Civil War Battles
By Andrew Collins
The Battle of Fort Sumter
SC seceded from the Union and Union troops were positioned at Fort Sumter. This outraged the South and they started pushing the Union back farther to Fort Sumter.
Anderson, the leader of the Union troops, only had 6 weeks worth of supplies and the Confederacy’s patience was running out.Eventually, when the South’s patience ran out, General Beauregard attacked Fort Sumter. The battle started on April 12,1861.General Beauregard opened fire on union forces. The Union had 80 troops, but the Confederacy had 500. Abner Doubleday had the honor of being the first to fire back on the confederacy. The battle lasted a total of 34 hours. Somehow there were 0 casualties in the end of the battle.At the end Anderson was able to give a 100-gun salute
The Battle of Antietam
On September 16, 1862, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan and the Union Army attacked Robert E. Lee’s Army at Sharpsburg, Maryland. The Union outnumbered the Confederacy with 87,000 Union troops and 45,000 Confederate troops.Stonewall Jackson managed to hold his ground despite the thousands more Union soldiers. In the end the Union won the battle, but there were 22,717 casualties. It is known as one of the bloodiest days of American history. The battle was also right before the Emancipation Proclamation.
https://finnegan2749.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/battle-of-antietam/
The Battle of Vicksburg
Ulysses S. Grant was trying to get rid of the Confederate troops at the Mississippi for months.Eventually Grant decided that he needed to get rid of the back of the defenses. Once the defenses were gone, Grant started the assault on Vicksburg. There were 77,000 Union troops and 33,000 Confederate troops. With John Pemberton’s defenses weakened, they had no other choice was to retreat.In the end Pamberton surrendered to Grant’s forces. In the end there were 37,402 casualties including the troops that surrendered along with Pamberton.With the Union in control of the Mississippi, their chances of winning are higher.
The Battle of Gettysburg
After the Battle of Chancellorsville, Robert E. Lee led his army to invade Gettysburg.
Lee wanted to get supplies from the Pennsylvania farmland before the battle. Joseph Hooker was going to lead the Union troops to battle, but was relieved of command a few days before it started. Maj. General George Gordon Meade took Hooker’s place and led the Union in the Battle of Gettysburg. The Union outnumbered the Confederacy with 93,921 Union troops and 71,699 Confederate troops.It was a 3 day battle and there were a total of 51,112 casualties.Lee had to retreat back to Virginia after suffering major losses.The Union won the battle and 4 months later, Abraham Lincoln gave the famous Gettysburg Address.
Sherman's March to Sea
Sherman’s 3 armies had been separated from the previous battles.Sherman discovered that McPherson’s army was approaching Atlanta from the east. In the meantime John Bell Hood wanted to attack Sherman’s flank .The Confederacy outnumbered the Union. There were 34,863 Union troops and 40,438 Confederate troops.Hood had received 5,500 casualties and in the end, Hood’s attack on Sherman’s flank failed.There were 9,222 casualties in total.
http://carleystclair.blogspot.com/2012/12/shermans-march-to-sea.html?_sm_au_=iVVmrKLBlnHlHrj7
The Battle of Fort Fisher
After Maj. General Benjamin Butler’s failed expedition against Fort Fisher, he was relieved of command.Maj. General Alfred Terry took Benjamin’s place.Terry was put in charge of a Provisional Corps. He was supported by a naval force of nearly 60 vessels.Terry attacked Maj. General Robert Hoke’s infantry line.In the end the Confederate garrison surrendered to the Union forces
The Battle of Appomattox Court House
When the battle started the Union was helplessly outnumbered.When the Union started to retreat more Union troops led by Ulysses S. Grant came and surrounded Robert E. Lee. There 63,285 Union troops and 26,000 Confederate troops.Lee realized that he couldn’t win the battle, so he retreated through the Appomattox river.Only around 3 hours after the battle started, Lee surrendered to Grant’s forces.When Lee signed the peace treaty, his troops were paroled and allowed home, while the Union forces were to refrain from celebrating and taunting.There were only 700 casualties despite the large numbers of troops.This one battle helped bring an end to the Civil War.
http://www.civilwar.org/photos/galleries/appomattox-court-house/appomattox-court-house.html