1.
United States
–
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
United States
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Native Americans meeting with Europeans, 1764
United States
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Flag
United States
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The signing of the
Mayflower Compact, 1620.
United States
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The
Declaration of Independence: the
Committee of Five presenting their draft to the
Second Continental Congress in 1776
2.
United States Army
–
The United States Army is the largest branch of the United States Armed Forces and performs land-based military operations. After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784, the United States Army considers itself descended from the Continental Army, and dates its institutional inception from the origin of that armed force in 1775. As a uniformed service, the Army is part of the Department of the Army. As a branch of the forces, the mission of the U. S. The branch participates in conflicts worldwide and is the major ground-based offensive and defensive force of the United States, the United States Army serves as the land-based branch of the U. S. Section 3062 of Title 10, U. S, the army was initially led by men who had served in the British Army or colonial militias and who brought much of British military heritage with them. As the Revolutionary War progressed, French aid, resources, a number of European soldiers came on their own to help, such as Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, who taught Prussian Army tactics and organizational skills. The army fought numerous pitched battles and in the South in 1780–81 sometimes used the Fabian strategy and hit-and-run tactics, hitting where the British were weakest, to wear down their forces. Washington led victories against the British at Trenton and Princeton, but lost a series of battles in the New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776, with a decisive victory at Yorktown, and the help of the French, the Continental Army prevailed against the British. After the war, though, the Continental Army was quickly given land certificates, State militias became the new nations sole ground army, with the exception of a regiment to guard the Western Frontier and one battery of artillery guarding West Points arsenal. However, because of continuing conflict with Native Americans, it was realized that it was necessary to field a trained standing army. The War of 1812, the second and last war between the United States and Great Britain, had mixed results. After taking control of Lake Erie in 1813, the U. S. Army seized parts of western Upper Canada, burned York and defeated Tecumseh, which caused his Western Confederacy to collapse. Following U. S. victories in the Canadian province of Upper Canada, British troops, were able to capture and burn Washington, which was defended by militia, in 1814. Two weeks after a treaty was signed, Andrew Jackson defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans and Siege of Fort St. Philip, U. S. troops and sailors captured HMS Cyane, Levant, and Penguin in the final engagements of the war. Per the treaty, both sides, the United States and Great Britain, returned to the status quo. Both navies kept the warships they had seized during the conflict, the armys major campaign against the Indians was fought in Florida against Seminoles. It took long wars to defeat the Seminoles and move them to Oklahoma
United States Army
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Storming of Redoubt #10 in the
Siege of Yorktown during the
American Revolutionary War prompted the British government to begin negotiations, resulting in the
Treaty of Paris and British recognition of the United States of America.
United States Army
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Emblem of the United States Department of the Army
United States Army
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General
Andrew Jackson stands on the parapet of his makeshift defenses as his troops repulse attacking
Highlanders during the
defense of New Orleans, the final major battle of the War of 1812
United States Army
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The
Battle of Gettysburg, the turning point of the American Civil War
3.
Cavalry
–
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the most mobile of the combat arms, an individual soldier in the cavalry is known by a number of designations such as cavalryman, horseman, dragoon or trooper. The designation of cavalry was not usually given to any military forces that used animals, such as camels. Cavalry had the advantage of improved mobility, and a man fighting from horseback also had the advantages of greater height, speed, another element of horse mounted warfare is the psychological impact a mounted soldier can inflict on an opponent. In Europe cavalry became increasingly armoured, and eventually became known for the mounted knights, in the period between the World Wars, many cavalry units were converted into motorized infantry and mechanized infantry units, or reformed as tank troops. Most cavalry units that are horse-mounted in modern armies serve in purely ceremonial roles, modern usage of the term generally refers to specialist units equipped with tanks or aircraft. The shock role, traditionally filled by heavy cavalry, is filled by units with the armored designation. Before the Iron Age, the role of cavalry on the battlefield was largely performed by light chariots, the chariot originated with the Sintashta-Petrovka culture in Central Asia and spread by nomadic or semi-nomadic Indo-Iranians. The power of mobility given by mounted units was recognized early on, Cavalry techniques were an innovation of equestrian nomads of the Central Asian and Iranian steppe and pastoralist tribes such as the Persian Parthians and Sarmatians. The photograph above left shows Assyrian cavalry from reliefs of 865–860 BC, at this time, the men had no spurs, saddles, saddle cloths, or stirrups. Fighting from the back of a horse was more difficult than mere riding. The cavalry acted in pairs, the reins of the archer were controlled by his neighbours hand. Even at this time, cavalry used swords, shields. The sculpture implies two types of cavalry, but this might be a simplification by the artist, Later images of Assyrian cavalry show saddle cloths as primitive saddles, allowing each archer to control his own horse. As early as 490 BC a breed of horses was bred in the Nisaean plain in Media to carry men with increasing amounts of armour. However, chariots remained in use for purposes such as carrying the victorious general in a Roman triumph. The southern Britons met Julius Caesar with chariots in 55 and 54 BC, the last mention of chariot use in battle was by the Caledonians at the Mons Graupius, in 84 AD. During the classical Greek period cavalry were usually limited to citizens who could afford expensive war-horses
Cavalry
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French 4th Hussars at the
battle of Friedland, 1807
Cavalry
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African horseman of
Baguirmi in full
padded armour suit
Cavalry
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Assyrian cavalry
Cavalry
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Parthian horseman, now on display at the
Palazzo Madama, Turin.
4.
American Civil War
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The American Civil War was an internal conflict fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865. The Union faced secessionists in eleven Southern states grouped together as the Confederate States of America, the Union won the war, which remains the bloodiest in U. S. history. Among the 34 U. S. states in February 1861, War broke out in April 1861 when Confederates attacked the U. S. fortress of Fort Sumter. The Confederacy grew to eleven states, it claimed two more states, the Indian Territory, and the southern portions of the western territories of Arizona. The Confederacy was never recognized by the United States government nor by any foreign country. The states that remained loyal, including border states where slavery was legal, were known as the Union or the North, the war ended with the surrender of all the Confederate armies and the dissolution of the Confederate government in the spring of 1865. The war had its origin in the issue of slavery. The Confederacy collapsed and 4 million slaves were freed, but before his inauguration, seven slave states with cotton-based economies formed the Confederacy. The first six to declare secession had the highest proportions of slaves in their populations, the first seven with state legislatures to resolve for secession included split majorities for unionists Douglas and Bell in Georgia with 51% and Louisiana with 55%. Alabama had voted 46% for those unionists, Mississippi with 40%, Florida with 38%, Texas with 25%, of these, only Texas held a referendum on secession. Eight remaining slave states continued to reject calls for secession, outgoing Democratic President James Buchanan and the incoming Republicans rejected secession as illegal. Lincolns March 4,1861 inaugural address declared that his administration would not initiate a civil war, speaking directly to the Southern States, he reaffirmed, I have no purpose, directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the United States where it exists. I believe I have no right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so. After Confederate forces seized numerous federal forts within territory claimed by the Confederacy, efforts at compromise failed, the Confederates assumed that European countries were so dependent on King Cotton that they would intervene, but none did, and none recognized the new Confederate States of America. Hostilities began on April 12,1861, when Confederate forces fired upon Fort Sumter, while in the Western Theater the Union made significant permanent gains, in the Eastern Theater, the battle was inconclusive in 1861–62. The autumn 1862 Confederate campaigns into Maryland and Kentucky failed, dissuading British intervention, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which made ending slavery a war goal. To the west, by summer 1862 the Union destroyed the Confederate river navy, then much of their western armies, the 1863 Union siege of Vicksburg split the Confederacy in two at the Mississippi River. In 1863, Robert E. Lees Confederate incursion north ended at the Battle of Gettysburg, Western successes led to Ulysses S. Grants command of all Union armies in 1864
American Civil War
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New Orleans the largest cotton exporting port for New England and Great Britain textile mills, shipping Mississippi River Valley goods from North, South and Border states.
American Civil War
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Clockwise from top:
Battle of Gettysburg,
Union Captain John Tidball's artillery,
Confederate prisoners,
ironclad USS Atlanta, ruins of
Richmond, Virginia,
Battle of Franklin
American Civil War
–
Sen. Stephen Douglas, author of the
Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854
American Civil War
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Sen. John J. Crittenden, of the 1860
Crittenden Compromise
5.
Vietnam War
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It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The war is considered a Cold War-era proxy war. As the war continued, the actions of the Viet Cong decreased as the role. U. S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery, in the course of the war, the U. S. conducted a large-scale strategic bombing campaign against North Vietnam. The North Vietnamese government and the Viet Cong were fighting to reunify Vietnam and they viewed the conflict as a colonial war and a continuation of the First Indochina War against forces from France and later on the United States. The U. S. government viewed its involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam and this was part the domino theory of a wider containment policy, with the stated aim of stopping the spread of communism. Beginning in 1950, American military advisors arrived in what was then French Indochina, U. S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s, with troop levels tripling in 1961 and again in 1962. Regular U. S. combat units were deployed beginning in 1965, despite the Paris Peace Accord, which was signed by all parties in January 1973, the fighting continued. In the U. S. and the Western world, a large anti-Vietnam War movement developed as part of a larger counterculture, the war changed the dynamics between the Eastern and Western Blocs, and altered North–South relations. Direct U. S. military involvement ended on 15 August 1973, the capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese Army in April 1975 marked the end of the war, and North and South Vietnam were reunified the following year. The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of fatalities, estimates of the number of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed vary from 966,000 to 3.8 million. Some 240, 000–300,000 Cambodians,20, 000–62,000 Laotians, and 58,220 U. S. service members died in the conflict. Various names have applied to the conflict. Vietnam War is the most commonly used name in English and it has also been called the Second Indochina War and the Vietnam Conflict. As there have been several conflicts in Indochina, this conflict is known by the names of its primary protagonists to distinguish it from others. In Vietnamese, the war is known as Kháng chiến chống Mỹ. It is also called Chiến tranh Việt Nam, France began its conquest of Indochina in the late 1850s, and completed pacification by 1893. The 1884 Treaty of Huế formed the basis for French colonial rule in Vietnam for the seven decades
Vietnam War
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Clockwise, from top left: U.S. combat operations in
Ia Drang, ARVN Rangers defending
Saigon during the 1968
Tet Offensive, two
Douglas A-4C Skyhawks en route for airstrikes against North Vietnam after the
Gulf of Tonkin incident, ARVN recapture
Quảng Trị during the 1972
Easter Offensive, civilians fleeing the
1972 Battle of Quảng Trị, burial of 300 victims of the 1968
Huế Massacre.
Vietnam War
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A Japanese naval officer surrenders his sword to a British Lieutenant in Saigon on 13 September 1945.
Vietnam War
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The
Geneva Conference, 1954
Vietnam War
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U.S. President
Dwight D. Eisenhower and Secretary of State
John Foster Dulles greet President
Ngô Đình Diệm of
South Vietnam in Washington, 8 May 1957.
6.
Air Cavalry
–
For much of history, humans have used some form of cavalry for war and, as a result, cavalry tactics have evolved over time. Tactically, the advantages of cavalry over infantry troops were greater mobility, a larger impact. Before the invention of saddle and stirrups, which riders to reasonably maneuver on horseback. The chariots advantage of speed was outdone by the agility of riding on horseback, the ability of horsemen to pass more difficult terrain was also crucial to this change. In Celtic warfare, light chariots persisted among mounted troops, for their ability to heavily armoured warriors. At first it was not considered effective to use weapons on horseback, mounted infantry would ride to battle, and then dismount to fight. For a long time, riders and charioteers worked alongside each other in the cavalry, the first recorded instance of mounted warriors are the mounted archers of the Iranian tribes appearing in Assyrian records from the 9th century BC. Mongolian troops had a Buryat bow, for showering the enemy with arrows from a safe distance. The aim on horseback was better than in a jiggling chariot, nevertheless, an archer in a chariot could shoot potentially stronger infantry bows. Javelins were employed as a ranged weapon by many cavalries. They were easy to handle on horseback, two to ten javelins would be carried, depending on their weight. Thrown javelins have less range than composite bows, but often prevailed in use nevertheless, due to the mass of the weapon, there was a greater armour-piercing ability, and they thus caused fatal wounds more frequently. Usage is reported for both light and heavy cavalry, for example, by Numidia and the Mongols light cavalry and the heavy cataphracts, Celtic cavalry, the Celtic horsemens training was copied by the Roman equites. A significant element learned from the Celts was turning on horseback to throw javelins backwards, modern historical reenactors have shown that neither the stirrup nor the saddle are strictly necessary for the effective use of the couched lance, refuting a previously widely held belief. Free movement of the rider on horseback were highly esteemed for light cavalry to shoot and fight in all directions, andalusian light cavalry refused to employ them until the 12th century, nor were they used by the Baltic turcopoles of the Teutonic Order in the battle of Legnica. An example of combined arms and the efficiency of cavalry forces were the Medieval Mongols, important for their horse archery was the use of stirrups for the archer to stand while shooting. This new position enabled them to use larger and stronger cavalry bows than the enemy, armies of horse archers could cover enemy troops with arrows from a distance and never had to engage in close combat. Slower enemies without effective long range weapons often had no chance against them and it was in this manner that the cavalry of the Parthian Empire destroyed the troops of Crassus in the Battle of Carrhae
Air Cavalry
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A 13th-century
Mongol saddle cover
Air Cavalry
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Battle of La Higueruela (1431) between
John II of Castile and
Muhammed IX,
Nasrid Sultan of Granada
Air Cavalry
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Polish hussar formation at the
Battle of Klushino 1610 - painting by Szymon Boguszowicz 1620
Air Cavalry
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The death of King Gustavus II Adolphus on 16 November 1632, at the
Battle of Lützen
7.
Indian Wars
–
These conflicts occurred across the North American continent from the time of earliest colonial settlements until 1924. There was population pressure as settlers expanded their territory, generally pushing indigenous people northward and westward, many conflicts were local, involving disputes over land use, and some entailed cycles of reprisal. The 2010 census found 2,932,248 Americans who identified themselves as being Native American, no consensus exists on how many native people lived in the Americas before the arrival of Columbus, but extensive research has been and continues to be conducted. Estimates on the population of pre-Colombus North America range from a low of 2.1 million to 7 million people to 18 million, scholars believe that the overwhelming main causes were new infectious diseases carried by European explorers and traders. Native Americans had no acquired immunity to diseases, which had been chronic in Eurasian populations for over five centuries. For instance, some estimates indicate case fatality rates of 80–98% in Native American populations during smallpox epidemics. They have cost the lives of about 19,000 white men, women and children, including those killed in individual combats, the actual number of killed and wounded Indians must be very much higher than the number given. Fifty percent additional would be a safe estimate, from about 1600 onwards, the process of European colonization of North America by the English, French, Spanish, Dutch and Swedish was contested by various indigenous tribes. Similarly, in the American Revolution and the War of 1812, the British planned to set up an Indian nation in what is now the Ohio-Wisconsin area to block further American expansion. The U. S. protested and finally, in 1812, most Indian tribes, especially those allied with Tecumseh, supported the British and were ultimately defeated by General William Henry Harrison. The latter were defeated by General Andrew Jackson, during and after such warfare, many refugees from defeated tribes went over the border to Canada, those in the South went to Florida while it was under Spanish control. During the early 19th century, the government was under pressure by settlers in many regions to expel Native Americans from their areas. Some resisted fiercely, most notably the Seminoles in a series of wars in Florida and they were never finally defeated, although some Seminole did remove to Indian Territory. The United States gave up on the remainder, by then living defensively deep in the swamps, others were moved to reservations west of the Mississippi River, most famously the Cherokee whose relocation was called the Trail of Tears. For the Americans the American Revolutionary War was essentially two parallel wars, while the war in the east was a struggle against British rule, the newly proclaimed United States competed with the British for control of the territory of Native American nations east of the Mississippi River. Some Native Americans who joined the struggle sided with the British, as they hoped to win the opportunity to reduce settlement, the Revolutionary War was the most extensive and destructive Indian war in United States history. Some native communities were divided over which side to support in the war, while the Iroquois tried to avoid fighting directly against one another, the Revolution eventually forced intra-Iroquois combat. Both sides lost territory following the United States establishing its independence, the Crown aided the landless Iroquois by rewarding them with a reservation at Grand River in Ontario and some other lands
Indian Wars
–
An 1899
chromolithograph of
US cavalry pursuing Native Americans, artist unknown
Indian Wars
–
The Battle of Fallen Timbers
Indian Wars
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Treaty with the Creeks, Fort Jackson, 1814
Indian Wars
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A dead Sauk and her surviving child with a U.S. officer at the
Bad Axe Massacre, 1832.
