civil war

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln as a wartime leader

"The political objective is the goal, war is the means of reaching it, and means can never be considered in isolation from their purpose. Therefore, it is clear that war should never be thought of as something autonomous but always as an instrument of policy." viewed war as a means to end, a way of enforcing policy. He was much less adept then jefferson davis.

general George Meade

(1815-1872) was a U.S. Army general and civil engineer who served as commander of the Union Army of the Potomac during the Civil War (1861-65). Meade entered the Civil War as a brigadier general and first served during the Peninsula Campaign in 1862. He was badly wounded at the Battle of Glendale during the Seven Days Battles, but recovered and went on to perform admirably at the Battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg. Meade succeeded General Joseph Hooker as commanding officer of the Army of the Potomac in June 1863. Only a few days later Meade achieved a major victory at the Battle of Gettysburg, where his army repelled repeated assaults by General Robert E. Lee's Confederate forces. While Meade's victory crippled the Confederate Army, he was widely criticized for allowing Lee's weakened force to escape into Virginia. Meade's reputation for caution led to the appointment of the more aggressive Ulysses S. Grant as Union general-in-chief in 1864. Meade continued to lead the Army of the Potomac in a subordinate role until the end of the war, serving at the Battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor.

Grants overland campaign

- 6 weeks 60 thousand casualties. Beginning of trench warfare in a sense.

The Whig Party Opposition and the Mexican War

As the Mexican War continued through 1847, Americans expressed a growing amount of opposition to a war that originally promised as an easy victory was growing into a drawn-out costly endeavor. In July 1847, former Whig Senator William Cabell Rives spoke at the University of Virginia against the war. He emphasized that the US had no right to "interfere with the institutions of other countries' and maintained that other people in other countries should be free to pursuer their own happiness and destiny, just as we are able to enjoy these pursuits without interference. He closed his speech with the censure that to "extend the limits of empire by violence and conquest is a low and discredited ambition;but to extend the moral empire;is an ambition worthy of the age and worthy of America' (Richmond Whig and Public Advertiser, July 9, 1847, 4). Additionally, the Richmond Whig, a political paper in Virginia, stated earlier in the year that it desired neither the soil of conquered Mexico nor the despised people that covered its lands. The motivation behind these Whig party oppositions was basically the avoidance of addressing the issue of slavery and looking forward to the upcoming presidential election and their strategy for a victorious platform. They felt that the position of No Territory was the only real option for the termination of the Mexican War while still preserving the nation's honor and avoiding the powder keg issue of slavery.

Battle of Plattsburgh Bay on Lake Champlain

In early September 1814, a British army under George Prevost (1767-1816) entered New York State from Canada and advanced toward Plattsburgh. British ground troops soon engaged in skirmishes with the Americans. Then, on September 11, a British naval squadron under Captain George Downie sailed into battle against a smaller American naval force under Master Commandant Thomas Macdonough (1783-1824), who was waiting at Plattsburgh Bay on Lake Champlain. Shortly after the battle began, Downie was killed, and after several hours of fighting, the British surrendered. Prevost called off the land battle, and the British retreated to Canada. During the Battle of Plattsburg on Lake Champlain, a newly built U.S. fleet under Master Commandant Thomas Macdonough destroys a British squadron, forcing the British to abandon their siege of the U.S. fort at Plattsburg and retreat to Canada on foot.

jeb stuart

Jeb Stuart was born on February 6, 1833, in Patrick County, Virginia. In 1854, he became a second lieutenant of Army cavalry. In 1859, he was sent to help General Robert E. Lee suppress the raid at Harper's Ferry. During the Civil War, he served as a Confederate colonel at the Battle of Bull Run and was promoted to general. He died at the Battle of Yellow Tavern in Richmond, Virginia, on May, 12 1864.

General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna

Mexican political leader, general, and president who greatly influenced early Mexican and Spanish politics and government, fought first against Mexican independence from Spain.When the U.S.-Mexican War erupted, Santa Anna was living in Cuba as an exile. Sensing an opportunity for a comeback, he returned to his native country and engineered a coup against the government. Santa Anna installed himself as president and, once again, national savior. He failed in this gambit, however, and U.S. success in the war once again forced Santa Anna into exile, this time in Colombia. He made one more comeback, in 1853, and secured the presidency for the 11th time. Santa Anna died in Mexico in 1876.

Capture of Chapultepec in Mexico City

On September 13, 1847 Major General Winfield Scott captured Mexico City after taking the Castle of Chapultepec the night before.The final blow to General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna's defense of Mexico City came on September 13 and 14. U.S. forces followed up the victory at Chapultepec by pursuing the retreating Mexican forces to the west-side gates of the city. In fighting that lasted throughout the afternoon of September 13, American troops under General William Worth carried the fortified Garita San Cosme, while those of John Quitman's division captured the Garita de Belén. Americans killed or captured some 3,000 Mexican troops in this close, brutal, and deadly combat, while suffering 800 casualties of their own. That night, U.S. General Winfield Scott ordered his commands to reorganize, consolidate, and prepare for savage house-to-house fighting the next day. The Americans - tired, shot up, but victorious - anxiously awaited the coming dawn.As a result of the disasters at Chapultepec and at the garitas, chaos reigned among the Mexican army and government inside the city. With the Americans inside the gates and in control of the roads to the south and west, officials believed that their cause was lost and that the capital city would soon become a battleground. Santa Anna, persuaded that the struggle was no longer worth the costs in lives and property, led the battered remnants of the Mexican national army out of town to regroup, rearm, and plot their next move. In the early hours of September 14, instead of having to fight his way through town, Scott instead received a delegation of Mexican politicians who surrendered the city unconditionally. The U.S. army that had begun the campaign to capture Mexico City in early March now marched triumphantly to the national plaza, victorious at last.

Battle of Antietam

On September 17, 1862, Generals Robert E. Lee and George McClellan faced off near Antietam creek in Sharpsburg, Maryland, in the the first battle of the American Civil War to be fought on northern soil.Though McClellan failed toutlilize his numerical superiority to crush Lee'sarmy, he was able to check the Confederate advance intothe north. Aftera string ofUnion defeats, this tacticalvictory provided Abraham Lincoln the political cover he needed to issue his Emancipation Proclamation. Though the result of the battle was inconclusive, itremains the bloodiest single day in American history, withmore than 22,000 casualties. Following Second Manassas, General Robert E. Lee advanced into Maryland, believing that the potential strategic and political gains justified his defiance of the avowed Confederate defensive policy. Lee's complex operational plan divided his outnumbered force; disaster loomed when a lost copy of that plan came to the Union commander, Major General George B. McClellan. Slow, cautious, and defensive-minded, however, McClellan wasted all the advantages of his lucky discovery and his two-to-one numerical superiority. The battleground Lee selected was well suited for defense but dangerous as well, having the Potomac River behind him. McClellan planned to overwhelm Lee's left flank but failed to exercise command control, so the combat diffused south along the battle line. The first four hours of fighting, much of it across farmer David Miller's thirty-acre cornfield, were indecisive. Next came a series of bloody head-on attacks against Lee's center that finally overran the area afterward called Bloody Lane. The last action of the day was against Lee's right, where Union troops pierced the line (weakened to reinforce other sections) but were stopped by late-arriving Confederate reinforcements. Lee withdrew across the river on September 18, suffering 10,318 casualties (of 38,000 engaged) to McClellan's 12,401 (of 75,000). The draw that the Union claimed as a victory provided the Lincoln administration enough justification to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. A series of graphic battlefield photographs of the dead, taken by Alexander Gardner, brought to the home front "the terrible earnestness of war."

Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman

Perhaps the originator and the first practitioner of what the twentieth century came to know as "total war," William Tecumseh Sherman in 1864 commanded the Union armies of the West in the decisive drive from Chattanooga to Atlanta and the famous "march to the sea" across Georgia. In these campaigns and his later push northward from Savannah through the Carolinas, Sherman's troops carried the war to the Southern home front and blazed a wide path of destruction that delivered the death blow to the Confederacy's will and ability to fight. For the accompanying destruction, his name is still cursed in some parts of the South; but he is also recognized as a great strategist, a forceful leader, and-together with Ulysses Grant -the ablest Union general of the war.In the battles before Atlanta, Sherman's opponent was Joseph E. Johnston; but Johnston's skilled retreats before Sherman's turning tactics exasperated President Jefferson Davis, who replaced Johnston with the belligerent John B. Hood. Sherman soundly defeated Hood in several engagements and occupied Atlanta early in September 1864. On November 15, in perhaps the boldest act of the war, he led an army of sixty-two thousand men in two wings, with thirty-five thousand horses and twenty-five hundred wagons, on an overland march to Savannah-cutting himself off from his line of supply and sustaining his army on the land. "The utter destruction of [Georgia's] roads, houses and people," he had written, "will cripple their military resources... I can make Georgia howl!" Encountering little organized opposition, Sherman took Savannah on December 21, 1864, and later turned north for the Carolinas, covering 450 miles in fifty days. The results of this remarkable march justified Sherman's strategic expectations and, together with Grant's victories in Virginia, destroyed the Confederacy's ability to carry on the war. It is still disputed, however, whether the burning of Atlanta, the later burning of Columbia, South Carolina, and the depredations of "Sherman's bummers" were either necessary or unpreventable. For his military prowess, Sherman is justly renowned; he succeeded Grant as commander in chief in 1869 and remained in that post until 1883. Two memorable remarks of his also have entered history. Having written to Mayor Calhoun of Atlanta in 1874 that "war is cruelty, and you cannot refine it," he sharpened this definition in a commencement address at the Michigan Military Academy in 1879 to the oft-quoted phrase "War is hell."

Siege of Petersburg

Practically every day, for nine months, General Grant was weakening General Lee, very slowly but gradually. The Siege of Petersburg ended on April 3, and only six days later on April 9, General Lee surrendered, ending the war. In this battle, neither the Union nor the Confederates won.

The Battle of Hampton Roads

The Battle of Hampton Roads, often referred to as either the Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack (or Virginia) or the Battle of Ironclads, was the most noted and arguably most important naval battle of the American Civil War from the standpoint of the development of navies. The major significance of the battle is that it was the first meeting in combat of ironclad warships, i.e. the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia. The Confederate fleet consisted of the ironclad ram Virginia (built from the remnants of the USS Merrimack) and several supporting vessels. battle ends in a draw.

Capture of Fort Sumter, SC

The Battle of Fort Sumter (April 12-14, 1861) was the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter, near Charleston, South Carolina, that started the American Civil War. Following declarations of secession by seven Southern states, South Carolina demanded that the US Army abandon its facilities in Charleston Harbor. Fort Sumter is historically significant as the location of the first shots fired in the American Civil War. The United States began building Fort Sumter after the War of 1812 to strengthen the defense of its southern ports. After South Carolina's secession from the Union, Union forces occupied the unfinished Fort Sumter. After 3 1/2 days of battle, Union troops, led by Major Robert Anderson, surrendered.

The Peninsula Campaign

of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The Peninsula Campaign of 1862 was a Union attempt to capture Richmond, Virginia, from March to early August 1862. Despite coming close to their goal, Union troops were stopped by Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

Peace Treaty of Ghent (1814)

signed on December 24, 1814, in the city of Ghent, Belgium. This was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. It also set up a commission to determine the disputed Canada/U.S. border.

President Thomas Jefferson's military, naval, and militia policies

swarn into office during a war, the barbary war. Thomas Jefferson cut the spending and funding of the US military, which he believed to be a waste of valuable time and resources. He also fought for a stance of Neutrality during his presidency, avoiding involvement in French and British conflicts. he put embargos on them refusing them the service of any american ships during this time period. Avoide war unless you have to fight it for the greater good.

capture of Vicksburg

the Battle of Vicksburg, Mississippi, also called the Siege of Vicksburg, was the culmination of a long land and naval campaign by Union forces to capture a key strategic position during the American Civil War. Yet, Vicksburg's loss was in many ways more important to the war. Now, Union forces had complete control of the Mississippi River and had in effect cut the Confederacy in two. Confederate forces in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas were now isolated from the rest of the South. cut the south in two and gave them controll of Mississippi

the First Battle of Bull Run

the First Battle of Bull Run, also known as Battle of First Manassas (the name used by Confederate forces), was fought on July 21, 1861 in Prince William County, Virginia, just north of the city of Manassas and about 25 miles west-southwest of Washington, D.C. It was the first major battle of the American Civil War. confederate victory, disorginized retreat by union soldiers.

Society of the Cincinnati

the society of the Cincinnati is a patriotic-hereditary society with branches in the United States and France, founded in 1783, to preserve the ideals and fellowship of officers of the Continental Army who served in the Revolutionary War. The first meeting of the Society was held in May 1783 at a dinner at Mount Gulian (Verplanck House) in Fishkill, New York, before the British evacuation from New York City. Membership was generally limited to officers who had served at least three years in the Continental Army or Navy; it included officers of the French Army and Navy above certain ranks. Officers in the Continental Line who died during the War were also entitled to be recorded as members, and membership would devolve to their eldest male heir. Members of the considerably larger fighting forces comprising the Colonial Militias and Minutemen were not entitled to join the Society. The Society is named after Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus. Within 12 months of the founding, a constituent Society had been organized in each of the 13 states and in France. Of about 5,500 men originally eligible for membership, 2,150 had joined within a year. King Louis XVI ordained the French Society of the Cincinnati, which was organized on July 4, 1784 (Independence Day). Up to that time, the King of France had not allowed his officers to wear any foreign decorations, but he made an exception in favor of the badge of the Cincinnati. George Washington was elected the first President General of the Society. He served from December 1783 until his death in 1799. The second President General was Alexander Hamilton. Upon Hamilton's death due to his duel with Aaron Burr, the third President General of the Society was Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. In 1808, he ran unsuccessfully for President of the United States against James Madison.

Confederate President Jefferson Davis as wartime leader

was a Mexican War hero, Davis faced difficulties throughout the war as he struggled to manage the Southern war effort, maintain control the Confederate economy and keep a new nation united. Davis' often contentious personality led to conflicts with other politicians as well as his own military officers. graduated westpoint and was adept as a military leader, focussed on wartime strategies to much and neglected domestic policies which in turn hurt him in the long run.

