List of United States Military Academy alumni
Table:
Name

Class year

Notability

References

Joseph K. Mansfield

1822

Major General; Mexican–American War; civil engineer; mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam; Fort Mansfield, a coastal artillery installation in Westerly, Rhode Island named in his honor

[b][38]: 363, 850

George Meade

1835

Major General; civil and lighthouse engineer; Second Seminole War, Mexican–American War; Battle of Antietam, Battle of Fredericksburg, Battle of Chancellorsville, Appomattox Campaign, defeated Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg, commander Army of the Potomac (1863–1865); Fort George G. Meade in Maryland, home of the National Security Agency named in his honor

[b][38]: 384–385, 701–702

William Tecumseh Sherman

1840

Major General; treated the demerit system at West Point with disdain, which lowered his class standing from fourth to sixth; Battle of Shiloh, Vicksburg Campaign, Chattanooga Campaign, Atlanta Campaign, Carolinas Campaign, led the brutal Savannah Campaign (March to the Sea) from Atlanta to Savannah that demoralized the South; Commanding General of the United States Army (1869–1883)

[b][157]

Ulysses S. Grant

1843

General of the Army of the United States; Mexican–American War; Siege of Vicksburg, Battle of Chattanooga, Siege of Petersburg, accepted Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House; 18th President of the United States (1869–1877)

[b][45]

Winfield Scott Hancock

1844

Major General; Mexican–American War; Battle of Gettysburg, Battle of the Wilderness, Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, led the Army of the Potomac; Democratic Party nominee for President (1880)

[b][158]

George B. McClellan

1846

Major General; developed the McClellan Saddle; organized the Army of the Potomac after the Union forces were defeated at First Battle of Bull Run, Peninsula Campaign, Battle of Antietam; son George B. McClellan Jr. served as United States Representative from New York (1895–1903) and as Mayor of New York City (1904–1909)

[b][69]

Philip Sheridan

1853

General; Battle of Chattanooga, Overland Campaign, Valley Campaigns of 1864, used scorched earth tactics in the Shenandoah Valley and forced Lee's surrender in the Appomattox Campaign; American Indian Wars

[b][159]

Robert O. Tyler

1857

General; Peninsula Campaign, Battle of Fredericksburg, Battle of Chancellorsville, Battle of Gettysburg, Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, Battle of Cold Harbor

[b][160]

George Armstrong Custer

1861

Major General; Battle of Antietam, Battle of Chancellorsville, leader of a charge at the Battle of Gettysburg that broke the back of the Confederate resistance; Battle of the Wilderness, Siege of Petersburg; Battle of the Washita, died at Battle of the Little Bighorn

[b][161]

Based on the table and the context paragraphs listed.

State the answer to the question: Who is the alumnus whose notability has the pay grade of O-8 ? Provide just your answer in a JSON object {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Avoid adding external knowledge.