8.
Boxer Rebellion
–
The Boxer Rebellion, Boxer Uprising or Yihequan Movement a violent anti-foreign and anti-Christian uprising that took place in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty. The uprising took place against a background of severe drought and the disruption caused by the growth of foreign spheres of influence, Foreigners and Chinese Christians sought refuge in the Legation Quarter. Diplomats, foreign civilians and soldiers as well as Chinese Christians in the Legation Quarter were placed under siege by the Imperial Army of China, Chinese officialdom was split between those supporting the Boxers and those favoring conciliation, led by Prince Qing. The supreme commander of the Chinese forces, the Manchu General Ronglu, the Eight-Nation Alliance, after being initially turned back, brought 20,000 armed troops to China, defeated the Imperial Army, and captured Beijing on August 14, lifting the siege of the Legations. Uncontrolled plunder of the capital and the surrounding countryside ensued, along with the execution of those suspected of being Boxers. The Empress Dowager then sponsored a set of institutional and fiscal changes in an attempt to save the dynasty by reforming it. The Righteous and Harmonious Fists arose in the sections of the northern coastal province of Shandong long known for social unrest, religious sects. American Christian missionaries were probably the first to refer to the well-trained, athletic men as Boxers, because of the martial arts. Their primary practice was a type of possession which involved the whirling of swords, violent prostrations. The opportunities to fight back Western encroachment and colonization were especially attractive to unemployed village men, the tradition of possession and invulnerability went back several hundred years but took on special meaning against the powerful new weapons of the West. The Boxers, armed with rifles and swords, claimed supernatural invulnerability towards blows of cannon, rifle shots, furthermore, the Boxer groups popularly claimed that millions of soldiers of Heaven would descend to assist them in purifying China of foreign oppression. The Big Swords, emboldened by this support, also attacked their local Catholic village rivals. The Big Swords responded by attacking Catholic churches and burning them, the line between Christians and bandits, remarks one recent historian, became increasingly indistinct. As a result of pressure in the capital, Yuxian executed several Big Sword leaders. More martial secret societies started emerging after this, the early years saw a variety of village activities, not a broad movement or a united purpose. Martial folk religious societies such as the Baguadao prepared the way for the Boxers, like the Red Boxing school or the Plum Flower Boxers, the Boxers of Shandong were more concerned with traditional social and moral values, such as filial piety, than with foreign influences. One leader, for instance, Zhu Hongdeng, started as a healer, specializing in skin ulcers. Zhu claimed descent from Ming dynasty emperors, since his surname was the surname of the Ming imperial family and he announced that his goal was to Revive the Qing and destroy the foreigners
Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
–
Top: Russian cannons
breaking the gates of Peking Bottom: American troops
scale the walls of Peking.
Boxer Rebellion
–
A Boxer during the revolt
Boxer Rebellion
–
A French political cartoon depicting
China as a pie about to be carved up by
Queen Victoria (
Britain),
Kaiser Wilhelm II (
Germany),
Tsar Nicholas II (
Russia),
Marianne (
France) and a
samurai (
Japan), while a
Chinese mandarin helplessly looks on.
9.
Mexican Expedition
–
The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition but originally referred to as the Punitive Expedition, U. S. The expedition was launched in retaliation for Villas attack on the town of Columbus, New Mexico, the declared objective of the expedition by the Wilson administration was the capture of Villa. The Constitutionalist forces used arms at the town of Parral to resist passage of a U. S. Army column, the U. S. mission was changed to prevent further attacks on it by Mexican troops and to plan for war in the eventuality it broke out. When war was averted diplomatically, the expedition remained in Mexico until February 1917 to encourage Carranzas government to pursue Villa, feeling betrayed, Villa began attacking U. S. nationals and their property in northern Mexico. On November 26,1915, Villa sent a force to attack the city of Nogales and in the course of the ensuing battle, engaged with American forces before withdrawing. On January 11,1916, sixteen American employees of the American Smelting and Refining Company were removed from a train near Santa Isabel, Chihuahua, brigadier General John J. Raids were so commonplace, however, that the rumor was not seen as credible. Ten civilians and eight soldiers were killed in the attack, the raiders burned the town, stole horses and mules, and seized machine guns, ammunition and merchandise, before fleeing back to Mexico. However, Villas soldiers had suffered losses, with at least sixty-seven dead. Many of the casualties were inflicted when the machine gun troop of the 13th Cavalry led by 2nd Lt. John P, about thirteen of Villas wounded later died of their wounds, and five wounded Villistas taken prisoner by the Americans were tried and hanged for murder. Local lore in Columbus holds that the attack may have been caused by a merchant in Columbus who supplied Villa with arms and ammunition. Villa is said to have several thousand dollars in cash for the weapons. The next day, acting on the recommendations of the commanders of his cavalry regiments and this can and will be done in entirely friendly aid to the constituted authorities in Mexico and with scrupulous respect for the sovereignty of that Republic. The 2nd Provisional Cavalry Brigade reached Colonia Dublán after dark on March 17, the entire squadron flew to the advanced camp at Colonia Dublán on March 19–20, losing two aircraft in the process. Pershing immediately sent the 7th Cavalry south just after midnight on March 18 to begin the pursuit, persistent winter weather through early April, particularly bitterly cold nights at high altitude, made both pursuit and logistics more difficult. An additional regiment of cavalry and two of infantry were added to the expedition in late April, bringing its size to 4,800 men. This was the first use of convoys in a U. S. military operation. His headquarters advanced as far as the 1st Aero Squadrons field at Satevó, southeast of Chihuahua City, before falling back at the end of April. Villa had a head start on the pursuit, all but ensuring that his forces would successfully break up into smaller bands
Mexican Expedition
–
Pancho Villa wearing
bandoliers in front of an insurgent camp
Mexican Expedition
–
Cartoon by
Clifford Berryman reflects American attitudes about the expedition
Mexican Expedition
–
Pancho Villa Expedition
Mexican Expedition
–
S.C. No. 53, a JN3 of the 1st Aero Squadron, at Casas Grandes, Mexico
10.
World War II
–
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
World War II
–
Clockwise from top left: Chinese forces in the
Battle of Wanjialing, Australian
25-pounder guns during the
First Battle of El Alamein, German
Stuka dive bombers on the
Eastern Front in December 1943, a U.S. naval force in the
Lingayen Gulf,
Wilhelm Keitel signing the
German Instrument of Surrender, Soviet troops in the
Battle of Stalingrad
World War II
–
The
League of Nations assembly, held in
Geneva,
Switzerland, 1930
World War II
–
Adolf Hitler at a German
National Socialist political rally in
Weimar, October 1930
World War II
–
Italian soldiers recruited in 1935, on their way to fight the
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
11.
Persian Gulf War
–
The Iraqi Armys occupation of Kuwait that began 2 August 1990 was met with international condemnation, and brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the UN Security Council. US President George H. W. Bush deployed US forces into Saudi Arabia, an array of nations joined the coalition, the largest military alliance since World War II. The great majority of the military forces were from the US, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia paid around US$32 billion of the US$60 billion cost, the war was marked by the introduction of live news broadcasts from the front lines of the battle, principally by the US network CNN. The war has also earned the nickname Video Game War after the daily broadcast of images from cameras on board US bombers during Operation Desert Storm. The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial and naval bombardment on 17 January 1991 and this was followed by a ground assault on 24 February. This was a victory for the coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait. The coalition ceased its advance, and declared a ceasefire 100 hours after the campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, Iraq launched Scud missiles against coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia and against Israel. The following names have been used to describe the conflict itself, Gulf War, a problem with these terms is that the usage is ambiguous, having now been applied to at least three conflicts, see Gulf War. The use of the term Persian Gulf is also disputed, see Persian Gulf naming dispute, with no consensus of naming, various publications have attempted to refine the name. Other language terms include French, la Guerre du Golfe and German, Golfkrieg, German, Zweiter Golfkrieg, French, most of the coalition states used various names for their operations and the wars operational phases. Operation Desert Storm was the US name of the conflict from 17 January 1991. Operation Desert Sabre was the US name for the offensive against the Iraqi Army in the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations from 24–28 February 1991, in itself. Operation Desert Farewell was the given to the return of US units and equipment to the US in 1991 after Kuwaits liberation. Operation Granby was the British name for British military activities during the operations, Opération Daguet was the French name for French military activities in the conflict. Operation Friction was the name of the Canadian operations Operazione Locusta was the Italian name for the operations, in addition, various phases of each operation may have a unique operational name. The US divided the conflict into three campaigns, Defense of Saudi Arabian country for the period 2 August 1990, through 16 January 1991
Persian Gulf War
–
Clockwise from top:
USAF F-15Es,
F-16s, and an
F-15C flying over
burning Kuwaiti oil wells; British troops from the
Staffordshire Regiment in
Operation Granby; camera view from a
Lockheed AC-130;
Highway of Death;
M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle.
Persian Gulf War
–
Donald Rumsfeld, as U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, meets
Saddam Hussein on 19–20 December 1983.
Persian Gulf War
–
Kuwait Army M-84 main battle tanks.
Persian Gulf War
–
Iraqi Army T-72 M main battle tanks. The T-72M tank was a common Iraqi battle tank used in the Gulf War.
12.
Operation Desert Storm
–
The Iraqi Armys occupation of Kuwait that began 2 August 1990 was met with international condemnation, and brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the UN Security Council. US President George H. W. Bush deployed US forces into Saudi Arabia, an array of nations joined the coalition, the largest military alliance since World War II. The great majority of the military forces were from the US, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia paid around US$32 billion of the US$60 billion cost, the war was marked by the introduction of live news broadcasts from the front lines of the battle, principally by the US network CNN. The war has also earned the nickname Video Game War after the daily broadcast of images from cameras on board US bombers during Operation Desert Storm. The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial and naval bombardment on 17 January 1991 and this was followed by a ground assault on 24 February. This was a victory for the coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait. The coalition ceased its advance, and declared a ceasefire 100 hours after the campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, Iraq launched Scud missiles against coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia and against Israel. The following names have been used to describe the conflict itself, Gulf War, a problem with these terms is that the usage is ambiguous, having now been applied to at least three conflicts, see Gulf War. The use of the term Persian Gulf is also disputed, see Persian Gulf naming dispute, with no consensus of naming, various publications have attempted to refine the name. Other language terms include French, la Guerre du Golfe and German, Golfkrieg, German, Zweiter Golfkrieg, French, most of the coalition states used various names for their operations and the wars operational phases. Operation Desert Storm was the US name of the conflict from 17 January 1991. Operation Desert Sabre was the US name for the offensive against the Iraqi Army in the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations from 24–28 February 1991, in itself. Operation Desert Farewell was the given to the return of US units and equipment to the US in 1991 after Kuwaits liberation. Operation Granby was the British name for British military activities during the operations, Opération Daguet was the French name for French military activities in the conflict. Operation Friction was the name of the Canadian operations Operazione Locusta was the Italian name for the operations, in addition, various phases of each operation may have a unique operational name. The US divided the conflict into three campaigns, Defense of Saudi Arabian country for the period 2 August 1990, through 16 January 1991
Operation Desert Storm
–
Clockwise from top:
USAF F-15Es,
F-16s, and an
F-15C flying over
burning Kuwaiti oil wells; British troops from the
Staffordshire Regiment in
Operation Granby; camera view from a
Lockheed AC-130;
Highway of Death;
M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle.
Operation Desert Storm
–
Donald Rumsfeld, as U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, meets
Saddam Hussein on 19–20 December 1983.
Operation Desert Storm
–
Kuwait Army M-84 main battle tanks.
Operation Desert Storm
–
Iraqi Army T-72 M main battle tanks. The T-72M tank was a common Iraqi battle tank used in the Gulf War.
13.
Operation Desert Shield
–
The Iraqi Armys occupation of Kuwait that began 2 August 1990 was met with international condemnation, and brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the UN Security Council. US President George H. W. Bush deployed US forces into Saudi Arabia, an array of nations joined the coalition, the largest military alliance since World War II. The great majority of the military forces were from the US, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia paid around US$32 billion of the US$60 billion cost, the war was marked by the introduction of live news broadcasts from the front lines of the battle, principally by the US network CNN. The war has also earned the nickname Video Game War after the daily broadcast of images from cameras on board US bombers during Operation Desert Storm. The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial and naval bombardment on 17 January 1991 and this was followed by a ground assault on 24 February. This was a victory for the coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait. The coalition ceased its advance, and declared a ceasefire 100 hours after the campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, Iraq launched Scud missiles against coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia and against Israel. The following names have been used to describe the conflict itself, Gulf War, a problem with these terms is that the usage is ambiguous, having now been applied to at least three conflicts, see Gulf War. The use of the term Persian Gulf is also disputed, see Persian Gulf naming dispute, with no consensus of naming, various publications have attempted to refine the name. Other language terms include French, la Guerre du Golfe and German, Golfkrieg, German, Zweiter Golfkrieg, French, most of the coalition states used various names for their operations and the wars operational phases. Operation Desert Storm was the US name of the conflict from 17 January 1991. Operation Desert Sabre was the US name for the offensive against the Iraqi Army in the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations from 24–28 February 1991, in itself. Operation Desert Farewell was the given to the return of US units and equipment to the US in 1991 after Kuwaits liberation. Operation Granby was the British name for British military activities during the operations, Opération Daguet was the French name for French military activities in the conflict. Operation Friction was the name of the Canadian operations Operazione Locusta was the Italian name for the operations, in addition, various phases of each operation may have a unique operational name. The US divided the conflict into three campaigns, Defense of Saudi Arabian country for the period 2 August 1990, through 16 January 1991
Operation Desert Shield
–
Clockwise from top:
USAF F-15Es,
F-16s, and an
F-15C flying over
burning Kuwaiti oil wells; British troops from the
Staffordshire Regiment in
Operation Granby; camera view from a
Lockheed AC-130;
Highway of Death;
M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle.
Operation Desert Shield
–
Donald Rumsfeld, as U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, meets
Saddam Hussein on 19–20 December 1983.
Operation Desert Shield
–
Kuwait Army M-84 main battle tanks.
Operation Desert Shield
–
Iraqi Army T-72 M main battle tanks. The T-72M tank was a common Iraqi battle tank used in the Gulf War.
14.
Iraq Campaign
–
The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued for much of the decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces. An estimated 151,000 to 600,000 or more Iraqis were killed in the first 3–4 years of conflict and it became re-involved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition, the insurgency and many dimensions of the civil armed conflict continue. The invasion began on 20 March 2003, with the U. S. joined by the United Kingdom and several allies, launching a shock. Iraqi forces were overwhelmed as U. S. forces swept through the country. The invasion led to the collapse of the Baathist government, President Hussein was captured during Operation Red Dawn in December of that same year, the United States responded with a troop surge in 2007. The winding down of U. S. involvement in Iraq accelerated under President Barack Obama, the U. S. formally withdrew all combat troops from Iraq by December 2011. Select U. S. officials accused Saddam of harboring and supporting al-Qaeda, while others cited the desire to end a repressive dictatorship, after the invasion, no substantial evidence was found to verify the initial claims about WMDs. The rationale and misrepresentation of pre-war intelligence faced heavy criticism within the U. S. in the aftermath of the invasion, Iraq held multi-party elections in 2005. Nouri al-Maliki became Prime Minister in 2006 and remained in office until 2014, the al-Maliki government enacted policies that were widely seen as having the effect of alienating the countrys Sunni minority and worsening sectarian tensions. The Iraq War caused hundreds of thousands of civilian, and thousands of military casualties, the majority of casualties occurred as a result of the insurgency and civil conflicts between 2004 and 2007. A1990 Frontline report on The arming of Iraq said, Officially, most Western nations participated in an arms embargo against Iraq during the 1980s. Western companies, primarily in Germany and Great Britain, but also in the United States, sold Iraq the key technology for its chemical, missile, any Western governments seemed remarkably indifferent, if not enthusiastic, about those deals. N Washington, the government consistently followed a policy which allowed and perhaps encouraged the growth of Saddam Husseins arsenal. The Western arming of Iraq took place in the context of the Iran-Iraq War, prior to September 2002, the CIA was the George W. Bush administrations main provider of intelligence on Iraq. The agency was out to disprove linkage between Iraq and terrorism the Pentagon adviser told me, the U. N. had prohibited Iraq from developing or possessing such weapons after the Gulf War and required Iraq to permit inspections confirming compliance. This was confirmed by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, during 2002, Bush repeatedly warned of military action against Iraq unless inspections were allowed to progress unfettered. In accordance with U. N. Security Council Resolution 1441, Iraq agreed to new inspections under United Nations Monitoring, as part of its weapons inspection obligations, Iraq was required to supply a full declaration of its current weapons capabilities and manufacturing
Iraq Campaign
–
Clockwise from top: U.S. troops at Uday Hussein and Qusay Hussein's hideout; insurgents in northern Iraq; an Iraqi insurgent firing a
MANPADS; the toppling of the
Saddam Hussein statue in
Firdos Square.
