1.
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
2.
Thure de Thulstrup
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Thure de Thulstrup, born Bror Thure Thulstrup in Sweden, was a leading American illustrator with contributions for numerous magazines, including three decades of work for Harpers Weekly. Thulstrup primarily illustrated historical military scenes, Thulstrup was born in Stockholm, Sweden. His father was Swedens Secretary of the Navy amongst other such positions, after graduating from the Royal Swedish Military Academy, Thulstrup joined the Swedish military as an artillery officer at the age of twenty. However, he soon left Sweden for Paris, where he joined the French Foreign Legion, Thulstrup also served in the French part of Northern Africa as a member of the First Zouave Regiment. After leaving the French Army, Thulstrup moved to Canada in 1872 to become a civil engineer and he moved to the United States in 1873, where he became an artist for the New York Daily Graphic, and, later, Frank Leslies Illustrated Newspaper, documenting local events. As his skills improved, he able to move into more and more prestigious roles, including work for Century, Harpers Monthly. While living in New York, Thulstrup studied at the Art Students League and his military pictures include a series of paintings depicting the American Civil War, and illustrations of a Virginian lifestyle in the middle of the eighteenth century. He also illustrated various other subjects, Thulstrup married Lucie Bavoillot in 1879. He died on June 9,1930, leaving no children. Following his death, his illustrations have been labeled as some of the most familiar scenes of American life now extant, B. J. Bror Thure Thulstrup, in Dictionary of American Biography, Vol. XVIII,1936, pp. 512–13. Thure de Thulstrup, The Book Buyer, Vol. XII,1895, pp. 439–41, Harrington, Peter, Thure de Thulstrup, Military Illustrated, No. Maxwell, Perriton, A painter in black and white, The Quarterly Illustrator, Vol.1, Jan-March 1893, obituary, The New York Times, Tuesday, June 10,1930, page 27. The Work of Thure de Thulstrup, Truth, Vol. XVIII, Works by Thure de Thulstrup at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Thure de Thulstrup at Internet Archive Thure de Thulstrup at Library of Congress Authorities, with 39 catalog records
3.
Spotsylvania County, Virginia
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Spotsylvania County is a county in the U. S. state of Virginia. As of the 2016 estimate, the population was 132,010 and its county seat is Spotsylvania Courthouse. Spotsylvania County is a part of Northern Virginia and the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area, at the time of European encounter, the inhabitants of the area that became Spotsylvania County were a Siouan-speaking tribe called the Manahoac. Spotsylvania County was established in 1721 from Essex, King and Queen, the county was named in Latin for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia Alexander Spotswood. Many battles were fought in this county during the Civil War, including the Battle of Chancellorsville, Battle of the Wilderness, Battle of Fredericksburg, stonewall Jackson was shot and mortally wounded in Spotsylvania County during the Battle of Chancellorsville. A group of Confederate soldiers from North Carolina were in the woods and they mistook him for a Federal patrol and fired their weapons, wounding him in both arms. General Jackson died a few days later from pneumonia at nearby Guinea Station, Confederate wounded were being gathered there for evacuation to hospitals further to the south and away from enemy lines. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 414 square miles. As of the census of 2010, there were 122,397 people,31,308 households, the population density was 226 people per square mile. There were 33,329 housing units at a density of 83 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was,78. 4% White 15. 8% Black or African American 0. 4% Native American 2. 4% Asian 0. 05% Pacific Islander 2. 8% from other races, and 1. 88% from two or more races. 7. 8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,16. 40% of all households were made up of individuals and 5. 40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87 and the family size was 3.22. In the county, the population was out with 30. 00% under the age of 18,7. 30% from 18 to 24,32. 20% from 25 to 44,22. 20% from 45 to 64. The median age was 34 years, for every 100 females there were 97.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.00 males, the 2014 median income for a household in the county was $79,402, and the median income for a family was $87,922. Males had an income of $49,166 versus $38,076 for females. The per capita income for the county was $31,567, about 3. 90% of families and 5. 80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6. 70% of those under age 18 and 5. 20% of those age 65 or over
4.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
5.
United States
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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
6.
Union (American Civil War)
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The Union was opposed by 11 southern slave states that formed the Confederate States, or the Confederacy. All of the Unions states provided soldiers for the U. S. Army, the Border states played a major role as a supply base for the Union invasion of the Confederacy. The Northeast provided the resources for a mechanized war producing large quantities of munitions and supplies. The Midwest provided soldiers, food, horses, financial support, Army hospitals were set up across the Union. Most states had Republican governors who energetically supported the war effort, the Democratic Party strongly supported the war in 1861 but in 1862 was split between the War Democrats and the anti-war element led by the Copperheads. The Democrats made major gains in 1862 in state elections. They lost ground in 1863, especially in Ohio, in 1864 the Republicans campaigned under the National Union Party banner, which attracted many War Democrats and soldiers and scored a landslide victory for Lincoln and his entire ticket. The war years were quite prosperous except where serious fighting and guerrilla warfare took place along the southern border, prosperity was stimulated by heavy government spending and the creation of an entirely new national banking system. The Union states invested a great deal of money and effort in organizing psychological and social support for soldiers wives, widows, orphans, and for the soldiers themselves. Most soldiers were volunteers, although after 1862 many volunteered to escape the draft, Draft resistance was notable in some larger cities, especially New York City with its massive anti-draft riots of 1863 and in some remote districts such as the coal mining areas of Pennsylvania. In the context of the American Civil War, the Union is sometimes referred to as the North, both then and now, as opposed to the Confederacy, which was the South. The Union never recognized the legitimacy of the Confederacys secession and maintained at all times that it remained entirely a part of the United States of America, in foreign affairs the Union was the only side recognized by all other nations, none of which officially recognized the Confederate government. The term Union occurs in the first governing document of the United States, the subsequent Constitution of 1787 was issued and ratified in the name not of the states, but of We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union. Union, for the United States of America, is repeated in such clauses as the Admission to the Union clause in Article IV. Even before the war started, the preserve the Union was commonplace. Using the term Union to apply to the non-secessionist side carried a connotation of legitimacy as the continuation of the political entity. In comparison to the Confederacy, the Union had a large industrialized and urbanized area, additionally, the Union states had a manpower advantage of 5 to 2 at the start of the war. Year by year, the Confederacy shrank and lost control of increasing quantities of resources, meanwhile, the Union turned its growing potential advantage into a much stronger military force
7.
Confederate States of America
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The Confederate States, officially the Confederate States of America, commonly referred to as the Confederacy, was a breakaway country of 11 secessionist slave states existing from 1861 to 1865. It was never recognized as an Independent country, although it achieved belligerent status by Britain. A new Confederate government was established in February 1861 before Lincoln took office in March, after the Civil War began in April, four slave states of the Upper South – Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina – also declared their secession and joined the Confederacy. The government of the United States rejected the claims of secession, the Civil War began with the April 12,1861, Confederate attack upon Fort Sumter, a Union fort in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. In spring 1865, after four years of fighting which led to an estimated 620,000 military deaths, all the Confederate forces surrendered. Jefferson Davis later lamented that the Confederacy had disappeared in 1865, Missouri and Kentucky were represented by partisan factions from those states, while the legitimate governments of those two states retained formal adherence to the Union. Also fighting for the Confederacy were two of the Five Civilized Tribes located in Indian Territory and a new, but uncontrolled, Confederate Territory of Arizona. Efforts by certain factions in Maryland to secede were halted by federal imposition of law, while Delaware, though of divided loyalty. A Unionist government in parts of Virginia organized the new state of West Virginia. With the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1,1863, the Union made abolition of slavery a war goal, as Union forces moved southward, large numbers of plantation slaves were freed. Many joined the Union lines, enrolling in service as soldiers, teamsters and laborers, the most notable advance was Shermans March to the Sea in late 1864. Much of the Confederacys infrastructure was destroyed, including telegraphs, railroads, plantations in the path of Shermans forces were severely damaged. Internal movement became increasingly difficult for Southerners, weakening the economy and these losses created an insurmountable disadvantage in men, materiel, and finance. Public support for Confederate President Jefferson Daviss administration eroded over time due to repeated military reverses, economic hardships, after four years of campaigning, Richmond was captured by Union forces in April 1865. Shortly afterward, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, President Davis was captured on May 10,1865, and jailed in preparation for a treason trial that was ultimately never held. The U. S. government began a process known as Reconstruction which attempted to resolve the political and constitutional issues of the Civil War. By 1877, the Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction in the former Confederate states, Confederate veterans had been temporarily disenfranchised by Reconstruction policy. The prewar South had many areas, the war left the entire region economically devastated by military action, ruined infrastructure
8.
Ulysses S. Grant
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Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States. As Commanding General, Grant worked closely with President Abraham Lincoln to lead the Union Army to victory over the Confederacy in the American Civil War and he implemented Congressional Reconstruction, often at odds with President Andrew Johnson. His presidency has often criticized for tolerating corruption and for the severe economic depression in his second term. Grant graduated in 1843 from the United States Military Academy at West Point, after the war he married Julia Boggs Dent in 1848, their marriage producing four children. Grant initially retired from the Army in 1854 and he struggled financially in civilian life. When the Civil War began in 1861, he rejoined the U. S. Army, in 1862, Grant took control of Kentucky and most of Tennessee, and led Union forces to victory in the Battle of Shiloh, earning a reputation as an aggressive commander. He incorporated displaced African American slaves into the Union war effort, in July 1863, after a series of coordinated battles, Grant defeated Confederate armies and seized Vicksburg, giving the Union control of the Mississippi River and dividing the Confederacy in two. After his victories in the Chattanooga Campaign, Lincoln promoted him to lieutenant general, Grant confronted Robert E. Lee in a series of bloody battles, trapping Lees army in their defense of Richmond. Grant coordinated a series of devastating campaigns in other theaters, as well, in April 1865, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox, effectively ending the war. Historians have hailed Grants military genius, and his strategies are featured in history textbooks. After the Civil War, Grant led the armys supervision of Reconstruction in the former Confederate states and he also used the army to build the Republican Party in the South. After the disenfranchisement of some former Confederates, Republicans gained majorities, in his second term, the Republican coalitions in the South splintered and were defeated one by one as redeemers regained control using coercion and violence. In May 1875, Grant authorized his Secretary of Treasury Benjamin Bristow to shut down and his peace policy with the Indians initially reduced frontier violence, but is best known for the Great Sioux War of 1876. Grant responded to charges of corruption in executive offices more than any other 19th Century president and he appointed the first Civil Service Commission and signed legislation ending the corrupt moiety system. In foreign policy, Grant sought to trade and influence while remaining at peace with the world. His administration successfully resolved the Alabama claims by the Treaty of Washington with Great Britain, Grant avoided war with Spain over the Virginius Affair, but Congress rejected his attempted annexation of the Dominican Republic. His administration implemented a standard and sought to strengthen the dollar. Grant left office in 1877 and embarked on a two-year diplomatic world tour that captured the nations attention, in 1880, Grant was unsuccessful in obtaining the Republican presidential nomination for a third term
9.
