Many Civil War battles have two names because the Confederates named battles after the nearest settlement, and the
North used the nearest body of water. In the following tables the Northern name is given first, followed by the
Confederate name. When only one name appears it is the name both sides used.
Common Name/
Dates
North
Commander
South
Commander
Place
Bull Run (1st) /
Manassas, Va.
July 21, 1861
McDowell
Beauregard
Casualties
North
South
3,000
2,000
First Battle of Bull Run (or First Battle of Manassas). Part of the Union army, a force of about 18,000 men
under General Robert Patterson had moved to secure the northern end of the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia.
Another Union force of about 31,000 under General Irvin McDowell had moved into eastern Virginia along a
creek called Bull Run near Manassas, about 25 miles west of Washington, D.C.
A Confederate army under Beauregard faced McDowell at Manassas while General Joseph E. Johnston
commanded Confederate troops in the Shenandoah Valley. Those forces, along with other scattered troops,
added up to about 35,000 Confederates.
In July 1861, McDowell approached Manassas. McDowell thought his troops could destroy Beauregard's
forces while the Union troops in the Shenandoah Valley kept Johnston occupied. But just before the battle
Johnston slipped away and traveled by rail to join Beauregard.
The opposing forces, both composed mainly of poorly trained volunteers, clashed on July 21. The North
launched several assaults. During one attack, the Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson stood his
ground so firmly that he received the nickname "Stonewall." After halting several assaults, Beauregard
counterattacked and the tired Union forces fled toward Washington in wild retreat. After the battle, some
Southerners regretted not moving on to capture Washington but such an attempt would probably have
failed. The North now realized that it faced a long fight and that the war would not be over in three months.
Confederate confidence in final victory soared and remained high for the next two years.
Common Name/
Dates
North
Commander
South
Commander
Place
Fort Henry / Tenn.
Feb. 6, 1862
Grant
Tilghman
Casualties
North
South
50
20
Fort Henry on the Tennessee River and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River formed the center of the
Confederate line in the West. Gun boats on orders from General Ulysses S. Grant, commanding officer
under Halleck in western Kentucky, took Fort Henry.
Common Name/
Dates
North
Commander
South
Commander
Place
Fort Donelson /
Tenn.
Feb. 13-16,
1862
Grant
Buckner
Casualties
North
South
2,800
15,800
Fort Donelson was about 20 miles from Fort Henry. This was a major victory for the North and it started
Grant's rise to the top. After three days of fighting the Confederate commander, Gen. Simon Bolivar
Buckner, asked for surrender terms. Grant replied that no terms except unconditional surrender were
acceptable. On February 16 about 13,000 Confederates surrendered. Grant became a Northern hero and
was tagged with the nickname of "Unconditional Surrender" Grant.
Common Name/
Dates
North
Commander
South
Commander
Place
Shiloh /
Pittsburg Landing,
Tenn.
April 6-7,
1862
Grant
A. Johnston
Beauregard
Casualties
North
South
13,000
10,700
The Battle of Shiloh was named after a church on the battlefield.
General Halleck had become commander of most Union forces from Ohio to Kansas. He ordered Grant with
some 40,000 men to move down the Tennessee River and to wait for Buell to join him. Grant moved to
Pittsburg Landing, Tenn., a village about 20 miles north of Corinth. The Confederate co-commanders,
Johnston and Beauregard, decided to strike Grant with their army of some 44,000 troops before Buell
arrived. The Confederate troops surprised and almost smashed Grant but Grant held his lines and Johnston
was killed.
The next day, Grant received about 25,000 reinforcements, including some 18,000 troops led by Buell. The
Confederate army received only about 700 reinforcements. Grant now used his much larger army to force a
Southern retreat to Corinth. By June the Union had control of the Mississippi River all the way to Memphis.
Common Name/
Dates
North
Commander
South
Commander
Place
Fair Oaks /
Seven Pines, Va.
May 31-June 1,
1862
McClellan
J. Johnston
Casualties
North
South
5,000
6,000
In Virginia, McClellan landed on the peninsula between the York and James rivers with more than 100,000
men. As McClellan neared Richmond, Johnston launched an attack with early succes but failed to follow
through. Johnston was wounded and Lee was given command of Johnston's army which he named the
Army of Northern Virginia.
Common Name/
Dates
North
Commander
South
Commander
Place
Seven Days / Va.
June 25-July 1,
1862
McClellan
Lee
Casualties
North
South
15,800
20,100
Reinforced by Jackson's men to about 95,000 men, Lee fell on McClellan in a series of attacks lasting
seven days. The advantage shifted from side to side during the battles, but McClellan believed that his
forces were hopelessly outnumbered. He finally retreated to the James River, and Richmond was saved
from capture.
Common Name/
Dates
North
Commander
South
Commander
Place
Bull Run -Second/
Manassas, Va.