Iraq Campaign
–
A UN weapons inspector examines an Iraqi factory in 2002.
Iraq Campaign
–
President George Bush, surrounded by leaders of the House and Senate, announces the
Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq, 2 October 2002.
Iraq Campaign
–
Excerpt from Donald Rumsfeld memo dated 27 November 2001
15.
Samuel H. Starr
–
Samuel Henry Starr was a career United States Army officer, regimental commander and prisoner of war. A collection of his letters provide a view of military life, the War with Mexico, Indian conflicts. Despite his rough demeanor he was a man and reflective of the times he served. He was known for his discipline and blistering tongue-lashings directed at friend, in the later part of 1862, he saber-slapped an inattentive camp guard and loudly declared the soldier an SOB. Because of his abuse of the guard, he resigned his rank of colonel, his command, forgiven by the press and apparently by the Army, he rejoined the active military as a major in command of a cavalry regiment. He commanded the Cavalry Reserve Brigade briefly, but was denied the promotion and he is noted for his July 1863 actions at the Battle of Fairfield where his small cavalry regiment took on two crack Confederate Cavalry Regiments reinforced with light artillery. He was severely wounded in the melee and his arm had to be amputated while he was a prisoner of war. Old Paddy was exchanged on parole in September of that year, after a period of recovery he resumed his career to command the Cavalry Remount Camp in Maryland. Later he was a Special Inspector of Cavalry for the armies of the Potomac, during the post war period he served in Texas then retired as a full colonel on December 15,1870. Samuel Starr was born July 31,1810, in Leyden and he was the son of Benjamin John or Henry Starr and Achsah Maria Ely. Starr married Eliza Kurtz from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 21,1841 in Leyden Township, Lewis County, Achsah Catharine Starr in New York state. Kurtz Henry Starr in New York, annie Martha Starr in Austin, Texas. Jo Ursula Starr in Fort Graham, Texas, Samuel Benjamin Starr in Burlington, New Jersey. Samuel Starr enlisted in the United States Army as a private on October 27,1832 in Company G and he sent letters to his wifes home from Matamoros, Mexico in 1846. Other letters were sent from Victoria, Mexico dated January 12,1847 and his nickname was Paddy reflective of his Irish ancestry. In one letter dated March 14,1847, from a camp near the city of Veracruz. His letter of March 30, mentions the surrender of Veracruz to American forces, another letter dated April 22,1847, describes following Mexican General Santa Anna to Xalapa. The letter was written from the Castle of Perote, Other letters describe disease in the army, skirmishes during the approach to Mexico City and the Battle of Contreras
Samuel H. Starr
–
Colonel Samuel H. Starr, 1870
Samuel H. Starr
–
United States Cavalry branch insignia
Samuel H. Starr
–
American soldiers and cavalry parade during the occupation of Mexico City
Samuel H. Starr
–
The Battle of Upperville: Harper's Weekly, issue date July 18, 1863.
16.
5th Cavalry Regiment (United States)
–
As the borders of the United States expanded westwards, the US government decided that it needed more mounted troops to protect the wagon trains and secure the frontier. Company A rode Grays, Companies B and E rode Sorrels, Companies C, D, F, and I had Bays, Companies G and H rode browns, royall, Nathan G. Evans, Fitzhugh Lee, and John Bell Hood. After receiving cavalry training at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, the regiment, under COL Albert Sidney Johnston, began riding out to Fort Belknap, Texas. COL Johnston immediately received orders to set up Headquarters along with Companies B, C, D, G, H, arriving on 14 January 1856, the men arrived at the post and immediately began work repairing it. On 22 February 1856, Company C of the 2nd Cavalry, under the command of Captain James Oaks, engaged the Waco Indians in their first battle just west of Fort Terrett, Texas. In July 1857, LTC Robert E. Lee arrived at Fort Mason to take command of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment and that same month, LT John Bell Hood led a company of the 2nd Cavalry into the Texas frontier. Near the Devils River, the patrol spotted a band of Comanche warriors holding a flag of truce. The warriors dropped their white flag and began lighting fires to carefully placed burn piles in order to provide a smoke screen,30 more Indians, hiding within 10 paces of the Cavalry troopers, began attacking with arrows and guns. The cavalrymen charged and engaged in fighting, but were forced to withdraw under the cover of revolver fire in the face of two-to-one odds. LT Hood was wounded by and arrow through the hand in this engagement. On 15 February 1858, Major William J. Hardee was instructed to proceed from Fort Belknap with Companies A, F, H & K to Otter Creek, Texas, on 29 February, they came upon a large encampment of Comanche Indians near Wichita Village. In July 1858, the regiment assembled at Fort Belknap in anticipation of joining Johnston in Utah to subjugate rebellious Mormons. Their orders were rescinded and they formed a striking force. During this period, the regiment fought in some forty engagements against the Apaches, Bannocks, Cheyennes, Comanches, Kiowas, Utes and other tribes along with Mexican banditos. Early in 1861, the regiment went to Carlisle Barracks, where the officers, lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Lee was replaced by Lt. Col. George Henry Thomas. The regiment was rebuilt with new officers and recruits loyal to the Union and was assigned to the Army of the Potomac under the command of General George McClellan. On 21 July 1861, the regiment participated in its first battle of the American Civil War, the 5th Cavalrys most notable action came at Gaines Mills, when the regiment charged a Confederate division under command of a former comrade, General John Bell Hood. The regiment suffered casualties in the battle, but their attack saved the Union artillery from annihilation
5th Cavalry Regiment (United States)
–
5th Regiment United States Cavalry insignia
5th Cavalry Regiment (United States)
–
5th Cavalry Regiment coat of arms
5th Cavalry Regiment (United States)
–
Soldiers of 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment on patrol near
Ur, Iraq. (2009)
17.
7th Cavalry Regiment (United States)
–
The 7th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment formed in 1866. Its official nickname is Garryowen, after the Irish air Garryowen that was adopted as its march tune, following its activation, the Seventh Cavalry Regiment patrolled the Western plains for raiding Native Americans and to protect the westward movement of pioneers. From 1866 to 1881, the regiment marched a total of 181,692 miles across Kansas, Montana, the regiment was constituted on 28 July 1866 in the regular army as the 7th United States Cavalry. It was organized on 21 September 1866 at Fort Riley, Kansas as part of an expansion of the army following the demobilization of the wartime volunteer. From 1866 through 1871, the regiment was posted to Fort Riley, in the Battle of the Washita in 1868, the regiment sustained 22 losses, while inflicting more that 150 deaths on a Cheyenne encampment, mostly women and children. This attack was led by George Armstrong Custer, who led the 7th Cavalry to the most calamitous defeat of U. S. forces in the Indian Wars. Typical of post-Civil War cavalry regiments, the 7th Cavalry was organized as a regiment without a formal battalion organization. Battalions at this time were flexible tactical organizations, with companies being assigned and removed as the field commander desired or felt necessary. Throughout this period, the cavalryman was armed with the Colt Single Action Army.45 caliber revolvers and trapdoor Springfield carbines, the regiment used the McClellan saddle, and sabres were also issued but not often carried on campaign. The 7th Cavalry, like the other U. S. Army regiments of the time, had a band, which performed mounted as well as on foot, and seated for concerts. Initially established with the support of Major Alfred Gibbs, the 7ths band adopted Garryowen as their favorite tune and thus gave the Seventh their nickname among the rest of the Army. From 1871 through 1873, 7th Cavalry companies participated in constabulary duties in the deep South in support of the Reconstruction Act, in 1873, the 7th Cavalry moved its garrison post to Fort Abraham Lincoln, Dakota Territory. From here, the regiment carried out Custers 1874 Black Hills Expedition and this led to the discovery of gold in the Black Hills, starting a gold rush in 1874 that precipitated the Great Sioux War of 1876–77. In June,1876, Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer was killed in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, on 29 December 1890, the regiment instigated the Wounded Knee Massacre in South Dakota, an event that signaled the end of the American Indian Wars. November 1866 – April 1869 Col. Andrew J. Smith May 1869 – June 1886 Col. Samuel D. Sturgis July 1886 – November 1894 Col. James W. From 1895 until 1899, the regiment served in New Mexico and Oklahoma, an enlisted trooper with the Seventh Cavalry, B Company, from May 1896 until March 1897 at Fort Grant Arizona Territory was author Edgar Rice Burroughs. The regiment served in the Philippines during the Philippine-American War from 1904 through 1907, in December 1917, 7th Cavalry was assigned to the 15th Cavalry Division, an on-paper organization designed for service in France during World War I that was never more than a simple headquarters. This was because no significant role emerged for mounted troops on the Western Front during the 19 months between the entry of the United States into the war and the Armistice of 11 November 1918, the 7th Cavalry was released from this assignment in May 1918
7th Cavalry Regiment (United States)
–
7th Cavalry coat of arms
7th Cavalry Regiment (United States)
–
Distinctive unit insignia
7th Cavalry Regiment (United States)
–
The mutilated body of Sergeant Frederick Wyllyams, Troop G, 7th Cavalry, who was one of seven soldiers killed in battle with
Cheyenne,
Sioux, and
Arapaho warriors on 26 June 1867
7th Cavalry Regiment (United States)
–
Troop E, 7th Cavalry Regiment, advances towards San Jose on Leyte, 20 October 1944
18.
Combat aviation brigade
–
Combat aviation brigades were introduced during the transformation of the United States Army to a modular force. There were three types of combat aviation brigades, the ultimate goal is eight full spectrum CABs and four heavy CABs in active service, and respectively six and two CABs in the Army National Guard. Four brigades must be deployment-ready on a permanent basis, the Army stated that they need the CAB to be modular designed to enable task organization and optimize aviation capability for specific mission of specified duration. Full spectrum CAB will standardize the CAB design across the branch to deliver maximum aviation capability in the most timely, the Army Reserve fields one theater aviation command which oversees two brigades. S. Army Aviation Regiments 110th Aviation Brigade Reorganization plan of United States Army FM 3-04.111 Aviation Brigades Torchbearer National Security Reports, U. S
Combat aviation brigade
–
Heavy Combat Aviation Brigade Organizational Table
19.
Eastern Theater of the American Civil War
–
President Abraham Lincoln sought a general to match Lees boldness, appointing in turn Maj. Gens. McClellan, John Pope, Ambrose Burnside, Joseph Hooker, while Meade gained a decisive victory over Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, it was not until newly appointed general-in-chief Ulysses S. The surrender of Lees army at Appomattox Court House in April 1865 brought major operations in the area to a close. While many of the campaigns and battles were fought in the region of Virginia between Washington, D. C. and Richmond, there were major campaigns fought nearby. The Western Virginia Campaign of 1861 secured Union control over the counties of Virginia. Confederate coastal areas and ports were seized in southeastern Virginia and North Carolina, the Shenandoah Valley was marked by frequent clashes in 1862,1863, and 1864. Lee launched two invasions of Union territory in hopes of influencing Northern opinion to end the war. In the fall of 1862, Lee followed his successful Northern Virginia Campaign with his first invasion, the Maryland Campaign, in the summer of 1863, Lees second invasion, the Gettysburg Campaign, reached into Pennsylvania, farther north than any other major Confederate army. The bloodiest battle of the war and the bloodiest single day of the war were fought in this theater. The capitals of Washington, D. C. and Richmond were both attacked or besieged, the theater was bounded by the Appalachian Mountains to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. By far, the majority of battles occurred in the 100 miles between the cities of Washington and Richmond, the Union advantage was control of the sea and major rivers, which would allow an army that stayed close to the ocean to be reinforced and supplied. The campaign classification established by the United States National Park Service is more fine-grained than the one used in this article, some minor NPS campaigns have been omitted and some have been combined into larger categories. Only a few of the 160 battles the NPS classifies for this theater are described, boxed text in the right margin show the NPS campaigns associated with each section. After the fall of Fort Sumter in April 1861, both sides scrambled to create armies, President Abraham Lincoln issued a call for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the rebellion, which immediately caused the secession of four additional states, including Virginia. The United States Army had only around 16,000 men, the army was commanded by the elderly Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott, veteran of the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War. Some of the first hostilities occurred in western Virginia, McClellan, commanding the Department of the Ohio, ordered troops to march from Grafton and attack the Confederates under Col. George A. Porterfield. The skirmish on June 3,1861, known as the Battle of Philippi and his victory at the Battle of Rich Mountain in July was instrumental in his promotion that fall to command the Army of the Potomac. He was soon transferred to the Carolinas to construct fortifications, the Union victory in this campaign enabled the creation of the state of West Virginia in 1863
Eastern Theater of the American Civil War
–
President Lincoln visiting the Army of the Potomac at the Antietam battlefield, September 1862. Photo by
Alexander Gardner.
Eastern Theater of the American Civil War
Eastern Theater of the American Civil War
Eastern Theater of the American Civil War
20.
Union army
–
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War,1861 to 1865. It included the permanent regular army of the United States, which was augmented by numbers of temporary units consisting of volunteers as well as conscripts. The Union Army fought and eventually defeated the Confederate Army during the war, at least two and a half million men served in the Union Army, almost all were volunteers. About 360,000 Union soldiers died from all causes,280,000 were wounded and 200,000 deserted. When the American Civil War began in April 1861, there were only 16,000 men in the U. S. Army, and of these many Southern officers resigned and joined the Confederate army. The U. S. Army consisted of ten regiments of infantry, four of artillery, Lincolns call forced the border states to choose sides, and four seceded, making the Confederacy eleven states strong. The war proved to be longer and more extensive than anyone North or South had expected, the call for volunteers initially was easily met by patriotic Northerners, abolitionists, and even immigrants who enlisted for a steady income and meals. Over 10,000 Germans in New York and Pennsylvania immediately responded to Lincolns call, as more men were needed, however, the number of volunteers fell and both money bounties and forced conscription had to be turned to. Nevertheless, between April 1861 and April 1865, at least two and a million men served in the Union Army, of whom the majority were volunteers. It is a misconception that the South held an advantage because of the percentage of professional officers who resigned to join the Confederate army. At the start of the war, there were 824 graduates of the U. S, Military Academy on the active list, of these,296 resigned or were dismissed, and 184 of those became Confederate officers. Of the approximately 900 West Point graduates who were civilians,400 returned to the Union Army and 99 to the Confederate. Therefore, the ratio of Union to Confederate professional officers was 642 to 283, the South did have the advantage of other military colleges, such as The Citadel and Virginia Military Institute, but they produced fewer officers. The Union Army was composed of numerous organizations, which were generally organized geographically, Military Division A collection of Departments reporting to one commander. Military Divisions were similar to the modern term Theater, and were modeled close to, though not synonymous with. Department An organization that covered a region, including responsibilities for the Federal installations therein. Those named for states usually referred to Southern states that had been occupied and it was more common to name departments for rivers or regions. District A subdivision of a Department, there were also Subdistricts for smaller regions
Union army
–
The
21st Michigan Infantry, a company of
William Tecumseh Sherman 's army
Union army
–
Flag of the United States from 1863 until 1865.
Union army
–
Recruiting poster for the First Battalion, New York Mounted Rifles
Union army
–
Noncommissioned officers of the 93rd New York Infantry
21.
