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Monitor vs Merrimack

1. Name of Battle: Monitor vs. Merrimack. Also known as the battle of the ironclads.
2. Dates of Battle: March 8-9, 1862
3. Geography (location, terrain, weather): Location is at off Sewell's Point, near the mouth of Hampton Roads, Virginia. Terrain is at Hampton Roads and is at sea naval battle. Weather was fine in the beginning, but at 10 ‘o clock there were heavy storms and bad weather.

5.   Objective: The battle was taking place because the Confederacy wanted to break the Union blockade on their trade with the European countries. The south wanted Virginia to continue its international trade with other countries, and the North wanted to continue on its first part of the Anaconda plan.

7. Strategies: How did each side plan to the battle? The south’s strategy was to wreak havoc on the Union warships to shut down the blockade. They used the CSS Virginia, an ironclad warship, to do so. The North found out about the CSS Virginia and decided to ask for permission to create a similar ship (and ironclad ship). In March 9^th, one day after the battle had begun, the ship called Monitor approached and CSS Virginia in the end retreated.

8. This was the first battle in which two ironclad ships engaged in combat.  

United States of America/Union	Confederate States of America
Commanders: John L. Wordern	Franklin Buchanan and Catesby R. Jones
Ships: For the Union the ship was the Monitor.	Ship was the captured Merrimack and then converted into an ironclad and was renamed Virginia after being converted from the Merrimack.
Troop Strength: 1 ironclad, 5 wooden frigates.	1 ironclad, 2 wooden warships, 1 gunboat, 2 tenders.
Casualties and losses: 261 killed, 108 wounded, 1 frigate sunk, 1 sloop-of-war sunk, 1 frigate damaged.	77 killed, 17 wounded, 1 ironclad damaged.

First Battle of Bull Run

Basic Info:

· Date: July 21, 1861

· Location: Manassas, Virginia

Objectives:

·         Union:

o   Capture Richmond

o   Seize Manassas, a railway center

·         Confederacy:

o   Wanted to protect Richmond

o   Wanted to keep Manassas

Commanders:

·         Union:

o   General Irvin Mcdowell

·         Confederacy:

o   General Pierre Beaugard

Geography:

·         Climate: hot and humid

·         Terrain: hills, creek, and forests

Troop Strength:

·         Union: had 28,450 soldiers

·         Confederacy: had 32,230 soldiers

Advantages:

·         Union:

o   Had roads that connected northwest, west, southwest villages

o   Positioned next to a stream

·         Confederacy

o   Able to watch the movements of the Union army; on higher grounds

o   Location was near railroads that connected to supplies and other armies; had better communication

Disadvantages:

·         Union:

o   Confederacy had cannons

o   Plans were already known

·         Confederacy:

o   Losing in the beginning of the war and lost soldiers; around the same amount of soldiers with the Union army

Strategies:

·         Union

o   Attack the Confederate army

§  Face the Confederate Army with main army

§  Flank the left of the enemy’s army

o   Go for Richmond

o   End of war

·         Confederacy

o   Settle down and occupy Henry Hill

o   Protect Richmond

Confederates Won!

·         Keys to winning:

o   Reinforcements

o   Exhausted Union soldiers

o   Strategic location

Unique Info

·         “The Great Skedaddle”

·         Spectators

·         “Stonewall” Jackson

Casualties

·         Union:

o   Deaths: 460

o   Wounded: 1124

o   Missing and captured: 1312

·         Confederacy:

o   Deaths: 387

o   Wounded: 1582

o   Missing and captured: 13

Confederates Victory:

·         Union needs to try harder

·         Increased morale

·         “Poisoned” the Confederates minds

Battle of Atlanta: Presentation Summary

• Took place on July 22, 1864
• Confederate General John Hood, Union General William Sherman
• Hot and Humid day
• The battle was a Union offense, Atlanta was huge weapons depot and "backdoor" to the south
• Confederacy had 34,833 troops, Union had 40,438 troops
• South had home team advantage, weapons closer and more accesible, faster reinforcements, North had commanders with more experience
• occured just before election of 1864, led to lincoln's re-election.
• Howard accidentaly found hood's forces, secured union victory.
• Union deaths:3,641. Confederacy deaths:8,499

THIS IS IRRELEVANT BUT POKEMON ARE AWESOME

2nd Battle of Bull Run Info Hurrah!

The 2nd Battle of Bull Run happened about one year after the 1st Battle of Bull Run. The Battle lasted for 3 days, from August 28-30, 1862. The battle was also referred to as the Second Manassas.  

The battle took place in Prince William County, Virginia, and there weren’t many obstacles since the area where the battle was fought was just a big field. The objective of this battle for the Union was to hopefully protect the Shenandoah Valley and Washington D.C. For the Confederates, their main goal was to destroy Pope. The Union was led by Gen. John Pope, Major General Fitz John Porter, and Major General Irvin McDowell, and the Confederates were led by General Robert E. Lee, Major General James Longstreet, and Major General "Stonewall" Jackson. 

