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Courtesy of Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division, 1862
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Home > The War > Battlefields & Tactics | Major Civil War Battles | 1864 Battles
This campaign, one of the most important of the war, resulted in the capture of Atlanta and the re-election of President Lincoln. On May 3, three armies (about 98,000 men) under the overall command of Major General William T. Sherman headed southeast along the Western and Atlantic Railroad, bound for the vital railroad hub 120 miles away at Atlanta, Georgia. Eventually, the Confederate army, now under Major General John Bell Hood, abandoned the city and Sherman’s victorious legions marched in on Sept. 2.
Major General Benjamin Butler’s 33,000-man Army of the James launched its abortive Bermuda Hundred Campaign. Butler’s failed campaign—which produced 6,600 casualties—represented one of the greatest missed opportunities to disperse the Confederate government at Richmond, Virginia. However, it secured the vital supply base at City Point, enabling the Army of the Potomac to fight a prolonged campaign around the entrenchments of Petersburg.
This important Virginia battle was the first of the Overland Campaign and the first clash between General Robert E. Lee and newly promoted Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. The two-day battle resulted in a stand-off, but it suffered 27,500 casualties.
This horrific clash of arms resulted in the fourth bloodiest battle of the Civil War. In all, the battle resulted in 30,000 casualties, most of them from the May 12 engagement.
This battle marked the last major engagement of the Overland Campaign. News of the Battle of Cold Harbor sparked strong antiwar criticism against Grant and President Lincoln. Still, this did not deter the Army of the Potomac, which shifted to the James River and crossed it on June 14. With that, the 44-day Overland Campaign came to an end, and the fighting moved to a new front near Petersburg, Virginia.
After crossing the James River, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant tried to move his exhausted Army of the Potomac into the city of Petersburg, Virginia. These battles resulted in Union defeats, but in the end, Grant’s men severed a crucial road into Petersburg.
This deadly conflict resulted in a stunning Confederate victory. Union miners dug a 511-foot long underground mine shaft below the Confederate works and packed it with 400 kegs of black powder. The ensuing explosion, it was hoped, would rout the gray coats and blow a hole wide enough to shove an attack force. The ensuing Union charge went poorly. In all, the calamitous Union charge resulted in more than 5,000 casualties and the eventual dismissal of several Union generals.
Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant continued battering the 50-mile ring of entrenchments that encircled Richmond and Petersburg. Despite the Confederates’ tactical success in these battles, Grant had achieved his objective, severing a vital rail line, the Weldon Railroad.
Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant launched two simultaneous assaults against the Richmond and Petersburg entrenchments. Although tactical stalemates, these operations deprived Confederates of vital roads, rendering the Union noose around Petersburg nearly complete. Only the Southside Railroad remained to be taken.
This battle solidified Union control of the Shenandoah Valley and prevented further Confederate resistance in the valley, virtually ensuring President Lincoln’s re-election on Nov. 8.
These two battles spelled almost total disaster for Confederate troops in the west. In all, the Tennessee Campaign had cost the Confederate army 50 percent of its fighting force.
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