The following engagements took place in the year 1864 during the American Civil War. The Union armies, under the command of U.S. Grant, launched multiple offenses in all theaters of the war, in an attempt to prevent Confederate forces from transferring troops from one army to another.
In March, Ulysses S. Grant was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed general-in-chief of the Union Army. He decided on a strategy of simultaneous offenses in the Eastern, Western, and Trans-Mississippi Theaters in order to grind down and ultimately defeat the Confederate armies. Grant himself planned to travel with the Army of the Potomac, commanded by George G. Meade, and the IX Corps, commanded by Ambrose Burnside, both to coordinate the two forces and to avoid the politics of Washington, D.C. (Burnside was senior to Meade and therefore would have the right to command the Army of the Potomac, so in order to retain Meade Grant had both commanders report to him. Grant concluded on May 25 that this command structure was unwieldy and placed Burnside under Meade's command.) [1] In the Eastern Theater, Grant's forces fought General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia in a series of battles that became known as the Overland Campaign from May to June. Although he lost heavily during the campaign and failed to gain a tactical advantage in any of the battles, Grant inflicted a larger percentage of casualties on Lee than the Union army incurred and also forced Lee into retreating closer to Richmond. [2] Following the Battle of Cold Harbor, Grant crossed the James River and attacked the city of Petersburg, which was a vital rail center for Lee's supply lines to North Carolina. Several Union attacks on the Confederate defenses near the city in early June resulted in failure; as a result, Grant settled into a nine-month siege at Petersburg, during which he continued to move westward in order to cut Lee's supply lines. [3]
Grant planned for two other campaigns in the Eastern Theater: the Army of the James commanded by Major General Benjamin Butler landed on the Bermuda Hundred peninsula near Petersburg, with orders to cut the Richmond & Petersburg Railroad and to prevent reinforcements from reaching Lee's army. After building fortifications on the peninsula, Butler made several advances towards the railroad, each time retreating back to his fortifications after a brief skirmish with Confederate forces. Following the Battle of Ware Bottom Church, the Confederates built a line of fortifications parallel to the Union lines, bottling up Butler's force and allowing reinforcements to be detached to Lee. [4]
In the Shenandoah Valley, another Union force commanded by Major General Franz Sigel advanced southward until he encountered a small Confederate force commanded by Major General John C. Breckinridge at the Battle of New Market on May 15, which resulted in a Confederate victory. Sigel was replaced by David Hunter, who started his campaign near the end of May. [5] His victory at Piedemont on June 5 caused to Lee to detach his Second Corps, under Lieutenant General Jubal Early, to the Valley to deal with the Union forces. Hunter attacked Early's command at Lynchburg but was defeated; Hunter then retreated through West Virginia to the Ohio River, allowing Early to move north through the Valley. Early then launched a raid on Washington, D.C., but due to the delay caused by the Battle of Monocacy failed to arrive at the city before Union reinforcements did, making a successful attack impossible. Early was then able to retreat back into the Shenandoah Valley with the supplies his army had seized and from there launched several additional small raids which the local Union commanders were unable to prevent. [6] To deal with these raids and combat the Confederate forces in the Valley effectively, Grant consolidated the various military departments in the area into the Middle Military Division, commanded by Philip H. Sheridan. During a three-month campaign, Sheridan successfully destroyed both the Confederate fighting capabilities in the Shenandoah and the supplies the Confederates needed to feed Lee's army at Petersburg. [7]
