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US Civil War Generals
Ask questions here about famous US Civil War generals, on both the Union and Confederate side.
750 Questions
What Confederate general replaced General Braxton Bragg?
After the loss at the Battle of Chattanooga, Jefferson Davis replaced Bragg with General Joseph Johnston. Johnston's troops would be asked to defend the march of Union General William T. Sherman to Georgia.
What did Longstreet want to do to help armies in the west?
Genaeral James Longstreet wanted to help General Braxton Bragg in the Chattanooga area.
(Chattanooga, Tennessee)
Longstreet's idea was a good one, however, Bragg had caused dissension within the ranks of his generals causing Jefferson Davis to leave Richmond and travel to Tennessee to mediate any internal problems.
What did Union General George B McClellan do for a living before the US Civil War?
George B. McClellan resigned his position in the US Army in 1857, to find a more lucrative position. He sought employment in the private sector where military engineers, which he was, were in great demand. He soon became a successful, high level manager with the Illinois Central Railroad. Below is the first answer
IMPROVEMENT.
In 1857 she dismissed from the Army and became chief Engineer and then President of the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad.
As the raiding force of Confederate General approached Washington DC, a number of skirmishes developed over a broad area. These occurred at Antietam Bridge, Frederick, and at Sandy Hook, Maryland. A more deadly conflict occurred at Monocacy, Maryland. At this point, Federal defensive forces were mostly inexperienced and untrained soldiers. Early inflicted 2,000 casualties there with his veteran forces. The Confederates lost 700 men. Lincoln was confused at the lack of action against Early, especially since he was so close to Washington DC.
How did Union General Henry W Halleck reorganize the command structure in the Eastern Theater?
As General Joseph Hooker was doing his best to boost the morale of the Army of the Potomac, and being credited with his great success, Halleck, under fire from US President Lincoln, began to reorganize the command structure in the Eastern Theater. This was a challenge, and a major reason was the fact that Lincoln believed that Halleck had failed in more than one way to correctly exercise his role as general in chief. Because of that, General Hooker convinced Lincoln that he could break the normal chain of command and report directly to President Lincoln. This was a serious flaw by any military measure.
With that said, Halleck took the following measures:
* He placed the troops at Harper's Ferry and troops in the Shenandoah Valley under the command of Major General Robert Schenck;
* Halleck reassigned the 9th Corps of the Army of the Potomac to Major General Dix at Fort Monroe; and
* Halleck retained Major General Heintzelman as commander of the Washington DC defense troops.
Halleck believed that these armies were too weak to defend themselves and ordered General Hooker to support them from the Army of the Potomac as needed.
Lincoln again stepped in to break the chain of command by offering Hooker command of the Washington DC garrison, bur Hooker declined.
Halleck was able to give to Hooker the same instructions that Lincoln had approved for the last commander of the Army of the Potomac, General Burnside, the command to focus on destroying Lee's army.
How did Robert Edward Lee spend his last years?
After a brief stint as president of Washington College (today Washington and Lee University) he retired to private life, but died of a stroke only five years after the war ended.
What role did Confederate General Longstreet play in the Battle of Chickamaugua?
Confederate General James Longstreet played a major role in the Southern victory at the Battle of Chickamaugua. The Union forces under General Rosencrans had forced the Confederates into frontal assaults because he had thwarted the Rebel attempt to outflank him. Longstreet led an assault that broke through the Union lines, mostly because Rosencrans did not realize that his defensive line had a gap, which was exploited by General Longstreet.
The first tasks of General McClellan are listed below. These are general and overall plans he made before he actually went into the details of assigning generals to certain parts of the Army of the Potomac.When US President Lincoln restored General George B. McClellan as commander of the Army of the Potomac, the general did not have an easy task in restoring his army which had been defeated in the second Battle of Bull Run, under General John Pope. The task of restoring his army's morale was almost automatic in that the officers and the rank and file of the Army of the Potomac always favored and was loyal to McClellan. They were overjoyed to learn of McClellan's reinstatement.
McClellan's task benefited by the fact that unlike after the first Battle of Bull Run, Washington DC, had working a capable facility for logistical support for the army. In fact much of that was due to McClellan's efforts in 1861. He had then established an effective system of provost guards to for example, round up straggling infantry men and reinserted them back into their proper armies.
McClellan had also created a system whereby veteran units could reestablish discipline for the stragglers and also insure that encampments were all in order.
McClellan's main challenge was to create a system to take care of the new recruits who had entered the army while he was "away". Newly recruited regiments were arriving on a weekly basis, which was good, however, McClellan had to organize these new men basically from scratch.
Once again, however, this task was made easier by his own plans he had made before he lost his command.
Unlike times in the past, McClellan now had the authority to assign new regiments to existing veteran brigades without regards to their state affiliations.
This was disputed by state governors, who believed they were losing control of the regiments that they had recruited. Nevertheless, McClellan prevailed.
What commanders participated in the capture of Confederate Fort Henry?
The capture of Fort Henry was the first major battle that would soon bring notoriety to General US Grant.Grant led the Union forces that included generals McClernand and C.F. Smith. Union naval officer Andrew Foote's gunboats were essential for the victory in the capture of Fort Henry. On the Confederate side, the Fort Henry commander was Lloyd Tighman.