George Meade
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George Gordon Meade was a career United States Army officer and civil engineer involved in the coastal construction of several lighthouses. He fought with distinction in the Second Seminole War and the Mexican–American War, during the American Civil War he served as a Union general, rising from command of a brigade to command of the Army of the Potomac. He is best known for defeating Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, Meades Civil War combat experience started as a brigade commander in the Peninsula Campaign and the Seven Days Battles, including the Battle of Glendale, where he was wounded severely. As a division commander, he had success at the Battle of South Mountain. His division was arguably the most successful during the assaults at the Battle of Fredericksburg, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, who accompanied him throughout these campaigns. He also suffered from a reputation as a man of short, violent temper who was hostile toward the press, after the war, he commanded several important departments during Reconstruction. George Gordon Meade was born in 1815 in Cádiz, Spain and his father, a wealthy Philadelphian merchant, was serving in Spain as a naval agent for the U. S. government. He was ruined financially because of his support of Spain in the Napoleonic Wars and his family returned to the United States in 1817, in precarious financial straits. Young George attended the Mount Hope Institution in Baltimore and entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1831 and he graduated 19th in his class of 56 cadets in 1835. His brother, Richard Worsam Meade II, became a naval officer, for a year, he served with the 3rd U. S. Artillery in Florida, fighting against the Seminole Indians, before resigning from the Army and he worked as a civil engineer for the Alabama, Georgia, and Florida Railroad and for the War Department. On December 31,1840, he married Margaretta Sergeant, daughter of John Sergeant, finding steady civilian employment was difficult for the newly married man, so he reentered the army in 1842 as a second lieutenant in the Corps of Topographical Engineers. After that war he was involved in lighthouse and breakwater construction and coastal surveying in Florida. He designed Barnegat Light on Long Beach Island, Absecon Light in Atlantic City, Cape May Light in Cape May, Jupiter Inlet Light in Jupiter, Florida and he also designed a hydraulic lamp that was adopted by the Lighthouse Board for use in American lighthouses. He was promoted to captain in 1856, in 1857, Meade relieved Lt. Col. James Kearney on the Lakes Survey mission of the Great Lakes. Completion of the survey of Lake Huron and extension of the surveys of Lake Michigan down to Grand, prior to Captain Meades command, Great Lakes water level readings were taken locally with temporary gauges, a uniform plane of reference had not been established. In 1858, based on his recommendation, instrumentation was set in place for the tabulation of records across the basin, in 1860, the first detailed report of Great Lakes was published. Meade stayed with the Lakes Survey until the 1861 outbreak of the Civil War and he was assigned command of the 2nd Brigade of the Pennsylvania Reserves, recruited early in the war, which he led competently, initially in the construction of defenses around Washington, D. C
10.
Robert E. Lee
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Robert Edward Lee was an American general known for commanding the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War from 1862 until his surrender in 1865. During this time, he served throughout the United States, distinguished himself during the Mexican–American War, during the first year of the Civil War, Lee served as a senior military adviser to President Jefferson Davis. Once he took command of the field army in 1862 he soon emerged as a shrewd tactician and battlefield commander, winning most of his battles. Lees strategic foresight was more questionable, and both of his major offensives into Union territory ended in defeat, Lees aggressive tactics, which resulted in high casualties at a time when the Confederacy had a shortage of manpower, have come under criticism in recent years. Lee surrendered his army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9,1865. By this time, Lee had assumed command of the remaining Southern armies. Lee rejected the proposal of an insurgency against the Union. He urged them to rethink their position between the North and the South, and the reintegration of former Confederates into the political life. Lee became the great Southern hero of the War, an icon of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy to some. But his popularity even in the North, especially after his death in 1870. Barracks at West Point built in 1962 are named after him, Robert Edward Lee was born at Stratford Hall Plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia, to Major General Henry Lee III, Governor of Virginia, and his second wife, Anne Hill Carter. His birth date has traditionally been recorded as January 19,1807, one of Lees great grandparents, Henry Lee I, was a prominent Virginian colonist of English descent. Lees family is one of Virginias first families, descended from Richard Lee I, Esq. the Immigrant, Lees mother grew up at Shirley Plantation, one of the most elegant homes in Virginia. Lees father, a planter, suffered severe financial reverses from failed investments. Little is known of Lee as a child, he spoke of his boyhood as an adult. Nothing is known of his relationship with his father who, after leaving his family, mentioned Robert only once in a letter. In 1811, the family, including the newly born child, Mildred, moved to a house on Oronoco Street, still close to the center of town. In 1812, Harry Lee was badly injured in a riot in Baltimore
11.
Army of the Potomac
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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
12.
IX Corps (Union Army)
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IX Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War that distinguished itself in combat in multiple theaters, the Carolinas, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi. The corps was assembled by Burnside at Newport News, Virginia, the corps consisted of three divisions, under Generals Stevens, Jesse L. Reno, and John G. Parke. After a short stay at Newport News the corps was ordered to reinforce Maj. Gen. John Popes Army of Virginia, only the two divisions of Stevens and Reno were engaged in this action, they numbered 12 regiments and 2 batteries, fewer than 5,000 men. General Reno was in command of divisions in Burnsides absence. The losses in this small engagement amounted to 204 killed,1,000 wounded, some of the regiments encountered a severe fire, the 28th Massachusetts losing 234 men. General Stevens was killed at Chantilly, General Reno retained command of the corps on the Maryland Campaign, General Burnside having charge of the right wing of the Army of the Potomac, which was composed of the I and IX Corps. Brig. Gen. Orlando B. Willcox was appointed to the command of Stevenss Division, while the 2nd and 3rd Divisions were commanded, respectively, by Generals Samuel D. Sturgis and Isaac P. Rodman. During this campaign Jacob D. Coxs Kanawha Division from western Virginia was temporarily attached to the corps, the Battle of South Mountain was fought wholly by Burnsides two corps, the IX Corps losing 157 killed,691 wounded, and 41 missing, total,889. The loss in the I Corps was about the same, General Reno was killed in this action, upon which General Cox succeeded to his command. At Antietam the corps lost 438 killed,1,796 wounded, General Rodman was among the mortally wounded. In October, Coxs Division returned to western Virginia and its connection with the corps terminated. This division had made a brilliant record by its gallant services at South Mountain, upon the departure of General Cox the command of the corps fell to General Willcox. General William W. Burns was appointed to fill the vacancy thus caused in the 1st Division, on November 5,1862, General Burnside was made commander-in-chief of the Army of the Potomac. At Fredericksburg, the casualty lists indicate that the corps took into action 31 regiments and 5 batteries, with a loss of 111 killed,1,067 wounded, and 152 missing, total,1,330. Not long after this battle Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick was assigned to the command of the corps, General Smiths stay with the corps was of short duration, for he was succeeded in the following month by Maj. Gen. John G. Parke. While at Newport News, Gettys Division was detached and ordered to Suffolk, Virginia and it never rejoined its old command although, in 1864, one of its regiments, the 4th Rhode Island, was restored to the IX Corps. In the meantime, General Burnside had been assigned to the command of the Department of Ohio, just prior to the departure from Virginia, General Sturgis was relieved, and Brig. Gen. Robert B. Potter was assigned to the command of the 2nd Division. The IX Corps was stationed in Kentucky for two months, during which it served as an army of occupation
13.
Army of the Ohio
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The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the army was created in 1863. General Orders No.97 appointed Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell to command the Department of the Ohio, all the forces of the department were then organized into the Army of the Ohio, with Buell in command. Early in 1862, the army fought its first battle at Mill Springs, although only the 1st Division, the whole army marched to reinforce Grants Army of the Tennessee at the Battle of Shiloh. However, Thomas foresaw a major battle and felt it unwise to change an army commander on the eve of battle, thus Buell remained in command of the Army and Thomas was made his second-in-command. The battle Thomas foresaw occurred on October 8,1862, west of Perryville, Confederate General Braxton Bragg had marched into Kentucky to recruit soldiers and take the state from the Union. The full force of Buells command was gathering when Bragg attacked, known as the Battle of Perryville, or the Battle of Chandler Hills, casualties were very high on both sides. Although Union losses were higher, Bragg withdrew from Kentucky when the fighting was over, Buell was subsequently relieved of all field command. Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans was appointed to command the Army of Ohio and he was also appointed to command of the Department of the Cumberland and subsequently renamed his forces the Army of the Cumberland. On 25 March 1863, Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside assumed command of the Department of the Ohio, Burnside consolidated all the forces of the department and created the XXIII Corps, which was also styled the Army of the Ohio, with himself in command. He became one of the few officers to command two completely different armies. The new Army of the Ohio first repelled Morgans Ohio raid, next Burnside moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. Here the IX Corps was added and the army grew to two corps, plus a division of cavalry, Burnside defeated the Confederates at the Battle of Fort Sanders in the Knoxville Campaign. After the battle, he asked to be relieved of command due to illness, Maj. Gen. John G. Foster replaced Burnside as commander of the Army and Department of the Ohio on December 9. Fosters time in command of the Army was short, on February 9,1864, Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield assumed command of the Department of the Ohio, and then the Army of the Ohio and the XXIII Corps in April. During this time the XXIII Corps and the Army of the Ohio were synonymous, Schofield led the Army during the Atlanta Campaign and pursued Confederate Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood into Tennessee after the fall of Atlanta. At the Battle of Franklin, Schofield inflicted a defeat on Hoods army before joining with Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas. On February 9,1865, Schofield was transferred to command the Department of North Carolina, when Schofield departed to assume departmental command, Maj. Gen. Jacob D. Cox temporarily assumed command of the Army
14.
