Top 20 Significant Battles (in chronological order)

By Yangho Cho, Jonathan Bai, Eujene Yum, Yoon Kim

1). Battle of Fort Sumter (1861 April 12)

This battle took place in Fort Sumter, near Charleston, South Carolina. This battle marked the beginning of the American Civil War. The Confederates won this battle.

2). The First Battle of Bull Run/ First Battle of Manassas (1861 July 21)

This battle took place near Manassas, Virginia, in the early days of the war. It is considered to be one of the biggest land battles of the Amer-ican Civil War. The Union General was McDow-ell while the Confederacy had “Stonewall” Jackson. The Union led inexperienced soldiers to battle but they seemed to be winning at first. Then, General “Stonewall” Jackson of the Confederacy kept holding his line until more re-inforcements came. As a result, the Union lost the battle and fled to Washington.

3). Seven Day’s Battles (1862 June 25-July 1)

In seven days, there were several battles against General McClellan (U-nion) and Robert E. Lee (Confeder-acy). The Confederacy eventually wins these battles. The battles took place near Henrico County, Virginia. Both sides suffered heavy casualties.

4). The Second Battle of Bull Run (1862 August 28-30)

The battle was fought on the same place as the First Battle of Bull Run, but more people were killed in the second battle. The Union general was John Pope, while the Confederacy had General Robert E. Lee. Again, the Union lost the battle.

5). Battle of Antietam (1862 September 17)

The Union general McClellan and the Confederacy general Robert E. Lee met near Antietam Creek, Maryland. It was one of the first Civil war bat-tles to be fought on the Northern side of the country. The result of the bat-tle was not determined because the Union lost many men and the Con-federacy also lost many men. It re-sulted in many casualties.

6). Battle of Fredericksburg (1862 December 11-15)

General Ambrose Burnside of the Union fought against General Robert E. Lee of the Confederacy near Fred-ericksburg, Virginia. Burnside wanted to get to Confederate capitol, Rich-mond, but he was stopped by Lee. General Lee won the battle again.

7). Battle of Chancellorsville (1863 April 30- May 6)

It took place somewhere near a village called Chancellorsville, Virginia. The Union General was Joseph Hooker and the Confed-eracy general was Robert E. Lee. During the battle, General “Stonewall” Jackson got shot by his soldiers when he was taking a walk in the dark. The soldiers mistook him for someone suspicious. He later died and Robert E. Lee was grieved to lose him. How-ever, Lee managed to defeat General Hooker in the end.

8). Siege of Vicksburg (1863 May18- July 4)

Union General Ulysses S. Grant laid a siege on a fort in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The Confederate General was John C. Pemberton. Running out of supplies, the Confederacy eventually surrendered. This was a major deal for the Union because General Robert E. Lee lost at the battle of Gettysburg one day before, July 3rd.

9). Battle of Gettysburg (1863 July 1-3)

This battle which occurred in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania resulted in about 51,000 casualties; more than half of casualties were the Confederate soldiers. The Union was considered the winner of the battle. It was the war’s turning point because the loss of the war resulted in the Confederacy fighting in a losing war. The South did not have many more men to replace the casualties with after the battle.

Confederate commander- Robert E. Lee Union commander- George Meade

10). Battle of the Wilderness (1864 May 5-7)

It took place in Spotsylvania County, Vir-ginia. Ulysses S. Grant was promoted to lieutenant general, and as a result he commanded all the Union forces. The re-sult of the battle is considered inconclu-sive. But both sides suffered heavy casu-alties: Union lost 18,000 men while the Confederate lost 11,000 men.

Confederate commander- Robert E. Lee Union commander- Ulysses S. Grant

11). Battle of Cloyd's Mountain (1864 May 9)

This battle took place in Pulaski County, Virginia. The generals of the Union and the Confederacy were Crooks and Jenkins, respectively. The Union eventually won, which enabled them to destroy one of the important railroads of the South. Jenkins died as a result of this battle.

12). Battle of Cold Harbor (1864 May 31- June 12)

General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union suffered a heavy loss against Confederacy’s General Robert E. Lee. Compared to the Union’s, the num-ber of casualties of the Confederacy was low. This battle was considered to be the last victory for Lee’s forces during the American Civil war. It took place in Hanover County, Virginia.

13). Battle of Wilmington (1865 February 11-22)

This battle, which took place in Wilm-ington, North Carolina, resulted in the Confederacy having to close its last port. Therefore, the Union cre-ated a blockade on the Confederacy. Obviously, the Union won. The gen-erals of this battle were Schofield (U-nion) and Bragg (Confederacy).

14). Third Battle of Petersburg (1865 April 2)

Union’s Ulysses S. Grant attacked the Confederacy forces in Petersburg, Virginia. The Confederate general was Robert E. Lee. The Siege that was on Petersburg previously had ended when Grant captured it. Grant won against Lee, which meant Union Victory.

15). Battle of Sayler’s Creek (1865 April 6)

With General Sheridan (Union) and General Ewell (Confederacy) of the commanders of each sides, the bat-tle took place near Petersburg, Vir-ginia. It ended as a Union victory. Ewell was captured and Lee realizes how weak his army became.

16). Battle of High Bridge (1865 April 6-7)

This battle took place in Prince Ed-ward County, Virginia. The result of the battle was not determined. The main objective of the battle for the Confederacy was to burn down some bridges that would stop the Union army for a while. But the Confeder-acy failed to do so.

17). Battle of Five Forks (1865 April 1)

General Sheridan of the Union won this battle against Confederacy’s General Picket. It took place near Pe-tersburg, Virginia. This battle of one of the last battles of the American Civil war. Because of Picket’s loss, General Lee had to retreat to the West of the Confederacy.

18). Battle of Appomattox Station (1865 April 8)

General Grant of the Union met again with General Lee of the Con-federacy. This battle was pretty much the preparation for the Battle of Ap-pomattox Courthouse. Lee lost this battle that lasted several hours.

19). Battle of Appomattox Courthouse (1865 April 9)

This battle was the final Civil war battle for General Robert E. Lee. He had to go against Ulysses S. Grant of the Union. Lee eventually surren-dered to Grant with his forces. This battle took place in Appomattox, Vir-ginia.

20). Battle of West Point (1865 April 16)

General Wilson of the Union beat the Confederacy, near West Point, Geor-gia. The Confederacy general, Gen-eral Tyler died in this battle. It was one of the last battles of the Ameri-can Civil war.