Any historians?

Question

which battle of the civil war do you think was the most important?

Answer 1

Because the war hung in the balance, my vote is Gettysburg. It isn't because Lincoln made the great speech immortalizing it and it isn't because of the movie.

It is because it was the big turning point the North had been waiting for. Think of how important the battle was. Had the South won, there is a big possibility the North would have had to sue for peace. The South would have threatened Washington.

But not only did the North win, Pickett's charge had a devastating effect on the South's ability to fight. They were never the same after that. They suffered huge losses and they did not have the manpower to be able to absorb that kind of beating. The North did.

Since it turned the North from defensive to offensive and the South vice-versa, it was the turning point and therefore, the most important.


Note to eruditious - typical of people to castigate the Americans. I checked out the website of the asker before I answered. Looks like from Texas. And as didn't specify which civil war, American Civil War is a safe assumption. Knock off the personal attacks on Americans, please. Thanks so much.

Answer 2

Gettysburg, but not for military reasons.

The Union had lost a string of battles and the Northern people were growing very tired of the war, the victory at Gettysburg along with the burning of Atlanta revitalized the Northern electorate which allowed Lincoln to be reelected.

Had he lost that election, McClellan would have won ending the war immediately by allowing the south to secede.

Answer 3

Most all historians would say Gettysburg because it was the turning point in the war. There is a case to be made for Antietam because it turned back Lee's first invasion of the North.

Answer 4

There are two possibles to me. One is Gettysburg, during which the North's military cause might have been irreparably harmed; and the other is Lookout Mountain, because without George Thomas's use of the fog and terrain to overrun fortified positions for the only time this happened during the War, the stage might have been set for more victories by Robert E. Lee, threatening the industries of the North and Washington itself.

Answer 5

the world war 2

Answer 6

Gettysburg

Answer 7

Typical of Americans to believe that the world begins and ends on the boarders of their own country, may I remind you that history is global and there are a miriad of other countries that had civil wars, be specific or is the information below what you want.

Civil War Links

Battles

http://www.civilwarhome.com/cwinfo2.htm#Battles

Links to Other Civil War Sites

http://www.smplanet.com/civilwar/civilwar.html#Links

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/gadd/

INTRODUCTION TO ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S GETTYSBURG ADDRESS.

http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/25.htm

http://www.lcweb.loc.gov/exhibits/gadd/

Answer 8

the final battle was the most important... :o)


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Answer 9

Fort Sumner, if that had never happened, the war would have never began.

Answer 10

The Gettysburg Campaign was a series of battles fought in June and July 1863, during the American Civil War. After his victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia moved north for offensive operations in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major General Joseph Hooker and Major General George G. Meade (from June 28), pursued Lee, defeated him at the Battle of Gettysburg, but allowed him to escape back to Virginia.

In much of southern Pennsylvania, the Gettysburg campaign became widely known as the "Emergency of 1863," as Governor Andrew Curtin scrambled to raise regiments of volunteer militia to repel the threatened invasion. The military campaign resulted in the displacement of thousands of refugees from Maryland and Pennsylvania who fled northward and eastward to avoid the oncoming Confederates, and resulted in a shift in demographics in several southern Pennsylvania boroughs and counties. It also resulted in over 50,000 military casualties, as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars in civilian property damage and losses.

Shortly after Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia defeated the Union Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Chancellorsville (May 1 – May 5, 1863), Lee decided upon a second invasion of the North. Such a move would upset Union plans for the summer campaigning season, possibly relieve the besieged Confederate garrison at Vicksburg, and allow the Confederates to live off the bounty of the rich northern farms while giving war-ravaged Virginia a much needed rest. Lee's army could also threaten Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, and encourage the growing peace movement in the North. In essence, it was identical to the strategy Lee employed in the Maryland Campaign of 1862.

On June 3, 1863, Lee's army began to slip away northwesterly from Fredericksburg, Virginia.


[edit] Opposing forces
Main articles: Gettysburg Confederate order of battle and Gettysburg Union order of battle
In reaction to the death of Lieutenant General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, Lee had reorganized the two large corps of the Army of Northern Virginia into three new corps. Lt. Gen. James Longstreet retained command of the First Corps, but with one fewer division. Jackson's old corps was divided into two, with the Second Corps going to Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell and the new Third Corps commanded by Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill. With those three corps and Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry division, the army had approximately 75,000 men.

