Essay about The Battle of Vicksburg

During September 9th of 1862 Confederate forces led by Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson commanded three divisions with the goal of seizing Harpers Ferry. At the time Harpers Ferry was a Union occupied town bordering Maryland and Virginia. For the Union front this was a main arsenal holding area that provided support to other forces. For the Confederates, they saw it as a major supply line allowing logistics to travel down south or north through the use of rail road systems. COL Dixon Miles, the Union commander at Harpers Ferry, received intelligence about the movement of enemy forces towards his location.

"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.

The Union was invading land that they had no familiarity with. General Winfield Scott advocated for an anaconda policy. Through the anaconda policy, the Union would weaken the Confederacy on the inside by blockading the southern costs, seizing the Mississippi River, and cutting off supply lines. This operation would have the goal of controlling the Mississippi River. A year before, David Dixon Porter, a United States Navy admiral who was the son of David Porter, a captain of the Navy, blockaded the Mississippi, devising a plan to capture New Orleans. In November 1861, he went back to propose his plan. His plan involved an army of 20,000 soldiers, 200 guns mounted on gunboats, and a fleet of mortar boats. At the end of Porter’s recruitment, he was able to get a 6,000 man army, a gunboat fleet carrying 166 guns, and a mortar fleet of 19. The general of this battle would be Benjamin Butler, a former governor of Massachusetts. The commander would be another son of David Porter, David Farragut. The opposition to the Union was led by Major General Mansfield Lovell. His forces placed 74 guns at Fort Jackson, and 52 guns at Fort St. Philip, the two defenses of New Orleans. There were also twelve ships behind the forts. The strongest of these ships were the ironclad C.S.S. Louisiana and the C.S.S. Manassas. As a result of these two ships and other obstacles

The battle took place in the tangled woods of what is now Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Park about 10 miles west of Fredericksburg, Virginia along Orange Plank Road and Orange Turnpike. The Federals held the land to the east and the confederates to the west. The land was nearly impassable, proving a nightmare for both moving men and logistics. The importance of the location, however, was significant. Railways and roads led to Washington and were logistically important. For two years, fighting for the land surrounding the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers led to stalemate. Twice previously, Lee had been able to withstand attack from the Federals; attacks led by Joseph Hooker and George Meade. Lee’s plan was, likely, to take Washington, which he believed would decidedly win

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 battle of Gettysburg and Vicksburg in 1863 were the most significant battles of the civil war. These battles changed the tide of the war greatly by crippling the Confederate forces while providing hope for the Union. While both battles were won by completely different strategies both contributed greatly to the end result of the “Terms of Military Convention” which was the souths defeat agreement. These battles defended the north, reduced the fighting power of the south and pushed the remaining confederate’s forces back.

The Civil War was a turning point in America that started with different views of what was right and wrong between the North and South. While those in the Northern states fought to end slavery, the Southern states fought to protect its beliefs and foundation.

The Battle of Gettysburg is defined as the turning point in the Civil War and possibly the turning point of American history. After three days of battle in the heat of July, The union army came out victorious. This battle would ultimately lead the Union to win the war. Because of this battle, many Confederate soldiers were killed and the Confederate Army was dying down to its last units of men. Because of this battle, the Confederates didn’t dare to invade the North again and led to a decrease of incentive in the South. Because of this battle, Abraham Lincoln gives the famous Gettysburg Address to rally the Union troops and keep them motivated to keep fighting and win the war. The Battle of Gettysburg is a historic event that will be remembered

In April of 1861 with Virginia 's secession from the Union, Richmond, in Central Virginia, was named the Capitol of the Confederacy. The Confederate government moved the capital to Richmond. The move Just confirmed the state new identity and to make sacred the rebellion by connecting it with the American Revolution. Most important however hundreds of factories, whose output were nearly the amount that the rest of the Confederacy were bringing with them. As capital of the Confederacy, the city’s population soon grew.

They coined The Hornet’s Nest; this was a name given to an area of the Shiloh battlefield where the Confederate troops made repeated attacks against Union troops on a small, barely used farm road. They gave this name to the tiny farm road because the Southern troops said that the bullets flying sounded like a giant swarm of angry hornets. Gen. Grant used this as a chance to round up reinforcements and a defense to hold back the confederate advancements. Other Important events included Sunken Road, Peach Orchard, and the defense of the Pittsburg Landing.

Topic Paragraph: Did you know that the siege at Vicksburg was a major turning point in the war for the Union? In 1863 General Ulysses S. Grant would attack Vicksburg from the west side where there were no barriers. For more than six weeks, Grant laid siege on Vicksburg. Grant would block out the enemy so they could not escape and they were forced to surrender. Finally on July 4th, 1863 the confederates surrendered Vicksburg. Ulysses S. Grant would lead the Union army to victory at the Siege of Vicksburg. However, Grant attacked Vicksburg before and failed. The next time he attacked Vicksburg, he won. General John C. Pemberton would lead the confederates in the siege of Vicksburg. Pemberton

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

South General Robert E. Lee´s supply line to Petersburg, Virginia, is not open when North (union) forces under General Ulysses S. Grant closes down the end of Lee´s lines close to Petersburg. The South suffer large casualties, and the war triggered Lee´s withdraw from Petersburg as the two armies started a race that would close a week later at Appomattox Court House. For close to a year, Grant had laid siege to Lee´s team in an elaborate network of trenches that ran from Petersburg to the Confederate capital at Richmond, 25 miles north. Lee’s hungry army steadily diminished through the winter of 1864-65 as Grant’s army swelled with well fed reinforcements. On March 25, Lee attacked some of the North trenches at Fort Stedman in a desperate attempt to break the siege

On Sunday, April 17, 1864 Confederate forces, led by Brigadier General Robert F. Hoke, attacked the Union Garrison at Plymouth. Plymouth was a port held by Union troops which was critical in holding the Roanoke River. In the Civil War era, one of the most effective modes of transmission for supplies was boat. Therefore, the Union’s hold on the Roanoke River and surrounding waterways proved to be a detriment to the Confederate supply lines. Not only was

Johnston originally planned to attack Grant on April 4, but delays postponed it until the 6th. Attacking the Union troops on the morning of the 6th, the Confederates surprised them, routing many. Some Federals made determined stands and by afternoon, they had established a battle line at the sunken road, known as the "Hornets Nest." Repeated Rebel attacks failed to carry the Hornets Nest, but massed artillery helped to turn the tide as Confederates surrounded the Union troops and captured, killed, or wounded most. Johnston had been mortally wounded earlier and his second in command, Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, took over. The Union troops established another line covering Pittsburgh Landing, anchored with artillery and augmented by Buell’s men who began to arrive and take up positions. Fighting continued until after dark, but the Federals held. By the next morning, the combined Federal forces numbered about 40,000, outnumbering Beauregard’s army of less than 30,000. Beauregard was unaware of the arrival of Buell’s army and launched a counterattack in response to a two-mile advance by William Nelson’s division of Buell’s army at 6:00 am, which was, at first, successful. Union troops stiffened and began forcing the Confederates back. Beauregard ordered a counterattack, which stopped the Union advance but did not break its battle line. At this point, Beauregard realized that he could not win and, having suffered too many