On the first day of the battle, August 28th, Stonewall Jackson attacked a Union column (a narrow military formation in which units follow behind each other) at Brawner’s Farm. After a lot of fighting, the battle ended on a stalemate and Jackson retreated to Stony Ridge. All the while though, Major General Longstreet from the South was approaching through Thoroughfare Gap with reinforcements. On August 29th, Union General John Pope decided to launch a series of attacks on Jackson’s position at Stony Ridge. Pope thought that Jackson was trapped on one side, and at the end of the day, both sides suffered many casualties. On the last day of the battle, Pope renewed his attempts to attack the Confederates, but he didn't know that on the noon of August 29th, Maj. General Longstreet and the reinforcements reached Jackson and were now on the battlefield. Confederate artillery destroyed Maj. General John Fitz Porter’s attempt at an assault. Then, Longstreet’s 25,000 men counterattacked the Union. This counterattack forced the Union to retreat back to Bull Run.

TOTAL LOSSES

Federal:

Killed – 1,724

Wounded – 8,372

Missing – 5,958

Total – 16,054

Confederate:

Killed – 1,481

Wounded – 7,627

Missing – 89

Total – 9,117

Antietam summary

So, basically, the battle of Antietam went like this: On September 17, 1862, Robert e. lee's and George b. mcClellan's forces clashed near sharpsburg, Maryland, near Antietam creek. In the morning, the union forces were able to capture a cornfield and the surrounding forests because of the large numbuer of soldiers they had. Later, the confederacy recaptured the west woods, the western section of the forested area. The fight then moved to the sunken road, where the confederate troops were hidden in the depression in the road. The union was only able to take the road because they just kept sending row after row of people when one row of soldiers was killed. The sunken road earned the title, "the bloody lane." later that day, the union 9th corps under general Ambrose burnside was able to capture a rohrbach bridge, now known as burnside's bridge, and pushed far into confederate territory to capture sharpsburg. However, confederate general a.p. hill's division came 17 miles from harpers ferry to rescue the confederates. Ther pushed back burnsides men all the way back to the bridge. This ended the battle of Antietam. A few weeks later, Lincoln came to Antietam to try to get McClellan to move his troops and pursue lee, but McClellan did not and was fired and replaced by Ambrose burnside. The battle of Antietam could have ended the civil war, but only ended Robert e. lee's invasion of the north.

Gettysburg

I think that the battle of Gettysburg was only significant because the Union won. If the Confederacy had won, I don't think the battle would be much different, compared to other Confederate wins. It would just be another battle. Since Britain and France hadn't rushed to the Confederate's side before, I don't think they would help after this win either.

However, in the long run, I think this battle would have mattered. The Union had gained morale from their win at Gettysburg - if this didn't happen, I'm pretty sure the rest of the war would have continued to tumble down hill. I think the outcome of previous battles affects the next battles, with both morale and strength.

I don't know what to say about Lincoln. It's plausible that it COULD'VE happened if the Confederacy won, with Lincoln wanting to give up the war. Or, Lincoln could have remained steadfast and continued to fight the war, hoping for a great comeback. However, I am indifferent to the possibilities of Lincoln making peace if the Confederacy winning Gettysburg.

Gettysburg.

I don't think a Confederacy at Gettysburg would change the outcome of the war. They didn't have a shot at getting Britain or France as their allies. If they actually did, it would have caused much controversy and people would start accusing the foreign Britain or France for being hypocritical of supporting slavery when they had already outlawed it a long time ago. They probably did not want that to happen. Both sides suffered major losses at Gettysburg, but the Confederacy suffered a lot more since Lee lost many of his commanding generals as well as men he couldn't replace who died/ were injured in the battle. Lincoln probably still would have still had some hope since at the time the Union won Gettysburg, there was also the surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi, which was also a major victory which gave the Union complete control of the Mississippi River. Even if the Union did lose the Battle of Gettysburg, they still would have the better chance of winning the war.

thingy

If the confederacy won the battle of gettysburg, the Union would greatly lose morale for losing in their own land and would probaly lose battle after battle because the battle of gettysburg was a major turning point in the war and The South would probaly nagotiate a peace treaty.

The Differences

The battle of Gettysburg was a huge turning point for the Union and is remember for that turning point. If the Confederacy would have won the war would have ended and there would be two countries. Even though the South wouldn't have probably gotten support from France or Britain the war would have been won by the Confederacy. Lincoln knowing how many battle they had lost and how large of a battle Gettysburg was he would have made peace with the South since they showed that not only can they win on their territory, but on the Union's land too.

