Who Led The Battlefield In The Civil War Essay

The Battle of the Wilderness was the first battle of the Overland Campaign during the Civil War. Often overlooked because it was indecisive, it is historically significant. It definitively identified Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant as the leading man in the fight for the Union and set the stage for the move to the James River and the taking of Richmond, Virginia, where the Confederate Army ultimately fell in defeat. Grant planned the battle between May 3 and 4 of 1864 and the battle itself occurred on May 5th and 6. This battle, the first between Grant and General Robert E. Lee of the Confederates, was the first major engagement between arguably the two greatest leaders of the Civil War.

General Pierre Beauregard, commander of Confederate troops at the Battle of First Bull Run and second-in-command during the Battle of Shiloh, commented that the enemy was given "...the most surprising surprise" but the delays allowed Union reinforcements to take their place on the battlefield beside their comrades and drive the rebels back after two days of fighting. No ground was gained, no strategic town was taken, no supply depot was sacked, but the Union victory did force the evacuation of Confederate troops from much of Tennessee and split the rebel forces along the lines formed by the Mississippi River.

From reading some articles I learned that Bragg’s team had just finished an invasion of Kentucky. Since neither side had a “clear-cut victory” he decided to return to Tennessee (738.) During this battle there were about 80,000 men that

After taking charge Ulysses S. Grant became really mad he went crazy he was going take over and destroy the south. ‘’Grant then opened up the cracker line, to bring supplies to the beleaguered army of the Cumberland.’’ Grant went crazy he was ready to launch an attack.’’ On November 24, Grant launched an attack on lookout mountainn and then captured it after six hours of fighting!’’ The battles went on and on. Grant wanted this battle over fast so the nexted day he ordered Sherman to attack tunnel hill. But the last time Sherman was ordered to lead the troops in an initial attack was a failure.’’ A second attack managed to completely break the center of the confederate line. After that victory it was grants third in three days. Then, all of a sudden it opened the Deep South to a union invasion. At the end with the success of Grants victories it also led the union to a great victory (Civilwar.org).

The second phase of the Battle of Shiloh starts as reinforcements from General Buell’s Army of the Ohio and a unit of Grant’s own reserve division joined the Union Army now positioned at Pittsburg Landing. These reinforcements added over 22,500 men to the Union lines13 bringing the total number of Union forces to over 45,000, which is more than they had on 6 April, the first day of fighting.14 On April 7, General Grant renewed the fighting with an aggressive counteract.15 Greatly outnumbered (Confederate forces now around 25,000) and disorganized the Confederate forces now under General Beauregard fought hard but eventually had to retreat to back Corinth.16 The second phase of the Battle of Shiloh was won by General Grant and his Union forces due to two main reasons. The first, Union troop numbers greatly outnumbered their enemy, over 45,000 to 25,000 respectively. And secondly, the reinforcements received by General Grant had not fought the day before and were fresh and excited to fight, unlike the exhausted remaining Confederate troops.17 This was the bloodiest battle fought on American soil up to that point, with 23,746 casualties (Union: 13,047; Confederate: 10,699).18 The Union lost more men but claimed the victory because the Confederate Army retreated back to Corinth, Mississippi.

It was General Bragg’s lack of confidence, previous performances, and relationships with his subordinate commanders that ultimately caused the battle plan to not be executed correctly. Bragg was unable to successfully implement the first principle of mission command: build cohesive teams through mutual trust. He also had a history of not utilizing the sixth principle of mission command: take prudent risk. Bragg’s lack of competence regarding these two mission command principles ultimately set conditions for a poor mission command climate within General Bragg’s unit. Bragg’s sub-commanders, Generals Hindman, Buckner, Polk, Longstreet, and Hill were all skeptical of Bragg’s leadership and battle plans from his previous campaign at Chattanooga, where he retreated from the city. Bragg was well known for retreating at the first Battle of Chattanooga, and also for predictably employing frontal assault offensive tactics. His history of predictable plans, retreats, and inability to take prudent risk, caused his subordinate leaders to lose trust in his ability to plan and lead his army. One of Bragg’s sub-commanders, General Hill, stated

The Battle of Bentonville was fought in Bentonville, North Carolina, near the town of Four Oaks, as part of the Carolinas Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the last battle between the armies of Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman and Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston (Barrett). It was fought on March 19th through the 21st in 1865. The battle was the last full-scale measure of the Civil War in which a Confederate army was able to mount a tactical offensive. This major battle, the largest ever fought in North Carolina, was the only significant attempt to defeat the large Union army of Gen. William T. Sherman during its march through the Carolinas in the spring of 1865 (Moore).