In the Western Theater, Union forces were placed in the Military Division of the Mississippi, commanded by Major General William T. Sherman, who had orders to capture Atlanta. During the three-month Atlanta Campaign, Sherman outflanked Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee out of one position after another until the two forces reached Atlanta. Fearing he would abandon the city without a fight, Confederate President Jefferson Davis replaced Johnston with John B. Hood, who launched a series of attacks on Sherman's armies, which each time failed with heavy Confederate casualties. When Sherman cut the Montgomery & Atlanta Railroad in early September, the Confederate supply lines into the city were cut and Hood was forced to abandon Atlanta. [8] For the next two months, Hood and Sherman skirmished as Hood attempted to cut Sherman's supply lines to the North; Sherman eventually gave up trying to catch Hood and instead embarked on his Savannah campaign. Hood, instead of following Sherman, moved north into Tennessee, intending to capture Nashville before going into Kentucky. He lost heavily in a frontal attack at the Battle of Franklin on November 30, suffering over 7,000 casualties including thirteen generals killed, wounded, or captured; [9] this left him with too few men to overrun the Union fortifications at Nashville, so Hood instead constructed fortifications a few miles to the south and tried to entice the Union commander, Major General George H. Thomas, to attack him. On December 15–16, Thomas did attack, routing most of the Confederate army on both days and capturing over 70 cannons and 15,000 prisoners. Hood retreated back to Alabama, where he was relieved of command by his own request; the Army of Tennessee was reduced to barely 20,000 men by casualties and desertions during the retreat. [10]
In the Trans-Mississippi Theater, Major General Nathaniel P. Banks led his Army of the Gulf up the Red River in Louisiana, intending to invade eastern Texas and to seize cotton to supply the New England cotton mills. The Confederate commander of the District of Western Louisiana, Major General Richard Taylor, steadily retreated until both forces neared Mansfield, where on April 7, Taylor attacked and routed Banks' force; another battle was fought the next day near Pleasant Hill but the Confederates were defeated. Banks continued retreating along the river until he reached the Red River's confluence with the Mississippi. A simultaneous campaign from Union controlled northern Arkansas was launched, which was planned to link up with Banks' force at Shreveport, Louisiana, but was turned back due to a lack of supplies. [11]
Date | Engagement | Military units | Losses |
---|---|---|---|
January 17 | Dandridge, Tennessee | Elements of Confederate First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia and Union IV Corps, Army of the Cumberland | Confederate unknown, Union 150 [12] |
January 26 | Athens, Alabama | Confederate cavalry brigade, Union garrison | Confederate 30, Union 20 [13] |
January 27– 28 | Fair Garden, Tennessee | Elements of Confederate First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia and Union IV Corps, Army of the Cumberland | Confederate 165, Union 100 [14] |
February 6– 7 | Morton's Ford, Virginia | Confederate Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia, Union two divisions from the Army of the Potomac | Confederate 60, Union 261 [15] |
February 13 | Middle Boggy, Oklahoma | Confederate Seminole battalion of Mounted Rifles, Union 14th Kansas Cavalry and two howitzers | Confederate 47, Union 0 [16] |
February 14– 20 | Meridian, Mississippi | Confederate Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana, Union Army of the Tennessee | Confederate 5, Union 170 [17] |
February 20 | Olustee, Florida | Confederate District of East Florida, Union detachment from the Department of the South | Confederate 946, Union 1,861 [18] |
February 22 | Okolona, Mississippi | Confederate Forrest's Cavalry Corps, Union detachment, Army of the Tennessee | Confederate 144, Union 388 [19] |
February 22– 27 | Dalton I, Georgia | Confederate Army of the Tennessee, Union Army of the Cumberland | Confederate 140, Union 289 [20] |
March 2 | Walkerton, Virginia | Confederate Department of Richmond, Union Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac | Confederate none, Union 100 [21] |
March 14 | Fort DeRussy, Louisiana | Confederate District of West Louisiana, Union Army of the Gulf | Confederate 269, Union 48 [22] |
March 18 | Laredo, Texas | Confederate 33rd Texas Cavalry, Union 1st Texas Cavalry | unknown [23] |
March 21 | Henderson's Hill, Louisiana | Confederate and Union cavalry | Confederate 250, Union unknown [24] |
March 25 | Paducah, Kentucky | Confederate Forrest's Cavalry Corps, Union garrison | Confederate 50, Union 90 [25] |
April 3–4 | Elkin's Ferry, Arkansas | Confederate District of Arkansas, Union Department of Arkansas | Confederate 29, Union 26 [26] |
April 7 | Wilson's Farm, Louisiana | Cavalry from Confederate District of West Louisiana and Union Army of the Gulf | unknown [27] |
April 8 | Mansfield, Louisiana | Confederate District of West Louisiana, Union Army of the Gulf | Confederate 1,000, Union 2,235 [28] |
