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The American
Civil War, Civil War Battles
Edited by: Robert Guisepi
2002
Fort Sumter,
April 12-14, 1861 Casualties = 0
On April 10, 1861,
Brig. Gen. Beauregard, in command of the provisional
Confederate forces at Charleston, South Carolina,
demanded the surrender of the Union garrison of Fort
Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Garrison commander Anderson
refused. On April 12, Confederate batteries opened fire
on the fort, which was unable to reply effectively. At
2:30 pm, April 13, Major Anderson surrendered Fort
Sumter, evacuating the garrison on the following day.
The bombardment of Fort Sumter was the opening
engagement of the American Civil War. Although there
were no casualties during the bombardment, one Union
artillerist was killed and three wounded (one mortally)
when a cannon exploded prematurely while firing a salute
during the evacuation on April 14.
Bull Run,
July 21, 1861 Casualties = 4,700
This was the first
major land battle of the armies in Virginia. On July 16,
1861, the untried Union army under Brig. Gen. Irvin
McDowell marched from Washington against the Confederate
army, which was drawn up behind Bull Run beyond
Centreville. On the 21st, McDowell crossed at Sudley
Ford and attacked the Confederate left flank on Matthews
Hill. Fighting raged throughout the day as Confederate
forces were driven back to Henry Hill. Late in the
afternoon, Confederate reinforcements (one brigade
arriving by rail from the Shenandoah Valley) extended
and broke the Union right flank. The Federal retreat
rapidly deteriorated into a rout. Although victorious,
Confederate forces were too disorganized to pursue.
Confederate Gen. Bee and Col. Bartow were killed. Thomas
J. Jackson earned the nom de guerre "Stonewall." By July
22, the shattered Union army reached the safety of
Washington. This battle convinced the Lincoln
administration that the war would be a long and costly
affair. McDowell was relieved of command of the Union
army and replaced by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, who
set about reorganizing and training the troops.
Shiloh,
April 6-7, 1862 Casualties = 23,746
As a result of the
fall of Forts Henry and Donelson, Confederate Gen.
Albert Sidney Johnston, the commander in the area, was
forced to fall back, giving up Kentucky and much of West
and Middle Tennessee. He chose Corinth, Mississippi, a
major transportation center, as the staging area for an
offensive against Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his
Army of the Tennessee before the Army of the Ohio, under
Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell, could join it. The
Confederate retrenchment was a surprise, although a
pleasant one, to the Union forces, and it took Grant,
with about 40,000 men, some time to mount a southern
offensive, along the Tennessee River, toward Pittsburg
Landing. Grant received orders to await Buell’s Army of
the Ohio at Pittsburg Landing. Grant did not choose to
fortify his position; rather, he set about drilling his
men many of which were raw recruits. Johnston originally
planned to attack Grant on April 4, but delays postponed
it until the 6th. Attacking the Union troops on the
morning of the 6th, the Confederates surprised them,
routing many. Some Federals made determined stands and
by afternoon, they had established a battle line at the
sunken road, known as the "Hornets Nest." Repeated Rebel
attacks failed to carry the Hornets Nest, but massed
artillery helped to turn the tide as Confederates
surrounded the Union troops and captured, killed, or
wounded most. Johnston had been mortally wounded earlier
and his second in command, Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, took
over. The Union troops established another line covering
Pittsburg Landing, anchored with artillery and augmented
by Buell’s men who began to arrive and take up
positions. Fighting continued until after dark, but the
Federals held. By the next morning, the combined Federal
forces numbered about 40,000, outnumbering Beauregard’s
army of less than 30,000. Beauregard was unaware of the
arrival of Buell’s army and launched a counterattack in
response to a two-mile advance by William Nelson’s
division of Buell’s army at 6:00 am, which was, at
first, successful. Union troops stiffened and began
forcing the Confederates back. Beauregard ordered a
counterattack, which stopped the Union advance but did
not break its battle line. At this point, Beauregard
realized that he could not win and, having suffered too
many casualties, he retired from the field and headed
back to Corinth. On the 8th, Grant sent Brig. Gen.
William T. Sherman, with two brigades, and Brig. Gen.
Thomas J. Wood, with his division, in pursuit of
Beauregard. They ran into the Rebel rearguard, commanded
by Col. Nathan Bedford Forrest, at Fallen Timbers.
Forrest’s aggressive tactics, although eventually
contained, influenced the Union troops to return to
Pittsburg Landing. Grant’s mastery of the Confederate
forces continued; he had beaten them once again. The
Confederates continued to fall back until launching
their mid-August offensive.
