Section Preview As you read, look for: ten major battles of the Civil War, the battles in Georgia during the Chickamauga and Atlanta campaigns, and vocabulary term: Emancipation Proclamation.? The Confederates generally named battles for the nearest town or community. The Union named battles for the nearest body of water. Did You Know? Section2 The War on the Battlefield Today s modern warfare involves long-range guns and smart bombs guided by computers. It is hard to imagine Civil War battles where long lines of hundreds of men faced each other separated by only 1,000 yards or less. Those lines were often two or three men deep; the front line fired at opposing troops while the lines behind them reloaded. Cannon fire hitting the line killed four or five soldiers at a time, but the line quickly filled in and gunfire continued. By far, the most frightening part of the battle line was the moment when the commanding officer raised his sword and shouted the word Charge. Suddenly, hundreds or thousands of screaming men ran furiously forward over open fields, jumping over fences or streams, firing as they ran and with bayonets leveled at the opposing line. The ensuing battle was handto-hand combat. The noise could be deafening with cannons roaring from both sides, musket fire ripping through the air, orders shouted down the line, war yells bouncing about the countryside, and the screams of wounded and dying men. Figure 27 Ten Major Civil War Battles Battle Date Confederate Commanders Confederate Strength Fort Donelson, Tennessee Feb. 13-16, 1862 John B. Floyd, Simon B. Buckner 21,000 men Shiloh, Tennessee Apr. 6-7, 1862 A. S. Johnston, P. G. T. Beauregard 40,335 men Second Manassas, Virginia Aug. 29-30, 1862 Robert E. Lee 48,527 men Antietam, Maryland Sept. 17, 1862 Robert E. Lee 51,844 men Stone s River, Tennessee Dec. 31, 1862 Braxton Bragg 37,739 men Chancellorsville, Virginia May 1-4, 1863 Robert E. Lee 60,892 men Gettysburg, Pennsylvania July 1-3, 1863 Robert E. Lee 75,000 men Chickamauga, Georgia Sept. 19-20, 1863 Braxton Bragg 66,326 men The Wilderness, Virginia May 5-7, 1864 Robert E. Lee 61,025 men Spotsylvania, Virginia May 8-19, 1864 Robert E. Lee 50,000 men 266 Chapter 8: The Civil War, A Nation in Conflict
Major Battles of the War The Civil War, which so many thought would neither last long nor disrupt many lives, proved to be exceptionally costly both in economic and human terms. During its course, some of the bloodiest battles in U.S. history were waged, battles that often pitted brother against brother and neighbor against neighbor. At the first Battle of Manassas (the first Battle of Bull Run), Georgia s 21st Regiment lost 184 of its 242 men, almost 76 percent of its troops. This alarmed those who had thought the Yanks would be easily defeated. Information about the major battles of the war appears in Figure 27. By far, the majority of battles and skirmishes during the Civil War were fought on southern soil. Virginia was the site of the most battles, followed by Tennessee and Georgia. Freeing the Slaves On September 22, 1862, five days after the Battle of Antietam, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, a document ultimately CA OR Washington 1 Nevada Utah New Mexico 2 Dakota Colorado 1 5 Nebraska KS 4 Indian 7 MN 2 IA MO 27 AR 17 MS 16 TX LA 5 LOUISIANA 23 Map 39 Civil War Battles Map Skill: How many states did not see any battles? WI IL TN IN 1 AL 7 MI KY 11 38 OH 2 GA 31 MD 7 WV 15 VA 123 SC 11 FL 6 PA 2 NC 20 NY VT NH MA CT DE NJ ME RI Union Commanders Union Strength Outcome Casualties Ulysses S. Grant 27,000 men Union victory 19,455 (2,832 Union; 16,623 Confederate) Ulysses S. Grant 62,682 men Union victory 23,741 (13,047 Union; 10,694 Confederate) John Pope 75,696 men Confederate victory 25,251 (16,054 Union; 9,197 Confederate) George B. McClellan 75,316 men Union victory 26,134 (12,410 Union; 13,724 Confederate) William S. Rosecrans 41,400 men Union victory 24,645 (12,906 Union; 11,739 Confederate) Joseph Hooker 133,868 men Confederate victory 30,099 (17,278 Union; 12,821 Confederate) George G. Meade 82,289 men Union victory 51,112 (23,048 Union; 28,064 Confederate) William Rosecrans 58,222 men Confederate victory 34,624 (16,170 Union; 18,454 Confederate) Ulysses S. Grant 101,895 men No victor 25,416 (17,666 Union; 7,750 Confederate) Ulysses S. Grant 83,000 men Confederate victory 27,399 (18,399 Union; 9,000 Confederate) Section 2: The War on the Battlefield 267
