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The Importance Of Mcclellan's Battle

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After the recognition of destruction and death struck General Lee, the Confederate Army retreated back to Virginia on September 18th. Reacting as a cautious leader would, McClellan hesitated attacking the vulnerable troops of the Confederate’s as they escaped back into the safety of the South. With both sides wounded and tired, Lee’s bluster to keep the fight going gave the Confederates enough time to gather their wounded and abscond the scene of battle. After Lee took his soldiers back South, McClellan wrote ‘that after a “careful survey of the situation and condition of our army, the strength and position of the enemy, I concluded that the success of an attack on the 18th was not certain”’. McClellan’s hesitation in pursuit was seen as a
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shows the confidence McClellan had; however, there were no orders made on that day. The Army of Potomac was now closer to all

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This was profound that the great minds of the Civil War and this particular battle looked past elementary obstacles such as food and water for troops. This was the cause of most of Bragg’s troop’s demise, not bullets but starvation. The length of the battle lasting only three days brought its own challenges that the Confederate leaders did not for see such as the logistical support for such a battle. The Union Army had the supply lines and the firepower to fend off the offensive attacks from Braxton and Bragg which left these two war hardened masterminds to muddle in poor decisions such as overruling General Breckenridge’s strong resistance of taking a high point in the Union line that would prove to be a strong point of heavy artillery for the South. This poor decision left the south once again under cannon fire from a numerically superior foe that was the Union Army.

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But they were met only by a deadly volley of rifle fire. At this point the Confederate Colors fell many of times. Finally realizing they could no longer hold their position the Confederates fell back crossing the bridge trying to still defend their position and losing many Confederate soldiers. They were order to retreat to Honey Springs were they held their

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Shaara portrays this in the Killer Angels with a stark contrast in the battle tactics favored by General Lee and General Longstreet. Longstreet is starting to understand that the tide is changing in favor of a newer style of war, with Lee upholding the honorable older code of facing battles head on until a victor emerges. Longstreet makes the argument to Lee that they should retreat South towards the Capitol and entrench themselves to force the Union army to either face them head on, or strike on a separated Union army as they move towards Washington D.C. General Lee would not have this as he adhered to the old style of war to sit out in the open, honorably, and with great maneuvering skill.

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Lee would use his exquisite leadership in future battles such as the attempt of the Union to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond; he would turn the tables against the Union general George B. McClellan to take

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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.

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While Lee was preparing for the Battle of Antietam, a copy of his plan was discovered by Union commander, Major General George B. McClellan. Since his plan was discovered, he was attacked head-on and had to flee while suffering around ten thousand casualties (“Battle of Antietam.”). During this battle, fourteen thousand of his men were killed when trying to cross the Potomac River (“Robert E. Lee Biography.”). In the Battle of Chancellorsville, he faced an army two times bigger, so he split his army in two for the element of surprise (“Battle of Chancellorsville”). Yes, he might have made an excellent move, but he also lost one of his corps commanders, “Stonewall” Jackson (“Robert E. Lee” History Learning).

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However, Lee then made a surprising move by launching an offensive defense that left a significant number of his troops to defend the heavily armed forces that entrenched into their land. At the end of the war Lee, troops emerged the victor because he was keen on each step that was made by Hooker. Irrespective of the number of men, Lee had Lee struck hard in any chance that Hooker hesitated (Scott Hartwig, 2014). The Confederate army also had the spirit of a must-win situation as compared to the Union Army that depended on their large number not considering the terrain of the land. McClellan's plans were not coordinated and were poorly executed.

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It has been a long 4 months since blood has been shed in the, already finished, Battle of Gettysburg. The battle lasted three long, hellish days, of blood, sickness, amputated limbs, death and everything else that comes along with war. For all that I know, General Lee is completely insane to have tried to invade the North; why would he do that? Already contradicting what I have previously said, insanity is not really the word; overconfidence would be it. Seeing as though he came from a series of wins, it is not a surprise that General Lee would become overconfident, but with overconfidence comes the sense that victory is guaranteed; which is not.

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He went through with Lee’s plans even though he disagreed and knew it was a death sentence for his troops, but he did it for his country and livelihood. Even though Longstreet’s strategies and plans had been brushed off by General Lee, his thoughts and concerns had been correct. The Confederate Army suffered mass casualties during the battle because they were invading without the advantage of high ground, which was what Longstreet had tried to warn Lee about. Although General Lee made Longstreet’s comments seem unintelligent, his thoughts were correct, and if Lee had taken his plans into consideration, their army may not have been so badly defeated. Although Longstreet did not influence the battle plans, he did give the Confederacy a better shot to win the battle but showing up when he did, however late he was.

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For Jefferson Davis, it was a Sunday like any other, however, for the Union army, it was the beginning of the end for the Confederate leader. While in church, Davis received a telegram from General Robert E.Lee stating the Union army was marching towards Richmond and the city would surely fall in the next couple days I advise that all preparation be made for leaving Richmond tonight. --General

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The first battle of Manassas as it’s known in the south cost the Union 3,000 casualties to the confederate’s 1,750. This sent the northerners reeling, because they thought it would be a quick and decisive win, and gave a false hope to the southerners that they could pull off a speedy win themselves. In truth they would have to face four long and trying years of war that would take an unbelievable loss on both the land and its people. However in the confederacy allegations flew between the Generals of Bull Run and President Jefferson Davis on who was to blame for the failure to go after and overcome the enemy after the battle. In addition McDowell was removed from command and replaced him with George B. McClellan, who would retrain and reorganize the troops defending Washington into a trained fighting force, known later as the Army of

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Union General McClellan dispatched Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's First Corps across the creek to find Lee's left flank. The battle began when Hooker's Union Corps launched a potent assault on Lee's left flank, with repeated Union attacks and equally vicious Confederate counterattacks sweeping back and forth across Miller's cornfield and the West Woods. As the sun climbed higher in the sky, the third and final major assault by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's Ninth Corps pushed over a bullet-strewn stone bridge at Antietam Creek. Just as Burnside's forces began to collapse the Confederate right, Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill's division charged into battle, driving back the assault and saving the day for the Army of Northern

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(Document C) In Document H, Confederate General John Imboden describes General Robert E. Lee as in deep melancholy for not winning the Battle of Gettysburg. “The moon shone full upon his massive features and revealed an expression of sadness that I had never before seen upon his face.” General Lee had presumably thought that the Confederacy was fighting for the freedom of America and Americans' rights. He would say that slavery was constitutional and that fighting was necessary to earn their rights back.

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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

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