The War of 1812: Causes, War Aims, Strategies, Results

was a military conflict that lasted from June 1812 to February 1815, fought between the United States of America and the United Kingdom, its North American colonies, and its Native American allies. Causes of the war included British attempts to restrict U.S. trade, the Royal Navy's impressment of American seamen and America's desire to expand its territory. The United States suffered many costly defeats at the hands of British, Canadian and Native American troops over the course of the War of 1812, including the capture and burning of the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., in August 1814. Nonetheless, American troops were able to repulse British invasions in New York, Baltimore and New Orleans, boosting national confidence and fostering a new spirit of patriotism. The ratification of the Treaty of Ghent on February 17, 1815, ended the war but left many of the most contentious questions unresolved. Nonetheless, many in the United States celebrated the War of 1812 as a "second war of independence," beginning an era of partisan agreement and national pride.The British were engaged in a life-and-death war with Napoleon and could not allow the Americans to help the enemy, regardless of their lawful neutral rights to do so. As Horsman explains, "If possible, England wished to avoid war with America, but not to the extent of allowing her to hinder the British war effort against France. Moreover...a large section of influential British opinion, both in the government and in the country, thought that America presented a threat to British maritime supremacy.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S. declaration of war. First, a series of trade restrictions called the Orders in Council (1807) introduced by Britain to impede American trade with France, a country with which Britain was at war; the U.S. contested these restrictions as illegal under international law.[2] Second, the impressment (forced recruitment) of U.S. citizens into the Royal Navy. Third, the alleged British military support for American Indians who were offering armed resistance to the United States.[3] An unstated but powerful motivation for the Americans was the need to uphold national honor in the face of British insults (such as the Chesapeake affair.)[4] There also may have been an American desire to annex Canada.

John C. Calhoun's Policies as Secretary of War

Calhoun continued his role as a leading nationalist during the "Era of Good Feelings". He proposed an elaborate program of national reforms to the infrastructure that would speed economic modernization. His first priority was an effective navy, including steam frigates, and in the second place a standing army of adequate size; and as further preparation for emergency "great permanent roads", "a certain encouragement" to manufactures, and a system of internal taxation which would not be subject to collapse by a war-time shrinkage of maritime trade like customs duties. He spoke for a national bank, for internal improvements (such as harbors, canals and river navigation) and a protective tariff that would help the industrial Northeast and, especially, pay for the expensive new infrastructure.[38]As secretary, Calhoun had responsibility for management of Indian affairs. He promoted a plan, adopted by Monroe in 1825, to preserve the sovereignty of Eastern Indians by relocating them to western reservations they could control without interference from state governments.[40] In over seven years Calhoun supervised the negotiation and ratification of 40 treaties with Indian tribes.[41] Calhoun opposed the invasion of Florida launched in 1818 by General Jackson during the First Seminole War, which was done without direct authorization from Calhoun or President Monroe. The United States annexed Florida from Spain in 1819 through the Adams-Onis Treaty.[8] A reform-minded modernizer, he attempted to institute centralization and efficiency in the Indian Department and in the Army by establishing new coastal and frontier fortifications and building military roads, but Congress either failed to respond to his reforms or responded with hostility. Calhoun's frustration with congressional inaction, political rivalries, and ideological differences spurred him to create the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1824.The responsibilities of the bureau were to manage treaty negotiations, schools, and trade with Indians, in addition to handling all expenditures and correspondence concerning Indian affairs. Thomas McKenney was appointed as the first head of the bureau.[43]

War Aims and Strategies of both sides in the Civil War

Confederacy - Its goal was to secure independence from the North and to establish an independent nation free from Northern political oppression and the repression of slavery. The War from beginning to end would be a noble crusade for democracy for white people. This goal was grounded firmly in the belief that the Constitution protected slavery, but the Union had denied that right. Southerners, therefore, had the right to secede as it was the only way to defend their right to own slaves and their belief in states' rights. Their actions, therefore, were defensive as they had no choice but secession because of the oppressive politics of the North Union - Its initial goal was to reconcile the Union, while its mid-war goal became to reunite states under a Union in which slavery was not tolerated. The war from beginning to end would be a noble crusade for democracy for all people, not just in America, but throughout the world. This goal was grounded firmly in the belief that the South had no right to secede from the Union and that secession was treasonous and paramount to an act of war against the Union. Their actions, therefore, were defensive as they had no choice but to call for troops after the firing of Fort Sumter.

Norths later indirect strategy

Destroy cotton plantations, Sheridan is coming from the west, destroy civilian morale; this was the plan of the north. Major indirect strategy.

Battle of Buena Vista

During the Mexican-American War, Mexican General Santa Anna surrounds the outnumbered forces of U.S. General Zachary Taylor at the Angostura Pass in Mexico and demands an immediate surrender. Taylor refused, allegedly replying, "Tell him to go to hell," and early the next morning Santa Anna dispatched some 15,000 troops to move against the 5,000 Americans. The superior U.S. artillery was able to halt one of the two advancing Mexican divisions, while Jefferson Davis' Mississippi riflemen led the defense of the extreme left flank against the other Mexican advance. By five o'clock in the afternoon, the Mexicans begin to withdraw.

Admiral David Farragut

During the War of 1812, the Essex sailed to South America, where the precocious Farragut took a captured British ship into Santiago, Chile. By all accounts, he conducted himself with calm courage during his ship's defeat. After this excitement, 45 years of routine naval duty followed. At the start of the Civil War, Farragut was nearly 60, a naval captain living with his wife in Virginia. A Southerner by birth, Farragut nonetheless pledged his allegiance to the Union cause and was given command of a heavy fleet. His orders: to open the mouth of the Mississippi by taking New Orleans. This Farragut did in April 1862. For his accomplishments, on July 16 of that year he was made the first rear admiral in the U.S. Navy. He had already earned another title, "Old Salamander," when he ran his ships under heavy enemy fire between New Orleans' forts Sixteen months later, he took the last Confederate stronghold on the Gulf of Mexico in the celebrated Battle of Mobile Bay. The heavily guarded bay entrance was filled with mines, then known as torpedoes. Farragut's cry of "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" is now the stuff of legend, but it was also good tactics. All but one of the fleet's 18 ships passed safely through the channel, and in August 1864, Mobile Bay's forts fell. "Old Salamander" returned to Union territory a hero.

theatres of civil war

E ► Eastern Theater of the American Civil War‎ (3 C, 3 P) L ► Lower Seaboard Theater and Gulf Approach of the American Civil War‎ (2 C, 1 P) P ► Pacific Coast Theater of the American Civil War‎ (10 C, 26 P) T ► Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War‎ (17 C, 1 P) W ► Western Theater of the American Civil War‎

British attack on Baltimore & Fort McHenry

Following their successful campaign against Washington DC, British forces under Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane and Major General Robert Ross advanced up the Chesapeake Bay to attack Baltimore, MD. A vital port city, Baltimore was believed by the British to be the base of many of the American privateers that were preying on their shipping. To take the city, Ross and Cochrane planned a two-prong attack with the former landing at North Point and advancing overland, while the latter attacked Fort McHenry and the harbor defenses by water. the morning of September 12, 1814, the British landed more than 3,000 troops at North Point. They marched north and west to attack the city. At first light on September 13, British ships of war began to fire bombs, rockets, and cannon balls at Fort McHenry. The hope was the Americans would panic, evacuate the fort and leave Baltimore defenseless. For 25 hours, as lightning flashed and rain fell, the British bombarded the fort, firing between 1,500 and 1,800 rounds, but causing only four deaths and leaving 24 wounded. Major George Armistead and the 1,000 patriot defenders fired back with their cannons when the British ships sailed within range.