Below: This close-up photo of Fort Pulaski shows the damage done by the cannon fire. Bottom: This is an aerial view of Fort Pulaski. Notice the holes in the walls.? Some Georgia troops who went to fight in Virginia were not allowed to take their own guns out of Georgia because it was thought that the guns would be needed to defend the state. months and nine days after the Proclamation was issued, the South faced a choice. If it surrendered, slavery would continue in the South. If it did not surrender, the institution of slavery would end. The Confederate leaders chose to continue to fight. affecting 4 million slaves in the United States. Lincoln wanted the Confederate states to end the war, return to the Union, and end 244 years of slavery. In this now famous document, Lincoln stated that unless the South surrendered by January 1, 1863, all slaves in states or districts in rebellion against the United States will be thenceforth and forever free. For three Did You Know? The War in Georgia There were over one hundred Civil War battles and skirmishes in Georgia; most of them, ninety-two, were in 1864 during what are known as the Atlanta Campaign and the Savannah Campaign as General William T. Sherman led his March through Georgia. The first battles on Georgia soil, however, took place in 1862. On April 6-7, 1862, while most of the Confederate forces were concentrated in Virginia, two areas of Georgia s coast were suffer- 268 Chapter 8: The Civil War, A Nation in Conflict
ing their first major attacks Tybee Island and Fort Pulaski, both located just east of Savannah. Fort Pulaski, finished in 1847, was an important coastal defense site. It was named for Revolutionary War hero Count Casimir Pulaski. The fort was made of brick, and most thought it was strong enough to withstand any attacks. On January 3, 1861, Confederate forces had overrun the federal fort and captured it. Inside, they dug trenches and put down heavy pieces of wood to support their cannons. In early April 1862, Union forces took Tybee Island, which was only a mile across the Savannah River from Fort Pulaski. They called on the fort s 25-year-old commander, Colonel Charles Olmstead, and his 385 men to surrender the fort back to Union control. Olmstead refused, and Union forces began firing on the fort at 8:00 a.m. on April 10. After a day and a half of cannon fire, the fort s brick walls were falling down, and Olmstead was forced to surrender. In a letter to his wife, the young Confederate commander wrote, I feel that I have done my duty, my whole duty, that I have been forced to yield only to [the] superior might of metal. Guns such as have never before been brought to bear against any fortification have overpowered me, but I trust to history to keep my name untarnished. The guns to which Olmstead referred were rifled cannons, which were first used in modern warfare at Fort Pulaski. The Battle of Fort Pulaski was the only battle fought in Georgia during 1862. However, before the war was over, more than thirty battles were fought on Georgia s soil. Some of those battles are listed in Figure 28. A look at two of the battles Chickamauga and Atlanta offers insight into the Union s defeat of the South. The Battle of Chickamauga In late 1863, Union forces moved against the major railroad center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, just across the Georgia line. On September 19-20, Union General Rosecrans led his troops against Confederate General Braxton Bragg seven miles south of Chattanooga at Chickamauga Creek. Bragg s army Did? You Know? After the fall of Fort Pulaski, no more American forts were built of brick. Top: Park rangers at Fort Pulaski demonstrate firing of the cannon. Above: Brotherton Cabin is the site of the Confederate breakthrough on the second day of the Battle of Chickamauga. Section 2: The War on the Battlefield 269
