Bloody Lane Dbq

Americans had been engaged in a Civil War which had been begun in April of 1861 with shots fired on a fort in South Carolina. In the summer of 1863 in a small town called Gettysburg, there would be a fierce battle fought between the Union Army of the Potomac led by General George G. Meade and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia led by General Robert E. Lee. The events of the battle would overcome the losses suffered by the Union and put the Confederacy on the run. “Over 165,000 men would converge, and before the fighting ended, the ground would run red with blood. The battle was fierce, and the casualties proved it. But the casualties that resulted would not be in vain, at least for the Union; the formidable power

Lee, after being named commander-in-chief of the army surrendered on April 9th at Appomattox Court House. The south had lost, but Lee saved many lives by not continuing, at that point in time, a non-winnable war against

In his book written several years after the war, McClellan’s remarks on Burnside clearly depict his disdain for the subordinate General, “I think that his weak mind was turned; that he was confused in action; and that subsequently he did not know what had occurred, and was talked by his staff into any belief they chose” (McClellan, G. B. 1887). Instead of fostering mutual trust and respect, he provided unclear and biased guidance to his subordinate leaders resulting in confusion, angst, and eventually he lost control of the battle around mid-day.

McClellan’s men were ordered to cross over south mountain and quickly found that Lee had fortified this area. McClellan pushed through and took this area as a victory. Since Lee knew of McClellan’s fortune in finding the 191 orders he quickly began

McClellan’s caution in waging war is evidenced clearly in the Army of the Potomac’s Peninsula Campaign. McClellan was charged with leading the assault on Richmond, delivering what could have been a fatal blow against the Confederacy. During the Army of the Potomac’s movements towards Richmond, McClellan repeatedly delayed, believing he had inferior numbers to his initial adversary, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston. Johnston knew the caution McClellan was prone to, and slowly drew McClellan closer to Confederate forces defending Richmond. At the Battle of Seven Pines, Johnston reinforced the idea in McClellan’s mind that caution was necessary. (McPherson, 1988, p. 461) The surprise attach by Johnston’s forces, though ultimately defeated by the Army of the Potomac, delayed McClellan’s advance as he called for more reinforcements from Washington. Johnston was wounded in the battle, and replaced by General Robert E. Lee. Lee, whose prowess as a tactician bordered on legendary, led a series of surprise attacks against McClellan’s Army of the Potomac in the Seven Days’ Battle. McClellan’s forces were pushed back, and he was relieved of duty as commander of the Army of the Potomac, until later in 1862. (McPherson, 1988, pp. 462-470)

Lee formed a consequential decision that he would invade Maryland and force the Union army to leave northern Virginia. Diminishing the pressure of the Confederate Capital along with hopefully securing the support from Great Britain and France. Lee pushed his ragged, barefoot, and famished troops north into western Maryland for those and other reasons. “ Since entering Maryland the men had lived off ripened corn and green apples. The heat, the diet, and the consequential onset illnesses had left many good men strewn along the roadside” one Confederate officer wrote.

On April 6, 1862 General Albert Sidney Johnston of the Confederacy attacked the Pittsburg Landing over by the Tennessee River. There were many important events that took place during this battle like that of the Hornet’s Nest and many others. Many men died in this conflict on both sides.

George McClellan was considered to be a perfectionist and would never take the next step until everything else wasn't all figured out. He wanted more reinforcements but President Lincoln had to explain to him that this would not be a wise move. The amount of time it would take President Lincoln to get him reinforcements would be enough for the “rebels” or the confederates to gain upon him and be able to take him on easily. Even though President Lincoln stayed calm he was still impatient, he ordered McClellan and said he must move. This is because if the orders were not given McClellan would have stayed back and would doubt him self upon when to move. [Document A and B]

As the Army of the Potomac held off the Confederates from attempting to make their way through the North, it was Mclellan’s last major battle while he was the commander of the Army of the Potomac. On November 9th, 1862, the Union decided to appoint Major General Ambrose Burnside. He was not in command for long because he didn’t shine in his opportunity against the Confederates in the Battle of Fredericksburg. After a crushing defeat at the battle of Fredericksburg, the Union made a quick change of command by appointing Major General Joseph Hooker. They thought he could get the Union to get back on a roll, but they thought wrong. Against General Robert E. Lee, the Army of the Potomac didn’t fare so well. With another wrong choice of a strong commander who could not lead them to victory, they hand picked Major General George G. Meade. He was picked only days before the most important battle in the Civil War at Gettysburg. While the Army of the Potomac was holding off the final push of the confederates into the North, Meade got his first victory under his belt as the Commander of the Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg. With this victory, the Union knew that Meade had the skills required to lead the Army of the Potomac. Meade and his army cruised to victory while handing the Confederates losses left and right. He later witnessed the surrender of Robert E Lee and his Confederate Army at Appomattox

Approximately 4,800 troops lost their lives during the battle. General Irvin McDowell surrendered because they were running low on troops and did not know what to do, so the win went to General PGT Beauregard the confederates.

During the Battle of Antietam, The Union General, George McClellan, was very heedful about what was going on. After he was defeated in Richmond by Lee’s troops, he found the Confederate’s battle strategy. The Confederate army had divided, and McClellan set out for the larger army. The union army charged again and again, forcing Lee's army to retreat

During the night, both armies tended to their wounded and consolidated their lines. In spite of crippling casualties, Lee continued to skirmish with McClellan on the 18th, while removing his wounded south of the Potomac. McClellan, much to the chagrin of Abraham Lincoln, did not vigorously pursue the wounded Confederate army. While the Battle of Antietam is considered a draw from a military point of view, Abraham Lincoln and the Union claimed

The Battle of Fredericksburg falls in a long list of failures of the Army of the Potomac during the first year of the American Civil War. Following the Battle of Antietam the Northern Army had the opportunity to defeat Lee’s army. However, Northerners, were shocked by Lee’s escape following this battle on 17 September 1862, and were further upset by Major General George B. McClellan’s procrastination in pursuing Lee and allowing General J.E.B. Stuarts daring cavalry raid into Pennsylvania around Gettysburg (10-12 October 1862). McClellan’s failure to pursue Lee’s Army is mainly due to his own lack of confidence, believing that he doesn’t have enough men or material in order to defeat the Army of Virginia. President Lincoln had finally

Although Lee was mistaken in his assessment of the tactical leader of Union forces on July 1, he understood the operational leader, McClellan, very well. Throughout the entire Peninsular Campaign, McClellan had been easily fooled into believing that the Confederate army was considerably larger than its actual size. Throughout the Seven Days Campaign, he had been repeatedly driven back, from the threshold of the Confederate capital to the coast of Virginia, despite any substantial victories by the Southern forces. He would fight a battle to a standstill or even a Confederate defeat but would fall back once the battle was complete. (Longstreet, 398) In short, he was intimidated by Lee's aggressiveness.

Sears uses language that most all of us can understand, and clearly it is a very well researched work. He supports his claims in the book with a copious amount of facts and yet still keeps the course of the book moving forward. He draws on a variety of sources including diaries and letters of the participants to produce, arguably, his definitive work. Sears thesis is actually two-fold; one that McClellan missed countless opportunities to defeat Lee and two that McClellan was an incompetent commander who missed several instances to take initiative and win the battle decisively. The young Napoleon, as McClellan was known, often waited an inordinate amount of time before making a movement with his troops. For me, reading the details (with heavy emphasis to the Union story) was captivating. No recon, no communication, egotistical leadership, timidity, and procrastination all combined and helped the Union snatch defeat (or, at the very least, a draw) from the jaws of victory. This battle, like others before and after it, could have really shortened the Civil War.