Dhruv Patel
Mr. GR, Period 1
American History
25 May, 8
Pivotal Battles of the American Civil War
On September 22, 1862, President Lincoln took the first steps to ending slavery in the entire United States by announcing the Emancipation of Proclamation. Antietam was the bloodiest battle of the Civil war and it was the first attempt of the south trying to take the war out of Virginia and into the North. The battle only last 12 hours and but it was still the bloodiest battle in American History. Vicksburg was a major city in Mississippi and it had the second largest population in Mississippi. It was also the major trading area in Mississippi and during the war, the city was turned into a garrison and was a major point for the Confederate. Gettysburg was a 3-day battle which the south caused since they wanted to take the battle out of Virginia and since Robert E. Lee’s troops were starving and so they wanted he wanted food for his troops which caused him to go to Pennsylvania and caused the Battle of Gettysburg. The most pivotal battles in determining the outcome of the Civil War were Antietam, Vicksburg, and Gettysburg.
Antietam was the bloodiest battle of the Civil war because there were 230,000 casualties. This is due in part to the new rifle that was invented which had advanced technology since it had great accuracy and distance which caused many more lives to be lost. Antietam was the South’s first attempt at bringing the war out of Virginia and into the Northern soil. Maryland was part of the Union and the people of Maryland were not happy about it and so Robert E. Lee decided to invade the North and win the support from the people of Maryland and get food for his troops. Antietam to this day remains the bloodiest day of the Civil War because Union soldiers fell at the rate of more than a hundred per minute. By nightfall, more than 25,000 killed, wounded, or reported missing. Another reason why there were so many deaths that day was due to the fact that most of the soldiers were within a 100 yards of each other. The battle only lasted for 12 hours and went basically unchanged from when the battle began.
The first 3 hours of the fight the 2 sides struggled over the possession of a 24-acre cornfield. As well the cornfield changed hands no fewer than 6 times and neither side had a distinct advantage. After the battle in the cornfield more than 5,500 men were killed or wounded during less than an hour of fighting. One Confederate General John Bell Hood lost 82% of his men during the fighting. At around 3:30 pm Burnside attacked the south end of Lee’s line. Burnside sent about 8,000 of his men and about half of them only made it to the halfway point and only 2,000 of those men made it to Lee’s line because of the mounting casualties and the difficult terrain.
Just as the Federals reached Lee’s line Confederate infantry led by General A.P. Hill arrived on the field since they were involved in the Capture of Harpers Ferry and they smashed into the Federals causing the line to fall back into Antietam Creek (Brian Baracz). At 9 am a lull gave the Confederacy and the Union time to catch their breaths but after a couple of minutes, a third major Federal assault was starting. Over 5,000 troops led by Major General Edwin Sumner marched toward the West Woods in an attempt to eventually driving the Confederates out of the field but the Confederate Attack struck the flank of Union Soldiers and in about 20 minutes 2,000 out of the 5,000 men had been killed or wounded.
After 12 hours of fighting the battle started to die down. 23,000 men had been killed, wounded, or even missing, this battle to this day remains the bloodiest battle in the American Civil War. Robert E. Lee’s first invasion ended when him and his troops retreated back to Virginia on the night of September 18. This victory gave Abraham Lincoln the chance to announce his Primary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, which declared “that as of January 1, 1863, all slaves in all states then in rebellion against the United States would be free”. This victory also kept France and Britain from seeing the Confederate States of America as an independent nation and helping the south. France and Britain wanted to help them because they wanted the South's cotton.
Even to this day, there are scholars that disagree over whether the Battle of Antietam was a draw or a victory for the South or was it a victory for the North. The people that claim that it was a draw do it on the basis of that neither side prevailed on the battlefield. Those that call it a victory for the South do it on the basis of the number of losses because The Confederate lost 10,000 men while the Union lost 12,410 men. The people that say the battle was a victory for the North say it on the basis of politics because it boosted their morales and that since this was the Confederate’s first attempt of bringing the war on Northern soil and they lost and Great Britain also said their failure on Northern soil was a reason to not recognize the Confederate Government. After the battle had finished a photographer along with his assistants took photos of all of those who had fallen. The pictures showed everyone the terrible reality and earnestness of the war. It was like that he just dumped the bodies in front of their doorsteps.
Vicksburg in 1861 is the second largest city in Mississippi with a population of 5,000. Vicksburg economy was prospering because of the city’s status as a commercial center and transportation hub. The city is on the riverside along with a ton of railroad branching out. When the war began Vicksburg became one of the key links between the eastern Confederacy and the Trans-Mississippi South, it was also serving as a transit point for the troops. Efforts to safeguard the city became crucial in the spring of 1862 when Memphis and New Orleans fell to Federal forces. Vicksburg also remained the last railhead on the east side of the river and provided the last direct link between the 2 halves of the Confederacy. Grant along with Major General William Tecumseh Sherman led a simultaneous attack on Vicksburg. The city became a garrison in May 1862 when Grant led a seized on Vicksburg which forced John C. Pemberton to surrender.
The Battle of Gettysburg was the South’s second invasion on the North. The battle took place from July 1 to 3 1863, at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. President Abraham Lincoln had lost hope in the Potomac’s Commander Joseph Hooker who refused to engage Lee’s army after their defeat at Chancellorsville. On June 28, Lincoln fired Joseph Hooker and named Major General George Meade to be the commander of the Potomac and Meade immediately ordered them to go after Lee’s army of 75,000 which had just marched on into southern Pennsylvania. By the next day at dawn, both sides had gotten reinforcements and had strategically positioned their troops. Lee’s men attacked the Union at different locations, including Cemetery Hill, Culp’s Hill (east of Cemetery Hill), Cemetery Ridge (a strip of high ground south of Cemetery Hill), Round Top, and Little Round Top. At the end of the day, the Confederates failed to move the Union from its main positions (U.S. History in Context).
On the third day Lee tried again but this time he has the help of a cavalry unit led by General J. E. B. Stuart who was positioned behind the Union. Like last time various Confederate units struck the union at various locations, but each attack failed. The Confederacy suffered very serious casualties which became known as Pickett’s Charge. After this Lee and his men retreated and even after this battle the Civil war raged on for 2 years but Gettysburg is stilled viewed as the turning point of the war. After the Confederates lost at Gettysburg and at other battles General Lee blamed himself for all of the loses and offered to resign. But Confederate President Jefferson Davis refused to accept his offer. The battle brought devastation to residents of Gettysburg and every farm a field or garden became graveyards and the churches, public buildings, and even private homes became hospitals for all of the killed or the wounded soldiers.
The importance of Antietam was that it showed people that the war was not going to be simple and that it will cost both sides many lives and will separate the country for awhile even after the war. The importance of Vicksburg is that the Union captured a key strategic position during the American Civil War. The importance of the Battle of Gettysburg is that even after the battle the civil war raged on for 2 more years but it was considered the turning point of the war. All of these battle shape the outcome of the Civil War and changed the entirety of the future as we apprehend it.