Figure 28 Civil War Battles in Georgia Battle Date Union Commanders Fort Pulaski, Chatham County April 10-11, 1862 David Hunter Fort McAllister I, Bryan County March 3, 1863 P. Drayton Davis s Cross Roads, Dade and Walker counties September 10-11, 1863 James Negley Chickamauga, Catoosa and Walker counties September 18-20, 1863 William S. Rosecrans Ringgold Gap, Catoosa County November 27, 1863 Joseph Hooker Dalton I, Whitfield County February 22-27, 1864 George H. Thomas Rocky Face Ridge, Whitfield County May 7-13, 1864 William T. Sherman Resaca,Gordon and Whitfield counties May 13-15, 1864 William T. Sherman Adairsville, Bartow and Gordon counties May 17, 1864 William T. Sherman New Hope Church, Paulding County May 25-26, 1864 William T. Sherman Dallas, Paulding County May 26-June 1, 1864 William T. Sherman Pickett s Mill, Paulding County May 27, 1864 Oliver Otis Howard Marietta (I, II, III, IV), Cobb County June 9-July 3, 1864 William T. Sherman Kolb s Farm, Cobb County June 22, 1864 John M. Schofield Kennesaw Mountain, Cobb County June 27, 1864 William T. Sherman Peachtree Creek, Fulton County July 20, 1864 George H. Thomas Atlanta, Fulton County July 22, 1864 William T. Sherman Ezra Church, Fulton County July 28, 1864 Oliver O. Howard Utoy Creek, Fulton County August 5-7, 1864 John M. Schofield Dalton II, Whitfield County August 14-15, 1864 James B. Steedman Lovejoy s Station, Clayton County August 20, 1864 H. Judson Kilpatrick Jonesboro, Clayton County August 31 - September 1, 1864 William T. Sherman Allatoona, Bartow County October 5, 1864 John M. Corse Griswoldville, Jones and Twiggs counties November 22, 1864 Charles C. Walcutt Buck Head Creek, Jenkins County November 28, 1864 H. Judson Kilpatrick Waynesborough, Burke County December 4, 1864 H. Judson Kilpatrick Fort McAllister II, Bryan County December 13, 1864 William B. Hazen 270 Chapter 8: The Civil War, A Nation in Conflict
Confederate Commanders Outcome Casualties Charles H. Olmstead Union victory 365 (1 Union; 364 Confederate) George A. Anderson Confederate victory Unknown John C. Breckinridge Union victory Unknown Braxton Bragg Confederate victory 34,624 (16,170 Union; 18,454 Confederate) Patrick R. Cleburne Confederate victory 912 (432 Union; 480 Confederate) Joseph E. Johnston Confederate victory Unknown Joseph E. Johnston Union victory Unknown Joseph E. Johnston No victory for either side 5,547 (2,747 Union; 2,800 Confederate) Joseph E. Johnston Confederate victory Total unknown (200 Union) Joseph E. Johnston Confederate victory Total unknown (1,600 Union) Joseph E. Johnston Union victory 5,400 (2,400 Union; 3,000 Confederate) Patrick R. Cleburne Confederate victory 2,100 (1,600 Union; 500 Confederate) Joseph E. Johnston Union victory Unknown John Bell Hood Union victory 1,350 (350 Union; 1,000 Confederate) Joseph E. Johnston Confederate victory 4,000 (3,000 Union; 1,000 Confederate) John Bell Hood Union victory 6,506 (1,710 Union; 4,796 Confederate) John Bell Hood Union victory 12,140 (3,641 Union; 8,499 Confederate) John Bell Hood Union victory 3,562 (562 Union; 3,000 Confederate) John Bell Hood No victory for either side Unknown Joseph Wheeler Union victory Unknown William H. Jackson Confederate victory Unknown William J. Hardee Union victory 3,149 (1,149 Union; 2,000 Confederate) Samuel G. French Union victory 1,505 (706 Union; 799 Confederate) Pleasant J. Phillips, Joseph Wheeler Union victory 712 (62 Union; 650 Confederate) Joseph Wheeler Union victory 646 (46 Union; 600 Confederate) Joseph Wheeler Union victory 440 (190 Union; 250 Confederate) George A. Anderson Union victory 205 (134 Union; 71 Confederate) Section 2: The War on the Battlefield 271
Above: In addition to the lives lost at the Battle of Chickamauga, the Confederacy failed to follow up on a strategic victory. defeated the Union forces and forced the Union Army back into Tennessee. But Bragg did not follow up on the Union retreat. By November 1863, General Ulysses Grant had arrived with more troops and recaptured Chattanooga, forcing Bragg to retreat south to Dalton. The Battle of Atlanta When Grant moved his army east to attack Lee, he left 112,000 men in Chattanooga under the command of General William T. Sherman. Sherman took those men and began a campaign toward Atlanta. Sherman faced General Joseph E. Johnston, who had replaced Bragg. Johnston had 60,000 troops to hold back Sherman s army. During the late spring and early summer of 1864, the two armies fought time and again with major battles at Dalton,? Resaca, Allatoona, Kennesaw Mountain, and New Hope Church. Because of shortages of ammunition and men, Johnston was forced to Did You Know? retreat southward. But he burned bridges and blocked roads as he The Indian name Chickamauga meant River of Death. retreated and slowed Sherman s advance to about two miles a day. 272 Chapter 8: The Civil War, A Nation in Conflict
