On September 19, 1863, Braxton Bragg’s Army from Tennessee defeated a Union force commanded by General William Rosecrans in the Battle of Chickamauga. After Rosecrans’ troops had pushed the Confederates out of Chattanooga early that month, Bragg called for reinforcements launching a counterattack on the banks of nearby Chickamauga Creek. The fighting began on the morning of September 19. Bragg's men strongly assaulted but could not break the Union line. The next day, Bragg continued his assault.…
Major General Ulysses S. Grant implemented good mission command during the Siege of Vicksburg by creating a clear commander’s intent, accepting prudent risk, and exercising disciplined initiative resulting in the victory. Grant was appointed commander of the Department of the Tennessee in October of 1962. Almost immediately he began preparations for combined land and naval operations against the Confederate-held Vicksburg . Vicksburg was one of the last strongholds and was used as a main supply line to ship supplies to the Confederate Armies. Grant’s land force cut off the supply line from Jackson to Vicksburg before capturing the city.…
On July 16, 1861, the new Union volunteer army under Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell marched from Washington DC toward the Confederate army under Gen. Pierre G. T. Beauregard, drawn up behind Bull Run creek west of Centreville. Beauregard's men defended the strategic railroad junction at Manassas, just west of the creek. On July 17th, McDowell sent a small force across Bull Run at Blackburn's Ford to test the Confederate defenses. A brief skirmish ensured, with light casualties and little result.…
Robert E Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia began to cross the Pennsylvania state line and Gen. Jubal Early’s division led the way and among Early’s units were 1,600 Louisiana Tigers from Gen. Hay’s Brigade. Gen. Lee’s intent was to take the fighting away from Virginia, take Harrisburg and convince the Union Army that the fight wasn’t worth it anymore. On June 26, 1863 the Tiger Brigade arrived at Gettysburg, and after a brief stay, continued on to York. They took York on June 28-29 and after that they turned and headed towards Gettysburg to meet the Union forces. On their way back to Gettysburg, the Tigers prowled through southern Pennsylvania and seized whatever they could.…
The Confederates shot from the Wilderness at the Union soldiers. The trees and underbrush made moving hard because of the difficulty the troops faced to move in an orderly fashion and was extremely rough on the cavalry and artillery. Right after 5 am the Union second corps, led by Winfield Scott Hancock, drove back the Confederates nearly a mile. James Longstreet arrived to aid the Confederates helping the fighting to be even more intense than the first day of the battle. Unfortunately for James and many others, the smoke from the canons and guns along with the early morning fog, made it almost impossible to see.…
James M. McPherson Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam Freedom by definition states that one is allowed to speak, think, or act without restraint or fear of severe consequence. During the time surrounding the Civil War, freedom was synonymous with liberty in the sense that that was what the Union was striving for. McPherson argues that The Battle of Antietam was the most crucial turning point in relation to the Civil War. He states that without this battle, there was the chance that freedom in America would not be achieved. His main point in “Crossroads of Freedom” are the events leading up to Antietam, the bloodiness of the battle, and its aftermath.…
Giavanna Hunt Mrs. Schools APUSH 18 December 2017 Antietam Book Review Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam by James McPherson September 17, 1862 is remembered as the bloodiest day in American history. On this fateful day during the American Civil War, Union and Confederate soldiers clashed in Sharpsburg, Maryland along the Antietam Creek. In total, approximately 23,000 American lives were lost on this gory day, including 12,400 Union soldiers and 10,300 Confederate soldiers. Although the Union claimed this battle as their victory, the Americans on both sides suffered great losses that changed the course of the Civil War and altered American history. In choosing to read this book, I knew that I would gain a greater understanding of the military strategies and actions performed by both the Rebels and the Yankees.…
During the movement south from Nashville, Confederate Calvary continually attacked the rear supply lines of the Union force. This provided vital intelligence to General Bragg as well as diverted Union resources away from the front line. The Confederate Army repositioned to match the Union Army arrayed along the river. Both armies planned to attack each other’s right flank on the morning of January 1. If successful and timed right, the two attacks would result in a wagon wheel and the two forces rotating to switch sides.…
It was the final battle of Grant's Overland Campaign and is remembered as one of American history's bloodiest battles. Thousands of Union soldiers were killed or wounded in a hopeless frontal assault against General Robert E. Lee's army. Union cavalry seized the crossroads of Old Cold Harbor, holding it against Confederate attacks until the Union infantry arrived. Both Grant and Lee whose armies had suffered many casualties received reinforcements. On June 2, the remainder of both armies arrived and the Confederates built a detailed series of fortifications seven miles long.…
Cathy Willoughby Stewart Edwards, Ph.D. History 1301 07 November 2017 1362 Varon, Elizabeth R. Appomattox: Victory, Defeat, and Freedom at the End of the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014, 258 pp. Appomattox begins with an overview of two opposing military leaders and their inner circle adversaries of the Civil War. A northerner from a small town in Point Pleasantville, Ohio known as Lieutenant General U. S. Grant and General Robert Edwards Lee a southerner born on a plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia.…
What They Fought For 1861-1865. By, James M McPherson. (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1994. Introduction, Chapters One – Three. $11.99. Paperback.)…
Due to Buford’s noteworthy defense, by the evening of July, 1, 1863, the Union defenses were not only reinforced but very strong. Prior to this reinforcement Lee ordered Richard Ewell to attack Cemetery Hill, Ewell’s failure to take the high ground created one of the controversial “ifs” of Gettysburg that have echoed down the years. Along with Ewell’s failure, Cavalry General J.E.B. Stuart’s failure to report Union positions is often cited as a blunder to deflect blame on Lee for losing the battle. Even Longstreet, Lee’s second in command, will not be free from blame by war’s end. Even though many people defend Lee today, Shaara does not shy away from exposing Lee’s tactical blunders halting the deification process in its…
As the Union watched in silence at Culp’s Hill all they could think about is that this is it and that they are coming in guns hot. Artillery broke the silence and then the shots of rifles went off right after them. Man after man dropped dead and the South soon then realized that they were in a bad situation. After the Union have killed off all the 12,000 soldiers trying to take out the center of the Union army Lee had his men retreat. The North then knew that the fighting was not going into Northern soil and that their families were safe.…
The Civil War was a devastating war that wiped out much of America’s population. The book written by James M. McPherson, What They Fought For 1861-1865, describes the views of the soldiers that fought in the war. McPherson uses letters left behind written by different civil war soldiers to portray a more round view of actions that took place on the battlegrounds. McPherson’s thesis does not present from both sides of the war what the soldiers, volunteers and enlisted men, of the Civil War had to faced, how they dealt with their emotions and experiences, the bond made between comrades, and how it affect their overall psychological, physical, and mental well-being of each combatant. This book contains diary entries from Union soldiers that were from the northern states.…
In 1863, Grant (the Union general at that time) set up artillery to siege Vicksburg, a city on the Mississippi River. This prevented people from crossing or even coming close to the river and land. At that point, the Confederates were running low on supplies and they felt as if starvation was killing them. The Confederate soldiers couldn 't take the starvation anymore and petitioned to ask General Grant about terms for surrender. The defeat at Vicksburg meant a lot for the Union.…