IMPORTANT BATTLE NEWS
7 important battles that have occurred during the Civil War.
Fort Sumter
Lasted from April 12 - 14, in 1861. On April 12, 1861, General P.G.T. Beauregard, opened fire on the Union garrison holding Fort Sumter. The General was in command of the Confederate forces around Charleston Harbor. At 2:30pm on April 13th Major Robert Anderson surrender the fort. He was evacuated the following day. He was the garrison commander.
Antietam
George McClellan mounted many assaults against Robert E. Lee’s forces near Sharpsburg, Maryland, on September 17, 1862. The assault that happened in the morning and the Confederate counterattacks swept back and forth through Miller’s Cornfield and the West Woods. In the center of the battlefield, Union assaults against the Sunken Road pierced the Confederate center after a terrible struggle. The final major assault by the Union army pushed over a bullet-strewn stone bridge at Antietam Creek. Just as the Federal forces began to collapse the Confederate right, the timely arrival of A.P. Hill’s division from Harpers Ferry helped to drive the Army of the Potomac back once more. This was the bloodiest single day battle in American military history. The battle ended in with a tie, but the Confederate retreat gave Abraham Lincoln the “victory” he desired before issuing the Emancipation Proclamation.
Vicksburg
May 18- July 4, 1863. Ulysses S. Grant’s armies converged on Vicksburg. The invested the city and trapped a confederate army under Lt. Gen. John Pemberton. On July 4, Vicksburg surrendered after some operations. This was one of the most brilliant military campaigns of the war. The Confederacy was split in half. Grant’s reputation went up. He was then made General-in-Chief of the Union armies.
Gettysburg
Gen. Robert E. Lee awaited the approach of Union Gen. George G, Meade’s forces. The Union success faltered as Confederates pushed back against the Iron Brigade and exploited a weak Federal Line. That following day they saw Lee strike thee Union flanks, leading to heavy battle at 6 different places. (Devils Den, Little Round Top, Wheat field, Preach Orchard, Culps Hill and East Cemetery Hill. Fighting raged at Culp’s Hill with the Union regaining its lost ground. Lee’s second invasion was a complete fail.
Sherman's March to the Sea
Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s Yankees from the outskirts of Atlanta with an offensive blow. On July 21, 1864, Gen. William j. Hardee’s corps to make 15 mile night march and assault the Union left flank, commanded by Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson. He was suspected just such a move from his West Point classmate Hood, and held one of his corps in position, where they were ideally placed to meet Hood’s attack. Hood’s attack failed to dislodge the Federals who strengthened their foothold on the doorstep to Atlanta.
Appomattox Court House
Federal troops cut off from turning south, Lee headed west, eventually arriving in Appomattox County on April 8th. Heading for the South Side Railroad at Appomattox Station, the Confederates were cut off once again and nearly surround by many Union troops near the small village of Appomattox Court House. A final desperate attempt to escape, Lee’s army was trapped. General Lee finally surrendered his remaining troops to General Grant at the McLean House on April 9th.
Fort Fisher
January 13-15, 1865. After the failure against Fort Fisher, Maj. Gen. Ben Butler was relieved of command. Maj. Gen. Alfred Terry was then placed in command. Union forces landed and prepared an attack on Maj. Gen. Robert Hoke’s infantry line. On the 15th a selected force moved on to the fort from the back. A attack late in the afternoon, following the bloody repulse of a naval landing party carried the parapet. The Confederate surrendered, opening the way for a Federal thrust against Wilmington, the South’s last open seaport on the Atlantic coast.
Work Cited
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