Gettysburg

If the Confederacy had won the Battle of Gettysburg, it would've had a huge impact on the Civil War. It was considered the turning point of the war because it was such an important battle. The Union had lost a lot of battles up until Gettysburg. If the Confederacy had won, the Union might have given up hope on winning the war. Though I doubt France and Britain would have supported the Confederacy because they are against slavery. There would be no point in them supporting a cause that they don't believe in. With no hope left for the Union, President Lincoln would most likely be forced to make peace with the South.

The Battle of Gettysburg

In my opinion, if the Confederacy had won the Battle of Gettysburg the Union would have still won the Civil War. The Battle of Gettysburg would not have mattered. The Union would not have just gave up after all they've been through. They would have kept trying. If the South had won the battle they probably wouldn't have gained the support of British or France for a number reasons. One may be that they don't accept the South's slavery. Another might be that they don't want to affect the ties they have with the Union. But one is never sure on how history could have been altered. It is possible that Lincoln would have called for peace with the South. But one may never know. It's still possible he could have kept fighting and then win the battles later on due to the North's advantages against the South. But in my opinion, the possibility of a continued fight seems to have more of a chance which would have prolonged the war even more.

Gettysburg

The outcome of the war might have drastically changed if the Confederacy had come out as the victors for the Battle of Gettysburg. The North had to face many losses before then, and since they did not have a lot of motivation to fight in the war, if they had lost the battle at Gettysburg, their drive to continue on with the war would have vanished immediately. This battle also weakened the South greatly, putting them on retreat as opposed to defensive mode, which gave the North more opprtunities to attack the Confederates and cause more damage to their army. Even if the Confederates won, and the Union still continued fighting, the Confederates may have still been able to overpower the Union since they would be focused on defending their land instead of running away for the rest of the war.

Battle of Gettysburg

I think that the Union and Confederacy both had a good chance of winning this battle. Even though one side did have better trained armies, what it lacked, the other side had. This three day battle was so significant to our history. It was very violent but it had a purpose. The strategies that both sides had were very effective and even though Meade was one step ahead, it was still a great plan. Without this battle, I don't think America would be how it is today.

i think if the confederacy won we wouldn't be the same as we are now. we could we separated into many different nations.

battle of gettysburg

well, what if pickets charge didn't happen... would there be a difference? to me i don't think there would be much of a difference, kind of like my thoughts on the first blog post we did.... that is unless it was a total 1 death inflicted to the confederates/1000 Union deaths. Unless the Union was completely annihilated, I don't think there would be much of a difference to the final outcome of the war.

B o G war changer

If the Confederacy had won and the union had lost the battle of Gettysburg then the confederacy would have easily won the war. Right off the bat the Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the war so if the turning point had never happened of course the Union would keep losing and eventually the Confederacy would win. Second of all most experts that this also could have been a turning point for the Confederacy because if they had won then they would have one foreign support. With foreign support the Union would be completely finished. The Union would also have had less morale then they already had whereas when they won they gained morale. I think that being the president, Abraham Lincoln would look for a treaty and because that was what the Confederacy wanted from the start, they would accept.

Union loses Gettysburg?

If the Union had lost the Battle of Gettysburg, the whole course of the Civil War would have changed. Robert E. Lee and his army would be able to capture large areas of Northern land, as there would be no armies to oppose him. Southern morale would be skyrocketing as they accomplished the goal of winning a battle on Northern land. Britain and France still probably wouldn't have helped the South because they were honorable countries, and they wouldn't go join the cause of fighting to keep slavery. However, the South would still have a good chance of winning. Robert E. Lee would have gained confidence and gone even more on the attack. Even better for the South would be that President Lincoln, who didn't want many more men to die, would try to make peace. After all, the goal of the Confederacy was to be a separate nation, not to conquer the North. The Battle of Gettysburg would have changed the Civil War if the South had won.

Battle of Gettysburg

It depends on what happens later. If the Confederates had won the Battle of Gettysburg, they might have still won at heavy casualties. The Union might have pursued them and wiped out the remaining forces anyways. Or if they didn't win, the Confederates might have gotten cocky at another battle and lost then. There's a lot of ways the war could have turned out, and I don't think that the outcome depended on that one battle. Also, seeing as the France and Britain didn't support the Confederates before even though they were winning during the first year, the chances of them joining the Confederate cause isn't high. Lincoln, no matter the outcome, probably would have pursued his goal in defeating the South because of victories elsewhere. It would not look good for him to spend so much money, resources, and manpower on a war in which he later just surrenders because of a single battle. So even if the Confederates did win the Battle of Gettysburg, the outcome would've been still weighed against them.

What if What if the Confederacy won

I think that if the Confederacy had won the battle of Gettysburg the union would have attempted to make peace with them. If the Confederacy had won I don't think it would have changed the mind of Britain or France to support the south. That's because Britain and France had already abolished slavery and helping the south in the war to continue slavery would have criticism on the countries for helping a cause they had already said wasn't right. A win for the Confederacy would have severely dropped the Union morale causing more losses for them and eventually ending with the Confederacy winning the war.