Civil War Battles
Battle
Fort Sumter
April 12, 1861
(South Carolina)
Manassas
(First Battle of
Bull Run)
July 21, 1861
McClellan’s
Peninsula
Campaign
(1862)
Description
Significance
On April 10, 1861, Brig. Gen. Beauregard,
in command of the provisional Confederate
forces at Charleston, South Carolina,
demanded the surrender of the Union
garrison of Fort Sumter in Charleston
Harbor. Garrison commander Anderson
refused. On April 12, Confederate batteries
opened fire on the fort, which was unable
to reply effectively. At 2:30 pm, April 13,
Major Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter,
evacuating the garrison on the following
day. The bombardment of Fort Sumter was
the opening engagement of the American
Civil War. Although there were no
casualties during the bombardment, one
Union artillerist was killed and three
wounded (one mortally) when a cannon
exploded prematurely while firing a salute
during the evacuation on April 14.
Source: CWSAC Battle Summaries
Confederate Victory. No
Casualties.
The Union and Confederate
forces met at Manassas, Virginia.
Both sides planned to attack the
other’s left flank with the majority
of their armies. However, the
confederates realized quickly the
Union army’s plan and moved
forces to meet the attack upon
their left flank. At the same time,
they were able to build up enough
troops on the Union right side to
overrun that flank leading to a
disorderly retreat to the North.
The Confederate army did not
pursue the fleeing troops.
A major Union operation
launched in southeastern Virginia
from March through July 1862.
It was the first large-scale
offensive in the Eastern Theater.
Victory for the Confederate forces.
However, approximately 5,000 men
died. Of those, 3,000 were Union
soldiers.
This was the first major land battle of
the Civil War. It was also the battle
that made the war become real to
many. Before the First Battle of Bull
Run, many in the north and the south
had romanticized the war. However,
with the deaths of troops and civilians,
the reality of war was brought home.
Confederate Victory. Despite all
his advantages, McClellan’s
Peninsula Campaign ended in
failure. Richmond’s
redemption provided hope
for the young Confederacy,
The operation, commanded by
particularly after a series of
Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, was recent defeats in the West. In
an amphibious turning movement the Spring of 1862, McClellan
Naval Battles
(1862)
intended to capture the
Confederate capital of Richmond
by circumventing the Confederate
States Army in Northern Virginia.
McClellan was initially successful
against the equally cautious
General Joseph E. Johnston, but
the emergence of the aggressive
General Robert E. Lee turned the
subsequent Seven Days Battles
into a humiliating Union defeat.
had a tremendous
opportunity. If he had pressed
on Richmond and captured
the Confederate capital,
McClellan might have won the
war and our history might
well have taken a very
different course. Instead, the
Civil War lasted for three
more bloody years.
The Union decided to blockade all
Southern seaports according to the
Anaconda plan. This would stop the South
from receiving supplies from Europe.
Without supplies the South could not win
the war. The North had a huge advantage
when it came to the Navy for several
reasons: they had the factories to build
ships, they had more ships at the beginning
of the war, they had more men for the navy.
Throughout the war strategy and
technology played a great part in naval
battle. New ironclad ships were built and
proved to be very successful in battle. The
confederates built the ironclad ship the
Virginia and the Union had the Monitor.
Their famous battle took place at Hampton
Roads in which the Virginia caused heavy
damage to the wooden ships of the Union
but was unable to break the blockade when
the Monitor took to the battle. The
Virginia’s retreat and the constant pursue of
the Monitor would result in the blockade
strangling the South for the remainder of
the war.
The fighting at Hampton
Roads cost the Union navy the
loss of USS Cumberland and
Congress, as well as 261 killed
and 108 wounded.
Confederate casualties were 7
killed and 17 wounded.
Despite the heavier losses,
Hampton Roads proved a
strategic victory for the Union
as the blockade remained
intact. The battle itself
signaled the demise of
wooden warships and the rise
of armored vessels built of
iron and steel. Over the next
several weeks a standoff
ensued as Virginia attempted
to engage Monitor on several
occasions but was refused as
Monitor was under
presidential orders to avoid
battle unless absolutely
required. This was due to
President Abraham Lincoln's
fear that the ship would be
lost allowing Virginia to take
control of the Chesapeake
Bay. On May 11, after Union
troops captured Norfolk, the
Confederates burned Virginia
to prevent its capture.
Monitor was lost in a storm
off Cape Hatteras on
December 31, 1862.
