xxiv Chronology of the Civil War Era superior forces against him. The battle completely turned in the Confederate’s favor when General Stone- wall Jackson overran the fl ank of Hooker’s army and sent them into a disorganized route that was halted only because of darkness. Although the battle trans- formed into a major tactical victory for Lee, events would soon turn the engagement into a strategic disas- ter when Jackson was killed. Jackson was searching in the darkness for a way to keep the offensive mov- ing, when he was mistaken for the enemy by his own troops. Hooker retreated back toward Washington in defeat and was soon relieved of his command. May 1 The campaign to capture Vicksburg begins with Grant’s Union Army taking Port Gibson, Mississippi. The Vicksburg Campaign continues with Union forc- es, led by General Ulysses S. Grant, that are success- ful in battles at Raymond and Jackson, Mississippi, and at the Battle of Champions Hill, which forced the Confederate forces back into their base in Vicks- burg. Union forces then establish a siege of the town on May 18 and attack Confederate fortifi cations on May 19 and 22. July 1 The Battle of Gettysburg begins, and it ends on July 3. Union general George Meade, who replaced General Hooker just three days before the battle began, had moved his army northward away from Washington, D.C., ever mindful of keeping his army between the U.S. capital and Lee’s Confederate Army that had just begun a second offensive into the Union homeland. The two armies met at Gettysburg, a small town in southern Pennsylvania. At the end of the three days of fi ghting there, 7,000 men would be killed, with to- tal casualties reaching over 51,000. Lee’s offensive into the North would not only be halted, but his army would also leave this battlefi eld utterly shattered, never again being able to mount a major offensive threat. The eventual outcome of the war had now clearly been determined. July 4 Vicksburg surrenders to Union forces, led by General Ulysses S. Grant. With the surrender of Vicksburg,
Previous Page Next Page