April 9 | Pleasant Hill, Louisiana | Confederate District of West Louisiana, Union Army of the Gulf | Confederate 1,626, Union 1,369 [29] |
April 10–15 | Prairie D'Ane, Arkansas | Confederate District of Arkansas, Union Department of Arkansas | Confederate 50, Union 100 [30] |
April 12 | Blair's Landing, Louisiana | Confederate cavalry brigade, Union transports and gunboats | Confederate 57, Union 60 [31] |
April 12 | Fort Pillow, Tennessee | Confederate Forrest's Cavalry Corps, Union garrison | Confederate 100, Union 549 [32] |
April 17–20 | Plymouth, North Carolina | Confederate infantry division from Department of North Carolina, Union garrison | Confederate 300, Union 2,900 (including 2,834 prisoners) [33] |
April 18 | Poison Spring, Arkansas | Union detachment, Confederate cavalry from Trans-Mississippi Department | Confederate 114, Union 301 [34] |
April 23 | Monett's Ferry, Louisiana | Union and Confederate cavalry | Confederate 400, Union 200 [35] |
April 25 | Marks' Mills, Arkansas | Confederate District of Arkansas, Union Department of Arkansas | Confederate 293, Union 1,500 [36] |
April 30 | Jenkins' Ferry, Arkansas | Confederate District of Arkansas, Union Department of Arkansas | Confederate 1,000, Union 700 [37] |
May 5 | Albemarle Sound, North Carolina | Confederate ships Albemarle and Bombshell, Union ships Miami and two others | 88 total [38] |
May 5–7 | the Wilderness, Virginia | Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, Union Army of the Potomac and IX Corps | Confederate 10,830, Union 17,666 [39] |
May 6–7 | Port Walthall Junction, Virginia | Confederate Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia, Union Army of the James | 550 total [40] |
May 7–13 | Rocky Face Ridge, Georgia | Confederate Army of Tennessee, Union Military Division of the Mississippi | Confederate 600, Union 837 [41] |
May 8–21 | Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia | Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, Union Army of the Potomac | Confederate 12,062, Union 18,399 [42] |
May 9 | Swift Creek and Fort Clifton, Virginia | Confederate Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia, Union Army of the James | 990 total [43] |
May 9 | Cloyd's Mountain, Virginia | Confederate Department of Southwest Virginia, Union Army of West Virginia | Confederate 538, Union 688 [44] |
May 10 | Chester Station, Virginia | Confederate Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia, Union Army of the James | 569 total [45] |
May 10 | Cove Mountain, Virginia | Cavalry from Confederate Department of South-West Virginia and Union Army of West Virginia | 300 total [46] |
May 11 | Yellow Tavern, Virginia | Cavalry corps from Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and Union Army of the Potomac | 800 total [47] |
May 12–16 | Proctor's Creek (Drewry's Bluff), Virginia | Confederate Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia, Union Army of the James | Confederate 1,000, Union 3,004 [48] |
May 13–15 | Resaca, Georgia | Confederate Army of Tennessee, Union Military Division of the Mississippi | Confederate 2,800, Union 2,747 [49] |
May 15 | New Market, Virginia | Confederate Department of Western Virginia, Union Army of West Virginia | Confederate 587, Union 762 [50] |
May 16 | Mansura, Louisiana | Confederate District of West Louisiana, Union Army of the Gulf | Confederate unknown, Union unknown [51] |
May 17 | Adairsville, Georgia | Confederate Army of Tennessee, Union Military Division of the Mississippi | Confederate unknown, Union 200 [52] |
May 18 | Yellow Bayou, Louisiana | Confederate District of West Louisiana, Union Army of the Gulf | Confederate 500, Union 360 [53] |
May 20 | Ware Bottom Church and Howlett Line, Virginia | Confederate Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia, Union Army of the James | 1,500 total [54] |
May 23–26 | North Anna, Virginia | Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, Union Army of the Potomac | Confederate 1,251, Union 2,138 [55] |
May 24 | Wilson's Wharf | Confederate cavalry from Army of Northern Virginia, Union detachment from Army of the James | Confederate 140, Union 26 [56] |
May 25–26 | New Hope Church, Georgia | Confederate Army of Tennessee, Union Military Division of the Mississippi | Confederate 350, Union 665 [57] |
May 27 | Pickett's Mill, Georgia | Confederate Army of Tennessee, Union Military Division of the Mississippi | Confederate 450, Union 1,600 [58] |
May 28 | Haw's Shop, Virginia | Confederate Cavalry Corps, Army of Northern Virginia, Union Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac | Confederate 400, Union 344 [59] |