Joseph King Fenno Mansfield ( December 22 , 1803 - September 18 , 1862 ) was a career United States Army officer , civil engineer , and a Union general in the American Civil War , mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam .
In the United States Army , United States Marine Corps , and United States Air Force , major general is a two-star general officer rank , with the pay grade of O-8 . Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general . [ Note 1 ] A major general typically commands division-sized units of 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers . Major general is equivalent to the two-star rank of rear admiral in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard , and is the highest permanent peacetime rank in the uniformed services . Higher ranks are technically temporary and linked to specific positions , although virtually all officers promoted to those ranks are approved to retire at their highest earned rank .
The Mexican-American War , [ a ] also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the Intervención Estadounidense en México ( American intervention in Mexico ) , [ b ] was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 . It followed in the wake of the 1845 U.S. annexation of Texas , which was not formally recognized by the Mexican government , who disputed the Treaties of Velasco signed by Mexican caudillo President/General Antonio López de Santa Anna after the Texas Revolution a decade earlier . In 1845 , newly elected U.S. President James K. Polk , who saw the annexation of Texas as the first step towards a further expansion of the United States , sent troops to the disputed area and a diplomatic mission to Mexico . After Mexican forces attacked U.S. forces , the United States Congress declared war . U.S. forces quickly occupied the regional capital of Santa Fe de Nuevo México along the upper Rio Grande and the Pacific coast province of Alta California , and then moved south . Meanwhile , the Pacific Squadron of the U.S. Navy blockaded the Pacific coast farther south in the lower Baja California Territory . The U.S. Army , under Major General Winfield Scott , eventually captured Mexico City through stiff resistance , having marched west from the port of Veracruz on the Gulf Coast , where the U.S. staged its first ever major amphibious landing . The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo , forced onto the remnant Mexican government , ended the war and enforced the Mexican Cession of the northern territories of Alta California and Santa Fe de Nuevo México to the United States . The U.S. agreed to pay $ 15 million in compensation for the physical damage of the war and assumed $ 3.25 million of debt already owed earlier by the Mexican government to U.S. citizens . Mexico acknowledged the loss of what became the State of Texas and accepted the Rio Grande as its northern border with the United States . The victory and territorial expansion Polk envisioned inspired great patriotism in the United States , but the war and treaty drew some criticism in the U.S. for their casualties , monetary cost , and heavy-handedness , particularly early on . The question of how to treat the new acquisitions also intensified the debate over slavery .
The Battle of Antietam /ænˈtiːtəm/ , also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg , particularly in the Southern United States , was a battle of the American Civil War , fought on September 17 , 1862 , between Confederate General Robert E. Lee 's Army of Northern Virginia and Union General George B. McClellan 's Army of the Potomac , near Sharpsburg , Maryland and Antietam Creek . Part of the Maryland Campaign , it was the first field army-level engagement in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War to take place on Union soil . It was the bloodiest day in United States military history , with a combined tally of 22,717 dead , wounded , or missing . After pursuing the Confederate general Robert E. Lee into Maryland , Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan of the Union Army launched attacks against Lee 's army , in defensive positions behind Antietam Creek . At dawn on September 17 , Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker 's corps mounted a powerful assault on Lee 's left flank . Attacks and counterattacks swept across Miller 's Cornfield , and fighting swirled around the Dunker Church . Union assaults against the Sunken Road eventually pierced the Confederate center , but the Federal advantage was not followed up . In the afternoon , Union Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside 's corps entered the action , capturing a stone bridge over Antietam Creek and advancing against the Confederate right . At a crucial moment , Confederate Maj. Gen. A. P. Hill 's division arrived from Harpers Ferry and launched a surprise counterattack , driving back Burnside and ending the battle . Although outnumbered two-to-one , Lee committed his entire force , while McClellan sent in less than three-quarters of his army , enabling Lee to fight the Federals to a standstill . During the night , both armies consolidated their lines . In spite of crippling casualties , Lee continued to skirmish with McClellan throughout September 18 , while removing his battered army south of the Potomac River .
Fort Mansfield was a coastal artillery installation located on Napatree Point , a long barrier beach in the village of Watch Hill in Westerly , Rhode Island .
Westerly is a town on the southwestern shoreline of Washington County , Rhode Island , first settled by English colonists in 1661 and incorporated as a municipality in 1669 . It is a beachfront community on the south shore of the state with a population of 22,787 as of the 2010 census . The Pawcatuck River flows on the western border of Westerly and was once renowned for its own species of Westerly salmon , three of which are on the town 's official seal . The river flows from 15 mi ( 24 km ) inland , emptying into Little Narragansett Bay . It also serves as the boundary between Westerly and Pawcatuck , Connecticut . Three large salt ponds lie along the coast of Westerly which serve as shallow , reef-like pools whose outer walls form the long , white beaches for which the town is renowned . From west to east , these ponds are Maschaug Pond , Winnapaug Pond , and Quonochontaug Pond . The Westerly area was known for its granite and stone-cutting industry , which quarried a unique stone known as Westerly granite . This pinkish granite is ideal for statuary and has been used in numerous government buildings of several states on the eastern seaboard . Westerly becomes a popular tourist destination during the summer months , during which the population nearly doubles . Its well-known beaches include Weekapaug Beach , Westerly Town Beach , Misquamicut State Beach , East Beach , and Watch Hill Beach .
George Gordon Meade ( December 31 , 1815 - November 6 , 1872 ) was a career United States Army officer and civil engineer best known for decisively defeating Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War . He previously fought with distinction in the Second Seminole War and the Mexican-American War . During the Civil War , he served as a Union general , rising from command of a brigade to that of the Army of the Potomac . Earlier in his career , he was an engineer and was involved in the coastal construction of several lighthouses . Meade 's Civil War combat experience started as a brigade commander in the Peninsula Campaign and the Seven Days Battles . He was severely wounded while leading his brigade at the Battle of Glendale . As a division commander , he had notable success at the Battle of South Mountain and assumed temporary corps command at the Battle of Antietam . Meade 's division was arguably the most successful of any at the Battle of Fredericksburg in December . It was part of a force charged with driving the Confederate troops under Stonewall Jackson back from their position on Prospect Hill . The division made it further than any other , but was forced to turn back due to a lack of reinforcements . Meade was promoted to commander of the V Corps , which he led during the Battle of Chancellorsville . During the Gettysburg Campaign , he was appointed to command the Army of the Potomac just three days before the Battle of Gettysburg .
A lighthouse is a tower , building , or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways . Lighthouses mark dangerous coastlines , hazardous shoals , reefs , rocks and safe entries to harbors ; they also assist in aerial navigation . Once widely used , the number of operational lighthouses has declined due to the expense of maintenance , and have become uneconomical since the advent of cheaper and often much more effective electronic navigational systems .
The Second Seminole War , also known as the Florida War , was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between various groups of Native Americans collectively known as Seminoles and the United States , part of a series of conflicts called the Seminole Wars . The Second Seminole War , often referred to as the Seminole War , is regarded as the longest and most costly of the Indian conflicts of the United States .
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11-15 , 1862 , in and around Fredericksburg , Virginia , in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War . The combat , between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee , was part of the Union Army 's futile frontal attacks on December 13 against entrenched Confederate defenders on the heights behind the city . It is remembered as one of the most one-sided battles of the war , with Union casualties more than twice as heavy as those suffered by the Confederates . A visitor to the battlefield described the battle to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln as a butchery . Burnside 's plan was to cross the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg in mid-November and race to the Confederate capital of Richmond before Lee 's army could stop him . Bureaucratic delays prevented Burnside from receiving the necessary pontoon bridges in time and Lee moved his army to block the crossings . When the Union army was finally able to build its bridges and cross under fire , direct combat within the city resulted on December 11-12 . Union troops prepared to assault Confederate defensive positions south of the city and on a strongly fortified ridge just west of the city known as Marye 's Heights . On December 13 , the Left Grand Division of Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin was able to pierce the first defensive line of Confederate Lt. Gen. Stonewall Jackson to the south , but was finally repulsed . Burnside ordered the Right and Center Grand Divisions of Maj. Gens . Edwin V. Sumner and Joseph Hooker to launch multiple frontal assaults against Lt. Gen. James Longstreet 's position on Marye 's Heights - all were repulsed with heavy losses . On December 15 , Burnside withdrew his army , ending another failed Union campaign in the Eastern Theater .
