Transcript Civil War Battles

8th Grade Reenactment Battles
UNION (NORTH)
 General
Irvin
McDowell
(McDowell and
Beauregard were
West Point
classmates)
 37,000 troops
 2,900 casualties
CONFEDERACY (SOUTH)
 Generals
P.G.T.
Beauregard and Joseph
E. Johnston
 20,000
troops until
Johnston reinforced with
an additional 10,000)
 2,000 casualties

Just 25 southwest of Washington D.C. at Manassas Junction, Virginia on July 21,
1861

Most people thought and were hoping that the war would be over in one big
battle.

Hoping to witness a Union victory, congressmen, society leaders, ladies and local
towns people dressed in “Sunday best” and drove in carriages to picnic and watch
the war

All afternoon the battle raged on. It was not until Johnston and his 10,000 troops
who arrived by train (a first in war), that the Confederates defeated the Union

With the Confederates yelling their Rebel Yell, the Union troops retreated
running back to Washington D.C. and the battle was a clear CONFEDERATE
VICTORY

In the frantic rush, soldiers, spectators, horses and carriages mixed together in a
desperate attempt to flee the Confederate Army that was not pursuing them at all
Significance of battle

It was here that Confederate General Thomas Jackson earned his nickname, Stonewall
Jackson, at this battle as he stood steadfast with his brigade as bullets flew all around them.
General Bernard Bee pointed and said, “Look! There is Jackson standing like a stone wall!
Rally behind the Virginians!”

During the battle there was confusion over the similar flags and uniforms of the North and
South. After the battle the Confederate flag was decided upon and the colors associated
with each side became official: Union blue and Confederate gray.

Following the Confederate victory, Virginia seceded and Robert E. Lee (the best general
on either side) became general of the Confederate Army. Lincoln fired McDowell and
replaced him with Mexican War veteran, McClellan.

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.

The South was criticized for not pursuing the Union troops back to Washington D.C. and
taking the capital, but they were too disorganized

Any hopes of a quick victory (Union or Confederate) and end to the war were soon lost
Obstacle Course
Merrimac is on the left (Confederate) and Monitor is on the right (Union)
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UNION (NORTH)
CONFEDERACY (SOUTH)
The Monitor
Lieutenant John L Worden
9 inch thick armor plating
Had only two guns, but were
housed in a motor driven turret
that could be pointed in any
direction
Could travel in shallow waters
Looked like a “cheese box on a
raft”
The Merrimac (Virginia)
Lieutenant Catesby Jones
2 inch thick armor plating
Larger than the Monitor-weighed
twice as much causing it sit low in
the water
4 cannon on each side, bow gun,
stern gun
Hard to maneuver
Could only travel in deep water
channels
Looked like a “half submerged
crocodile
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March 9, 1862 First sea battle using ironclad ships (ironclads) at
Hampton Roads, Chesapeake Bay

The Merrimac had sunk two wooden Union ships, when the
Monitor arrived to defend the its ships

Most of the time the two ironclads were less than 50 yards apart
(they even touched several times), but no real damage was ever
done and no one was killed

Inside the ironclads, the men suffered from intense heat and
noise (the Monitor was better ventilated and boasted a toilet)

Although each captain thought he had won, the battle was a
decisive DRAW
Significance of battle
 The real loser of the battle proved to be the
wooden ships who were no longer a match for
the ironclads that did not burn or break under
attack.
 By the end of the war, the Union had more than
40 ironclads to the Confederacy’s 24
Water Battle
This print shows the Union troops, under Brig. General Benjamin Prentiss, who held out for six hours, withstanding a
dozen confederate assaults and point-blank artillery fire before surrendering on the first day of the Battle of Shiloh.
The buzzing sound of the intense firing gave this area of the battle, opposite the Peach Orchard, the name "Hornet's
Nest."
UNION (NORTH)
 General
Ulysses S.
CONFEDERACY (SOUTH)
 65,000
troops
Albert
Sidney Johnston
(killed the first day) &
P.G.T. Beauregard
 40,000 troops
 13,000
casualties
 10,500
Grant
 Generals
casualties
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April 6 & 7, 1862 at Shiloh Church, Tennessee