Confederate forces led by General
Johnston attacked Union General
Shiloh
Grant's army at Pittsburg Landing.
The Union forces were not
(Tennessee)
prepared but they still managed
to hold their own until the arrival
April 6, 1862
of General Buell's army and other
reinforcements at Pittsburg
Landing. Further, the
Confederates lost their leader
when General Johnston was killed
by a stray bullet. On the second
day, April 7th, Grant launched a
counterattack and the
Confederates retreated to Corinth.
On September 16, Maj. Gen.
George B. McClellan confronted
Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at
Sharpsburg, Maryland. At dawn
Antietam
September 17, Hooker’s corps
(Sharpsburg, MD) mounted a powerful assault on
Lee’s left flank that began the
single bloodiest day in American
military history. Attacks and
counterattacks swept across
Miller’s cornfield and fighting
swirled around the Dunker
Church. Union assaults against the
Sunken Road eventually pierced
the Confederate center, but the
Federal advantage was not
followed up. Late in the day,
Burnside’s corps finally got into
action, crossing the stone bridge
over Antietam Creek and rolling
up the Confederate right. At a
crucial moment, A.P. Hill’s
division arrived from Harpers
Ferry and counterattacked,
driving back Burnside and saving
the day. Although outnumbered
two-to-one, Lee committed his
entire force, while McClellan sent
in less than three-quarters of his
Victory for the union forces.
However, approximately 23,746 men
died. Of those, 13,047 were Union
soldiers. Despite a tactical victory, the
union forces experienced greater
losses.
This battle could have been a huge
victory for the Confederacy. However,
with its loss and the immense loss of
human life on both sides, leaders
began to realize that the Civil War
would not quickly end.
The result of the battle was
inconclusive but the north did win a
strategic advantage. 23,100 casualties.
The Battle of Antietam forced the
Confederate Army to retreat back
across the Potomac River. President
Lincoln saw the significance of this
and issued the famous Emancipation
Proclamation on September 22, 1862.
army, enabling Lee to fight the
Federals to a standstill. During the
night, both armies consolidated
their lines. In spite of crippling
casualties, Lee continued to
skirmish with McClellan
throughout the 18th, while
removing his wounded south of
the river. McClellan did not renew
the assaults. After dark, Lee
ordered the battered Army of
Northern Virginia to withdraw
across the Potomac into the
Shenandoah Valley.
Source: CWSAC Battle Summaries
Battle
Siege of
Vicksburg
May-July 1863
(Mississippi)
Gettysburg
July, 1863
(Pennsylvania)
Description
In May and June of 1863, Maj.
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s armies
converged on Vicksburg, investing
the city and entrapping a
Confederate army under Lt. Gen.
John Pemberton. On July 4,
Vicksburg surrendered after
prolonged siege operations. This
was the culmination of one of the
most brilliant military campaigns
of the war.
Gen. Robert E. Lee concentrated
his full strength against Maj. Gen.
George G. Meade’s Army of the
Potomac at the crossroads county
seat of Gettysburg. On July 1,
Confederate forces converged on
the town from west and north,
driving Union defenders back
through the streets to Cemetery
Hill. During the night,
reinforcements arrived for both
sides. On July 2, Lee attempted to
envelop the Federals, first striking
the Union left flank at the Peach
Orchard, Wheatfield, Devil’s Den,
and the Round Tops with
Longstreet’s and Hill’s divisions,
and then attacking the Union right
Significance
Union Victory. 19,233 casualties of
which 10,142 were Union soldiers.
With the loss of Pemberton’s army
and this vital stronghold on the
Mississippi, the Confederacy was
effectively split in half. Grant's
successes in the West boosted his
reputation, leading ultimately to his
appointment as General-in-Chief of
the Union armies.
Union Victory. 51,000 casualties of
which 28,000 were Confederate
soldiers.
Robert E. Lee attempted and failed to
invade the North in a move designed
to take pressure off of Virginia and
possibly earn a victory that could end
the war. The failure of Pickett’s
Charge meant that the South had lost.
The loss for the South was
demoralizing and General Lee never
again attempted to invade the North
on this grand scale.
