Written by Zeke

Important or Major Battles in 1864

• Battle of the Wilderness
• Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse
• Battle of Cold Harbor (Second Gaines Mill)
• Atlanta Campaign
• Siege of Petersburg (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign)
• Battle of Mobile Bay
• Third Battle of Winchester (Opequon) 
• Battle of Cedar Creek (Belle Grove) 
• Battle of Franklin
• Battle of Nashville
• Sherman’s March to the Sea (Savannah Campaign) 

During 1864 in the Eastern Theatre, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was made the commanding general of the Union Army of the Potomac, and there were many bloody battles, like the Battles of Spotsylvania Courthouse, and The Wilderness, which were both inconclusive battles. In the Western Theatre, General William T. Sherman started his march to the sea, where focused on civilian targets.1864 was one of the bloodiest years of the war, and it had many major battles. 

Political Situation

In 1864, the U.S. elections were held, and both sides were both sick of war, so when former Union General George McClenllan ran as a democrat, the Confederacy hoped that he would win because McClellan might sign a peace agreement with them. Unfortunately for the south, Lincoln won a second term, and the raged on until 1865. 

Battle of the Wilderness

This bloody battle was fought from May 5-7, 1864, in the wilderness of Spotsylvania County, Virginia. After the failed Union battle at Chancellorsville in early 1863, Commanding Union General George S. Meade was replaced by General Ulysses S. Grant. President Lincoln thought this was a good idea because Grant had done such a great job in the western theater. The 101,000 strong Union Army of the Potomac commanded by General Grant advanced after their defeat at Chancellorsville back into Spotsylvania County where they met the 61,000 strong Confederate Army of Northern Virginia commanded by General Robert E. Lee. 

Early in the day on May 5, Union troops of the Iron Brigade crossed into enemy territory, and there was a harsh fight there. Confederate General John M. Jones was killed in the chaos that followed. At first the Confederates were pushed back, but then the Alabamian Regiment commanded by General Cullen A. Battle launched a counterattack that succeeded, and the Union were sent running disorderly through the woods. Earlier that day, a forest fire had somehow started, and most of the wounded men who were left behind were horribly burnt to death. 

After an attack that started early in the morning of May 6, Confederate General James Longstreet counterattacked and pushed back the Union who were tired from their attack early in the morning. The Rebels pushed the yankees back to where they had originally started in the morning, and mortally wounding Union General James S. Wadsworth. Other Confederates were marching and they saw the Longstreet’s men chasing the Union. They thought that Longstreet’s men were dismounted Union Cavalry, so they opened fired, killing General Micah Jenkins, and wounding General James Longtreet in his neck. 

On May 7, there wasn’t really much fighting, and the whole battle turned out to be inconclusive. Overall, the Union had 17,666 casualties, and the Confederates had 11,033 casualties, making it one of the worst battles in the whole war. 

Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse

The Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse was fought from May 9-21, 1864 in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. After the Battle of the Wilderness, Union General Grant attempted once again to strike at the weakened Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. On May 9, Confederate General Robert E. Lee fortified his positions, and the Union VI Corps commanded by General John Sedgwick were also building entrenchments. 

Sedgwick was inspecting his men while Confederate sharpshooters were trying to hit them. He ironically stated “They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance.” Soon after, he was hit in the head by Confederate Sharpshooter, dying instantly. On the morning of May 10, Grant attacked at the Po River. After a harsh advance over the River, Grant’s men finally made it to the Confederate trenches. They were cut down right after they crossed the river, and Grant was forced to retreat.  

On May 12, Grant ordered that General Burnside’s IX Corps attack the Confederates on Laurel Hill (or the bloody angle). At 4:35 A.M., a thick fog covered the area as Burnside’s men desperately tried to climb over the Confederate earthworks. The rebels were pushed back because rain earlier that morning had damaged most of their gunpowder, but Robert D. Johnson’s brigade of North Carolinians pushed the federals back with their hands. 

The Battle basically ended on May 12, but it didn’t technically end until May 21. From May 13- 21, there were just minor skirmishes. Overall, the Union had 2,725 killed, 13,416 wounded, and 2,258 mississing, while the Confederates had 1,515 killed, 5,414 wounded, and 5,748 mississing. It was actually inconclusive, even though the Union had more casualties. 

Battle of Cold Harbor (Second Gaines Mill) 

Although they were outnumbered by 50,000 men, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia commanded by General Robert E. Lee prevailed at the Battle of Cold Harbor, which was fought from May 31- June 12, 1864 near Mechanicsville, Virginia. The reason why this battle was a Confederate victory because Union General Ulysses S. Grant thought that he was facing a small brigade of troops, but he was actually facing the 62,000 strong Robert E. Lee’s army, so Grant casually strolled onto the battlefield until he realized that he had made a mistake. Instead of retreating, Grant decided he would try to win the battle either way. 

