A portion of Watie's command saw action at Oak Hills (August 10, 1861) in a battle that assured the South's hold on Indian Territory and made Watie a Confederate military hero. Afterward, Watie helped drive the pro-Northern Indians out of Indian Territory, and following the Battle of Chustenahlah (December 26, 1861) he commanded the pursuit of hte fleeing Federals, led by Opothleyahola, and drove them into exile in Kansas. Although Watie's men were exempt from service outside Indian Territory, he led his troops into Arkansas in the spring of 1861 to stem a Federal invasion of the region. Joining with Maj. GEn. Earl Van Dorn's command, Watie took part in the bAttle of Elkhorn Tavern (March 5-6, 1861). On the first day of fighting,
George Armstrong Custer was a United States cavalry officer who served with distinction in the American Civil War and was the youngest ever brevet brigadier general at age twenty-three (History.com Staff, 2009). Custer had various disciplinary issues throughout his career ranging from abandoning his post for romantic reasons to leaving the field without searching for a slain reconnaissance unit (History.com Staff, 2009). His expedition in 1874 that led to the discovery of gold, was in violation of the treaty of 1868 wherein the Black Hills were recognized to belong to the Sioux Nation. Custer was known to have a reckless temperament and was often at odds with superior officers. Nevertheless, as a Lieutenant Colonel assigned to the Seventh Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Riley, Kansas, Custer was tasked to lead the force against Sitting Bull’s alliance (History.com Staff, 2009).
On June 25, 1876, The Battle of Little Bighorn took place near the Black Hills in Montana. This was one of the most controversial battles of the 20th century and the line between good guys and bad guys was grey at best. Gen. George Armstrong Custer (reduced to LTC after the civil war) had 366 men of the 7thU.S. Cavalry under his command that day. Sitting Bull (A Medicine Man) led 2000 braves of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes (Klos, 2013). At the conclusion of the battle, the stories of the Indians savagery were used to demonize their culture and there were no survivors from the 7thcavalry to tell what really happened.
Union: Irvin McDowell fought confederate troops at first battle of bull run and was beaten. Irvin Mcdowell was next ordered to watch over Washington DC. Then Irvin Mcdowell was the commander of the troops at second battle of bull run and he ended up losing again. Irvin Mcdowell then commanded the department of the pacific. Then Irvin Mcdowell didn’t command anymore troops after the second battle of bull run or manassas.
Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer led an Army expedition in the Black Hills (present-day South
Although only twice in chief command of a field army during the battle of Mill Spring, near the war’s beginning and Nashville Tennessee at the near it's end Major General George H. Thomas played a significant role in shaping the war beyond the Appalachian Mountains.
The second phase of the Battle of Shiloh starts as reinforcements from General Buell’s Army of the Ohio and a unit of Grant’s own reserve division joined the Union Army now positioned at Pittsburg Landing. These reinforcements added over 22,500 men to the Union lines13 bringing the total number of Union forces to over 45,000, which is more than they had on 6 April, the first day of fighting.14 On April 7, General Grant renewed the fighting with an aggressive counteract.15 Greatly outnumbered (Confederate forces now around 25,000) and disorganized the Confederate forces now under General Beauregard fought hard but eventually had to retreat to back Corinth.16 The second phase of the Battle of Shiloh was won by General Grant and his Union forces due to two main reasons. The first, Union troop numbers greatly outnumbered their enemy, over 45,000 to 25,000 respectively. And secondly, the reinforcements received by General Grant had not fought the day before and were fresh and excited to fight, unlike the exhausted remaining Confederate troops.17 This was the bloodiest battle fought on American soil up to that point, with 23,746 casualties (Union: 13,047; Confederate: 10,699).18 The Union lost more men but claimed the victory because the Confederate Army retreated back to Corinth, Mississippi.
Custer divided the 7th Cavalry into three battalions under himself, Major Marcus Reno, and Captain Frederick Benteen. Unsure of the surrounding terrain, Custer sent Benteen south to “scour the country and pitch into anything he might find.” Two hours later and four miles from the valley, Custer’s own scouts spied “a good-sized party of Indians in flight between the troops and the river.” Custer ordered Reno’s battalion to charge the enemy, telling Reno he “will be supported by the entire outfit.” Instead of following, however, Custer advanced onto high ground east of the village.
