History Writing Prompt Analysis

Next, we have the analyzation of the strategies, tactics, and battlefield layout. This battle can be separated into two engagements. Each of these engagements can be identified by the hill they primarily fought by. The first battle is on Matthews Hill. It started with the Col. “Shanks” Evans engaging the Union’s flanking maneuver. Beauregard also attempted to flank in the direction where these Union troops were coming from. Eventually, the small engagement turned into a more sizable battle as each side sent more troops. Unfortunately for the Confederates, they were outnumbered in all aspects and were forced to retreat to Henry Hill.

The challenges that the Union and the Confederacy faced during the Civil War were very different. Critical weaknesses that seemed unfit for war, plagued the opposing American forces, and would serve to be a continuous obstacle that would need to be conquered by patriotism of the people, for their opposing

On January 26, 1863 General Joseph Hooker was appointed the commander of the Army of the Potomac. General Hooker wanted to attack General Lee’s army while a large portion of his troops were engaged at the town of Fredericksburg. He commanded an army that was almost twice the size of Lee’s forces. Hooker then moved the Union forces toward the town of Chancellorsville and had his men set up in defensive positions just outside the town. When General Lee learned of this he moved a portion of his men to assault Hooker and his army. When he arrived, Lee split his men in order to attack from different locations and General Stonewall Jackson commander of the cavalry moved his men to an exposed section of the Union defense and exploited it. On May 3 the fighting was so fierce that it caused General Hooker to withdraw his men and move them to the other side of the river that was nearby. This is when General Lee learned of federal troops gaining the advantage

Battle of Bull Run 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.

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.

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

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,

“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.” This quote by Abraham Lincoln boldly signifies the true battle cry for the union. Each era in American History have their individual causes and effects, but none are quite like the Civil War era. The Civil War had many causes leading up to it and the impacts changed a nation forever.

The Union led by McClellan’s 87,000 man army, was preparing to intercept Lee. He soon discovered a copy of Lee’s detailed battle plans but was soon forced to come face to face with a backfire as the plans were misled.

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

In the beginning of the campaign to Vicksburg, the Union wants to control all the Mississippi river so they could divide the Confederacy in half so supplies could not go to or come from the western states. The Union could also us control of the river to send supplies to

“The country has once and for all thrown off the domination of the Slaveholders” and the South realized the threat and they either had the option to secede to protect slavery, or stay in the union and watch slavery be demolished (McPherson ?). Lincoln’s stance on slavery was to Lincoln decided to “arrest the further spread of [slavery] [and it will be] in the course of ultimate extinction” (Qtd. in McPherson). The South could not handle the loss of Slavery, so they seceded because they were no longer powerful enough to protect it. Now that their influence was gone, they had the option to watch slavery get demolished or stay in the union, and they chose the

Lee wanted to move toward Pennsylvania and bring the war deep into the North. McLellan was following Lee, and he knew it. He crossed into Maryland and began the invasion. In retreating from the Union army’s Appomattox campaign, the northern Virginia army stumbled through the countryside without food or supplies. By April 8, the Confederates were surrounded and could not escape. Grant asked Lee to surrender. At first, Lee said they must keep fighting. But this was the Civil War- The bloodiest war so far in history. It had been four years and the Confederates were tired, hungry and ready to be done. The next day, Lee sent a message to Grant saying he was willing to surrender. Forced to abandon the Confederate Capitol of Richmond, Lee had no other option. He was constantly being harassed.

Cultural Differences, Extremists, and the Election of 1860 “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.

This quote from Lincoln’s very famous “House Divided” speech thoroughly accentuated his opinion on slavery. He depicted how the nation would either become all for slavery or all for freedom. The states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas seceded when Lincoln was sworn in president in January 1861, while Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia seceded when the war started in April 1861 (Confederate States of America history.com). The states of Maine, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, California, Nevada, and Oregon remained with the original United States,(Civil War Facts nps.gov) they were then suitably dubbed the “Union” in light of their unity towards the freedom of slaves and the abolition of slavery. Lincoln was advocated into this position as president, and he had to make many compromises to end the upcoming battle.