Army of Northern Virginia
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It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac. The name Army of Northern Virginia referred to its area of operation. The Army originated as the Army of the Potomac, which was organized on June 20,1861, on July 20 and July 21, the Army of the Shenandoah and forces from the District of Harpers Ferry were added. Units from the Army of the Northwest were merged into the Army of the Potomac between March 14 and May 17,1862, the Army of the Potomac was renamed Army of Northern Virginia on March 14. The Army of the Peninsula was merged into it on April 12,1862, Robert E. Lees biographer, Douglas S. Freeman, asserts that the army received its final name from Lee when he issued orders assuming command on June 1,1862. However, Freeman does admit that Lee corresponded with Joseph E. Johnston, his predecessor in command, prior to that date. In addition to Virginians, it included regiments from all over the Confederacy, some from as far away as Georgia, the first commander of the Army of Northern Virginia was General P. G. T. Beauregard from June 20 to July 20,1861 and his forces consisted of six brigades, with various militia and artillery from the former Department of Alexandria. During his command, Gen. Beauregard is noted for creating the flag of the army. The flag was designed due to confusion during battle between the Confederate Stars and Bars flag and the flag of the United States, the following day this army fought its first major engagement in the First Battle of Manassas. With the merging of the Army of the Shenandoah, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston took command from July 20,1861, First Corps – commanded by General P. G. T. Magruder Reserve – commanded by Maj. Gen. G. W. Smith Under the command of Johnston, on October 22,1861, the Department of Northern Virginia was officially created, officially ending the Army of the Potomac. The Department comprised three districts, Aquia District, Potomac District, and the Valley District, in April 1862 the Department was expanded to include the Departments of Norfolk and the Peninsula. Gen. Maj. Gen. Gustavus Woodson Smith commanded the ANV on May 31,1862, with Smith seemingly having a nervous breakdown, President Jefferson Davis drafted orders to place Gen. Robert E. Lee in command the following day. In the first year of his command, Lee had two principal subordinate commanders, the right wing of the army was under the command of Lt. Gen. James Longstreet and the left wing under Lt. Gen. Thomas J. Stonewall Jackson. These wings were redesignated as the First Corps and Second Corps on November 6,1862. Following Jacksons death after the Battle of Chancellorsville, Lee reorganized the army into three corps on May 30,1863, under Longstreet, Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell, and Lt. Gen. A. P. Hill. A Fourth Corps, under Lt. Gen. Richard H. Anderson, was organized on October 19,1864, on April 8,1865, the commanders of the first three corps changed frequently in 1864 and 1865
15.
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
16.
Battle of the Wilderness
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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
17.
Battle of Yellow Tavern
–
The Battle of Yellow Tavern was fought on May 11,1864, as part of the Overland Campaign of the American Civil War. Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan was detached from the Army of the Potomac to conduct a raid on Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate force was outnumbered and outgunned and Stuart was mortally wounded while attempting to rally his men, dying the next day. The Overland Campaign was Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grants 1864 offensive against Gen. Robert E. Lees Army of Northern Virginia, the two had fought an inconclusive battle at the Wilderness and were engaged in heavy fighting at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. Up to this point, Union cavalry commander Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan was dissatisfied with his role in the campaign and his Cavalry Corps was assigned to the Army of the Potomac, under Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, who reported to Grant. On May 8,1864, Sheridan went over Meades head and told Grant that if his Cavalry Corps were let loose to operate as an independent unit, he could defeat Jeb Stuart, Grant was intrigued and convinced Meade of the value of Sheridans request. On May 9, the most powerful cavalry force ever seen in the Eastern Theater—over 10,000 troopers with 32 artillery pieces—rode to the southeast to move behind Lees army. The Union cavalry column, which at times stretched for over 13 miles, Stuart moved his 4,500 troopers to get between Sheridan and Richmond. The two forces met at noon on May 11 at Yellow Tavern, an inn located 6 miles north of Richmond. Not only did the Union outnumber the Confederates by three divisions to two brigades, it had superior firepower—all were armed with rapid-firing Spencer carbines, the Confederate troopers tenaciously resisted from the low ridgeline bordering the road to Richmond, fighting for over three hours. A countercharge by the 1st Virginia Cavalry pushed the advancing Union troopers back from the hilltop as Stuart, mounted on horseback, Stuart died in Richmond the following day. The fighting kept up for an hour after Stuart was wounded, the Union cavalrymen suffered 625 casualties, but they captured 300 Confederate prisoners and recovered almost 400 Union prisoners. Sheridan disengaged his men and headed south toward Richmond, although tempted to burst through the modest defenses to the north of the city, they continued south across the Chickahominy River to link up with Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butlers force on the James River. After resupplying with Butler, Sheridans men returned to join Grant at Chesterfield Station on May 24, Sheridans raid achieved a victory against a numerically inferior opponent at Yellow Tavern, but accomplished little overall. The Longest Night, A Military History of the Civil War, new York, Simon & Schuster,2001. Longacre, Edward G. Lincolns Cavalrymen, A History of the Mounted Forces of the Army of the Potomac, the Battles for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern May 7–12,1864. Baton Rouge, Louisiana State University Press,1997, the Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide. The Gallant Dead, Union & Confederate Generals Killed in the Civil War, the Union Cavalry in the Civil War. Vol.2, The War in the East from Gettysburg to Appomattox 1863–1865, baton Rouge, Louisiana State University Press,1981
18.
Battle of Meadow Bridge
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The Battle of Meadow Bridge was an engagement on May 12,1864, in Henrico County, Virginia, during Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grants Overland Campaign of the American Civil War. Following their victory at the Battle of Yellow Tavern on May 11, on May 11,1864, Sheridan and his Union cavalry force, on the second day of a daring raid against Richmond, defeated Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart at the Battle of Yellow Tavern, mortally wounding the storied Confederate cavalier, Sheridan led his troops southward towards Richmond, carefully feeling his way through the abandoned outer defensive works. As darkness fell, a severe thunderstorm drenched the column, but Sheridan kept up his movement down the Brook Pike, Confederates had left torpedoes in the road—many exploded during the passage, killing several horses but not delaying the column further. As dawn broke and the storm subsided, Sheridan found himself only two and half miles from his objective, however, to his dismay, the intermediate defenses in his front swarmed with enemy troops. His left flank was against the swollen Chickahominy, and Confederate cavalry threatened his rear, Sheridan decided to force a crossing of the river at Meadow Bridge, where the Virginia Central Railroad crossed the river. Confederates had earlier dismantled the flooring on the part of the bridge, rendering it temporarily useless. Sheridan assigned the Michigan brigade of Brig. Gen. George A. Custer, part of Brig. Gen. Wesley Merritts division, to seize the span, the rest of Sheridans command had to hold the Confederates at bay while Custer executed his orders. The other two brigades in Merritts division, commanded by Colonels Thomas C, devin and Alfred Gibbs, guarded the center of the Union line to protect against Confederate advances out of the Richmond fortifications. On the western end of the Union line, near Brook Church, on the eastern end, Brig. Gen. James H. Wilson was to oppose any Confederate advances along Meadow Bridge road and Mechanicsville Pike. The rearguard of the Greggs division was assailed on three sides as soon as it was enough for a brigade of Confederate infantry to sally forth from the fortifications. Soon, other Confederates, including Richmond citizens hastily pressed into military service, according to the regimental historian of the veteran 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry, Every effort was made by the enemy to break the lines of our division and push us back into the river and swamp. But as often as he came up, he was back with heavy loss. The fighting continued thus, the charging, time after time, only to be hurled back, until about eleven A. M. when, apparently completely disheartened by his repeated repulses. Wilsons men were pushed back in some confusion, but Gregg had concealed a heavy line of skirmishers armed with repeating carbines in a brushy ravine. His men poured forth a destructive fire, halting the final Confederate advances, Brig. Gen. Gordon was mortally wounded in the fighting and died on May 18. Followed by the 6th Michigan, they succeeded in the afternoon in clearing the north bank of the Chickahominy. By mid-afternoon, Merritts entire division had crossed and engaged the hastily built Confederate works on Richmond Heights, by 4 p. m. the rest of Sheridans cavalry had crossed the river
19.
Battle of North Anna
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The Battle of North Anna was fought May 23–26,1864, as part of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grants Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lees Army of Northern Virginia. It consisted of a series of small actions near the North Anna River in central Virginia, the individual actions are sometimes separately known as, Telegraph Road Bridge and Jericho Mills, Ox Ford, Quarles Mill, and Hanover Junction. After disengaging from the stalemate at Spotsylvania Court House, Grant moved his army to the southeast and he lost the race to Lees next defensive position south of the North Anna River, but Lee was unsure of Grants intention and initially prepared no significant defensive works. Grant initially fell into this trap, unfortunately for the Confederates, Lee was disabled with an intestinal illness and none of his subordinates were able to execute his planned attack. 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, but the destruction of Lees army. President Abraham Lincoln had long advocated this strategy for his generals, 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 and equipment. On May 5, after Grants army crossed the Rapidan River 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, Grant had not destroyed Lees army. Elements of Lees army beat the Union army to the crossroads of Spotsylvania Court House. 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. 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. In the end, the battle was inconclusive, but with almost 32,000 casualties on both sides, it was the costliest battle of the campaign. Grant planned to end the stalemate by once again shifting around Lees right flank to the southeast, Grants Union forces totaled approximately 68,000 men, depleted from the start of the campaign by battle losses, illnesses, and expired enlistments
20.
Battle of Haw's Shop
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Grant abandoned the stalemate following the Battle of North Anna by once again swinging widely around Lees right flank, using the Pamunkey River to screen his movements to the southwest. Lees army moved south and took up positions on the southern bank of Totopotomoy Creek. The Confederate general sent a force under Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton to collect intelligence about Grants next moves. On May 28, Hamptons troopers encountered Union cavalry under Brig. Gen. David McM, fighting predominately dismounted and utilizing earthworks for protection, neither side achieved an advantage. The seven-hour battle was inconclusive, but it was the significant cavalry engagement of the Overland Campaign. Union Cavalry Corps commander Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan bragged that his men had driven Hampton from the field, following the Battle of North Anna, Grant and Lee were again stalemated in their opposing earthworks. He chose to move directly east and cross the Pamunkey River, if he had moved directly south, he would have been forced to cross three rivers, the Little River, the New Found, and the South Anna, minor obstacles that Lee would have to navigate instead. Before he could move, however, Grant was faced with the problem of disengaging from Lees army, not only were the armies closely situated, Grants had to withdraw initially north over the North Anna, a situation in which it would be very vulnerable to attack. Grant decided on a series of measures to disguise his intentions. On May 26, he sent a division under Brig. Gen. James H. Wilson to Little River, probing the western end of the Confederate line. Alfred T. A. Torbert and David McM. Gregg were sent to the Little Page Bridge, the Union infantry withdrew stealthily after dark on May 26 and by the morning of May 27 all were safely north of the North Anna. Once Lee recognized that his opponent had departed, he moved his army swiftly in response and his three corps under Maj. Gen. Richard H. Anderson and Lt. Gens. There, his men would be well-positioned behind a stream known as Totopotomoy Creek to defend against Grant if he moved against the railroads or Richmond. He also sent a brigade of North Carolina cavalry down the southern bank of the Pamunkey to scout. During the march, Lees illness forced him to ride in a carriage, ewell was also laid up with a similar illness and rode in an ambulance, his condition was serious enough that he was temporarily replaced in command by Maj. Gen. Jubal Early. On May 27, Union cavalry established a bridgehead over Dabneys Ford on the side of the Pamunkey River. Brig. Gen. George A. Custers Michigan cavalry brigade scattered the mounted Confederate pickets guarding the ford, the Confederates withdrew under the pressure of superior numbers. The rest of Torberts division then crossed the river, followed by Greggs cavalry division, Lee ordered cavalry under Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton to make a reconnaissance in force, break through the Union cavalry screen, and find the Union infantry
21.