Since March of 1865, a gentleman’s agreement to no longer battle had been in place in the Rio Grande region of Southern Texas. Despite this agreement, COL Theodore H. Barrett, the Commander of the Union Forces situated at Brazos Santiago, Texas, decided to dispatch an expedition force composed of 250 men of the 62nd U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment, as well as 50 men of the 2nd Texas Cavalry Regiment commanded by LTC David Branson to the mainland to raid Confederate outposts and camps with the goal of conquering Brownsville, Texas. On the evening of the 11 May 1865,
That was his first battle, but many others would follow such as “Gales Creek, N.C., Bogue Sound, N.C. Newport Barracks, N.C. Swansboro, NC Jacksonville, NC Redoubt Dutton (Bermuda Front), VA Chapin's Farm, VA (Chaffin's Farm, VA Fair Oaks, VA Fall of Richmond, VA.” (Vt in the Civil War.) Some those battles lasted more than one day. At Newport Barracks, William was captured along with George Nye and they got a blanket a little bit food and water each day. He was lucky to get out with George but then was promoted to corporal on July 18. Then, on the night of September 28, William and his regiment crossed the James river to attack the Richmond defences in the morning. Ulysses S. Grant, the commander of the Union army, picked General Butler to attack Richmond. “Butler carefully scouted the network of Confederate fortifications.After determining that there were weaknesses in Lee’s lines”(History.com). Therfore William’s regiment, along with the regiments from Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana and Missouri were hanging back. The front lines were the regiments that included Ohio, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana regiments shooting at the Confederate Arkansas, Texas and Virginia regiments. William’s regiment was positioned in the back of the main fight so if they needed more men they would go in. William was happy when the war was over because he could finally go
Moving east was a column led by Col. John Gibbon from Fort Ellis Montana. Under the command of Gen. George Crook from Fort Fetterman Wyoming, a column was deployed from the south near Wyoming Territory. On May 17th, Brigade General Alfred Terry moved west from Fort Abraham Lincoln Dakota. Gen. Alfred Terry’s column consisted of 879 personnel, the majority being of the 7th Cavalry under LTC George A. Custer. On June 22nd, Gen. Terry detached Custer and the 7th Cavalry to flank from the southeast and force the Indians upstream where he planned to engage them with a smaller force along Little Bighorn River. Custer moved to the headwaters of the Tongue and Bighorn Rive and on June 25th Custer’s Soldiers were approximately 25 miles out from a large Indian encampment southwest of his position. Custer sent out scouts, along with Crow scouts (Indian scouts/linguist) to gather intel on the native encampment. Scouts reported a larger number than expected, an estimated 8,000 personnel including 1,500 native warriors present in the village. They also reported that the unit’s fires could be spotted from the crow’s nest, giving away Custer’s position. Assessing the situation, Custer decided to advance on the enemy’s position towards Wolf Mountain which was 12 miles from the encampment. With the information gathered by the crow scouts weighing heavily on Custer’s mind, he decided to attack the encampment the next day to prevent losing contact of the Sioux. Custer split his Regiment into three squadrons: a supply train consisting of 125 personal, commanded by Cpt. Frederick Benteen, a three troop force consisting of 175 personnel, led by Maj. Marcus Reno, and a five troop force consisting of 210 personnel with
Following the civil war the Army was downsizing. Custer was a captain in the regular army. In July 1866 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel made second in command of the 7th Calvary at Fort Riley Kansas. As the settlers, along with the railroad, were pushing west, there were conflicts with Indians. Custer’s mission was to tract down these roving Indian, war parties. This was a new type of war for Custer. It was guerrilla warfare. Custer tried to track down the Indians as if they were the confederates. He would camp on hill tops so he could see all around him. At night, his men would build big fires. The Indians would see this and flee. This lack of success drastically brought the morale down in Custer and his men. Before long, a group of 15 men deserted, Custer ordered them to be tracked down and shot. He then went on a forced march with his men just so he could spend a day with his wife regardless of the repercussions to his career. Major General Hancock gave a court martial to Custer for the execution of his men without trial. Custer was suspended in pay for one year.v
The march on the river was long and unbarring for the brave men who fought to protect our country. On June 25, 1876 General Gorge Custard split his 650 troops three ways Little Bighorn, Battle of the Urwin. The three columns were under command of General Custard,
The Battle of Prairie Grove was on 1862, northwestern Arkansas and southwestern Missouri. The Union when a force called for General James G.Blunt holds off a force of Confederates under General Thomas Hindman. Hindman joined in force at Fort Smith, Arkansas, to make an attempt to recapture territory lost during the Pea Ridge campaign of early 1862. When Hindman sent an advance detachment of cavalry under John Marmaduke in a minor engagement at Cane Hill. After Cane Hill, Hindman marched his 11,000-man army across the Boston Mountains and Approached Blunt’s 5,000 Troops. Hindman prepared to attack, but it was surprised by the approach of Union reinforcements from Missouri. Union General Francis Herron had marched 7,000
Albert Sidney Johnson was a Troop Commander in this battle. Johnston was born in Kentucky and obtained his education at West Point. He graduated in 1826. Johnston's first taste of active service came in 1832 during the Black Hawk Indian War. He resigned his commission afterwards only to return to active duty in 1836. He fought against the United States Indians on the River Neches and served in the Mexican War with Major General Zachary Taylor. Taylor made Johnston a paymaster during Taylor's presidency. He continued his rise in the ranks by becoming a colonel in the 2nd Calvary, a brevet brigadier general commanding the Utah military district and in 1861 the commander of the Pacific Coast.
After the Civil War ended, Custer was offered the rank of Lieutenant Colonel with the command of the 7TH Cavalry Regiment4. Custer served in many campaigns the U.S. Cavalry conducted including Major General Hancock’s campaign against the Cheyenne and the Battle of Washita River against the Black Kettle5.