Army of the Potomac
–
The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in April. The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was only the size of a corps. Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell, and it was the army fought the wars first major battle. The arrival in Washington, D. C. of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan dramatically changed the makeup of that army, on July 26,1861, the Department of the Shenandoah, commanded by Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. The men under Bankss command became a division in the Army of the Potomac. The army started with four corps, but these were divided during the Peninsula Campaign to produce two more, after the Second Battle of Bull Run, the Army of the Potomac absorbed the units that had served under Maj. Gen. John Pope. It is a popular, but mistaken, belief that John Pope commanded the Army of the Potomac in the summer of 1862 after McClellans unsuccessful Peninsula Campaign, on the contrary, Popes army consisted of different units, and was named the Army of Virginia. The Army of the Potomac underwent many changes during its existence. The army was divided by Ambrose Burnside into three divisions of two corps each with a Reserve composed of two more. Thereafter the individual corps, seven of which remained in Virginia, Hooker also created a Cavalry Corps by combining units that previously had served as smaller formations. In late 1863, two corps were sent West, and—in 1864—the remaining five corps were recombined into three, burnsides IX Corps, which accompanied the army at the start of Ulysses S. Grants Overland Campaign, rejoined the army later. For more detail, see the section Corps below, the Army of the Potomac fought in most of the Eastern Theater campaigns, primarily in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. After the end of the war, it was disbanded on June 28,1865, the Army of the Potomac was also the name given to General P. G. T. Beauregards Confederate army during the early stages of the war. However, the name was changed to the Army of Northern Virginia. In 1869 the Society of the Army of the Potomac was formed as a veterans association and it had its last reunion in 1929. Because of its proximity to the cities of the North, such as Washington. Philadelphia, and New York City, the Army of the Potomac received more media coverage than the other Union field armies
Army of the Potomac
–
Commanders of the Army of the Potomac at Culpeper, Virginia, 1863. From the left:
Gouverneur K. Warren,
William H. French,
George G. Meade,
Henry J. Hunt,
Andrew A. Humphreys,
George Sykes.
Army of the Potomac
–
The Army of the Potomac -- Our Outlying Picket in the Woods, 1862
Army of the Potomac
–
Saint Patrick's Day celebration in the Army of the Potomac, depicting a
steeplechase race among the
Irish Brigade, March 17, 1863, by
Edwin Forbes.
Army of the Potomac
–
Scouts and guides, Army of the Potomac,
Mathew Brady
22.
Peninsula Campaign
–
The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B, McClellan, was an amphibious turning movement against the Confederate States Army in Northern Virginia, intended to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond. McClellan landed his army at Fort Monroe and moved northwest, up the Virginia Peninsula, Magruders defensive position on the Warwick Line caught McClellan by surprise. His hopes for a quick advance foiled, McClellan ordered his army to prepare for a siege of Yorktown, just before the siege preparations were completed, the Confederates, now under the direct command of Johnston, began a withdrawal toward Richmond. The first heavy fighting of the campaign occurred in the Battle of Williamsburg, in which the Union troops managed some tactical victories, an amphibious flanking movement to Elthams Landing was ineffective in cutting off the Confederate retreat. In the Battle of Drewrys Bluff, an attempt by the U. S. Navy to reach Richmond by way of the James River was repulsed. As McClellans army reached the outskirts of Richmond, a battle occurred at Hanover Court House. The battle was inconclusive, with casualties, but it had lasting effects on the campaign. On August 20,1861, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan formed the Army of the Potomac, with himself as its first commander. During the summer and fall, McClellan brought a degree of organization to his new army. It was an achievement, in which he came to personify the Army of the Potomac. He created defenses for Washington that were almost impregnable, consisting of 48 forts and strong points, on November 1,1861, Gen. Winfield Scott retired and McClellan became general in chief of all the Union armies. The president expressed his concern about the vast labor involved in the role of army commander and general in chief. On January 27, Lincoln issued an order that all of his armies to begin offensive operations by February 22. On January 31, he issued an order for the Army of the Potomac to move overland to attack the Confederates at Manassas Junction. Although Lincoln believed his plan was superior, he was relieved that McClellan finally agreed to begin moving, on March 8, doubting McClellans resolve, Lincoln called a council of war at the White House in which McClellans subordinates were asked about their confidence in the Urbanna plan. They expressed their confidence to varying degrees, after the meeting, Lincoln issued another order, naming specific officers as corps commanders to report to McClellan. McClellan retooled his plan so that his troops would disembark at Fort Monroe, Virginia, in the Battle of Hampton Roads, Virginia defeated wooden U. S
Peninsula Campaign
–
George B. McClellan and
Joseph E. Johnston, respective commanders of the
Union and
Confederate armies in the Peninsula Campaign.
Peninsula Campaign
–
Brig. Gen.
Samuel P. Heintzelman
Peninsula Campaign
–
Brig. Gen.
Erasmus D. Keyes
Peninsula Campaign
–
Maj. Gen.
D. H. Hill
23.
Antietam
–
After pursuing the Confederate general Robert E. Lee into Maryland, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan of the Union Army launched attacks against Lees army, in defensive positions behind Antietam Creek. At dawn on September 17, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hookers corps mounted an assault on Lees left flank. Attacks and counterattacks swept across Millers Cornfield, and fighting swirled around the Dunker Church, Union assaults against the Sunken Road eventually pierced the Confederate center, but the Federal advantage was not followed up. In the afternoon, Union Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsides corps entered the action, capturing a bridge over Antietam Creek. At a crucial moment, Confederate Maj. Gen. A. P. Hills division arrived from Harpers Ferry and launched a counterattack, driving back Burnside. Although outnumbered two-to-one, Lee committed his entire force, while McClellan sent in less than three-quarters of his army, during the night, both armies consolidated their lines. In spite of crippling casualties, Lee continued to skirmish with McClellan throughout September 18, despite having superiority of numbers, McClellans attacks failed to achieve force concentration, which allowed Lee to counter by shifting forces and moving interior lines to meet each challenge. Therefore, despite ample reserve forces that could have been deployed to exploit localized successes, McClellan had halted Lees invasion of Maryland, but Lee was able to withdraw his army back to Virginia without interference from the cautious McClellan. McClellans refusal to pursue Lees army led to his removal from command by President Abraham Lincoln in November, although the battle was tactically inconclusive, the Confederate troops had withdrawn first from the battlefield, making it, in military terms, a Union victory. Robert E. Lees Army of Northern Virginia—about 55,000 men—entered the state of Maryland on September 3,1862, emboldened by success, the Confederate leadership intended to take the war into enemy territory. Lees invasion of Maryland was intended to run simultaneously with an invasion of Kentucky by the armies of Braxton Bragg and it was also necessary for logistical reasons, as northern Virginias farms had been stripped bare of food. They sang the tune Maryland, My Maryland, as they marched, but by the fall of 1862 pro-Union sentiment was winning out, especially in the western parts of the state. Civilians generally hid inside their houses as Lees army passed through their towns, or watched in cold silence, while the Army of the Potomac was cheered and encouraged. While McClellans 87, 000-man Army of the Potomac was moving to intercept Lee, the order indicated that Lee had divided his army and dispersed portions geographically, thus making each subject to isolation and defeat if McClellan could move quickly enough. McClellan waited about 18 hours before deciding to take advantage of this intelligence and reposition his forces, McClellans Army of the Potomac, bolstered by units absorbed from John Popes Army of Virginia, included six infantry corps. The I Corps, under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, consisted of the divisions of, the II Corps, under Maj. Gen. Edwin V. Sumner, consisted of the divisions of, Maj. Gen. Israel B. The V Corps, under Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter, consisted of the divisions of, the VI Corps, under Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin, consisted of the divisions of, Maj. Gen. Henry W. Slocum, Maj. Gen. William F. Baldy Smith
Antietam
–
Maj. Gen.
Fitz John Porter
Antietam
–
The Battle of Antietam, by
Kurz & Allison, depicting the scene of action at Burnside's Bridge
Antietam
–
Maj. Gen.
William B. Franklin
Antietam
–
Maj. Gen.
Ambrose E. Burnside
24.
Maryland Campaign
–
The Maryland Campaign—or Antietam Campaign—occurred September 4–20,1862, during the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lees first invasion of the North was repulsed by the Army of the Potomac under Maj. Gen. George B, McClellan, who moved to intercept Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia and eventually attacked it near Sharpsburg, Maryland. The resulting Battle of Antietam was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history and is considered one of the major turning points of the war. Following his victory in the Northern Virginia Campaign, Lee moved north with 55,000 men through the Shenandoah Valley starting on September 4,1862. His objective was to resupply his army outside of the war-torn Virginia theater and he undertook the risky maneuver of splitting his army so that he could continue north into Maryland while simultaneously capturing the Federal garrison and arsenal at Harpers Ferry. McClellan accidentally found a copy of Lees orders to his commanders and planned to isolate. The Battle of South Mountain on September 14 delayed McClellans advance, the Battle of Antietam on September 17 was the bloodiest day in American military history with over 22,000 casualties. On September 18, Lee ordered a withdrawal across the Potomac and on September 19–20, although Antietam was a tactical draw, Lees Maryland Campaign failed to achieve its objectives. President Abraham Lincoln used this Union victory as the justification for announcing his Emancipation Proclamation, the year 1862 started out well for Union forces in the Eastern Theater. McClellans Army of the Potomac had invaded the Virginia Peninsula during the Peninsula Campaign, but, when Robert E. Lee assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia on June 1,1862, fortunes reversed. Lee fought McClellan aggressively in the Seven Days Battles, McClellan lost his nerve, Lee then conducted the Northern Virginia Campaign in which he outmaneuvered and defeated Maj. Gen. John Pope and his Army of Virginia, most significantly at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Lees Maryland Campaign can be considered the part of a logically connected, three-campaign. The Confederates had suffered significant manpower losses in the wake of the summer campaigns, nevertheless, Lee decided his army was ready for a great challenge, an invasion of the North. His goal was to reach the major Northern states of Maryland and Pennsylvania and his movements would threaten Washington and Baltimore, so as to annoy and harass the enemy. Several motives led to Lees decision to launch an invasion, First, he needed to supply his army and knew the farms of the North had been untouched by war, unlike those in Virginia. Moving the war northward would relieve pressure on Virginia, Second was the issue of Northern morale. Lee knew the Confederacy did not have to win the war by defeating the North militarily, it merely needed to make the Northern populace and he told Confederate President Jefferson Davis in a letter of September 3 that the enemy was much weakened and demoralized. There were secondary reasons as well, the Confederate invasion might be able to incite an uprising in Maryland, especially given that it was a slave-holding state and many of its citizens held a sympathetic stance toward the South
Maryland Campaign
–
Union General
George B. McClellan and Confederate General
Robert E. Lee, the principal commanders of the campaign
Maryland Campaign
–
Maj. Gen.
James Longstreet
Maryland Campaign
–
Maj. Gen.
Stonewall Jackson
Maryland Campaign
–
Maj. Gen.
J.E.B. Stuart
25.
Battle of Fredericksburg
–
A visitor to the battlefield described the battle to U. S. President Abraham Lincoln as a butchery. Burnsides plan was to cross the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg in mid-November, bureaucratic delays prevented Burnside from receiving the necessary pontoon bridges in time and Lee moved his army to block the crossings. When the Union army was able to build its bridges and cross under fire. Union troops prepared to assault Confederate defensive positions south of the city, Burnside ordered the grand divisions of Maj. Gens. Sumner and Joseph Hooker to make frontal assaults against Lt. Gen. James Longstreets position on Maryes Heights. On December 15, Burnside withdrew his army, ending another failed Union campaign in the Eastern Theater, in November 1862, Lincoln needed to demonstrate the success of the Union war effort before the Northern public lost confidence in his administration. Confederate armies had been on the earlier in the fall, invading Kentucky and Maryland, and although each had been turned back. Lincoln urged Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant to advance against the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, Mississippi. McClellan had stopped Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Antietam in Maryland, mcClellans replacement was Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside, the commander of the IX Corps. Burnside had established a reputation as an independent commander, with successful operations earlier that year in coastal North Carolina and, However, he felt himself unqualified for army-level command and objected when offered the position. Burnside assumed command on November 7, in response to prodding from Lincoln and general-in-chief Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck, Burnside planned a late fall offensive, he communicated his plan to Halleck on November 9. The plan relied on movement and deception. He would concentrate his army in a visible fashion near Warrenton, feigning a movement on Culpeper Court House, Orange Court House and he also believed that the Orange and Alexandria Railroad would be an inadequate supply line. Lincoln reluctantly approved the plan on November 14 but cautioned his general to move with great speed, the Union Army began marching on November 15, and the first elements arrived in Falmouth on November 17. Burnside first requisitioned the pontoon bridging on November 7 when he detailed his plan to Halleck, the plan was sent to the attention of Brig. Gen. George Washington Cullum, the chief of staff in Washington. Plans called for both riverine and overland movement of the trains to Falmouth. On November 14, the 50th New York Engineers reported the pontoons were ready to move, unknown to Burnside, most of the bridging was still on the upper Potomac. Communications between Burnsides staff engineer Cyrus B, comstock and the Engineer Brigade commander Daniel P. Woodbury indicate that Burnside had assumed the bridging was en route to Washington based on orders given on November 6
Battle of Fredericksburg
–
Maj. Gen.
Ambrose E. Burnside, USA
Battle of Fredericksburg
–
The Battle of Fredericksburg by Kurz and Allison.
Battle of Fredericksburg
–
Maj. Gen.
William B. Franklin, USA
Battle of Fredericksburg
–
Gen.
Robert E. Lee, CSA
26.
Second Battle of Winchester
–
The Second Battle of Winchester was fought between June 13 and June 15,1863 in Frederick County and Winchester, Virginia as part of the Gettysburg Campaign during the American Civil War. After the Battle of Brandy Station, June 9,1863, Union General-in-chief Henry Wager Halleck expressed great concerns about the Middle Departments defensive strategy for its primary objective of protecting the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad corridor. Brig. Gen. Benjamin Franklin Kelley, commander of the division, had been advised that his plan along with Maj. Gen. Milroys. Schencks was unsound, Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewells force of 19,000 consisted of, The division of Maj. Gen. Jubal A. Early, harry T. Hays, William Extra Billy Smith, John B. Gordon, and Isaac E. Avery The division of Maj. Gen. Robert E. Rodes, with the brigades of Brig. Junius Daniel, George P. Doles, Alfred Iverson, Stephen Dodson Ramseur, Andrew T. McReynolds and William G. Ely, and two small outposts northwest of town under Col. Joseph W. Keifer. June 4–11 The Second Corps left Hamiltons Crossing on 4 June and marched to Culpeper, Virginia, arriving 7 June. Receiving intelligence that Union forces had crossed the Rappahannock River in force, Lee ordered Ewell northeast to Brandy Station, Virginia, on 9 June, stuarts actions in the Battle of Brandy Station, only to find the Union forces already retreating. June 12 The Second Corps passed through Chesters Gap southeast of Front Royal, Virginia, there the Second Corps was joined by its cavalry brigade under the command of Brig. Gen. Albert G. Jenkins. In response, Milroy posted McReynolds brigade in Berryville, with orders to evacuate to Winchester upon the signal of the firing of one of the artillery guns. Milroy stationed pickets and videttes around Winchester, but they were positioned too close to Winchester, therefore, Milroy had practically no surveillance of the situation around himself. They met the 7th and 11th Virginia Cavalry, under the command of Col. O. R. Funsten, Milroy also often recorded many other grand-sounding cavalry incursions supposedly capturing or killing many of Colonel John S. Other reports of Federal videttes to the west of Winchester were never seen or encountered by Confederate forces, Winchester was heavily fortified by forts and lunettes circumferencing the town, as well as along the outlying turnpike routes entering town. Within Winchester, Milroy constructed or improved ten defensive fortifications, numbered Battery No.1 through Battery No,10, making improvements on many pre-existing forts and fortifications left by prior Confederate and Federal occupations. The fortifications were linked in places with roads and trenches, during the battle, Milroy concentrated his forces on the ridges west of town in his three highest and most improved forts connected by trenches. The fort was improved extensively by Milroys troops and held 14 guns, including heavy artillery, Battery No.3 - Star Fort, This fort was built by Federal troops in 1862, improved by Milroy, and equipped with 8 guns. Battery No.5 - West Fort, This was a 4-gun lunette located due west of Fort Milroy The lesser fortifications initially used,1, A linear entrenchment-lunette along Bowers Hill south of Fort Milroy. 4, A large star lunette with entrenchments and minor lunettes containing 6 guns,6, A small lunette with 2 guns on a hill peak located in between West Fort and Battery 7
Second Battle of Winchester
–
Sketch of the Second Battle of Winchester, by
Jedediah Hotchkiss.