Battle of Totopotomoy Creek
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Robert E. Rodes and Stephen Dodson Ramseur drove the Union troops back to Shady Grove Road, but Ramseurs advance was stopped by a fierce stand of infantry and artillery fire. After the inconclusive battle, the Union army resumed its moves to the southeast and it traveled southeast on the north bank of the Pamunkey River, hoping to find the appropriate place to break through Lees lines. On May 27, Union cavalry established a bridgehead on the side of the river. As Grants infantry crossed, cavalry divisions from both armies fought to a standstill at the Battle of Haws Shop on May 28, Lees army was in precarious shape as it stood in entrenchments behind Totopotomoy Creek. They were also short on men, beauregard send him reinforcements from his 12, 000-man army, sitting relatively idle as they bottled up Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butlers army at Bermuda Hundred. Beauregard initially refused Lees request, citing the threat from Butler. Lee was determined despite this disappointment, and despite the persistence of his recent dysentery at North Anna and he wrote to President Davis, If General Grant advances tomorrow I will engage him with my present force. On May 29, Grants army advanced southwest to confront Lee, since most of his cavalry was occupied elsewhere, he decided to use infantry for a reconnaissance in force. The II Corps of Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock followed the Richmond–Hanovertown Road to the creek, finding that Lee was firmly entrenched on the far bank, Hancocks men began digging in. The V Corps, under Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren, extended the II Corps line to the left, placing Brig. Gen. Charles Griffins division across the creek onto Shady Grove Road. Maj. Gen. Horatio G. Wrights VI Corps was sent northwest from Hanovertown toward Hanover Court House, led by Brig. Gen. David A. Russells division. Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsides IX Corps was in reserve near Haws Shop and Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridans Cavalry Corps was far to the Union left, near Old Church. The Confederate line, from left to right, consisted of the corps of Lt. Gen. A. P. Hill, the independent division of Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge, just returned from the Shenandoah Valley, and the corps of Maj. Gen. Richard H. Anderson, no action beyond minor skirmishing occurred during the day. The battle would be fought along Totopotomoy Creek, near the 1862 battlefield of Gaines Mill, at Hanover, Grant began a general advance on May 30. Wrights advance became bogged down in the land near Crumps Creek. Hancocks skirmishers captured some of Breckinridges rifle pits, but made progress against the main Confederate line. Maj. Gen. George G. Meade ordered Burnsides reserve corps to assist Hancock, on the Union left, Warren moved the rest of his V Corps across the creek and deployed on Shady Grove Road
22.
Battle of Old Church
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After sharp dismounted fighting, the outnumbered Confederates were driven back to within 1.5 miles of Old Cold Harbor, which preceded the Union capture of that important crossroads the following day. Gen. William F. Baldy Smiths XVIII Corps were expected to travel, Sheridan initially paid little attention to Warrens requests because he still harbored ill feelings from arguments the two generals had at the beginning of the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, commander of the Army of the Potomac, had also quarreled frequently with both Sheridan and Warren and therefore stayed out of this dispute between them. However, as Warrens requests became more urgent, Sheridan agreed to screen roads leading to Warrens left flank, Torbert delegated the responsibility to the brigade of Col. Thomas C. Devin, which was encamped at the Old Church crossroads, as instructions passed through this chain of command, they became garbled. Rather than patrolling the Old Church Road to the west as desired by Warren, meanwhile, unbeknownst to Sheridan, Robert E. Lee was concerned about the critical road intersection at Old Cold Harbor, only six miles from the Confederate capital of Richmond. He dispatched Brig. Gen. Matthew C. Butlers brigade of 2,000 troopers from Mechanicsville to determine whether the intersection was threatened. Butler took with him the 4th and 5th South Carolina Cavalry regiments from his own brigade and the brigade of Brig. Gen. Martin W. Gary. Devin sent in two squadrons from the 17th Pennsylvania and Maj. Coe Durland led them in a charge that restored the original Union picket line position. Assuming that he faced only a force, Devin provided no more reinforcements. However, at 3 p. m. an attack by Butlers main force overwhelmed the Union pickets, Devin deployed two additional regiments on either side of the Pennsylvanians—the 6th New York to the right and the 9th New York to the left. Butler deployed the 4th South Carolina to the west of the road, facing the 6th New York, and he left the 7th South Carolina in reserve. As Torbert surveyed the scene, he realized that three regiments would be insufficient to resist the Confederate brigade, so he ordered the rest of his division to move up. Brig. Gen. Wesley Merritts reserve brigade was the first to arrive, and his 2nd U. S. Cavalry regiment replaced the 17th Pennsylvania, which had run low on ammunition, in the center of the line. On the right end of the Union line, the 6th New York and the 2nd U. S. pushed back the 4th South Carolina, the Confederates built breastworks out of logs from Liggans farm. On the left end, the 9th New York met heavy resistance from the 5th South Carolina, merritt attempted to outflank the Confederate position with the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry, commanded by Capt. Charles L. Leiper. Although they managed to cross the creek to the left of the 9th New York, they were stopped in heavy combat with the South Carolinians. The stalemate was broken by the arrival of the Union brigade under Brig. Gen. George A. Custer and he deployed his 5th Michigan on the right of Bottoms Bridge Road, the 1st and 7th Michigan on the left, and the 6th Michigan in reserve
23.
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
24.
Battle of 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
25.
Battle of Saint Mary's Church
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On June 24, the Confederate cavalry under Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton attacked the column of Brig. Gen. David McM. Greggs division at St. Marys Church, following the Battle of Trevilian Station, Sheridans cavalry began to return on June 13 from their unsuccessful raid against the Virginia Central Railroad. They crossed the North Anna River at Carpenters Ford and then headed on the Catharpin Road in the direction of Spotsylvania Court House. On June 16 the column passed through Bowling Green and, traveling along the bank of the Mattaponi River, arrived at King. While Sheridans men were off on their raid, Grants army had begun moving from Cold Harbor to cross the James River for an attack against Petersburg. In conjunction with this move, Grant ordered that his supply base be moved from White House on the Pamunkey River to City Point on the James. Hamptons Confederate cavalry left Trevilian Station and followed Sheridan on roughly parallel roads to the south and his force consisted of Brig. Gen. Matthew C. Butlers and Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Rossers brigades from his own division, Brig. Gen. Williams C. Wickhams brigade from Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lees division, and he added a newly formed cavalry brigade under Brig. Gen. Martin W. Gary. On June 20, Fitz Lee attempted to attack the Union supply depot at White House, on June 21, Sheridan crossed over the Pamunkey River, broke through the Confederate cordon at St. Peters Church, and led 900 wagons toward the James River. Sheridan headed toward Deep Bottom on his way to link up with Union infantry at Bermuda Hundred, near Westover Church, Union Brig. Gen. Alfred T. A. Torberts division was stalled by Confederate resistance. On June 24, Brig. Gen. David McM, Greggs division occupied a covering position near Samaria Church, on the road to Charles City, while Sheridan ferried Torberts division and the supply train across the James at Douthats Landing. On June 24, Torberts division continued to escort the wagons toward Harrisons Landing on the James as Greggs division followed a parallel route, torbert encountered Brig. Gen. Lunsford L. Lomaxs brigade near the Charles City Court House and drove it back. Greggs brigade under Brig. Gen. Henry E. Davies, Jr. arrived in the vicinity of Samaria Church, a charge by the 2nd Pennsylvania Cavalry pushed the pickets to the north and Daviess brigade entrenched to the west of the intersection. Davies took up the flank of the line and Col. J. Irvin Gregg the left. Hamptons force approached and prepared to attack dismounted, while simultaneously entrenching, from 3 to 4 p. m. Hamptons five brigades attacked Greggs two. The pressure was too great on the Union cavalrymen and they began to withdraw down the road to Charles City Court House, one of the Confederates wrote, The enemy position was a strong one. Except for the men left behind, Greggs division escaped relatively intact, among the prisoners was Col. Pennock Huey of the 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Casualties were about 350 Union,250 Confederate, having been blocked by Hamptons cavalry, Sheridan withdrew on June 25 and moved through Charles City Court House to Douthats Landing, where the trains crossed the James on flatboats
26.
Lieutenant general (United States)
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In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and the United States Air Force, lieutenant general is a three-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-9. Lieutenant general ranks above major general and below general, Lieutenant general is equivalent to the rank of vice admiral in the other uniformed services. The United States Code explicitly limits the number of generals that may be concurrently active to 230 for the Army,60 for the Marine Corps. For the Army and Air Force, no more than about 25% of the active duty general officers may have more than two stars. Some of these slots can be reserved by statute, officers serving in certain intelligence positions are not counted against either limit, including the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The President may also add three-star slots to one if they are offset by removing an equivalent number from other services. Finally, all statutory limits may be waived at the presidents discretion during time of war or national emergency, the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy is almost always a U. S. Army lieutenant general, either upon appointment or shortly thereafter. The three-star grade goes hand-in-hand with the position of office to which it is linked, officers may only achieve three-star grade if they are appointed to positions that require the officer to hold such a rank. Their rank expires with the expiration of their term of office, the nominee must be confirmed via majority vote by the Senate before the appointee can take office and thus assume the rank. The standard tour length for most lieutenant general positions is three years but some are set four or more years by statute, some statutory limits under the U. S. Code can be waived in times of national emergency or war. Three-star ranks may also be given by act of Congress but this is extremely rare, other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement. Lieutenant generals must retire after 38 years of service unless appointed for promotion or reappointed to grade to serve longer, otherwise all general officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday. However, the Secretary of Defense can defer a three-star officers retirement until the officers 66th birthday, General officers typically retire well in advance of the statutory age and service limits, so as not to impede the upward career mobility of their juniors. Since there is a number of three-star slots available to each service. Additionally, lieutenant generals of all services serve as staff officers at various major command headquarters and The Pentagon. Currently, five women serve as lieutenant generals in the US Army, in theory, a general vacates their three or four-star rank at termination of their assignment unless placed in an equal ranking billet. Douglas MacArthur, who served as general and Army Chief of Staff. Even with the status, such officers are also almost always granted permanent retirement in the last grade they held with the satisfactory completion of at least two or three years in grade
27.