When we compare the military leaders of both North and South during the Civil War, it is not hard to see what the differences are. One of the first things that stand out is the numerous number of Northern generals that led the “Army of the Potomac.” Whereas the Confederate generals, at least in the “Army of Northern Virginia” were much more stable in their position. Personalities, ambitions and emotions also played a big part in effective they were in the field, as well as their interactions with other officers.

Braxton Braggs was given the rank of major general and helped raise Louisiana’s army. Braggs was well known through out the army as having some of the best-drilled troops in the confederate states and for being a strong-handed disciplinarian. He was a competent general, but he like many of the other generals who had trained at West Point and fought in the Mexican-American war did not change their war tactics to match the changed technology. Braxton Braggs still used a frontal assault, which would manifest and large amounts of his soldiers dying. After Braggs had lost the first two battles he fought in he became more hesitant in his approaches, however he did not always do that at a good time to do so. Braxton Braggs won about as many battles as he lost, but his mistakes and inability to adapt and be the type of general the south needed caused him to be relieved from his post by Joseph E. Johnston. After the war ended Braxton Bragg returned home, he worked as a civil engineer until his death in

The Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 19-20 1863, marked the end of a Union in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign. With 16,170 Union and 18,454 Confederate casualties, the Battle of Chickamauga was the second disastrous battle of the Civil War, ranking only behind the Gettysburg, and was by the deadliest battle fought in the west. With the tenacious attitude of winning the battle, Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee defeated a Union force commanded by General William Rosecrans in the Battle of Chickamauga, during the American Civil War. After Rosecrans’ troops pushed the Confederates out of Chattanooga early that month, Bragg called for reinforcements and launched a counterattack on the banks

The Battle of Chattanooga was in November of 1863 when the Union forces routed Confederate troops in Tennessee. The Confederates cut of Union supply lines angering Lincoln into sending General Grant and his troops into battle. Grant, who arrived in October, built the city up and opened up supply lines again getting medicines, foods, and clothes through the city. The battles were Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge where the Union forces made the Confederates retreat. An estimated 5,800 Union soldiers died, while 6,600 casualties were on the Confederate side. These Union victories forced Confederates back into Georgia, ending the siege of the essential railroad junction of Chattanooga. By gaining victories in these battles, it paved a way

Grant led the Union in over 23 battles and won all of them. The biggest war he was in was the American Civil War. In the Battle of Shiloh the Confederate army planned a sneak attack in which they almost took control of Grant's soldiers but Grant outwitted them and retained control. When they fought at the cold harbor in June 1864 Grant put his men in the trenches which led to the largest loss of life he would experience in the Civil War. He lost 1,000 men in a matter of minutes and was later perceived as the “Butcher” because many people believed he would just continue to send men into battle regardless of the loss of life, and try to win by attrition. In three days General Grant nearly lost 18,000 of his men and General Lee lost almost two thirds of his men. The conditions they fought in were slick and muddy trenches which made for very hard fighting . The battles were so brutal the two generals ordered their men to retreat so that they could help the casualties. In 1865 General Grant maneuvered Lee’s army into the trenches around the campaign of Richmond and Petersburg. Grant ordered his men to make Lee’s army retreat no matter what it took and they were successful in doing that .This ultimately led to the surrender of General Lee's army surrendering at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865

Nathan Bedford Forrest (1821-1877) Confederate general, Forrest was a wealthy citizen of Memphis. Though he did not have any formal Military training, Forrest became a lieutenant general. Serving as a cavalry officer he fought at numerous battles including Chickamauga, Second Franklin, Brice’s Crossroads and the Battle of Shiloh. Nathan Forrest was relentless in stopping the Union forces during the Vicksburg campaign in 1862 and 1863. Forrest is also remembered for his involvement in the Battle of Fort Pillow in April 1864. Forrest equipped an entire unit at his own expense and issued this call to arms “I wish none but those who desire to be actively engaged. COME ON BOYS, IF YOU WANT A HEAP OF FUN AND TO KILL SOME YANKEES.” During a skirmish

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

During the times of Civil War, there were many Commanding Generals that came along. But two stand out amongst all, Ulysses S. Grant of United States of America and Robert E. Lee of Confederate States of America. Both men had formally fought, not along side of each other, in the Mexican-American War. At one point Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant worked together in the Mexican-American War. They both gained a war time experience, Grant as a quartermaster and Lee as an engineer who positioned troops and artillery during their participation in the Scott’s march from the coastal town of Vera Cruz to Mexico City. Both men were vastly different with different styles and background who not only won the affection of their men but respect of