Essay Battle Analysis Fort McAllister: BG William Babcock Hazen

On June 25, 1876, The Battle of Little Bighorn took place near the Black Hills in Montana. This was one of the most controversial battles of the 20th century and the line between good guys and bad guys was grey at best. Gen. George Armstrong Custer (reduced to LTC after the civil war) had 366 men of the 7thU.S. Cavalry under his command that day. Sitting Bull (A Medicine Man) led 2000 braves of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes (Klos, 2013). At the conclusion of the battle, the stories of the Indians savagery were used to demonize their culture and there were no survivors from the 7thcavalry to tell what really happened.

U.S. Major Robert Anderson occupied the unfinished fort in December 1860 following South Carolina’s secession from the Union, initiating a standoff with the state militia forces. When President Abraham Lincoln announced plans to resupply the fort, Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard shelled Fort Sumter in April of 1861. After a 34 hour exchange, Anderson and his soldiers surrendered the fort. Confederate troops then would come to occupy fort Sumter for almost four years, before abandoning the fort prior to William Truman’s capture of Charleston in February 1865. (The Civil War: Primary Documents on Events from 1860 to 1865, 79)

Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina was attacked by Confederate Brig, Gen. P.G.T Beauregard Yesterday after Union Maj. Robert Anderson refused to aids. Gen. Beauregard sent out 3 boats with surrenders on them to convince Maj. Anderson to surrender because of his lack of supplies and ammunition. Anderson refused to surrender and the Confederates started firing. Anderson returned fire but not till 2 hours later because of his low ammunition and supplies. The battle went on for another 32 hours before the Union decided to surrender. Surprisingly no one was killed in the war on either side of the fighting and the Confederates allowed the Union a 100 gun salute, which was shortened to a 50 gun after an accidental explosion killed one

The first Battle of Bull Run also known as Manassa was one of the deadliest wars. The battle of Bull Run took place at Manassas Junction, Virginia near Bull Run Creek. The generals in this war were, Brigadier General Irvin McDowell which was the union leadership & General P.G.T Beauregard which was the Confederate leadership. Approximately there were 4,000 deaths. The victor of this war were the confederate.

When the Civil War began, he was promoted to major general in the militia. Later on in the war, he was moved to brigadier general in the Confederate Army and was had power of troops who were centered in the Gulf Coast. He was a very cruel leader towards his soldiers, but this cruelty pays off with some of best-trained troops in the Confederate Army. Next, Bragg was promoted to major general and was sent to serve alongside of Albert Sidney Johnston in the war’s Western Theater.

The Second Battle of Bull Run was between the Union and Confederate armies in northern Virginia, from August 29 to August 30, 1862. The Union army of Virginia was commanded by John Pope and the the Confederate army was commanded by General Robert E. Lee. Based on President Abraham Lincoln’s orders, McClellan withdrew the Union army from Richmond. The plan was to combine that army with General Pope’s troops. When the northerners pulled back, General Lee planned to demolish General Pope's army before it combined with General McClellan, knowing that it would be difficult to fight an twice their size. General strategically divided his army in two, while half of the army remain in command of Major General James Longstreet and the other half would be led by General Stonewall Jackson.

After several volleys, I received notice from Lieutenant James H. Nichols, commander of Company K of the 20th and Major Ellis Spears, commander of the left wing of the 20th Maine, and a messenger sent by Captain Orpheus S. Woodward, commanding officer of the 83rd Pennsylvania, of some suspicious flanking movement by the Confederate forces . I climbed up on a large boulder and saw that while three left companies of the enemy were keeping a steady rate of fire along the front, several were moving to the left end of our men. To avoid being flanked, I ordered my companies to side-step paces to the left and Companies A, H, C, G, and the F, the Colors Company to refuse to the left at a right angle, doubling the original regimental front .

