battles/military strategy during course of civil war

fort sumter (1861)

• confederates attack US fort in charleston south carolina for 33 hours, marking start of civil war

• effect: resulted in 700000 northerners signing up to fight and join the union army

• union: robert anderson

• confederacy: PGT beauregard

• won: confederacy

first manassas (1861)

• mcdowell attacks jackson army but jackson holds “stonewall jackson”, union artillery mistakes enemy soldiers as union and jackson takes advantage and orders a counterattack causing union to retreat

• effect: confederate victory kept union from going after richmond, also inspired confederacy

• union: irvin mcdowell

• confederacy: PGT beauregard, johnston, jackson

• won: confederacy

shiloh (1862)

• grant waits for buell as he tries to seize control of railroad vital to confederate but was ambushed by johnston and pgt beauregard. union stays strong, johnston dies, confederates attack again but union ounumbers due to reinforcements causing confederate retreat

• effect: boost morale for union

• union: grant

• confederacy: johnston, pgt beauregard

• won: union

antietam (1862)

• lees plans fall into mcclellans hands but he delays and only attacks lee in 3 separate battles where lee hangs on due to arrival of ap hill. lee retreats back to virginia

• effect: bloodiest battle of civil war, turning point of war. within days of battle lincoln issues emancipation procalamtion. lees failure cause britain/france to decide not to intervene and help confederacy

• union: mcclellan

• confederacy: lee

• won: union

vicksburg (1863)

• for 18 days grants troops won 5 battles against johnston and pemberton who were trying to slow him down. struggles to obtain the last major confederate stronghold but orders a siege and city surrenders

• effect: demonstrated union ability to fight without access to supplies, mississippi river now in unions hands

• union: grant

• confederacy: johnston, pemberton

• won: union

gettysburg (1863)

• july 1st: confederacy pushes back union to culps hill and cemetary hill

• july 2nd: stalemate

• july 3rd: union troops mow down lee’s main attack with pickett leading the troops up cemetary ridge causing lee to retreat back to virginia

• effect: lee not invincible, lee not strong enough to launch a major invasion on north, south loses confidence and marks beginning of the end for south

• union: meade

• confederacy: lee, pickett

march to the sea (1864)

• sherman sets fire to atlanta, pillages everythign he sees, takes savannah (georgias best sea port), continues pillage and burns columbia in south carolina to the ground

• effect: shermans tactic was meant to break confederacy spirit, demoralize average southerner

• union: sherman

• won: union

appomattox court house (1865)

• lee and troops try to escape from union forces but failed resulting in their surrendering to grant.

• effect: marked end of battles in civil war and union victory overall against confederacy

• union: grant

• confederacy: lee

• won: union

anaconda plan (1861)

union strategic plan, desgined by scott, to squeeze confederacy through naval blockade and control of mississippi river

offensive defensive strategy (1861-65)

• confederacy main military strategy that focused on defending while using opportunities to launch strategic offensives into union territory when advantageous

• lees strategy

blockade running (1861-65)

confederacy tactic of smuggling goods past union blockade with private vessels

54th massachusetts (1863)

• black regiment in the union army

• established after emancipation proclamation

• showed a black soldier was just as competent as a white soldier