Browse all Entries in the Civil War Battles topic.
Knoxville Campaign
November 4–December 14, 1863 Also known as Longstreet's Knoxville Campaign, the Knoxville Campaign was a Confederate attempt in November and December 1863 to prevent Union forces commanded by Major General Ambrose Burnside from relieving other Federal troops who were also under siege at Chattanooga. On June 8, 1861, Tennessee became the last Southern state to…
Lynchburg Campaign
May–June 1864 The Lynchburg Campaign was the first of three campaigns that comprise the Shenandoah Valley Campaigns of 1864. On March 12, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant as General-in-Chief of the Armies of the United States. Upon his arrival in Washington, Grant drafted a plan to have the various Union armies in…
Maryland Campaign
September 4–September 20, 1862 The Maryland Campaign was an ill-fated Confederate attempt to take the American Civil War to Northern soil in 1862. The failure of the invasion provided the impetus for President Abraham Lincoln to issue his Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. Emboldened by the Rebel victory at the Battle of Bull Run II (August 28…
Mine Run Campaign
November 26–December 2, 1863 The Mine Run Campaign was a short-lived Union offensive that pitted the Army of the Potomac against the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia from November 26–December 2, 1863 in Orange County, Virginia. Following the Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863) Major General George G. Meade's Army of…
Morgan’s Raiders
Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's cavalry soldiers were known as Morgan Raiders. During the summer of 1863, these men participated in the only significant Confederate invasion of Ohio that occurred during the American Civil War. Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's cavalry soldiers were known as Morgan Raiders. During the summer of 1863, these men participated…
Northern Virginia Campaign
July 19 – September 1, 1862 A string of Confederate victories during Northern Virginia Campaign enabled General Robert E. Lee to invade Maryland on September 4, 1862, taking the Civil War to Northern soil for the first time. Despite their stunning victory at the Battle of Bull Run I in July 1861, Confederate prospects were…
old Battle of Reams Station
August 25, 1864 Fought on August 25, 1864, during the Petersburg Campaign, the Battle of Ream's Station II was a Confederate victory that followed the destruction by Union forces of several miles of the Weldon Railroad. On March 10, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant as General-in-Chief of the Armies of the United…
Overland Campaign
May 4-June 24, 1864 The Overland Campaign, also known as the Wilderness Campaign, was a Union offensive launched in May 1864, intended to defeat Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, and to bring an end to the American Civil War. The campaign, designed by Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, was the bloodiest of the…
Peninsula Campaign
March 17–August 14, 1862 The Peninsula Campaign, also known as the Peninsular Campaign, was an ill-fated Union offensive launched by Major General George B. McClellan in 1862 that was intended to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia and bring a quick end to the American Civil War. Within twenty-four hours of the Union's defeat…
Petersburg Campaign
June 1864 – March 1865 Beginning in June 1864, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's Petersburg Campaign was a nine month-long Union offensive that consisted of nineteen major military engagements, plus additional minor skirmishes, that forced General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia to abandon the Confederate capital at Richmond in April 1865. On March…