May 28 | Dallas, Georgia | Confederate Army of Tennessee, Union Military Division of the Mississippi | Confederate 1,000–1,500, Union 380 [60] |
May 28–30 | Totopotomoy Creek and Bethesda Church, Virginia | Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, Union Army of the Potomac | Confederate 1,159, Union 731 [61] |
May 30 | Matadequin Creek (Old Church), Virginia | Cavalry brigade from Army of Northern Virginia, cavalry brigade from Union Army of the Potomac | Confederate unknown, Union 90 [62] |
May 31 – June 12 | Cold Harbor, Virginia | Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, Union Army of the Potomac | Confederate 4,847, Union 14,932 [63] |
June 5 | Piedmont, Virginia | Confederate Department of Western Virginia, Union Army of West Virginia | Confederate 1,600, Union 875 [64] |
June 5–6 | Old River Lake, Arkansas | Confederates one division from District of Arkansas, Union two brigades from District of Arkansas | Confederate 37, Union 133 [65] |
June 9 | Petersburg I, Virginia | Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, Union Army of the Potomac | 120 total [66] |
June 9–18 | Lost Mountain–Brushy Mountain Line, Georgia | Confederate Army of Tennessee, Union Military Division of the Mississippi | unknown [67] |
June 10 | Brices Cross Roads, Mississippi | Confederate Forrest's Cavalry Corps, Union infantry and cavalry | Confederate 493, Union 2,612 [68] |
June 11–12 | Trevilian Station, Virginia | Cavalry corps from Union Army of the Potomac and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate 1,071, Union 1,007 [69] |
June 11–12 | Cynthiana, Kentucky | Confederate Morgan's brigade, Union garrison | Confederate 1,000, Union 1,092 [70] |
June 15–18 | Petersburg II, Virginia | Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, Union Army of the Potomac | Confederate 2,974–4,700, Union 9,964–10,600 [71] |
June 17–18 | Lynchburg, Virginia | Confederate Department of Southwest Virginia and Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia, Union Army of West Virginia | Confederate 200, Union 700 [72] |
June 21–23 | Jerusalem Plank Road, Virginia | Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, Union Army of the Potomac | Confederate 572, Union 2,962 [73] |
June 22 | Kolb's Farm, Georgia | Confederate Army of Tennessee, Union Army of the Ohio and XX Corps | Confederate 1,000, Union 350 [74] |
June 24 | Saint Mary's Church (Samaria Church), Virginia | Cavalry corps from Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and Union Army of the Potomac | Confederate 250, Union 350 [75] |
June 25 | Staunton River Bridge, Virginia | Confederate Home Guards, Union cavalry division from Army of the Potomac | 150 total [76] |
June 27 | Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia | Confederate Army of Tennessee, Union Military Division of the Mississippi | Confederate 1,000, Union 3,000 [77] |
June 28 | Sappony Church, Virginia | Cavalry from Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and Union Army of the Potomac | unknown [78] |
June 29 | Reams Station I, Virginia | Cavalry from Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and Union Army of the Potomac | unknown [79] |
July 9 | Monocacy, Maryland | Confederate Army of the Valley District, Union Middle Department | Confederate 700–900, Union 1,294 [80] |
July 11–12 | Fort Stevens, District of Columbia | Confederate Army of the Valley, Union Department of Washington | Confederate 500, Union 373 [81] |
July 14–15 | Tupelo, Mississippi | Confederate Forrest's Cavalry Corps, Union Right Wing, 16th Army Corps | Confederate 1,326, Union 674. [82] |
July 17–18 | Cool Spring, Virginia | Confederate Army of the Valley District, Union Army of West Virginia | Confederate 397, Union 422 [83] |
July 18 | Bartram's Shop, Mississippi | Confederate Forrest's Cavalry Corps, Union Right Wing, 16th Army Corps | Confederate unknown, Union 36 [84] |
July 20 | Rutherford's Farm, Virginia | Confederate detachment from Army of the Valley, Union cavalry division from Army of West Virginia | Confederate 500, Union 242 [85] |
July 20 | Peachtree Creek, Georgia | Confederate Army of Tennessee, Union Army of the Cumberland | Confederate 4,796, Union 1,710 [86] |
July 22 | Atlanta, Georgia | Confederate Army of Tennessee, Union Army of the Tennessee | Confederate 8,499, Union 3,641 [87] |
July 24 | Second Kernstown, Virginia | Confederate Army of the Valley, Union Army of West Virginia | Confederate 600, Union 1,185 [88] |
July 27–29 | First Deep Bottom, Virginia | Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, Union II Corps and cavalry from Army of the Potomac | 1,000 total [89] |