battle of Chancolersville

Fought in the Wilderness region of Virginia, Chancellorsville was General Robert E. Lee's greatest defensive victory, an outstanding example of command partnership and the misuse of strategic initiative. On April 30, Lee (whose 60,000 men occupied the Fredericksburg heights) found 80,000 enemy troops behind him, thanks to a brilliantly executed march and river crossing by Union major general Joseph Hooker, who proclaimed Lee could either "ingloriously fly" or give "battle on our ground." Unnerved by sharp counterattacks delivered by the outnumbered Confederate rear guard, Hooker squandered his advantage by halting to erect defenses near the Chancellor farm. Lee arrived on May 1, and together with his able subordinate Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, planned his own flank movement. Early on May 2, Jackson and 30,000 men followed a circuitous route that brought them against Hooker's weak right flank. Jackson's attack, begun in late afternoon, was a brilliant tactical success that destroyed half of Hooker's line; only nightfall prevented a complete victory. Jackson, scouting in the dark, was mortally wounded by his own pickets. The most intense combat of the battle took place on May 3, with Hooker now defending against Lee's attack. In masterful crisis management, Lee simultaneously parried a thrust against his rear by the 27,000 troops Hooker had left behind. On May 6, Hooker recrossed the Rappahannock, having lost 17,278 casualties to Lee's 12,826, including the irreplaceable Jackson. Lee now possessed the strategic initiative, which in a few weeks would lead him north to Gettysburg.

star spangled banner

Francis scott key penned this song after he wittnessed the bombings that took place in Maryland on fort McHenry, in which amist a missive scale bombing, the flag still stood in diffance at the end of the day, Hence " the flag was still there"

union civil war strategy

Fully blockade all Southern coasts. This strategy, known as the ANACONDA PLAN, would eliminate the possibility of Confederate help from abroad. Control the Mississippi River. The river was the South's major inland waterway. Also, Northern control of the rivers would separate Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas from the other Confederate states. Capture RICHMOND. Without its capital, the Confederacy's command lines would be disrupted. Shatter Southern civilian morale by capturing and destroying ATLANTA, SAVANNAH, and the heart of Southern secession, South Carolina. Use the numerical advantage of Northern troops to engage the enemy everywhere to break the spirits of the Confederate Army

Gen. Joseph E. Johnston

General Joseph E. Johnston was the highest-ranking U.S. Army officer to join the Confederacy during the Civil War, and was the only Confederate general to command both the Eastern and Western theaters of battle. Realizing the tragedy of a prolonged war, Johnston disobeyed orders and met Sherman again at the Bennitt farm on April 26. The final agreement was simply a military surrender which ended the war in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida, and involved 89,270 soldiers.

general George McClellan

George McClellan built the most famous Union army of the war, the Army of the Potomac, and led the army to victory at the Battle of Antietam. He also ran for president in 1864! George McClellan's story is one of success and failure, and it is very important to the history of the American Civil War.Because McClellan failed to pursue Lee aggressively after Antietam, Lincoln ordered that he be removed from command on November 5, 1862. Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside assumed command of the Army of the Potomac on November 9, 1862.

Henry David Thoreau and his dissent in the Mexican War

Henry david thoreau waas sent to prison for his disobedience of the mexican war, and his refusal to pay taxes that he knew would be going to the war effort. he wrote an essay that has since become the standard for peaceful protesting of a war effort. His opposition of manifest destiny, and what it meant for other cultures as well as our own.

Battle of Shiloh

In the early dawn of April 6, a Yankee patrol found the Confederates poised for battle just a mile from the main Union army. Johnston attacked, driving the surprised bluecoats back near Shiloh Church. Throughout the day, the Confederates battered the Union army, driving it back towards Pittsburgh Landing and threatening to trap it against the Tennessee River. Many troops on both sides had no experience in battle. The chances for a complete Confederate victory diminished as troops from Buell's army began arriving, and Grant's command on the battlefield shored up the sagging Union line. In the middle of the afternoon, Johnston rode forward to direct the Confederate attack and was struck in the leg by a bullet, severing an artery and causing him to quickly bleed to death. He became the highest ranking general on either side killed during the war. General Pierre G. T. Beauregard (1818-93) assumed control, and he halted the advance at nightfall. The Union army was driven back two miles, but it did not break. Now, Grant was joined by the vanguard of the Buell's army. With an advantage in terms of troop numbers, Grant counterattacked on April 7. The tired Confederates slowly retreated, but they inflicted heavy casualties on the Yankees. By nightfall, the Union had driven the Confederates back to Shiloh Church, recapturing grisly reminders of the previous day's battle such as the Hornet's Nest, the Peach Orchard and Bloody Pond. The Confederates finally limped back to Corinth, thus giving a major victory to Grant. extreamly bloody battle

Battle of Lake Erie

In the first unqualified defeat of a British naval squadron in history, U.S. Captain Oliver Hazard Perry leads a fleet of nine American ships to victory over a squadron of six British warships at the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. The battle was closely contested for hours, and Perry's flagship Lawrence was reduced to a defenseless wreck. He then transferred to the Niagara and sailed directly into the British line, firing broadsides and forcing the British to surrender. Perry had won a complete victory at the cost of 27 Americans killed and 96 wounded; British casualties were 40 dead and 94 wounded. After the battle, Perry sent a famous dispatch to U.S. General William Henry Harrison that read, "We have met the enemy, and they are ours." The Battle of Lake Erie forced the British to abandon Detroit, ensuring U.S. control over Lake Erie and the territorial northwest.

The Whiskey Rebellion (1794)

Revolt against the US government in w Pennsylvania. It was provoked by a tax on whisky, and was the first serious challenge to federal authority. Collection of the tax met violent resistance, but when President Washington called out the militia, the rebellion collapsed. It was a result of Alexander Hamilton's doing, with his aim to pay off the mass amount of debt that had compiled as a result of the war. Many of the resisters were war veterans who believed that they were fighting for the principles of the American revolution stating that they were fighting on the same principals of no taxation without representation, especially since whiskey was a form of exchange currency at the time of the rebellion. The Whiskey Rebellion demonstrated that the new national government had the will and the ability to suppress violent resistance to its laws. The whiskey excise remained difficult to collect, however. 2 men died during the whiskey rebellion

robert e lee

Robert E. Lee (1807-70) served as a military officer in the U.S. Army, a West Point commandant and the legendary general of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War (1861-65). In June 1861, Lee assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia, which he would lead for the rest of the war. Lee and his army achieved great success during the Peninsula Campaign and at Second Bull Run (Mansassas) and Fredericksburg, with his greatest victory coming in the bloody Battle of Chancellorsville. In the spring of 1863, Lee invaded the North, only to be defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg. With Confederate defeat a near certainty, Lee continued on, battling Union General Ulysses S. Grant in a series of clashes in Virginia in 1864-65 before finally surrendering what was left of his army in April 1865. Lee has been praised by many for his tactical brilliance, and remains a revered figure in the American South.Over the next year, Lee again distinguished himself on the battlefield. In May 1862, he took control of the Army of Northern Virginia and drove back the Union Army in Richmond in the Seven Days Battle. In August of that year, he gave the Confederacy a crucial victory at Second Manassas. But not all went well. He courted disaster when he tried to cross the Potomac, just barely escaping at the bloody battle known as Antietam. In it, nearly 14,000 of his men were captured, wounded or killed. From July 1 to July 3, 1863, Lee's forces suffered another round of heavy casualties in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The three-day stand-off, known as the Battle of Gettysburg, almost destroyed his army, ending Lee's invasion of the North and helping to turn the war around for the Union. By the summer of 1864 Ulysses S. Grant had gained the upper hand, decimating much of Richmond, the Confederate's capital, and Petersburg. By early 1865 the fate of the war was clear, a fact driven home on April 2 when Lee was forced to abandon Richmond. A week later, a reluctant and despondent Lee surrendered to Grant at a private home in Appomattox, Virginia. "I suppose there is nothing for me to do but go and see General Grant," he told an aide. "And I would rather die a thousand deaths."