Confederate States Army
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The Confederate States Army was the military ground force of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. S. Military Academy and colonel of a regiment during the Mexican War. In March 1861, the Provisional Confederate Congress established a more permanent Confederate States Army, the better estimates of the number of individual Confederate soldiers are between 750,000 and 1,000,000 men. This does not include a number of slaves who were pressed into performing various tasks for the army, such as construction of fortifications. Since these figures include estimates of the number of individual soldiers who served at any time during the war. These numbers do not include men who served in Confederate naval forces, although most of the soldiers who fought in the American Civil War were volunteers, both sides by 1862 resorted to conscription, primarily as a means to force men to register and to volunteer. In the absence of records, estimates of the percentage of Confederate soldiers who were draftees are about double the 6 percent of Union soldiers who were conscripts. Confederate casualty figures also are incomplete and unreliable, one estimate of Confederate wounded, which is considered incomplete, is 194,026. These numbers do not include men who died from causes such as accidents. Other Confederate forces surrendered between April 16,1865 and June 28,1865, by the end of the war, more than 100,000 Confederate soldiers had deserted. The Confederacys government effectively dissolved when it fled Richmond in April, by the time Abraham Lincoln took office as President of the United States on March 4,1861, the seven seceding slave states had formed the Confederate States. The Confederacy seized federal property, including nearly all U. S. Army forts, Lincoln was determined to hold the forts remaining under U. S. control when he took office, especially Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. Under orders from Confederate President Jefferson Davis, C. S. troops under the command of General P. G. T, Beauregard bombarded Fort Sumter on April 12–13,1861, forcing its capitulation on April 14. The Northern states were outraged by the Confederacys attack and demanded war and it rallied behind Lincolns call on April 15, for all the states to send troops to recapture the forts from the secessionists, to put down the rebellion and to preserve the Union intact. Four more slave states joined the Confederacy. The Confederate Congress provided for a Confederate army patterned after the United States Army and it was to consist of a large provisional force to exist only in time of war and a small permanent regular army. Although the two forces were to exist concurrently, very little was done to organize the Confederate regular army, the Provisional Army of the Confederate States began organizing on April 27. Virtually all regular, volunteer, and conscripted men preferred to enter this organization since officers could achieve a rank in the Provisional Army than they could in the Regular Army
28.
General officers in the Confederate States Army
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The general officers of the Confederate States Army were the senior military leaders of the Confederacy during the American Civil War of 1861–1865. They were often former officers from the United States Army prior to the Civil War, most Confederate generals needed confirmation from the Confederate Congress, much like prospective generals in the modern U. S. armed forces. Much of the design of the Confederate States Army was based on the structure, the Confederate Army was composed of three parts, the Army of the Confederate States of America, the Provisional Army of the Confederate States, and the various Southern state militias. Graduates from West Point and Mexican War veterans were highly sought after by Jefferson Davis for military service, like their Federal counterparts, the Confederate Army had both professional and political generals within it. Ranks throughout the CSA were roughly based on the U. S. Army in design and seniority. On February 27,1861, a staff for the army was authorized, consisting of four positions, an adjutant general, a quartermaster general, a commissary general. Initially the last of these was to be a staff officer only, the post of adjutant general was filled by Samuel Cooper and he held it throughout the Civil War, as well as the armys inspector general. As officers were appointed to the grades of general by Jefferson Davis. The dates of rank, as well as seniority of officers appointed to the grade on the same day, were determined by Davis usually following the guidelines established for the prewar U. S. Army. These generals were most often infantry or cavalry brigade commanders, aides to other higher ranking generals, and War Department staff officers. By wars end the Confederacy had at least 383 different men who held this rank in the PACS, the organization of regiments into brigades was authorized by the Congress on March 6,1861. Brigadier generals would command them, and these generals were to be nominated by Davis and these generals also often led sub-districts within military departments, with command over soldiers in their sub-district. These generals outranked Confederate Army colonels, who commonly led infantry regiments and this rank is equivalent to brigadier general in the modern U. S. army. These generals were most commonly infantry division commanders, aides to other higher ranking generals and they also led the districts that made up military departments, and had command over the troops in their districts. By wars end, the Confederacy had at least 88 different men who had held this rank, divisions were authorized by the Congress on March 6,1861, and major generals would command them. These generals were to be nominated by Davis and confirmed by the Senate, Major generals outranked brigadiers and all other lesser officers. This rank was not synonymous with the Unions use of it, as Northern major generals led divisions, corps and this rank is equivalent in most respects to major general in the modern U. S. Army. All of the Confederacys lieutenant generals were in the PACS, the Congress legalized the creation of army corps on September 18,1862, and directed that lieutenant generals lead them
29.
Union Army
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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
30.
Major general (United States)
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In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general, a major general typically commands division-sized units of 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers. Major general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the United States Navy. The United States Code explicitly limits the number of general officers that may be on active duty at any given time. The total number of active duty general officers is capped at 231 for the Army,61 for the Marine Corps, some of these slots are reserved or finitely set by statute. This promotion board then generates a list of officers it recommends for promotion to general rank and this list is then sent to the service secretary and the Joint Chiefs of Staff for review before it can be sent to the President, through the Secretary of Defense for consideration. The President nominates officers to be promoted from this list with the advice of the Secretary of Defense, the secretary, and if applicable. The President may nominate any eligible officer who is not on the recommended list if it serves in the interest of the nation, the Senate must then confirm the nominee by a majority vote before the officer can be promoted. Once confirmed, the nominee is promoted to rank on assuming a position of office that requires an officer to hold the rank. For positions of office that are reserved by statute, the President nominates an officer for appointment to fill that position, since the grade of major general is permanent, the rank does not expire when the officer vacates a two-star position. Tour length varies depending on the position, by statute, and/or when the officer receives a new assignment or a promotion, in the case of the Air National Guard, they may also serve as The Adjutant General for their state, commonwealth or territory. Other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement of general officers, all major generals must retire after five years in grade or 35 years of service, whichever is later, unless appointed for promotion or reappointed to grade to serve longer. Otherwise, all officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday. However, the Secretary of Defense may defer a general officers retirement until the officers 66th birthday, because there are a finite number of General Officer positions, one officer must retire before another can be promoted. As a result, general officers typically retire well in advance of the age and service limits. The rank of general was abolished in the U. S. Army by the Act of March 16,1802. Major general has been a rank in the U. S. Army ever since, to address this anomaly, Washington was posthumously promoted by Congress to the rank of General of the Armies of the United States in 1976. The position of Major General Commanding the Army was entitled to three stars according to General Order No.6 of March 13,1861
31.
Gouverneur K. Warren
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Gouverneur Kemble Warren was a civil engineer and Union Army general during the American Civil War. He is best remembered for arranging the last-minute defense of Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg and is referred to as the Hero of Little Round Top. Warren was born in Cold Spring, Putnam County, New York, and named for Gouverneur Kemble, a prominent local Congressman, diplomat, industrialist and his sister, Emily Warren Roebling, would later play a significant role in the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. He entered the United States Military Academy at age 16 and graduated second in his class of 44 cadets in 1850 and he was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the Corps of Topographical Engineers. In the antebellum years he worked on the Mississippi River, on transcontinental railroad surveys and he served as the engineer on William S. Harneys Battle of Ash Hollow in the Nebraska Territory in 1855, where he saw his first combat. He took part in studies of possible railroad routes, creating the first comprehensive map of the United States west of the Mississippi in 1857. This required extensive explorations of the vast Nebraska Territory, including Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, part of Montana, one region he surveyed was the Minnesota River Valley, a valley much larger than what would be expected from the low-flow Minnesota River. In some places the valley is 5 miles wide and 250 feet deep, Warren first explained the hydrology of the region in 1868, attributing the gorge to a massive river, which drained Lake Agassiz between 11,700 and 9,400 years ago. The great river was named glacial River Warren in his honor after his death, at the start of the war, Warren was a first lieutenant and mathematics instructor at the United States Military Academy at West Point, across the Hudson River from his hometown. He helped raise a regiment for service in the Union Army and was appointed lieutenant colonel of the 5th New York Infantry on May 14,1861. Warren and his regiment saw their first combat at the Battle of Big Bethel in Virginia on June 10 and he was promoted to colonel and regimental commander on September 10. He commanded a brigade during the Seven Days Battles and was wounded in the knee at the Battle of Gaines Mill, at the Battle of Malvern Hill, his brigade stopped the attack of a Confederate division. Warren was promoted to general on September 26,1862. When Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker reorganized the Army of the Potomac in February 1863, he named Warren his chief topographical engineer, as chief engineer, Warren was commended for his service in the Battle of Chancellorsville. At the start of the Gettysburg Campaign, as Confederate General Robert E. Lee began his invasion of Pennsylvania, Warren suffered a minor neck wound during the Confederate assault. On March 13,1865, he was brevetted to major general in the army for his actions at Bristoe Station. During the Mine Run Campaign, Warrens corps was ordered to attack Lees army, although initially angry at Warren, Meade acknowledged that he had been right. During these Virginia campaigns, Warren established a reputation of bringing his engineering traits of deliberation and caution to the role of infantry corps commander
32.
John Sedgwick
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John Sedgwick was a teacher, a career military officer, and a Union Army general in the American Civil War. He was wounded three times at the Battle of Antietam while leading his division in an assault, causing him to miss the Battle of Fredericksburg. Under his command, the VI Corps played an important role in the Chancellorsville Campaign by engaging Confederate troops at the Second Battle of Fredericksburg and his corps was the last to arrive at the Battle of Gettysburg, and thus did not see much action. He is well remembered for his ironic last words, They couldnt hit an elephant at this distance, Sedgwick was born in the Litchfield Hills town of Cornwall, Connecticut. He was named after his grandfather, John Sedgwick, an American Revolutionary War general who served with George Washington. S and he fought in the Seminole Wars and received two brevet promotions in the Mexican-American War, to captain for Contreras and Churubusco, and to major for Chapultepec. After returning from Mexico he transferred to the cavalry and served in Kansas, in the Utah War, in the summer and fall of 1860, Sedgwick commanded an expedition to establish a new fort on the Platte River in what is now Colorado. This was a location with no railroads, and all supplies having to be carried long distances by riverboat. Even though many of these failed to arrive, Sedgwick still managed to erect comfortable stone buildings for his men before the cold weather set in. At the start of the American Civil War, Sedgwick was serving as a colonel and he missed the early action of the war at the First Battle of Bull Run, recovering from cholera. In Virginia, he fought at Yorktown and Seven Pines and was wounded in the arm and he was promoted to major general on July 4,1862. In the Battle of Antietam, II Corps commander Maj. Gen. Edwin V, sumner impulsively sent Sedgwicks division in a mass assault without proper reconnaissance. His division was engaged by Confederate forces under Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Stonewall Jackson from three sides, was routed, and fell back with half the men it had started with. Sedgwick himself was hit by three bullets, in the wrist, leg, and shoulder, and was out of action until after the Battle of Fredericksburg. From December 26,1862, he led the II Corps and the IX Corps, and then finally the VI Corps of the Army of the Potomac. During the Battle of Chancellorsville, his corps faced Fredericksburg in a holding action while Maj. Gen. Joseph Hookers other four corps maneuvered against Robert E. Lees left flank. He was slow to action, but eventually crossed the Rappahannock River. At the Battle of Gettysburg, his corps arrived late on July 2 and it was not kept together as a unit during the second and third days of the battle, its brigades scattered around to plug holes in the line. In the 1864 Overland Campaign, the VI Corps was on the Union right at the Battle of the Wilderness, Sedgwick fell at the beginning of the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, on May 9,1864
33.