July 28 | Ezra Church, Georgia | Confederate Army of Tennessee, Union XV Corps | Confederate 4,642, Union 700 [90] |
July 28–29 | Killdeer Mountain, Dakota Territory | Union Department of the Northwest, Lakota and Dakota Sioux tribes | Union 15, Dakotas and Lakotas 31 [91] |
July 30 | The Crater, Virginia | Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, Union Army of the Potomac | Confederate 1,491, Union 3,798 [92] |
August 1 | Folck's Mill, Maryland | Confederate cavalry from Army of the Valley, Union garrison from Army of West Virginia | Confederate 30, Union 30 [93] |
August 5 | Mobile Bay, Alabama | Confederate and Union naval forces | Confederate 1,500, Union 327 [94] |
August 5–7 | Utoy Creek, Georgia | Confederate Army of Tennessee, Union Army of the Ohio | Confederate 225, Union 400 [95] |
August 7 | Moorefield, West Virginia | Cavalry from Union Army of West Virginia and Confederate Army of the Valley | Confederate 500, Union 31 [96] |
August 7–9 | Badlands, Dakota Territory | Union Department of the Northwest, Lakota and Dakota Sioux tribes | Union 9 killed and at least 100 wounded, Dakotas and Lakotas 100 killed. [97] |
August 13–20 | Second Deep Bottom, Virginia | Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, Union Army of the Potomac | Confederate 1,300, Union 2,900 [98] |
August 14–15 | Dalton II, Georgia | Confederate Army of Tennessee, Union Army of the Tennessee, Army of the Cumberland, and Army of the Ohio | unknown [99] |
August 16 | Guard Hill, Virginia | Confederate Army of the Valley District, Union Army of the Shenandoah | Confederate 480, Union 71 [100] |
August 18–21 | Globe Tavern, Virginia | Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, Union Army of the Potomac | Confederate 1,600, Union 4,455 [101] |
August 20 | Lovejoy's Station, Georgia | Confederate Army of Tennessee, Union Army of the Tennessee, Army of the Cumberland, and Army of the Ohio | Confederate 240, Union 237 [102] |
August 21 | Summit Point and Cameron's Depot, West Virginia | Confederate Army of the Valley District, Union Army of the Shenandoah | Confederate 400, Union 600 [103] |
August 21 | Second Memphis, Tennessee | Confederate Forrest's Cavalry Corps, Union garrison | Confederate 62, Union 80 [104] |
August 25 | Second Reams Station, Virginia | Confederate Third Corps, Army of Northern Virginia, Union II Corps and cavalry, Army of the Potomac | Confederate 814, Union 2,742 [105] |
August 28–29 | Smithfield Crossing, West Virginia | Confederate Army of the Valley District, Union Army of the Shenandoah | Confederate 200, Union 100 [106] |
August 29–30 | Chaffin's Farm, Virginia | Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, Union Army of the Potomac | Confederate 1,700, Union 3,300 [107] |
August 29–30 | New Market Heights, Virginia | Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, Union Army of the Potomac | Confederate 50, Union 850 [108] |
August 31 – September 1 | Jonesboro, Georgia | Confederate Army of Tennessee, Union Army of the Tennessee, Army of the Cumberland, and Army of the Ohio | Confederate 2,000, Union 1,149 [109] |
September 3–4 | Berryville, Virginia | Confederate Army of the Valley District, Union Army of the Shenandoah | Confederate 195, Union 312 [110] |
September 19 | Third Winchester, Virginia | Confederate Army of the Valley, Union Army of the Shenandoah | Confederate 3,610, Union 5,020 [111] |
September 19 | Cabin Creek, Indian Territory | Confederate cavalry, Union garrison | unknown [112] |
September 21–22 | Fisher's Hill, Virginia | Confederate Army of the Valley, Union Army of the Shenandoah | Confederate 1,235, Union 528 [113] |
September 26–28 | Pilot Knob, Missouri | Confederate Army of Missouri, Union Missouri State Militia and volunteer troops | Confederate 1,500, Union 73 [114] |
September 27 | Fort Davidson, Missouri | Confederate Army of Missouri, Union garrison | Confederate 1,500, Union 183 [115] |
September 29–30 | Chaffin's Farm, Virginia | Union Army of the James, Confederate II Corps, Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate 1,300, Union 2,869 [116] |
October 2 | Pebbles' Farm, Virginia | Confederate Third Corps, Army of Northern Virginia, Union V Corps, Army of the Potomac | Confederate 1,300, Union 2,869 [117] |
October 3 | Big Shanty, Georgia | Confederate Army of Tennessee, Union garrison | Confederate none, Union 175 (captured) [118] |
October 5 | Allatoona, Georgia | Confederate division from Army of Tennessee, Union garrison from XV Corps | Confederate 799, Union 706 [119] |
October 7 | Darbytown and New Market Roads, Virginia | Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, Union Army of the Potomac | Confederate 700, Union 458 [120] |
