Major Battles Of The Civil War Essay, Research Paper

The First Bull Run was the first major battle of the war and would occur in northern Virginia right next to the capital. Northern spectators came to watch the battle because they were sure the union would win but the confederates won much to their dismay. Because of this battle both sides realized this would be a long and hard war instead of an easy one.

The next major battle was Anita. On September 17th 1862 general Robert E. lee would attack Antietam in hopes that the European countries would see that they were strong enough to beat the union and help out. But Lee lost the battle and the European countries declined. 24000 died in this battle making it the bloodiest day of the war.

Gettysburg was a major turning point for the war the union victory was very important to winning the war. Lee decided to attack Gettysburg so they could invade deep into the north and destroy most of the union forces. When lee was attacking Gettysburg he made a bold order to attack the centerline of the union forces so that it would be spilt. Because of Gettysburg Lee lost too many men to ever fight a defensive battle again making it a major turning point in the war.

Another major victory for the north was the battle of Vicksburg. Grant focused on Vicksburg because if he captured Vicksburg he would have control of the Mississippi river and that would split the confederacy in two. When grant did attack the battle was so bad many civilians ware forced to live in caves to protect themselves from heavy artillery.

Because of this battle the north gained the Mississippi river cutting off trade between the two sides of the south. Also the north gained 30000 prisoners of war which cost the south dearly.

Though it wasn’t a battle Sherman’s march was very important to the north winning the war. General William Sherman thought that the only way to win the war was to destroy anything of value to the enemy. Sherman’s troops met little resistance because most of the confederate troops were elsewhere fighting battles. Sherman’s march helped prove the might of the north and made the south surrender.