27.
Battle of Fairfield
–
The Battle of Fairfield was a cavalry engagement during the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War. It was fought July 3,1863, near Fairfield, Pennsylvania, concurrently with the Battle of Gettysburg, Fairfield had been the site of combat on June 21, when the 14th Virginia Cavalry of Brig. Gen. Much of the cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia had accompanied Maj. Gen. J. E. B, stuart on his ride around the Union Army of the Potomac through Maryland and south-central Pennsylvania. Lee had retained several brigades to guard the passes as he advanced through the Shenandoah and Cumberland Valleys. Among the latter brigades was that of Brig. Gen. William E. Grumble Jones—the celebrated Laurel Brigade that had once commanded by Turner Ashby. Jones had detached one of his best commands, the 35th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, to accompany the infantry of Jubal Early, Joness Brigade had been raiding the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in West Virginia and Maryland before being recalled by Lee. They hastened to Pennsylvania, crossing the Potomac River on July 1, Joness force had been reduced to the 6th, 7th, and 11th Virginia Cavalry and Preston Chews Battery of horse artillery. Jones reached Fairfield on July 3 in response to Lees orders to secure the vital Hagerstown Road, once in Fairfield, Major Starr learned that a wagon train had just rolled out of town and was heading to Cashtown. He divided his 400 men into three detachments and began to search for the wagons, one party soon encountered the pickets of Joness 7th Virginia Cavalry and withdrew when additional Confederates rode up. Informed of the presence of the enemy, Starr rode to a ridge and dismounted his men in fields. He threw back a mounted charge of the 7th Virginia, just as Chews Battery unlimbered and opened fire on the Federal cavalrymen, supported by the 6th Virginia, the 7th Virginia charged again, clearing Starrs force off the ridge and inflicting heavy losses. Jones pursued the retreating Federals for three miles to the Fairfield Gap, but was unable to catch his quarry, Federal losses were 6 killed,28 wounded, and 208 unaccounted for—primarily prisoners. The losses for the Confederates were 8 killed,21 wounded, jones camped near Fairfield and kept the road open for Lees retreat, then guarded the rear as the Army of Northern Virginia slogged through the Fairfield Gap in a driving rainstorm on July 5. Platt, an Irish immigrant serving in Troop H of the 6th U. S. Cavalry, was awarded the Medal of Honor on July 12,1895, for his actions at Fairfield. His citation reads, Seized the regimental flag upon the death of the bearer in a hand-to-hand fight. After the fighting had ended, many wounded soldiers were cared for in the town of Fairfield, Major Samuel H. Starr was taken to the widow Sarah Amanda Blythes house, which is likely where his arm was amputated. Other accounts mention that the Rufus C, swope House, and St. Johns Lutheran Church were used as hospitals. It is probable that other buildings in the town were used for purpose as well
Battle of Fairfield
–
Campaigns and battles
28.
Gettysburg Campaign
–
The Gettysburg Campaign was a military invasion of Pennsylvania by the main Confederate army under General Robert E. Lee in summer 1863. The Union won a victory at Gettysburg July 1-3, with heavy casualties on both sides. Lee managed to back to Virginia with most of his army. It was a point in the American Civil War, with Lee increasingly pushed back toward Richmond until his surrender in April 1865. The Union Army of the Potomac was commanded by Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, Lees army slipped away from Federal contact at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on June 3,1863. The largest predominantly cavalry battle of the war was fought at Brandy Station on June 9, the Confederates crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains and moved north through the Shenandoah Valley, capturing the Union garrison at Winchester, Virginia, in the Second Battle of Winchester, June 13–15. Crossing the Potomac River, Lees Second Corps advanced through Maryland and Pennsylvania, reaching the Susquehanna River, however, the Army of the Potomac was in pursuit and had reached Frederick, Maryland, before Lee realized his opponent had crossed the Potomac. Lee moved swiftly to concentrate his army around the town of Gettysburg. The Battle of Gettysburg was the largest of the war, on July 2, with most of both armies now present, Lee launched fierce assaults on both flanks of the Union defensive line, which were repulsed with heavy losses on both sides. On July 3, Lee focused his attention on the Union center, the defeat of his massive infantry assault, Picketts Charge, caused Lee to order a retreat that began the evening of July 4. The Confederate retreat to Virginia was plagued by bad weather, difficult roads, however, Meades army did not maneuver aggressively enough to prevent Lee from crossing the Potomac to safety on the night of July 13–14. Shortly after Lees Army of Northern Virginia defeated Hookers Army of the Potomac during the Chancellorsville Campaign, Lees army could also threaten Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, and encourage the growing peace movement in the North. Lee had numerous misunderstandings that shaped his strategy, Lee misread Northern opinion by his reliance on anti-war Copperhead newspapers for northern public opinion. Reading them, he assumed the Yankees must be just as war weary as southerners, Lee did know he was seriously short of supplies for his own army, so he planned the campaign primarily as a full-scale raid that would seize supplies. He wrote, If we can baffle them in their various designs this year & our people are true to our cause. our success will be certain, next year there will be a great change in public opinion at the North. The Republicans will be destroyed & I think the friends of peace will become so strong as that the administration will go in on that basis. We have only therefore to resist manfully, the war will be over and we shall achieve the recognition of our independence. The Confederate government had a different strategy, in essence, Lees strategy was identical to the one he employed in the Maryland Campaign of 1862
Gettysburg Campaign
–
Opposing commanders
George G. Meade and
Robert E. Lee
Gettysburg Campaign
–
Battles
Gettysburg Campaign
–
Campaigns and battles
29.
Battle of Chancellorsville
–
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6,1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, two related battles were fought nearby on May 3 in the vicinity of Fredericksburg. The campaign pitted Union Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Hookers Army of the Potomac against a less than half its size. Chancellorsville is known as Lees perfect battle because his risky decision to divide his army in the presence of a larger enemy force resulted in a significant Confederate victory. The Chancellorsville Campaign began with the crossing of the Rappahannock River by the Union army on the morning of April 27,1863, Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. George Stoneman began a long distance raid against Lees supply lines at about the same time. Crossing the Rapidan River via Germanna and Elys Fords, the Federal infantry concentrated near Chancellorsville on April 30, combined with the Union force facing Fredericksburg, Hooker planned a double envelopment, attacking Lee from both his front and rear. Despite the objections of his subordinates, Hooker withdrew his men to the lines around Chancellorsville. On May 2, Lee divided his army again, sending Stonewall Jacksons entire corps on a march that routed the Union XI Corps. While performing a reconnaissance in advance of his line, Jackson was wounded by fire from his own men. Stuart temporarily replaced him as corps commander and that same day, Sedgwick advanced across the Rappahannock River, defeated the small Confederate force at Maryes Heights in the Second Battle of Fredericksburg, and then moved to the west. The Confederates fought a delaying action at the Battle of Salem Church and by May 4 had driven back Sedgwicks men to Banks Ford. Sedgwick withdrew across the early on May 5, and Hooker withdrew the remainder of his army across U. S. Ford the night of May 5–6, the campaign ended on May 7 when Stonemans cavalry reached Union lines east of Richmond. In the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, the objective of the Union had been to advance and seize the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia. In the first two years of the war, four attempts had failed, the first foundered just miles away from Washington. Robert E. Lee in the Seven Days Battles and that summer, Maj. Gen. John Popes Army of Virginia was defeated at the Second Battle of Bull Run. In January 1863, the Army of the Potomac, following the Battle of Fredericksburg, Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside decided to conduct a mass purge of the Army of the Potomacs leadership, eliminating a number of generals who he felt were responsible for the disaster at Fredericksburg. In reality, he had no power to anyone without the approval of Congress
Battle of Chancellorsville
–
Maj. Gen.
John F. Reynolds, USA
Battle of Chancellorsville
–
Battle of Chancellorsville by Kurz and Allison (depicts the wounding of Confederate Lt. Gen. Stonewall Jackson on May 2, 1863)
Battle of Chancellorsville
–
Maj. Gen.
Darius N. Couch, USA
Battle of Chancellorsville
–
Maj. Gen.
Daniel E. Sickles, USA
30.
Battle of the Wilderness
–
Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by Grant against Lees army and, eventually, the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia. The battle was inconclusive, as Grant disengaged and continued his offensive. Grant attempted to move quickly through the underbrush of the Wilderness of Spotsylvania. On the morning of May 5, the Union V Corps under Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren attacked the Confederate Second Corps, commanded by Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell, on the Orange Turnpike. That afternoon the Third Corps, commanded by Lt. Gen. A. P. Hill, encountered Brig. Gen. George W. Gettys division, fighting until dark was fierce but inconclusive as both sides attempted to maneuver in the dense woods. An evening attack by Brig. Gen. John B. Gordon against the Union right flank caused consternation at Union headquarters, but the lines stabilized and fighting ceased. On May 7, Grant disengaged and moved to the southeast, in March 1864, Grant was summoned from the Western Theater, promoted to lieutenant general, and given command of all Union armies. He chose to make his headquarters with the Army of the Potomac, Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman succeeded Grant in command of most of the western armies. This was the first time the Union armies would have an offensive strategy across a number of theaters. Grants campaign objective was not the Confederate capital of Richmond, lincoln had long advocated this strategy for his generals, recognizing that the city would certainly fall after the loss of its principal defensive army. Grant ordered Meade, Wherever Lee goes, there you will go also, although he hoped for a quick, decisive battle, Grant was prepared to fight a war of attrition. Both Union and Confederate casualties could be high, but the Union had greater resources to replace lost soldiers, at the beginning of the campaign, Grants Union forces totaled 118,700 men and 316 guns. They consisted of the Army of the Potomac, under Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, the five corps were, II Corps, under Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock, including the divisions of Maj. Gen. David B. Barlow, John Gibbon, and Gershom Mott, V Corps, under Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren, including the divisions of Brig. Robinson, Samuel W. Crawford, and James S. Wadsworth, VI Corps, under Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick, including the divisions of Brig. Horatio G. Wright, George W. Getty, and James B, IX Corps, under Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside, including the divisions of Brig. Cavalry Corps, under Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, Second Corps, under Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell, including the divisions of Maj. Gens. Jubal A. Early, Edward Allegheny Johnson, and Robert E. Rodes, Third Corps, under Lt. Gen. A. P. Hill, including the divisions of Maj. Gens
Battle of the Wilderness
–
Maj. Gen.
George G. Meade,
Army of the Potomac
Battle of the Wilderness
–
Battle of the Wilderness by Kurz and Allison.
Battle of the Wilderness
–
Maj. Gen.
Winfield S. Hancock,
II Corps
Battle of the Wilderness
–
Maj. Gen.
Gouverneur K. Warren,
V Corps
31.
Siege of Petersburg
–
The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9,1864, to March 25,1865, during the American Civil War. Numerous raids were conducted and battles fought in attempts to cut off the Richmond, many of these battles caused the lengthening of the trench lines, overloading dwindling Confederate resources. Lee finally gave in to the pressure and abandoned cities in April 1865, leading to his retreat and surrender at Appomattox Court House. The Siege of Petersburg foreshadowed the trench warfare that was common in World War I and it also featured the wars largest concentration of African American troops, who suffered heavy casualties at such engagements as the Battle of the Crater and Chaffins Farm. In March 1864, Ulysses S. Grant was promoted to lieutenant general and was given command of the Union Army. He devised a strategy to apply pressure on the Confederacy from many points. Grant put Maj. Gen. William T, George Crook and William W. Averell to operate against railroad supply lines in West Virginia, and Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Most of these failed, often because of the assignment of generals to Grant for political rather than military reasons. Butlers Army of the James bogged down against inferior forces under Gen. P. G. T, Beauregard before Richmond in the Bermuda Hundred Campaign. Sigel was soundly defeated at the Battle of New Market in May, banks was distracted by the Red River Campaign and failed to move on Mobile. However, Crook and Averell were able to cut the last railway linking Virginia and Tennessee, on May 4, Grant and Meades Army of the Potomac crossed the Rapidan River and entered the area known as the Wilderness of Spotsylvania, beginning the six-week Overland Campaign. Grant spent the remainder of May maneuvering and fighting battles with the Confederate army as he attempted to turn Lees flank. Grant knew that his army and base of manpower in the North could sustain a war of attrition better than Lee. This theory was tested at the Battle of Cold Harbor when Grants army once again came into contact with Lees near Mechanicsville and he chose to engage Lees army directly, by ordering a frontal assault on the Confederate fortified positions on June 3. This attack was repulsed with heavy losses, Cold Harbor was a battle that Grant regretted more than any other and Northern newspapers thereafter frequently referred to him as a butcher. On the night of June 12, Grant again advanced by his left flank and he planned to cross to the south bank of the river, bypassing Richmond, and isolate Richmond by seizing the railroad junction of Petersburg to the south. While Lee remained unaware of Grants intentions, the Union army constructed a pontoon bridge 2,100 feet long, what Lee had feared most of all—that Grant would force him into a siege of Richmond—was poised to occur. This represented a change of strategy from that of the preceding Overland Campaign, Lee at first believed that Grants main target was Richmond and devoted only minimal troops under Gen. P. G. T
Siege of Petersburg
–
The "Dictator" siege mortar at Petersburg. In the foreground, the figure on the right is Brig. Gen.
Henry J. Hunt, chief of artillery of the
Army of the Potomac.
Siege of Petersburg
–
Lt. Gen.
Ulysses S. Grant
Siege of Petersburg
–
Maj. Gen.
George G. Meade
Siege of Petersburg
–
Gen.
Robert E. Lee
32.
Shenandoah Valley
–
The Shenandoah Valley /ˌʃɛnənˈdoʊə/ is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia in the United States. The cultural region covers a area that includes all of the valley plus the Virginia highlands to the west. It is physiographically located within the Ridge and Valley province and is a portion of the Great Appalachian Valley, named for the river that stretches much of its length, the Shenandoah Valley encompasses eight counties in Virginia and two counties in West Virginia. It has been described as being derived from the Anglicization of Native American terms, resulting in such as Gerando, Gerundo, Genantua. The meaning of words is of some question. Schin-han-dowi, the River Through the Spruces, On-an-da-goa, the River of High Mountains or Silver-Water, the most popular, romanticized belief is that the name comes from a Native American expression for Beautiful Daughter of the Stars. Another legend relates that the name is derived from the name of the Iroquoian chief Sherando, Opechancanough liked the interior country so much that he sent his son Sheewa-a-nee from the Tidewater with a large party to colonize the valley. Sheewa-a-nee drove Sherando back to his former territory near the Great Lakes, according to this account, descendants of Sheewanees party became the Shawnee. According to tradition, another branch of Iroquoians, the Senedo and they were exterminated by Southern Indians before the arrival of white settlers. Another story dates to the American Revolutionary War, throughout the war, Chief Skenandoa of the Oneida, an Iroquois nation based in New York, persuaded many of the tribe to side with the colonials against the British. Four Iroquois nations became British allies, and caused many fatalities, Skenandoa led 250 warriors against the British and Iroquois allies. According to Oneida oral tradition, during the winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge. The Oneida delivered bushels of dry corn to the troops to them survive. Polly Cooper, an Oneida woman, stayed some time with the troops to them how to cook the corn properly. General Washington gave her a shawl in thanks, which is displayed at Shako, wi, many Oneida believe that after the war, George Washington named the Shenandoah River and valley after his ally. Despite the valleys potential for productive farmland, colonial settlement from the east was delayed by the barrier of the Blue Ridge Mountains. These were crossed by explorers John Lederer at Manassas Gap in 1671, Batts and Fallam the same year, the Swiss Franz Ludwig Michel and Christoph von Graffenried explored and mapped the Valley in 1706 and 1712, respectively. Von Graffenried reported that the Indians of Senantona had been alarmed by news of the recent Tuscarora War in North Carolina, governor Alexander Spotswoods legendary Knights of the Golden Horseshoe Expedition of 1716 crossed the Blue Ridge at Swift Run Gap and reached the river at Elkton, Virginia
Shenandoah Valley
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Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
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The Shenandoah Valley in the autumn
Shenandoah Valley
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A poultry farm with the Blue Ridge Mountains in background
Shenandoah Valley
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A farm in the fertile Shenandoah Valley
33.
