8G History Week 14 Assignment

For this assignment, I will highlight the life of two separate generals, one from the Union and one from the Confederacy.

Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee was born on January 19, 1807, in Virginia. His parents were popular and fairly wealthy. But Lee’s father moved away to the Caribbean and was never seen again. Lee went to the U.S. Military Academy when he was 18. He was a role model to some of the other students, and he graduated to later become a Second Lieutenant in the Engineer Corps.

However, Lee wouldn’t actually fight in any battles until the 1840s. He married the great-granddaughter of George Washington, Mary Anna Randoph Custis.

Lee had confusing ideas about slavery. He said that slavery was “a greater evil to the white than to the black race, & while my feelings are strongly interested in behalf of the latter, my sympathies are more strong for the former.” He thought that God should decide what to do with slavery.

Lee was promoted to Colonel on March 16, 1861. At that time, the Confederate States of America were already formed. He was offered a spot in the U.S. army, but he said no. He was against secession, but he wanted to stay loyal to his home state of Virginia. When he joined the Confederacy, he was promoted to General.

Lee was very successful overall in his career, with many famous victories including the Second Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Fredericksburg, and the Battle of Chancellorsville. His greatest defeat was the Battle of Gettysburg. (davidjamesgarber.com/blog/2025/02/civil-war-battles/)

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was born on April 27, 1822. His father was a tanner, but Grant didn’t like the work, so his father got him a spot in the U.S. Military Academy. Grant wasn’t happy about that, but he didn’t have much choice. He graduated in 1843 in the middle of his class, becoming a second lieutenant. He was never very interested in what the Academy was teaching, and he enjoyed doing the art courses and reading. Grant served in the Mexican-American war, under General Zachary Taylor. He was promoted to first lieutenant.

After the Mexican-American war, he married Julia Boggs Dent. Grant helped in the Civil War by training more troops. He continued to rise through the ranks, finally being promoted to General. Some of his greatest victories were the battle of Chattanooga, and the Battle of Fort Donelson.

References:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ulysses-S-Grant

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-E-Lee

8G History Week 14 Assignment

In this week’s assignment, I will cover 2 of the biggest battles in the American Civil War.

First Battle of Bull Run

The First Battle of Bull Run was the first major battle in the civil war. It was fought on July 12, 1861, near Manassas, Virginia. The battle got its name because it was fought by a stream called Bull Run. Irvin McDowell was put in charge of a section of the Union army located in northeastern Virginia. General P.G.T. Beauregard commanded a part of the Confederate army that was camped nearby.

The battle started with McDowell marching his army right past the Confederates. Beauregard didn’t expect them to attack, but got their army ready anyway. At 6:00 A.M. both sides started firing. McDowell’s men forced the Confederates to retreat to Henry House Hill. The Union army made multiple attempts to attack, but they failed. The battle resulted in almost 5,000 casualties and a Confederate victory.

The Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg was fought from July 1-3, 1863, around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The Union forces were commanded by General George G. Meade, while the Confederates were led by Robert E. Lee.

The battle started when Lee marched his troops from Northern Virginia to Pennsylvania. His goal was to completely destroy the entire Union forces there. They met the Union troops, who were camped out in Gettysburg. Both sides clashed with each other near the Potomac river.

On the second day, the Confederates moved to the offensive side, with multiple attacks to the Union’s right flank. Lee’s men were looking very strong, and he expected to win that day. But he was wrong! His men tried diversionary tactics, but Meade’s men held out against their attacks. One of the Major Generals under Lee disobeyed his orders and his whole division was wiped out by the Union line.

The third day was brutal for the Confederates. Lee knew he had no shot at a coordinated attack, so he gave orders to General Longstreet to attack with about 140 cannons towards the main Union line. Meanwhile, there was another attack happening. A section of the Confederates, led by General Pickett and General Longstreet was marching toward the Union army. This was a bad idea! The army was under attack by the union the whole way, which was about 1 mile. Half of the men involved in the charge were killed, wounded or captured. This was called Pickett’s charge, and it was a disastrous moment for the Confederates.

After Pickett’s charge, the whole battle fell apart. This was a major turning point for the Union, and it filled them with courage to face the rest of the war.