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Battle of New Orleans
Where: New Orleans
Date- January 8, 1815- January 18, 1815
Main Generals- Andrew Jackson, Admiral Alexander Cochrane, and Edward Pakenham
Outcome- Successfully repelled the invading British Army
Importance-constituting the final major battle of the War of 1812, and the most one-sided battle of that war. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
Where: Charleston North Carolina
Date: April 12, 1861-April 14, 1861
Main Generals- General P.G.T Beauregard and Major Robert Anderson
Outcome- Confederate Victory
Importance-The Battle of Fort Sumter was the first battle of the American Civil War. The intense Confederate artillery bombardment of Major Robert Anderson’s small Union garrison in the unfinished fort in the harbor at Charleston, South Carolina, had been preceded by months of siege-like conditions. -
1st Battle Of Bull Run
Where- Manassas, Virginia
Date- July 21, 1861
Main Generals- Irvin Mcdowell, P.G.T Beauregard, and Joseph E. Johnston
Outcome- Confederate Victory
Importance-The First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) was the first major land-based confrontation of the American Civil War. The Union army commander in Washington, Brigadier General Irvin McDowell, gave in to great pressure to begin campaigning before his men’s 90-day enlistments expired, although he did not feel the army was adequately trained yet. -
Battle of Ft. Henry
Where- Ft. Henry, Stewart County and Henry County, Tennessee
Date- February 6, 1862
Main Generals- Ulysses S. Grant, Andrew H. Foote, and Lloyd Tilghman
Outcome-Union Victory
Importance- Was the first significant Union Victory of the American Civil War. -
Ft. Donelson
Where- Fort Donelson, Tennessee
Date- February 11-16, 1862
Main Generals- Ulysses Grant and John B. Floyd
Outcome- Union Victory
Importance- It was fought from February 11 to February 16, 1862 and established General Ulysses S. Grant as a major figure of The Civil War. -
Battle of Shiloh
Where- Pittsburg Landing
Date- April 6-7, 1862
Main Generals- Ulysses S. Grant and Don Carlos Buell
Outcome- Union Victory
Importance- The Civil War would not end quickly or without a high price in human lives. -
Seven Days Battle
Where- Henrico County, Virginia
Date- June 25 - July 1, 1862
Main General- George B. McClellan and Robert E. Lee
Outcome- Confederate Victory
Importance- The Seven Days Battle or Seven Days Campaign took place from June 25 to July 1, 1862 and featured six different battles along the Virginia Peninsula east of Richmond. The Union Army of the Potomac, led by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, was over 100,000 men strong yet was steadily driven away fro the ultimate goal of Richmond. -
2nd Battle Of Bull Run
Where- Manassas, Virginia
Date-August 28-30, 1862
Main Generals- John Pope and Robert E. Lee
Outcome- Confederate Victory
Importance- The Second Battle of Bull Run (Second Battle of Manassas) was fought August 28–30, 1862, during the American Civil War. It was much larger in scale and in the number of casualties than the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) fought in July 1861 on much of the same ground. -
Battle Of Antietam
Where- Sharpsburg, Washington County, Maryland
Date- September 17, 1862
Main Generals- George B. McClellan and Robert E. Lee
Outcome- Union Victory, in that Lee withdrew to Virginia
Importance- The Battle of Antietam, a.k.a. Battle of Sharpsburg, resulted in not only the bloodiest day of the American Civil War, but the bloodiest single day in all of American history. Fought primarily on September 17, 1862, between the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek. -
Murfreesboro
Where- Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Date- October 8- December 31, 1862
Main Generals- William S. Rosecrans and Braxton Bragg
Outcome- Union Victory
Importance-Although the battle to that point had been a tactical draw, the arrival of Union reinforcements made Bragg’s position untenable. He retreated on January 3, granting the North a valuable strategic victory in the middle of an otherwise dismal winter. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
Where- Fredericksburg, Virginia
Date- December 11-15, 1862
Main General- Ambrose E. Burnside and Robert E. Lee
Outcome- Confederate Victory