Richmond, Virginia
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Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond Region and it was incorporated in 1742, and has been an independent city since 1871. As of the 2010 census, the population was 204,214, in 2015, the population was estimated to be 220,289, the Richmond Metropolitan Area has a population of 1,260,029, the third-most populous metro in the state. Richmond is located at the line of the James River,44 miles west of Williamsburg,66 miles east of Charlottesville. Surrounded by Henrico and Chesterfield counties, the city is located at the intersections of Interstate 95 and Interstate 64, Major suburbs include Midlothian to the southwest, Glen Allen to the north and west, Short Pump to the west and Mechanicsville to the northeast. The site of Richmond had been an important village of the Powhatan Confederacy, and was settled by English colonists from Jamestown in 1609. The present city of Richmond was founded in 1737 and it became the capital of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia in 1780. During the American Civil War, Richmond served as the capital of the Confederate States of America, the city entered the 20th century with one of the worlds first successful electric streetcar systems. The Jackson Ward neighborhood is a hub of African-American commerce. Richmonds economy is driven by law, finance, and government, with federal, state. Dominion Resources and MeadWestvaco, Fortune 500 companies, are headquartered in the city, in 1737, planter William Byrd II commissioned Major William Mayo to lay out the original town grid. The settlement was laid out in April 1737, and was incorporated as a town in 1742, Richmond recovered quickly from the war, and by 1782 was once again a thriving city. A permanent home for the new government, the Virginia State Capitol building, was designed by Thomas Jefferson with the assistance of Charles-Louis Clérisseau, after the American Revolutionary War, Richmond emerged as an important industrial center. The legacy of the canal boatmen is represented by the figure in the center of the city flag, on April 17,1861, five days after the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, the legislature voted to secede from the United States and joined the Confederacy. Official action came in May, after the Confederacy promised to move its capital to Richmond. It became the target of Union armies, especially in the campaigns of 1862. The Seven Days Battles followed in late June and early July 1862, during which Union General McClellan threatened to take Richmond, three years later, as March 1865 ended, the Confederate capitol became indefensible. On March 25, Confederate General John B, gordons desperate attack on Fort Stedman east of Petersburg failed
Richmond, Virginia
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Top: Skyline above the falls of the
James River Middle:
St. John's Episcopal Church,
Jackson Ward,
Monument Avenue. Bottom:
Virginia State Capitol,
Main Street Station
Richmond, Virginia
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Patrick Henry delivered his "Liberty or Death" speech at
St. John's Church in Richmond, helping to ignite the American Revolution.
Richmond, Virginia
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Retreating Confederates burned one-fourth of Richmond in April 1865
Richmond, Virginia
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By the early 20th century, Richmond had an extensive network of electric streetcars, as shown here crossing the Mayo Bridge across the James River, ca. 1917.
34.
Trevilian Station
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The Battle of Trevilian Station was fought on June 11–12,1864, in Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grants Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lees Army of Northern Virginia. Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan fought against Confederate cavalry under Maj. Gens, Wade Hampton and Fitzhugh Lee in the bloodiest and largest all-cavalry battle of the war. Hamptons cavalry beat Sheridan to the railroad at Trevilian Station and on June 11 they fought to a standstill, Brig. Gen. George A. Custer entered the Confederate rear area and captured Hamptons supply train, but soon became surrounded and fought desperately to avoid destruction. On June 12, the forces clashed again to the northwest of Trevilian Station. Sheridan withdrew his force to rejoin Grants army, the battle was a tactical victory for the Confederates and Sheridan failed to achieve his goal of permanently destroying the Virginia Central Railroad or of linking up with Hunter. Its distraction, however, may have contributed to Grants successful crossing of the James River, following the bloody Union repulse at the Battle of Cold Harbor on June 3, Grant decided on a new strategy. Grants new strategy was to march his 100, 000-man army to the south, cross the James River, therefore, on June 5 Grant ordered a cavalry raid by the command of Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan northwest toward Charlottesville. The raid had two initial objectives, First, Sheridan would draw the Confederate cavalry away from Grants main army so his infantry corps could stealthily disengage from Lees army at Cold Harbor and move toward the James. Second, the Union cavalrymen would tear up the Virginia Central towards Richmond, Sheridan was ordered to destroy the railroad bridge on the Rivanna River, just east of Charlottesville, and destroy the tracks from there to Gordonsville. Then, his men would turn back and destroy the track all the way to Hanover Junction, near Richmond. Just after Grant issued the orders to Sheridan he learned of Maj. Gen. David Hunters Union victory at the Battle of Piedmont in the Shenandoah Valley against Brig. Gen. William E. Grumble Jones. He saw the opportunity that Hunter could travel east from Staunton to meet Sheridan at Charlottesville so that they could be a threat to Lees army from the west. Grant modified his orders, telling Sheridan to wait for Hunter near Charlottesville, George A. Custer and Wesley Merritt, and Col. Thomas C. Second Cavalry Division, commanded by Brig. Gen. David McM, Gregg, consisted of the brigades commanded by Brig. Gen. Henry E. Davies, Jr. and Col. J. Irvin Gregg. Horse Artillery Brigade, commanded by Capt. James M. Robertson, included six artillery batteries with 20 guns. Sheridans Third Cavalry Division, commanded by Brig. Gen. James H. Wilson, remained at Cold Harbor with the Army of the Potomac and it accompanied the army on its march to Petersburg. Sheridan left behind with Wilson the men from his two divisions who did not have mounts. The Cavalry Corps of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was without a formal commander, the senior cavalry commander opposing Sheridans force was Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton
Trevilian Station
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Maj. Gen.
Philip Sheridan, USA
Trevilian Station
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Brig. Gen.
Alfred T. A. Torbert, USA
Trevilian Station
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Brig. Gen.
David McM. Gregg, USA
Trevilian Station
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Maj. Gen.
Wade Hampton, CSA
35.
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
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Elements of Lees army beat the Union army to the critical crossroads of Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia and began entrenching. Fighting occurred on and off from May 8 through May 21,1864, in the end, the battle was tactically inconclusive, but with almost 32,000 casualties on both sides, it was the costliest battle of the campaign. On May 8, Union Maj. Gens, on May 10, Grant ordered attacks across the Confederate line of earthworks, which by now extended over 4 miles, including a prominent salient known as the Mule Shoe. Although the Union troops failed again at Laurel Hill, an innovative assault attempt by Col. Emory Upton against the Mule Shoe showed promise. Grant used Uptons assault technique on a larger scale on May 12 when he ordered the 15,000 men of Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancocks corps to assault the Mule Shoe. Hancock was initially successful, but the Confederate leadership rallied and repulsed his incursion, supporting attacks by Warren and by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside were unsuccessful. Grant repositioned his lines in another attempt to engage Lee under more favorable conditions and launched an attack by Hancock on May 18. A reconnaissance in force by Confederate Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell at Harris farm on May 19 was a costly and pointless failure. On May 21, Grant disengaged from the Confederate Army and started southeast on another maneuver to turn Lees right flank, in March 1864, Grant was summoned from the Western Theater, promoted to lieutenant general, and given command of all Union armies. He chose to make his headquarters with the Army of the Potomac and he left Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman in command of most of the western armies. This was the first time the Union armies would have an offensive strategy across a number of theaters. Grants campaign objective was not the Confederate capital of Richmond, Lincoln had long advocated this strategy for his generals, recognizing that the city would certainly fall after the loss of its principal defensive army. Grant ordered Meade, Wherever Lee goes, there you will go also, although he hoped for a quick, decisive battle, Grant was prepared to fight a war of attrition. Both Union and Confederate casualties could be high, but the Union had far greater resources to replace lost soldiers and equipment. On May 5, after Grants army crossed the Rapidan and entered the Wilderness of Spotsylvania, although Lee was outnumbered, about 60,000 to 100,000, his men fought fiercely and the dense foliage provided a terrain advantage. After two days of fighting and almost 29,000 casualties, the results were inconclusive and neither army was able to obtain an advantage, Lee had stopped Grant, but had not turned him back, and Grant had not destroyed Lees army. As of May 7, Grants Union forces totaled approximately 100,000 men and they consisted of the Army of the Potomac, under Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, and the IX Corps. The five corps were, II Corps, under Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock, Barlow, John Gibbon, and Gershom Mott
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
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Battle of Spottsylvania by
Thure de Thulstrup
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
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Maj. Gen.
John Sedgwick,
VI Corps
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
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Spotsylvania Courthouse, 1864
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
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Maj. Gen.
George G. Meade,
Army of the Potomac
36.
Battle of Cold Harbor
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The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought from May 31 to June 12,1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grants Overland Campaign during the American Civil War. Thousands of Union soldiers were killed or wounded in a frontal assault against the fortified positions of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lees army. Both Grant and Lee, whose armies had suffered casualties in the Overland Campaign. On the evening of June 1, the Union VI Corps, on June 2, the remainder of both armies arrived and the Confederates built an elaborate series of fortifications 7 miles long. At dawn on June 3, three Union corps attacked the Confederate works on the end of the line and were easily repulsed with heavy casualties. Attempts to assault the northern end of the line and to resume the assaults on the southern were unsuccessful, Grant said of the battle in his memoirs, I have always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made. No advantage whatever was gained to compensate for the loss we sustained. The armies confronted each other on these lines until the night of June 12 and it was an impressive defensive victory for Lee, but it was his last in the war. In the final stage, he alternated between digging into the trenches at Petersburg and fleeing westward across Virginia, Grants Overland Campaign was one of a series of simultaneous offensives the newly appointed general in chief launched against the Confederacy. Grants campaign objective was not the Confederate capital of Richmond, President Abraham Lincoln had long advocated this strategy for his generals, recognizing that the city would certainly fall after the loss of its principal defensive army. Grant ordered Meade, Wherever Lee goes, there you will go also, although he hoped for a quick, decisive battle, Grant was prepared to fight a war of attrition. Both Union and Confederate casualties could be high, but the Union had greater resources to replace lost soldiers, on May 5, after Grants army crossed the Rapidan River and entered the Wilderness of Spotsylvania, it was attacked by Lees Army of Northern Virginia. Although Lee was outnumbered, about 60,000 to 100,000, his men fought fiercely, after two days of fighting and almost 29,000 casualties, the results were inconclusive and neither army was able to obtain an advantage. Lee had stopped Grant, but had not turned him back, elements of Lees army beat the Union army to the critical crossroads of Spotsylvania Court House and began entrenching, a tactic that became increasingly essential for the outnumbered defenders. Near Spotsylvania Court House, fighting occurred on and off from May 8 through May 21, on May 8, Union Maj. Gens. On May 10, Grant ordered attacks across the Confederate line of earthworks, although the Union troops failed again at Laurel Hill, an innovative assault attempt by Col. Emory Upton against the Mule Shoe showed promise. Grant used Uptons assault technique on a larger scale on May 12 when he ordered the 15,000 men of Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancocks corps to assault the Mule Shoe
Battle of Cold Harbor
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Opposing commanders: Lt. Gen.
Ulysses S. Grant, USA, at Cold Harbor, photographed by Edgar Guy Fawx in 1864; Gen.
Robert E. Lee, CSA, photographed by Mathew Brady in 1865.
Battle of Cold Harbor
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Battle of Cold Harbor by Kurz and Allison, 1888.
Battle of Cold Harbor
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The Burnett Inn at Old Cold Harbor. Photographed by
Timothy H. O'Sullivan, June 4, 1864.
Battle of Cold Harbor
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7th New York Heavy Artillery (serving as infantry) preparing to leave the trenches and charge the Confederate line, sketched by
Alfred Waud.
37.
Overland Campaign
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The Overland Campaign, also known as Grants Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Although Grant suffered severe losses during the campaign, it was a strategic Union victory and it inflicted proportionately higher losses on Lees army and maneuvered it into a siege at Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia, in just over eight weeks. Crossing the Rapidan River on May 4,1864, Grant sought to defeat Lees army by quickly placing his forces between Lee and Richmond and inviting an open battle. Lee surprised Grant by attacking the larger Union army aggressively in the Battle of the Wilderness, Lees army was able to get into position to block this movement. Grant maneuvered again, meeting Lee at the North Anna River, here, Lee held clever defensive positions that provided an opportunity to defeat portions of Grants army, but illness prevented Lee from attacking in time to trap Grant. Resorting to maneuver a final time, Grant surprised Lee by stealthily crossing the James River, threatening to capture the city of Petersburg, the resulting Siege of Petersburg led to the eventual surrender of Lees army in April 1865 and the effective end of the Civil War. The campaign included two long-range raids by Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan, in a raid toward Richmond, legendary Confederate cavalry commander Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart was mortally wounded at the Battle of Yellow Tavern, in March 1864, Grant was summoned from the Western Theater, promoted to lieutenant general, and given command of all Union armies. He chose to make his headquarters with the Army of the Potomac, Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman succeeded Grant in command of most of the western armies. Johnston, and capture Atlanta, George Crook and William W. Averell to operate against railroad supply lines in West Virginia and this was the first time the Union armies would have a coordinated offensive strategy across a number of theaters. Lincoln had long advocated this strategy for his generals, recognizing that the city would fall after the loss of its principal defensive army. Grant ordered Meade, Wherever Lee goes, there you will go also, although he hoped for a quick, decisive battle, Grant was prepared to fight a war of attrition. Both Union and Confederate casualties could be high, but the Union had greater resources to replace lost soldiers, despite Grants superior numbers, he had manpower challenges. Furthermore, since many of his soldiers three-year enlistments were about to expire, to deal with these challenges, Grant supplemented his forces by reassigning soldiers manning the heavy artillery batteries around Washington, D. C. to infantry regiments. The Overland Campaign began as Grants forces crossed the Rapidan River on May 4,1864, Grants objective was to force an engagement with Lee, outside of his Mine Run fortifications, by either drawing his forces out or turning them. By forcing a fight here, Lee effectively neutralized the Unions advantage in artillery and he ordered Ewells Corps to advance on the Orange Turnpike, A. P. Hills in parallel on the Orange Plank Road, and Longstreets from the distant Gordonsville. Early on May 5, Warrens V Corps was advancing south toward the Plank Road when Ewells Corps appeared in the west on the Turnpike, Meade halted his army and directed Warren to attack if the Confederates were a small, isolated group. Ewells men erected earthworks on the end of the clearing known as Saunders Field
Overland Campaign
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Ulysses S. Grant and
Robert E. Lee, respectively, opposing commanders in the Overland Campaign
Overland Campaign
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Union staff meeting at
Massaponax Baptist Church on May 21, 1864. Grant has his back to the smaller tree with
Charles Anderson Dana to his left, while Meade is seated at the far left.
Overland Campaign
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Maj. Gen.
William F. "Baldy" Smith
Overland Campaign
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Cold Harbor, Virginia. African Americans collecting bones of soldiers killed in the battle. Photo by
John Reekie, April 1865.
38.