Aug. 27-30,
1862
Pope
Lee
Casualties
North
South
16,100
9,200
Second Battle of Bull Run (or Second Battle of Manassas). Lee moved rapidly northward to attack Pope
before McClellan's men could join him. Jackson went in first to attack Pope from the rear but Pope, using
McClellan's troops as fast as they arrived, attacked Jackson. When Lee and General James Longstreet
joined Jackson, Pope attacked them, but a Confederate counterattack beat Pope's forces back and the
Northern troops retreated toward Washington. This was a major victory as the South regained almost all of
Virginia.
Common Name/
Dates
North
Commander
South
Commander
Place
Antietam /
Sharpsburg, Md.
Sept. 17,
1862
McClellan
Lee
Casualties
North
South
12,500
13,700
The South believed they could gain European recognition by winning a victory in Union territory. In
September 1862 Lee invaded Maryland. He divided his force into two divisions sending "Stonewall" Jackson
to capture Harper's Ferry while he took the other division to Sharpsburg, a small town on Antietam Creek.
Jackson was successful and then turned to join Lee. McClellan launched a series of attacks that almost
cracked the Southern lines but then, the last of Lee's absent troops, headed by General A. P. Hill, arrived
and saved the day.
Lee's force of about 40,000 men suffered heavy losses and had to retreat to Virginia. The North considered
Antietam a major victory and Lincoln used the occassion to issue the preliminary Emancipation
Proclamation.
Common Name/
Dates
North
Commander
South
Commander
Place
Perryville / Ky.
Oct. 8, 1862
Buell
Bragg
Casualties
North
South
4,200
3,400
Soon after Shiloh, Corinth fell to Union forces and Halleck went to Washington to act as Lincoln's military
adviser. He assigned Grant to guard communications along the Mississippi and ordered Buell to capture
Chattanooga. Before Buell could advance, General Braxton Bragg, the Confederate commander in
Tennessee, suddenly invaded Kentucky. Buell raced to meet him, and the two armies clashed on October 8
at Perryville. Neither side could claim victory, but the South could not afford casualties on the same level as
the North. Bragg retreated to Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Common Name/
Dates
North
Commander
South
Commander
Place
Fredericksburg / Va.
Dec. 13,
1862
Burnside
Lee
Casualties
North
South
12,700
5,300
After Antietam McClellan had more fresh troops under him than Lee had left in his entire army yet he
allowed Lee to retreat with little interference. Lincoln, seeing this lack of aggression, replaced him with
General Ambrose E. Burnside who attacked Lee at Fredericksburg. Lee, with about 73,000 troops, took up
a defensive posture along hills called Marye's Heights. Burnside attacked and suffered nearly 13,000
casualties--soldiers killed, wounded, missing, or captured. He retreated and was relieved of command at his
own request.
Common Name/
Dates
North
Commander
South
Commander
Place
Stones River /
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Dec. 31,
1862Jan. 2, 1863
Rosecrans
Bragg
Casualties
North
South
12,900
11,700
Lincoln felt that Buell was too cautious and replaced him with General William S. Rosecrans. Rosecrans
advanced south from Nashville toward Bragg's army at Murfreesboro on Stones River. The hard-fought
battle dragged on from Dec. 31, 1862, to Jan. 2, 1863, when Bragg retreated. The battle had the highest
casualty rate of the war, with each side losing about a third of its men.
Common Name/
Dates
North
Commander
South
Commander
Place
Chancellorsville / Va.
May 1-4,
1863
Hooker
Lee
Casualties
North
South
16,800
12,800
General Joseph Hooker replaced Burnside as commander of the Army of the Potomac which numbered
about 138,000 men. Lee, with about 60,000, still held the line of defense at Fredericksburg. Hooker planned
a frontal diversion while sending other forces to attack Lee's flank. The attack started successfully but then
Hooker blinked. On May 1, he withdrew his flanking troops to a defensive position at Chancellorsville just
west of Fredericksburg. The next day Lee sent Stonewall Jackson to counter attack which cut the Northern
army almost in two. Hooker retreated three days later.
During the battle, Jackson was shot accidentally by his own men and his left arm had to be amputated. Lee
told Jackson's chaplain: "He has lost his left arm; but I have lost my right arm." Jackson died on May 10.
Common Name/
Dates
North
Commander
South
Commander
Place
Vicksburg, Siege of
/
Vicksburg, Miss.
May 19-July 4,
1863
Grant
Pemberton
Casualties
North
South
10,000
10,000
Vicksburg was the key city guarding the Mississippi between Memphis and New Orleans. In this brilliant
offensive by Grant, followed four days later by the fall of Port Hudson, La., the North cut the Confederacy in
two. The North now had control of the Mississippi River and with Kentucky, Western Tennessee, Western
Mississippi, and a Navy to blockade sea ports, the North had an encirclement which led to the eventual
strangulation of the Confederacy. Further, it effectively settled the war in the West. The South did not have
the troops to fight a war in several directions at once.
