“Battle Hymn of the Republic” Battles and Campaigns
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“BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC” 36 “Battle Hymn of the Republic” broader goal (such as the capture of an en- The Civil War song “Battle Hymn of the tire peninsula in a certain amount of time). Republic” was extremely popular with Such operations, taken collectively, were Union soldiers, who often sang it while called a campaign (e.g., the Peninsula rallying for battle. The tune, however, pre- Campaign). dates the Civil War as an 1856 Methodist Historians disagree somewhat on which camp-meeting hymn titled “Oh Brothers, battles should be included in a list of the Will You Meet Us on Canaan’s Happy most important Civil War conflicts. How- Shore?” by William Steffe of South Car- ever, the most commonly cited major bat- olina. (It is not known whether he com- tles and campaigns are as follows: posed the lyrics as well as the tune.) The Attack on Fort Sumter. On April Shortly after the war began, a group of 12, 1861, the Confederates fired the first Union soldiers in Boston, Massachusetts, shots of the war when they attacked a fed- composed new lyrics that referred to abo- eral garrison at Fort Sumter, located on litionist John Brown, who had been a man-made island in the middle of hanged in Virginia in 1859 for trying to Charleston Harbor in South Carolina; on lead a slave rebellion. To many people in April 14, after a seige of more than fifty the North, John Brown was a hero, and the hours, the fort fell into Confederate hands. Union soldiers’ lyrics called him “a soldier The First Battle of Bull Run (also in the army of the Lord.” This song, called known as the First Battle of Manassas). “John Brown’s Body,” quickly became On July 21, 1861, near Centerville, Virginia, popular throughout the North. Confederate troops led by General Pierre In February 1862, poet Julia Ward Beauregard were victorious against Union Howe was visiting a Union army camp troops led by General Irvin McDowell. when a clergyman there suggested she The Fort Henry and Fort Donelson write new lyrics for “John Brown’s Body” Campaign (also known as the Henry that more closely reflected the moral un- and Donelson Campaign). On February derpinnings of the Civil War. According to 6 and February 14–16, 1862, Union gen- Howe, it took her only one night to come eral Ulysses S. Grant took two Confeder- up with the lyrics, which she then sent to ate forts, Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, the Atlantic Monthly magazine for publi- on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, cation as the “Battle Hymn of the Repub- respectively, near Memphis, Tennessee. lic.” It appeared in the magazine in Feb- The Battle of Shiloh (also known as ruary 1862, and Howe received $4 as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing). On compensation for her efforts. Shortly April 6–7, 1862, on the west bank of the thereafter the song was adopted as a Tennessee River near Savannah, Ten- Union anthem. See also Brown, John. nessee, the Union’s Army of the Tennessee and Army of the Ohio, led by Brigadier battles and campaigns General Ulysses S. Grant and Major Gen- There were approximately 10,450 military eral Don Carlos Buell, respectively, were engagements during the Civil War, most of victorious against the Confederacy’s Army them in the South. Some of them were ma- of the Mississippi, led by Generals Albert jor battles, others minor skirmishes, and Johnston and Pierre Beauregard. still others sieges on forts or cities that Jackson’s Valley Campaign. From might last days, weeks, or months. In any March 23 to June 9, 1862, a series of bat- case, they might be isolated events or they tles took place in the Shenandoah Valley of might be part of a series of military opera- Virginia between the Confederate forces of tions designed to achieve a specific, Major General Thomas J. “Stonewall” 37 BATTLES AND CAMPAIGNS Jackson and various Union commanders; Robert E. Lee were victorious over the the Confederates were ultimately victori- Union’s Army of the Potomac, led by Gen- ous, despite the fact that Jackson’s was by eral Ambrose Burnside. Afterward there far the lesser force. was an outcry in the North over the The Peninsula Campaign (also known Union’s sizable losses during the conflict as the Peninsular Campaign). From (12,080 dead, 9,600 wounded, and 1,769 March to July 1862, Major General George missing or taken prisoner). B. McClellan led the Union’s Army of the The Battle of Stones River (also Potomac on a campaign across the south- known as the Battle of Murfreesboro). eastern Virginia peninsula in an attempt to From December 31, 1862, to January 2, capture the Confederate capital of Rich- 1863, the Union’s Army of the Cumberland mond, Virginia, but, after many victories, it under Major General William S. Rosecrans was stopped by Confederate general Robert battled the Confederacy’s Army of Ten- E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia. nessee under General Braxton Bragg; the Among the most notable battles of this cam- Union was ultimately victorious, but both paign were the Seven Days’ Battles (from sides had numerous casualties. June 25 to July 1, 