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War ( 1861-1865 ) , and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign . It was fought from April 30 to May 6 , 1863 , in Spotsylvania County , Virginia , near the village of Chancellorsville . Two related battles were fought nearby on May 3 in the vicinity of Fredericksburg . The campaign pitted Union Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker 's Army of the Potomac against an army less than half its size , General Robert E. Lee 's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia . Chancellorsville is known as Lee 's perfect battle because his risky decision to divide his army in the presence of a much larger enemy force resulted in a significant Confederate victory . The victory , a product of Lee 's audacity and Hooker 's timid decision-making , was tempered by heavy casualties , including Lt. Gen. Thomas J. Stonewall Jackson . Jackson was hit by friendly fire , requiring his left arm to be amputated . He died of pneumonia eight days later , a loss that Lee likened to losing his right arm . Lee 's difficulty in replacing his lost men as well as his inability to prevent the Union withdrawal effectively have led to his great victory being regarded as a Pyrrhic one . The Chancellorsville campaign began with the crossing of the Rappahannock River by the Union army on the morning of April 27 , 1863 . Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. George Stoneman began a long-distance raid against Lee 's supply lines at about the same time . This operation was completely ineffectual .
The Appomattox campaign was a series of American Civil War battles fought March 29 - April 9 , 1865 in Virginia that concluded with the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee 's Army of Northern Virginia to forces of the Union Army ( Army of the Potomac , Army of the James and Army of the Shenandoah ) under the overall command of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant , marking the effective end of the war . As the Richmond-Petersburg campaign ( also known as the siege of Petersburg ) ended , Lee 's army was outnumbered and exhausted from a winter of trench warfare over an approximately 40 mi ( 64 km ) front , [ notes 1 ] numerous battles , disease , hunger and desertion . Grant 's well-equipped and well-fed army was growing in strength . On March 29 , 1865 , the Union Army began an offensive that stretched and broke the Confederate defenses southwest of Petersburg and cut their supply lines to Petersburg and the Confederate capital of Richmond , Virginia . Union victories at the Battle of Five Forks on April 1 , 1865 and the Third Battle of Petersburg , often called the Breakthrough at Petersburg , on April 2 , 1865 , opened Petersburg and Richmond to imminent capture . Lee ordered the evacuation of Confederate forces from both Petersburg and Richmond on the night of April 2-3 before Grant 's army could cut off any escape . Confederate government leaders also fled west from Richmond that night . The Confederates marched west , heading toward Danville , Virginia or Lynchburg , Virginia as an alternative . Lee planned to resupply his army at one of those cities and march southwest into North Carolina where he could unite his army with the Confederate army commanded by General Joseph E. Johnston . Grant 's Union Army pursued Lee 's fleeing Confederates relentlessly . During the next week , the Union troops fought a series of battles with Confederate units , cut off or destroyed Confederate supplies and blocked their paths to the south and ultimately to the west . On April 6 , 1865 , the Confederate Army suffered a significant defeat at the Battle of Sailor 's Creek , Virginia , where they lost about 7,700 men killed and captured and an unknown number wounded .
Robert Edward Lee ( January 19 , 1807 - October 12 , 1870 ) was an American and Confederate soldier , best known as a commander of the Confederate States Army . He commanded the Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War from 1862 until its surrender in 1865 . A son of Revolutionary War officer Henry Light Horse Harry Lee III , Lee was a top graduate of the United States Military Academy and an exceptional officer and military engineer in the United States Army for 32 years . During this time , he served throughout the United States , distinguished himself during the Mexican-American War , and served as Superintendent of the United States Military Academy . He was also the husband of Mary Anna Custis Lee , adopted great granddaughter of George Washington . When Virginia 's 1861 Richmond Convention declared secession from the Union , Lee chose to follow his home state , despite his desire for the country to remain intact and an offer of a senior Union command . During the first year of the Civil War , he served as a senior military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis . Once he took command of the Army of Northern Virginia in 1862 , he soon emerged as an able tactician and battlefield commander , winning most of his battles , nearly all against far larger Union armies . Lee 's two major strategic offensives into Union territory ended in defeat . His aggressive tactics , especially at the Battle of Gettysburg , which resulted in high casualties at a time when the Confederacy had a shortage of manpower , have come under criticism in recent years . Lee surrendered the remnant of his army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9 , 1865 . Since Confederate Congress had appointed him supreme commander of Confederate armies , the remaining Confederate forces capitulated after his surrender .
The Battle of Gettysburg ( locally /ˈɡɛtɪsbɜːrɡ/ ( listen ) ) was fought July 1-3 , 1863 , in and around the town of Gettysburg , Pennsylvania , by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War . The battle involved the largest number of casualties of the entire war and is often described as the war 's turning point . Union Maj. Gen. George Meade 's Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee 's Army of Northern Virginia , halting Lee 's invasion of the North . After his success at Chancellorsville in Virginia in May 1863 , Lee led his army through the Shenandoah Valley to begin his second invasion of the North - the Gettysburg Campaign . With his army in high spirits , Lee intended to shift the focus of the summer campaign from war-ravaged northern Virginia and hoped to influence Northern politicians to give up their prosecution of the war by penetrating as far as Harrisburg , Pennsylvania , or even Philadelphia . Prodded by President Abraham Lincoln , Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker moved his army in pursuit , but was relieved of command just three days before the battle and replaced by Meade . Elements of the two armies initially collided at Gettysburg on July 1 , 1863 , as Lee urgently concentrated his forces there , his objective being to engage the Union army and destroy it . Low ridges to the northwest of town were defended initially by a Union cavalry division under Brig . Gen. John Buford , and soon reinforced with two corps of Union infantry . However , two large Confederate corps assaulted them from the northwest and north , collapsing the hastily developed Union lines , sending the defenders retreating through the streets of the town to the hills just to the south . On the second day of battle , most of both armies had assembled . The Union line was laid out in a defensive formation resembling a fishhook .
The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War . It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in May 1865 following the surrender of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in April .
Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation located in Maryland , that includes the Defense Information School , the Defense Media Activity , the United States Army Field Band , and the headquarters of United States Cyber Command , the National Security Agency , the Defense Courier Service , Defense Information Systems Agency headquarters , and the U.S. Navy 's Cryptologic Warfare Group Six . It is named for George G. Meade , a Union General from the U.S. Civil War , who served as commander of the Army of the Potomac . The fort 's smaller census-designated place includes support facilities such as schools , housing , and the offices of the Military Intelligence Civilian Excepted Career Program ( MICECP ) .
Maryland ( US : /ˈmɛrələnd/ ( listen ) MERR-ə-lənd ) [ a ] is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the eastern United States , bordering Virginia , West Virginia , and the District of Columbia to its south and west ; Pennsylvania to its north ; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to its east . The state 's largest city is Baltimore , and its capital is Annapolis . Among its occasional nicknames are Old Line State , the Free State , and the Chesapeake Bay State . It is named after the English queen Henrietta Maria , known in England as Queen Mary , who was the wife of King Charles I. Sixteen of Maryland 's twenty-three counties , as well as the city of Baltimore , border the tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay estuary and its many tributaries , which combined total more than 4,000 miles of shoreline . Although one of the smallest states in the U.S. , it features a variety of climates and topographical features that have earned it the moniker of America in Miniature . In a similar vein , Maryland 's geography , culture , and history combine elements of the Mid-Atlantic , Northeastern , and South Atlantic regions of the country . Before its coastline was explored by Europeans in the 16th century , Maryland was inhabited by several groups of Native Americans , mostly by the Algonquin , and to a lesser degree by the Iroquois and Sioux . As one of the original Thirteen Colonies of Great Britain , Maryland was founded by George Calvert , a Catholic convert who sought to provide a religious haven for Catholics persecuted in England . In 1632 , Charles I of England granted Calvert a colonial charter , naming the colony after his wife , Queen Mary ( Henrietta Maria of France ) . Unlike the Pilgrims and Puritans , who rejected Catholicism in their settlements , Calvert envisioned a colony where people of different religious sects would coexist under the principle of toleration . Accordingly , in 1649 the Maryland General Assembly passed an Act Concerning Religion , which enshrined this principle by penalizing anyone who reproached a fellow Marylander based on religious affiliation . Nevertheless , religious strife was common in the early years , and Catholics remained a minority , albeit in greater numbers than in any other English colony .
The National Security Agency ( NSA ) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense , under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence . The NSA is responsible for global monitoring , collection , and processing of information and data for foreign and domestic intelligence and counterintelligence purposes , specializing in a discipline known as signals intelligence ( SIGINT ) . The NSA is also tasked with the protection of U.S. communications networks and information systems . The NSA relies on a variety of measures to accomplish its mission , the majority of which are clandestine . Originating as a unit to decipher coded communications in World War II , it was officially formed as the NSA by President Harry S. Truman in 1952 . Since then , it has become the largest of the U.S. intelligence organizations in terms of personnel and budget . The NSA currently conducts worldwide mass data collection and has been known to physically bug electronic systems as one method to this end . The NSA is also alleged to have been behind such attack software as Stuxnet , which severely damaged Iran 's nuclear program . The NSA , alongside the Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ) , maintains a physical presence in many countries across the globe ; the CIA/NSA joint Special Collection Service ( a highly classified intelligence team ) inserts eavesdropping devices in high value targets ( such as Presidential palaces or embassies ) . SCS collection tactics allegedly encompass close surveillance , burglary , wiretapping , [ and ] breaking and entering . Unlike the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency ( DIA ) , both of which specialize primarily in foreign human espionage , the NSA does not publicly conduct human-source intelligence gathering . The NSA is entrusted with providing assistance to , and the coordination of , SIGINT elements for other government organizations - which are prevented by law from engaging in such activities on their own .