October 9 | Tom's Brook, Virginia | Confederate cavalry from the Army of the Valley, Union cavalry from the Union Army of the Shenandoah | Confederate 350, Union 57 [121] |
October 13 | Darbytown Road, Virginia | Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, Union X Corps | Confederate 50, Union 437 [122] |
October 15 | Glasgow, Missouri | Confederate Army of Missouri, Union garrison | Confederate 50, Union 400 [123] |
October 19 | Cedar Creek, Virginia | Confederate Army of the Valley, Union Army of the Shenandoah | Confederate 2,910, Union 5,672 [124] |
October 19 | Second Lexington, Missouri | Confederate Army of Missouri, Union detachment of Army of the Border | Unknown [125] |
October 21 | Little Blue River, Missouri | Confederate Army of Missouri, Union detachment of Army of the Border | Unknown [126] |
October 21– 22 | Second Independence, Missouri | Confederate Army of Missouri, Union Army of the Border | Confederate approximately 140, Union unknown [127] |
October 22– 23 | Byram's Ford, Missouri | Confederate Army of Missouri, Union Army of the Border | Unknown [128] |
October 23 | Westport, Missouri | Confederate Army of Missouri, Union Army of the Border | Confederate 1,500, Union 1,500 [129] |
October 25 | Mine Creek, Kansas | Confederate Army of Missouri, Union Army of the Border | Confederate 800, Union 150 [130] |
October 25 | Marmiton River, Missouri | Confederate Army of Missouri, Union cavalry from Army of the Border | Unknown [131] |
October 26– 29 | Decatur, Alabama | Confederate Army of Tennessee, Union garrison and other troops | Confederate 200, Union 155 [132] |
October 27– 28 | Fair Oaks and Darbytown Road, Virginia | Confederate detachments from Army of Northern Virginia, Union Army of the James | Confederate less than 100, Union 1,603 [133] |
October 27– 28 | Boydton Plank Road, Virginia | Confederate Third Corps, Army of Northern Virginia, Union Army of the Potomac | Confederate 1,300, Union 1,758 [134] |
October 28 | Second Newtonia, Missouri | Cavalry from Union Army of the Border and Confederate Army of Missouri | Confederate 250, Union 400 [135] |
November 4– 5 | Johnsonville, Tennessee | Confederate Forrest's Cavalry Corps, Union garrison | unknown [136] |
November 11– 14 | Bull's Gap, Tennessee | Confederate Department of Southwest Virginia, Union garrison | Confederate 100, Union 24 (including 300 prisoners) [137] |
November 22 | Griswoldville, Georgia | Confederate militia, Union Grand Army of the West | Confederate 650, Union 62 [138] |
November 24– 29 | Columbia, Tennessee | Confederate Army of Tennessee, Union IV Corps and XXIII Corps | unknown [139] |
November 28 | Buck Head Creek, Georgia | Cavalry from Confederate Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida and Union Grand Army of the West | Confederate 600, Union 46 [140] |
November 29 | Sand Creek, Colorado | Union 1st Colorado Cavalry and 3rd Colorado Cavalry, Southern Cheyenne and Southern Arapaho | Union 48, Southern Cheyenne and Southern Arapaho 150 [141] |
November 29 | Spring Hill, Tennessee | Confederate Army of Tennessee, Union IV Corps and XXIII Corps | Confederates 500, Union 350 [142] |
November 30 | Second Franklin, Tennessee | Confederate Army of Tennessee, Union IV Corps and XXIII Corps | Confederate 7,300, Union 2,655 [143] |
December 4 | LaVergne, Tennessee | Confederate Forrest's Cavalry Corps, Union garrison | Confederate none, Union 150 (all captured) [144] |
December 4 | Overall Creek, Tennessee | Detachments of Confederate Army of Tennessee and Union Department of the Cumberland | Confederate 86, Union unknown [145] |
December 5–7 | Third Murfreesboro, Tennessee | Confederate detachment from Army of Tennessee, Union garrison | Confederate 214, Union 208 [146] |
December 15 | Fort McAllister | Confederate Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida and Union Grand Army of the West | Confederate 230, Union 134 [147] |
December 15–16 | Nashville, Tennessee | Confederate Army of Tennessee, Union Army of the Cumberland | Confederate 6,500, Union 3,061 [148] |
December 17–18 | Marion, Virginia | Confederate Department of Southwest Virginia, Union cavalry | 300 total [149] |
December 20–21 | Second Saltville, Virginia | Confederate Department of Southwest Virginia, Union cavalry | unknown [150] |
December 24 | Richland Creek, Tennessee | Confederate Forrest's Cavalry Corps, Union cavalry, Army of the Cumberland | Confederate 6, Union unknown [151] |
December 24–27 | Fort Fisher I, North Carolina | Confederate Cape Fear District, Department of North Carolina, Union Fort Fisher Expeditionary Force, Army of the James | Confederate 261, Union 59 [152] |
