US Civil War Generals

The Federal Army of the Potomac was led by Major General George McClellan in the Autumn of 1862, and would be replaced later that Fall, in November, by Major General Ambrose E. Burnside.

The change in military leadership was a surprise to many people in the North who supported General McClellan. President Lincoln waited until the off-year elections of 1862 were finished before he relieved McClellan. Playing politics with top generals such as Burnside and McClellan were not in the Union's best interests.

Nathan Bedford Forrest was first buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis Tennessee in 1877. His remains were moved and re interred at Forrest Park, also in Memphis, in 1909. The park is named for him.

The devastation rendered during Sherman's march through the South to the sea WAS INTENTIONAL. He ordered that anything which the Confederacy could use to help in the fight against Union forces be taken for the use of his Union forces, or if that was not possible, then to totally destroy so the Confererates could not use. This scorched earth policy was effective against the Confererate military forces, BUT it wreaked indescribable hardship on the civilian populationalso.

Union General William T. Sherman's March to the Sea stands out in US Civil War history because of the brutality Sherman's troops caused in their march from Atlanta Georgia to Savannah, Georgia. Savannah was a seaport town and the idea was for Sherman to hook up with the US Navy and capture Savannah. This was done. However, the actual "March" was controversial in that Sherman brought civilians into the fray by destroying and looting anything they believed would help the Union's efforts to end the rebellion.

Some historians support Sherman's policies, however, his own memoirs include his own statements that display his revenge towards the South. This was not just his "Civil War " face. After the war, his brutal tactics against American Native Tribes is well known.

Major General Ambrose Burnside was replaced by Major General Joseph Hooker because of the disastrous Battle of Fredricksburg in December of 1862. Also for the failed attack on Lee's army in early 1863.

He was with the North.

But he had lived in New Orleans before the war, and wrote to his Southern friends warning them that they were bound to lose.

The American Civil War finally ended due to the superiority of Union resources and strategy. First in the Western Theater, with the capture of Vicksburg and then Atlanta, then in the Eastern Theater, with the capture of Richmond and General Lee's Army of Northern Virginian, the Union "muscle" proved too much for the Confederacy. Another key factor was the naval blockade of Confederate ports, which contributed powerfully to the gradual weakening of Confederate strength.

The Army of Northern Virginia to hand in its weapons, sign a parole, and go home.

If they would do this, then on behalf of the US government, Grant pledged that Lee and the other Confederate leaders would not be arrested.

In return, Lee told his officers not to try to continue the war with guerrilla operations. By this time, of course, he had no authority to give orders to anyone. But he was a uniquely respected leader, and his final command was obeyed.

This was not quite the end of the war, as Joe Johnston had been brought out of retirement to try and harrass Sherman in Carolina, and a few Confederates in Louisiana had not surrendered. But nothing of consequence happened in the field after this.

The Planter Elite was the highest class of Southern society in the 1800s leading up to the Civil War. They were the minority of the population at the time, controlling 90% of the South's wealth through the ownership of various cotton plantations.

To turn the Army of Tennessee into the most disciplined unit in the South.

To make sufficient inroads into the state of Kentucky that he was able to install a Confederate government there.

To win the Battle of Chickamauga so decisively that the Union Army was nearly destroyed.

To keep the Army of the Cumberland trapped in Chattanooga, so that it nearly starved.

President Andrew Johnson refused to grant James Longstreet a pardon but an act of the US Congress extended him amnesty and restored his rights to citizenship of the United States in June 1868.

Because he had caused so many delays tha some of Lincoln's cabinet were starting to doubt his loyalty to the cause, and after the Battle of Antietam, he failed to pursue and destroy the enemy.

There were many commanders for each side, but he heads of state for the Union and Confederacy were Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis. Ulysses S. Grant was the commander of the Army of the Potomic which was the main Union force. Robert E. Lee was in charge of the bulk of the Conferderate Forces. There were numerous other commanders as well such as William T. Sherman, George A. Custer, Ambrose Burnsides (Union), Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, and JEB Stuart (Confederate).

