Transcript TE 407 Unit Plan Lesson Plan 4

10 Bloodiest Battles of the
Civil War
#10: The Battle of Fort
Donelson
Date: February 13-16, 1862
Location: Tennessee
Confederate Commander: John B. Floyd/Simon B. Buckner
Union Commander: Ulysses S. Grant
Confederate Forces Engaged: 21,000
Union Forces Engaged: 27,000
Winner: Union
Casualties: 19,455 (2,832 Union and 16,623 Confederate)
After capturing Fort Henry on February 6, 1862, Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant advanced cross-country to invest Fort Donelson. On
February 16, 1862, after the failure of their all-out attack aimed at breaking through Grant’s investment lines, the fort’s 12,000-man
garrison surrendered unconditionally. This was a major victory for Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and a catastrophe for the South. It
ensured that Kentucky would stay in the Union and opened up Tennessee for a Northern advance along the Tennessee and
Cumberland rivers. Grant received a promotion to major general for his victory and attained stature in the Western Theater, earning
the nom de guerre “Unconditional Surrender.”
#9: The Battle of Shiloh
Date: April 6-7, 1862
Location: Tennessee
Confederate Commander: Albert Sidney Johnston/ P. G. T. Beauregard
Union Commander: Ulysses S. Grant
Confederate Forces Engaged: 40,335
Union Forces Engaged: 62,682
Winner: Union
Casualties: 23,741 (13,047 Union and 10,694 Confederate)
http://www.history.com/videos/the-battle-ofshiloh?cmpid=MRSS_Bing_HIS#the-battle-of-shiloh
#8: The Battle of
Stones River
Date: December 31, 1862
Location: Tennessee
Confederate Commander: Braxton Bragg
Union Commander: William S. Rosecrans
Confederate Forces Engaged: 37,739
Union Forces Engaged: 41,400
Winner: Union
Casualties: 24,645 (12,906 Union and 11,739 Confederate)
In late December 1862, Union and Confederate forces clashed at the Battle of Stones River, near
Murfreesboro, Tennessee, during the American Civil War (1861-65). On December 31, Confederate
General Braxton Bragg's 34,000 troops successfully attacked the 42,000-strong Union Army commanded
by Major General William Rosecrans. Union forces withstood the assault, but retreated to a defensive
position, which they would hold against repeated attacks over the next three days. On January 2, 1863,
another Confederate assault was repelled by overwhelming Union artillery fire, forcing Bragg to order a
Southern retreat to Tullahoma, Tennessee. With more than 25,000 casualties, Stones River was one of the
deadliest battles of the war. The battle itself was inconclusive, but provided a much-needed boost to Union
morale following their defeat at Fredericksburg.
#7: The Second Battle
of Bull Run
Location: Virginia
Confederate Commander: Robert E. Lee
Union Commander: John Pope
Confederate Forces Engaged: 48,527
Union Forces Engaged: 75,696
Winner: Confederacy
Casualties: 25,251 (16,054 Union and 9,197 Confederate)
The Second Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) proved to be the deciding battle in the Civil War campaign
waged between Union and Confederate armies in northern Virginia in 1862. As a large Union force
commanded by John Pope waited for George McClellan's Army of the Potomac in anticipation of a
combined offensive, Confederate General Robert E. Lee decided to strike first. Lee sent half of his Army of
Northern Virginia to hit the Federal supply base at Manassas. Led by Stonewall Jackson, hero of the First
Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) 13 months earlier, the rebels seized supplies and burned the depot, then
established hidden positions in the woods. On August 29, Pope's Federals clashed with Jackson's men,
who held their ground with heavy losses on both sides. The following day, after the rest of Lee's army
arrived, 28,000 rebels led by James Longstreet launched a counterattack, forcing Pope to withdraw his
battered army toward Washington that night.
#6: The Battle of the
Wilderness
Date: May 5-7, 1864
Location: Virginia
Confederate Commander: Robert E. Lee
Union Commander: Ulysses S. Grant
Confederate Forces Engaged: 61,025
Union Forces Engaged: 101,895
Winner: Inconclusive
Casualties: 25,416 (17,666 Union and 7,750 Confederate)
The Battle of the Wilderness marked the first stage of a major Union offensive toward the Confederate capital of
Richmond, ordered by the newly named Union General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant in the spring of 1864. As the
Army of the Potomac crossed the Rapidan River on May 4, Confederate General Robert E. Lee determined that
his Army of Northern Virginia would confront the enemy in the dense Virginia woods known as the Wilderness.