Union General Horatio Wright attacked at the Bloody Run Creek where Confederate General Richard H. Anderson’s men were stationed. They broke the Confederate lines, but they had heavy casualties. On June 2, Grant was thinking about attacking, but never gave the order, so instead Union General Meade, who was second in command, ordered General Hancock to move southeast and attack the Confederates at the Totopotomoy Creek. The Union would have fought that day, but the march took longer than expected, so they rested and decided to attack the next day. 

On June 3, at 4:30 A.M., the Federals marched across an open field through thick fog, while the Confederates were shelling them. They made it to the Confederate lines, but were pushed back in fierce hand-to-hand combat, making it the worst casualties the Union had seen in one day since the Battle of Fredericksburg. From June 4 – 12, there wasn’t much fighting, but in total, there were 12,783 Union casualties, and 5,287 Confederate, making it a major Confederate victory.   

Atlanta Campaign 

The Atlanta Campaign consisted of 20 battles: The Battle of Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, Rome Cross Roads, Adairsville, New Hope Church, Pickett’s Mill, Dallas, Kolb’s Farm, Kennesaw Mountain, Marietta, Noonday Creek, Pace’s Ferry, Peachtree Creek, Atlanta, Ezra Church, Brown’s Mill, Utoy Creek, Second Dalton, Lovejoy’s Station, and Jonesborough. The worst of them all was the Battle of Atlanta. After the Union victory at Missionary Ridge, Union General William T. Sherman advanced into central Georgia. The Battle of Resaca was a major battle having a total of 7,800 casualties, but it was inconclusive. The Battles of Rome’s Cross Roads, Adairsville, New Hope Church, and Pickett’s Mill were all minor battles, but the Battle of Dallas had over 5,400 casualties. 

Most of the Battles in the Atlanta Campaign were Union victories, but in the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, the rebels commanded by General Joseph E. Johnston dragged artillery up the mountain, and the Union were cut down, suffering 3,000 casualties while only inflicting 1,000 on Johnston. The Battle of Marietta was not one single battle, but was a series of small skirmishes fought from June 9 – July 3. The Battle of Peachtree Creek was fought closer to the city of Atlanta, as Confederate General John B. Hood prepared for a counterattack. The Union built entrenchments, but they weren’t all finished when Hood attacked. 

Even though they had equal numbers, the Confederates were pushed back and were horribly cut down by the federal artillery and rifles. After this, the Confederates were forced to retreat. After they took the field, Union General J.D. Cox stated, “Few battlefields of the war have been so thickly strewn with dead and wounded as they lay that evening around Colier’s Mill,” though there was only a total 4,400 casualties. The Battle of Atlanta was the worst of the whole campaign, having a total of 9,141 casualties (5,500 Confederate, 3,641 Union). 

After previous battles in the Atlanta Campaign, the Union started a siege of the city, and on July 22, Confederate General John B. Hood attacked the Union right flank to try to break the siege. The Union had lots of barbed wire, trenches, and artillery and easily repealed Hood’s forces, who chaotically retreated through the city. Union General William T. Sherman, who was known to be a harsh general, aimed at civilian targets in the city. Once he had control of it, he burnt the whole city to the ground, reducing it to a pile of ruble. Hood’s troops narrowly escaped through the war-torn city. 

Siege of Petersburg (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign)

The Siege of Petersburg were a series of battles around the city of Petersburg, Virginia fought from June 15, 1864 – April 2, 1865. There was a total of 24 battles in the Siege, which were: The first Battle of Petersburg, Second Petersburg, Jerusalem Plank Road, Wilson-Kautz Road, Staunton River Bridge, Sappony Church, First Ream’s Station, First Deep Bottom, The Crater, Second Deep Bottom, Globe’s Tavern, Second Ream’s Station, Beefsteak’s Raid, Chaffin’s Farm, Peebles’ Farm, Vaughan Road, Darbytown, Darbytown Road, Fair Oaks, Boydton Plank Road, Trent’s Reach, Hatcher’s Run, Fort Stedman, and Third Petersburg.

From June 15 – 18, the Union started to close around the city of Petersburg, and the Second battle of Petersburg was fought. The Confederates had trenches stretching for 30 miles across the eastern half of the city, and also had lots of forts. On June 15, one such fort was attacked by the Union. It resulted in 11,386 Union casualties, and 4,000 Confederate, although it was inconclusive, so Union General George G. Meade decided to dig in for a siege. On June 21, at the Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road, Union General Ulysses S. Grant’s men tried to destroy the railroad tracks leading outside of the city, but there were Confederate Cavalry stationed there. 