1862) and the Battle of The Battle of Chancellorsville. On Gaines’ Mill (on June 27, 1862). May 1, 1863, Confederate general Robert The Battle of Seven Pines (also known E. Lee sent General “Stonewall” Jackson as the Battle of Fair Oaks). On May 31, to attack the right flank of the Union army, 1862, Confederate troops led by General led by General Joseph Hooker, at Chan- Joseph Johnston attacked Union troops led cellorsville, Virginia, while Lee’s remain- by General George McClellan near Seven ing forces confronted the rest of Hooker’s Pines, Virginia, but were eventually forced army—a strategy that resulted in a Con- back from the battlefield. federate victory on May 4 and thousands The Second Battle of Bull Run (also of Union deaths. known as the Second Battle of Manas- The Battle of Gettysburg. On July 1–3, sas). On August 28–30, 1862, at roughly 1863, at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the the same place as the First Battle of Bull Union’s Army of the Potomac under Gen- Run, Confederate troops led by General eral George Meade was attacked by the Robert E. Lee were victorious against Confederate’s Army of Northern Virginia Union troops led by General John Pope. under General Robert E. Lee as part of The Battle of Antietam (also known Lee’s attempt to bring the Civil War to as the Battle of Sharpsburg). On Sep- Northern soil. Lee was eventually defeated, tember 17, 1862, Union troops led by Gen- but both sides had massive casualties. eral George McClellan met Confederate The Battle of Chickamauga. On Sep- troops led by General Robert E. Lee at tember 19–20, 1863, Confederate forces Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Mary- led by General Braxton Bragg attacked land, with the result being a stalemate de- Union troops led by General William spite the loss of thousands of lives. Rosecrans at Chickamauga Creek near The Vicksburg Campaign. From No- Chattanooga, Tennessee, forcing Rose- vember 1862 to July 1863 in western Mis- crans to retreat. sissippi, a series of Union attacks and The Battle of Chattanooga. On No- sieges ultimately resulted in the fall of the vember 23–25, 1863, the Union’s Army of city of Vicksburg, Mississippi. the Cumberland, led by General George The Battle of Fredericksburg. On De- Thomas, continued an advance (appar- cember 13, 1862, at Fredericksburg, Vir- ently without authorization) on Mission- ginia, Confederate troops led by General ary Ridge near Chattanooga, Tennessee, BATTLES AND CAMPAIGNS 38 until it confronted the Confederate troops barked on a campaign through the Shenan- of General Braxton Bragg and forced doah Valley of Virginia to pursue and de- them to retreat into Georgia. feat Confederate general Jubal Early, The Battle of the Wilderness. On May whose corps of the Army of Northern Vir- 5–7, 1864, about fourteen miles west of ginia had been raiding Union supplies. Fredericksburg, Virginia, in thick woods, a Sheridan defeated Early in several battles series of battles took place between the but failed to kill him, although he did de- Union’s Army of the Potomac, under Gen- stroy much of the valley to deprive the eral Ulysses S. Grant, and the Confeder- Confederacy of valuable crops. acy’s Army of Northern Virginia, under The Atlanta Campaign. From May 9 to General Robert E. Lee, with no side victo- September 2, 1864, in northern Georgia, rious. Immediately afterward the two forces three Union armies (the Army of the Ten- met again at the Battle of Spotsylvania. nessee, the Army of the Ohio, and the Spotsylvania Campaign. On May Army of the Cumberland) participated in a 8–19, 1864, about ten miles southwest of campaign to fight their way to the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia, the combatants Atlanta, which they captured on September in the indecisive Battle of the Wilderness 2. The commander in chief of these armies, met again at a crossroads at Spotsylvania Major General William T. Sherman of the Court House, and ultimately the Union Army of the Tennessee, subsequently left withdrew from the field. Atlanta to march to the Atlantic Ocean, Sheridan’s Valley Campaign. From leaving a path of destruction in his wake. August 7, 1864, to March 2, 1865, Union The Battle of Franklin. On November major general Philip Sheridan, command- 30, 1864, near Franklin, Tennessee, Con- ing the Army of the Shenandoah, em- federate troops under General John Bell GETTYSBURG July 1–3, 1863 Pennsylvania New ANTIETAM Jersey Ohio September 17, 1862 Delaware Washington, DC Illinois Indiana CHANCELLORSVILLE Maryland May 1863 BULL RUN West Virginia FREDERICKSBURG 1st battle, July 21, 1861 December 13, 1862 2nd battle, Kentucky August 29–30, 1862 Virginia Missouri FORT DONELSON PETERSBURG FORT HENRY February 14–16, 1862 February 6, 1862 North Carolina 1864–1865 Tennessee Atlantic Ocean Arkansas SHILOH April 6–7, 1862 South Carolina FORT SUMTER April 12–14, 1861 Union State Mississippi Alabama Georgia Confederate State Major Battle Louisiana VICKSBURG July 3, 1863 Major BattlesMajor and Battles Campaigns and Campaigns 39 BEAUREGARD, PIERRE GUSTAVE TOUTANT Hood experienced heavy losses while un- Beauregard, Pierre Gustave successfully trying to prevent Union gen- Toutant (P.G.T.) (1818–1893) eral John M.