William Tecumseh Sherman ( February 8 , 1820 - February 14 , 1891 ) was an American soldier , businessman , educator , and author . He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War ( 1861-65 ) , receiving recognition for his command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the scorched earth policies he implemented in conducting total war against the Confederate States . British military theorist and historian B. H. Liddell Hart declared that Sherman was the first modern general . Born in Ohio to a politically prominent family , Sherman graduated in 1840 from the United States Military Academy at West Point . He interrupted his military career in 1853 to pursue private business ventures , and at the outbreak of the Civil War he was superintendent of the Louisiana State Seminary of Learning & Military Academy ( now Louisiana State University ) . Sherman distinguished himself at the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861 , before being transferred to the Western Theater . Stationed in Kentucky , his pessimism about the outlook of the war led to a nervous breakdown that required him to be briefly put on leave . He recovered by forging a close partnership with General Ulysses S. Grant . Sherman served under Grant in 1862 and 1863 during the battles of forts Henry and Donelson , the Battle of Shiloh , the campaigns that led to the fall of the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg on the Mississippi River , as well as the Chattanooga Campaign that culminated with the routing of the Confederate armies in the state of Tennessee . In 1864 , Sherman succeeded Grant as the Union commander in the western theater of the war . Sherman then led the capture of the strategic city of Atlanta , a military success that contributed to the re-election of President Abraham Lincoln . Sherman 's subsequent march through Georgia and the Carolinas involved little fighting but large-scale destruction of cotton plantations and other infrastructure , a systematic policy intended to undermine the ability and willingness of the Confederacy to continue fighting for its independence .
The Battle of Shiloh ( also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing ) was a battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War , fought April 6-7 , 1862 , in southwestern Tennessee . A Union force known as the Army of the Tennessee ( Major General Ulysses S. Grant ) had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and was encamped principally at Pittsburg Landing on the west bank of the Tennessee River , where the Confederate Army of Mississippi ( General Albert Sidney Johnston , P. G. T. Beauregard second-in-command ) launched a surprise attack on Grant 's army from its base in Corinth , Mississippi . Johnston was mortally wounded during the fighting ; Beauregard took command of the army and decided against pressing the attack late in the evening . Overnight , Grant was reinforced by one of his divisions stationed further north and was joined by three divisions from the Army of the Ohio ( Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell ) . The Union forces began an unexpected counterattack the next morning which reversed the Confederate gains of the previous day . On April 6 , the first day of the battle , the Confederates struck with the intention of driving the Union defenders away from the river and into the swamps of Owl Creek to the west . Johnston hoped to defeat Grant 's army before the anticipated arrival of Buell and the Army of the Ohio . The Confederate battle lines became confused during the fighting , and Grant 's men instead fell back to the northeast , in the direction of Pittsburg Landing . A Union position on a slightly sunken road , nicknamed the Hornet 's Nest and defended by the divisions of Brig . Gens . Benjamin Prentiss and William H. L. Wallace , provided time for the remainder of the Union line to stabilize under the protection of numerous artillery batteries . Wallace was mortally wounded when the position collapsed , while several regiments from the two divisions were eventually surrounded and surrendered .
The Vicksburg campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg , Mississippi , a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi River . The Union Army of the Tennessee under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant gained control of the river by capturing this stronghold and defeating Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton 's forces stationed there . The campaign consisted of many important naval operations , troop maneuvers , failed initiatives , and eleven distinct battles from December 26 , 1862 , to July 4 , 1863 . Military historians divide the campaign into two formal phases : operations against Vicksburg ( December 1862 - January 1863 ) and Grant 's operations against Vicksburg ( March-July 1863 ) . Grant initially planned a two-pronged approach in which half of his army , under Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman , would advance to the Yazoo River and attempt to reach Vicksburg from the northeast , while Grant took the remainder of the army down the Mississippi Central Railroad . Both of these initiatives failed . Grant conducted a number of experiments or expeditions - Grant 's bayou operations - that attempted to enable waterborne access to the Mississippi south of Vicksburg 's artillery batteries . All five of these initiatives failed as well . Finally , Union gunboats and troop transport boats ran the batteries at Vicksburg and met up with Grant 's men who had marched overland in Louisiana . On April 29 and April 30 , 1863 , Grant 's army crossed the Mississippi and landed at Bruinsburg , Mississippi . An elaborate series of demonstrations and diversions fooled the Confederates and the landings occurred without opposition . Over the next 17 days , Grant maneuvered his army inland and won five battles , captured the state capital of Jackson , Mississippi , and assaulted and laid siege to Vicksburg .
The Chattanooga campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in October and November 1863 , during the American Civil War . Following the defeat of Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans 's Union Army of the Cumberland at the Battle of Chickamauga in September , the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Gen. Braxton Bragg besieged Rosecrans and his men by occupying key high terrain around Chattanooga , Tennessee . Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was given command of Union forces in the West , now consolidated under the Division of the Mississippi . Significant reinforcements also began to arrive with him in Chattanooga from Mississippi and the Eastern Theater . On October 18 , Grant removed Rosecrans from command of the Army of the Cumberland and replaced him with Major General George Henry Thomas . After the opening of a supply line ( the Cracker Line ) to feed the starving men and animals in Chattanooga , a force under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker fought off a Confederate counterattack at the Battle of Wauhatchie on October 28-29 , 1863 . On November 23 , the Army of the Cumberland advanced from the fortifications around Chattanooga to seize the strategic high ground at Orchard Knob while elements of the Union Army of the Tennessee under Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman maneuvered to launch a surprise attack against Bragg 's right flank on Missionary Ridge . On November 24 , Sherman 's men crossed the Tennessee River in the morning and then advanced to occupy high ground at the northern end of Missionary Ridge in the afternoon . The same day , a mixed force of almost three divisions under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker defeated the Confederates in the Battle of Lookout Mountain . The next day they began a movement toward Bragg 's left flank at Rossville . On November 25 , Sherman 's attack on Bragg 's right flank made little progress . Hoping to distract Bragg 's attention , Grant ordered Thomas 's army to advance in the center and take the Confederate positions at the base of Missionary Ridge .
The Atlanta campaign was a series of battles fought in the Western Theater of the American Civil War throughout northwest Georgia and the area around Atlanta during the summer of 1864 . Union Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman invaded Georgia from the vicinity of Chattanooga , Tennessee , beginning in May 1864 , opposed by the Confederate general Joseph E. Johnston . Johnston 's Army of Tennessee withdrew toward Atlanta in the face of successive flanking maneuvers by Sherman 's group of armies . In July , the Confederate president , Jefferson Davis , replaced Johnston with the more aggressive General John Bell Hood , who began challenging the Union Army in a series of costly frontal assaults . Hood 's army was eventually besieged in Atlanta and the city fell on September 2 , setting the stage for Sherman 's March to the Sea and hastening the end of the war .
The Campaign of the Carolinas ( January 1 - April 26 , 1865 ) , also known as the Carolinas Campaign , was the final campaign conducted by the United States Army ( Union Army ) against the Confederate States Army in the Western Theater . [ a ] On January 1 , Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman advanced north from Savannah , Georgia , through the Carolinas , with the intention of linking up with Union forces in Virginia . The defeat of Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston 's army at the Battle of Bentonville , and its unconditional surrender to Union forces on April 26 , 1865 , effectively ended the American Civil War .
Sherman 's March to the Sea ( also known as the Savannah Campaign or simply Sherman 's March ) was a military campaign of the American Civil War conducted through Georgia from November 15 until December 21 , 1864 , by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army . The campaign began with Sherman 's troops leaving the captured city of Atlanta on November 15 and ended with the capture of the port of Savannah on December 21 . His forces followed a scorched earth policy , destroying military targets as well as industry , infrastructure , and civilian property , disrupting the Confederacy 's economy and transportation networks . The operation broke the back of the Confederacy and helped lead to its eventual surrender . Sherman 's bold move of operating deep within enemy territory and without supply lines is considered to be one of the major achievements of the war and is also considered to be an early example of modern total war .
