Brandon Beck 's Holly Springs: Van Dorn, the CSS Arkansas and the Raid That Saved Vicksburg is a very short account of the roles played in the defense of Vicksburg by the Confederate ironclad CSS ARKANSAS and Major General Earl Van Dorn 's cavalry raid on Grant 's supply base at Holly Springs, Mississippi. The combination of these actions thwarted the second campaign against Vicksburg. The U.S. Navy considered the threat of CSS ARKANSAS as a serious one, but in fact, the ironclad was handicapped by such poor engines, her career as a warship lasted less than a month. She destroyed no Union vessels before being blown up by her own crew. She was more effective as a threat than a reality. The colorful Earl Van Dorn, with his reputation tarnished by defeats at Pea Ridge and Corinth and recurrent charges of drunkenness and debauchery, accepted a descent from corps command to lead the cavalry raid against the Union depot at Holly Springs. Van Dorn found his niche as a cavalry raider. His three small brigades, about 3,500 men, rode 500 miles in two weeks, surprised and routed the defenders of Holly Springs, captured and paroled 1,500 Federal troops, plundered warehouses, cut telegraph lines, and tore up vital railroad tracks. After putting the torch to those supplies they could not carry off, the Confederates withdrew to their own lines with impunity. In one day at Holly Springs, Van Dorn 's force destroyed $1,500,000 worth of supplies ($66,000,000 in today 's dollars) and …show more content…
Beck 's book, at only 99 pages of text, is like an extended journal article. It is not comprehensive, but brief and well-written. On the subject of CSS ARKANSAS, I recommend James McPherson 's War on the Waters: The Union and Confederate Navies, 1861-1865 and Iron Afloat: Story of the Confederate Armourclads by William Still. The definitive look a Earl Van Dorn remains Robert Hartje 's Van Dorn: The Life and Times of a Confederate General. It includes a thorough chapter on the Holly Springs
During the civil war, there were two battles in Saltville, VA. The first battle took place on October 2, 1864, and it resulted in a confederate victory; the following day, the Saltville Massacre occurred. The second battle, the topic of this report, took place on December 20 and 21st. This was the second time Union troops actively attempted to capture the Saltworks. Days before the attack in Saltville, the Union troops fought in Marion and Wytheville.
It was also close to the Tennessee river. He won and all of Grant's victories helped the North control the Tennessee river. General Grant and 40,000
Taking her espionage a step further, she even opened her home to both escaped Union soldiers and Confederate deserters. Her wartime contributions did not stop at aiding and abetting, however. She plotted as spymaster for Richmond’s extensive ring of sympathizers and loyalists. Her most important contribution was her reports of Confederate forces to Union commanders, which were extensively used during the 1864 Overland Campaign. Following the Burning of RIchmond, and Lee’s Surrender to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Van Lee continued to destroy gender barriers of the time frame.
The long 47 day siege has finally come to an end. The town of Vicksburg, Mississippi and the Confederate troops have made the decision to surrender to the Union army. It is another very disappointing loss for the Confederate troops. It lasted from May 18 - July 4, 1863. There are a total estimate of 37,402 casualties.
In the battle of shiloh Grant was able to fight off the confederate soldiers and hold them off while getting reinforcements and eventually being able to win the battle. On the first day of “Bloody Shiloh,” Grant saved his army, and on the second day he counterattacked and drove the enemy forces from the battlefield and back toward Corinth. General Grant Despite its disastrous start, Shiloh was a major victory for Grant. Grant led his army from the front and would stick to his plan of attack, and was able to adapt to the attacks of the Confederates.
There are many books about the naval efforts during the Civil War and the meeting of the first ironclads. The article “And the Winner Was….” by Francis Ducoin was a citation of first hand accounts of the battle from a variety of individuals. The author’s sources include documents from Lieutenant Greene to his parents, the log of the USS Monitor, and the Pierce Papers. The point of the article was to try to figure out if either side thought they had won the battle, which they both did.
The union were able to attack Lees center multiple times but McClellan let the rebels retreat and regroup. Which let the battle carry on longer than needed. Then the union decided to attack Jackson(left flank) which was located at dunkers church, and were able to push Jackson out. Then the union had to get across the river to be able to attack and push back the confederates line. The union tried
Admiral David Farragut has successfully seized New Orleans from the grasp of the Confederacy on April 24th, 1862. Two of the major opponents to the Union’s advancement in the war were Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip, which had been brutally seized from Union troops. Those forts were used to provide a front line of defense from any kind of naval assault on New Orleans. Now, however, securing New Orleans has put a serious dent in the Confederacy’s strength. Farragut accomplished this great feat by organizing an assault on the enemy forts with a daring fleet of 24 gunboats, 19 mortar boats, and nearly 15,000 soldiers on the night of April 24th; it soon forced the forts to surrender.
On July 2, 1863, which was the second day of fighting at Gettysburg, we attacked Wilcox’s Alabama Brigade under General Winfield Hancock’s orders. There were 5 to 1 odds against us. We kept the Confederates off of Cemetery Ridge. About 215 people died, including our commander Colonel William Colvill, and our flag fell 5 times. We were reinforced by Company F the next day.
The confederate army was worn out from their march to Shiloh. The next day, Grant’s army once gain clashed with Beauregard’s. This battle lasted until about mid-day, and resulted in Beauregard retreating to Corinth. This led to the battle of Corinth, which was an easy victory for the Union Army. After the union took over the railroad station, they cut off the supplies that were being taken to the confederate Army.
Zeynep Biyikli Block The Battle of Vicksburg The Battle of Vicksburg was the culmination of a long land and naval campaign by Union forces to capture a key strategic position during the American Civil War. The North thought it was the key to winning the war.
This key battle of the Civil War was led by General Samuel R. Curtis of the Union and General Earl Van Dorn of the Confederates. To begin with, before the battle of Pea Ridge the Union had a strong defensive position in Arkansas near LIttle Sugar Creek. The Confederate forces had commanded General Van Dorn to destroy the Union’s position at the Pea Ridge in Arkansas. General Van Dorn came up with a plan to attack the Union soldiers by marching around the Unions location and attacking rear sides. This battle was an attempt to take a strong defensive position for the confederates that would leave the Confederate army with a strong position through Arkansas and Missouri.
A man that goes by the name J.B Elliot drew up a map with a huge anaconda surrounding the southern states calling it “Scott’s Great Snake”. Though people continued to laugh about the plan, it became one of the reasons that the Union won the war. The Union decided to use the Anaconda Plan and try to cut off and steal the Mississippi River from the south. This battle would later be known as the battle of Vicksburg. The Vicksburg campaign was one of the Union Army’s most successful endeavors in the Civil
The Battle of Chickamauga was the second bloodiest battle by numbers of casualties. From 18-20 September 1863, the Union Army of the Cumberland and the Confederate Army of Tennessee engaged in a fierce battle near Chickamauga Creek. The Union commander, Major General William Rosecrans, did not properly utilize the fundamentals of mission command. He lost the battle because he failed to effectively command his forces on the battlefield. He failed to build cohesive teams through mutual trust, create shared understanding, provide a clear commander’s intent, and use mission orders.
Ulysses S. Grant (named Hiram Ulysses Grant) was born on April 27, 1822. Grant began his military career graduating Westpoint as an average student in 1843. Grant fought in the Mexican-American War along with Robert E. Lee, a man he would be facing on the battlefield nearly fifteen years later. Grant came to an early retirement in 1854 but after struggling monetarily in civilian life he rejoined the Union army in 1861. Grant was the most famous Union General in the Civil War.