The Army of the Potomac, under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, consisted of seven corps of infantry and artillery, a cavalry corps, and an artillery reserve, for a combined strength of more than 90,000 men. However, President Abraham Lincoln soon replaced Hooker with Maj. Gen. George G. Meade because of Hooker's defeat at Chancellorsville and disagreements about his response to Lee's second invasion north of the Potomac.


[edit] Battles
The following battles were fought in the Gettysburg Campaign:

Battle of Brandy Station (June 9, 1863)
Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton, conducting a reconnaissance-in-force to determine the location of Lee's army, surprised J.E.B. Stuart with a dawn attack against his camp outside Brandy Station, Virginia. In what became the largest cavalry fight of the war, there was no clear victory for either side, although Pleasonton withdrew before finding the location of Lee's infantry nearby. Brandy Station established the emerging reputation of the Union cavalry as a peer of the Confederate mounted arm. After the battle, Lee's infantry forces, led by Ewell's Second Corps, crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains at Manassas Gap (and other nearby passes) and headed north.
Second Battle of Winchester (June 13 – June 15, 1863)
Ewell's corps cleared the Shenandoah Valley for the Confederate movement north behind the Blue Ridge Mountains by defeating the garrison at Winchester, Virginia, commanded by Maj. Gen. Robert H. Milroy. Milroy was ordered to withdraw to Harpers Ferry, but he chose to remain, assuming his fortifications could withstand assault or siege. He withdrew at dusk on June 14 in the hopes of reaching Charles Town, but was cut off by a flank attack by the division of Edward "Allegheny" Johnson; over 3,000 men were taken prisoner, and Lee's army reaped numerous guns and supply wagons. Although Lee had originally intended to keep the corps of Longstreet and Hill on the eastern side of the Blue Ridge, Ewell's battle at Winchester drew both corps to the west in case support was needed. All three corps would continue north in the Valley, while Stuart's cavalry held the Loudoun Valley (the eastern entrance to the vital Blue Ridge Mountains) to screen Lee's movements.
Meanwhile, the Army of the Potomac was moving with unaccustomed celerity. On June 16, it reached Manassas Junction. Hooker did not know Lee's intentions were, and Stuart's cavalry masked the army's movements behind the Blue Ridge effectively. He originally conceived the idea of reacting to Lee's absence by seizing unprotected Richmond, Virginia. But Lincoln sternly reminded him that Lee's army was the true objective. His orders were to pursue and defeat Lee but to stay between Lee and Washington and Baltimore. Governor Andrew Curtin, concerned that his state was Lee's ultimate target, called for 50,000 volunteers to take arms; only 7,000 initially responded, and Curtain asked for help from the New York State Militia. Gov. Joel Parker of New Jersey also responded by sending troops to Pennsylvania.

Battle of Aldie (June 17, 1863)
A sharp cavalry duel at Aldie, Virginia, between the brigade of Judson Kilpatrick and Confederate Col. Thomas T. Munford delayed Federal cavalry from penetrating deep into the Loudoun Valley just west of the Bull Run Mountains. After four hours of mounted assaults, Kilpatrick was reinforced, and Munford withdrew toward Middleburg.
Battle of Middleburg (June 17 – June 19, 1863)
The 1st Rhode Island Cavalry was attacked at Middleburg, Virginia, and routed by two brigades of Confederate horsemen. On June 19, Stuart's force was driven back behind the town and withdrew farther into the Loudoun Valley.
Battle of Upperville (June 21, 1863)
While Kilpatrick attacked Wade Hampton's Confederates at Upperville, Virginia, cavalry division commander Brig. Gen. John Buford attacked the Confederate cavalry's left flank but was repulsed. Stuart skillfully protected his supply trains and finally withdrew to a strong defensive position near Ashby's Gap. However, once the Federal cavalry had withdrawn from the region, he soon left the Loudoun Valley with three cavalry brigades on a wide-ranging reconnaissance and raid to the east, beyond the right flank of the Army of the Potomac. This was one of the most controversial actions of the war. Lee's orders to Stuart envisioned him screening the army and reporting on Union movements, but Stuart either misunderstood or ignored those orders, leaving Lee without reconnaissance in enemy territory, while Stuart attempted to recreate his previous exploits, riding entirely around the enemy army and raiding supply trains.
Ewell's corps continued to push deeper into Pennsylvania, with two divisions heading through the Cumberland Valley to threaten Harrisburg, while Jubal Early's division marched eastward over the South Mountain range, occupying Gettysburg on June 26 after a brief series of skirmishes with state emergency militia and two companies of cavalry.