Atlanta ( /ætˈlæntə/ ) is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia . With an estimated 2018 population of 498,044 , it is also the 37th most-populous city in the United States . The city serves as the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area , home to 5.9 million people and the ninth largest metropolitan area in the nation . Atlanta is the seat of Fulton County , the most populous county in Georgia . Portions of the city extend eastward into neighboring DeKalb County . Atlanta was originally founded as the terminus of a major state-sponsored railroad . With rapid expansion , however , it soon became the convergence point among multiple railroads , spurring its rapid growth . The city 's name derives from that of the Western and Atlantic Railroad 's local depot , signifying the town 's growing reputation as a transportation hub . During the American Civil War , the city was almost entirely burned to the ground in General William T. Sherman 's famous March to the Sea . However , the city rose from its ashes and quickly became a national center of commerce and the unofficial capital of the New South . During the 1950s and 1960s , Atlanta became a major organizing center of the civil rights movement , with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , Ralph David Abernathy , and many other locals playing major roles in the movement 's leadership . During the modern era , Atlanta has attained international prominence as a major air transportation hub , with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport being the world 's busiest airport by passenger traffic since 1998 .
Savannah ( /səˈvænə/ ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County . Established in 1733 on the Savannah River , the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia . A strategic port city in the American Revolution and during the American Civil War , Savannah is today an industrial center and an important Atlantic seaport . It is Georgia 's fifth-largest city , with a 2018 estimated population of 145,862 . The Savannah metropolitan area , Georgia 's third-largest , had an estimated population of 389,494 in 2018 . Each year Savannah attracts millions of visitors to its cobblestone streets , parks , and notable historic buildings . These buildings include the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low ( founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA ) , the Georgia Historical Society ( the oldest continually operating historical society in the South ) , the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences ( one of the South 's first public museums ) , the First African Baptist Church ( one of the oldest African-American Baptist congregations in the United States ) , Temple Mickve Israel ( the third-oldest synagogue in the U.S. ) , and the Central of Georgia Railway roundhouse complex ( the oldest standing antebellum rail facility in the U.S. ) . Savannah 's downtown area , which includes the Savannah Historic District , the Savannah Victorian Historic District , and 22 parklike squares , is one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the United States ( designated by the U.S. government in 1966 ) . [ a ] Downtown Savannah largely retains the original town plan prescribed by founder James Oglethorpe ( a design now known as the Oglethorpe Plan ) . Savannah was the host city for the sailing competitions during the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta .
Prior to the institution of the Chief of Staff of the Army in 1903 , there was generally recognized to be a single senior-most officer in the United States Army ( and its predecessor the Continental Army ) , even though there was not a statutory office as such . During the American Revolutionary War ( 1775-1783 ) , the title was Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army . In 1783 , the title was simplified to Senior Officer of the United States Army . In 1821 , the title was changed to Commanding General of the United States Army . The office was often referred to by various other titles , such as Major General Commanding the Army or General-in-Chief . From 1789 until its abolition in 1903 , the position of Commanding General was legally subordinate to the Secretary of War . The position was abolished with the creation of the statutory Chief of Staff of the Army in 1903 .
Ulysses S. Grant ( born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27 , 1822 - July 23 , 1885 ) was an American soldier and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877 . Before his presidency , Grant led the Union Army as Commanding General of the United States Army in winning the American Civil War . As president , Grant worked with the Radical Republicans in the Reconstruction of the Union while having to deal with corruption in his administration . Raised in Ohio , young Grant possessed an exceptional ability with horses , which served him well through his military career . He was admitted to West Point and graduated from the U.S. military academy in 1843 . Grant served with distinction in the Mexican-American War . In 1848 , he married Julia Dent , and together they had four children . Grant abruptly resigned his army commission in 1854 and returned to his family , but lived in poverty for seven years . During the Civil War , he joined the Union Army in 1861 , and led the Vicksburg campaign , which gained control of the Mississippi River in 1863 . After Grant 's victory at Chattanooga , President Abraham Lincoln promoted Grant to Lieutenant General . For thirteen months , Grant fought Robert E. Lee during the high casualty Overland Campaign and at Petersburg . On April 9 , 1865 , Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox .
General of the Army ( abbreviated as GA ) is a five-star general officer and the second highest possible rank in the United States Army . A General of the Army ranks immediately above a general and is equivalent to a fleet admiral and a General of the Air Force . The General of the Army insignia consisted of five 3/8th inch stars in a pentagonal pattern , with points touching . The insignia was paired with the gold and enameled United States Coat of Arms on service coat shoulder loops . The silver colored five-star metal insignia alone would be worn for use as a collar insignia of grade and on the garrison cap . Soft shoulder epaulettes with five 7/16th inch stars in silver thread and gold-threaded United States Coat of Arms on green cloth were worn with shirts and sweaters . The rank of General of the Army has had two incarnations . The rank was introduced in 1866 , the year after the American Civil War . It was reserved for the Commanding General of the United States Army , was a four-star rank , and was held by three different individuals from 1866 to 1888 . The rank was revived as the modern five-star rank during World War II , and may be awarded to more than one serving officer at a time . It was held by five different individuals from 1944 to 1981 . A special rank of General of the Armies , which ranks above General of the Army , exists but has been conferred only twice , to World War I 's John J. Pershing , and posthumously to George Washington , by proclamation 177 years after his death .
The siege of Vicksburg ( May 18 - July 4 , 1863 ) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War . In a series of maneuvers , Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mississippi River and drove the Confederate Army of Mississippi , led by Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton , into the defensive lines surrounding the fortress city of Vicksburg , Mississippi . Vicksburg was the last major Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River ; therefore , capturing it completed the second part of the Northern strategy , the Anaconda Plan . When two major assaults against the Confederate fortifications , on May 19 and 22 , were repulsed with heavy casualties , Grant decided to besiege the city beginning on May 25 . After holding out for more than forty days , with their supplies nearly gone , the garrison surrendered on July 4 . The successful ending of the Vicksburg campaign significantly degraded the ability of the Confederacy to maintain its war effort . This action , combined with the surrender of Port Hudson to Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks on July 9 , yielded command of the Mississippi River to the Union forces , who would hold it for the rest of the conflict . The Confederate surrender on July 4 , 1863 , is sometimes considered , when combined with Gen. Robert E. Lee 's defeat at Gettysburg by Maj. Gen. George Meade the previous day , the turning point of the war . It cut off the Trans-Mississippi Department ( containing the states of Arkansas , Texas and part of Louisiana ) from the rest of the Confederate States , effectively splitting the Confederacy in two for the duration of the war .
The Richmond-Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg , Virginia , fought from June 15 , 1864 , to April 2 , 1865 , during the American Civil War . Although it is more popularly known as the siege of Petersburg , it was not a classic military siege , in which a city is usually surrounded and all supply lines are cut off , nor was it strictly limited to actions against Petersburg . The campaign consisted of nine months of trench warfare in which Union forces commanded by Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assaulted Petersburg unsuccessfully and then constructed trench lines that eventually extended over 30 miles ( 48 km ) from the eastern outskirts of Richmond , Virginia , to around the eastern and southern outskirts of Petersburg . Petersburg was crucial to the supply of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee 's army and the Confederate capital of Richmond . Numerous raids were conducted and battles fought in attempts to cut off the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad . Many of these battles caused the lengthening of the trench lines . Lee finally gave in to the pressure and abandoned both cities in April 1865 , leading to his retreat and surrender at Appomattox Court House . The Siege of Petersburg foreshadowed the trench warfare that was common in World War I , earning it a prominent position in military history . It also featured the war 's largest concentration of African-American troops , who suffered heavy casualties at such engagements as the Battle of the Crater and Chaffin 's Farm .
The Appomattox Court House is a National Historical Park of original and reconstructed 19th century buildings in Appomattox County , Virginia . The village is famous as the site of the Battle of Appomattox Court House and containing the house of Wilmer McLean , where the surrender of the Confederate army under Robert E. Lee to Union commander Ulysses S. Grant took place on April 9 , 1865 , effectively ending the American Civil War . The McLean House was the site of the surrender conference , but the village itself is named for the presence nearby of what is now preserved as the Old Appomattox Court House . The park was established August 3 , 1935 . The village was made a national monument in 1940 and a national historical park in 1954 . It is located about three miles ( 5 km ) east of Appomattox , Virginia , the location of the Appomattox Station and the new Appomattox Court House . It is in the center of the state about 25 miles ( 40 km ) east of Lynchburg , Virginia . The historical park was described in 1989 as having an area of 1,325 acres ( 536 ha ) .
