Armed with hunting rifles and shotguns, at 0600 Johnston ordered the Confederate Army of Mississippi to begin their attack. “Polk the left, Bragg the center, Hardee the right, and Breckinridge in reserve” (Shiloh 1862: The Death of Innocence, p. 20). Johnston wanted Beauregard to stay with the reserve unit and to direct the supplies where needed, while he lead the attack. Beauregard took that as Johnston gave him the control of the battle, he decided that he wanted to attack in three phases to continue to push Grant towards the river (Shiloh 1862: The Death of Innocence, p. 25). As the units advanced, the commanders lost control, and went forward as a frontal assault without any reserves. Grants forces was caught completely by surprise, with the assault being so ferocious Union Soldiers were dropping their weapons and running towards the Tennessee River. About 0900 some of the Union forces established a defensive line along a road now known as the “Hornets’ Nest” (civilwar.org). Instead of bypassing the Hornets’ Nest, the Confederate forces continued to attack it, finally surrounding the Union forces and taking prisoners. The Union forces had done their job, giving Grant time to set up a better defensive line at Pittsburg landing. During the Hornets’ Nest battle, around 1430 Johnston was shot in his left leg in which he bleed to death and Beauregard took command of the Confederate forces (Shiloh 1862: The Death of Innocence, p. 46). Being in the rear, Beauregard didn’t know the extent of the battle. He sent a wave for attack against the main forces, which was stopped by the defense of the Union, and then called off. By 1800 most of the fighting had died down. Sherman and Grant meet under a tree, where he told Grant “well we’ve had the devil’s own day”, Grant responded “yes, lick them tomorrow, though”…
The Union’s goal for this battle was to make fast work on the Confederate and open a way to Richmond, the Confederates capital and end the war. The confederate on had 10,000 men at Bull Run, while the Union had 20,000 men. McDowell launched his attack on July 21. McDowell flanked 10,000 men across Bull Run, North of the Confederates army. Beauregard flanked left with 4,500 soldiers. The Confederate was being overpowered by the Union, the Confederate was about to lose this…
Meanwhile, the offensive “would begin with an attack on more than 20,000 Confederate troops, under the command of General P.G.T Beauregard.” After this certain battle ended,…
The Anaconda plan, proposed by General-in-Chief Winfield Scott, was strategically simplistic and of course tactically difficult to implement. It included controlling the Mississippi (which would split the Confederacy) and blockading the South to prevent exports (which would be used to pay for weapons). The main southern strategy was to defeat the attacking Union forces and force the northern states to negotiate. Later in the war, a slightly altered strategy was to take a major northern city, in order to force the north to negotiate terms favorable to the south. This led to the Battle of…
The battle of Marathon is one of history 's most famous military engagements. It is also one of the earliest recorded battles. Their victory over the Persian invaders gave the fledgling Greek city states confidence in their ability to defend themselves and belief in their continued existence. The battle is therefore considered a defining moment in the development of European culture.…
When both the Union (North) and the Confederacy (South) entered into war with each other, neither side was thoroughly prepared for battle. Both the North and the South had issues gathering enough resources and raising funds to support their war efforts (Goldberg, ed. 7, The American Journey, 405). However, the Union did have an advantage over the Confederacy. The North had a large population, strong political and military leadership, and plentiful resources; while the South struggled to piece together an entirely new government and army. This early upper-hand by the Union was what helped them eventually wear down the Southern troops at the end of the war and win.…
On July 16, 1861, Abraham Lincoln thougt he had a bullet proof plan. While General Robert Patterson and his troops were meeting for a battle at Harpers Ferry, Virgina. General Beareguard’s troops attacked Manassas Junction, Virgina. This was to prevent Johnston busy while McDowell pushed Beauregaurd out of Manassas. By this, Greenhow was able to obtain a copy of McDowells orders and tell the Confederate of the Union’s plans. The First Battle of Bull Run took place in Manassas that began on july 21, 1861. Johnston fooled Patterson into thinking that his Confederate force were preparing an offensive attack, then snuck his men away to help Beaureguard. The Union forces panicked and made a quick retreat. Jefferson Davis personally thanked Rose O’Neal Greenhow for her major role in the victory, as he states “But for you there would have been no battle of Bull Run.” Despite her confinement, she was able to get secret across to the Confedearcy. After Greenhow second prision term, she was exiled to the Confederate states, where Jefferson Davis glady received her. On June 19, 1863, Rose O’Neal Greenhow wrote to Alexander Boteler about her next mission in Bermuda. “I shall leave here on Tuesday or…