December 25 | Pulaski, Tennessee | Confederate Forrest's Cavalry Corps, Union cavalry, Army of the Cumberland | unknown [153] |
December 26 | Sugar Creek, Tennessee | Confederate Forrest's Cavalry Corps, Union cavalry, Army of the Cumberland | Confederate unknown, Union 162 [154] |
The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign, and is remembered as one of American history's most unnecessary and lopsided battles. Thousands of Union soldiers were killed or wounded in a hopeless frontal assault against the fortified positions of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's army.
The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the siege of Petersburg, it was not a classic military siege, in which a city is encircled with fortifications blocking all routes of ingress and egress, nor was it strictly limited to actions against Petersburg. The campaign consisted of nine months of trench warfare in which Union forces commanded by Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assaulted Petersburg unsuccessfully and then constructed trench lines that eventually extended over 30 miles (48 km) from the eastern outskirts of Richmond, Virginia, to around the eastern and southern outskirts of Petersburg. Petersburg was crucial to the supply of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's army and the Confederate capital of Richmond. Numerous raids were conducted and battles fought in attempts to cut off the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad. Many of these battles caused the lengthening of the trench lines.
The Battle of Atlanta took place during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply hub of Atlanta, Union forces commanded by William Tecumseh Sherman overwhelmed and defeated Confederate forces defending the city under John Bell Hood. Union Major General James B. McPherson was killed during the battle, the second-highest-ranking Union officer killed in action during the war. Despite the implication of finality in its name, the battle occurred midway through the Atlanta campaign, and the city did not fall until September 2, 1864, after a Union siege and various attempts to seize railroads and supply lines leading to Atlanta. After taking the city, Sherman's troops headed south-southeastward toward Milledgeville, the state capital, and on to Savannah with the March to the Sea.
The Battle of Fort Stedman, also known as the Battle of Hare's Hill, was fought on March 25, 1865, during the final weeks of the American Civil War. The Union Army fortification in the siege lines around Petersburg, Virginia, was attacked in a pre-dawn Confederate assault by troops led by Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon. The attack was the last serious attempt by Confederate troops to break the Siege of Petersburg. After an initial success, Gordon's men were driven back by Union troops of the IX Corps commanded by Maj. Gen. John G. Parke.
Joseph Eggleston Johnston was an American career army officer, serving with distinction in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars. After Virginia declared secession from the United States, he entered the Confederate States Army as one of its most senior general officers. From 1888 to 1889 he was a vice president, from 1889 to 1890 president, of the Aztec Club of 1847.
The Battle of Mansfield, also known as the Battle of Sabine Crossroads, on April 8, 1864, in Louisiana formed part of the Red River Campaign during the American Civil War, when Union forces were attempting to occupy the Louisiana state capital, Shreveport.
John Bell Hood was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Hood's impetuosity led to high losses among his troops as he moved up in rank. Bruce Catton wrote that "the decision to replace Johnston with Hood was probably the single largest mistake that either government made during the war." Hood's education at the United States Military Academy led to a career as a junior officer in the infantry and cavalry of the antebellum U.S. Army in California and Texas. At the start of the Civil War, he offered his services to his adopted state of Texas. He achieved his reputation for aggressive leadership as a brigade commander in the army of Robert E. Lee during the Seven Days Battles in 1862, after which he was promoted to division command. He led a division under James Longstreet in the campaigns of 1862–63. At the Battle of Gettysburg, he was severely wounded, rendering his left arm mostly useless for the rest of his life. Transferred with many of Longstreet's troops to the Western Theater, Hood led a massive assault into a gap in the U.S. line at the Battle of Chickamauga but was wounded again, requiring the amputation of his right leg.
