History Writing Prompt Analysis

On the other side was the Union, also known as the Yankees; a group determined to put out the rebels of the South, and preserve the nation that was created in 1776. Like the Confederates, the Union also found support in the memory of the Revolutionary War. Union soldiers fought the “Traitors who sought to tear down and break into fragments the glorious temple that our forefathers reared with blood and tears” (Mc.Pherson 28). If the south was to secede it would have destroyed and undermined the power and authority of the Constitution, and therefore break the union that made up the United States of America. The Union soldiers referred to the Confederates as the “Rebels”, who did not deserve to be part of the united nation for their selfish and inhumane habits, yet their land belonged to the country as a whole. A soldier in the Sherman army wrote to his wife “We want to kill them all off and cleanse the country… their punishment is light when compared with what justice is demanded” (Mc.Pherson 40-41). Union militias could not bear the thought of secession, for they “will be held responsible before God if we don’t

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

On September 19th, 1863 General Braxton Brag from the Confederates met General James Longstreet also from the Confederates at Chickamauga Creek. They devised a plan to defeat the Union General William S. Rosecrans. They wanted to gain back the town of Chattanooga, this land had been taken from them in an earlier battle. The Confederates had 65,000 soldiers and the union had 60,000 soldiers. The battle resumed the next morning at 9:30, the Confederates gained Lt. General Leonidas K. Polk who reorganized the Confederate army. The Union's left flank was targeted, Rosecrans thought that there was a hole in their line, so he ordered Brig. General Thomas Wood to fill it. Wood knew there was no hole, but to prevent from being reprimanded for not listening,

Imagine standing with twenty eight thousand Union soldiers staring at thirty two thousand Confederate soldiers all young and scared of what lies ahead because five thousand won't be alive when the battle is over. The North will lose the battle and they will realize that this won't be as easy as they thought. Three generals were showcased in this battle Union General Irvin McDowell Confederate Joseph E. Johnston Confederate P.G.T. Beauregard . The battle of Bull Run was a defining moment in the Civil War. It helped the North realise what they were up against. It also showcased 3 simi-famous generals.

Grant moved his army cautiously into enemy territory in Tennessee, in what later was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, known as the Battle of Shiloh. (bio.) Confederate commanders Albert Sidney Johnston and P.G.T. Beauregard ran a shock attack against Grant's forces, known as the "Hornets' Nest" during the first wave of assault. General Johnston was wounded, second-in-command, General Beauregard, decided alongside a night assault on Grant's forces. Reinforcement finally arrived, and that’s when Grant was able to overthrow the Confederates on the second day of battle. The Battle of Shiloh was proven to be a turning point for the American military and almost a disaster for Grant. However he was supported by President Abraham Lincoln, Grant was faced with heavy disapproval from members of Congress and the military brass for the high losses. His replacement was led by the war department

These two battles ended in Union victories that demoralized the Confederate army and population while promoting northern public opinion about winning the war. The Confederates lost economic, political, and military support from Britain after they were defeated. They lost many troops in both battles. General Lee’s Army of Virginia was almost completely destroyed at

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

The Union had two corps led by general Sherman and McPherson at first the battle was only light fighting because of heavy rain at the time but at 11 a.m. and pushed the Confederates back out of Jackson. The loss of the state’s capital was a cause for loss of morale for the defenders at Vicksburg. The union army marched on the Jackson road towards Vicksburg and attack Pemberton’s force on its left. Pemberton then moved his troops on top of Champion Hill. The attack started at about 11:30 a.m. and quickly took the hill and caused the Confederates to retreat to Vicksburg. The retreat got to the Big Black River on May 17 and Pemberton orders three brigades to defend it. The large Union Army quickly caused a retreat and the Confederates set fire to the only two bridges at the site letting the defenses at Vicksburg get more prepared.

Civil War historians view the Battle of Chancellorsville as General Robert E. Lee’s “greatest and most remarkable” victory (Sears 1). Lee, facing an army twice his size, defies all military doctrine and divides his army multiple times in order to out-maneuver and surprise the Union forces. The daring maneuver succeeds and ultimately forces the Union’s Army of the Potomac to retreat. The victory was another major blow to Union troops, but it came at a huge cost to the Confederacy: the loss of General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. By evaluating the battle through the lens of the mission command activities, one can see how Lee’s daring maneuver was actually very calculated and his only option for victory. Throughout the rest of this paper, I will describe the timeline of the battle and how General Lee used the mission command activities of understand, visualize, assess, and lead to ultimately achieve victory at Chancellorsville.

“A house Divided against itself cannot stand,” (Lincoln). President Lincoln said this when he accepted the nomination for Republican candidate for the upcoming Presidential Election of 1860. Little did he know, the Union was already irrevocably divided against itself culturally. Cultural differences caused rivalries throughout the country and extremists took those rivalries and raised the tension between the North and South until the Election of 1860 led to the rapid secession of Southern States, and thus, Civil War.

Picture a scene of complete and utter chaos, a scene of terror and fear. Now imagine that you are in the thick of it, except that scene is the Siege of Petersburg. Around you are the sounds of muskets firing, hundreds at a time, their smoke clouding your vision, the smell of burning gunpowder filling the air, and the boom of artillery as it reigns down around you. You are a Confederate soldier hiding behind the fortifications of what remains of Petersburg, vastly outnumbered by the seemingly never-ending supply of Union Yankees. You wonder whether you will make it out with your life, or become yet another rebel casualty to the failing Confederate cause. “When will this end?” you ask yourself. Little do you know, it is far from over…291...291 more days of the brutality that we call war. However horrific, war brings good things as well. In the case of Petersburg, forcing the Confederate surrender.

The Battle of Bull Run, or First Manassas to the Confederate States of America, was the first major battle of the Civil War. The battle would be a rude wake up call for everyone entering the war. This paper will explore the various details of the battle, including its importance.

He defends the South’s position on slavery which is a deeply grounded belief. Abraham Lincoln describes this situation as a disagreement on the definition of liberty in his “Address at Sanitary Fair, Baltimore” (1864). He explains that liberty may mean “for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with others the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with other men” (Forner 287). It is easy to see how this disagreement was heading in a catastrophic direction as the South continued to fight for the whole reason they came to America in the first place. The Confederates were willing to fight to death to defend their definition of freedom because the North winning the war equated to the very same thing in their minds; the end of their lives.

“I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.” (Lincoln, “House Divided Speech”) Shortly after Lincoln spoke these words in 1858, the Confederate states officially seceded in 1860. This divided the nation in two and began a civil war that would last until May of 1865. Although the cause of the war was later twisted into looking like states’ rights, the actual cause of the Civil War was slavery.

It was well believed until Jackson’s forces began unloading rounds on the Union army stopping McDowell’s forces from advancing, holding the line like “a stone wall.” As the new Union recruits witnessed battle for the first time and felt the lack of preparation, they were quick to retreat back to Washington DC. The Southern victory and the tens of thousands of lives lost proved to the Union that this war was not going to be easily won.