It was another inconclusive battle, and the Union weren’t even able to reach the train tracks even though they outnumbered the Confederates by 19,000 men. On the morning of June 22, 3,300 Union troops commanded by General James H. Wilson and 12 cannons destroyed the railroad tracks 7 miles south of the city of Petersburg. Wilson’s men arrived at Nottoway Courthouse where they were met by Confederate General Rooney Lee and his 9th Virginia Cavalry. The Rebels attacked them, and the Union repulsed them. On June 25, Wilson advanced near Roanoke Station, where he was met by a small force of 1,000 men of the Confederate Home Guard (who were mostly men too old to fight in the normal army or too young) but his men still couldn’t even get halfway to the Confederate breastworks. 

On June 27, the Union captured 4 cannons at the First Battle of Deep Bottom, but it was inconclusive. Grant wanted to end the Siege as quick as possible, so his Generals came up with a plan: they would dig a mine under the Confederate trenches, and blow them up. From June 29 – July 30, the Union worked on the mine, and on July 30, it was ready. They put 8,000 pounds of gunpowder in there and blew it up. After they blew it up, the Union ran into the crater, where the Confederates went and shot them dead in the massive hole. From August 14 – 20, The Second Battle of Deep Bottom was fought, which was another inconclusive battle, where Union General Winfield S. Hancock tried to cross the James River into Richmond, but he were pushed back, and many of the Union troops died from heat strokes. 

From August 18 – 19, the Union finally captured the Weldon Railroad (Battle of Globe’s Tavern), but they suffered 4,296 casualties. The Union had captured a couple of forts from August to February, but they still weren’t going anywhere with the siege. The Confederates had even won a few decisive battles, but they had also had 25,000 dissertations, and they were heavily weakened. At the Battle of Fort Stedman, which was fought on March 25, 1865, the Confederates attempted to break the Union siege, but that failed, and by that point, the Confederate Army had so few men, there was no sense in fighting anymore.

Finally, on April 2, 1865, the Union launched a massive assault on the Confederate lines, the Confederates were forced to flee their capital city, Richmond. Richmond was set on fire, and Robert E. Lee’s army fled the city. In total, the whole siege resulted in 42,000 Union casualties, and 28,000 Confederate (not counting the 25,000 dissertations). Technically, the Siege of Petersburg was worse than the Battle of Gettysburg, but Gettysburg was a single battle, and Petersburg was a series of them, so Gettysburg is still the worst battle in the whole war.

Battle of Mobile Bay 

The Battle of Mobile Bay was fought on August 5, 1864 in the Mobile Bay, Alabama. It was one of the worst naval battles of the whole war. At dawn on August 5, ships, ironclads, and gunboats commanded by Union General David Farragut approached the Mobile Bay. The Confederate ships stationed there fired at the Union, sinking the USS Tecumseh, but during that short clash, the Confederate ironclad CSS Tennessee had been slightly injured. The Union had multiple ironclads, but the Confederates only had one, so Union General David Farragut thought that Confederate General Franklin Buchanan would retreat, but instead he decided the he would face off against all the Union boats. That didn’t go well for the Confederates, and the CSS Tennessee was captured. 

With the boats out of the way, the Union could focus on the Confederate forts on the shore: Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan. Fort Gaines almost put up no resistance, surrendering when all the Confederate boats were gone. Fort Morgan, however, stood up to the Union until August 23. The Confederates fired their 30 pounder guns at the Union, but when the Union showed up with mortars on August 23, he unconditionally surrendered. Overall it was a major Union victory, resulting in the Union having 151 killed, 177 wounded, and 1 ironclad sunk, whereas the Confederates had 13 killed, 22 wounded, 1,587 captured, 1 gunboat captured, 1 gunboat destroyed, and 1 ironclad captured. 

Third Battle of Winchester (Opequon) 

The Third Battle of Winchester was fought on September 19, 1864 near the town of Winchester, Virginia, and was part of Sheridan’s Valley Campaign of 1864. After his victory at the Battle of Berryville, Union General Phillip Sheridan and his 40,000 men faced off against Confederate General Jubal Early, who only had 12,000 men. Sheridan’s dismounted cavalry attacked at 11:40 A.M. The attack was successful, but the Confederate Artillery cut a hole the Union battle line. Also the Confederates launched a counterattack which forced the Yankees to retreat. Around 1:00 P.M. the Confederates moved south and crossed the Opequon Creek, and at 3:00 P.M. the Union commanded by General George R. Crook attacked the Confederate extreme right flank at Red Bud Run. 