What role did wm f Cody play in the seventh kansas burning of oxford ms?
I believe the burning of Oxford, MS occurred at the same time of General Forrest's Memphis Raid on August 21, 1864. General Chalmers' forces was used as a distraction while General Forrest made his raid into Memphis. General Chalmers had to pull back which allowed the Union cavalry to capture and destroy much of Oxford.
I don't know if the 7th Kansas Cavalry was involved in the attack on Oxford.
The 7th Kansas Cavalry returned to Leavenworth, Kansas, in Jan & Feb 1864 to recruit replacements for soldiers who had served their time in the Army. William F. Cody, who later became known as "Buffalo Bill Cody", enlisted with the 7th Kansas Cavalry. The 7 Kansas Cavalry returned to the Memphis area for patrols along the Memphis & Charleston RR and conduct raids into northern Mississippi. So it is possible that Cody was in Oxford.
Who headed the Union army of the Eastern theater during the US Civil War?
During the US Civil War, there were several Union generals in charge of the Union's war efforts in the East. They were:* George B. McClellan;
* Henry Halleck;
* Ambrose Burnside;
* John Pope;
* George Meade; and
* US Grant.
What Confederate general led the Army of Tennessee in June of 1863?
In June of 1863, the Confederate Army of Tennessee was led by General Braxton Bragg. He was the commanding general at the Battle of Chickamauga that resulted in a Southern victory in September, 1863. This battle would rank as one of the bloodiest ones in the US Civil War.
When did Union General August Valentine Kautz graduate from West Point?
Union General August Valentine Kautz graduated from West Point in 1852. Among the 43 graduating cadets that year, Kautz was ranked 35th. Kautz served in the Peninsula campaign in 1862 and at the Siege of Petersburg in 1864.
What did Union General William T Sherman explain to his brother about the Chickasaw Bayou in 1863?
Chickasaw Bayou was problem for Union General William T. Sherman. After he withdrew is forces from the battle zone he informed his brother that the bayou was too strongly defended by the Confederates and that only with the help of another Union army providing two battle fronts could any progress be made.
Was there a threat that General George B McClellan planned take over the US government?
A reporter from the New York Tribune, Nathaniel Paige, received a report from an officer close to General McClellan, a Colonel Thomas Key on September 11, 1862, that high level officers of the Army of the Potomac were planning to take control of the war and negotiate a peace deal favorable to the South. The Tribune published these reports in the Fall of 1862. The anti-Lincoln Democrats were reportedly working with McClellan behind the scenes. Lincoln's own secretary, John Hay was aware of these rumors, and President Lincoln is said to have been uncomfortable about such reports. Lincoln's cabinet, with the exception of Montgomery Blair, wanted to oust McClellan before he became a real problem.
Major General Henry W. Halleck saw merit in the pre-war plans of the then Union general in chief, Winfield Scott. Halleck expected a Southern counter attack on General Grant's army at Pittsburg Landing. As the Union's commander in the Western Theater, he ordered the forces of General Buell to move down the Tennessee River and reinforce Grant. Anxious to control the Mississippi River, Halleck did not concentrate his entire force on the Tennessee River. Halleck kept General John Pope and an army of 25,000 troops west of the Mississippi, working with the Union navy, to capture Confederate strongholds there. He therefore, by his actions, agreed with Scott's idea of using the Mississippi River as a control point to keep as many Confederate forces as possible separated from each other.
What were General Henry W Halleck's objectives concerning Yazoo City?
General Henry Wager Halleck's mission in the Wester Theater were complex and not easy to execute considering the difficult water hazards and heat of the South. With all that in mind, he had orders for General US Grant to complete. He wanted Grant to secure the Union position on the eastern banks of the Mississippi River. Halleck advised Grant to march to the northeast of Vicksburg and assault the Confederate force that was fortifying Yazoo City. Grant was charged with ending the Confederate fortification building and to capture their cannons. Also, to capture any shipping located on the nearby Yazoo River.
General Sherman began his campaign into Georgia with 100,000 troops. His Confederate opponent, General Joseph Johnston commanded only 50,000 troops.
In late October of 1862, Major General William Rosencrans took over the Army of the Cumberland from General Don Carlos Buell. Hallecks instructions to Rosencrans were the following:* Apply pressure on the Confederate Army of Tennessee and force it out of Kentucky;
* Cover Nashville and repair the railroad to permit the movement of supples between Nashville and Louisville, Kentucky; and
* Maintain pressure on the Army of Tennessee to prevent it from moving West to hinder the operations of General US Grant.
What part did General George Custer play in the Confederate surrender at Appomattox?
General Custer's cavalry had destroyed the Confederate defenses between Richmond and Appomattox. Lee had retreated to the west from Richmond hoping for his army to hide behind those defenses. They were not there. At Appomattox, General Grant gave General Custer the table on which the surrender document was signed.
What are 2 famous quates from Ulysses S. Grant?
When he took command of 21st Illinois Regiment, the soldiers gathered noisy and disorderly around him asking for a speech. Grant reply peremptorily:
"Men, retire in your cantonments!
On Feb.15th,1862 the Confederate Commander at Fort Donelson requested Grant to negotiate the terms of the surrender. Grant reply that for Fort Donelson's garrison the only admitted term was the "unconditional surrender" adding then: "I am about to move against your positions"
