Text of the Gettysburg Address Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so … Read more
Battle of Antietam Summary The Battle of Antietam — also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg — occurred in 1862 when Confederate General Robert E. Lee led his army into Maryland. By invading the North, he hoped to obtain provisions and possibly gain European support. Union General George McClellan was tasked with stopping Lee’s advance, … Read more
Prelude to the Peninsula Campaign Within twenty-four hours of the Union’s defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861, the Lincoln administration called upon George B. McClellan to lead the Union war effort. McClellan spent the first few months of his command fortifying Washington, DC, and reorganizing federal forces. The Northern … Read more
Also Known As Battle of Fair Oaks Date and Location May 31 – June 1, 1862 Henrico County, Virginia Campaign Peninsula Campaign Principal Union Commanders Major General George B. McClellan Principal Confederate Commanders General Joseph E. Johnston Major General G.W. Smith Union Forces Engaged Army of the Potomac Confederate Forces Engaged Army of Northern Virginia … Read more
Seven Days Battles History and Overview Peninsula Campaign On March 17, 1862, Union General George B. McClellan launched his Peninsula Campaign. McClellan planned to transport the Army of the Potomac by ship to Fort Monroe, on the peninsula between the York and James Rivers in southeastern Virginia. With the bulk of the Confederate forces positioned … Read more
Prelude to the Battle of Chancellorsville Following yet another decisive Union defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg (December 11–15, 1862), and General Ambrose Burnside’s failed January “Mud March”, President Abraham Lincoln was again searching for someone to lead his Federal forces to victory in the East. On January 25, 1863, Lincoln drafted General Orders, No. 20 … Read more
Events Leading Up to the Overland Campaign On March 10, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant as General-in-Chief of the Armies of the United States. Grant brought with him, from his successes in the western theater of the war, a reputation for the doggedness Lincoln was seeking. Unlike previous Union generals, Grant was … Read more
Prelude to the Battle Grant in Charge of Federal Armies On March 10, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant as General-in-Chief of the Armies of the United States. Grant brought with him, from his successes in the Western Theater of the war, a reputation for the doggedness Lincoln was seeking. Unlike other Union … Read more
Definition The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America from May 31, 1864, to June 12, 1864, during the American Civil War. Quick Facts Also Known As: The Battle of Cold Harbor is also called the “Second Battle of Cold Harbor.” Date Started: The … Read more
Prelude to the Battle of Fort Donelson At the onset of the American Civil War, the State of Tennessee comprised most of the northern border of the Confederate States of America in the West. Defending that border was difficult for the Confederacy because Union troops might use any of three major rivers (the Mississippi, which … Read more
Prelude At the onset of the American Civil War, the State of Tennessee comprised most of the northern border of the Confederate States of America in the West. Defending that border was difficult for the Confederacy because three major rivers (the Mississippi, which flows south to the Gulf of Mexico, and the Tennessee and Cumberland … Read more
Prelude to the Vicksburg Campaign At the onset of the American Civil War, the State of Tennessee comprised most of the northern border of the Confederate States of America in the West. Defending that border was difficult for the Confederacy because three major rivers (the Mississippi, which flows south to the Gulf of Mexico, and … Read more
Siege of Yorktown History and Overview Within twenty-four hours of the Union’s defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run (July 21, 1861), the Lincoln administration called upon George B. McClellan to lead the Union war effort in the East. McClellan spent the first few months of his new command fortifying Washington, DC, and reorganizing … Read more
Prelude Following the Battle of Perryville (October 8, 1862), Confederate General Braxton Bragg called off his Heartland Campaign and withdrew his forces from Kentucky to Tennessee. There, Bragg reorganized his command by merging forces with General Kirby Smith‘s Army of Kentucky to form the Army of Tennessee. In November, Bragg established a defensive position along … Read more
Battle of Chickamauga Prelude Following the Battle of Perryville (October 8, 1862), General Braxton Bragg called off his Confederate Heartland Offensive and withdrew his soldiers from Kentucky to Tennessee. There, Bragg merged forces with General Kirby Smith’s Army of Kentucky and reorganized his command to form the Army of Tennessee. In November, Bragg established a … Read more
Early Life Ambrose Everett Burnside was born on May 23, 1824, near Liberty, Indiana. He was the son of Quaker parents, Edghill Burnside and Pamela Brown Burnside. Burnside received an appointment to the United States Military Academy in 1843, and he graduated in 1847. Following graduation, Burnside served in Mexico toward the end of the … Read more
Early Life George Gordon Meade was born on December 31, 1815, in Cadiz, Spain. Meade was the eighth of eleven children of Richard Worsam Meade and Margaret Coats Butler Meade. Meade’s father was a wealthy Philadelphia merchant who was serving as an agent for the U.S. Navy at the time of Meade’s birth. When Meade’s … Read more
Prelude Following the bloody Battle of Antietam (September 17, 1862), Confederate General Robert E. Lee retreated into Virginia, ending his first invasion of the North. The commander of the Army of the Potomac, Major General George McClellan, chose not to pursue Lee’s retreating Army of Northern Virginia, prompting President Abraham Lincoln to issue an executive … Read more
Early Life Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was born on September 8, 1828, in Brewer, Maine. He was the first of five children of Joshua and Sarah (Brastow) Chamberlain. Chamberlain came from a distinguished military ancestry; his great-grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War; his grandfather fought in the War of 1812; and his father served in the … Read more
Early Life Lewis Addison Armistead was born on February 18, 1817, in New Bern, North Carolina. His parents were Walker Keith Armistead and Elizabeth Stanly Armistead. Armistead’s father and his father’s five brothers served in the War of 1812. His uncle, George, commanded Fort McHenry during the British attack that inspired The Star-Spangled Banner during … Read more