In June 1864, Sherman attacked Johnston s troops at Kennesaw Mountain but lost that battle. Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, disagreed with Johnston s strategies and wanted Sherman s troops attacked head-on. Davis replaced Johnston with General John Bell Hood. In July, Hood led his troops in an attack on Sherman, losing over 11,000 men in two days. The two armies continued to fight during July until Hood concentrated his troops within the city of Atlanta. The main battle of Atlanta was on July 22. Hood hoped Sherman would follow him into the city so that he could attack Sherman s army on the left flank and rear guard. However, the attacks did not succeed. The two armies fought for the rest of July and August until Hood finally left the city on September 1 after the citizens evacuated Atlanta. The next day, the Union army moved into Atlanta and took over its railroads and factories. The soldiers stayed until November 15 when, about three o clock in the afternoon, they set fire to the city. On November 16, Sherman s army left Atlanta in flames and began their infamous March to the Sea. Sherman s March to the Sea Sherman s army moved quickly through the state heading from Atlanta to Savannah, burning everything in a path sixty miles wide on the threehundred mile trek to the coast. On his way from Atlanta to Savannah, Sherman destroyed all military targets and the civilian economic system (farms, homes, towns, railroads, bridges, roads) that supported the Confederate military. The move took over two months and left a large area of the state totally destroyed. In response to criticism of the destruction, Sherman reportedly said, If the people [of Georgia] raise a howl against my barbarity and cruelty, I will answer that war is war and not popularity seeking. Estimates of the damage from Sherman s March to the Sea were as high as $100 million. Top: Although Sherman lost the battle at Kennesaw Mountain, that did not stop him from pushing on toward Atlanta. Above: Sherman s and Hood s armies fought for over a month in and around Atlanta before Hood finally evacuated the city. The Atlanta Cyclorama has a 358- foot painting of the battle. Section 2: The War on the Battlefield 273
Ringgold Gap Chickamauga Rocky Face Ridge Davis Crossroads Dalton (2 battles) Resaca Adairsville Pickett s Mill New Hope Church Dallas Chattahoochee River Utoy Creek Map 40 The Civil War in Georgia Cassville Altoona Kennesaw Mtn. Kolb s Farm Peachtree Creek Atlanta Ezra Church Jonesboro Lovejoy s Station Griswoldville On December 22, 1864, Sherman sent a wire to President Lincoln: I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the City of Savannah with one hundred fifty heavy guns, plenty of ammunition, also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton. The next day, Union troops took over Savannah. Interestingly enough, Sherman did not burn Savannah. He knew that there was a treasure to be saved in Savannah, a Buckhead Creek treasure the Union Army needed. Since the city had been cut off by the naval blockade, bales of cotton had been accumulating in the warehouses Savannah and on the docks. Sherman quickly Pulaski had it loaded, shipped to the North, Ft. McAllister and sold for a reported $28 million. When Savannah surrendered, Sherman had effectively divided the upper and lower Confederacy, cutting Robert E. Lee off from the vital supplies needed to continue the Southern war effort and ending the war in Georgia. The main concern of those who remained in Georgia was finding food and shelter. The factories, rail lines, mills, plantations, and farm fields lay around them in ruins. SHERMAN S MARCH The Final Battles of the War Map Skill: In which direction On January 13, 1865, the North captured Fort Fisher in North Carolina did Genral Sherman (below) and closed the last Confederate blockade-running port. In Virginia, Lee s march? troops continued to fight Grant s army, which was over twice the size of the remaining Confederate force. On March 2, Lee asked to meet with Grant to talk about ending the war. President Lincoln refused to allow the meeting unless the South surrendered. Lee tried one final time to push Union troops back from Petersburg, Virginia. He failed. Before he could reach the remaining Confederate forces in North Carolina, Union troops cut off his retreat. President Jefferson Davis knew the war was near its end. He left Richmond and went to Danville, Virginia, to avoid capture. He was eventually captured near Irwinville, Georgia. On April 9, 1865, General Lee Did? You Know? surrendered to General Grant at By war s end, Robert E. Lee Appomattox Court House in Virginia. While there were still a few Old Man because of his care was respectfully called The skirmishes in North Carolina, the of his troops. Civil War was officially over. 274 Chapter 8: The Civil War, A Nation in Conflict