“The political system surrounding Lincoln provided him with an infrastructure to spread propaganda and garner widespread support. Jefferson Davis never had such an infrastructure and thus failed to create sustained enthusiasm for the war effort”. By spring 1865, more than half of Confederate soldiers had deserted. The Confederacy’s economy was ravaged; the home front demoralized, and with the Union Army’s impending dangers, eroded the Southerners will to fight. When Lee surrendered, the war was finally over, thus was the beginning of our new Union. These two differences that shaped the manner in which this particular war was structured greatly impacted the manner in which the outcome of the war itself was perceived by people and at the same time the gains that were made in the process. To better understand this particular system, Lincoln was so much occupied with ensuring that he had at his fingertips what was needed most and at the same time engaged with people in the most positive way…
Harry Truman once said “America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.” The America I believe in is strong, powerful, and relentless. America is Beautiful. My home is steady and unbroken, and nothing can take that away from me.…
The battle of Petersburg was a long and devastating battle whose outcome signaled the death toll for the Confederate Army. The railroads that ran through Petersburg were the locomotion that shipped many of the supplies that General Lee and his troops needed to Richmond, the ‘capital’ of the south, thus “General Ulysses S. Grant cut off all of Petersburg’s supply lines ensuring the fall of Richmond…” (National Park Service). The fall of Richmond was a critical and final blow to General Lee and the confederate army. General Ulysses S. Grant was upset with the Union army’s inability to capture Richmond, therefore he placed his sights on the next best thing, Petersburg.…
The Battle of the Alamo is one of the most famous and talked about battles to this day in the American military. I remember it like it was yesterday walking the dusty streets with my matching Colt six shooter revolvers strapped on, with my black cowboy hat pulled low over my forehead. Everyone knew there was a huge battle brewing ever since the Texans had claimed their independence from Mexico. First of all let me clear something up, the Alamo was a church and not a fort as everyone thinks it was. The name was Mision San Antonio de Valero, it was used as a missionary for Christians and Native Americans who converted over to Christianity. The reason we chose this particular spot was where it was located, out in the wide open we didn't figure…
When the Union won the Battle of Antietam, it showed us that the Union could stand up against the South and also give President Abraham Lincoln the confidence to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation at a moment of strength. The battle began on September 17, 1862, on a cornfield when Joseph Hooker’s Union corps were able to land a powerful attack on Lee’s left flank. The Union also kept repeating attacks and blocked the Confederate counter attacks across the Miller’s cornfield and West Woods; however, the cornfield was quite difficult to move in because of its uneven terrain and dense vegetation. The soldiers would also have to worry about their surroundings to make sure the crops would not get damaged or even destroyed in the battle. Despite the Union having an advantage in the numbers of soldiers, Hooker saw thousands of his soldiers drop dead to the ground in the corn rows.…
When the war began there were few military leaders and each one supported their own states. The most prominent would be Robert E. Lee in the South and Ulysses S. Grant in the North. In 1863, the "Anaconda Plan" organized by the North at the beginning of the war began to be noticed.…
The divisions included light cavalry and dragoons. Dragoons combined the aspects of light cavalry and mounted infantry. They carried muskets and carbines and they didn’t use their horses for fighting,they just used them to go from place to place (civilwarcalvary.com). Light cavalry is exactly like regular cavalry because it is used to scout and screen.…
The Confederacy had two flags. One being a national flag or “the stars and bars” and the other to be a battle flag. The southern people believed their national flag was to be respected and not to be used in battle so they wanted a battle flag. Two men by the names, P.G.T. Beauregard and Congressman William P. Miles came up with the design. These men were chosen because of their active duty within the Confederacy. Both showed much pride and served with active duty. P.G.T. Beauregard was chosen as one of the eight full leading generals and led the Confederacy to their first win in battle in the “battle of Manassas” and commanded at the Battle of Shiloh after Albert Sidney Johnston’s death. Given such great honor, he was chosen to be one of the designers of the flag. William P. Miles was appointed by the Provisional Congress as…