As Lee's offensive strategy became clear, general-in-chief Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck planned a countermove that could take advantage of the now lightly defended Confederate capital of Richmond. He ordered the Union Department of Virginia, two corps under Maj. Gen. John A. Dix, to move on Richmond from its locations on the Virginia Peninsula (around Yorktown and Williamsburg) and near Suffolk. However, Halleck made the mistake of not explicitly ordering Dix to attack Richmond. The orders were to "threaten Richmond, by seizing and destroying their railroad bridges over the South and North Anna Rivers, and do them all the damage possible." Dix, a well respected politician, was not an aggressive general, but he eventually contemplated attacking Richmond despite the vagueness of Halleck's instructions. On June 27, his men conducted a successful cavalry raid on Hanover Junction, led by Col. Samuel P. Spears, which defeated the Confederate regiment guarding the railroad junction, destroyed the bridge over the South Anna River and the quartermaster's depot, capturing supplies, wagons, and 100 prisoners including General Lee's son, Brig. Gen. W.H.F. "Rooney" Lee. On June 29, at a council of war, Dix and his lieutenants express concerns about their limited strength (about 32,000 men) and decided to limit themselves to threatening gestures. Confederate Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill wrote that the Union advance on Richmond was "not a feint but a faint." The net effect of the operation was primarily psychological, causing the Confederates to hold back some troops from Lee's offensive to guard the capital.[1]

On the evening of June 27, Lincoln sent orders relieving Hooker. Hooker had argued with general-in-chief Henry W. Halleck about defending the garrison at Harpers Ferry and petulantly offered to resign. Halleck and Lincoln accepted the resignation. George Meade, previously commanding the V Corps, was ordered to assume command of the Army of the Potomac early on the morning of June 28 in Frederick, Maryland. Meade was surprised by the change of command order, having previously expressed his lack of interest in the army command. In fact, when an officer from Washington woke him with the order, he assumed he was being arrested for some transgression. Despite having little knowledge of what Hooker's plans had been or the exact locations of the three columns moving quickly to the northwest, Meade kept up the pace.

Lee was unaware that his normally sluggish foe had moved as far north as it had. The lack of Stuart's cavalry intelligence kept him unaware. It was only after a spy hired by Longstreet reported in that Lee found out his opponent had crossed the Potomac and was following him nearby. By this time, Lee's forces were widely separated. Ewell's corps had almost reached the Susquehanna River and was prepared to menace Harrisburg, the state capital. Early's division occupied York, which was the largest Northern town to fall to the Confederates during the war. Longstreet and Hill were near Chambersburg. Lee sent urgent messages to his corps commanders to concentrate his army around Cashtown or Gettysburg, depending on circumstances.

Skirmish of Sporting Hill (June 30, 1863)
Confederate cavalry under the command of Brig. Gen. Albert G. Jenkins raided nearby Mechanicsburg on June 28 and skirmished with the 22nd and 37th New York Militia at Sporting Hill on the west side of Camp Hill on June 29. The Confederates then pressed on to the outer defenses of Fort Couch, where they skirmished with the outer picket line for over an hour, the northernmost engagement of the Gettysburg Campaign. They later withdrew in the direction of Carlisle.
Battle of Hanover (June 30, 1863)
J.E.B. Stuart, on his wide-ranging raid around the Union army, attacked a Union cavalry regiment and drove it through the streets of Hanover, Pennsylvania. Union Brig. Gen. Elon J. Farnsworth's brigade arrived and counterattacked, nearly capturing Stuart. After additional forces arrived, Stuart was stalemated and forced to move even further to the east. His orders to maintain contact with Ewell's advance could not be fulfilled, and he was two days hard riding away from Lee's army on the eve of the great battle.
Battle of Gettysburg (July 1 – July 3, 1863)
Gettysburg was the greatest battle of the war and is often considered its turning point. Meade defeated Lee in a three-day battle fought by 160,000 soldiers, with 51,000 casualties. It started as a meeting engagement when brigades from Henry Heth's division clashed with Buford's cavalry, and then John F. Reynolds's I Corps. As the Union XI Corps arrived, they and the I Corps were smashed by Ewell's and Hill's corps arriving from the north and forced back through the town, taking up defensive positions on Cemetery Hill, Culp's Hill, and Cemetery Ridge, south of town. On July 2, Lee launched a massive pair of assaults against the left and right flanks of Meade's army. Fierce battles raged at Little Round Top, Devil's Den, the Wheatfield, the Peach Orchard, East Cemetery Hill, and Culp's Hill. Meade was able to shift his defenders along interior lines, and they repulsed the Confederate advances. On July 3, Lee launched Pickett's Charge against the Union center, and almost three divisions were slaughtered. By this time, Stuart had returned, and he fought an inconclusive cavalry duel to the east of the main battlefield, attempting to drive into the Union rear area. The two armies stayed in position on July 4 (the same day the Battle of Vicksburg ended in a stunning Union victory), and then Lee ordered a retreat.
Battle of Carlisle (July 1, 1863)
Stuart, attempting to locate Ewell's corps, rode into Carlisle, which had been occupied by Ewell a few days before. He found the town occupied by a small contingent of Union militia. After learning of Lee's whereabouts near Gettysburg, he broke off combat, torching the Carlisle Barracks in the process.
Battle of Hunterstown (July 2, 1863)
After Stuart arrived in Gettysburg, he ordered Wade Hampton to take a position to cover the left rear of the Confederate battle lines. Hampton moved into position astride the Hunterstown Road four miles (6 km) northeast of town, blocking access for any Union forces that might try to swing around behind Lee's lines. Two brigades of Union cavalry from Judson Kilpatrick’s division under George Armstrong Custer and Elon J. Farnsworth were probing for the end of the Confederate left flank. Custer attacked Hampton on the road between Hunterstown and Gettysburg, and Hampton counterattacked. When Farnsworth arrived with his brigade, Hampton did not press his attack, and an artillery duel ensued until dark. Hampton then withdrew towards Gettysburg.
Battle of Fairfield (July 3, 1863)
Elements of William "Grumble" Jones' "Laurel Brigade" clashed with the 6th U.S. Cavalry near Fairfield, Pennsylvania, in the mid-afternoon. After an initial charge by the 6th Virginia Cavalry was repulsed, Jones brought up his artillery, as well as the 7th Virginia Cavalry. Thus reinforced, Jones swept the Federals from their ridgetop defensive position and chased them for three miles (5 km) before halting. His action kept the Hagerstown Road open as Lee's line of retreat to the Potomac River.

