At the battle of Ball’s Bluff, Virginia, federal forces suffered 921 casualties to the Confederacy’s 155. A Union rout at Ball’s Bluff led to the imprisonment of Gen. Charles P. Stone for mistakes made during the battle. Edward Baker, a friend of Lincoln’s, was killed.
Union armies were defeated at the first major battle of the Civil War, at Bull Run (Manassas) in Virginia. Any hopes for a swift Union victory in the Civil War were dashed at the first battle. After the surrender of Fort Sumter, two Union armies moved into northern Virginia. One, led by General Irvin McDowell, had about 35,000 men; the other, with about 18,000 men was led by General Robert Patterson. They were opposed by two Confederate armies, with about 31,000 troops, one led by General Joseph E. Johnston, another led by General Pierre G....
The Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia, ended in Confederate victory at a cost of 24,000 casualties. Outnumbered 115,000 to 60,000, Lee drove the Union forces under Hooker back across the Rappahannock.
The Confederate army under General Bragg won a major tactical victory over Union forces at Chickamauga, Georgia. The three-day battle resulted in 34,000 casualties combined between September 18 and 20.
Most of General Lee’s army of 75,000 reached Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on the evening of July 1. Most of the 90,000-man Union army of General George Meade arrived at Gettysburg that same evening. On July 2, Lee tried to attack Union positions from the left and right flanks, but Union troops repelled the attack. The next day, the Union army, which expected Lee to attack again on the flanks, reinforced its flanks. But Lee launched a frontal attack on the center of the Union lines, which came as a shock and a surprise. Some 15,000 Confederate...
The Battle of Pea Ridge (Elkhorn Tavern), Arkansas, ended in Union victory. Outnumbered Union troops forced Confederates into a rout, assuring Union control of the Missouri River.
The siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, began on May 18. The city surrendered on July 4 to Ulysses S. Grant’s army; the Union victory came at a cost of 19,233 casualties.
The Battle of Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing), Tennessee, ended in Union victory. It was the bloodiest battle up until that point in American history, with more American casualties than the Revolution, War of 1812, and Mexican-American War combined. Union forces suffered 13,047 casualties and the Confederate side 10,699.
Confederate forts at the mouth of Mississippi River surrendered to the Union Navy, opening New Orleans to federal control.
Abraham Lincoln authorized the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus between Philadelphia and Washington, DC, after a riot in Baltimore, Maryland, endangered soldiers and civilians.