Civil War
Olivia Carr
Fort Sumter
United States Maj. Robert Anderson and his force of 85 soldiers were positioned at Fort Moultrie but on December 26 the soldiers were put in danger. He decided to move to Fort Sumter because he feared that their safety was in danger. On April 11, 1861 Major Anderson demanded the fort’s surrender but Anderson refused. The next morning, at 4:30 a.m., Confederate units opened fire on Fort Sumter and continued for 34 hours. The fort's supply of ammunition was not suited for an equal fight. At about 7:00 A.M., Union Capt. Abner Doubleday, the fort's second in command, fired the first shot in defense of the fort. The war continued, uneven, until Saturday, April 13. On April 13th Anderson surrendered the fort. Surprisingly, no soldiers were killed in battle. As they were carrying their almost ruined banner, the men marched out of the fort and boarded a boat that brought them to the Union ships outside the harbor. They were greeted as heroes on their return to the North.
Antietam
On September 16, 1862, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan and his Union Army confronted Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at Sharpsburg, Maryland. At dawn on September 17, Maj. General Joseph Hooker’s Union made a powerful assault on Lee’s left side that began the battle. The battle was the single bloodiest day in American military history. In the Union 2,108 were killed; 9,540 wounded; 753 missing & captured. In the Confederate 1,546 were killed; 7,752 wounded; 1,018 missing & captured. The Union had almost double the forces as the Confederate. Abraham Lincoln and the Union claimed victory. The battle gave Lincoln the “victory” that he needed before delivering the Emancipation Proclamation which was a document that changed the political course of the American Civil War.
Vicksburg
The Union had 77,000 forces and the Confederate had 33,000 forces. Because of this many Confederates were captured, killed, and wounded. 32,492 total people from the Confederate. Only 4,910 total went missing/captured, wounded and killed. The Union Commander was Ulysses S. Grant and the Confederates was John C. Pemberton. The Union claimed victory on July 4th, 1863. The war lasted about 2 months. It started on May 18th, 1863. The war took place in Warren County, Mississippi.
Gettysburg
The battle was in Adams County, Pennsylvania. The battle started on July 1st, 1863 and ended July 3rd. The Union had more forces but not by much. Only 4,000 more people were wounded in the Confederate compared to the Union. The Union Commander was George G. Meade. The Confederate Commander was Robert E. Lee. Robert E. Lee led his Army of Northern Virginia in its second invasion of the North. The main event was a dramatic infantry assault by 12,000 Confederates against the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge--Pickett's Charge. After the war, President Lincoln used the dedication ceremony for Gettysburg's Soldiers National Cemetery to honor the fallen Union soldiers and redefine the purpose of the war in his historic Gettysburg Address.
Sherman’s March to Sea
Sherman’s March to Sea, also known as the Atlanta battle, took place on July 22nd, 1864. 3,722 total missing/captured, killed, and wounded from the Union and 5,500 from the Confederate. The Union claimed victory after the battle was ended later that afternoon. The battle started when, as reported by Wheeler, McPherson’s army marched in on Atlanta from the east. This situation presented Hood with an opportunity to launch a flank attack. A Union division happened to be in just the right position to meet Hardee’s opening assault. Instead of overrunning hospital tents and wagon trains in McPherson’s rear, Walker’s and Bate’s troops ran instead face-to-face into a division of veteran enemy infantry. Around 3:00 p.m, Hood ordered Cheatham’s division to launch an attack from Atlanta’s eastern line of works. Cheatham’s assault against the Federal line held by Logan’s Fifteenth Corps met with initial success, overrunning the Yankee line at the Troup Hurt House and capturing artillery, until a Union counterattack forced it back. Cleburne’s and Maney’s divisions gave up their fight, too, as at the end of the afternoon the Confederates retired to their initial positions. The Battle of Atlanta was ended, save for sporadic artillery and rifle fire into the night.
Fort Fisher
After the failure of the December expedition, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler was no longer commander. Maj. Gen. Alfred Terry was placed in command to renew operations against the fort. Union forces landed and prepared an attack on Maj. Gen. Robert Hoke's infantry line. A valiant attack late in the afternoon, following the bloody repulse of a naval landing party carried the parapet. The Confederate garrison surrendered, opening the way for a Federal thrust against Wilmington, the South's last open seaport on the Atlantic coast. The battle start January 13th, 1865 and ended the 15th. It took place in New Hanover County, North Carolina. Union Commander was Alfred H. Terry and David Dixon Porter. The Confederate Commander was Braxton Bragg and Robert F. Hoke. Union claimed victory after 3 days. Only about 1,000 people died on each side. There was also an even amount of forces unlike other battles.
Appomattox Court Hose
The attack, launched before 8:00 a.m. and was led by General Bryan Grimes. It took place in Appomattox Court, Virginia. It was initially successful. The outnumbered Union fell back, temporarily opening the road. Lee ordered his troops to retreat through the village and back across the Appomattox River. Rather than destroy his army and sacrifice the lives of his soldiers, he decided to surrender. So the Union claimed victory. Luckily not many union forces died. Although a formal peace treaty wasn’t signed, the submission of the Confederate armies ended the war and began the road to recovery.
Works Cited
http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/30727/Appomattox-Court-House
http://www.johnpaulstrain.com/art/landing-at-fort-fisher.htm
http://www.nps.gov/fosu/index.htm
https://urbantimes.co/2011/04/150th-anniversary-american-civil-war-legacy-considered/
http://carpetbaggersjournal.com/tag/civil-war/
http://www.history.com/news/7-things-you-should-know-about-the-battle-of-gettysburg
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/530437/March-to-the-Sea