Siege of
Petersburg
June 1864-April
1865
at Culp’s and East Cemetery Hills
with Ewell’s divisions. By evening,
the Federals retained Little Round
Top and had repulsed most of
Ewell’s men. During the morning
of July 3, the Confederate infantry
were driven from their last toehold on Culp’s Hill. In the
afternoon, after a preliminary
artillery bombardment, Lee
attacked the Union center on
Cemetery Ridge. The PickettPettigrew assault (more
popularly, Pickett’s Charge)
momentarily pierced the Union
line but was driven back with
severe casualties. Stuart’s cavalry
attempted to gain the Union rear
but was repulsed. On July 4, Lee
began withdrawing his army
toward Williamsport on the
Potomac River. His train of
wounded stretched more than
fourteen miles.
Marching from Cold Harbor,
Confederate Victory. 11,386
Meade’s Army of the Potomac
total casualties of which
crossed the James River on
8,150were Union soldiers.
transports and a 2,200-foot long
pontoon bridge at Windmill Point.
Butler’s leading elements (XVIII
Corps and Kautz’s cavalry)
crossed the Appomattox River at
Broadway Landing and attacked
the Petersburg defenses on June
15. The 5,400 defenders of
Petersburg under command of
Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard were
driven from their first line of
entrenchments back to Harrison
Creek. After dark the XVIII Corps
was relieved by the II Corps. On
June 16, the II Corps captured
another section of the
Confederate line; on the 17th, the
IX Corps gained more ground.
Fall of Atlanta
September 1864
Beauregard stripped the Howlett
Line (Bermuda Hundred) to
defend the city, and Lee rushed
reinforcements to Petersburg
from the Army of Northern
Virginia. The II, XI, and V Corps
from right to left attacked on June
18 but was repulsed with heavy
casualties. By now the
Confederate works were heavily
manned and the greatest
opportunity to capture
Petersburg without a siege was
lost. The siege of Petersburg
began. Union Gen. James St. Clair
Morton, chief engineer of the IX
Corps, was killed on June 17.
Following the Battle of Peachtree
Creek, Hood determined to attack
Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson’s
Army of the Tennessee. He
withdrew his main army at night
from Atlanta’ s outer line to the
inner line, enticing Sherman to
follow. In the meantime, he sent
William J. Hardee with his corps
on a fifteen-mile march to hit the
unprotected Union left and rear,
east of the city. Wheeler’s cavalry
was to operate farther out on
Sherman’s supply line, and Gen.
Frank Cheatham’s corps were to
attack the Union front. Hood,
however, miscalculated the time
necessary to make the march, and
Hardee was unable to attack until
afternoon. Although Hood had
outmaneuvered Sherman for the
time being, McPherson was
concerned about his left flank and
sent his reserves—Grenville
Dodge’s XVI Army Corps—to that
location. Two of Hood’s divisions
ran into this reserve force and
were repulsed. The Rebel attack
Union Victory. 12,140
casualties of which 8,499
were Union soldiers.
stalled on the Union rear but
began to roll up the left flank.
Around the same time, a
Confederate soldier shot and
killed McPherson when he rode
out to observe the fighting.
Determined attacks continued,
but the Union forces held. About
4:00 pm, Cheatham’s corps broke
through the Union front at the
Hurt House, but Sherman massed
twenty artillery pieces on a knoll
near his headquarters to shell
these Confederates and halt their
drive. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan’ s
XV Army Corps then led a
counterattack that restored the
Union line. The Union troops held,
and Hood suffered high casualties.
Late in 1864, General William
Sherman left Atlanta to head
towards the Atlantic Ocean. He
moved through Macon and
Sherman’s March
Augusta and ended up in
to the Sea
Savannah. There were few troops
(Sept.-Dec. 1864) to stop him and his forces on the
way and they left destruction in
their wake.
Surrender at
Appomattox
Early on April 9, the remnants of
John Broun Gordon’s corps and
Fitzhugh Lee’s cavalry formed line
of battle at Appomattox Court
House. Gen. Robert E. Lee
determined to make one last
attempt to escape the closing
Union pincers and reach his
supplies at Lynchburg. At dawn
the Confederates advanced,
initially gaining ground against
Sheridan’s cavalry. The arrival of
Union infantry, however, stopped
the advance in its tracks. Lee’s
army was now surrounded on
Union Victory. Approx. 3100
casualties of which 2,100 were Union
soldiers.
Sherman presented Lincoln with
Savannah, Georgia in what he called a
‘Christmas gift’. He was able to strike
in the heart of the Confederacy. His
victories along with those of the other
Union commanders were the
beginning of the end for the
Confederacy.
Union Victory. 700 Casualties.
This was the final major engagement
of the Civil War. General Lee
surrendered to General Grant and the
American Civil War came to an end.
three sides. Lee surrendered to
Grant on April 9.