Top 10 Battles 1845-1860

10. Battle of hampton roads

The battle of Hampton roads was where the first ironclad war ships ever, The USS monitor and the css Virginia fought in battle. It is the best known naval battle during the civil war

The battle took place on march 8th of 1862 near Sewell's point in Hampton Roads Virginia.

the battle took four hours... but there was no winner as cannonballs were not able to penetrate the iron walls of the USS Monitor or the Css Virginia

Outcome of battle

• there were about 600 casualties in the battle
• Most of the casualties were due to the css virginia hitting a nearby ship-the uss cumberland- which ended up on the ocean floor
• the battle ended in a stalemate

signifigance

• set up the basis for modern warships and for new ships for the rest of the civil war
• the battle was the most important naval battle of the war

9.Battle of fort sumter

After the secession of north Carolina, FOrt sumter, a union stronghold came under attack. that fort was fort sumter

The union, willing to hold onto the fort, but were low on supplies. Lincoln asked permission to send 3 unarmed ships to the fort to resupply.

On april the 11th...

surprisingly, the only death occurred during a gun salute where an artillery piece misfired, causing the first fatality of the war.

8. battle of shiloh

in the end, the south's sucess led to

The battle of SHILOH...

confederate general, Albert Sydney Johnston lead a surprise attack on grant's forces near Shiloh church.

quickly, grant's men formed small bands known as the hornets nest until main lines could be setup.

luckily for the union...

also in the union's favor, Confederate general Johnston was killed

thanks to the previous events

• union resistance was now increased
• in the end, confederate forces were pushed back 2 miles

A main takeaway from the battle is that neither side was going to back down without a fight like originally predicted by both sides

7. battle of antietam

on september 17th of 1862

the battle started of favoring the union as they launched lots of attacks on the left confederate flank.

this set of attacks lead to the bloody battle of Antietam

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• the confederacy held up well against the attacks from the flanks
• but the middle was a different story as the defense was easy to penetrate

luckily for the confederates, AP hill arrived just in time with reinforcements to stop total anaihalation

in the night, both forces went back to camp...

and it is claimed if the union attacked that night, the civil war would be done.

in the end

appomattox court house

the battle of Appomattox court house was fought outside Appomattox va.

here...

by 9am, the confederates were blocked on 3 sides and were doomed.

if it weren't for bad moves

5. battle of chancelorsville

On May 2, 1863, in rural Spotsylvania, 60,000 Confederate troops were ambushed by more than twice as many Union troops

the battle was considered to be Lee’s Perfect Battle as his decision to divide his army, giving “Stonewall” Jackson control of the second half of men to flank the Union military proved to be a masterful tactic

Jackson led an attack against Joseph Hooker’s right flank and rear.

But, Jackson was killed from friendly fire, thus leaving a gaping hole in Confederate military leadership

Chancellorsville crushed Northern morale in the short-term, but left an indelible gap in the long-term cohesion of the Southern army regiments,

4.Fall of atlanta

General grant intended to destroy all of the confederates trasportation and communication methods.

General William Tecumseh Sherman, following General George H. Thomas’s victory at the Battle of Chattanooga which exposed Georgia, he was sent with 100,000 Union troops towards the railroad hub of Atlanta.

General Sherman conquered Atlanta, and Davis’s dreams of Lincoln losing reelection in the wake of a resounding Union defeat were extinguished; Abraham Lincoln won reelection in 1864

3. first battle of bull run

the first official battle between the organized armies of the two nations took place at Manassas Junction, en route to the Confederate capital of Richmond. This where the battle of bull run occured

the first official battle between the organized armies of the two nations took place at Manassas Junction, en route to the Confederate capital of Richmond. This where the battle of bull run occured

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• Union General Irvin McDowell anticipated that his troops, unversed in the art of war, were unready for a major confrontation; though President Abraham Lincoln noted that the Confederate troops were equally inexperienced
• His fears of inexperience came true in the battle

His thirty thousand soldiers faced off against Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard, and during the initial phases of the war, Union troops succeeded in driving back the Confederate troops, all the way back to a line of Virginian soldiers led by General Thomas Jackson.

The line held, the Union soldiers retreated, and a Confederate remarked, “There is Jackson standing like a stone wall.” this is the origin of jackson's nick name "stonewall"

2. battle of gettysburg

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• On July 1 of 1863, Union forces clashed with Confederates
• A day later, the Federals found themselves on Cemetery Ridge, a tactically advantageous position to be in,

general Lee Sent General George E. Pickett and General James Pettigrew to execute a full frontal assault on the hill.

The ensuing slaughter is now known as Pickett’s Charge.

This Union victory, in conjunction with the triumph at Vicksburg, finally split the Confederate States of America

1. seige of vicksburg

In May of 1863, Union General Ulysses S. Grant began a siege of the fortified city of Vicksburg,

Jefferson Davis sent General Joseph E. Johnston to help defend Vicksburg.

AT this point

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• Capturing Vicksburg, the last major Confederate fort with control over the Mississippi, cemented Union control of the river
• This a crucial part of the anaconda plan

due to this, the confederate was now split in half and the already small supply counts shrunk yet again. it also caused a decline in southern communication

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