The president of the United States ( POTUS ) [ B ] is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America . The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces . In contemporary times , the president is looked upon as one of the world 's most powerful political figures as the leader of the only remaining global superpower . The role includes responsibility for the world 's most expensive military , which has the second largest nuclear arsenal . The president also leads the nation with the largest economy by nominal GDP . The president possesses significant domestic and international hard and soft power . Article II of the Constitution establishes the executive branch of the federal government . It vests the executive power of the United States in the president . The power includes the execution and enforcement of federal law , alongside the responsibility of appointing federal executive , diplomatic , regulatory and judicial officers , and concluding treaties with foreign powers with the advice and consent of the Senate . The president is further empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves , and to convene and adjourn either or both houses of Congress under extraordinary circumstances . The president directs the foreign and domestic policies of the United States , and takes an active role in promoting his policy priorities to members of Congress . In addition , as part of the system of checks and balances , Article I , Section 7 of the Constitution gives the president the power to sign or veto federal legislation .
Winfield Scott Hancock ( February 14 , 1824 - February 9 , 1886 ) was a United States Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880 . He served with distinction in the Army for four decades , including service in the Mexican-American War and as a Union general in the American Civil War . Known to his Army colleagues as Hancock the Superb , he was noted in particular for his personal leadership at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 . His military service continued after the Civil War , as Hancock participated in the military Reconstruction of the South and the Army 's presence at the Western frontier . Hancock 's reputation as a war hero at Gettysburg , combined with his status as a Unionist and supporter of states ' rights , made him a potential presidential candidate . When the Democrats nominated him for President in 1880 , he ran a strong campaign , but was narrowly defeated by Republican James A. Garfield . Hancock 's last public service involved the oversight of General Ulysses S. Grant 's funeral procession in 1885 .
The Battle of the Wilderness , fought May 5-7 , 1864 , was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant 's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War . Both armies suffered heavy casualties , around 5,000 men killed in total , a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by Grant against Lee 's army and , eventually , the Confederate capital , Richmond , Virginia . The battle was tactically inconclusive , as Grant disengaged and continued his offensive . Grant attempted to move quickly through the dense underbrush of the Wilderness of Spotsylvania , but Lee launched two of his corps on parallel roads to intercept him . On the morning of May 5 , the Union V Corps under Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren attacked the Confederate Second Corps , commanded by Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell , on the Orange Turnpike . That afternoon the Third Corps , commanded by Lt. Gen. A. P. Hill , encountered Brig . Gen. George W. Getty 's division ( VI Corps ) and Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock 's II Corps on the Orange Plank Road . Fighting until dark was fierce but inconclusive as both sides attempted to maneuver in the dense woods . At dawn on May 6 , Hancock attacked along the Plank Road , driving Hill 's Corps back in confusion , but the First Corps of Lt. Gen. James Longstreet arrived in time to prevent the collapse of the Confederate right flank . Longstreet followed up with a surprise flanking attack from an unfinished railroad bed that drove Hancock 's men back to the Brock Road , but the momentum was lost when Longstreet was wounded by his own men . An evening attack by Brig . Gen. John B. Gordon against the Union right flank caused consternation at Union headquarters , but the lines stabilized and fighting ceased .
The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House , sometimes more simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania ( or the 19th-century spelling Spottsylvania ) , was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant 's 1864 Overland Campaign of the American Civil War . Following the bloody but inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness , Grant 's army disengaged from Confederate General Robert E. Lee 's army and moved to the southeast , attempting to lure Lee into battle under more favorable conditions . Elements of Lee 's army beat the Union army to the critical crossroads of Spotsylvania Court House , Virginia , and began entrenching . Fighting occurred on and off from May 8 through May 21 , 1864 , as Grant tried various schemes to break the Confederate line . In the end , the battle was tactically inconclusive , but both sides declared victory . The Confederacy declared victory because they were able to hold their defenses . The United States declared victory because the Federal offensive continued and Lee 's army suffered losses that could not be replaced . With almost 32,000 casualties on both sides , Spotsylvania was the costliest battle of the campaign . On May 8 , Union Maj. Gens . Gouverneur K. Warren and John Sedgwick unsuccessfully attempted to dislodge the Confederates under Maj. Gen. Richard H. Anderson from Laurel Hill , a position that was blocking them from Spotsylvania Court House . On May 10 , Grant ordered attacks across the Confederate line of earthworks , which by now extended over 4 miles ( 6.4 km ) , including a prominent salient known as the Mule Shoe . Although the Union troops failed again at Laurel Hill , an innovative assault attempt by Col. Emory Upton against the Mule Shoe showed promise .
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States , along with its main rival , the Republican Party . Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison 's Democratic-Republican Party , the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson , making it the world 's oldest active political party . In its early years , the Party supported limited government , state sovereignty and opposed banks and the abolition of slavery . Since Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal coalition in the 1930s , the Democratic Party has promoted a social liberal platform . Well into the 20th century , the party had conservative pro-business and Southern conservative-populist wings ; following the New Deal , however , the conservative wing of the party largely withered outside the South . The New Deal Coalition of 1932-1964 attracted strong support from voters of recent European extraction - many of whom were Catholics based in the cities . After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 , the core bases of the two parties shifted , with the Southern states becoming more reliably Republican in presidential politics and the Northeastern states becoming more reliably Democratic . The once-powerful labor union element became smaller and less supportive after the 1970s . White evangelicals and Southerners have become heavily Republican at the state and local levels since the 1990s . People living in urban areas , women , college graduates , sexual and gender minorities , millennials , and black , Latino , Jewish , Muslim and Asian Americans tend to support the Democratic Party . The Democratic Party 's philosophy of modern liberalism advocates social and economic equality , along with the welfare state . It seeks to provide government regulation in the economy .
George Brinton McClellan ( December 3 , 1826 - October 29 , 1885 ) was an American soldier , civil engineer , railroad executive , and politician . A graduate of West Point , McClellan served with distinction during the Mexican-American War ( 1846-1848 ) , and later left the Army to work in railroads until the outbreak of the American Civil War ( 1861-1865 ) . Early in the conflict , McClellan was appointed to the rank of major general and played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army , which would become the Army of the Potomac in the Eastern Theater ; he served a brief period ( November 1861 to March 1862 ) as general-in-chief of the Union Army . McClellan organized and led the Union army in the Peninsula Campaign in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862 . It was the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater . Making an amphibious clockwise turning movement around the Confederate Army in northern Virginia , McClellan 's forces turned west to move up the Virginia Peninsula , between the James and York Rivers , landing from the Chesapeake Bay , with the Confederate capital , Richmond , as their objective . Initially , McClellan was somewhat successful against General Joseph E. Johnston , but the emergence of General Robert E. Lee to command the Army of Northern Virginia turned the subsequent Seven Days Battles into a partial Union defeat . However , historians note that Lee 's victory was in many ways pyrrhic as he failed to destroy the Army of the Potomac and suffered a bloody repulse at Malvern Hill . General McClellan and President Abraham Lincoln developed a mutual distrust , and McClellan was privately derisive of his commander-in-chief . McClellan was removed from command in November in the aftermath of the 1862 midterm elections . This decision contributed to McClellan 's failure to decisively pursue Lee 's Army following the tactically inconclusive but strategic Union victory at the Battle of Antietam outside Sharpsburg , Maryland . McClellan never received another field command and went on to become the unsuccessful Democratic Party nominee in the 1864 presidential election against the Republican Lincoln 's reelection .
The McClellan saddle was a riding saddle designed by George B. McClellan , a career Army officer in the U.S. Army , after his tour of Europe as the member of a military commission charged with studying the latest developments in engineer and cavalry forces including field equipment . Based on his observations , McClellan proposed a design that was adopted by the Army in 1859 . The McClellan saddle was a success and continued in use in various forms until the US Army 's last horse cavalry and horse artillery was dismounted late in World War II . Today , the McClellan saddle is used by ceremonial mounted units in the US Army . The saddle was used by several other nations , including Rhodesia and Mexico , and to a degree by the British in the Boer War . The saddle came in various seat sizes that predominantly ranged from approximately 11 to 12 ½ inches .
The First Battle of Bull Run ( the name used by Union forces ) , also known as the First Battle of Manassas ( the name used by Confederate forces ) , was the first major battle of the American Civil War and was a Confederate victory . The battle was fought on July 21 , 1861 in Prince William County , Virginia , just north of the city of Manassas and about 25 miles west-southwest of Washington , D.C . The Union 's forces were slow in positioning themselves , allowing Confederate reinforcements time to arrive by rail . Each side had about 18,000 poorly trained and poorly led troops in their first battle . It was a Confederate victory , followed by a disorganized retreat of the Union forces . Just months after the start of the war at Fort Sumter , the Northern public clamored for a march against the Confederate capital of Richmond , Virginia , which was expected to bring an early end to the Confederacy . Yielding to political pressure , Brig . Gen. Irvin McDowell led his unseasoned Union Army across Bull Run against the equally inexperienced Confederate Army of Brig . Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard camped near Manassas Junction . McDowell 's ambitious plan for a surprise flank attack on the Confederate left was poorly executed ; nevertheless , the Confederates , who had been planning to attack the Union left flank , found themselves at an initial disadvantage . Confederate reinforcements under Brig . Gen. Joseph E. Johnston arrived from the Shenandoah Valley by railroad , and the course of the battle quickly changed .