Importance- The Battle of Fredericksburg saw more troops engaged than any other battle of the American Civil War, almost 200,000 men. Fought in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, December 11–15, 1862, it also involved the first major opposed river crossing in the nation’s history. -
Battle Of Chancellorsville
Where- Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania County, Virginia
Date- April 30- May 6, 1863
Main General- Joseph Hooker and Robert E. Lee’s
Outcome- Confederate Victory
Importance- The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30–May 6, 1863, resulted in a Confederate victory that stopped an attempted flanking movement by Maj. Gen. Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker’s Army of the Potomac against the left of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. -
Battle of Vicksburg
Where- Vicksburg, Mississippi
Date- May 18-July 4, 1863
Main Generals- Ulysses S. Grant and John C. Pemberton
Outcome- Union Victory
Importance- The Battle of Vicksburg, Mississippi, also called the Siege 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. President Abraham Lincoln recognized the significance of the town situated on a 200-foot bluff above the Mississippi River. -
Battle Of Gettysburg
Where- Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in Adams County
Date- July 1-3, 1863
Main General- George G. Meade and Robert E. Lee
Outcome- Union Victory
Importance- The Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (July 1–July 3, 1863), was the largest battle of the American Civil War as well as the largest battle ever fought in North America, involving around 85,000 men in the Union’s Army of the Potomac under Major General George Gordon Meade. -
Battle of Chattanooga
Where- Chattanooga, Tennessee, Hamilton County
Date- November 23-25, 1863
Main Generals- Ulysses S. Grant and Braxton Bragg
Outcome- Union Victory
Importance-The Battle Of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was an important Union victory in the The Civil War. The city was a vital rail hub that, once taken, became the gateway for later campaigns in the Deep South, including the capture of Atlanta and Sherman’s March to the Sea. -
Battle of the Wilderness
Where- Spotsylvania and Orange Counties, Virginia
Date- May 5-7, 1864
Main General- Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee
Outcome- Inconclusive
Importance- Close-quarters fighting among the dense woods created high casualties, but the battle proved inconclusive for both sides. It produced an important strategic event, however; whereas before Union commanders had withdrawn their armies after failing to achieve victory south of the Rappahannock River, Grant did not retreat. -
Battle of Cold Harbor
Where- Hanover County, Virginia
Date- May 31-June 12, 1864
Main General- Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee
Outcome- Confederate Victory
Importance- The main part of the Battle of Cold Harbor was a frontal assault on Confederate lines that ended in nearly 7,000 Union casualties after less than an hour by some accounts most were lost in as little as 10 minutes -
Battle of Atlanta
Where- Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia
Date- July 22, 1864
Main Generals- William T. Sherman and John Bell Hood
Outcome- Union Victory
Importance- The battle is known not only for it strategic and military significance but for its political importance. The victory greatly increased northern morale and is credited for aiding the reelection of Abraham Lincoln over George Mcclellan -
Battle of Fayetteville, NC
Where- Hoke County, near Fayetteville, NC
Date- March 10, 1865
Main Generals- Wade Hampton and Joseph Wheeler
Outcome- Inconclusive
Importance- It was one of the last all-cavalry battles of the Civil War. The inconclusive fighting lasted for several hours early on the morning of March 10, 1865. The Confederate attack delayed the Federal cavalry's movement toward Fayetteville, denying Brevet Maj. Gen. Hugh Judson Kilpatrick the honor of entering the town first. -
Battle of Bentonville
Where- Bentonville, North Carolina
Date- March 19, 1865- March 21, 1865
Main Generals- William T. Sherman and Joseph E. Johnston
Outcome- Union Victory
Importance- The Battle of Bentonville, fought March 19-21, 1865, was the last full-scale action of the Civil War in which a Confederate army was able to mount a tactical offensive.