Richard H. Anderson
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Richard Heron Anderson was a career U. S. Army officer, fighting with distinction in the Mexican-American War. He also served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, fighting in the Eastern Theater of the conflict, Anderson was also noted for his humility. Anderson was born in the High Hills of Santee at Borough House Plantation, near the town of Stateburg located in Sumter County, South Carolina. He was the son of Dr. William Wallace Anderson and his wife, Mary Jane Mackensie, Anderson graduated 40th out of 56 cadets from the United States Military Academy in July 1842, and was brevetted a second lieutenant in the 1st U. S. Dragoons. He served the school for practice at the U. S. Army Barracks in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Anderson spent 1843 on frontier duty in the American West, serving first at Little Rock, Arkansas and his regiment escorted the U. S. Indian Agent to Red River in 1843, and then returned to Fort Washita, remaining there until 1844. Anderson was promoted to lieutenant on July 16,1844. His regiment then joined the expedition for the occupation of Texas in 1845. In the Mexican-American War, Anderson took part in the Siege of Veracruz in March 1847 and he fought in the Battle of Contreras on August 19, the skirmish near San Agustin Altapulco the following day, and the Battle of Molino del Rey on September 8. For gallantry during the fighting near San Agustin, he was brevetted to the rank of first lieutenant as of August 17, Anderson also participated in the fight for and capture of Mexico City from September 12–14. After Mexico, Anderson was promoted to first lieutenant in the 2nd U. S. Dragoons on July 13,1848, was again on recruiting duty in 1849 and he returned to the Carlisle Barracks from 1849 to 1850, and then was recruiting once more until 1852. Next came frontier duty in several Texas installations, including at Fort Graham in 1852 to 1853, at Fort McKavett from 1853 to 1854, at San Antonio in 1854, and at Fort McKavett in 1855. He was promoted to captain on March 3,1855, and was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas, Anderson was still serving in Kansas during the border troubles of 1856 and 1857, then was recruiting as well as his last stint at the Carlisle Barracks in 1858. He participated in the Utah War of 1858 and 1859, and was on duty at Fort Kearny, Nebraska, Anderson chose to follow his home state and the Confederate cause, and he resigned from the U. S. Army to enter service with the Confederate Army. Anderson accepted a commission as colonel of the 1st South Carolina Regulars as of January 28 and he was given command of the Charleston harbor area after the capture of Fort Sumter that April. He was promoted to general on July 19 and transferred to Pensacola, Florida. After recovering, Anderson joined the Confederate Army of the Potomac in February 1862 as a brigade commander. During the Peninsula Campaign, he distinguished himself at the Battle of Williamsburg in May, during the Battle of Seven Pines, at Glendale, he took temporary command of Maj. Gen. James Longstreets division
34.
Salient (military)
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A salient is a battlefield feature that projects into enemy territory. The salient is surrounded by the enemy on three sides, making the occupying the salient vulnerable. The enemys line facing a salient is referred to as a re-entrant, a deep salient is vulnerable to being pinched out across the base, forming a pocket in which the defenders of the salient become isolated. On the other hand, a breakout from the tip can threaten the defenders rear areas. Salients can be formed in a number of ways, an attacker would usually produce a salient in his own line by making a broad, frontal attack that is successful only in the centre, which becomes the tip of the salient. In trench warfare, salients are distinctly defined by the lines of trenches. The static nature of the trenches meant that forming a pocket was difficult, sickles had held a similar position at Catherines Furnace in the Battle of Chancellorsville two months earlier, and in both cases his corps was badly mauled and had to be rescued by other units. The trench line bulged forward to protect a piece of high ground, Union troops concentrated their attack on this point, broke through, and 22 hours of brutal, hand-to-hand fighting ensued before the Confederates pulled back to a new position. In World War I, the British occupied a salient at Ypres for most of the war. Formed as a result of the First Battle of Ypres, it one of the most bloody sectors of the Western Front. So enduring was the feature and so dreadful its reputation that when British infantry spoke of The Salient, a similar salient existed around the French city of Verdun, the Battle of Verdun around it cost both sides heavy casualties. Also in World War I, the Germans occupied a salient in front of Fromelles called the Sugarloaf due to its distinctive shape. Being small, it provided advantage to the occupiers by allowing them to enfilade the stretches of no land on either flank. In World War II, the Soviet Union occupied a massive,150 km deep salient at Kursk that became the site of the largest tank battle in history and a decisive battle on the Eastern Front. Also in World War II, the German Army launched an attack against advancing Allied forces in the Ardennes in December 1944. This battle created a large salient for several weeks, and is known as the Battle of the Bulge. During the Turkish military intervention on the island of Cyprus in 1974, the cease-fire line dividing Cyprus into Greek and Turkish-controlled sectors put Louroujina in a salient — accessible from the rest of Turkish Cypriot-controlled Cyprus by a single road. In mobile warfare, such as the German Blitzkrieg, salients were more likely to be made into pockets which became the focus of annihilation battles
35.
Emory Upton
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Army when it was published posthumously in 1904. Upton was born on a farm near Batavia, New York and he would become the brother-in-law of Andrew J. Alexander and of Frank P. Blair, Jr. He studied under famous evangelist Charles G. Finney at Oberlin College for two years before being admitted to the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1856, the two men fought with swords in a darkened room of the cadet barracks. Upton suffered a cut on his face and he graduated eighth in his class of 45 cadets on May 6,1861, just in time for the outbreak of the Civil War. Upton was commissioned a lieutenant in the 4th U. S. Artillery. Artillery as a first lieutenant on May 14, assigned to Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowells Army of Northeastern Virginia, as an aide-de-camp to Brig. Gen. Daniel Tyler. In the First Battle of Bull Run, July 21,1861, he was wounded in the arm and left side during the action at Blackburns Ford and he commanded his battery in the VI Corps Artillery Reserve through the 1862 Peninsula Campaign and the Seven Days Battles. In the Maryland Campaign, including the battles at Cramptons Gap at South Mountain, Upton was appointed colonel of the 121st New York on October 23,1862. In the Bristoe Campaign, Upton was cited for gallant service at Rappahannock Station in November 1863 and was given a promotion to major in the regular army. The standard infantry assault employed a wide battle line advancing more slowly, on May 10,1864, Upton led twelve regiments in such an assault against the Confederates Mule Shoe salient. His tactics worked and his command penetrated to the center of the Mule Shoe, Upton was wounded but not severely in the attack, but was promoted to brigadier general to rank from May 12. On that same day, Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock adapted Uptons columnar assault tactic to the entire II Corps to break through the Mule Shoe, on June 1st Uptons 2nd Brigade was engaged in the Battle of Cold Harbor where his units suffered some heavy losses. In late June 1864 he participated in the stages of the Siege of Petersburg. At the Third Battle of Winchester, Upton assumed command of the 1st Division, VI Corps, Upton himself was severely wounded in the thigh soon after, but refused to be removed from the field until the battle was over. He was carried on a stretcher for the duration of the battle and he received two brevet promotions for Winchester, colonel in the regular army and major general of volunteers. After returning from leave, Upton finished the war as a cavalry commander. Under the command of Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson, the division saw action during Wilsons Raid and the Battle of Selma. This occurred a week after the surrender of Robert E. Lees army in Virginia, a few weeks later, in May 1865, Upton was ordered to arrest Alexander Stephens, the vice president of the Confederacy, and a little later Jefferson Davis was placed in his custody
36.
Winfield Scott Hancock
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Winfield Scott Hancock was a career U. S. Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service in the Mexican-American War, known to his Army colleagues as Hancock the Superb, he was noted in particular for his personal leadership at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. One military historian wrote, No other Union general at Gettysburg dominated men by the force of their presence more completely than Hancock. As another wrote, his tactical skill had won him the admiration of adversaries who had come to know him as the Thunderbolt of the Army of the Potomac. His military service continued after the Civil War, as Hancock participated in the military Reconstruction of the South, Hancocks reputation as a war hero at Gettysburg, combined with his status as a Unionist and supporter of states rights, made him a potential presidential candidate. His noted integrity was a counterpoint to the corruption of the era, when the Democrats nominated him for President in 1880, he ran a strong campaign, but was narrowly defeated by Republican James A. Garfield. The twins were the sons of Benjamin Franklin Hancock and Elizabeth Hoxworth Hancock, Winfield was named after Winfield Scott, a prominent general in the War of 1812. The Hancock and Hoxworth families had lived in Montgomery County for several generations, Benjamin Hancock was a schoolteacher when his sons were born. A few years after their birth, he moved the family to Norristown, the county seat, Benjamin was also a deacon in the Baptist church and participated in municipal government. Hancock was at first educated at Norristown Academy, but removed to the schools when the first one opened in Norristown in the late 1830s. In 1840, Joseph Fornance, the local Congressman, nominated Hancock to the United States Military Academy at West Point, Hancocks progress at West Point was average. He graduated 18th in his class of 25 in 1844, Hancock was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 6th U. S. Infantry regiment, and initially was stationed in Indian Territory in the Red River Valley, the region was quiet at the time, and Hancocks time there was uneventful. Upon the outbreak of war with Mexico in 1846, Hancock worked to secure himself a place at the front, initially assigned to recruiting duties in Kentucky, he proved so adept at signing up soldiers that his superiors were reluctant to release him from his post. By July 1847, however, Hancock was permitted to join his regiment in Puebla, Mexico, scotts army moved farther inland from Puebla unopposed and attacked Mexico City from the south. During that campaign in 1847, Hancock first encountered battle at Contreras and he was appointed a brevet first lieutenant for gallant and meritorious service in those actions. Hancock was wounded in the knee at Churubusco and developed a fever, although he was well enough to join his regiment at Molino del Rey, fever kept Hancock from participating in the final breakthrough to Mexico City, something he would regret for the rest of his life. After the final victory, Hancock remained in Mexico with the 6th Infantry until the treaty of peace was signed in 1848, Hancock served in a number of assignments as an army quartermaster and adjutant, mostly in Fort Snelling, Minnesota and St. Louis, Missouri
37.