2nd Bull
Run, August 28-30, 1862 Casualties = 22,180
In order to draw
Pope’s army into battle, Jackson ordered an attack on a
Federal column that was passing across his front on the
Warrenton Turnpike on August 28, 1862. The fighting at
Brawner Farm lasted several hours and resulted in a
stalemate. Pope became convinced that he had trapped
Jackson and concentrated the bulk of his army against
him. On August 29, Pope launched a series of assaults
against Jackson’s position along an unfinished railroad
grade. The attacks were repulsed with heavy casualties
on both sides. At noon, Longstreet arrived on the field
from Thoroughfare Gap and took position on Jackson’s
right flank. On August 30, Pope renewed his attacks,
seemingly unaware that Longstreet was on the field. When
massed Confederate artillery devastated a Union assault
by Fitz John Porter’s command, Longstreet’s wing of
28,000 men counterattacked in the largest, simultaneous
mass assault of the war. The Union left flank was
crushed and the army driven back to Bull Run. Only an
effective Union rearguard action prevented a replay of
the First Manassas disaster. Pope’s retreat to
Centreville was precipitous, nonetheless. The next day,
Lee ordered his army in pursuit. This was the decisive
battle of the Northern Virginia Campaign.
Antietam,
September 16-18, 1862 Casualties = estimated 28,000
On September 16, 1862
Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan confronted Lee’s Army of
Northern Virginia at Sharpsburg, Maryland. At dawn
September 17, Hooker’s corps mounted a powerful assault
on Lee’s left flank that began the single bloodiest day
in American military history. Attacks and counterattacks
swept across Miller’s cornfield and fighting swirled
around the Dunker Church. Union assaults against the
Sunken Road eventually pierced the Confederate center,
but the Federal advantage was not followed up. Late in
the day, Burnside’s corps finally got into action,
crossing the stone bridge over Antietam Creek and
rolling up the Confederate right. At a crucial moment,
A.P. Hill’s division arrived from Harpers Ferry and
counterattacked, driving back Burnside and saving the
day. Although outnumbered two-to-one, Lee committed his
entire force, while McClellan sent in less than
three-quarters of his army, enabling Lee to fight the
Federals to a standstill. During the night, both armies
consolidated their lines. In spite of crippling
casualties, Lee continued to skirmish with McClellan
throughout the 18th, while removing his wounded south of
the river. McClellan did not renew the assaults. After
dark, Lee ordered the battered Army of Northern Virginia
to withdraw across the Potomac into the Shenandoah
Valley.
Fredricksburg, December 11-15, 1862 Casualties =
17,429
On November 14, 1862
Burnside, now in command of the Army of the Potomac,
sent a corps to occupy the vicinity of Falmouth near
Fredericksburg. The rest of the army soon followed. Lee
reacted by entrenching his army on the heights behind
the town. On December 11, Union engineers laid five
pontoon bridges across the Rappahannock under fire. On
the 12th, the Federal army crossed over, and on December
13, Burnside mounted a series of futile frontal assaults
on Prospect Hill and Marye’s Heights that resulted in
staggering casualties. Meade’s division, on the Union
left flank, briefly penetrated Jackson’s line but was
driven back by a counterattack. Union generals C. Feger
Jackson and George Bayard, and Confederate generals
Thomas R.R. Cobb and Maxey Gregg were killed. On
December 15, Burnside called off the offensive and
recrossed the river, ending the campaign. Burnside
initiated a new offensive in January 1863, which quickly
bogged down in the winter mud. The abortive "Mud March"
and other failures led to Burnside’s replacement by Maj.
Gen. Joseph Hooker in January 1863.
Chancellorsville, April 30 thru May 3, 1862 Casualties
= 17,989
On April 27, Maj. Gen.
Joseph Hooker led the V, IX, and XII Corps on a campaign
to turn the Confederate left flank by crossing the
Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers above Fredericksburg.
Passing the Rapidan via Germanna and Ely’s Fords, the
Federals concentrated near Chancellorsville on April 30
and May 1. The III Corps was ordered to join the army
via United States Ford. Sedgwick’s VI Corps and Gibbon’s
division remained to demonstrate against the
Confederates at Fredericksburg. In the meantime, Lee
left a covering force under Maj. Gen. Jubal Early in
Fredericksburg and marched with the rest of the army to
confront the Federals. As Hooker’s army moved toward
Fredericksburg on the Orange Turnpike, they encountered
increasing Confederate resistance. Hearing reports of
overwhelming Confederate force, Hooker ordered his army
to suspend the advance and to concentrate again at
Chancellorsville. Pressed closely by Lee’s advance,
Hooker adopted a defensive posture, thus giving Lee the
initiative. On the morning of May 2, Lt. Gen. T.J.
Jackson directed his corps on a march against the
Federal left flank, which was reported to be "hanging in
the air." Fighting was sporadic on other portions of the
field throughout the day, as Jackson’s column reached
its jump-off point. At 5:20 pm, Jackson’s line surged
forward in an overwhelming attack that crushed the Union
XI Corps. Federal troops rallied, resisted the advance,
and counterattacked. Disorganization on both sides and
darkness ended the fighting. While making a night
reconnaissance, Jackson was mortally wounded by his own
men and carried from the field. J.E.B. Stuart took
temporary command of Jackson’s Corps. On May 3, the
Confederates attacked with both wings of the army and
massed their artillery at Hazel Grove. This finally
broke the Federal line at Chancellorsville. Hooker
withdrew a mile and entrenched in a defensive "U" with
his back to the river at United States Ford. Union
generals Berry and Whipple and Confederate general
Paxton were killed; Stonewall Jackson was mortally
wounded. On the night of May 5-6, after Union reverses
at Salem Church, Hooker recrossed to the north bank of
the Rappahannock. This battle was considered by many
historians to be Lee’s greatest victory.