The Federals advanced through the woods, and were shot at by the Rebels, who were behind trees and in the bushes. By this point, most of the Union army were fighting the outnumbered Confederates, who were pushed back into a field behind. Finally, after harsh battling for hours, Sheridan ordered a final charge, and the Confederates were forced to retreat, but to fight again another day. Overall, it was a Union victory, and the Yankees suffered 5,018 casualties, while the Confederates only suffered 4,015. 

Battle of Cedar Creek (Belle Grove) 

The Battle of Cedar Creek was fought on October 19, 1864, in Warren County, Virginia. Exactly one month after the Third Battle of Winchester, Union General General Phillip Sheridan prepared for a counterattack against the weakened Confederates commanded by General Jubal Early. Early’s men formed columns in the evening of October 18, and prepared to attack the next day. At 5:30 A.M. on October 19, Early launched a surprise attack on the Union Army of West Virginia. The Union fled, but the other soldiers in the rear were not aware of the attack, so they prepared the Confederates. 

While the Confederates were looting the Federal camp, the Union cavalry attacked them, inflicting heavy casualties, and sending them on the run, killing Confederate General Stephen D. Ramseur. By this point it was almost 5:00 P.M. and the two exhausted armies had been fighting all day, so the Confederates retreated from the field. The Battle of Cedar Creek was the final battle in the Sheridan’s Valley Campaign of 1864 and resulted in a Union victory, suffering 5,665 casualties, while the Confederates had 2,910. 

Battle of Franklin 

On November 30, 1864, the Battle of Franklin was fought near the small town of Franklin, Tennessee. After the Atlanta Campaign earlier that year, Confederate General John B. Hood fled north to try to lure the Union into central Tennessee, and the two armies met right outside the town of Franklin, almost exact in numbers. At 4:00 in the morning, Hood attacked the Union center flank, forcing them to fall back. While there was fighting at the center flank, the Confederates also attacked on the left and right flanks, but they were repulsed with heavy casualties. Meanwhile the center flank had also turned against the Southerners.

Confederate General William B. Bates led a charge to the Union line, but was delayed by a small brigade of Union behind a wall. The Confederates made no progress, so they withdrew. At 7:00 P.M. The Confederates moved north to the Columbia Turnpike, where they were defeated by the Union stationed there. At that point it was dark so the Confederates decided to retreat. The victorious Federals took 2,236 casualties, while the Confederates suffered 4,500- 2,520. 

Battle of Nashville

The Battle Nashville was fought from December 15- 16, 1864 outside of the city of Nashville, Tennessee. 55,000 U.S. troops of the Army of the Cumberland commanded by General George H. Thomas had marched from Georgia to pursue the 30,000 men of the Confederate Army of Tennessee commanded by General John B. Hood. On December 15, General Thomas planned to attack the Confederate right flank. The purpose of this attack was not to defeat the Rebels, but to distract them from other Union armies at their left. The Union advanced up to the Confederate forts, where they were cut down by the Confederate artillery. When that plan failed, Thomas decided to move a full scale attack on the exposed Confederate right flank. 

At 2:30 P.M. the Union attacked, and there was a minor assault in which the Union failed to get to the fort, resulting in the death of Union General Sylvester G. Hill. In the meantime, the Federals also attacked the Confederates at Brown’s Creek, which was defended by a small C.S. force, however behind lurked a larger one. The Union defeated the first small force and eventually defeated the large one as well.

On December 16, the Union attacked at Peach Orchard and Shy Hill. Both attacks were successful, and by the night of December 16, what was left of Hood’s army retreated. Overall there were 3,061 Union casualties, and about 6,000 Confederate: an astounding U.S. victory. 

Sherman’s March to the Sea (Savannah Campaign)

Sherman’s March to the Sea was a series of minor battles in Southwest Georgia. It is not known for its military casualties, but for the cruel tactics used by Union General William T. Sherman, who ordered his men to commit horrible atrocities against the civilian population of the South. General Sherman believed the key to winning war was to strike at its civilians. The march lasted from November 15 to December 21, 1864. There were a total of 7 battles in the Campaign: The Battle of Griswoldville, Buck Head Creek, Honey Hill, Waynesboro, Tulifinny, Fort McAllister, and Altamaha Bridge, the worst of which being the Battle of Griswoldville. 

During the march, the Union burnt farms, razed towns and cities, murdered civilians, killed and stole livestock, and mistreated the civilians and Confederate POWs they captured. Overall the campaign was a ruthless one, and on December 20, Savannah fell to Federal forces, ending Sherman’s March to the Sea. It’s estimated $100 million dollars ($1.6 billion in 2020) worth of damage was caused during the march.