Introduction
The Battle of Fort Pulaski was not an overwhelming military strategic battle like some other battles fought during the Civil War. However, there was one key point that makes this battle noteworthy. With the preponderance of sea forts being made of brick and mortar, a new, stronger type of weapon system had to be introduced to break through the fortifications, also to engage at further distances; outside the range of the fort’s cannons. That weapon system was the rifled artillery system, the Parrott rifle and James rifle artillery cannons. Thought to be impregnable by the artillery systems of the day, “the completed two tier fort is a truncated hexagon that faces east with walls 7’ 6” thick and up to 35’ high. Included is a demilune, moat, two powder magazines, and a parade ground about the size of a football field.”1 Neither side thought the fort could be taken by bombardment alone, they thought the fort would have to be starved into submission.
The Federal forces, commanded initially by General Thomas W. Sherman (before the attack Sherman was reassigned and Major General David Hunter took command) and Captain Quincy A. Gillmore, needed to stop the resupply of Confederate forces through Savannah, GA; which had three railroad systems leading out of the city to feed the front lines. The Confederate forces, commanded
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by Colonel Charles H. Olmstead, were charged with securing the supply lines and protecting the waterways to Savannah.
History
Fort Pulaski was built in the 1830s and 1840s as a Third System fort on Cockspur Island in the Savannah River. This type of defense was appropriated by President James Madison to increase the coastal defenses after the War of 1812. There were a multitude o...
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...tion force with ranged weapons is the clear preference.
Another lesson that can be gleaned from this battle is not underestimating the technological advances of the enemy. Though Olmstead knew the federals had rifled cannons, his knowledge of how destructive this new weapon could be was dramatically underestimated. The need to understand and prepare for the technology of the enemy could be the difference between success and failure.
The last lesson that can be learned is security. The Confederate forces did not patrol the waters around Fort Pulaski frequently enough. It took the federal forces many months to recon the rivers and tributaries around Pulaski and to build the batteries on the adjacent islands. If the Confederates would have conducted more security patrols, both by land and sea, the presence of the federal forces would have been detected.
In 1863, the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was awoken to the beginning of what was to be the turning point of the Civil War for the Union. It began as a small skirmish, but by its end it involved so many Americans to which would become one of the bloodiest battles ever taken place on Unites States soil. The Battle of Gettysburg was not only a turning point in the war.
The Confederate Army was very successful in the South.... ... middle of paper ... ... Gettysburg: A Study in Command.
General Richard Sherman’s march to the sea has just finished. After successful capturing Atlanta, Georgia, General Sherman directed his Union army to Savannah, Georgia. Along the way, northerners wreaked havoc on Southern cotton mills and destroy train tracks while completely uprooting 20 percent of Georgian plantations. This effectively halted the Confederate’s means of transportation and economic structure subsequently w...
At the end of his “March to the Sea”, MG William T. Sherman led Union forces from Georgia to the north through the Carolinas to unite with LTG Ulysses S. Grant in Virginia. By doing so, he believed he would be able to cut Confederate forces General Robert E. Lee’s supply lines. In February 1865, MG Sherman captured Columbia, the state capital of South Carolina. The commander of Confederate forces was LTG Wade Hampton who led the force under the command of General P.G.T Beauregard. MG Sherman succeeded in defeating Confederate on the basis of the principles of mission command.
South Carolina had many important battles fought on its territory, Fort Sumter. Fort Sumter is an island in the Charleston Harbor, its main purpose for being built was to protect the harbor. The Confederacy felt like the Charleston harbor would be a key port in this area. When the first shots were fired, at Fort Sumter, by the Confederate soldiers this began one of the darkest periods in American history.
The Confederate General Earl Van Dorn's objective was to "have St. Louis - then Huzza!" He hoped to accomplish this by going north from his headquarters at Pocahontas to the Boston Mountains, where the Union forces under command of General Samuel Curtis had taken up camp. After a nine-day march, Van Dorn finally made it to the mountains. There, he met up with McCulloch and Price, two of his officers. This Confederate Army of the West marched rapidly to Fayetteville on Telegraph Road and then went on to Bentonville in an attempt to overwhelm the Federal troops of Genera...