Lundy's Lane

Tactically, the battle of Lundy's Lane can be considered to have been a draw, since neither side had been defeated. Strategically, however, it was a British victory since the battle ended the Americans' Niagara offensive; by early November 1814, they had retreated to the New York side of the Niagara River.The British troops, Canadian militia and Aboriginal warriors slept on or near the battlefield until morning. During the night, they could hear the groans of the wounded and their pleas for water. In daylight, they could see the battlefield littered with the dead and dying, men of both armies intermingled. Almost 900 were killed, wounded and missing on each side. Lundy's Lane was one of the most important battles of the war, for it stopped the American advance into Upper Canada. The Americans withdrew to Fort Erie; General Drummond followed and began a siege of the fort, the end of the final invasion of the province.

Battle of Fallen Timbers (1794)-

The Battle of Timbers, on August 20, 1794, was the last major conflict of the Northwest Territory Indian War between Native Americans and the United States. At the battle, near present-day Toledo, Ohio, General Anthony Wayne (1745-96) led U.S. troops to victory over a confederation of Indian warriors whose leaders included Chief Blue Jacket of the Shawnees and Chief Little Turtle of the Miamis. The Treaty of Greenville, signed the following year, opened up much of present-day Ohio to white settlers. At the Battle of Fallen Timbers, on August 20, 1794, Wayne led American troops to a decisive victory against a confederation of Native Americans whose leaders included Chief Little Turtle (Miami), Chief Blue Jacket (Shawnee) and Chief Buckongahelas (Lenape) With the Treaty of Greenville, signed in present-day Greenville, Ohio, in August 1795, the Indians ceded much of present-day Ohio, which, in 1803, became America's 17th state. By the terms of the treaty, the Indians also ceded parts of Indiana, Illinois and Michigan.

emancipation proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. gave him the chance to issue after the battle of Antietam

Federalists Opposition to the War of 1812

The Federalists opposed the War of 1812 because the policies of the opposing party that declared war, headed by Thomas Jefferson and later headed by James Madison, brought the Federalist stronghold of New England to the verge of destitution. many of the embargo's that were set in the time leading up and during the war caused for a halt in the economic production that was happening in the colonies making up New England. James Madison's Democratic-Republicans declared war with England not only to alleviate the shipping problem, but to give the western states and territories the opportunity to seize land from Canada. Even after the declaration of war passed Congress by a narrow margin, the Federalist states continued to oppose it, refusing to allow state militias to participate in the war effort. They accused Madison of corruption and of wanting to form an alliance with Napoleon Bonaparte. The Democratic-Republicans, on the other hand, accused the Federalists of wanting to divide the nation and realign with England. Some New England governors openly condemned the war effort. In December 1814, delegates from a number of New England states assembled at the Hartford Convention to discuss solutions to the divisive dilemma. However, by the time representatives from the convention arrived in Washington D.C. with a list of proposed Constitutional amendments, a peace treaty had been signed with Britain and the war was over. After this, the Federalist Party declined and eventually disappeared.

Federalists and the establishment of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps

The Federalists were originally those forces in favor of the ratification of the Constitution (text) and were typified by: A desire to establish a strong central government (unlike that which existed under the Articles of Confederation) A corresponding desire for weaker state governments. Corps traces its institutional roots to the Continental Marines of the American Revolutionary War, formed by Captain Samuel Nicholas by a resolution of the Second Continental Congress on 10 November 1775, to raise two battalions of Marines. both the Continental Navy and Continental Marines were disbanded in April 1783. The institution itself would not be resurrected until 11 July 1798. At that time, in preparation for the Quasi-War with France, Congress created the United States Marine Corps. the marines were a big part of the war of 1812 and took place in a lot of the frigate duels which were a big part of the war. n reaction to the seizure of the American vessels, Congress debated and approved the Naval Act of 1794, which authorized the building of six frigates, four of 44 guns and two of 36 guns. Supporters were mostly from the northern states and the coastal regions, who argued the Navy would result in savings in insurance and ransom payments, while opponents from southern states and inland regions thought a navy was not worth the expense and would drive the United States into more costly wars.

The Newburgh "conspiracy"

The Newburgh Conspiracy was a plan by Continental Army officers to challenge the authority of the Confederation Congress, arising from their frustration with Congress's long-standing inability to meet its financial obligations to the military. By 1783 there was a stigma of mutiny, But General Washington was able to talk his officers down, and have them remain loyal to the continental Army, which ultimately may have saved the fate of America. This came from the refusal to tax citizens to pay soldiers, which ultimately lead to lack of quality weapons for the Army, as well as lack of pay for many of the officers. In march Hirashio Gates was set to address the troops possibly in support of their plea to be payed, until Washington stepped in and made the decision for them, convincing them to show their patriotism

Surrender by Generals Lee and Johnston

The Surrender Correspondence at Appomattox. On April 9, 1865 Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, surrendered his beleaguered Confederate forces to Ulysses S. Grant and the Union Armyt Appomattox, Virginia, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders his 28,000 troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the American Civil War. Forced to abandon the Confederate capital of Richmond, blocked from joining the surviving Confederate force in North Carolina, and harassed constantly by Union cavalry, Lee had no other option. In retreating from the Union army's Appomattox Campaign, the Army of Northern Virginia had stumbled through the Virginia countryside stripped of food and supplies. At one point, Union cavalry forces under General Philip Sheridan had actually outrun Lee's army, blocking their retreat and taking 6,000 prisoners at Sayler's Creek. Desertions were mounting daily, and by April 8 the Confederates were surrounded with no possibility of escape. On April 9, Lee sent a message to Grant announcing his willingness to surrender. The two generals met in the parlor of the Wilmer McLean home at one o'clock in the afternoon. Lee and Grant, both holding the highest rank in their respective armies, had known each other slightly during the Mexican War and exchanged awkward personal inquiries. Characteristically, Grant arrived in his muddy field uniform while Lee had turned out in full dress attire, complete with sash and sword. Lee asked for the terms, and Grant hurriedly wrote them out. All officers and men were to be pardoned, and they would be sent home with their private property-most important, the horses, which could be used for a late spring planting. Officers would keep their side arms, and Lee's starving men would be given Union rations. Shushing a band that had begun to play in celebration, General Grant told his officers, "The war is over. The Rebels are our countrymen again." Although scattered resistance continued for several weeks, for all practical purposes the Civil War had come to an end.