5 A.M. in the morning the Confederates made a surprise attack on unprepared
Union troops cooking breakfast who were waiting at Shiloh Church for
reinforcements before trying to capture a railway station in Mississippi

Ferocious fighting lasted for hours in an area nicknamed the “Hornets’ Nest”huge death toll and casualties including Confederate General Johnston who bled
to death when struck by a bullet in the leg

General Beauregard took command and turned all 62 cannon on the nest and
fired-once the smoke cleared nothing could be seen but splintered trees and
shattered men

Grant retreated and the Confederates won the first day; Beauregard was so sure
of a Confederate victory that he sent a premature telegram to Richmond
(Confederate capital) declaring that the South had won at Shiloh. However,
Union reinforcements came the next day and the Confederate Army was
defeated, resulting in a UNION VICTORY
Horrors of War

The horrors of war were shown at Shiloh

Grant said, “The ground was so covered with dead bodies you could walk
across the whole area without touching the ground.”

After the first day of fighting, the wounded and dead were left on the
battlefield. All night long troops could hear screaming and pleas for help and
water.

A thunderstorm happened that night with numerous flashes of lightning that
lit up the battlefield before the rain came. This allowed the wounded to see
wild hogs feeding on the bodies of the dead

Gunfire had ignited the dry underbrush and many wounded were burned to
death where they lay
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There were almost as many casualties at Shiloh as in the entire American
Revolution; this was the bloodiest day in the Civil War so far…
Significance of battle

Shiloh taught Generals Grant and Sherman (who later would be
referred to as one of the architects of modern warfare following
his March from Atlanta to the Sea where the Confederates
troops destroyed everything in their path including homes,
businesses and railroads and took private property, food and
livestock and freed slaves) to never underestimate the South’s
determination to win
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In the long run, Shiloh was a devastating loss for the
Confederacy in that it weakened the forces in the region and
they were unable to ever fully recovered

Union forces were able to take control of the rail lines which
was the first step of the Union controlling the Mississippi River
and the beginning of the Confederate loss of the West
Bombardment
“Bloody Lane”
There were 450 casualties in the first 5 minutes of fighting here. 2600 dead and
wounded Confederate Soldiers were left this lane when troops retreated.
UNION (NORTH)
General
George
McClellan
75,000 troops
12,400 casualties
CONFEDERACY (SOUTH)
General
Robert E.
Lee
40,000 troops
10,300 casualties
(25% of Lee’s
entire army)
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September 17, 1862 Sharpsburg, Maryland

More Americans lost their lives in a single day of battle than ever before or
ever since

Lee wanted to invade Maryland to obtain supplies and then move the war
north and out of Virginia and away from the ravages of war

Lee hoped a Confederate victory in the North would bring France or
England on the side of the Confederacy and motivate Northerners to sue for
peace

Lee knew and was counting on McClellan’s cautious tendencies, but
McClellan reorganized quickly and the two armies met at Antietam Creek
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Had McClellan attacked promptly, the Union could have easily defeated the
Confederates (who were vastly outnumbered), before Stonewall Jackson’s
reinforcements arrived.
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Union artillery fired at dawn all day long fighting
occurred in the cornfields, a sunken road that would be
nicknamed “Bloody Lane” and the bridge at Antietam
Creek
Cornfields
Fighting in the cornfields was described as a slaughter
pen
 Men lost control (weeping, screaming, laughing)
 Men used bayonets, clubbed rifles, punched, bit, choked
and scratched
 The cannon smoke made it impossible to distinguish
between friend or foe just one foot away
 Entire divisions were lost

Bloody Lane
Confederates took position on a sunken road behind a split
rail fence
 As Union troops approached they were met with rounds of
gunfire and were either killed or forced to retreat
 5 times Union forces assaulted and fell back until a group of
soldiers from a New York division broke through and fired
down upon the Confederates now stuck in a trap
 “We were shooting them like sheep in a trap”
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Antietam Creek
Confederate General Ambrose Burnside spent the day
capturing a bridge over Antietam Creek
 His 500 riflemen almost lost it before reinforcements arrived
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Significance of battle
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Lincoln went to Antietam for a surprise inspection of the troops and urged
McClellan to pursue and “destroy the rebel army if possible”.

