Nine Months Siege

"When New Orleans fell in the spring of 1862, the triumvirate Vicksburg, Grand Gulf and Port Hudson was destined to become the last obstacle to the total Federal control of the Mississippi." Abraham Lincoln thought Vicksburg was 'the key,' so Vicksburg was the focal point of Union strategy. Obviously, Vicksburg was one of the most important objectives of the Union army. General Ulysses S. Grant was placed in charge of the Vicksburg campaign. He was an exceptional strategist and arguably one of the best generals this country has ever seen.

Many individual soldier’s stories also demonstrate the resilience of either side, showing how unwilling they were to give up, and stop fighting, until absolutely necessary. Even John Hay’s efforts to get Florida to join upcoming United States political gatherings, show the unwavering pursuit for unity from the Union’s side.

Grant began to make plans for a campaign against Vicksburg. The campaign in the American Civil War culminating in the surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant on July 4, 1863. General Ulysses S. Grant with the largest force, about 67, 000 men. I was to guard rail communications and occupy towns in the Union. It held territory in the west, but he would concentrate on taking Vicksburg. Vicksburg is the last principal confederate bastion on the

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

No other war seems to hold our focus like the Civil War. Scholars have chosen to make it their life's work, authors have written reams about it, and we all feel some kind of connection to the Civil War. This paper was created to highlight some of the major battles that took place during that conflict. Major battles usually marked a drastic change in the momentum from one side to the other or led to massive losses of troops. These battles and their results all played a huge part in the outcome of the war.

The Union believed that if they defeated the Confederacy no further attacks would be carried out. In addition, President Lincoln aimed to re-establish Federal law in the Southern states that had seceded from the nation. He also wanted the Union Army to stop Confederate legislators from meeting in the new Southern capitol of Richmond, Virginia. President Lincoln believed that this would bring a speedy end to the war. BG Beauregard held a strong position in Manassas Junction. Manassas offered railroad access which would lead to the center of Virginia, by way of Orange and Alexandria Railroads. It was essential that Beauregard was able to maintain this position.

was by General George G. Meade. The confederate soldiers were mostly made up of elements of the Army of Northern Virginia and South Carolina and were led by William Mahone under the direct order of Robert E. Lee. The Union decided to explode a mine under the Confederates and blow a gap into their defensive lines. Petersburg, Virginia was an important location due to the railheads that merged together there. The railhead then continued to Richmond the capital to deliver supplies to the Confederate Army. 2

This Republic of Suffering: Death and The American Civil War exposes a different perspective of the Civil War that is sparsely discussed and challenges the reader to broaden their views and beliefs of the war. Author, Drew Gilpin Faust, conducted nine chapters, or the new and transformed ars moriendi, primarily focusing on the past and present of the Civil War and its soldiers.

The battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia was fought from April 30 through May 6, 1863. It was fought between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia commanded by General Robert E. Lee, and the Federal Army of the Potomac commanded by Major General Joseph Hooker. The intent of this battle was for Major General Hooker’s Union force to cross the Rappahannock River west of Chancellorsville in order to gain control of the Virginia Central and Fredericksburg rail lines; these rail lines were essential to the Army of Northern Virginia because they were the main supply lines to Richmond, the capitol of the Confederate states. The Union knew that by gaining the supply line to Richmond and defeating General Lee, was crucial because this would cause the Confederate strategic center of gravity to fall, essentially leading to an end of the Civil War. However, the Army of the Potomac lost the battle of Chancellorsville against General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, and the Civil War raged on. The battle of Chancellorsville is generally viewed as General Robert E. Lee’s greatest victory of the Civil War. General Lee expertly demonstrated mission command by leading his troops into an unlikely battle, understanding the battle, visualizing, and directing his troops in a victory for the Confederacy.

On April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee (1807-70) surrendered his approximately 28,000 troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant (1822-85). In the front parlor of Wilmer McLean’s home in Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, effectively ending the American Civil War (1861-65). Days earlier, Lee had abandoned the Confederate capital of Richmond and city of Petersburg, hoping to escape with the remnants of his Army of Northern Virginia, and meet up with additional Confederate forces in North Carolina and resume the fighting. When Union forces cut off his final retreat, Lee was forced to surrender, finally ending four years of bloody sectional conflict. In retreating from the Union army’s Appomattox campaign, which began in late March 1865,

James M. McPherson, author of For Cause and Comrades, uses more than 25,000 unaltered letters and closely 250 private journals from Civil War soldiers—both Union and Confederate—in his attempt to explain what possessed these men to endure the roaring, gruesome chaos of war. What better way to express the motivation behind fighting than words straight from the pens of the men who were physically there and experienced the Civil War to its fullest? I personally feel as though McPherson succeeded in his explanation of the different driving forces that kept each man going during these difficult years of battle. The Wall Street Journal describes McPherson’s work as “an extraordinary book, full of fascinating details and moving self-portraits.”

The Civil War of America has been discussed as the first modern war of the new industrial age. Army’s of such a large size had yet to meet head on, face to face in the battle field with weapons of such mass destruction and deadly force. America had not yet seen casualties of this magnitude to

The Battle of Gettysburg was amongst one the most important turning points during the Civil War. It was a three-day bloody battle between the Union and Confederate forces which would ultimately lead up to the victory of the Union. In The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara shows a depiction of the battle through the eyes of the officers and tries to give the reader a first-hand look into the daily struggles that they had to deal with when it came to distinguishing between what’s best for their men and chances of success in the battle. In the book, we are introduced with two important officers: Colonel Chamberlain of the Union force, and General Lee of the Confederate force. Throughout the book, we witness different leadership strategies and philosophies between both officers which ultimately serve as their road to success or failure in the battle. Focusing on General Lee’s philosophy on leadership, “To be a good soldier, you must love the army. But to be a good officer you must be willing to order the death of the thing you love.”, it reinforces the idea that in order to fully succeed at battle, you must set aside and sacrifice your sense of sympathy towards your soldiers as a way to avoid making emotional decisions.

The firing on that fort will inaugurate a civil war greater than any the world has yet seen…you will lose us every friend at the North. You will wantonly strike a hornet’s nest which extends from mountains to ocean. Legions now quiet will swarm out and string us to death. It is unnecessary. It put us in the wrong. It is fatal. –Robert Toombs. (Boerner paragraph 2).

Perhaps one of the must detrimental occurrences in the Army of Northern Virginia was the act of desertion. As the siege of Petersburg and Richmond extended into the winter of 1864 and 1865 the physical hardships, re-election of Lincoln, as well as news of Sherman’s march caused many soldiers to desert. The combination of these discouraging events led to desertion rates of up