The Peninsula campaign ( also known as the Peninsular campaign ) of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862 , the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater . The operation , commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan , was an amphibious turning movement against the Confederate States Army in Northern Virginia , intended to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond . McClellan was initially successful against the equally cautious General Joseph E. Johnston , but the emergence of the more aggressive General Robert E. Lee turned the subsequent Seven Days Battles into a humiliating Union defeat . McClellan landed his army at Fort Monroe and moved northwest , up the Virginia Peninsula . Confederate Brig . Gen. John B. Magruder 's defensive position on the Warwick Line caught McClellan by surprise . His hopes for a quick advance foiled , McClellan ordered his army to prepare for a siege of Yorktown . Just before the siege preparations were completed , the Confederates , now under the direct command of Johnston , began a withdrawal toward Richmond . The first heavy fighting of the campaign occurred in the Battle of Williamsburg , in which the Union troops managed some tactical victories , but the Confederates continued their withdrawal . An amphibious flanking movement to Eltham 's Landing was ineffective in cutting off the Confederate retreat . In the Battle of Drewry 's Bluff , an attempt by the U.S. Navy to reach Richmond by way of the James River was repulsed . As McClellan 's army reached the outskirts of Richmond , a minor battle occurred at Hanover Court House , but it was followed by a surprise attack by Johnston at the Battle of Seven Pines or Fair Oaks .
George Brinton McClellan Jr. ( November 23 , 1865 - November 30 , 1940 ) , was an American politician , statesman , author , historian and educator . The son of American Civil War general and presidential candidate George B. McClellan , he was the 93rd Mayor of New York City , serving from 1904 to 1909 .
The United States House of Representatives is the lower house of the United States Congress , the Senate being the upper house . Together they compose the national legislature of the United States . The composition of the House is established by Article One of the United States Constitution . The House is composed of representatives who sit in congressional districts that are allocated to each of the 50 states on a basis of population as measured by the U.S. Census , with each district entitled to one representative . Since its inception in 1789 , all representatives have been directly elected . The total number of voting representatives is fixed by law at 435 . As of the 2010 Census , the largest delegation is that of California , with fifty-three representatives . Seven states have only one representative : Alaska , Delaware , Montana , North Dakota , South Dakota , Vermont , and Wyoming . The House is charged with the passage of federal legislation , known as bills , which , after concurrence by the Senate , are sent to the president for consideration . In addition to this basic power , the House has certain exclusive powers , among them the power to initiate all bills related to revenue ; the impeachment of federal officers , who are sent to trial before the Senate ; and , in cases wherein no candidate receives a majority of electors for president , the duty falls upon the House to elect one of the top three recipients of electors for that office , with one vote given to each state for that purpose . The House meets in the south wing of the United States Capitol . The presiding officer is the speaker of the House , who is elected by the members thereof ( and is therefore traditionally the leader of the controlling party ) .
New York is a state located in the Northeastern United States . New York was one of the original thirteen colonies that formed the United States . With an estimated 19.45 million residents in 2019 , it is the fourth most populous state . In order to distinguish the state from its city with the same name , it is commonly referred to as New York State ( NYS ) . The state 's most populous city , New York City , makes up over 40% of the state 's population . Two-thirds of the state 's population lives in the New York metropolitan area , and nearly 40% lives on Long Island . The state and city were both named for the 17th-century Duke of York , the future King James II of England . With an estimated population of 8.39 million in 2018 , New York City is the most populous city in the United States and the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States . The New York metropolitan area is one of the most populous in the world . New York City is a global city , home to the United Nations Headquarters , and has been described as the cultural , financial , and media capital of the world , as well as the world 's most economically powerful city . The next four most populous cities in the state are Buffalo , Rochester , Yonkers , and Syracuse , while the state capital is Albany . The 27th largest U.S. state in land area , New York has a diverse geography .
The mayor of New York City is head of the executive branch of the Government of New York City . The mayor 's office administers all city services , public property , police and fire protection , most public agencies , and enforces all city and state laws within New York City . The budget , overseen by New York City Mayor 's Office of Management and Budget , is the largest municipal budget in the United States at $ 92 billion a year . The city employs 325,000 people , spends about $ 21 billion to educate more than 1.1 million students ( the largest public school system in the United States ) and levies $ 27 billion in taxes . It receives $ 14 billion from the state and federal governments . The mayor 's office is located in New York City Hall ; it has jurisdiction over all five boroughs of New York City : Manhattan , Brooklyn , the Bronx , Staten Island and Queens . The mayor appoints numerous officials , including commissioners who head city departments , and his deputy mayors . The mayor 's regulations are compiled in title 43 of the New York City Rules . According to current law , the mayor is limited to two consecutive four-year terms in office but may run again after a four-year break . It was changed from two to three terms on October 23 , 2008 , when the New York City Council voted 29-22 in favor of passing the term limit extension into law . However , in 2010 , a referendum reverting the limit to two terms passed overwhelmingly . The current mayor is Democrat Bill de Blasio , who was elected on November 5 , 2013 and reelected to a second term on November 7 , 2017 .
Philip Henry Sheridan ( March 6 , 1831 - August 5 , 1888 ) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War . His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with General-in-chief Ulysses S. Grant , who transferred Sheridan from command of an infantry division in the Western Theater to lead the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac in the East . In 1864 , he defeated Confederate forces under General Jubal Early in the Shenandoah Valley and his destruction of the economic infrastructure of the Valley , called The Burning by residents , was one of the first uses of scorched-earth tactics in the war . In 1865 , his cavalry pursued Gen. Robert E. Lee and was instrumental in forcing his surrender at Appomattox . Sheridan fought in later years in the Indian Wars of the Great Plains . Both as a soldier and private citizen , he was instrumental in the development and protection of Yellowstone National Park . In 1883 , Sheridan was appointed general-in-chief of the U.S. Army , and in 1888 he was promoted to the rank of General of the Army during the term of President Grover Cleveland .
In the United States Army , United States Marine Corps , United States Air Force , and United States Space Force , general ( abbreviated as GEN in the Army or Gen in the Marine Corps , Air Force , and Space Force ) is a four-star general officer rank , with the pay grade of O-10 . General ranks above lieutenant general and below General of the Army or General of the Air Force ; the Marine Corps and Space Force does not have an established grade above general . General is equivalent to the rank of admiral in the other uniformed services . Since the grades of General of the Army and General of the Air Force are reserved for wartime use only , and since the Marine Corps has no five-star equivalent , the grade of general is the highest appointment an officer can achieve in peacetime .
The Overland Campaign , also known as Grant 's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign , was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864 , in the American Civil War . Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant , general-in-chief of all Union armies , directed the actions of the Army of the Potomac , commanded by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade , and other forces against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee 's Army of Northern Virginia . Although Grant suffered severe losses during the campaign , it was a strategic Union victory . It inflicted proportionately higher losses on Lee 's army and maneuvered it into a siege at Richmond and Petersburg , Virginia , in just over eight weeks . Crossing the Rapidan River on May 4 , 1864 , Grant sought to defeat Lee 's army by quickly placing his forces between Lee and Richmond and inviting an open battle . Lee surprised Grant by attacking the larger Union army aggressively in the Battle of the Wilderness ( May 5-7 ) , resulting in heavy casualties on both sides . Unlike his predecessors in the Eastern Theater , however , Grant did not withdraw his army following this setback , but instead maneuvered to the southeast , resuming his attempt to interpose his forces between Lee and Richmond . Lee 's army was able to get into position to block this movement . At the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House ( May 8-21 ) , Grant repeatedly attacked segments of the Confederate defensive line , hoping for a breakthrough , but the only results were again heavy losses for both sides . Grant maneuvered again , meeting Lee at the North Anna River ( Battle of North Anna , May 23-26 ) . Here , Lee held clever defensive positions that provided an opportunity to defeat portions of Grant 's army , but illness prevented Lee from attacking in time to trap Grant . The final major battle of the campaign was waged at Cold Harbor ( May 31 - June 12 ) , in which Grant gambled that Lee 's army was exhausted and ordered a massive assault against strong defensive positions , resulting in disproportionately heavy Union casualties .
The Valley campaigns of 1864 were American Civil War operations and battles that took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia from May to October 1864 . While some military historians divide this period into three separate campaigns , they interacted in several ways , so this article considers all three together .