The reasons behind Lincoln's dismissal of McClellan were complex. With that said, President Lincoln had few choices. Ambrose Burnside replaced General George B. McClellan after the Battle of Antietam. Prior to his final dismissal in November of 1862, McClellan was stripped of his army in favor of the new army under General John Pope. Most people believed that McClellan's career was over. However, Pope's defeat at the second Battle of Bull Run saw Lincoln restore McClellan as the leader of the Army of the Potomac. Lincoln's cabinet objected to give McClellan command of the Army of the Potomac, but Lincoln correctly reasoned that this army loved McClellan and would fight their best under his command.

"The enemy has assailed my outpost in heavy force. I have fallen back on the line of Bull Run and will make a stand at Mitchell's Ford."

He was a Confederate Lieutenant General who served as one of the most gifted cavalry and guerrilla commanders of the American Civil War. After the war he became involved in the newly formed Ku Klux Klan and opposed Reconstruction in his home state of Tennessee. Within a few years of taking over the KKK however, Forrest felt it had become too violent in regard to African Americans and other people involved with Reconstruction, and ordered it disbanded.

Northern strategies to end the South's rebellion were to:

1. gain control of the Mississippi river, this they did but did not decide the outcome of the war;

2. blockade the passage of trade goods, supplies, and arms to and from the Confederacy. Historians do not believe it affected the outcome of the war as the blockades were not effective due to many factors, such as sailing under the cover of darkness;

3. Capture the Southern capital of Richmond, this was done late in the war, when the war was already won , for all practical purposes; and

4. Use the strategy and tactics of "exhaustion" making the use of whatever armies the South had left to force a surrender.

The main advantage of the North was that they had more supplies because they had more factories and farmlands. These were for the most part unreachable by Southern armies. The same was true about Northern shipyards, in Philadelphia, New York and Boston. The North also already had a central government. This was combined by an overwhelmingly larger population as a source for army recruits. The North was also in better position to borrow funds than was the South.

The main advantage of the South was that they had excellent military generals as a result of the strong tradition of military schools. At the beginning of the war, the North did not have as many good generals as the South did.

North

-Factories

-Bigger Population

South

-Knew the land better (most battles were fought in the South)

-Mental Drive (they had a cause and a reason to fight, the North was just trying to fight against them)

Also, the South needed only to fight on the defensive side for the most part. To win independence the South did not need to "conquer" the North, but mainly have the Northern population grwo tired of the conflict.

During the US Civil War Thomas J. Jackson fought on the southern, Confederate side.

During the War of 1812 Andrew Jackson fought for the United States, and in the American Revolution he fought for the Continental (US) side.

The extreme vulnerability of their supply-line - a single-track railroad all the way to Nashville, passing over 24 viaducts that were always being blown up by Confederate cavalry.

Also, this battle cost them the life of General McPherson.

Most West Point graduate officers from northern states, including William Tecumseh Sherman, felt a primary loyalty to the federal government rather than to their home states. Most West Point graduate officers from southern states felt a primary loyalty to their home states rather than to the federal government. In essence their decisions reflect exactly what the US Civil War was fought about: who has the primary rights and responsibilities for governing the American people, the state governments or the federal government?

Jeb Stuart was seriously wounded May 11, 1864 during the Battle of Yellow Tavern and would die of his wounds the next morning.

General Lee hoped to swing Maryland from its Boarder State status to seceding, and to put pressure on Washington, possibly frightening Congress into suing for peace. If Maryland joined the Confederacy, Washington DC would be surrounded. Lincoln would then be forces to move the US capital north, possible to Philadelphia. He also believed this would aid in the Confederate goal of having Great Britain and France to mediate a peace settlement between the Union and the Confederacy.

Major General Sherman's March to the Sea in 1864 was designed to destroy and sources of supply that could be used by the Confederate army. Therefore he authorized the destruction of crops and livestock that might be used by the Rebel army. His March to the sea campaign also fought any Rebel forces that impeded his progress to Savannah, Georgia.