Road to Conquest

1862

Fort Henry & Fort Donelson The key to defeating

the Confederacy in the West was Union control over strategic river systems

Grant wanted Union control of the Tennessee & Cumberland Rivers

Grant’s Plan

Victory At Henry & Donelson

Victory at Ft. Henry on 2/6/1862 gave the Union control of the TN River (upper right)

Victory at Ft. Donelson on 2/16/1862 gave the Union control of the Cumberland River (lower right)

McClellan in Command

George B. McClellan Known as “Little

Mac” “Superb organizer

of an Army” Overly cautious

during battle Later becomes

Governor of New Jersey

The Peninsula Campaign 3/1862-7/1/1862

Shiloh Fought 4/6-4/7/1862 Key Leaders were:

Union: Ulysses S. Grant William Tecumseh Sherman Confederate: Albert Sidney Johnston First major bloody battle of the Civil

War, in which there were 23,741 casualties

Battle of Shiloh

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

TotalTroops

K W C TL

ConfederateUnion

The Seven Days Battle

Fought 6/25-7/1/1862

Lee stops McClellan’s Army from invading Richmond, and halts the Peninsula Campaign

2nd Battle Bull Run/Manassas

Fought 8/29-8/30/1862 Another Confederate Victory led by Robert E. Lee Adds to the reputation of Lee as an

invincible leader.

The Battle of Antietam/Sharpsburg

Fought on 9/17/1862 in Sharpsburg, MD

Bloodiest Day in American History with 23,300 casualties

McClellan (75,000) vs. Lee (50,000) The Confederacy needed a major

victory over the Union to gain foreign support from England and France

McClellan’s Victory

1. Took ¼ of Lee’s Army 2. Stopped Lee’s

invasion of the North3. Ended idea of Foreign

support from England and France

4. Provides Lincoln with need to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

Lincoln Fires McClellan McClellan could have

ended the war by pursuing Lee after Antietam, but did not.

When he ignored Lincoln’s order to do so, the President fired McClellan.

McClellan hated Lincoln and would run against him in the Election of 1864.