The British chose to attack the Americans from the north by way of Isle aux Pois in the mouth of the Pearl River because this was the only only stable water they had found that ships could ride and anchor. When hearing that the british where coming this way, Lieutenant Thomas Ap Catesby Jones and his five gunboats went to try and Barackade the Rigolets trying to make sure they wouldn’t enter. His 185 men and 23 guns awaited the British. At 10:30 on December 14th 1814 three columns of British ships, 42 to 45, armed with 43 guns and 1,200 under the command of Captain Lockyer met the American blockade. Fierce fighting began and the British had finally captured the five American boats. Losses were 17 British and 6 Americans killed, 77 British and 35 Americans wounded. This gave Gerneral Andrew Jackson six days more to improve his defenses. The British at the very beginning of the war had demolished almost all of Jacksons sea power. Jackson only had the Carolina, Louisiana, and one gunboat left.
Therefore, neither of the generals exceeded the other when it comes to military strategies, which rather debunks Shaara’s depiction of Longstreet’s advanced knowledge of modern warfare. Despite of the importance of the Battle of Gettysburg, often marked as the turning point of the war, General Longstreet should not obey an order that results in a significant loss of men that would be extremely difficult to replace at this time. Already limited by the amount of men still able to fight, pushing additional forces in an open battle would just nearly deplete the confederate soldiers completely. Since this battle was one that went on until a majority of ones sided were depleted, the south should have played it safe against the Unions nearly surplus supply of
It all started in the year 1862. General George McCellen currently controls the army of the Potomac. When it was determined that McCellen was a bad general, in December of 1862 he was replaced with General Ambrose Burnside. Within a week, Burnside decided on a campaign to the Southern capitol, Richmond. He told his plans to Lincoln and Lincoln approved, but told Burnside the only way for a win was to move quickly. Burnside split his group into three grand divisions, each with two corps. Burnside’s division arrives first at Fredericksburg; when he arrived there weren’t many Confederates. After Burnside’s arrival there was a swarm of Confederates who arrived. The problem was, that while the Confederates moved into position, General Burnside had to wait for pontoon builders so they could cross the Rappahannock River. (See Map1) He had requested pontoons from Harper’s Ferry but they hadn’t arrived yet and came two weeks later. This gave the Confederates time to get an advantageous position over the Union. While Burnside waited he looked at the town from on top of a ridge.
Correspondence of John C. Calhoun. J. Franklin Jameson, ed. Annual Report of the American Historical Association 1899. II. 1900.
Major Anderson thought that the people of Charleston were about t attempt to seize Fort Sumter. He would not stand for this, so since he was commander of all the defenses of the harbor, and without any orders to disagree with him, he said that he could occupy any one of his choice. Since he was being watched he only told his plan to three or four officers that he knew that he could trust. He first removed the women and children with a supply of provisions. They were sent to Fort Johnson on Dec. 26 in vessels. The firing of tree guns at Moultrie was to be the signal for them to be conveyed to Sumter. In the evening the garrison went to Sumter. The people of Charleston knew that the women and children were at Fort Johnson and thought that Anderson would take his troops there. (www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/battlefort-sumter.html)
In conclusion, it is imperative to observe that not many people could have foreseen the outcomes of the war. In fact, for many people who actually lived during the time that this war took place; the civil war to them was a thing that would just happen and end after a short while. The northerners on the other hand did not expect that the south would chose to put up a very spirited defense and the people from the south knew exactly the weaknesses of the northerners that they really felt they could face Washington and coerce the authorities to identify the confederacy. Sadly, both warring sides had an impractical outlook into the war which turned out to take a very long time that any of the factions had wanted it to last.
" Thesis. Thesis. Thesis. Air Force Historical Research Agency, 2008. Print.
The Civil War consisted of many legendary battles over the soil of the United and Confederate States of America, which will be retold for generations in history books. Although these land battles were indeed great, the concept of this paper will be the Naval warfare of the Civil War, paying certain attention to the battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac.
The Civil War that took place in the United States from 1861 to 1865 could have easily swung either way at several points during the conflict. There is however several reasons that the North would emerge victorious from this bloody war that pit brother against brother. Some of the main contributing factors are superior industrial capabilities, more efficient logistical support, greater naval power, and a largely lopsided population in favor of the Union. Also one of the advantages the Union had was that of an experienced government, an advantage that very well might have been one of the greatest contributing factors to their success. There are many reasons factors that lead to the North's victory, and each of these elements in and amongst themselves was extremely vital to the effectiveness of the Northern military forces. Had any one of these factors not been in place the outcome of the war could have been significantly different, and the United States as we know it today could be quite a different place to live.