Founding of the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis

The United States Navy was born during the American Revolution when the need for a naval force to match the Royal Navy became clear. But during the period immediately following the Revolution, the Continental Navy was demobilized in 1785. by an economy-minded CongressSince the birth of the Republic, naval and political leaders such as John Paul Jones, Alexander Hamilton, and Matthew Perry had advocated for a formal institution for the education and training of U.S. Navy officers. With the alleged attempted mutiny aboard the training ship U.S.S. Somers in 1842, it appeared that Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft finally had his justification for the establishment of a Naval School. Three years later, on October 10, 1845, the institution that would eventually become the United States Naval Academy was founded on the small plot of land in Annapolis previously inhabited by Fort Severn.

Battle of Chippewa, 5 July 1814

The battle of Chippawa was an American victory on the Niagara front during the War of 1812. The Niagara campaign was to be the main American offensive effort of 1814. It was hoped that General Jacob Brown would be able to cross the Niagara, sweep west along the southern shore of Lake Ontario, and then around the western end of the lake to seize York, the capital of Upper Canada. When this plan was delayed, Brown was ordered to cross the Niagara River to seize Fort Erie, at the southern end of the river, and advance north to Chippawa, or possibly even towards Fort George and Fort Niagara, at the northern end of the river.The American army was 4,000 strong. That force was made up of 2,400 regular infantry, divided into two brigades under Brigadier-Generals Winfield Scott and Eleazar Ripley, 300 artillerymen, 600 Pennsylvania volunteers and 600 Indians. The British had just under 2,500 men on the Niagara front, most of them at the northern end of the Niagara River, under the command of Major-General Phineas Riall. Fort Erie was defended by a tiny garrison of only 137 men.Brown made the first move, ordering the Indians and the Pennsylvania volunteers to clear out some woods between the Chippewa River and Street's Creek. Their advance came to an abrupt end when they ran into Riall's entire force crossing the Chippewa. Riall's force advanced towards the American position. He then ordered an attack with the King's Regiment on the right and the Royal Scots and the 100th Regiment in the centre. The troops in the centre came up against Winfield Scott's brigade, which had crossed over Street's Creek and taken up a position on open ground. There they demonstrated that American troops were now capable of effective musketry, driving off the British attack after a twenty minute short range exchange of musket fire. The British suffered heavy losses in this battle. Riall reported his losses as 148 dead, 321 wounded and 46 missing. On the American side Scott's brigade suffered most heavily, losing 48 dead and 227 wounded, out of a total of around 60 dead and between 300 and 350 total casualties. Scott's brigade had held off an attack by a similar number of British regulars. The Americans were unable to take clear advantage of their victory. The two armies remained in place for two days, before the British pulled back towards Fort George. Brown followed, and took up a position at Queenston, but promised naval support on Lake Ontario never appeared, and he was soon forced to pull back to Chippawa. An inconclusive battle followed at Lundy's Lane on 25 July, before the Americans pulled back to Fort Erie.

Technological developments in the U.S. Navy, 1820s through 1860s

The first of these changes was the introduction of the steam power. Steam engines had existed before the nineteenth century, but Robert Fulton built the first steam-powered warship in 1815 for the US Navy. By burning coal, paddlewheel or propeller-driven steam ships achieved an unprecedented freedom of movement. Unlike sailing ships, whose movement relied heavily on the wind's power and direction, "steamers" could more easily return upriver after transporting goods to port or continue a journey with weak or averse winds. by the 1850s all new naval ships were steam powered. Major artillery developments caused further change to warships. In the 1850s, several innovations in cannon construction enabled the military to build bigger, more accurate, and longer-ranged guns. development of iron clads in the late in the civil war during the 1960s. One solution was to deploy "torpedoes" - submerged explosives (which would be called sea mines today) that could detonate under enemy ships.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The war officially ended with the February 2, 1848, signing in Mexico of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty added an additional 525,000 square miles to United States territory, including the land that makes up all or parts of present-day Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

confederate civil war strategy

Their strategy was to take advantage of their compact geography, with internal lines of communication, their military heritage (Southerners had been disproportionately the officers of the United States Army), and their greater enthusiasm for their cause to wear down the Union will to wage war. They also believed the Britain, with its heavy dependence on Southern cotton to supply its mills, would be at worst neutral with a bias in their favor, and they dreamed of direct European assistance. Their specific strategies included privateering in the Atlantic to harass New England merchants with ships like the Alabamaand putting pressure on Washington DC, whose city limits fronted on the Confederate state of Virginia. The South believed that since they did not intend to occupy and hold Northern territory, they would be fighting principally in defense of their homeland and their soldiers would consequently have greater morale and stronger commitment to the cause.

Battle of New Orleans (1815)

Two weeks after the War of 1812 officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, U.S. General Andrew Jackson achieves the greatest American victory of the war at the Battle of New Orleans. In September 1814, an impressive American naval victory on Lake Champlain forced invading British forces back into Canada and led to the conclusion of peace negotiations in Ghent, Belgium. Although the peace agreement was signed on December 24, word did not reach the British forces assailing the Gulf coast in time to halt a major attack. In half an hour, the British had retreated, General Pakenham was dead, and nearly 2,000 of his men were killed, wounded, or missing. U.S. forces suffered only eight killed and 13 wounded. Although the battle had no bearing on the outcome of the war, Jackson's overwhelming victory elevated national pride, which had suffered a number of setbacks during the War of 1812. The Battle of New Orleans was also the last armed engagement between the United States and Britain.

eastern

Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and the coastal fortifications and seaports of North Carolina

Military Clauses of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights

War powers clause, which allows congress the right to declare war.

Gen. Richard ("Old Baldy") Ewell

When his home state of Virginia seceded, he resigned from the US Army to join the Virginia Provisional Army as colonel of cavalry. Ewell was soon promoted to brigadier general in the Confederate States Army. On January 1862 he was promoted to major general and served under Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson in the Valley campaign. While serving for Jackson he fought quite a few victorious battles. Ewell had to have his left leg amputated below the knee during the battle of Groveton on August 29th. He returned to the army after several months of recovery. But when Jackson was killed in the battle of Chancellorsville Ewell was promoted to lieutenant general and commanded the second corps. During the Battle of Gettysburg on July 1st 1863, he fought well at the beginning, but later did not continue to pursue the Union Troops on Cemetery Hill. Many believe that failure to take the high ground on the first day of battle contributed to the confederates defeat. After the Battle of the Wilderness and the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, more criticism followed. Ewell was then sent to command the defense of Richmond. On April 6th 1885, while Ewell and his men were retreating from Richmond, they were all captured and remained imprisoned for the rest of the war at Fort Warren.

opposition of the war of 1812

While a sense of patriotism offered support for the war, outside of Federalist strongholds, as the war dragged on and the U.S. suffered frequent reversals on land, opposition to the war extended beyond Federalist leaders. As a result, the pool of army volunteers dried. For example, after the British seized Fort Niagara and sacked the town of Lewiston, New York, General George McClure tried to call up the local militia to drive them back, but found that most would not respond, tired of repeated drafts and his earlier failures. Even those who did appear, McClure wrote, were more interested "in taking care of their families and property by carrying them into the interior, than helping us to fight. This was shown in national recruitment efforts as well. While Congress authorized the War Department to recruit 50,000 one-year volunteers, only 10,000 could be found, and the Army never reached half of its authorized strength. A national conscription plan was proposed in Congress, but defeated with the aid of Daniel Webster, though several states passed conscription policies. Even Kentucky, home state of the best-known war hawk Henry Clay, was the source of only 400 recruits in 1812[citation needed]. It was not until the war was concluded that its retrospective popularity shot up again.