Horatio Wright
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Horatio Gouverneur Wright was an engineer and general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He took command of the VI Corps in May 1864 following the death of General John Sedgwick, Wright was born in Clinton, Connecticut, son of Edward and Nancy Wright. When he was 14 he entered Alden Partridges military academy in Vermont, in 1837 he entered West Point and graduated second in his class of 52 from the United States Military Academy in 1841 with a commission in the engineers. He taught engineering and French at West Point over the several years. He was sent to Florida in 1846, where he spent ten years working on the harbor of St. Augustine, in 1855, he was promoted to the rank of captain and served as assistant to Chief of Engineers Colonel Joseph G. Totten the following year. During this time, he was appointed as a member of a committee to study iron carriages for the construction of naval guns. He later co-wrote Report on Fabrication of Iron for Defenses based on his time on the board, after the start of the war, Wright took part in the evacuation and destruction of the Gosport Navy Yard on April 20,1861, to prevent its exploitation by Confederate forces. He was captured during this action, but was released four days later, Wright began constructing fortifications around Washington, D. C. before being assigned to the 3rd Division of the Department of Northeast Virginia under Maj. Gen. Samuel P. Heintzelman. Serving as Chief Engineer of the 3rd Division during the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21,1861, Wright was promoted to major in August. Promoted to brigadier general of volunteers the following month, Wright was assigned as Chief Engineer to Maj. Gen. Thomas W. Shermans November 1861 expedition against Port Royal and his successes while commanding Union troops in operations against Jacksonville, St. In this command he played a major role in the repulse of Confederate General Braxton Braggs invasion of Kentucky in 1862. His appointment as general was not confirmed by the Senate and was revoked in March 1863. As a brigadier general, he was not considered eligible to command a department, reporting to Burnside, Wright remained briefly as the commander of the District of Western Kentucky before returning to the East. In May 1863, Wright was given command of the 1st Division in the VI Corps of the Army of the Potomac under Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick and his first battle in division command was Gettysburg in July 1863, where his corps was held in reserve. The corps saw action at Mine Run in November 1863, Wrights corps fought at Cold Harbor from June 3 to June 12,1864. During the defense of Fort Stevens, he gained notoriety by inviting President Abraham Lincoln to join him on a parapet exposed to enemy fire, (A young lieutenant, Oliver Wendell Holmes, is often said to be responsible for yelling at the president to get under cover. In George Thomas Stevenss post-war history of the VI Corps, Wright related to Thomas that he himself was the person who shouted at the president to get down. Wright commanded the VI Corps again during Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridans Shenandoah Valley campaign from August 6 to October 16,1864, Wright directed fighting at Cedar Creek on October 19 before General Sheridans arrival
38.
Ambrose Burnside
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Ambrose Everett Burnside was an American soldier, railroad executive, inventor, industrialist, and politician from Rhode Island, serving as governor and a United States Senator. His distinctive style of facial hair became known as sideburns, derived from his last name and he was also the first president of the National Rifle Association. Burnside was born in Liberty, Indiana and was the fourth of nine children of Edghill and Pamela Brown Burnside and his great-great-grandfather Robert Burnside was born in Scotland and settled in the Province of South Carolina. His father was a native of South Carolina, he was an owner who freed his slaves when he relocated to Indiana. Ambrose attended Liberty Seminary as a boy, but his education was interrupted when his mother died in 1841, he was apprenticed to a local tailor. He graduated in 1847, ranking 18th in a class of 47 and he traveled to Veracruz for the Mexican–American War, but he arrived after hostilities had ceased and performed mostly garrison duty around Mexico City. In 1849, he was wounded by an arrow in his neck during a skirmish against Apaches in Las Vegas and he was promoted to 1st lieutenant on December 12,1851. In 1852, he was assigned to Fort Adams, Newport, Rhode Island, the marriage lasted until Marys death in 1876, but it was childless. In October 1853, Burnside resigned his commission in the United States Army and he devoted his time and energy to the manufacture of the famous firearm that bears his name, the Burnside carbine. President Buchanans Secretary of War John B, Floyd contracted the Burnside Arms Company to equip a large portion of the Army with his carbine, mostly cavalry, and induced him to establish extensive factories for its manufacture. The Bristol Rifle Works were no sooner complete than another gunmaker allegedly bribed Floyd to break his $100,000 contract with Burnside, Burnside ran as a Democrat for one of the Congressional seats in Rhode Island in 1858 and was defeated in a landslide. The burdens of the campaign and the destruction by fire of his contributed to his financial ruin. He then went west in search of employment and became treasurer of the Illinois Central Railroad, McClellan, who later became one of his commanding officers. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Burnside was a general in the Rhode Island Militia. He raised the 1st Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and was appointed its colonel on May 2,1861, two companies of this regiment were then armed with Burnside Carbines. Within a month, he ascended to command in the Department of Northeast Virginia. He commanded the brigade without distinction at the First Battle of Bull Run in July, and took over division command temporarily for wounded Brig. Gen. David Hunter. His 90-day regiment was mustered out of service on August 2 and he conducted a successful amphibious campaign that closed more than 80% of the North Carolina sea coast to Confederate shipping for the remainder of the war
39.
Richard S. Ewell
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Richard Stoddert Ewell was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Ewell was born in Georgetown, District of Columbia and he was raised in Prince William County, Virginia, from the age of 3, at an estate near Manassas known as Stony Lonesome. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1840, thirteenth in his class of 42 cadets and he was known to his friends as Old Bald Head or Baldy. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the 1st U. S. Dragoons and was promoted to first lieutenant in 1845. From 1843 to 1845 he served with Philip St. George Cooke and Stephen Watts Kearny on escort duty along the Santa Fe, in the Mexican-American War, serving under Winfield Scott, he was recognized and promoted to captain for his courage at Contreras and Churubusco. At Contreras, he conducted a reconnaissance with engineer Captain Robert E. Lee. Ewell served in the New Mexico Territory for some time, exploring the newly acquired Gadsden Purchase with Colonel Benjamin Bonneville and he was wounded in a skirmish with Apaches under Cochise in 1859. In 1860, while in command of Fort Buchanan, Arizona and he described his condition as very ill with vertigo, nausea, etc. and now am excessively debilitated having occasional attacks of the ague. S. Army commission on May 7,1861, to join the Virginia Provisional Army and he was appointed a colonel of cavalry on May 9 and was the first officer of field grade wounded in the war, at a May 31 skirmish at Fairfax Court House. He was promoted to general in the Confederate States Army on June 17 and commanded a brigade in the Army of the Potomac at the First Battle of Bull Run. But Davis considered that impossible and that never came up between him and Ewell again. Nevertheless, Ewell, like Patrick Cleburne, was one of those few Confederate generals who saw that the Confederacy needed all the manpower it could get, Ewell inspired his men in spite of, not because of, his appearance. Historian Larry Tagg described him, On January 24,1862, Ewell was promoted to major general, although the two generals worked together well, and both were noted for their quixotic personal behavior, there were many stylistic differences between them. Jackson was stern and pious, whereas Ewell was witty and extremely profane, Jackson was flexible and intuitive on the battlefield, while Ewell, although brave and effective, required precise instructions to function effectively. Ewell was initially resentful about Jacksons tendency to keep his subordinates uninformed about his tactical plans, Ewell superbly commanded a division in Jacksons small army during the Valley Campaign, personally winning quite a few battles against the larger Union armies of Maj. Gens. Frémont, Nathaniel P. Banks, and James Shields, Jacksons army was then recalled to Richmond to join Robert E. Lee in protecting the city against Maj. Gen. George B. McClellans Army of the Potomac in the Peninsula Campaign, Ewell fought conspicuously at Gaines Mill and Malvern Hill. After Lee repelled the Union army in the Seven Days Battles, Union Maj. Gen. John Popes Army of Virginia threatened to attack from the north, so Jackson was sent to intercept him
40.
Eastern Theater of the American Civil War
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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
41.
Western Theater of the American Civil War
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The Western Theater served as an avenue of military operations by Union armies directly into the agricultural heartland of the South via the major rivers of the region. The Confederacy was forced to defend an area with limited resources. Union operations began with securing Kentucky in Union hands in September 1861, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Chattanooga served as the launching point for Maj. Gen. William T. The Western Theater was an area defined by geography and the sequence of campaigning. It originally represented the area east of the Mississippi River and west of the Appalachian Mountains, Operations west of the Mississippi River were in the Trans-Mississippi Theater. The West was by some measures the most important theater of the war, capture of the Mississippi River has been one of the key tenets of Union General-in-Chief Winfield Scotts Anaconda Plan. Union generals consistently outclassed most of their Confederate opponents, with the exception of cavalry commander Nathan Bedford Forrest. Lacking the proximity to the capitals and population centers of the East, the astounding Confederate victories. McClellan, and Stonewall Jackson, the Western theater received considerably less attention than the Eastern, the near-steady progress that Union forces made in defeating Confederate armies in the West and overtaking Confederate territory went nearly unnoticed. 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 117 battles the NPS classifies for this theater are described, boxed text in the right margin show the NPS campaigns associated with each section. The focus early in the war was on two states, Missouri and Kentucky. The loss of either would have been a blow to the Union cause. Primarily because of the successes of Captain Nathaniel Lyon and his victory at Boonville in June, the state of Kentucky, with a pro-Confederate governor and a pro-Union legislature, had declared neutrality between the opposing sides. This neutrality was first violated on September 3, when Confederate Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk occupied Columbus, two days later Union Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, displaying the personal initiative that would characterize his later career, seized Paducah. On the Confederate side, General Albert Sidney Johnston commanded all forces from Arkansas to the Cumberland Gap, Johnston also gained political support from secessionists in central and western counties of Kentucky via a new Confederate capital at Bowling Green, set up by the Russellville Convention. The alternative government was recognized by the Confederate government, which admitted Kentucky into the Confederacy in December 1861, using the rail system resources of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, Polk was able to quickly fortify and equip the Confederate base at Columbus. By January 1862, this disunity of command was apparent because no strategy for operations in the Western theater could be agreed upon, James A. Garfield and Mill Springs under Brig. Gen. George H. Thomas
42.