Appomattox Campaign
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In the following eleven weeks after Lees surrender, the American Civil War ended as other Confederate armies surrendered and Confederate government leaders were captured or fled the country. As the Richmond–Petersburg Campaign ended, Lees army was outnumbered and exhausted from a winter of trench warfare over an approximately 40 mi front, numerous battles, disease, hunger, Grants well-equipped and well-fed army was growing in strength. Lee ordered the evacuation of Confederate forces from both Petersburg and Richmond on the night of April 2–3 before Grants army could cut off any escape, Confederate government leaders also fled west from Richmond that night. The Confederates marched west, heading toward Danville, Virginia or Lynchburg, Lee planned to resupply his army at one of those cities and march southwest into North Carolina where he could unite his army with the Confederate army commanded by General Joseph E. Johnston. Grants Union Army pursued Lees fleeing Confederates relentlessly, during the next week, the Union troops fought a series of battles with Confederate units, cut off or destroyed Confederate supplies and blocked their paths to the south and ultimately to the west. On April 6,1865, the Confederate Army suffered a significant defeat at the Battle of Sailors Creek, Virginia, where they lost about 7,700 men killed and captured, nonetheless, Lee continued to move the remainder of his battered army to the west. Soon cornered, short of food and supplies and outnumbered, Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Grant on April 9,1865 at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. By June 18, the Army of Northern Virginia reinforced the Confederate defenders, during the fall of 1864 and the winter of 1864–1865, Grant slowly extended the Union Army line south of Petersburg westward. Lee extended the Confederate line to match the Union moves, the action of the II Corps, which was promptly joined by the V Corps, in moving to protect the attacking force and to defend their advanced positions, resulted in the extension of the lines. Fighting continued in bad weather on February 6 and 7 after which the Union force built trenches, the Confederates matched the Union works by extending their Boydton Plank Road Line to the south and their White Oak Road line to the west. With the additions, the lines of the south of Petersburg extended 15 miles from the Appomattox River to Hatchers Run. After the Battle of Hatchers Run, Lee knew his army lacked the number of men needed to continue extension of his line, on February 22,1865, Lee advised Confederate States Secretary of War John C. Breckinridge that he expected Grant to draw out his left, with the intent of enveloping me and he told Breckinridge and Lieutenant General James Longstreet that supplies should be collected at Burkeville, Virginia in preparation for the army to move west. Shermans armies already operating in North Carolina, could arrive at Petersburg, after discussing the situation with Major General John B. Gordon on March 4,1865, Lee approved Gordons proposal to attempt to capture or break a portion of the Union lines. Then, Lee could shorten his line and send part of his army to help Johnston in North Carolina, in the alternative, Lee could move his entire army to help take on Sherman first and, if successful, turn the combined Confederate force back against Grant. On March 24,1865, Grant issued orders for an offensive to begin on March 29,1865, Grant planned for Major General Philip H. Grants top priority was to force an engagement in order to defeat the Confederate army with the railroad raid as a secondary objective. Grant also intended that his forces block a Confederate retreat to the west, Grant also initially ordered Warrens corps to seize Dinwiddie Court House, where they also could capture a segment of the Boydton Plank Road, a task later given to Sheridan. Grant ordered Major General Edward Ord, to move units from the Army of the James to fill in the portion of the Petersburg line that the II Corps then occupied
Appomattox Campaign
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Ulysses S. Grant and
Robert E. Lee, opposing commanders in the Appomattox Campaign
Appomattox Campaign
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Major General
John B. Gordon
Appomattox Campaign
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Major General
John G. Parke
Appomattox Campaign
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The Peacemakers by
George Peter Alexander Healy, 1868, depicts the historic 1865 meeting on the River Queen
39.
Fairfield, Pennsylvania
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Fairfield is a borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 507 at the 2010 census, the actual fighting near Fairfield was between elements of the 6th United States Cavalry under Major Samuel Starr, and elements of General Grumble Jones Brigade of Virginia Cavalry. The Union casualties were treated in the town of Fairfield, specifically in the homes of Mrs. Sarah Amanda Blythe, Rufus Christian Swope, and in what is now St. Johns Lutheran Church. For more information on the town of Fairfield, see Fairfield In the Civil War, by Sarah Sites Thomas, Tim Smith, Gary Kross, the Fairfield Historic District and Fairfield Inn are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Fairfield is located at 39°47′14″N 77°22′10″W, according to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.7 square miles, all of it land. As of the census of 2000, there were 486 people,232 households, the population density was 708.2 people per square mile. There were 245 housing units at a density of 357.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the borough was 98. 35% White,0. 62% Asian,0. 41% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 0. 62% of the population. 36. 6% of all households were made up of individuals, the average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.67. In the borough the population was out, with 20. 8% under the age of 18,3. 7% from 18 to 24,26. 1% from 25 to 44,25. 5% from 45 to 64. The median age was 45 years, for every 100 females there were 86.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.2 males, the median income for a household in the borough was $31,053, and the median income for a family was $39,219. Males had an income of $28,750 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $17,243, about 0. 7% of families and 3. 5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2. 0% of those under age 18 and 7. 2% of those age 65 or over. The Borough of Fairfield is governed by an elected, seven member Borough Council. Robert Stanley is the current mayor, locally elected tax collector - Tracey Paul. The borough offices at located at 108 West Main Street, County level Three, elected at large, County Commissioners. In 2014, they are, Randy Phiel, Chairman, Jim Martin, Vice Chairman, pat Toomey, US Senator Bob Casey, Jr
Fairfield, Pennsylvania
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The historic Fairfield Inn
Fairfield, Pennsylvania
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Keystone Marker
40.
7th Virginia Cavalry
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Two companies contained men from the border counties of Maryland. The regiment was assigned to guarding the upper Potomac and was attached to the command of Thomas Stonewall Jackson in the Valley. In the spring of 1862 the regiment took part in Jacksons Valley Campaign, near the conclusion of the campaign, Ashby was mortally wounded and Col. Richard Henry Dulany took command of the regiment, which had swelled to 29 companies. The regiment was reorganized at the end of the campaign, with the original 10 companies remaining, together with these two regiments, the 7th would become the nucleus of the famed Laurel Brigade. As part of the brigade, the 7th saw major action during the Gettysburg Campaign in 1863 and was at the famed cavalry Battle of Brandy Station that same year and they took part in Jubal A. I - Shands Company K - Millers Company List of Virginia Civil War units List of West Virginia Civil War Confederate units McDonald, a History of the Laurel Brigade, Originally the Ashby Cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia and Chews Battery. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Md, 7th Virginia Cavalry, A Brief History of the Regiment
7th Virginia Cavalry
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Raids and expeditions
7th Virginia Cavalry
–
Flag of Virginia
41.
6th Virginia Cavalry
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The 6th Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia, virginia’s 6th Cavalry completed its organization in November,1861, at Manassas, Virginia. Men of this unit were raised in Loudoun, Rappahannock, Clarke, Rockingham, Pittsylvania, Fairfax, Halifax, Fauquier, the unit served in Robertsons, “Grumble” Jones, Lomaxs, and Paynes Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia. The regiment went on to part in Earlys Shenandoah Valley operations. Only 3 men surrendered on April 9,1865, as most of the cut through the Federal lines. Commanding officer Thomas Flournoy had been a United States Congressman as well as a candidate from the American Party for Virginia governor. Company A was known as both the Loudoun Dragoons and The Dulany Troop, and Company K was known as the Loudoun Cavalry, Company I was known as the Orange Rangers. List of Virginia Civil War units This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, National Park Service
6th Virginia Cavalry
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Flag of Virginia, 1861
42.
Sergeant
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Sergeant is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. Its origin is the Latin serviens, one who serves, through the French term sergent, the term sergeant refers to a non-commissioned officer placed above the rank of a corporal and a police officer immediately below a lieutenant. In most armies the rank of sergeant corresponds to command of a squad, in Commonwealth armies, it is a more senior rank, corresponding roughly to a platoon second-in-command. In the United States Army, sergeant is a junior rank corresponding to a four-soldier fireteam leader. More senior non-commissioned ranks are often variations on sergeant, for example staff sergeant, many countries use sergeant rank, whether in English or using a cognate with the same origin in another language. The equivalent rank in Arab armies is raqeeb, meaning overseer or watcher, in medieval European usage, a sergeant was simply any attendant or officer with a protective duty. Any medieval knight or military order of knighthood might have sergeants-at-arms, the etymology of the term is from Anglo-French sergant, serjant servant, valet, court official, soldier, from Middle Latin servientem servant, vassal, soldier. Later, a sergeant was a man of what would now be thought of as the middle class. Sergeants could fight either as heavy to light cavalry, or as well trained professional infantry, most notable medieval mercenaries fell into the sergeant class, such as Flemish crossbowmen and spearmen, who were seen as reliable quality troops. The sergeant class was deemed to be half of a knight in military value. A specific kind of military sergeant was the serjeant-at-arms, one of a body of armed men retained by English lords, the title is now given to an officer in modern legislative bodies who is charged with keeping order during meetings and, if necessary, forcibly removing disruptive members. The responsibilities of a sergeant differ from army to army, there are usually several ranks of sergeant, each corresponding to greater experience and responsibility for the daily lives of the soldiers of larger units. Sergeant is a rank in both the Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Force, the ranks are equivalent to each other and the Royal Australian Navy rank of petty officer. The Australian Army rank of sergeant is now redundant and is no longer awarded, due to being outside the rank equivalencies. Chief petty officers and flight sergeants are not required to call a warrant officer class two sir in accordance with Australian Defence Force Regulations 1952. The rank of sergeant exists in all Australian police forces and is more senior than a constable or senior constable, New South Wales Police Force, for example, has the additional rank of incremental sergeant. This is a progression, following appointment as a sergeant for seven years. An incremental sergeant rank is less senior than a senior sergeant but is more senior than a sergeant, upon appointment as a sergeant or senior sergeant, the sergeant is given a warrant of appointment under the commissioners hand and seal
Sergeant
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The collar and sleeve insignia of kersantti
Sergeant
–
Army sergeant insignia
Sergeant
43.
Medal of Honor
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The medal is normally awarded by the President of the United States in the name of the U. S. Congress. There are three versions of the medal, one for the Army, one for the Navy, personnel of the Marine Corps and Coast Guard receive the Navy version. U. S. awards including the Medal of Honor do not have titles and while there is no official abbreviation. The Medal of Honor is the oldest continuously issued combat decoration of the United States armed forces, because the medal is presented in the name of Congress, it is often referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor. However, the name is Medal of Honor, which began with the U. S. Armys version. Within United States Code the medal is referred to as the Medal of Honor, in 1990, Congress designated March 25 annually as National Medal of Honor Day. The capture saved the fort of West Point from the British Army, although the Badge of Military Merit fell into disuse after the American Revolutionary War, the concept of a military award for individual gallantry by members of the U. S. 539 Certificates were approved for this period and this medal was later replaced by the Army Distinguished Service Medal which was established on January 2,1918. Those Army members who held the Distinguished Service Medal in place of the Certificate of Merit could apply for the Army Distinguished Service Cross effective March 5,1934. There were no awards or medals at the beginning of the Civil War except for the Certificate of Merit which was awarded for the Mexican-American War. Scott however, was strictly against medals being awarded which was the European tradition, after Scott retired in October 1861, the Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles, adopted the idea of a decoration to recognize and honor distinguished naval service. Senator James W. Secretary Wells directed the Philadelphia Mint to design the new military decoration, on May 15,1862, the United States Navy Department ordered 175 medals with the words Personal Valor on the back from the U. S. Mint in Philadelphia. Senator Henry Wilson, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Military Affairs, the resolution was approved by Congress and signed into law on July 12,1862. During the war, Townsend would have some medals delivered to recipients with a letter requesting acknowledgement of the Medal of Honor. By mid-November the War Department contracted with Philadelphia silversmith William Wilson and Son, the Army version had The Congress to written on the back of the medal. Both versions were made of copper and coated with bronze, which gave them a reddish tint,1863, Congress made the Medal of Honor a permanent decoration. On March 3, Medals of Honor were authorized for officers of the Army, the Secretary of War first presented the Medal of Honor to six Union Army volunteers on March 25,1863 in his office. 1890, On April 23, the Medal of Honor Legion is established in Washington,1896, The ribbon of the Army version Medal of Honor was redesigned with all stripes being vertical
Medal of Honor
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Army, Navy, and Air Force versions of the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
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Medal of Honor (without the suspension ribbon) awarded to
Seaman John Ortega in 1864 (back view of medal).
Medal of Honor
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Army version
Medal of Honor
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Navy version
44.
Louis H. Carpenter
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Louis Henry Carpenter was a United States Army brigadier general and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions in the American Indian Wars. He dropped out of college to enlist in the Union Army at the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861, first as an enlisted soldier before being commissioned as an officer the following year. During the American Civil War, he participated in at least fourteen campaigns primarily with the 6th U. S. Cavalry Regiment and as regimental commander of the 5th U. S. By the end of the Civil War, he held the rank of lieutenant colonel, colonel of volunteers. Carpenter received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Indian Wars while serving with the Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th U. S. Cavalry and he was noted several times for gallantry in official dispatches. After the Civil War and until his transfer back East in 1887 and he engaged many Native American tribes, dealt with many types of renegades and explored vast areas of uncharted territory from Texas to Arizona. During the Spanish–American War, he commanded a force and became the first military governor of Puerto Principe. After 38 continuous years of service to his country, he retired from the Army on October 19,1899, after his retirement, he became a speaker and a writer. Louis H. Carpenter was a descendant of the notable immigrant Samuel Carpenter. The eldest son of eight born to Edward Carpenter 2nd and Anna Maria Howey, Carpenter was born in Glassboro. In 1843, his family moved to Philadelphia where they attended Trinity Episcopal Church in West Philadelphia, L. Henry Carpenter attended A. B. Central High School in Philadelphia in 1856 and started attending Student University of Pennsylvania in 1859 and his younger brother, James Edward Carpenter, served in the Union army as a private in the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry and later was commissioned a second lieutenant. He later became a first lieutenant, captain then a major of volunteers. In July 1861, during his year, Carpenter dropped out of Dickinson College. He became a private in the Union Army which later known as the Army of the Potomac. Carpenter was trained as a soldier who was capable of riding a horse to the battlefield. As a horse soldier, Carpenter and others like him had a learning curve that proved difficult. He participated in the Peninsula Campaign and chased the audacious Jeb Stuarts Cavalry that went completely around the Union Army and this caused great psychological concerns to the Union cavalry commanders and men
Louis H. Carpenter
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Brigadier General Louis H. Carpenter, 5th Cavalry
Louis H. Carpenter
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6th Regiment United States Cavalry insignia
Louis H. Carpenter
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The Battle of Upperville: Harper's Weekly, issue date July 18, 1863.
Louis H. Carpenter
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United States Cavalry branch insignia
45.
Yosemite National Park
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Yosemite National Park is a national park spanning portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in Northern California. The park, which is managed by the National Park Service, on average, about 4 million people visit Yosemite each year, and most spend the majority of their time in the seven square miles of Yosemite Valley. The park set a record in 2016, surpassing 5 million visitors for the first time in its history. Almost 95% of the park is designated wilderness, Yosemite was central to the development of the national park idea. First, Galen Clark and others lobbied to protect Yosemite Valley from development, Yosemite is one of the largest and least fragmented habitat blocks in the Sierra Nevada, and the park supports a diversity of plants and animals. The park has a range from 2,127 to 13,114 feet and contains five major vegetation zones, chaparral/oak woodland, lower montane forest, upper montane forest, subalpine zone. Of Californias 7,000 plant species, about 50% occur in the Sierra Nevada, there is suitable habitat for more than 160 rare plants in the park, with rare local geologic formations and unique soils characterizing the restricted ranges many of these plants occupy. The geology of the Yosemite area is characterized by granitic rocks, about 10 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada was uplifted and then tilted to form its relatively gentle western slopes and the more dramatic eastern slopes. The uplift increased the steepness of stream and river beds, resulting in formation of deep, about one million years ago, snow and ice accumulated, forming glaciers at the higher alpine meadows that moved down the river valleys. Ice thickness in Yosemite Valley may have reached 4,000 feet during the early glacial episode, the downslope movement of the ice masses cut and sculpted the U-shaped valley that attracts so many visitors to its scenic vistas today. The name Yosemite originally referred to the name of a tribe which was driven out of the area by the Mariposa Battalion. Before then the area was called Ahwahnee by indigenous people, as revealed by archeological finds, the Yosemite Valley has been inhabited for nearly 3,000 years, though humans may have first visited the area as long as 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. The indigenous natives called themselves the Ahwahneechee, meaning dwellers in Ahwahnee and they are related to the Northern Paiute and Mono tribes. Many tribes visited the area to trade, including nearby Central Sierra Miwoks, a major trading route went over Mono Pass and through Bloody Canyon to Mono Lake, just to the east of the Yosemite area. Vegetation and game in the region were similar to that present today, acorns were a staple to their diet, as well as seeds and plants, salmon. In 1851 as part of the Mariposa Wars intended to suppress Native American resistance and he was pursuing forces of around 200 Ahwahneechee led by Chief Tenaya. Accounts from this battalion were the first well-documented reports of ethnic Europeans entering Yosemite Valley, attached to Savages unit was Dr. Lafayette Bunnell, the company physician, who later wrote about his awestruck impressions of the valley in The Discovery of the Yosemite. Bunnell is credited with naming Yosemite Valley, based on his interviews with Chief Tenaya, Bunnell wrote that Chief Tenaya was the founder of the Pai-Ute Colony of Ah-wah-nee
Yosemite National Park
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Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View
Yosemite National Park
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Paiute ceremony (1872)
Yosemite National Park
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Dr.
