![]() The Confederate forces’ superior discipline and ability to make use of the nearby rail network to quickly bring in reinforcements turned the day in their favour. Though equally matched in terms of manpower (32,000 Rebels faced 35,000 Federal troops) Largely amateur) armies, led by officers who had only recently been comrades in the regular ![]() It was fought on July 21 at Manassas Junction (near Bull Run Creek) in Northern Virginia That first summer of 1861 believed would decide the conflict, perhaps in a single day. We will begin with the first major battle of the Civil War, which many on both sides during (Image source: WikiMedia Commons) 1861 – The Great Skedaddle Union forces are scattered at Bull Run, July 21, 1861, the first major battle of the war. I am sure readers of this article will have their own opinions, too. This is the beauty of such books: They are there to ferment debate and make people think. It is from this final list I have chosen three that in hindsight (always a great thing for a historian) I argue could have swung the war one way or the other and perhaps even ended it far quicker than it would last. I was fortunate that I could build the spine of the book with some battles that are cornerstones of the war, and which give plenty of scope, even with 750 words per battle, to tell a good story. It was a challenge, but one I hope students of the subject will find enjoyable. Would outline not only the progress of the war, but describe the actual fighting, the leadersĪnd men who fought one another, their weaponry, and how the various clashes fit into theīigger picture of the struggle. Civil War Battle by Battle, I was faced with the task of attempting to give a new reader a taste of the conflict through the prism of 30 battles that A large percentage of the casualties would not die in combat but from diseases that were rife in all army camps. The war would end more thanĦ00,000 lives. The United States would never be the same again and in many ways, it still has yet to recoverįrom the various consequences of such terrible slaughter. The war to an anxious public on both sides. The recent breakthrough of the telegraph would transform military communications and bring news of Transportation were also seen as armies went to war on new railroads. ![]() Government) that would create staggering numbers of casualties. Technological advancements in weaponry (over 19,000 patents would be granted by the U.S. Skirmishes, intense pitched battles and months-long campaigns. Mirrored to a degree by the secessionist Southern Confederacy of 11 states, against which the Federal forces would soon do battle.īoth sides would raise huge armies – over three million men under arms – to conduct small Professional military into a mass army ready to fight a total war. Within weeks, the newlyĮlected president, Abraham Lincoln, would preside over a transformation of this small Sprinkled throughout the country and in the key ports and cities. A small number of federal forts and arsenals were Spread across the new western territories. Could the Rebels marched on the Northern capital and ended the war in 1861? (Image source: WikiMedia Commons) The battle took place less than 30 miles from Washington D.C. The Union army was routed at Manassas, Virginia in the war’s opening weeks.
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