Mexican War: Causes, War Aims, Strategies, Results

While the immediate cause of the war was the U.S. annexation of Texas (Dec., 1845), other factors had disturbed peaceful relations between the two republics. In the United States there was agitation for the settlement of long-standing claims arising from injuries and property losses sustained by U.S. citizens in the various Mexican revolutions. Another major factor was the American ambition, publicly stated by President Polk, of acquiring California, upon which it was believed France and Great Britain were casting covetous eyes. Despite the rupture of diplomatic relations between Mexico and the United States that followed congressional consent to the admission of Texas into the Union, President Polk sent John Slidell to Mexico to negotiate a settlement. Slidell was authorized to purchase California and New Mexico, part of which was claimed by Texas, and to offer the U.S. government's assumption of liability for the claims of U.S. citizens in return for boundary adjustments. When Mexico declined to negotiate, the United States prepared to take by force what it could not achieve by diplomacy. The war was heartily supported by the outright imperialists and by those who wished slave-holding territory extended. The settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute (June, 1846), which took place shortly after the official outbreak of hostilities, seemed to indicate British acquiescence, for it granted the United States a free hand.The result of the Mexican American War was the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, which stated that Mexico had to give up land to the United States, including Texas. That land now makes up the states of California, Utah and Nevada, as well as parts of Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Arizona.

General Winfield Scott

Winfield Scott (1786-1866) was one of the most important American military figures of the early 19th century. After fighting on the Niagara frontier during the War of 1812, Scott pushed for a permanent army that adhered to standards of professionalism. In 1821, he wrote "General Regulations for the Army," the first comprehensive, systematic set of military bylaws that set standards for every aspect of the soldier's life. Named commanding general of the U.S. Army in 1841, Scott unsuccessfully ran for president as the Whig Party nominee in 1852. His Civil War tactics were originally derided, but eventually became part of the Union's successful strategy. 1861 he devised the Union strategy called the Anaconda Plan, which emphasized a coastal blockade and utilization of river systems. By maintaining constant pressure on the South, Scott intended to gradually squeeze the life out of the Confederacy. Although initially scoffed at, his method was eventually used to defeat the Confederacy. Because of old age and infirmities he retired from the army in 1861, and he died at his beloved West Point in 1866.

mobile Alabama

n U.S. history, triumph of Admiral David Farragut in sealing off the port of Mobile from Confederate blockade runners. By 1864 Mobile Bay in Alabama was the most important Confederate port left on the Gulf of Mexico.

General Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor was an American president born on November 24, 1784, near Barboursville, Virginia. Known as a national war hero for his battles in the Mexican War, Taylor was elected as the 12th president of the United States in 1849. He led the nation during its debates on slavery and Southern secession. Taylor entered the White House at a time when the issue of slavery and its extension into the new western territories (including Texas) had caused a major rift between the North and South. Though a slaveholder, Taylor sought to hold the nation together-a goal he was ready to accomplish by force if necessary-and he clashed with Congress over his desire to admit California to the Union as a free state. "Old Rough and Ready" for his willingness to get his boots dirty alongside his men

Grant's Overland Campaign:

also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War.

Undeclared (or Quasi) Naval War with France, Causes, War Aims, Strategies, Results

also known as the XYZ affair. In 1793, France went to war with Great Britain while America remained neutral. Late the following year, the United States and Britain signed the Jay Treaty, which resolved several longstanding issues between those two nations. The French were infuriated by Jay's Treaty, believing it violated earlier treaties between the United States and France; as a result, they went on to seize a substantial number of American merchant ships. Both George washington and John Adams trie to mend relations by sending diplomats over, nut the diplomats were dined the right to see the French Prime Minister unless they paid a heft fine. When word of the French demands reached the United States, it caused an uproar and prompted calls for war.Congress subsequently authorized various defense measures, including the creation of the Department of the Navy and the construction of warships. Then, in July 1798, it authorized American ships to attack French vessels, launching an undeclared naval war that came to be referred to as the Quasi-War. The hostilities were settled with the Convention of 1800, also known as the Treaty of Mortefontaine, which was ratified in 1801. casualties were light but a large number of American ships were captured dung the incident.

atlanta georgia

because of its location and commercial importance, Atlanta was used as a center for military operations and as a supply route by the Confederate army during the Civil War. Therefore, it also became a target for the Union army. General William Tecumseh Sherman and his troops captured the city in 1864. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply center of Atlanta, Union forces commanded by William T. Sherman overwhelmed and defeated Confederate forces defending the city under John B. Hood. Union Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson was killed during the battle.

Black soldiers in the Union Army

by the end of the Civil War, roughly 179,000 black men (10% of the Union Army) served as soldiers in the U.S. Army and another 19,000 served in the Navy. Nearly 40,000 black soldiers died over the course of the war—30,000 of infection or disease. At the onset of the Civil War, free black men rushed to volunteer for service with the Union forces. Although African Americans had served in the army and navy during the American Revolution and in the War of 1812 (few, if any served in the Mexican War), they were not permitted to enlist because of a 1792 law that barred them from bearing arms in the U.S. Army. President Abraham Lincoln also feared that accepting black men into the military would cause border states like Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri to secede. Free black men were finally permitted to enlist late in 1862, following the passage of the Second Confiscation and Militia Act, which freed slaves who had masters in the Confederate Army, and Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. By May 1863, the Bureau of Colored Troops was established to manage black enlistees. Recruitment was low until active efforts were made to enlist black volunteers—leaders like Frederick Douglass encouraged free black men to volunteer as a way to ensure eventual full citizenship. Black troops played a major role at the Battle of the Crater during the siege of Petersburg, Virginia, and formed a significant part of the Union force during the Battle of Nashville.Black Union soldiers did not receive equal pay or equal treatment. They were paid $10 a month, with $3 deducted from that pay for clothing—white soldiers received $13 a month with no clothing deduction—until June 1864, when Congress granted retroactive equal pay. Even in the North, racial discrimination was widespread and blacks were often not treated as equals by white soldiers. In addition, segregated units were formed with black enlisted men commanded by white officers and black non-commissioned officers. Some of the white officers had low opinions of their colored troops and failed to adequately train them.

Gen. Ulysses S. Grant

commanded the victorious Union army during the American Civil War (1861-1865) and served as the 18th U.S. president from 1869 to 1877. An Ohio native, Grant graduated from West Point and fought in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848).After the Civil War began in April 1861, Grant became a colonel of the 21st Illinois Volunteers. Later that summer, President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) made Grant a brigadier general. Grant's first major victory came in February 1862, when his troops captured Fort Donelson in Tennessee. When the Confederate general in charge of the fort asked about terms of surrender, Grant famously replied, "No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted." In July 1863, Grant's forces captured Vicksburg, Mississippi, a Confederate stronghold. Grant, who was earning a reputation as a tenacious and determined leader, was appointed lieutenant general by Lincoln in March 1864 and given command of all U.S. armies. He led a series of campaigns that ultimately wore down the Confederate army and helped bring the deadliest conflict in U.S. history to a close. On April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert Lee (1807-1870) surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia, effectively ending the Civil War.