The Shenandoah Valley /ˌʃɛnənˈdoʊə/ is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia in the United States . The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains , to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians ( excluding Massanutten Mountain ) , to the north by the Potomac River and to the south by the James River . The cultural region covers a larger area that includes all of the valley plus the Virginia highlands to the west , and the Roanoke Valley to the south . It is physiographically located within the Ridge and Valley province and is a portion of the Great Appalachian Valley .
The American Indian Wars ( also known as the Indian Wars or the First Nations Wars ; French : Guerres des Premières Nations ) is the collective name for the various armed conflicts that were fought by European governments and colonists , and later by the governments and settlers , against various American Indian and First Nation tribes . These conflicts occurred in North America from the time of the earliest colonial settlements in the 17th century until the early 20th century . The various wars resulted from a wide variety of factors , including cultural clashes , land disputes , and criminal acts committed by both sides . The European powers and their colonies also enlisted Indian tribes to help them conduct warfare against each other 's colonial settlements . After the American Revolution , many conflicts were local to specific states or regions and frequently involved disputes over land use ; some entailed cycles of violent reprisal . In Canada , 11 Numbered Treaties covering most of the First Nations lands limited the number of such conflicts . As settlers spread westward across America and Canada after 1780 , armed conflicts increased in size , duration , and intensity between settlers and various Indian and First Nation tribes . The climax came in the War of 1812 , when major Indian coalitions in the Midwest and the South fought against the United States and lost . Conflict with settlers became much less common and was usually resolved by treaty , often through sale or exchange of territory between the federal government and specific tribes . The Indian Removal Act of 1830 authorized the American government to enforce the Indian removal from east of the Mississippi River to the west on the American frontier , especially Oklahoma . The federal policy of removal was eventually refined in the West , as American settlers kept expanding their territories , to relocate Indian tribes to specially designated and federally protected and subsidized reservations .
Robert Ogden Tyler ( December 31 , 1831 - December 1 , 1874 ) was an American soldier who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War . He was commander of the Artillery Reserve of the Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863 , where his artillery batteries played an important role in the Union victory . Tyler also led a division of heavy artillery turned infantry during the Overland Campaign of 1864 . He was severely wounded at the Battle of Cold Harbor and relegated to administrative duties for the duration of the war .
The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville , Virginia , from May 31 to June 12 , 1864 , with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3 . It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant 's Overland Campaign , and is remembered as one of American history 's bloodiest , most lopsided battles . Thousands of Union soldiers were killed or wounded in a hopeless frontal assault against the fortified positions of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee 's army . On May 31 , as Grant 's army once again swung around the right flank of Lee 's army , Union cavalry seized the crossroads of Old Cold Harbor , about 10 miles northeast of the Confederate capital of Richmond , Virginia , holding it against Confederate attacks until the Union infantry arrived . Both Grant and Lee , whose armies had suffered enormous casualties in the Overland Campaign , received reinforcements . On the evening of June 1 , the Union VI Corps and XVIII Corps arrived and assaulted the Confederate works to the west of the crossroads with some success . On June 2 , the remainder of both armies arrived and the Confederates built an elaborate series of fortifications 7 miles long . At dawn on June 3 , three Union corps attacked the Confederate works on the southern end of the line and were easily repulsed with heavy casualties . Attempts to assault the northern end of the line and to resume the assaults on the southern were unsuccessful . Grant said of the battle in his Personal Memoirs , I have always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made . . No advantage whatever was gained to compensate for the heavy loss we sustained .
George Armstrong Custer ( December 5 , 1839 - June 25 , 1876 ) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars . Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class , but as the Civil War was just starting , trained officers were in immediate demand . He worked closely with General McClellan and the future General Pleasonton , both of whom recognized his qualities as a cavalry leader , and he was brevetted brigadier general of volunteers at age 23 . Only a few days after his promotion , he fought at Gettysburg , where he commanded the Michigan Cavalry Brigade and despite being outnumbered , defeated J. E. B. Stuart 's attack at what is now known as the East Cavalry Field . In 1864 , Custer served in the Overland Campaign and in Sheridan 's army in the Shenandoah Valley , defeating Jubal Early at Cedar Creek . His division blocked the Army of Northern Virginia 's final retreat and received the first flag of truce from the Confederates , and Custer was present at Robert E. Lee 's surrender to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox . After the war , Custer was appointed a lieutenant colonel in the Regular Army and was sent west to fight in the Indian Wars . On June 25 , 1876 , while leading the 7th Cavalry Regiment at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana Territory against a coalition of Native American tribes , he was killed along with all of his command during an action later romanticized as Custer 's Last Stand . His dramatic end was as controversial as the rest of his career , and reaction to his life and career remains deeply divided . Custer 's bold leadership in battle is unquestioned , but his legend was partly of his own fabrication through his extensive journalism , and perhaps more through the energetic lobbying of his wife Libbie Custer throughout her long widowhood .
The Confederate States of America ( CSA or C.S . ) - commonly referred to as the Confederacy - was an unrecognized republic in North America that existed from 1861 to 1865 . The Confederacy was originally formed by seven secessionist slave-holding states - South Carolina , Mississippi , Florida , Alabama , Georgia , Louisiana , and Texas - in the Lower South region of the United States , whose economy was heavily dependent upon agriculture , particularly cotton , and a plantation system that relied upon the labor of African-American slaves . Convinced that the institution of slavery was threatened by the November 1860 election of Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln to the U.S. presidency on a platform which opposed the expansion of slavery into the western territories , the Confederacy declared its secession in rebellion against the United States , with the loyal states becoming known as the Union during the ensuing American Civil War . Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens described its ideology as being centrally based upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man ; that slavery , subordination to the superior race , is his natural and normal condition . Before Lincoln took office in March , a new Confederate government was established in February 1861 which was considered illegal by the government of the United States . States volunteered militia units , and the new government hastened to form its own Confederate States Army from nothing practically overnight . After the American Civil War began in April , four slave states of the Upper South - Virginia , Arkansas , Tennessee , and North Carolina - also seceded and joined the Confederacy . The Confederacy later accepted Missouri and Kentucky as members , although neither officially declared secession nor were they ever largely controlled by Confederate forces ; Confederate shadow governments attempted to control the two states but were later exiled from them . The government of the United States ( the Union ) rejected the claims of secession , considering it illegitimate . The war began April 12 , 1861 , when the Confederates attacked Fort Sumter , a Union fort in the harbor of Charleston , South Carolina . No foreign government ever officially recognized the Confederacy as an independent country , although Great Britain and France granted it belligerent status , which allowed Confederate agents to contract with private concerns for arms and other supplies .
The Battle of Washita River ( also called Battle of the Washita or the Washita Massacre ) occurred on November 27 , 1868 when Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custers 7th U.S. Cavalry attacked Black Kettles Southern Cheyenne camp on the Washita River ( the present-day Washita Battlefield National Historic Site near Cheyenne , Oklahoma ) . They were the most isolated band of a major winter encampment along the river of numerous Native American tribal bands , totaling thousands of people . But Custer 's forces attacked their village because scouts had followed the trail of a party that had raided white settlers and passed through it . Black Kettle and his people had been at peace and were seeking peace . Custer 's soldiers killed women and children in addition to warriors , although they also took many captive to serve as hostages and human shields . The number of Cheyenne killed in the attack has been disputed since the first reports .
The Battle of the Little Bighorn , known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass and also commonly referred to as Custer 's Last Stand , was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota , Northern Cheyenne , and Arapaho tribes and the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army . The battle , which resulted in the defeat of U.S. forces , was the most significant action of the Great Sioux War of 1876 . It took place on June 25-26 , 1876 , along the Little Bighorn River in the Crow Indian Reservation in southeastern Montana Territory . The fight was an overwhelming victory for the Lakota , Northern Cheyenne , and Arapaho , who were led by several major war leaders , including Crazy Horse and Chief Gall , and had been inspired by the visions of Sitting Bull ( Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake ) . The U.S. 7th Cavalry , a force of 700 men , suffered a major defeat while under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer ( formerly a brevetted major general during the American Civil War ) . Five of the 7th Cavalry 's twelve companies were annihilated and Custer was killed , as were two of his brothers , a nephew and a brother-in-law . The total U.S. casualty count included 268 dead and 55 severely wounded ( six died later from their wounds ) , :244 including four Crow Indian scouts and at least two Arikara Indian scouts . Public response to the Great Sioux War varied in the immediate aftermath of the battle . Libbie Custer , Custer 's widow , soon worked to burnish her husband 's memory , and during the following decades Custer and his troops came to be considered iconic , even heroic , figures in American history . The battle , and Custer 's actions in particular , have been studied extensively by historians . Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument honors those who fought on both sides .