Lafayette Bunnell gave Yosemite Valley its name among Americans.
Yosemite National Park
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Vernal Falls, Yosemite (1889) by
Thomas Hill, who painted many images of the region
46.
Reconstruction era of the United States
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Johnson followed a lenient policy toward ex-Confederates. Lincolns last speeches show that he was leaning toward supporting the enfranchisement of all freedmen, whereas Johnson was opposed to this. A Republican coalition came to power in all the southern states and set out to transform the society by setting up a free labor economy, using the U. S. Army. The Bureau protected the rights of freedmen, negotiated labor contracts. Thousands of Northerners came South as missionaries, teachers, businessmen, rebuilding the rundown railroad system was a major strategy, but it collapsed when a nationwide depression struck the economy. The Radicals in the House of Representatives, frustrated by Johnsons opposition to Congressional Reconstruction, filed impeachment charges, in early 1866, Congress passed the Freedmens Bureau and Civil Rights Bills and sent them to Johnson for his signature. Meanwhile, self-styled Conservatives strongly opposed reconstruction and they alleged widespread corruption by the Carpetbaggers, excessive state spending and ruinous taxes. Southern democrats and conservatives violently counterattacked and had regained power in each redeemed Southern state by 1877, meanwhile, public support for Reconstruction policies, requiring continued supervision of the South, faded in the North, as voters decided that the Civil War and years of conflict should stop. Reconstruction was a significant chapter in the history of civil rights in the United States, in the different states Reconstruction began and ended at different times, federal Reconstruction ended with the Compromise of 1877. In recent decades most historians follow Foner in dating the Reconstruction of the south as starting in 1863 rather than 1865, Reconstruction policies were debated in the North when the war began, and commenced in earnest after Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation, issued on January 1,1863. As Confederate states came back under control of the US Army, President Abraham Lincoln set up reconstructed governments in Tennessee, Arkansas and he experimented by giving land to blacks in South Carolina. By fall 1865, the new President Andrew Johnson declared the war goals of national unity, Republicans in Congress, refusing to accept Johnsons lenient terms, rejected new members of Congress, some of whom had been high-ranking Confederate officials a few months before. Johnson broke with the Republicans after vetoing two key bills that supported the Freedmens Bureau and provided federal civil rights to the freedmen and that same year, Congress removed civilian governments in the South, and placed the former Confederacy under the rule of the U. S. Army. In ten states, coalitions of freedmen, recent black and white arrivals from the North, Conservative opponents called the Republican regimes corrupt and instigated violence toward freedmen and whites who supported Reconstruction. Most of the violence was carried out by members of the Ku Klux Klan, Klan members attacked and intimidated blacks seeking to exercise their new civil rights, as well as Republican politicians in the south favoring those civil rights. One such politician murdered by the Klan on the eve of the 1868 presidential election was Republican Congressman James M. Hinds of Arkansas, widespread violence in the south led to federal intervention by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1871, which suppressed the Klan. Nevertheless, white Democrats, calling themselves Redeemers, regained control of the state by state, sometimes using fraud. The end of Reconstruction was a process, and the period of Republican control ended at different times in different states
Reconstruction era of the United States
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The southern economy had been ruined by the war. Charleston, South Carolina: Broad Street, 1865
Reconstruction era of the United States
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The ruins of
Richmond, Virginia after the
American Civil War, newly freed
African Americans voting for the first time in 1867, Office of the
Freedmen's Bureau in
Memphis, Tennessee,
Memphis Riots of 1866
Reconstruction era of the United States
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A political cartoon of Andrew Johnson and Abraham Lincoln, 1865, entitled "The Rail Splitter At Work Repairing the Union." The caption reads (Johnson): Take it quietly Uncle Abe and I will draw it closer than ever. (Lincoln): A few more stitches Andy and the good old Union will be mended.
Reconstruction era of the United States
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Monument in honor of the Grand Army of the Republic, organized after the war
47.
Austin, Texas
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Austin is the capital of the U. S. state of Texas and the seat of Travis County. It is the 11th-most populous city in the U. S. and it is the fastest growing large city in the United States and the second most populous capital city after Phoenix, Arizona. As of the U. S. Census Bureaus July 1,2015 estimate and it is the cultural and economic center of the Austin–Round Rock metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 2,056,405 as of July 1,2016. In the 1830s, pioneers began to settle the area in central Austin along the Colorado River, in 1839, the site was officially chosen to replace Houston as the new capital of the Republic of Texas and was incorporated under the name Waterloo. Shortly thereafter, the name was changed to Austin in honor of Stephen F. Austin, the Father of Texas and the republics first secretary of state. The city subsequently grew throughout the 19th century and became a center for government and education with the construction of the Texas State Capitol and the University of Texas at Austin. After a lull in growth from the Great Depression, Austin resumed its development into a city and, by the 1980s, it emerged as a center for technology. A number of Fortune 500 companies have headquarters or regional offices in Austin, including Amazon. com, cisco, eBay, Google, IBM, Intel, Oracle Corporation, Texas Instruments, 3M, and Whole Foods Market. Dells worldwide headquarters is located in nearby Round Rock, a suburb of Austin, residents of Austin are known as Austinites. They include a mix of government employees, college students, musicians, high-tech workers, blue-collar workers. The city also adopted Silicon Hills as a nickname in the 1990s due to an influx of technology. In the late 1800s, Austin was known as the City of the Violet Crown because of the glow of light across the hills just after sunset. Even today, many Austin businesses use the term Violet Crown in their name, Austin is known as a clean-air city for its stringent no-smoking ordinances that apply to all public places and buildings, including restaurants and bars. The FBI ranked Austin as the second-safest major city in the U. S. for the year 2012, U. S. News & World Report named Austin the best place to live in the U. S. in 2017. Austin, Travis County and Williamson County have been the site of habitation since at least 9200 BC. When settlers arrived from Europe, the Tonkawa tribe inhabited the area, the Comanches and Lipan Apaches were also known to travel through the area. Spanish colonists, including the Espinosa-Olivares-Aguirre expedition, traveled through the area for centuries, in 1730, three missions from East Texas were combined and reestablished as one mission on the south side of the Colorado River, in what is now Zilker Park, in Austin. The mission was in area for only about seven months
Austin, Texas
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Downtown skyline as seen from
Lady Bird Lake
Austin, Texas
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An 1873 illustration of Edwin Waller's layout for Austin
Austin, Texas
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Statue of the Goddess of Liberty on the
Texas State Capitol Grounds prior to installation on top of the rotunda
Austin, Texas
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Bob Bullock Texas History Museum in Austin. Its mission is to "tell The Story of Texas".
48.
Fifth Military District
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The 5th Military District was a temporary administrative unit of the United States set up by the Reconstruction Acts during the Reconstruction period following the American Civil War. It included Texas, from Brazos Santiago Harbor, at the Mexican border and he was replaced by Charles Griffin, then by Joseph J. Reynolds. Several incidents committed against negro federal soldiers at Ft. Brown in Brownsville, Texas noted, most incident reports fail to identify the perpetrators. Among the United States Army forces stationed in Texas were the following units, note, except where noted the following are based on Quarterly Report of November 4,1868 from Brevet Major General J. J. Reynolds to Secretary of War from Executive Documents printed by the House of Representatives 1868–1869, January, 3—Corpus Christi—Pvt Archy David Co C 28th USCT—buried in Corpus Christi {US Army Roll of Honor VI Template, Corpus Christi. p. And Sgt Josiah Ripley Co H 18th New York Cavalry-, a colored soldier patrol in Brownsville Texas was fired upon by Brownsville Citizens, patrol returned fire and 2 Brownsville Citizens were killed, patrol had no casualties February, 7th. Austin—Corporal Thomas Casey—Co M 6th US Cavalry—gunshot wound of the abdomen, admitted from camp to regimental field hospital, austin—Pvt Michael OCallaghan—Co D 6th US Cavalry—shot by a citizen—admitted to hospital February 10, died February 11,1867 26th. Brenham—Corporal H. Reinhold—Co H US 17th Infantry—gunshot wound, duty May 16,1867 March, fayette County—1st Lt Howe and command on parade—Jesse Pullen shot at Howe and command with a pistol 16th. Galveston County—Joseph Huson and 2 other soldiers of the US 17th Infantry murdered a man named Daniel Parker April. Newell Co A 114th USCT—age 42 years-pistol wound over the ensiform appendix, missile passed upward and loged upward one ich to the left of the right nipple. Returned to duty April 14,1867 15th. Travis County—Soldier of the US 9th Cavalry found murdered—his arms had been taken away June, Travis County—Henry Frazer of the US 6th Cavalry killed by Ozweir Wilcox because Frazier. was a United States Soldier. 5th Lavaca County—James Hanlan shot at by a man named Hicks 11th Fort Belknap—Pvt F, see 6th Cavalry Regimental History at The United States Army Center of Military History 23rd Polk County—James McGowan assault with intent to kill H. H. Smith County—Thomas Hawley —assaulted by J. H. Murray with deadly weapon with intent to kill 26th, Private Franklin Grey, Co F 41st USCI, accidentally wounded—Brownsville. Transferred to Fort Concho March 20 and discharged for disability October 18,1869, corporal Thomas OBrien-Troop F 6th Cavalry-slight arrow wound of chest-treated at Fort Wilson-returned to duty-Sept 5,1867 29th. Private William Rosback-Troop F 6th Cavalry-arrow wounds of scalp and leg-treated at Fort Wilson-returned to duty-Nov 24,1867 30th, Lt. Gustavus Schreyer with Troop F 6th US Cavalry encountered a band of Indians near Fort Belknap,2 men killed. 2nd Lt. G. A. Thurston 4th Cavalry from Fort Chadbourne, Passed through Rio Concho & Pecos. Traveled 354 miles to operate against Comanche, September, Bowie County—Davis US 6th Cavalry—assaulted with intent to kill by John M. March 20,1868. Sgt John De Lacy 4th Cavalry from Fort Chadbourne, Texas with Co D 4th Cavalry, Passed through Rio Condo & Pecos
Fifth Military District
–
Map of the five Reconstruction military districts, with the Fifth Military District in Orange.
49.
Louisiana
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Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Louisiana is the 31st most extensive and the 25th most populous of the 50 United States and its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the state in the U. S. with political subdivisions termed parishes. The largest parish by population is East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana is bordered by Arkansas to the north, Mississippi to the east, Texas to the west, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Much of the lands were formed from sediment washed down the Mississippi River, leaving enormous deltas and vast areas of coastal marsh. These contain a rich southern biota, typical examples include birds such as ibis, there are also many species of tree frogs, and fish such as sturgeon and paddlefish. In more elevated areas, fire is a process in the landscape. These support a large number of plant species, including many species of orchids. Louisiana has more Native American tribes than any other state, including four that are federally recognized, ten that are state recognized. Before the American purchase of the territory in 1803, the current Louisiana State had been both a French colony and for a period, a Spanish one. In addition, colonists imported numerous African people as slaves in the 18th century, many came from peoples of the same region of West Africa, thus concentrating their culture. Louisiana was named after Louis XIV, King of France from 1643 to 1715, when René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle claimed the territory drained by the Mississippi River for France, he named it La Louisiane. The suffix -ana is a Latin suffix that can refer to information relating to an individual, subject. Thus, roughly, Louis + ana carries the idea of related to Louis, the Gulf of Mexico did not exist 250 million years ago when there was but one supercontinent, Pangea. As Pangea split apart, the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico opened, Louisiana slowly developed, over millions of years, from water into land, and from north to south. The oldest rocks are exposed in the north, in such as the Kisatchie National Forest. The oldest rocks date back to the early Tertiary Era, some 60 million years ago, the history of the formation of these rocks can be found in D. Spearings Roadside Geology of Louisiana. The sediments were carried north to south by the Mississippi River
Louisiana
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Louisiana entrance sign off
Interstate 20 in
Madison Parish east of
Tallulah.
Louisiana
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Flag
Louisiana
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Aerial view of Louisiana wetland habitats.
Louisiana
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A field of yellow wildflowers in
Saint Bernard Parish, Louisiana
50.
Philip Sheridan
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Philip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. In 1865, his cavalry pursued Gen. Robert E. Lee and was instrumental in forcing his surrender at Appomattox, Sheridan fought in later years in the Indian Wars of the Great Plains. Both as a soldier and private citizen, he was instrumental in the development, in 1883, Sheridan was appointed general-in-chief of the U. S. Army, and in 1888 he was promoted to the rank of General of the Army during the term of President Grover Cleveland. Sheridan claimed he was born in Albany, New York, the child of six by John and Mary Meenagh Sheridan, Catholic immigrants from the parish of Killinkere, County Cavan. He grew up in Somerset, Ohio, fully grown, he reached only 165 cm tall, a stature that led to the nickname, Little Phil. Sheridan worked as a boy in general stores, and eventually as head clerk. In his third year at West Point, Sheridan was suspended for a year for fighting with a classmate, the previous day, Sheridan had threatened to run him through with a bayonet in reaction to a perceived insult on the parade ground. He graduated in 1853, 34th in his class of 52 cadets, Sheridan was commissioned as a brevet second lieutenant and was assigned to the 1st U. S. Infantry regiment at Fort Duncan, Texas, then to the 4th U. S, most of his service with the 4th U. S. He lived with a mistress during part of his tour of duty and he was promoted to first lieutenant in March 1861, just before the Civil War, and to captain in May, immediately after Fort Sumter. In the fall of 1861, Sheridan was ordered to travel to Jefferson Barracks, near St. Louis, Missouri, for assignment to the 13th U. S. Infantry. He departed from his command of Fort Yamhill, Oregon, by way of San Francisco, across the Isthmus of Panama, frémont, whose administration of the Department of the Missouri was tainted by charges of wasteful expenditures and fraud that left the status of $12 million in debt. Sheridan sorted out the mess, impressing Halleck in the process, much to Sheridans dismay, Hallecks vision for Sheridan consisted of a continuing role as a staff officer. Nevertheless, Sheridan performed the task assigned to him and entrenched himself as an excellent staff officer in Hallecks view, in January 1862, he reported for duty to Maj. Gen. Samuel Curtis and served under him at the Battle of Pea Ridge. Sheridan soon discovered that officers were engaged in profiteering and they stole horses from civilians and demanded payment from Sheridan. He refused to pay for the property and confiscated the horses for the use of Curtiss army. When Curtis ordered him to pay the officers, Sheridan brusquely retorted, Curtis had Sheridan arrested for insubordination but Hallecks influence appears to have ended any formal proceedings. Gen. William T. Sherman, who offered him the colonelcy of an Ohio infantry regiment and this appointment fell through, but Sheridan was subsequently aided by friends, who petitioned Michigan Governor Austin Blair on his behalf
Philip Sheridan
–
Sheridan during the 1860s
Philip Sheridan
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Brevet Second Lieutenant Philip Sheridan
Philip Sheridan
–
Rienzi, taxidermied and on display at the
National Museum of American History
Philip Sheridan
–
Union Cavalry General Philip Sheridan
51.
Combat Aviation Brigade
–
Combat aviation brigades were introduced during the transformation of the United States Army to a modular force. There were three types of combat aviation brigades, the ultimate goal is eight full spectrum CABs and four heavy CABs in active service, and respectively six and two CABs in the Army National Guard. Four brigades must be deployment-ready on a permanent basis, the Army stated that they need the CAB to be modular designed to enable task organization and optimize aviation capability for specific mission of specified duration. Full spectrum CAB will standardize the CAB design across the branch to deliver maximum aviation capability in the most timely, the Army Reserve fields one theater aviation command which oversees two brigades. S. Army Aviation Regiments 110th Aviation Brigade Reorganization plan of United States Army FM 3-04.111 Aviation Brigades Torchbearer National Security Reports, U. S
Combat Aviation Brigade
–
Heavy Combat Aviation Brigade Organizational Table
United States
United States Army
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