John bell hood

extremely aggressive commander, lost both his arm and his leg in battle and was still an extremely aggressive commander. Used strong frontal attacks, and has great losses as a result, and ultimately ends up losing in Georgia losing his entire army

colonel Joshua Chamberlain

he 20th Maine was present at several significant battles but is best remembered for its key role in the Battle of Gettysburg. Joshua Chamberlain was by that time a colonel and in command of the regiment. On July 2, the second day of fighting there, he and his troops came face to face with Confederate soldiers at Little Round Top, and after harsh fighting, Chamberlain led a bayonet charge and successfully secured their part of the hill for the Union. (One story—debated—holds that the men of the 20th Maine charged with bayonets because they ran out of ammunition.) Thirty years later, Joshua Chamberlain was awarded the Medal of Honor for "conspicuous gallantry" in the battle. he was a professor before the war broke out

Gettysburg

not a decisive win, wanted to break northern will in the war. What did lee do wrong? What did the north do right? North gets the high ground quick, stays there, and has goo leaders put in place with orders to act. Meade out generaled him. First defeat of general lee's army. Lincoln was not happy with the ending of Gettysburg, but was not decisive and did not pursue lee after victory, the same as the battle of Antietam.

Second Seminole War (1830s-1840s)

he Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between various groups of Native Americans collectively known as Seminoles and the United States, part of a series of conflicts called the Seminole Wars. American Indian leader during the Second Seminole War, which began in 1835 when the U.S. government attempted to force the Seminole Indians off their traditional lands in Florida and into the Indian territory west of the Mississippi River. Whites coveted this land and sought to oust the Seminoles under the Indian Removal Act. Led by their dynamic chief Osceola, the Seminole warriors hid their families in the Everglades and fought vigorously to defend their homeland, using guerrilla tactics. As many as 2,000 U.S. soldiers were killed in this prolonged fighting, which cost the government between $40,000,000 and $60,000,000. Only after Osceola's capture while parleying under a flag of truce did Indian resistance decline. With peace, most Seminoles agreed to emigrate

Landing and Siege of Vera Cruz

he vitally important Mexican port and stronghold of Veracruz fell to American forces on March 28, 1847, after a two-week siege. General Winfield Scott, with the assistance of Commodore David E. Conner's Home Squadron, landed an army of 10,000 men at Collado Beach to the south of Veracruz on March 9. Covered by the guns of Conner's ships, the U.S. troops moved north to invest the defenses of the city, eventually bottling up 3,000 Mexican troops under General Juan Morales behind its defenses. They also isolated another 1,000 troops inside the nearly impregnable walls of harbor fort San Juan de Ulúa. Scott finished his lines by March 12, severing ties between Veracruz and the rest of Mexico. Engineers then created approach trenches, while Commodore Conner sent ashore a half-dozen heavy guns and crews. On March 21, with his most of his guns and earthworks in place, Scott requested that non-combatants be allowed to leave the city. General Morales refused. The next day the combined guns of the army and fleet began to pummel Veracruz and San Juan de Ulúa, joined by the naval battery ashore on March 24. The American shelling caused little damage to Fort San Juan de Ulúa, but the three-day bombardment had breached the city walls, smothered counter-battery fire, and collapsed buildings inside Veracruz. Unwilling to take credit for the disaster, General Morales turned over command of the garrison to General Juan Landero, who surrendered his army, fort, and city on March 28. From that point forward until the end of the U.S.-Mexican War, Veracruz served as a vital supply base for Scott's invasion of Mexico and became crucial to U.S. victory.

stonewall jackson

jackson joined the Confederate army and quickly forged his reputation for fearlessness and tenacity during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign later that same year. He served under General Robert E. Lee (1807-70) for much of the Civil War. Jackson was a decisive factor in many significant battles until his mortal wounding by friendly fire at the age of 39 during the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863. He earned his nickname at the first battle of Bull run. he earned great success at the SHENANDOAH VALLEY CAMPAIGN, fighting off union soldiers from taking his home of richmond virginia. Jackson joined Lee's army in June 1862, and Lee was determined to keep him in the thick of the fighting in Virginia. Chosen for his tactical prowess and bravery, Jackson did not disappoint. From August 1862 until May 1863, he and his troops played key roles at the Second Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Fredericksburg and the Battle of Chancellorsville. Lee and Jackson's most famous victory took place near a crossroads at the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia in May 1863. Facing a numerically superior Union force of 130,000 men to 60,000 of their own, Lee and Jackson devised and executed a plan to rout the army of Union General Joseph Hooker (1814-79). Historians call this battle one of Lee's finest moments as a Confederate general, and his success owed much to Jackson's participation. On May 2, Jackson stealthily and quickly took 28,000 troops on an approximately 15-mile forced march to Hooker's exposed flank while Lee engaged in diversionary attacks on his front. Jackson's attack on the Union rear inflicted massive casualties on the superior force, and Hooker was forced to withdraw only days later, he died of friendly fire though.

Cherokees and the "Trail of Tears"

n 1838 and 1839, as part of Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policy, the Cherokee nation was forced to give up its lands east of the Mississippi River and to migrate to an area in present-day Oklahoma. The Cherokee people called this journey the "Trail of Tears," because of its devastating effects.At the beginning of the 1830s, nearly 125,000 Native Americans lived on millions of acres of land in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina and Florida-land their ancestors had occupied and cultivated for generations. By the end of the decade, very few natives remained anywhere in the southeastern United States. Working on behalf of white settlers who wanted to grow cotton on the Indians' land, the federal government forced them to leave their homelands and walk thousands of miles to a specially designated "Indian territory" across the Mississippi River. This difficult and sometimes deadly journey is known as the Trail of Tears.

James Longstreet

was one of the foremost Confederate generals of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Horse." Longstreet was unenthusiastic about Lee's planned invasion of Pennsylvania in 1863, believing that supplementing Confederate forces in the West was a more prudent option. He later wrote that he endorsed the strategy only after confirming that the campaign would be based around fighting from defensive positions—the same tactic that had been so effective at Fredericksburg. At the Battle of Second Bull Run, Longstreet's forces executed a devastating flank attack that nearly destroyed Union General John Pope's Army of Virginia. During the Battle of Antietam—the single bloodiest day of the Civil War—Longstreet mounted a defensive stand in which his army repelled a Union force nearly two times its size. This performance saw Longstreet promoted to the rank of lieutenant general. Along with General Stonewall Jackson, he became one of the most trusted field commanders in Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Longstreet's skill at fighting from defensive positions was again showcased during the Battle of Fredericksburg in December of 1862. By making creative use of the terrain, digging trenches and constructing fieldworks, Longstreet's forces were able to withstand repeated offensives from the Union Army, resulting in a convincing Confederate victory. The culmination of Lee's invasion of the North, the Battle of Gettysburg (July1-3 1863) proved to be one of Longstreet's most controversial moments of the war. Long known for his slowness in readying his armies for combat, Longstreet delayed his offensive on the battle's second day in order to coordinate his forces, a move that his detractors would later argue allowed Union General George Meade to prepare for the attack. On the third day of the battle, Longstreet reluctantly oversaw the infamous offensive known as "Pickett's Charge," an attack by over 12,500 Confederates on the center of the Union lines. Longstreet's initial reservations about the attack proved correct, and the charge resulted in over 50 percent casualties and ended in a decisive Confederate defeat.