McClellan did not, despite the fact that he could have put in 62,000 troops
(half of whom were completely fresh) compared to 33,000 Confederate
troops who were all exhausted and battered.
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McClellan had missed yet another chance to destroy the Confederates and
perhaps end the war. Lincoln fired McClellan and replaced him with
General Ambrose Burnside

Although the battle was technically a draw, Lincoln formally declared it a
Union victory to help gain support when he issued the Emancipation
Proclamation which freed the slaves just 5 days after the battle

Lincoln was morally opposed to slavery and knew that it would seriously
damage the southern economy and help bring the war to an end
Stratego
Pickett’s Charge
UNION (NORTH)
 General
George Meade
CONFEDERACY (SOUTH)
 General
 93,000
troops
 75,00
 23,000
casualties
 28,000
Robert E. Lee
troops
casualties (one
third of army)
 July
1-3, 1863 at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
 What
many believe to be the most decisive
encounter between the North and South in the
entire war
 Almost
one out of every three soldiers was
killed, wounded or missing in action
Union and Confederate goal was to get into good fighting
position
 Jeb Stuart made this difficult for the Confederates. Stuart
rode ahead of Lee on the trip North and his job was to
scout the Union army to find out their location and
numbers. He was unable to get back to Lee, so Lee had
no idea where or how big the Union Army was
 Most men of both armies were still marching towards
Gettysburg when the fighting broke out
 Soldiers fought along Chambersburg Road
 At the end of the day, Confederate Army controlled
Gettysburg and the Union was spread out on Culp’s Hill
and Cemetery Hill where Confederate position could
easily be seen
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Lee’s main goal was to gain control of Little Round Top and Big Round
Top
The Union’s 20th Maine infantry (led by Chamberlain) defended Little
Round Top against Alabama troops twice their number
5 times the Confederates charged up the hill and 5 times they held them
off
In an hour and a half 40,000 rounds of ammunition was used’
Running low on ammunition, Chamberlain ordered men to fix bayonets
to rifles and led a brave charge down the hill
The charge was a success as Alabama troops retreated and the Union
held its valuable position
Meanwhile, heavy combat was happening in the peach orchard, wheat
field and at Devil’s Den
At the end of the second day, the field was littered with 35,000 casualties,
but neither side retreated.
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Confederate General Longstreet had advised a march around the Union
army
Lee, however, insisted on one more attempt to break the Union line
Longstreet was certain that they could not defeat the Union due to their field
position and Lee was did not believe that his army could be beaten
General George Pickett and two other generals led the attack that would be
known as “Pickett’s Charge”
Despite their bravery, pride and precision, the Confederate troops were
slaughtered
More than 5,600 men died in this charge; most killed before they reached
the Union line
Pickett’s division was decimated; 2/3 of men were killed, all 13 colonels were
killed or wounded.
When Lee asked Pickett to reorganize his division for a counter attack he
replied, “General Lee, I have no division now”.
Significance of battle
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On the fourth of July, Lee retreated South
Lincoln was furious that Meade did not pursue Lee and defeat
the Confederate army and possibly end the war
The townsfolk of Gettysburg were left to care for the thousands
of wounded and bury the bodies of 5,000 horses and 8,000
soldiers
Lee was so distraught over the defeat that he offered his
resignation to Confederate president Jefferson Davis-he refused
it
The Confederate Army never invaded the North again
After the war, Pickett’s charge was the iconic symbol of
Confederate bravery in the face of death
Gettysburg was the beginning of the end of the war
The battles significance was immortalized with Lincoln’s famous
Gettysburg address; approximately 270 words and lasting only
two minutes
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