Familiar terrain for the rebels, the heavy woods and dense undergrowth also negated the Union's numerical
advantage--115,000 to 65,000--by making it nearly impossible for a large army to make an orderly advance. Two
days of bloody and often chaotic combat followed, ending in a tactical draw and heavy casualties, especially on
the Union side. Grant refused to retreat, however, and instead ordered his battered troops to continued southward
in what would be a long and costly--but ultimately successful--campaign
#5: The Battle of
Antietam
Date: September 17, 1862
Location: Maryland
Confederate Commander: Robert E. Lee
Union Commander: George B. McClellan
Confederate Forces Engaged: 51,844
Union Forces Engaged: 75,316
Winner: Inconclusive (Strategic Union Victory)
Casualties: 26,134 (12,410 Union and 13,724 Confederate)
http://www.history.com/videos/the-battle-of-antietam#the-battle-of-antietam
#4: The Battle of
Spotsylvania Court
House
Date: May 8-19, 1864
Location: Virginia
Confederate Commander: Robert E. Lee
Union Commander: Ulysses S. Grant
Confederate Forces Engaged: 50,000
Union Forces Engaged: 83,000
Winner: Confederacy
Casualties: 27,399 (18,399 Union and 9)000 Confederate)
In May 1864, Confederate forces clashed with the advancing Union Army in the Battle of Spotsylvania Court
House, which lasted for the better part of two weeks and included some of the bloodiest fighting of the Civil War.
After an indecisive battle in the dense Virginia woods known as the Wilderness ended on May 7, Union General
Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Potomac marched southward, meeting Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern
Virginia once again at the crossroads town of Spotsylvania Court House the next day. Over the 12 days that
followed, Union troops briefly broke the Confederate line, but the rebels managed to close the gap and hold their
ground. The battle, which cost 18,000 Union and 11,000 Confederate casualties, included nearly 20 hours of
brutal hand-to-hand combat at the infamous "Bloody Angle," a section of the Confederate salient, on May 12-13.
On May 21, Grant disengaged his troops and ordered them to continue their march south toward the Confederate
capital of Richmond.
#3: The Battle of
Chancellorsville
Date: May 1-4, 1863
Location: Virginia
Confederate Commander: Robert E. Lee
Union Commander: Joseph Hooker
Confederate Forces Engaged: 60,892
Union Forces Engaged: 133,868
Winner: Confederacy
Casualties: 30,099 (17,278 Union and 12,821 Confederate)
http://www.history.com/videos/battle-at-chancellorsville#battle-atchancellorsville
#2: The Chickamauga
Campaign
Date: September 19-20, 1863
Location: Georgia
Confederate Commander: Braxton Bragg
Union Commander: William Rosecrans
Confederate Forces Engaged: 66,326
Union Forces Engaged: 58,222
Winner: Confederacy
Casualties: 34,624 (16,170 Union and 18,454 Confederate)
On September 19-20, 1863, Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee defeated a Union force commanded by
General William Rosecrans in the Battle of Chickamauga, during the American Civil War. After Rosecrans'
troops pushed the Confederates out of Chattanooga early that month, Bragg called for reinforcements and
launched a counterattack on the banks of nearby Chickamauga Creek. Over two days of battle, the rebels
forced Rosecrans to give way, with heavy losses on both sides. Bragg failed to press his advantage after
the victory, however, allowing the Federals to safely reach Chattanooga. Ulysses S. Grant soon arrived
with reinforcements, allowing the Union to reverse the results of Chickamauga and score a lasting victory
in the region that November.
#1: The Battle of
Gettysburg
Date: July 1-3, 1863
Location: Pennsylvania
Confederate Commander: Robert E. Lee
Union Commander: George G. Meade
Confederate Forces Engaged: 75,000
Union Forces Engaged: 82,289
Winner: Union
Casualties: 51,112 (23,049 Union and 28,063 Confederate)
http://www.history.com/videos/the-battle-of-gettysburg#the-battle-ofgettysburg
Further Exploration
http://www.history.com/topics/battle-ofantietam/interactives/civil-war-150#/home