Battle of Bull Run
This was the first major land battle of the armies in Virginia. On July 16, 1861, the untried Union army under Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell marched from Washington against the Confederate army, which was drawn up behind Bull Run beyond Centreville. On the 21st, McDowell crossed at Sudley Ford and attacked the Confederate left flank on Matthews Hill. Fighting raged throughout the day as Confederate forces were driven back to Henry Hill. Late in the afternoon, Confederate reinforcements extended and broke the Union right flank. The Federal retreat rapidly deteriorated into a rout. Thomas J. Jackson earned the nom de guerre “Stonewall.” By July 22, the shattered Union army reached the safety of Washington.
Union 28,450
Confederate 32,230
Total Estimated Casualties 4,878
Union 460 killed
1,124 wounded
1,312 missing & captured
2,896 total
Confederate 387 killed
1,582 wounded
13 missing & captured
1,982 total
Union 28,450
Confederate 32,230
Total Estimated Casualties 4,878
Union 460 killed
1,124 wounded
1,312 missing & captured
2,896 total
Confederate 387 killed
1,582 wounded
13 missing & captured
1,982 total
Battle of Shiloh
On the morning of April 6, 1862, 40,000 Confederate soldiers under the command of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston poured out of the nearby woods and struck a line of Union soldiers occupying ground near Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River. The overpowering Confederate offensive drove the unprepared Federal forces from their camps and threatened to overwhelm Ulysses S. Grant’s entire command. Some Federals made determined stands and by afternoon, they had established a battle line at the sunken road, known as the “Hornet's Nest.” Repeated Rebel attacks failed to carry the Hornet's Nest, but massed artillery helped to turn the tide as Confederates surrounded the Union troops and captured, killed, or wounded most. During the first day’s attacks, Gen. Johnston was mortally wounded and was replaced by P.G.T. Beauregard. Fighting continued until after dark, but the Federals held. By the next morning, the reinforced Federal army numbered about 40,000, outnumbering Beauregard’s army of less than 30,000. Grant’s April 7th counteroffensive overpowered the weakened Confederate forces and Beauregard’s army retired from the field. The two day battle at Shiloh produced more than 23,000 casualties and was the bloodiest battle in American history at its time.
Union 65,085
Confederate 44,968
Total Estimated Casualties 23,746
Union 1,754 killed
8,408 wounded
2,885 missing & captured
13,047 total
Confederate 1,728 killed
8,012 wounded
959 missing & captured
10,669 total
Union 65,085
Confederate 44,968
Total Estimated Casualties 23,746
Union 1,754 killed
8,408 wounded
2,885 missing & captured
13,047 total
Confederate 1,728 killed
8,012 wounded
959 missing & captured
10,669 total
Antietam Creek
The Army of the Potomac, under the command of George McClellan, mounted a series of powerful assaults against Robert E. Lee’s forces near Sharpsburg, Maryland, on September 17, 1862. The morning assault and vicious Confederate counterattacks swept back and forth through Miller’s Cornfield and the West Woods. Later, towards the center of the battlefield, Union assaults against the Sunken Road pierced the Confederate center after a terrible struggle. Late in the day, the third and final major assault by the Union army pushed over a bullet-strewn stone bridge at Antietam Creek. Just as the Federal forces began to collapse the Confederate right, the timely arrival of A.P. Hill’s division from Harpers Ferry helped to drive the Army of the Potomac back once more. The bloodiest single day in American military history ended in a draw, but the Confederate retreat gave Abraham Lincoln the “victory” he desired before issuing the Emancipation Proclamation.
Total: 131,000
Union 87,000
Confederate 45,000
Total Estimated Casualties 22,717
Union 2,108 killed
9,540 wounded
753 missing & captured
12,401 total
Confederate 1,546 killed
7,752 wounded
1,018 missing & captured
10,316 total
Total: 131,000
Union 87,000
Confederate 45,000
Total Estimated Casualties 22,717
Union 2,108 killed
9,540 wounded
753 missing & captured
12,401 total
Confederate 1,546 killed
7,752 wounded
1,018 missing & captured
10,316 total
Gettysburg
Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee concentrated his army around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, upon the approach of Union Gen. George G. Meade’s forces. On July 1, Confederates drove Union defenders through Gettysburg to Cemetery Hill. The next day Lee struck the flanks of the Union line resulting in severe fighting at Devil's Den, Little Round Top, the Wheatfield, Peach Orchard, Culp’s Hill and East Cemetery Hill. Southerners gained ground but failed to dislodge the Union host. On the morning of July 3rd, fighting raged at Culp’s Hill with the Union regaining its lost ground. That afternoon, after a massive artillery bombardment, Lee attacked the Union center on Cemetery Ridge and was repulsed with heavy losses in what is known as Pickett’s Charge. Lee's second invasion of the North had failed.
Total: 165,620
Union 93,921
Confederate 71,699
Total Estimated Casualties 51,112
Union 3,155 killed
14,529 wounded
5,365 missing & captured
23,049 total
Confederate 3,903 killed
18,735 wounded
5,425 missing & captured
28,063 total
Total: 165,620
Union 93,921
Confederate 71,699
Total Estimated Casualties 51,112
Union 3,155 killed
14,529 wounded
5,365 missing & captured
23,049 total
Confederate 3,903 killed
18,735 wounded
5,425 missing & captured
28,063 total
7 day battle
The Seven Days Battle, a name given to a series of battles in Richmond, Virginia, during the Civil War, matched two very competent generals in battle. It can also apply for the attacking efforts of General Lee of the Confederate army, which took seven days. Either way they are both factual and true.
What it did for both sides was to reaffirm that even in a retreating posture heavy losses could occur. The bullets were not the only things that killed men during the battle, the swamp that McClellan used to avoid the Confederates also killed or made unfit for combat, many Union soldiers.
The Union Army of the Potomac, arriving from land and sea, was held in check from the resulting pounding taken from the elite corps of General Robert E. Lee. The Battle of Seven Pines resulted in the loss of many Union soldiers and initiated the reprisals of Lee, seven days straight. General McClellan had at his disposal, a magnificent array of military personnel and artillery brigades. His total count, 32 brigades, 67 batteries and three divisions.
casualties
Union: 15,500
Confederate: 20,000
What it did for both sides was to reaffirm that even in a retreating posture heavy losses could occur. The bullets were not the only things that killed men during the battle, the swamp that McClellan used to avoid the Confederates also killed or made unfit for combat, many Union soldiers.
The Union Army of the Potomac, arriving from land and sea, was held in check from the resulting pounding taken from the elite corps of General Robert E. Lee. The Battle of Seven Pines resulted in the loss of many Union soldiers and initiated the reprisals of Lee, seven days straight. General McClellan had at his disposal, a magnificent array of military personnel and artillery brigades. His total count, 32 brigades, 67 batteries and three divisions.
casualties
Union: 15,500
Confederate: 20,000