates: May 5-7 Location: northern Virginia Commanders: Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade (US); Gen. Robert E. Lee (CS) Forces Engaged: Army of the Potomac (US: 101,895); Army of Northern Virginia (CS: 61,025) Casualties: 29,800 total (US: 18,400; CS: 11,400) Victor: not decisive Significance: opening battle of Grant’s sustained offensive against the Army of Northern Virginia (known as the Overland Campaign); the battle was a tactical draw: though the Confederacy caused more casualties, Grant continued his offensive; Grant changed the usual Union practice in the face of defeat: rather than falling back to reorganize, he “moved to his left” toward Spotsylvania Courthouse and continued to attack (the Union troops cheered when they realized that Grant would not retreat) Spotsylvania Court House Dates: May 7-19 Location: Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia Commanders: Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade (US); Gen. Robert E. Lee (CS) Forces Engaged: Army of the Potomac (US: 100,000); Army of Northern Virginia (CS: 52,000) Casualties: 30,000 total (US: 18,000; CS: 12,000) Victor: not decisive Significance: the Confederacy once again caused significant casualties for the Union, yet Grant kept moving; Grant and Lee next met up at North Anna River and then Cold Harbor; in delaying Grant for two weeks, Lee permitted other Confederate forces to resist Union forces near Richmond and in the Shenandoah Valley without having to deal with the Army of the Potomac U.S. History Honors Unit 8: The Crisis of the Union 7 Cold Harbor Date: June 3 Location: Virginia Commanders: Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade (US); Gen. Robert E. Lee (CS) Forces Engaged: Army of the Potomac (US: 108,000); Army of Northern Virginia (CS: 62,000) Casualties: 15,500 total (US: 13,000; CS: 2,500) Victor: Confederacy Significance: Grant ordered an assault that became the worst charge of the war – 7,000 Union men were killed in an hour; Grant commented in his memoirs that it was the only attack he wished he had never ordered; rather than continue to confront Confederate lines in open battle, Grant advanced on his left flank, crossed the James River, and, avoiding the well-defended approaches to Richmond, headed to Petersburg Siege of Petersburg Dates: June 20, 1864-April 2, 1865 Location: Petersburg, Virginia Commanders: Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade (US); Gen. Robert E. Lee (CS) Forces Engaged: Army of the Potomac (US: average 83,000); Army of Northern Virginia (CS: average 52,000) Casualties: 85,386 total (US: 53,386; CS: 32,000) Victor: Union Significance: the prolonged nature of the siege made it clear that the war was not going to be won in Virginia in the summer of 1864; this fact had the potential to have significant political implications – the presidential election was coming up; Confederate forces dwindled throughout the siege due to significant desertions (almost half deserted and went home during the siege) and casualties from daily shelling (the Union casualties were replaceable – Union railroad lines ran right behind their trenches); the Confederate army was forced to withdraw from Petersburg as Sherman approached and ultimately Richmond (Lee, who never believed that he could win the siege, had known from the start that if Petersburg fell, Richmond was doomed) Kennesaw Mountain Date: June 27 Location: Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia Commanders: Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman (US); Gen. Joseph E. Johnston (CS) Forces Engaged: Military Division of the Mississippi (US); Army of Tennessee (CS) Casualties: 4,000 total (US: 3,000; CS: 1,000) Victor: Confederacy Significance: the first time that Sherman’s forces suffered higher casualties than those of the Confederacy – a frustrated Sherman had ordered a series of fruitless attacks on entrenched Confederate positions; Sherman returned to his flanking maneuvers and learned not to engage in a frontal assault for the rest of his journey to Atlanta; Johnston was replaced by Hood after his failure to stop Sherman’s advance U.S. History Honors Unit 8: The Crisis of the Union 8 Atlanta Date: September 2 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Commanders: Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman (US); Gen. John Bell Hood (CS) Forces Engaged: Military Division of the Mississippi (US); Army of Tennessee (CS) Casualties: 12,140 total (US: 3,641; CS: 8,499) Victor: Union Significance: the culmination of a month-long siege by Sherman; another Confederate capital, this one considered to be the heart of the South, taken by the Union; seen by the North as the some of the greatest news of the war: boosted the morale of the North and the Union army (which ultimately helped Lincoln’s reelection campaign) – the end was in sight for the first time; Hood retreated to Tennessee; Sherman began his march to the sea, destroying a 300 mile long, 60 mile wide swath across Georgia as he moved to Savannah (arrived there on December 20) Franklin Date: November 30 Location: Franklin, Tennessee Commanders: Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield (US); Gen. John Bell Hood (CS) Forces Engaged: IV and XXIII Army Corps [Army of the Ohio and Cumberland] (US); Army of Tennessee (CS) Casualties: 8,587 total (US: 2,326; CS: 6,261) Victor: Union Significance: Hood attempted to significantly hurt the Union army after failing to do so in the previous battle of the Franklin-Nashville Campaign; Union troops were able to use defensive works that had been built by the Yankees in the spring of 1863; Union troops held against a Confederate frontal attack, but frightening casualties occurred on both sides (including six Confederate generals who were dead or had mortal wounds); Hood’s army crawled back toward Nashville and Union forces were able to continue their march to Nashville Nashville Dates: December 15-16 Location: Nashville, Tennessee Commanders: Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas (US); Gen. John Bell Hood (CS) Forces Engaged: IV and XXIII Army Corps [Army of the Ohio and Cumberland], Detachment of Army of the Tennessee (US: 49,000); Army of Tennessee (CS: 31,000) Casualties: 15,140 total (US: 2,140; CS: 13,000) Victor: Union Significance: the Confederacy failed in its last, desperate bid to force Sherman’s army out of Georgia; Thomas succeeded in his intention to destroy Hood’s army – the Army of Tennessee ceased to exist as a fighting unit after its defeat; Hood retreated to Tupelo and resigned his command U.S. History Honors Unit 8: The Crisis of the Union 9 1865 Appomattox Court House Date: April 9 Location: Appomattox County, Virginia Commanders: Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (US); Gen. Robert E. Lee (CS) Forces Engaged: Army of the Potomac and Army of the James (US); Army of Northern Virginia (CS) Casualties: 700 total (US: 260; CS: 440 [27,805 Confederate soldiers paroled]) Victor: Union Significance: Lee’s final attempt at escape was stopped by the arrival of the Union infantry; Lee was forced to surrender – Richmond had fallen (Lincoln toured it on April 4), his troops were hungry, and they were badly outnumbered; effectively ended the Civil War (though Gen. Johnston in North Carolina did not surrender until April 26, the CSS Shenandoah fired its guns in defense of the Confederacy for a final time on June 22 in the Artic Ocean and continued to sail until November 6, and Gen. Stand Watie, commander of the Confederate Cherokees in Indian Territory, was the last Confederate general to surrender on June 23); Lee and Grant met again on April 10 and Lee requested that his men be given evidence that they were paroled prisoners to protect them against arrest or harassment; Andrew Johnson proclaimed that “the rebellion on land is at an end” on May 9