William Lee : The Battle Of The War By John Lee

General Ulysses S. Grant's brilliant siege of Vicksburg had a significant impact on the surrender of the Confederacy. This Vicksburg campaign was significant due to the fact that it basically gave the Union total control of the Mississippi River. This meant the isolation of the West and basically a clear waterway for supplies to reach the Deep South. Once this waterway was open arms, food, and soldiers could be provided for the Union soldiers in the South and open a devastating wound in the heart of the Confederacy. Once Vicksburg had been taken the West would basically be isolated and under the Unions control; in addition Grant could focus on the heart of the South. Once Vicksburg was captured, and Grant advanced

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

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

On July 1, 1863, the biggest battle of the Civil War started. This most famous and most important Civil War Battle occurred over three hot summer days, July 1 to July 3, 1863, around the small market town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Before the battle, Union general Ulysses S. Grant started a siege of Vicksburg which would shut down the Mississippi River. Meanwhile, major cities in the North such as Philadelphia, Baltimore and even Washington were under threat of attack from General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia which had crossed the Potomac River and marched into Pennsylvania. The Union and Confederate army both had around 75,000 soldiers. With both armies on a collision course, the days leading up to the war were

At this point in the Battle of Gettysburg, both North and South sustained large numbers of casualties. The Southern casualties roughly totaled 7,000 of 22,000 troops. The North suffered even more by losing 15,000 soldiers. Both sides needed to re-evaluate their battle strategies. Lee thought victory for the South was possible with better timing and artillery. Conversely, Meade and his other Union generals decided to stay in their current position and continue the battle (King 22).

In life we all want to see things as black and white, cut and dry, and easy to understand. This is not the case with Robert E. Lee. He was smart, loyal and above all, complicated. We like to make him out as some old general guy who fought for the South in the Civil War. Eventually lost at Gettysburg and because it was the turning point of the Civil War; he became famous for losing. He is a lot more than just that. He was an actual person who, from his birth up to his death, dealt with real life situations.

“A true man of honor feels humbled himself when he cannot help humbling others.” This quote was made in 1871 by one of the greatest generals and probably men in American History; Robert Edward Lee. Robert Edward Lee was a general in the American Civil War. He led his men and stood with them in each and every they were in and got many of them out safely.

It can be debated where exactly the Union was able to claim its victory during the War Between the States. Most people could narrow the turning point in the war to Gettysburg and Vicksburg. The battle of Gettysburg was a very tragic loss for the South, but the battle at Vicksburg was the largest victory for the North. In this lone battle, the Union created an economic problem for the South. The Union Army’s troops, helped by gunboats and river ironclads took control over the Mississippi River. This action virtually split the Confederate territory in two while also seizing control over the South 's main artery of transport. When Vicksburg fell to Union troops on July 4, 1863, the Confederacy lost its last chance to control the Mississippi River.

The Confederates at Manassas knew far ahead of this action due to many Southern spies in Washington. The Southern troops spread in lines along eight miles of Bull Run Creek. The heaviest Southern troops were on a ridge around Henry House. After a few skirmishes, the Union Army arrived at Bull Run on July 21, 1861.

After suffering a major loss at the battle of Shiloh, general Ulysses S. Grant of the Union army led his army south to Vicksburg, Mississippi. Vicksburg was a major Confederate stronghold that held a large supply of supplies essential to war efforts. The Union controlled a small strip of land beside the Mississippi river, right between Vicksburg and Port Hudson. Taking the stronghold would be vital for the Union to claim control over the Mississippi river, which would be a massive strategic advantage.

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

During the Civil War Vicksburg was a thorn in the flesh of the Union forces, since from there the Confederates controlled shipping on the river. After several unsuccessful attempts to take the town, Union troops, commanded by General Grant, finally captured it in 1863 after a 47-day siege. Its fall was one of the bitterest defeats of the Confederates. These events are commemorated in the Vicksburg National Military Park and Cemetery. It was one of the most decisive battles of the Civil War. Over 1,300 monuments and markers, reconstructed trenches and the Vicksburg cemetery are found within these boundaries.

Over 150 years, the Civil War had been the bloodiest war in the American history, also known as “The War Between the States” or “Brother Against Brother”, it was fought between the Union or the United States of America and the Confederate States of America. The war lasted four years from 1861 to 1865. What motivated these men to fight and what is the cause of the Civil War is a subject that many historians tried to find out.

John Keegan describes his book, The Face of Battle, as "a personal attempt to catch a glimpse of the face of battle." This personal aspect that Keegan mentions is essential to his book and is excellently articulated, driving home his point. Keegan, who taught at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for over 25 years, begins by acknowledging his uneasiness with the fact that even though he taught British cadets military history, "I have not been in a battle; not near one, nor heard one from afar, nor seen the aftermath . . . And I grow increasingly convinced that I have very little idea of what a battle can be like." Keegan is clear to state his proposition that almost all military history has functioned simply as a “battle piece” description in which one can see all the larger moving aspects followed by the outcome. However, this sort of recounting fails to acknowledge the personal side of war, the experience of battle. What really ensues when a cavalry unit meets an infantry unit? What are the vital features in determining whether soldiers stand and fight or turn and run?

An interesting turn of events would soon favor the Federal Army as General J.E.B. Stuart and his cavalry were north and east of Gettysburg causing a lot of fear in the North but consequently were not performing adequate reconnaissance, the result was that General Lee did not know where General Meade and the Army of the Potomac were or what their strength was (Freeman, 147). When Confederate General Henry Heth moved into