James Longstreet; perhaps one of the most controversial Confederate Civil War Officers to have ever lived. Nicknamed many things such as “Old Pete” and “My Old War Horse” by Robert E. Lee, another historical General. A man who has been through it all before, during, and after the war. Someone who started, like many, in the Mexican War to end up fighting in the Indian Wars as a Major in the military. After all this, James became one of the best leaders in the Confederate army during the Civil War.

It's August 31st and the aftermath for the second battle of Bull Run starts now. The confederacy wins a fair match against the union called the Second Battle of Bull Run (Second battle of Manassas). The confederacy wins by general Jackson’s brilliant method for holding the stressful lines until Major general Longstreet comes. Therefore, he was also called “Stonewall” Jackson that day. John Pope, the union general, loses because of his hesitation to attack. General Longstreet marches in along with 25,000 other men to reinforce their counterattack. John Pope doesn't even realize that general Longstreet has arrived until it was too late. The union gets pushed further and further back up against the border of Henry House Hill. The union strongly

Fort McAllister was a small earthen citadel positioned alongside Genesis Point and armed with numerous heavy cannon to defend the Great Ogeechee River method south of Savannah, Georgia. It turned into expanded again and again with the aid of adding more guns, traverses and bomb proofs. Obstructions and sooner or later torpedoes (mines)finished the riverine defenses.

General Jackson’s II Corps attacked during the afternoon of May 2nd. Opposing them was a Union force that had gathered for supper and was wholly unprepared to defend itself. Union forces rapidly withered and routed under the Confederate onslaught, retreating within hundreds of meters of General Hooker’s headquarters. Within several hours of the initial attack, nightfall forced a halt to the Confederate offensive and offered a reprieve for Union forces. Determined to prevent the Union Army from regrouping and consolidating its lines during the night, General Jackson conducted a reconnaissance of Union lines with key members of his staff, in preparation for a night attack. While returning from the evening reconnaissance, Confederate soldiers from North Carolina misidentified Jackson and his staff and fired upon them, wounding Jackson and several other staff officers. Upon learning of Jackson’s condition, General Stuart immediately assumed command of II Corps.

“The national government had give Anderson 200 additional men, to bring the garrison up stronger than it was, just as much strength as Fort Sumter had” (McPherson 2). They did this to make them stronger and have more chances of winning the battle. Also they needed supplies. “Lincoln knew he did not have enough time to waste or have time to just sit around. Major Anderson knew that his supplies would not last for a long time that they had to surrender” (McPherson 3). If he resupplied the fort “it would be viewed by the southerners as provocation; the second would be viewed by the north as a surrender” (McPherson 3). It showed the other side of the war that they surrendered that they did not want to fight in the war anymore because they didn’t have enough supplies to fight. He was not ready to surrender just quite yet cause he wanted to wait and see if they had a chance so he didn’t know whether to resupply or not, because he did not want the other side to think he was for

Confederate General Mansfield Lovell was the Confederate general at the fort. He looked at his tiny force and glaced at the Union army. He realized that resistance was futile. Lovell told Mayor John Monroe, he was threatened by Admiral David Farragut. He was told that if he was to resist the invasion he would bombard the city and inflict severe damages on the innocent casualties. General Mansfield Lovell started pulling out all of his three thousand troops as fast as he could so he could preserve their lives.

By the first evening advance elements of the army reached Fairfax courthouse. The few Confederate pickets there quickly retreated. On the 18th the first elements reached the hamlet of Centerville. A brigade was sent out from Centerville to reconnoiter the confederate lines, they found the confederates and lost 80 men. General McDowell brought up the balance of his forces.

It is our duty, as soon to be Second Lieutenants in the Army, to learn from history. Learning from mistakes in the past is necessary to understand the responsibilities we will soon have. The Battle of Gettysburg shows prime examples of the nine principles of war: Objective, Offensive, Mass, Economy of Force, Maneuver, Unity of Command, Security, Surprise and Simplicity. In the military today, we are overwhelmingly blessed with every asset that we have including technology and monetary resources the list could go on forever but the most invaluable asset is history. Although all nine principles of war are pertinent to success on the battlefield, only five will be discussed in this analysis.