Blockade Of Virginia Essay

The historical battle of Harpers Ferry was a pivotal point during the Civil War. While the battle was a clear victory on the Confederate front, Union forces could have changed the outcome with little efforts. This paper analyzes the battle with the intent of identifying how the application, utilization, or availability of intelligence assets could have resulted in an alternate outcome. With the proper use of All Source Intelligence analysis on the Union front, the Battle of Harpers Ferry would have played out completely different. While the results of this battle may not have changed the outcome of the Civil War, it would have affected the timeline of follow-on battles. The structure of this paper is simple, we cover the basics of the battle and follow up with relevant facts on how proper use of terrain analysis and troop capabilities affects the outcome of the battle.

     The War of 1812 was a war between Britain and the United States fought primarily in Upper Canada. It had many causes, few which involved British North America. The results of the war include the fact that there was no clear winner or loser among them. The only real losers in the situation were the Natives in the region. They were driven out of their lands and customs. None of the borders was changed by the war, though many attempts were made. The Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war, did nothing to advance the state of the countries. It went so far as to end the war and put things back the way that they were, but the main causes of the conflict were not addressed or dealt with. In order to evaluate the

During the 1600s when England began colonizing in the New World, different colonies had their own concept of freedom backed by their beliefs and/ or motives for settling in America. Massachusetts and Virginia were settled for very different reasons therefore life in their settlements differed greatly. The political, economic, social and of course physical aspects of the colonies were not at all the same, yet they both resulted in their colonies prospering and successfully settling the land. The settlers of each colony had searched for a place to express two contrasting beliefs of what freedom meant to them. Massachusetts and Virginia are two prime examples of how freedom can mean something

The Civil War in the United States from 1861 to 1865 serves as a dark reminder of how disjointed a nation can become over issues that persistently cause heated debate among party factions. Most students that have taken courses in American history understand the disadvantage possessed by the Confederate States of America as they fought against the powerful Union army for what they perceived as a necessary institution of slavery. Historians have debated over the effectiveness of the blockade and if it was important in creating the failures faced by the Confederate States of America. This debate has generated the contested question of “Did the Union blockade succeed in the American Civil War?” The blockade, whether considered a success or an

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

While Burnside had been waiting for two weeks he saw how the Confederates were positioned; even though the Confederates had the advantage he still believed he could win. The night before Burnside was going to start building the pontoons, he sent a message to Lincoln saying, “We hope to succeed.” So, on the night of Wednesday, December 10, 1862, the engineers started to build the pontoons. However, another general from the South, General Will Barkslade, was right above the area where the engineers were and whenever a soldier went to check on the progress of the pontoons, the Confederates would shoot at them.

The spot in which the invasion of Pickett’s Charge was aimed for was the center of the Union line, commanded by General Hancock. This lead the Confederate line to be exposed to an enfilading fire from the entire length of the Union line. Additionally, the shank bent slightly forward from Little Round Top subjecting the assaulting line to rifled artillery fire. Thus proving that the charging target was poorly chosen.

The Battle of Hampton Roads, otherwise known as Monitor versus Merrimac, was the first engagement of two ironclad ships in battle. On March 8, 1862, the Merrimac, now christened the CSS Virginia, sunk two Union ships in addition to grounding another in an effort to prevent the Union from blockading southern ports. On March 9, the more significant battle began when the Confederate Virginia fired on the Union’s Minnesota. The Virginia then met its northern ironclad counterpart, the Monitor, at the mouth of the James River. The Virginia and the Monitor fired upon one another, though the incompetence of the crews rendered the shots ineffective. The volley continued for some time, causing people to flock to the shore, the docks, or nearby vessels in an effort to watch the action. Eventually, the Virginia had a successful shot at the Monitor, hitting the Monitor’s iron pilothouse. When the Monitor’s pilothouse was hit, iron shards flew everywhere and got into Commander Lieutenant John Worden’s eyes. This caused the Monitor to sheer off course and move into shallow water. The Virginia posed to attack the Minnesota, after deducing that the Monitor was out of commision at this point in time. Before attacking, the Virginia’s officers reported a leak in the bow, depleted ammunition, and that the steam powered engine was having trouble keeping pace. The battle ended in a draw as the Virginia headed back to its naval yard for repairs. The battle showed that in the future, all wooden ships and vessels would be obsolete in comparison to the ironclads that would soon became the new naval fighting

The United States is at risk of falling apart forever in the 1860s. The southern United States has withdrawn from the north, and the war to follow will be the bloodiest test of our country in history. The north, otherwise known as The Union, devised a three-part plan to end the rebellion. They wanted to enforce a naval blockade to cut off supplies from the South. Next, they were to capture Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the South. Finally, The Union wanted to take control of the Mississippi River to cut off supplies from the South. The Naval Blockade, taking control of the Mississippi River, and capturing Richmond, Virginia was the three-part plan to end the Confederacy.

The Union Army was shocked when the Confederates reinforcements got to the battle really fast. The soldiers were brought on a train which the

The Civil War was the bloodiest war in American history, as the schism between the North and the South turned friends into foes and brothers into sworn enemies. While this war is widely known for the battles that took place upon the land, the United States Navy contributed to the war effort upon the sea and rivers as well. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles had three objectives for the Navy during the Civil War and one of them was to blockade the Confederate State of America. The overall goal of the blockade was to stifle the Confederacy so that it could easily be defeated by the Union forces. However, the blockade was not the Navy’s most important contribution to the preservation of the Union, as the blockade failed to smother the Confederacy due to the poor ships that it was composed of and the inefficiencies that they presented.

Firstly, the Americans had just cause to declare war on British North America. The British had several different reasons why the Americans were tempted to and finally acted on declaring war on British North America. The American expansion was mainly obstructed by one reason. Indigenous leaders such as Tecumseh, were being supplied and cheered on by the British. Americans on the western frontier were not happy by this and demanded that interference was stopped.

The soldiers participating in Pickett’s Charge had started out with optimism and feelings that they would be a huge part in American history, but as things turned to chaos causing a domino effect, in which the whole charge was compromised. The Union artillery fire was devastating to the Confederates. It reduced their morale and quickly depleted their numbers. Those soldiers that did reach Union lines, were faced with intense musket fire. After all that destruction, it was imperative that the Confederates retreat, or risk having many more casualties. Fortunately, for the Confederates, the Union forces did not chase after them. The results would have been much more disastrous if that was the case.

The Union Blockade was in the civil war, it was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading. The blockade was announced by president Abraham Lincoln in 1861. The Union commissioned 500 ships, which can destroy or capture about 1,500 blockade runners over the course of the war. The ships had 12 major ports. President Lincoln very quickly declared a blockade against the main Confederate ports. To be a legal blockade this blockade simply had to present a risk to shipping trying to enter those ports.

The Importance of the Blockade Runners in the Civil War Blockade runners enabled the Confederacy to survive for as long as it