background preloader

Civil War Battles

Facebook Twitter

The Battle of Bull Run (1st Manassas) Official Records and Battle Description. 400px-First_Bull_Run_July21_1600. First Battle of Bull Run. The First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas (the name used by Confederate forces), was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the city of Manassas, not far from Washington, D.C.

First Battle of Bull Run

It was the first major land battle of the American Civil War. The Union forces were slow in positioning themselves, allowing Confederate reinforcements time to arrive by rail. Battle Summary: Antietam, MD. 300px-Antietam0900. Mcclellan-sm. Burnside-portrait. Sunken-road-antietam. Dunker-church-antietam. Battle of Antietam. The Battle of Antietam /ænˈtiːtəm/ also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the South, fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Union soil.

Battle of Antietam

It is the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with a combined tally of dead, wounded, and missing at 22,717.[4] Despite having superiority of numbers, McClellan's attacks failed to achieve force concentration, allowing Lee to counter by shifting forces and moving interior lines to meet each challenge.

Despite ample reserve forces that could have been deployed to exploit localized successes, McClellan failed to destroy Lee's army. McClellan had halted Lee's invasion of Maryland, but Lee was able to withdraw his army back to Virginia without interference from the cautious McClellan. Background and the Maryland Campaign[edit] Maryland Campaign, actions September 3 to 15, 1862. Confederate. Battle of Chancellorsville. The Chancellorsville Campaign began with the crossing of the Rappahannock River by the Union army on the morning of April 27, 1863.

Battle of Chancellorsville

Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. George Stoneman began a long distance raid against Lee's supply lines at about the same time. This operation was completely ineffectual. Crossing the Rapidan River via Germanna and Ely's Fords, the Federal infantry concentrated near Chancellorsville on April 30. 200px-Stonewall_Jackson. Battle Summary: Fort Sumter, SC. Fort Sumter. Construction[edit] Named after General Thomas Sumter, Revolutionary War hero, Fort Sumter was built following the War of 1812, as one of a series of fortifications on the southern U.S. coast.

Fort Sumter

Construction began in 1829,[6] and the structure was still unfinished in 1861, when the Civil War began. Seventy thousand tons of granite were imported from New England to build up a sand bar in the entrance to Charleston Harbor, which the site dominates. The fort was a five-sided brick structure, 170 to 190 feet (52 to 58 m) long, with walls five-foot thick (1.5 m), standing 50 feet (15.2 m) over the low tide mark. It was designed to house 650 men and 135 guns in three tiers of gun emplacements, although it was never filled near its full capacity. Civil War[edit] First Battle of Fort Sumter[edit] On Thursday, April 11, 1861, Beauregard sent three aides, Colonel James Chesnut, Jr., Captain Stephen D. The Fort Sumter Flag became a popular patriotic symbol after Major Anderson returned North with it. Battle of Shiloh. Reinforcements from Buell and from Grant's own army arrived in the evening and turned the tide the next morning, when the Union commanders launched a counterattack along the entire line.

Battle of Shiloh

The Confederates were forced to retreat from the bloodiest battle in United States history up to that time, ending their hopes that they could block the Union advance into northern Mississippi. Background and opposing forces[edit] Battle Summary: Shiloh, TN. Ulysses S. Grant. Ulysses S.

Ulysses S. Grant

Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States (1869–1877) following his success as military commander in the American Civil War. Under Grant, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military; the war, and secession, ended with the surrender of Robert E. Lee's army at Appomattox Court House. As president, Grant led the Radical Republicans in their effort to eliminate vestiges of Confederate nationalism and slavery, protect African American citizenship, and defeat the Ku Klux Klan. In foreign policy, Grant sought to increase American trade and influence, while remaining at peace with the world.

A career soldier, Grant graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and served in the Mexican–American War. After the Civil War, Grant served two terms as president and worked to stabilize the nation during the turbulent Reconstruction period that followed. Early life and family 2nd Lt U.S. Civilian life. 250px-USGrant. American%20Civil%20War. Civil War Ironclads.

Ironclads_battle_10. The H. L. Hunley Story. Battle of Fredericksburg. Burnside's plan was to cross the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg in mid-November and race to the Confederate capital of Richmond before Lee's army could stop him.

Battle of Fredericksburg

Bureaucratic delays prevented Burnside from receiving the necessary pontoon bridges in time and Lee moved his army to block the crossings. When the Union army was finally able to build its bridges and cross under fire, urban combat resulted in the city on December 11–12. Union troops prepared to assault Confederate defensive positions south of the city and on a strongly fortified ridge just west of the city known as Marye's Heights. Battle Summary: Fredericksburg I, VA.