The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. It was formed in late 1862 and fought until the end of the war in 1865, participating in most of the significant battles in the Western Theater.
The Battle of Nashville was a two-day battle in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign that represented the end of large-scale fighting west of the coastal states in the American Civil War. It was fought at Nashville, Tennessee, on December 15–16, 1864, between the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Lieutenant General John Bell Hood and the Union Army of the Cumberland (AoC) under Major General George H. Thomas. In one of the largest victories achieved by the Union Army during the war, Thomas attacked and routed Hood's army, largely destroying it as an effective fighting force.
The following is a list of engagements that took place in 1861 during the American Civil War.
The following is a list of engagements that took place in 1862 during the American Civil War. During the summer and early spring of the year, Union forces gained several successes over the Confederacy, seizing control of Missouri, northern Arkansas, Kentucky, and western Tennessee, along with several coastal areas. Confederate forces defended the capital of Richmond, Virginia, from Union assaults, and then launched counter–offensives into Kentucky and Maryland, both of which end in Union victories.
The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union armies, directed the actions of the Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, and other forces against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Although Grant suffered severe losses during the campaign, it was a strategic Union victory. It inflicted proportionately higher losses on Lee's army and maneuvered it into a siege at Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia, in just over eight weeks.
The Franklin–Nashville campaign, also known as Hood's Tennessee campaign, was a series of battles in the Western Theater, conducted from September 18 to December 27, 1864, in Alabama, Tennessee, and northwestern Georgia during the American Civil War.
The Red River campaign, also known as the Red River expedition, was a major Union offensive campaign in the Trans-Mississippi theater of the American Civil War, which took place from March 10 to May 22, 1864. It was launched through the densely forested gulf coastal plain region between the Red River Valley and central Arkansas towards the end of the war. The offensive was intended to stop Confederate use of the Louisiana port of Shreveport, open an outlet for the sugar and cotton of northern Louisiana, and to split the Confederate lines, allowing the Union to encircle and destroy the Confederate military forces in Louisiana and southern Arkansas. It marked the last major offensive attempted by the Union in the Trans-Mississippi Theater.
The Battle of Namozine Church was an engagement in Amelia County, Virginia, between Union Army and Confederate States Army forces that occurred on April 3, 1865, during the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War. The battle was the first engagement between units of General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia after that army's evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia, on April 2, 1865, and units of the Union Army under the immediate command of Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan, who was still acting independently as commander of the Army of the Shenandoah, and under the overall direction of Union General-in-Chief Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. The forces immediately engaged in the battle were brigades of the cavalry division of Union Brig. Gen. and Brevet Maj. Gen. George Armstrong Custer, especially the brigade of Colonel and Brevet Brig. Gen. William Wells, and the Confederate rear guard cavalry brigades of Brig. Gen. William P. Roberts and Brig. Gen. Rufus Barringer and later in the engagement, Confederate infantry from the division of Maj. Gen. Bushrod Johnson.
The following engagements took place in the year 1863 during the American Civil War. During the year, Union forces captured the Confederate cities of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, giving them complete control over the Mississippi River, while forcing Confederates out of the North following the Battle of Gettysburg.
The western theater of the American Civil War encompassed major military operations in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee, as well as Louisiana east of the Mississippi River. Operations on the coasts of these states, except for Mobile Bay, are considered part of the Lower Seaboard Theater. Most other operations east of the Appalachian Mountains are part of the eastern theater. Operations west of the Mississippi River took place in the trans-Mississippi theater.
The eastern theater of the American Civil War consisted of the major military and naval operations in the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and the coastal fortifications and seaports of North Carolina.
The Second Battle of Deep Bottom, also known as Fussell's Mill, New Market Road, Bailey's Creek, Charles City Road, or White's Tavern, was fought August 14–20, 1864, at Deep Bottom in Henrico County, Virginia, during the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign of the American Civil War.
This is a list of battles and skirmishes of the American Civil War during the year 1865, the final year of the war. During the year, Union forces were able to capture the last major Confederate ports still open to shipping, along with the Confederate capital, and forced the surrender of the four major Confederate commands.