Troop engagements of the American Civil War, 1861

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1861
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Contents

Troop engagements of the American Civil War, 1861 are listed in chronological order by month and day.

The war started when Confederate forces commanded by General P. G. T. Beauregard opened fire on the Union garrison of Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina; after a thirty-four hour bombardment, the Union garrison surrendered. There had been no casualties during the bombardment, but the following day, while Anderson was firing a fifty gun salute, there was an explosion, with one man killed and five wounded. United States president Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for the states to raise 75,000 volunteers for ninety days to suppress the South; in response to the proclamation, an additional four states seceded and joined the Confederacy, which also started raising troops.[1]

In the Eastern Theater, there were two major campaigns in Virginia. The first, the Western Virginia Campaign which started in May, Union forces commanded by Major General George B. McClellan invaded western Virginia and drove the Confederate forces from the area following a series of small skirmishes. Although these fights involved only a few hundred men on either side, the newspaper coverage of the campaign turned McClellan into a national hero. After McClellan was transferred to command the Army of the Potomac, Confederate General Robert E. Lee was assigned to drive the Union forces out of the state but failed to do so at Cheat Mountain and in the Kanawha Valley; Lee was subsequently transferred to other duties in November. The other major campaign ended with the First Battle of Bull Run on July 17th, when Union forces commanded by Major General Irvin McDowell attacked the Confederate Army of the Potomac; although initially successful, Confederate reinforcements from the Shenandoah Valley routed McDowell and forced him back to Washington, D.C. McDowell was replaced by McClellan, who renamed his force the Army of the Potomac and spent the rest of the year training his men and stockpiling supplies, despite pressure from the Union government to launch an offensive as soon as possible. There were several minor skirmishes in Virginia during the remainder of the year, the most significant being the Battle of Ball's Bluff, due to the death of Colonel Edward Baker, a senator from Oregon. Outrage in Congress over his death lead to the creation of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, which was used by the Radical Republicans in Congress in an attempt to prosecute the war according to their views.[2]

In the Western Theater, there were several small skirmishes in the border state of Kentucky but no major battles. Kentucky, with divided sympathies, attempted to declare itself neutral; however, Confederate Major General Leonidas Polk sent a force to occupy Columbus, Kentucky, saying it was necessary for the defense of the Mississippi River. The Kentucky legislature then requested Union help in driving the Confederates out of the state, at which point both armies set up defensive positions all through the state. The governor and most of the legislature were Unionists, but a pro-Confederate state government, with some members of the legislature, was orgainzed in Russellville; both armies then began recuiting efforts. Along the Atlantic seacoast and Gulf coast, Union forces captured several coastal areas for use as naval ports for the Union blockade, including Port Royal, South Carolina and the Outer Banks of North Carolina.[3]

In the Trans-Mississippi Theater, most of the fighting took place in Missouri between the pro-secessionist Missouri State Guard, commanded by Major General Sterling Price, and the Union Department of the West. Union forces under the command of Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon drove the Missouri State Guard and the pro-seccessionist portion of the state government into the southwestern part of the state, where it united with the Confederate Western Army commanded by Brigadier General Benjamin McCulloch. There, on August 10th in the Battle of Wilson's Creek, Lyon attacked the combined forces of Price and McCulloch and was defeated, with Lyon killed during the battle. McCulloch returned to Arkansas, while Price moved north, attempting to recapture the state from Union forces.[4] Another Confederate offensive took place in the New Mexico Territory, were a Confederate cavalry battalion moved into the southwestern part of the territory and captured Fort Filmore, forcing the surrender of the Union garrison. A seccesionist convention in Mesilla declared the southern portion of the territory to be the Confederate Territory of Arizona and raised several militia companies, which fought several skirmishes with both the Union forces remaining in the territory and the Apache tribes.[5]

Troop engagements in 1861

April

12th to 14th
Fort Sumter, South Carolina
  • Forces: Confederate artillery, Union garrison of Fort Sumter
  • Losses: Confederate 4, Union 11[6]
15th
Evacuation of Fort Sumter, South Carolina
  • Losses: Union One soldier was killed and five others wounded by a premature explosion of a cannon in firing a salute to the United States flag.[7]
19th
Riots in Baltimore, Maryland
  • Forces: 6th Massachusetts Infantry, 26th Pennsylvania Infantry
  • Losses: Union 4 killed, 30 wounded; Civilians 4 killed[8]

May

10th
Camp Jackson, located just west of St. Louis, Missouri
Riots in St. Louis, Missouri
  • Forces: Union forces and pro-secessionist crowd
  • Losses: Union 4 killed, prisoners 3 killed, civilians 28 killed (unknown wounded)[10]
18th to 19th
Sewell's Point, Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate artillery, Union naval squadron
  • Losses: 10 total[11]
29th to June 1st
Aquia Creek, Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate artillery, Union naval squadron
  • Losses: 10 total[12]