By the Side of the Road In 1862, local housebuilder and mechanic John Gilleland from Athens had an idea for a double-barreled cannon that would fire two cannonballs connected with a chain. After it was cast, Gilleland's cannon was taken for its first test. Unfortunately, the two balls did not fire at exactly the same time. The chain connecting them broke, and each cannonball followed an erratic course. One killed a cow, and the other hit a chimney on a cabin. Although Gilleland was convinced that his cannon was a success, he could not convince anyone else. The cannon was returned to Athens, where it was used as a signal gun. Today, the only known specimen of a double-barreled cannon stands on the grounds of City Hall in Athens. Civil War Prisons A particularly dark side of the Civil War was the way prisoners of both sides were treated by their captors. At first, each side routinely exchanged prisoners. However, in 1864, after an incident in which northern black military prisoners were reported to have been killed by their Confederate captors, General Grant stopped exchanging prisoners with the South. This kept the Confederacy from getting back men needed for the army. It also made military prisons overflow. One of the Confederate prisons for Union soldiers was in Andersonville, Georgia. The prison was dirty; the only shelter was whatever the prisoners could put together; and there was not enough food, water, or medical supplies. Much of the available water was contaminated. The prison was always crowded beyond reason. During the fifteen months Andersonville operated, almost 13,000 Union prisoners died. Stories of the conditions at Andersonville were so bad that the Confederate War Department had a medical team look at the prison. The team recommended moving the soldiers to better places. Although records indicate Section 2: The War on the Battlefield 275
Below: The Andersonville National Historic Site is also home to the National Prisoner of War Museum. Opened in 1998, it is dedicated to the men and women of this country who have suffered captivity. Bottom: This monument to the Iowa dead is in the Andersonville National Cemetery. Andersonville s commander, Captain Henry Wirz, tried to improve conditions at the prison, he was executed in 1865 for excessive cruelty. Today, Andersonville is a national cemetery where 13,700 Union dead are buried. Although conditions at Andersonville Prison were horrible, the problems in prison camps were not limited to the South. Over 26,000 southerners died in northern camps such as Point Lookout, Maryland, and Camp Douglas, Illinois. One Union prison was located at Elmira, New York. Before the war s end, one-fourth of the 12,123 Confederate prisoners at Elmira died. The prisoners faced malnutrition, exposure to the cold, and poor medical conditions. A man gnawing on a meat bone was envied by those about him. Broken arms and legs often were not tended. Prisoners, unaccustomed to the severe cold of New York winters, were often made to stand at attention barefooted on the snowy, ice-cold grounds. During summer months, prisoners were often made to stand for days in a sweat box seven feet high, twenty inches wide, and twelve inches deep without food, water, or ventilation. Neither the North nor the South had foreseen the problems that would be caused by large numbers of prisoners over a prolonged war period. They had not planned how to house and feed and care for thousands of military prisoners, and they were unable to do so. It s Your Turn 1. What was tthe first battle of the Civil War that took place on Georgia soil? 2. Could the Confederacy have maintained slavery even after the war was underway? 3. Why did General Sherman attack the civilian infrastructure between Atlanta and Savannah? 4. What military mistake cost Southern forces the initiative after the Battle of Chickamauga? 5. Who was executed for excessive cruelty at Andersonville Prison? Was that action justified? 276 Chapter 8: The Civil War, A Nation in Conflict