Common Name/
North
Commander
Dates
South
Commander
Place
Gettysburg / Pa.
July 1-3,
1863
Meade
Lee
Casualties
North
South
23,000
25,00028,000
While Grant was capturing Vicksburg, Lee swung his army up the Shenandoah Valley into Pennsylvania.
The Army of the Potomac followed and both armies moved toward the little town of Gettysburg, Pa. Lincoln
had put General George G. Meade, a Pennsylvanian, in command of the Union troops.
For the first three days of July, a Northern army of about 85,000 men fought a Southern army of about
65,000 in the greatest battle ever fought in the Western Hemisphere. The Northern victory marked a turning
point in the war. Lee would never again have the troop strength to launch a major offensive.
Common Name/
Dates
North
Commander
South
Commander
Place
Chickamauga / Ga.
Sept. 19-20, 1863
Rosecrans
Bragg
Casualties
North
South
18,500
16,200
This major Southern victory trapped Rosecrans at Chattanooga but once again the South failed to take
advantage.
Common Name/
Dates
North
Commander
South
Commander
Place
Chattanooga / Tenn.
Nov. 23-25,
1863
Grant
Bragg
Casualties
North
South
5,800
7,700
Grant did not lack for supplies and soldiers and turned a precarious situation into a Union win -- putting
most of Tennessee into Northern hands. Less than four months later, March 9, 1864, Lincoln named Grant
general-in-chief of the Union Armies.
Common Name/
Dates
North
Commander
South
Commander
Place
Wilderness / Va.
May 5-6,
1864
Grant
Lee
Casualties
North
South
17,700
11,000
Under other circumstances this would have been a victory for the South but Grant had superior forces,
supply lines, replacement troops, and a boldness to match Lee's. Heavy losses failed to halt his progress
southward.
Common Name/
Dates
North
Commander
South
Commander
Place
Spotsylvania, Va.
Court House
May 8-19, 1864
Grant
Lee
Casualties
North
South
17,500
10,000
Lee, continuing to fight from defensive positions, inflicted heavy losses on Northern forces but Grant kept
storming ahead.
Common Name/
Dates
North
Commander
South
Commander
Place
Cold Harbor / Va.
June 1-3,
1864
Grant
Lee
Casualties
North
South
12,000
1,500
Finally, Grant marched into a buzzsaw. Here about 50,000 attackers faced 30,000 defenders in trenches
across a 3-mile line. Northern troops charged in a frontal assault and gunfire cut down 7,000 of them in the
first few minutes of the charge. "I regret this assault more than any one I have ever ordered," Grant said.
These heavy losses forced a change of tactics.
Common Name/
Dates
North
Commander
South
Commander
Place
Petersburg, Va.
Siege of
June 20,
1864April 2, 1865
Grant
Lee
Casualties
North
South
42,000
28,000
Grant now realized that the end of the war was just a matter of time. He launched the siege of Petersburg
and pinned down Lee's Virginia army with months of trench warfare while his commanders elswhere
finished off other resistance.
Common Name/
Dates
North
Commander
South
Commander
Place
Kennesaw
Mountain / Ga.
June 27,
1864
Sherman
J. Johnston
Casualties
North
South
2,100
400
Sherman had started his "march to the sea" but Davis knew he could not sustain victories in direct conflicts
with Sherman's army. In spite of this success he replaced Johnston with Hood with instructions to draw
Sherman out of Georgia. To achieve that end Hood invaded Tennessee.
Common Name/
Dates
North
Commander
South
Commander
Place
Mobile Bay / Ala.
Aug. 5, 1864
Farragut
Buchanan
North
Commander
South
Commander
Casualties
North
South
320
300
The North closed this major Southern port.
Common Name/
Dates
Place
Franklin / Tenn.
Nov. 30, 1864
Schofield
Hood
Casualties
North
South
2,300
6,300
This fierce battle of Hood's Tennessee campaign failed to draw Sherman from Georgia.
Common Name/
Dates
North
Commander
South
Commander
Place
Nashville / Tenn.
Dec. 15-16, 1864
Thomas
Hood
Casualties
North
South
3,100
6,000
Hood had regrouped after Franklin and managed to motivate his troops for another assault but this Northern
victory smashed Hood's army and essentially ended Southern resistance in the West.
On September 2, Sherman had conquered Atlanta and by Christmas he occupied Savannah. In September
and October Sheridan had ransacked the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. The next three months were
marked by mass desertions of Southern troops who just wanted to go home. By April 1865, it was over
when the 2nd Confederate troops gave up Petersburg and Richmond and on April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered
to Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia.
April 14...........
Lincoln assassinated.
April 26...........
Johnston surrendered to Sherman.
May 4..............
Confederate forces in Alabama and Mississippi surrendered.
May 11.............
Jefferson Davis captured.
May 26.............
The last Confederate troops surrendered.