Vicksburg,
May 18 thru July 4, 1863 Casualties = 35,500
In May and June of
1863, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s armies converged on
Vicksburg, investing the city and entrapping a
Confederate army under Lt. Gen. John Pemberton. On July
4, Vicksburg surrendered after prolonged siege
operations. This was the culmination of one of the most
brilliant military campaigns of the war. With the loss
of Pemberton’s army and this vital stronghold on the
Mississippi, the Confederacy was effectively split in
half. Grant's successes in the West boosted his
reputation, leading ultimately to his appointment as
General-in-Chief of the Union armies.
Gettysburg,
July 1-3, 1863 Casualties 53,000
Gen. Robert E. Lee
concentrated his full strength against Maj. Gen. George
G. Meade’s Army of the Potomac at the crossroads county
seat of Gettysburg. On July 1, Confederate forces
converged on the town from west and north, driving Union
defenders back through the streets to Cemetery Hill.
During the night, reinforcements arrived for both sides.
On July 2, Lee attempted to envelop the Federals, 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 Hills with
Ewell’s divisions. By evening, the Federals retained
Little Round Top and had repulsed most of Ewell’s men.
During the morning of July 3, the Confederate infantry
were driven from their last toe-hold on Culp’s Hill. In
the afternoon, after a preliminary artillery
bombardment, Lee attacked the Union center on Cemetery
Ridge. The Pickett-Pettigrew assault (more popularly,
Pickett’s Charge) momentarily pierced the Union line but
was driven back with severe casualties. Stuart’s cavalry
attempted to gain the Union rear but was repulsed. On
July 4, Lee began withdrawing his army toward
Williamsport on the Potomac River. His train of wounded
stretched more than fourteen miles.
Chickamauga, September 18-20, 1863 Casualties =
34,250
After the Tullahoma
Campaign, Rosecrans renewed his offensive, aiming to
force the Confederates out of Chattanooga. The three
army corps comprising Rosecrans’ s army split and set
out for Chattanooga by separate routes. In early
September 1863, Rosecrans consolidated his forces
scattered in Tennessee and Georgia and forced Bragg’s
army out of Chattanooga, heading south. The Union troops
followed it and brushed with it at Davis’ Cross Roads.
Bragg was determined to reoccupy Chattanooga and decided
to meet a part of Rosecrans’s army, defeat them, and
then move back into the city. On the 17th he headed
north, intending to meet and beat the XXI Army Corps. As
Bragg marched north on the 18th, his cavalry and
infantry fought with Union cavalry and mounted infantry
which were armed with Spencer repeating rifles. Fighting
began in earnest on the morning of the 19th, and Bragg’s
men hammered but did not break the Union line. The next
day, Bragg continued his assault on the Union line on
the left, and in late morning, Rosecrans was informed
that he had a gap in his line. In moving units to shore
up the supposed gap, Rosencrans created one, and James
Longstreet’s men promptly exploited it, driving
one-third of the Union army, including Rosecrans
himself, from the field. George H. Thomas took over
command and began consolidating forces on Horseshoe
Ridge and Snodgrass Hill. Although the Rebels launched
determined assaults on these forces, they held until
after dark. Thomas then led these men from the field
leaving it to the Confederates. The Union retired to
Chattanooga while the Rebels occupied the surrounding
heights.
Cold Harbor,
May 31 thru June 12, 1864 Casualties = 15,750
On May 31, 1864
Sheridan’s cavalry seized the vital crossroads of Old
Cold Harbor. Early on June 1, relying heavily on their
new repeating carbines and shallow entrenchments,
Sheridan’s troopers threw back an attack by Confederate
infantry. Confederate reinforcements arrived from
Richmond and from the Totopotomoy Creek lines. Late on
June 1, the Union VI and XVIII Corps reached Cold Harbor
and assaulted the Confederate works with some success.
By June 2, both armies were on the field, forming on a
seven-mile front that extended from Bethesda Church to
the Chickahominy River. At dawn June 3, the II and XVIII
Corps, followed later by the IX Corps, assaulted along
the Bethesda Church-Cold Harbor line and were
slaughtered at all points. Grant commented in his
memoirs that this was the only attack he wished he had
never ordered. The armies confronted each other on these
lines until the night of June 12, when Grant again
advanced by his left flank, marching to James River. On
June 14, the II Corps was ferried across the river at
Wilcox’s Landing by transports. On June 15, the rest of
the army began crossing on a 2,200-foot long pontoon
bridge at Weyanoke. Abandoning the well-defended
approaches to Richmond, Grant sought to shift his army
quickly south of the river to threaten Petersburg
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