Melanie Cartron IB History of the Americas Period 1 The Civil War 1862 By 1862, the success of the Confederate army was declining. The Union was thriving after victories at Fort Donelson and Fort Henry and had gained control of several key points of power, including New Orleans and much of West Tennessee. The Confederacy was looking for a way to improve their standings in the war, especially in the Western Theatre.
General Braxton Bragg Born on March 22, 1817 in Warrenton, North Carolina Graduated from West Point in 1837 where frontal assaults were the most popular war tactic Served in the Seminole and Mexican Wars Characterized as temperamental and rash Relationship With Jefferson Davis During the Mexican War, Braxton Bragg helped the regiment of Jefferson Davis to hold off an army of Mexicans. Both men admired and respected each other greatly, which would lead Davis to favor and prioritize Bragg in several key and critical decisions. The Confederate Heartland Offensive In June 1862, Jefferson Davis appointed Braxton Bragg as General of the Army of Mississippi, hoping he would gain the much needed success for the Confederacy. Bragg plotted to invade Kentucky, hoping to gain support and troops as well as shift the focus of the war. Main goal was to make Kentucky part of the Confederacy Kentucky as a Border State At the beginning of the war, Kentucky remained neutral Was a slavery state, but did not secede While the Kentucky government would eventually become Unionist, Kentucky’s potential to becoming supportive of the Confederacy sparked interest
Bragg’s Invasion of Kentucky In August of 1862, Bragg began his invasion of Kentucky He left Mississippi with 34,000 men and hoped to join forces with Lieutenant General Edmund Kirby Smith's 18,000 soldiers once in Kentucky. Battle of Richmond August 29 & 30, 1862 E. Kirby Smith’s 18,000 men left Knoxville, Tennessee on the road to Richmond, Kentucky Brig. Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne led advance of Rebel cavalry The cavalry encountered an advance of Union troopers and began fighting Union artillery and cavalry arrived and forced back Confederate cavalry Brig. Gen. Mahlon D. Manson, Union commander, ordered a brigade to march towards the Confederates the following day E. Kirby Smith ordered Cleburne to attack in the morning, promising that reinforcements were on the way Fighting started up once more on the morning of August, 30 with Cleburne’s attack Reinforcements joined both sides and the Confederates were able to force the Union army back Confederates were victorious
Overview of the Battle of Richmond Union Confederacy Casualties: 4,900 Casualties: 750 4,000 Union soldiers Victorious were captured Victory opened up path to northern Kentucky Battle of Munfordville September 14-17, 1862 Munfordville had a key railroad station on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Colonel John T. Wilder commanded Union forces at Munfordville Upon arriving at Munfordville, Confederate Brigadier General James R. Chalmers demanded that Wilder surrender Wilder refused to surrender and repulsed Union forces and sieges for several days On September 16th, realizing that Union reinforcements would soon arrive, the Confederates once again demanded surrender Union commander Wilder inspected enemy lines under a flag of truce and ultimately decided to surrender Overview of the Battle of Munfordville Union Confederacy Casualties: 4,148 Casualties: 714 The loss at Victorious Munfordville restricted Allowed Confederates the Union’s ability to to take temporary transport supplies due control of Kentucky to the loss of the and cut off Union railroad station supplies Inauguration of Confederate Governor Early in Bragg’s campaign, the Unionist Governor of Kentucky fled Bragg saw an opportunity to begin officially making Kentucky part of the Confederacy Confederate Provisional Governor Richard Hawes was inaugurated in Frankfort, Kentucky on October 4, 1862 Bragg left his troops with Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk in order for him to attend the inauguration Bragg was unaware of a force of over 50,000 men led by Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell was formulating and heading towards his men Battle of Perryville October 8, 1862 Union forces under Buell caught up with Bragg’s army that was under command of Polk due to Bragg’s absence Polk did not attack Bragg arrived the following morning and demanded an immediate attack on Buell’s forces Initially, Bragg’s frontal assault seemed to work, however Buell led two brigades to fight back the Confederates Bragg retreated, realizing he was too short on supplies and men to win the battle
Overview of the Battle of Perryville Union Confederacy Forces Engaged: 20,000 Forces Engaged: 16,000 Casualties: 4,220 Casualties: 3,401 Victory gave the Union Ended the Kentucky full control of Kentucky Campaign End of Kentucky Campaign After defeat at Perryville, Bragg decided to retreat and end the campaign The troops and support that Bragg had counted upon never materialized Bragg was questioned regarding the failure of the Kentucky Campaign Many believed Bragg was unfit to carry on commanding such large masses of Confederate troops Jefferson Davis dismissed theses concerns and continued to give Bragg large control over Confederate forces Union Strategy: Fall 1862 President Lincoln was looking to issue the Emancipation proclamation, however he wanted to issue it only after a Union victory to ensure that it did not seem to be an act of desperation With Bragg’s pending success in Kentucky, a large victory was needed for the Union Battle of Antietam September 16-18, 1862 First battle in Eastern Front of Civil War; fought in Sharpsburg, Maryland Bloodiest Battle of the Civil War Union forces under Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan clashed with Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee Battle was characterized by repeated, back-and-forth attacks between the Union and Confederate troops Lee’s forces were outnumbered, however Lee committed fully to engaging in the Battle On the last night of the battle, both forces tended to their wounded and Lee began to withdraw his injured troops The Fighting continued on September 18th, however McClellan did not pursue Lee’s withdrawing army Battle was imconclusive Overview of the Battle of Antietam Union Confederacy Forces Engaged: 87,000 Forces Engaged: 45,000 Casualties: 12,401 Casualties: 10,316
Union Declared “Victorious” While there was no real winner at the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln knew that a proclaimed Union victory would draw away the potential aid of Europe to the Confederacy. Lincoln also knew that a “victory” would finally allow him to declare the Emancipation Proclamation. The Issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil- war/battle-of-antietam/videos/gilder-lehrman-the- emancipation-proclamation Bibliography http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/ky/ky008.html http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/perryville/perryville-history- articles/general-braggs-impossible.html?referrer=https:// www.google.com/ http://www.ohiocivilwarcentral.com/entry.php?rec=183 http://www.onthisveryspot.com/find/intro_printable.php? ent_web_name=Confederate_Heartland_Offensive http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/braxton- bragg.html http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-perryville http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/antietam.html?tab=facts http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/munfordville.html? referrer=https://www.google.com/ http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/richmond.html http://www.battleofrichmond.org/