William Tecumseh Sherman
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William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. Sherman began his Civil War career serving in the First Battle of Bull Run and he served under General Ulysses S. In 1864, Sherman succeeded Grant as the Union commander in the Western Theater of the war and he proceeded to lead his troops to the capture of the city of Atlanta, a military success that contributed to the re-election of Abraham Lincoln. Shermans subsequent march through Georgia and the Carolinas further undermined the Confederacys ability to continue fighting and he accepted the surrender of all the Confederate armies in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida in April 1865, after having been present at most major military engagements in the Western Theater. When Grant assumed the U. S. presidency in 1869, Sherman succeeded him as Commanding General of the Army, as such, he was responsible for the U. S. Armys engagement in the Indian Wars over the next 15 years. Sherman advocated total war against hostile Indians to force them back onto their reservations and he steadfastly refused to be drawn into politics and in 1875 published his Memoirs, one of the best-known first-hand accounts of the Civil War. British military historian B. H. Liddell Hart famously declared that Sherman was the first modern general, Sherman was born in 1820 in Lancaster, Ohio, near the banks of the Hocking River. His father Charles Robert Sherman, a lawyer who sat on the Ohio Supreme Court. He left his widow, Mary Hoyt Sherman, with eleven children, Sherman was distantly related to American founding father Roger Sherman and grew to admire him. Shermans older brother Charles Taylor Sherman became a federal judge, one of his younger brothers, John Sherman, served as a U. S. senator and Cabinet secretary. Another younger brother, Hoyt Sherman, was a successful banker, Sherman would marry his foster sister, Ellen Boyle Ewing, at age 30 and have eight children with her. Shermans unusual given name has attracted considerable attention. Sherman reported that his name came from his father having caught a fancy for the great chief of the Shawnees. Since an account in a 1932 biography about Sherman, it has often reported that, as an infant. According to these accounts, Sherman only acquired the name William at age nine or ten and his foster mother, Maria Willis Boyle, was of Irish ancestry and a devout Roman Catholic. Sherman was raised in a Roman Catholic household, though he left the church. Sherman wrote in his Memoirs that his father named him William Tecumseh, Sherman was baptized by a Presbyterian minister as an infant, as an adult, Sherman signed all his correspondence – including to his wife – W. T. Sherman. His friends and family called him Cump
43.
President of the United States
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The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. The president is considered to be one of the worlds most powerful political figures, the role includes being the commander-in-chief of the worlds most expensive military with the second largest nuclear arsenal and leading the nation with the largest economy by nominal GDP. The office of President holds significant hard and soft power both in the United States and abroad, Constitution vests the executive power of the United States in the president. The president is empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves. The president is responsible for dictating the legislative agenda of the party to which the president is a member. The president also directs the foreign and domestic policy of the United States, since the office of President was established in 1789, its power has grown substantially, as has the power of the federal government as a whole. However, nine vice presidents have assumed the presidency without having elected to the office. The Twenty-second Amendment prohibits anyone from being elected president for a third term, in all,44 individuals have served 45 presidencies spanning 57 full four-year terms. On January 20,2017, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th, in 1776, the Thirteen Colonies, acting through the Second Continental Congress, declared political independence from Great Britain during the American Revolution. The new states, though independent of each other as nation states, desiring to avoid anything that remotely resembled a monarchy, Congress negotiated the Articles of Confederation to establish a weak alliance between the states. Out from under any monarchy, the states assigned some formerly royal prerogatives to Congress, only after all the states agreed to a resolution settling competing western land claims did the Articles take effect on March 1,1781, when Maryland became the final state to ratify them. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris secured independence for each of the former colonies, with peace at hand, the states each turned toward their own internal affairs. Prospects for the convention appeared bleak until James Madison and Edmund Randolph succeeded in securing George Washingtons attendance to Philadelphia as a delegate for Virginia. It was through the negotiations at Philadelphia that the presidency framed in the U. S. The first power the Constitution confers upon the president is the veto, the Presentment Clause requires any bill passed by Congress to be presented to the president before it can become law. Once the legislation has been presented, the president has three options, Sign the legislation, the bill becomes law. Veto the legislation and return it to Congress, expressing any objections, in this instance, the president neither signs nor vetoes the legislation
44.
Abraham Lincoln
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Abraham Lincoln was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the United States through its Civil War—its bloodiest war and perhaps its greatest moral, constitutional, in doing so, he preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the economy. Born in Hodgenville, Kentucky, Lincoln grew up on the frontier in Kentucky. Largely self-educated, he became a lawyer in Illinois, a Whig Party leader, elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1846, Lincoln promoted rapid modernization of the economy through banks, tariffs, and railroads. Reentering politics in 1854, he became a leader in building the new Republican Party, in 1860, Lincoln secured the Republican Party presidential nomination as a moderate from a swing state. Though he gained little support in the slaveholding states of the South. Subsequently, on April 12,1861, a Confederate attack on Fort Sumter inspired the North to enthusiastically rally behind the Union. Politically, Lincoln fought back by pitting his opponents against each other, by carefully planned political patronage and his Gettysburg Address became an iconic endorsement of the principles of nationalism, republicanism, equal rights, liberty, and democracy. Lincoln initially concentrated on the military and political dimensions of the war and his primary goal was to reunite the nation. He suspended habeas corpus, leading to the ex parte Merryman decision. Lincoln closely supervised the war effort, especially the selection of top generals, including his most successful general, Lincoln tried repeatedly to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond, each time a general failed, Lincoln substituted another, until finally Grant succeeded. As the war progressed, his moves toward ending slavery included the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. On April 14,1865, five days after the surrender of Confederate commanding general Robert E. Lee, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton launched a manhunt for Booth, and 12 days later on April 26, Lincoln has been consistently ranked both by scholars and the public as among the greatest U. S. presidents. Abraham Lincoln was born February 12,1809, the child of Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln, in a one-room log cabin on the Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville. He was a descendant of Samuel Lincoln, an Englishman who migrated from Hingham, Norfolk to its namesake of Hingham, samuels grandson and great-grandson began the familys western migration, which passed through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Lincolns paternal grandfather and namesake, Captain Abraham Lincoln, moved the family from Virginia to Jefferson County, Captain Lincoln was killed in an Indian raid in 1786. His children, including eight-year-old Thomas, the presidents father
45.
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
46.
Shenandoah Valley
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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
47.
West Virginia
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West Virginia /ˌwɛst vərˈdʒɪnjə/ is a state located in the Appalachian region of the Southern United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the north, West Virginia is the 9th smallest by area, is ranked 38th in population, and has the second lowest household income of the 50 United States. The capital and largest city is Charleston, West Virginia was admitted to the Union on June 20,1863, and was a key Civil War border state. The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States, the unique position of West Virginia means that it is often included in several geographical regions, including the Mid-Atlantic, the Upland South, and the Southeastern United States. It is the state that is entirely within the area served by the Appalachian Regional Commission. The state is noted for its mountains and rolling hills, its historically significant logging and coal mining industries and it is one of the most densely karstic areas in the world, making it a choice area for recreational caving and scientific research. The karst lands contribute to much of the states cool trout waters and it is also known for a wide range of outdoor recreational opportunities, including skiing, whitewater rafting, fishing, hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, and hunting. Many ancient man-made earthen mounds from various mound builder cultures survive, especially in the areas of Moundsville, South Charleston. The artifacts uncovered in these give evidence of village societies and they had a tribal trade system culture that crafted cold-worked copper pieces. The Iroquois drove out other American Indian tribes from the region to reserve the upper Ohio Valley as a ground in the 1670s. Siouan language tribes such as the Moneton had also recorded in the area previously. West Virginia was originally part of the British Virginia Colony from 1607 to 1776, residents of the western and northern counties set up a separate government under Francis Pierpont in 1861, which they called the restored government. Most voted to separate from Virginia and the new state was admitted to the Union in 1863, in 1864 a state constitutional convention drafted a constitution, which was ratified by the legislature without putting it to popular vote. West Virginia abolished slavery and temporarily disfranchised men who had held Confederate office or fought for the Confederacy, West Virginias history has been profoundly affected by its mountainous terrain, numerous and vast river valleys, and rich natural resources. These were all factors driving its economy and the lifestyles of its residents, a 2010 analysis of a local stalagmite revealed that Native Americans were burning forests to clear land as early as 100 BC. Some regional late-prehistoric Eastern Woodland tribes were involved in hunting and fishing, practicing the slash. Another group progressed to the more time-consuming, advanced companion crop fields method of gardening, also continuing from ancient indigenous people of the state, field space and time was given to tobacco growing through to early historic. Maize did not make a contribution to the diet until after 1150 BP
48.
Georgia (U.S. state)
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Georgia is a state in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1733, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies, named after King George II of Great Britain, Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2,1788. It declared its secession from the Union on January 19,1861 and it was the last state to be restored to the Union, on July 15,1870. Georgia is the 24th largest and the 8th most populous of the 50 United States, from 2007 to 2008,14 of Georgias counties ranked among the nations 100 fastest-growing, second only to Texas. Georgia is known as the Peach State and the Empire State of the South, Atlanta is the states capital, its most populous city and has been named a global city. Georgia is bordered to the south by Florida, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean and South Carolina, to the west by Alabama, the states northern part is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountains system. Georgias highest point is Brasstown Bald at 4,784 feet above sea level, Georgia is the largest state entirely east of the Mississippi River in land area. Before settlement by Europeans, Georgia was inhabited by the mound building cultures, the British colony of Georgia was founded by James Oglethorpe on February 12,1733. The colony was administered by the Trustees for the Establishment of the Colony of Georgia in America under a charter issued by King George II. The Trustees implemented a plan for the colonys settlement, known as the Oglethorpe Plan. In 1742 the colony was invaded by the Spanish during the War of Jenkins Ear, in 1752, after the government failed to renew subsidies that had helped support the colony, the Trustees turned over control to the crown. Georgia became a colony, with a governor appointed by the king. The Province of Georgia was one of the Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution by signing the 1776 Declaration of Independence, the State of Georgias first constitution was ratified in February 1777. Georgia was the 10th state to ratify the Articles of Confederation on July 24,1778, in 1829, gold was discovered in the North Georgia mountains, which led to the Georgia Gold Rush and an established federal mint in Dahlonega, which continued its operation until 1861. The subsequent influx of white settlers put pressure on the government to land from the Cherokee Nation. In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law, sending many eastern Native American nations to reservations in present-day Oklahoma, including all of Georgias tribes. Despite the Supreme Courts ruling in Worcester v. Georgia that ruled U. S. states were not permitted to redraw the Indian boundaries, President Jackson and the state of Georgia ignored the ruling. In 1838, his successor, Martin Van Buren, dispatched troops to gather the Cherokee
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