Gettysburg Campaign (July 5 – July 14)Battle of Williamsport (July 6 – July 16, 1863)
The Battle of Williamsport was a series of minor engagements during Lee's retreat toward the Potomac River. Meade pursued Lee but was unable to attack in force before Lee slipped across the Potomac. The period since July 4 had been very rainy and roads were in bad shape, but Lee's forces were more motivated to move and stayed ahead of Meade. Confederate cavalry Brig. Gen. John D. Imboden, escorting the wagon train of wounded, was cut off by rising flood waters on July 6 and made a bold stand against attacks from Buford and Judson Kilpatrick, relying on the wounded to bear arms in the defense. Meade held a council of war with his subordinates on July 12 and decided to attack Lee on July 14 before he could cross the river to safety. However, the bulk of Lee's army crossed the Potomac at Falling Waters, West Virginia, on the night of July 13 to July 14, foiling Meade's plan. Troops from Heth's division screened the crossing, and Kilpatrick's cavalry captured about 700 men from the rear guard. Confederate Brig. Gen. J. Johnston Pettigrew, who had survived Pickett's Charge, was mortally wounded in this action.
Battle of Boonsboro (July 8, 1863)
Lee's rear guard cavalry clashed with Federal cavalry in the South Mountain passes, delaying Union pursuit of the Army of Northern Virginia.
Battle of Manassas Gap (July 23, 1863)
Meade's unsuccessful attempt to attack Lee's retreating forces in the Shenandoah Valley. Maj. Gen. William H. French's assault was poorly coordinated. It pushed the Confederates back, but they slipped away relatively unscathed. On July 24, the Union army occupied Front Royal, Virginia, but Lee's army was safely beyond pursuit.

[edit] Aftermath
The Gettysburg Campaign represented the final major offensive by Robert E. Lee in the Civil War. From this point on, all combat operations of the Army of Northern Virginia were in reaction to Union initiatives. Lee suffered over 28,000 casualties, a price very difficult for the Confederacy to pay. And the campaign met none of its major objectives.

However, Meade received severe criticism for allowing Lee to escape, just as George B. McClellan had done after the Battle of Antietam. Under pressure from Lincoln, he launched two campaigns that fall—Bristoe and Mine Run—to attempt to defeat Lee. Both were failures. He also suffered humiliation at the hands of his political enemies in front of the Joint Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War, questioning his actions at Gettysburg and his failure to defeat Lee at the Potomac.

On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln spoke at the dedication ceremonies for the national cemetery created at the Gettysburg battlefield. His Gettysburg Address redefined the war, named the destruction of slavery as a specific goal, and called for a "new birth of freedom" in the nation.