The Peninsula Campaign was an offensive strategy the Union used to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond. Led by General George B. McClellan, the Potomac army would travel by boat to Fort Monroe in late April. McClellan planned to travel to Richmond along the peninsula formed by the York and James rivers. McClellan did not fight or act until late may, the first part of the Campaign took place at the battle of Seven Pines. The Confederacy was led by General Joseph E. Johnston, however, due to injury General Robert E. Lee took command of the Confederate army. Once Lee was given control of the army the Confederacy and Union troops engaged in several battles, known as the Seven Days’ Battles, which would effective stop the Peninsula campaign. McClellan thought he would be able to end the war by capturing Richmond. Yet, because of Robert E. Lee’s tactics, the war would last another …show more content…
Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston removed his army from Manassas to Culpeper, a move defensible area. When Union troops inspected the area the enemy held “Confederate works revealed that the enemy’s defenses had been far weaker than McClellan had claimed”(The Civil War Trust). Lincoln knew McClellan had overestimated the Confederate army, McClellan was most likely afraid that Johnston had a very well thought out defense strategy. Therefore, to save the lives of his troops he held back instead of attacking. Though McClellan was tricked by Johnston, he continued his march to the Confederate capital. The Army of the Potomac would travel up the Virginia peninsula by boat to Fort Monroe. Once McClellan arrived at the tip of the peninsula he would then begin his march toward Richmond, hoping that Johnston would be caught off guard (History). McClellan’s army was massive, “many Southerners feared that if Richmond were to fall, the Confederacy might collapse,” which was exactly what McClellan wanted (The Civil War
Also most of the west confederate states. Then later the confederate lines had broken and lee had withdrawn. As grant and his troops had been marching. Davis and his troops prepared to leave and collected documents and ordered bridges. Grant had gotten to Richmond and he had started attacking and exploding and charging richmond.
Robert E. Lee imagined that by battling in Maryland, he could win support from the general population of Maryland, and also bolster his troops with nourishment from Maryland ranches. President Abraham Lincoln put Major General George B. McClellan accountable for the Union troops in charge of safeguarding Washington, D.C., against Lee 's attack. McClellan 's Army of the Potomac conflicted first with Lee 's men on September 14, with the
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
For six months, Yankee troops had been working their way up the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. Kentucky was firmly in Union hands, and now the Federals controlled
In the Battle of Gettysburg it was an important victory for both sides. It was a turning point for the North if they won. It was an important victory for the South because if they would of won the battle they would've probably won the war. In the Battle of Gettysburg Lee’s plan was to try to invade the North although the North had already established the ‘’J’’ hook and had the high ground, which meant that if the South wanted to attack they would have to go from the low grounds up to the high grounds where the Union was .
Despite the apparent disintegration of slavery and eroding southern morale, the war’s outcome was uncertain in 1863 and 1864. In April 1863, “Fighting Joe” Hooker, a new Union commander in the East, invaded central Virginia. Outnumbered two to one, Lee repulsed Hooker at Chancellorsville, though his most talented commander, Stonewall Jackson, was mortally wounded in the fight. Lee soon decided on another invasion of the North, although the rationale for it today remains unknown. His army met and fought Union forces under General George G. Meade at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the first three days of July.
Adding on, to cross the river the army needed pontoons to reach across the river safely and attempt General Burnside's plan to attack the Confederates. Unfortunately, as a result of the miscommunication because General Burnside and Henry Halleck, the pontoons that were needed did not arrive at the right time and caused a delay to transit the river. The misfortune that occurred during the battle of Fredericksburg, led the union army to fail
General McClellan made the South flee causing the Union to win another battle. In Mississippi General Grant led another battle to victory with the surrender of the Confederacy. General Sherman led the Union army in Savannah and destroyed the cities and broke the spirit of the Confederacy. This was another victory. The final battle of the Civil War was led by President Lincoln.
Grant’s overall goal in the campaign was to capture the Confederate capital, Richmond Virginia. Grant realized that maneuvering over occupied Confederate territory would result in catastrophic losses but it was a risk he was willing, and felt one he needed to take. Grant first encountered Lee in the battle of the wilderness. The terrain included steep hills and immensely thick brush. Chaos reigned supreme in the battle as 26,000 men died in the period of three days.
Lee was so fearless he determined to invade the North reiteratively. Robert E. Lee strategy was to drift the fighting away from Virginia and into the Union Territory. He wanted to move the fighting, because the Confederate were under siege in Virginia. Lee hoped to gain recognition from Britain and France for the Confederacy. Joesph Hooker,the Union commander, was exposed to the worst defeat of the Army of Potomac in the Battle of Chancellorsville.
The battle lasted for three days and it resulted in the confederates’ defeat. This battle is considered a major turning point in the war because it forced the confederates to be put on the defensive side and it ended General Robert E. Lee’s biggest attempt to invade Union territory. The Union had some advantaged over the confederates such as having better weapons, telegraphs, and leadership. Whereas the Confederates were able to fight on land that they knew so they had “home” advantage. The disadvantaged for the confederacy were that the Union blocked many of the trading ports so that the Confederates’ economy was destroyed, also, the confederates had many guns and weapons, but they struggled to get enough men to enlist.
The Battle of Gettysburg was key to the eventual Union victory over the Confederacy. There were many other things that had to fall into place around the same time, that are often overlooked, in order for this to be viewed as the turning point of the war. The victory proved that Lee was not immortal and could be defeated on the battlefield. This victory also left him without the ability to strike the Union offensively, leaving him to fight defensively and attempt to win a war of attrition with the Union who had more manpower. The Western Theater had all but been decided by the time the Battle of Gettysburg had occurred, allowing the Union to focus the majority of their major resources on the Eastern Theater and the defeat of Lee and capture of the Confederate capitol,
Lincoln called for 500,000 troops on both sides settled for a long battle. Abraham surprised a lot of people by proving to be a more than a capable wartime leader. He learned quickly about strategy and tactics in the early years of the Civil War, and choosing the best commanders. General George McClellan continually frustrated Lincoln with his unwillingness to advance, and when McClellan failed to see Robert Lee’s retreating Confederate Army in the outcome of the Union victory at Antietam in September 1862. Antietam is a creek of north Maryland emptying into the Potomac
The most important battle during the Civil War was the Battle of Gettysburg. This was a battle that took place over three days in the small Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. This battle was the turning point of the civil war which successfully stopped the Southern Confederate Armies led by General Robert E. Lee from taking over the north. The Battle of Gettysburg was the most important battle of the Civil War because it was the largest of the civil war battles, successfully pushing back southern armies away from the north, and was the major defeat of the south. The battle of Gettysburg is still considered to historians to not only be the most important battle of the Civil war but the deciding factor towards victory.
He was afraid to risk failure so he never would risk doing anything. On the other hand, the Confederates leaders had General Robert E. Lee, who commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. He was considered a big risk taker. McClellan was not too worried about Lee or his army thinking that Lee was weak and too cautious but Lee was anything but that. General Lee gathered as many men as was available and attacked General McClellan on June 26, 1862 repeatedly for seven days.