THE LONG FIGHT
For four straight years, Union and Confederate soldiers battled during the bloodiest war in American history. Both sides suffered unprecedented casualties, and the severe lack of infrastructure made accurate accounting of those soldiers near impossible.
Even though things were already coming to a head, when Lincoln was elected in 1860, South Carolina issued its "Declaration of the Causes of Secession." They believed that Lincoln was anti-slavery and in favor of Northern interests. Before Lincoln was even president, seven states had seceded from the Union: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.
Even though things were already coming to a head, when Lincoln was elected in 1860, South Carolina issued its "Declaration of the Causes of Secession." They believed that Lincoln was anti-slavery and in favor of Northern interests. Before Lincoln was even president, seven states had seceded from the Union: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.
BATTLES DURING THE CIVIL WAR
Although throughout the 4 year period of the Civil War, some 10,500 armed conflicts occurred during the Civil War ranging from battles to minor skirmishes, there were 384 Major Battles.
By definition, military "casualties" include not only the dead, but also the injured, ill, captured, and missing. To this day, exact numbers are impossible to determine, and scholars dispute even the most well-researched estimates.
By definition, military "casualties" include not only the dead, but also the injured, ill, captured, and missing. To this day, exact numbers are impossible to determine, and scholars dispute even the most well-researched estimates.
Battle of Fort Sumter
April 12, 1861
Charleston Harbor, South Carolina Casualties: none |
The shelling of the fort was the culmination of a simmering conflict in which a small garrison of Union troops in South Carolina found themselves isolated when the state seceded from the Union.
Once Fort Sumter was fired upon there was no turning back. |
OUTCOME
On April 12, 1861, General P.G.T. Beauregard, in command of the Confederate forces around Charleston Harbor, opened fire on the Union garrison holding Fort Sumter. At 2:30pm on April 13 Major Robert Anderson, garrison commander, surrendered the fort and was evacuated the next day. Civil War Begins! |
Battle at Bull Run: First Manassas
July 21, 1861 Fairfax County and Prince William County , Virginia Union: Brigadier General Irvin McDowell Confederate: Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston and General P.G.T. Beauregard Casualties: 4,700 2,950 Union 1,750 Confederate |
Before the First Battle of Bull Run, many in the north and the south had romanticized the war. However, with the deaths of troops and civilians, the reality of war was brought home.
The first major clash of the Civil War in the East took place in July 1861, in Northern Virginia. This battle, called Bull Run by Northerners and Manassas by Southerners |
OUTCOME
Victory for the Confederate forces.
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Battle of Shiloh
April 6-7, 1862 Shiloh, Tennessee in Hardin County Union: Major General Ulysses S. "Unconditional Surrender" Grant and Major General Don Carlos Buell Confederate: General Albert Sidney Johnston and General P.G.T. Beauregard Casualties: 23,741 13,047 Union 10,694 Confederate |
Another name for the battle was Pittsburg Landing.
Shiloh actually is a Hebrew word meaning "place of peace." Confederates lost their leader when General Johnston was killed by a stray bullet. On the second day, April 7th, Grant launched a counterattack and the Confederates retreated to Corinth. The battle of Shiloh, fought over two days in April 1862, was one of the Civil War's bloodiest clashes. Thousands of soldiers on both sides died. Grant was portrayed as a butcher in the news. Leaders began to realize that the Civil War would not quickly end. |
OUTCOME
Victory for the union forces. However, approximately 23,746 men died. Of those, 13,047 were Union soldiers. Despite a tactical victory, the union forces experienced greater losses. |
Battle of Antietam
a.k.a Battle of Sharpsburg September 16 - 18, 1862 Sharpsburg, Maryland Union: Major General George B. McClellan Confederate: General Robert E. Lee OUTCOME The Potomac carried symbolic importance as the boundary between loyal and rebellious states. It served as a moat for the U.S. capital, which was nerve-rackingly close to a Confederate army camped just 25 miles away in Manassas. “As soon as secession happened, the Potomac became the most important river in the Civil War,” said Jonathan Earle, an associate professor of history at the University of Kansas. “The Potomac was a psychological border as well as a physical one.” The Battle of Antietam forced the Confederate Army to retreat back across the Potomac River. President Lincoln saw the significance of this and issued the famous Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862. |
Morning Phase: primarily north end of battlefield, Miller’s cornfield, East Woods, West Woods
UNION: Engaged, 23,600; Casualties, 7,280 CONFEDERATE: Engaged, 20,100; Casualties, 6,580 TOTAL: Engaged, 43,700; Casualties, 13,860 Mid-Day Phase: primarily center of field, Sunken Road aka Bloody Lane UNION: Engaged, 10,000; Casualties, 2,900 CONFEDERATE: Engaged, 6,800; Casualties, 2,600 TOTAL: Engaged, 16,800; Casualties, 5,500 Afternoon Phase: primarily south end of field—Burnside Bridge, A. P. Hill’s counterattack UNION: Engaged, 13,800; Casualties, 7,150 CONFEDERATE: Engaged, 7,150; Casualties, 1,120 TOTAL: Engaged, 20,950; Casualties, 3,720 |
Siege of Vicksburg
May 18 - July 4, 1863 Vicksburg, MississippI Union: Major General Ulysses S. Grant Confederate: Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton Casualties: 19,233 10,142 Union 9,091 Confederate |
At Vicksburg, Mississippi, Grant hoped to break the Confederate grip on the Mississippi River once and for all. If the Union controlled the Mississippi, the Confederacy would be broken in half.
Confederate forces in the East could no longer receive supplies and troops sent from the West. But taking the city proved a challenge. Victory in the battle of Vicksburg gave control of the Mississippi River to the Union. Remember, the Mississippi River was the "superhighway" of that era used to transport goods, crops, raw materials, etc. from the south to the North and visa-versa. He sent troops under General Willam Tecumsah Sherman down the Mississippi in boats to the place where the Yazoo River flowed into the Mississippi. OUTCOME UNION VICTORY |
Battle of Gettysburg
July 1-3, 1863 Adams County, Pennsylvania Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Union: Major General George G. Meade Confederate: General Robert E. Lee 120 generals present at Gettysburg Casualties: 51,000 23,000 Union 28,000 Confederate |
The Battle of Gettysburg, fought from July 1 to July 3, 1863, is considered the most important engagement of the American Civil War. After a great victory over Union forces at Chancellorsville, General Robert E. Lee marched his Army of Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania in late June 1863. On July 1, the advancing Confederates clashed with the Union's Army of the Potomac, commanded by General George G. Meade, at the crossroads town of Gettysburg. The next day saw even heavier fighting, as the Confederates attacked the Federals on both left and right. On July 3, Lee ordered an attack by fewer than 15,000 troops on the enemy's center at Cemetery Ridge. The assault, known as "Pickett's Charge," managed to pierce the Union lines but eventually failed, at the cost of thousands of rebel casualties, and Lee was forced to withdraw his battered army toward Virginia on July 4.
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