June

1st
Fairfax Court House, Virginia
  • Forces: units from Confederate Army of the Potomac and Union Department of Northeastern Virginia
  • Losses: Confederate 15, Union 5[13]
3rd
Philippi, West Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate infantry, Union Department of the Ohio
  • Losses: Confederate 6, Union 5[14]
10th
Big Bethel, Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate and Union infantry
  • Losses: Confederate 8, Union 76[15]
13th
Corrick's Ford, West Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate Infantry, Union Department of the Ohio
  • Losses: Confederate 620, Union 10–53[16]
15th
Hooe's Ferry (near Mathias Point), Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate Farmer's Fork Grays, Union schooner Christina Keen
  • Losses: none (Christina Keen captured and burned)[17]
17th
Vienna, Virginia
Boonville, Missouri
  • Forces: Missouri State Guard, Union Western Department
  • Losses: Missouri State Guard 70, Union 12[19]
18th
Camp Cole, Missouri
  • Forces: Missouri State Guards, Union Missouri Home Guards.
  • Losses: Missouri State Guard 32, Union 125[20]
27th
Matthias' Point, Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate garrison, Union gunboats Pawnee and Freeborn.
  • Losses: Confederate none, Union 1 killed, 4 wounded[21]

July

2nd
Hoke's Run, West Virginia
5th
Carthage, Missouri
Neosho, Missouri
  • Forces: Confederate cavalry, Union detachment of 3rd Missouri Infantry
  • Losses: Confederate none, Union 137 (captured)[24]
8th
Laurel Hill or Bealington, West Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate Army of the Northwest, Union Department of the Ohio
  • Losses: Confederate unknown, Union 8[25]
11th
Rich Mountain, West Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate infantry, Union Department of the Ohio
  • Losses: Confederate 88, Union 74[26]
12th
Barboursville or Red House, Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate infantry, Union Department of the Ohio
  • Losses: unknown[27]
Beverly, West Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate Army of the Northwest, Union Department of the Ohio
  • Losses: Confederate 553 (prisoners), Union none[28]
14th
Corrick's Ford, West Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate infantry, Union Department of the Ohio
  • Losses: Confederate 620, Union 10-53[29]
17th
Scarrytown, West Virginia
Bunker Hill, Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate Army of the Shenandoah, Union Army of the Shenandoah
  • Losses: unknown[31]
18th
Blackburn's Ford, Virginia
21st
Manassas, Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate Army of the Potomac and Army of the Shenandoah, Union Department of Northeast Virginia
  • Losses: Confederate 1,897, Union 2,708[33]
22nd
Forsyth, Missouri
  • Forces: Missouri State Guard, Union Department of the West
  • Losses: Missouri State Guard 15, Union 3[34]
26th
Mesilla, New Mexico Territory
  • Forces: Confederate battalion from 2nd Texas Mounted Rifles, Union Southern Military District, Department of New Mexico
  • Losses: Confederate none, Union 9[35]
27th
Fort Fillmore, New Mexico
  • Forces: Confederate battalion from 2nd Texas Mounted Rifles, Union Southern Military District, Department of New Mexico
  • Losses: Confederate none, Union 500 (surrendered)[36]

August

2nd
Dug Springs, Missouri
  • Forces: Missouri State Guard, Union Department of the West
  • Losses: Missouri State Guard 6, Union 10[37]
3rd
Curran Post Office, Missouri
  • Forces: Confederate Western Army, Union Department of the West
  • Losses: unknown[38]
5th
Athens, Missouri
  • Forces: Confederate Missouri State Guard, Union Home Guards and 21st Missouri Infantry
  • Losses: Confederate 28, Union 11[39]
7th
Hampton, Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate cavalry, 20th New York.
  • Losses: Confederate nine, Union unknown[40]
8th
Lovettsville, Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate and Union forces
  • Losses: Confederate six, Union unknown[41]
10th
Wilson's Creek, Missouri
  • Forces: Missouri State Guard and Confederate Department No. 2, Union Department of the West
  • Losses: Confederate 464, Missouri State Guard 758, Union 1,317[42]
Potosi, Missouri
  • Forces: Confederate cavalry, Union Missouri Home Guards.
  • Losses: Confederate five, Union five[43]
17th
Palmyra, Missouri
  • Forces: Confederate and Union forces
  • Losses: unknown[44]
25th
Mason's Hill, Virginia
  • Forces: detachments from Confederate Army of the Potomac and Union Department of the Potomac
  • Losses: unknown[45]
26th
Kessler's Cross Lanes, West Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate infantry, Union Department of the Ohio
  • Losses: Confederate 40, Union 132[46]
28th to 29th
Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina
  • Forces: Confederate garrison of Fort Hatteras and Fort Clark, Union North Carolina Expedition
  • Losses: Confederate 670, Union 3[47]
29th
Lexington, Missouri
  • Forces: Confederate cavalry, Union Missouri Home Guards.
  • Losses: unknown[48]
31st
Munson's Hill, Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate detachment, Department of Northern Virginia, Union detachment, Army of the Potomac.
  • Losses: Confederate unknown, Union five[49]

September

2nd
Dry Wood Creek, Missouri
  • Forces: Missouri State Guard, Union Department of the West
  • Losses: Missouri State Guard unknown, Union 14[50]
3rd
Bailey's Cross Roads, Virginia
  • Forces: detachments of Confederate Army of the Potomac and Union Department of the Potomac
  • Losses: Confederate none, Union 8[51]
10th
Carnifax Ferry, West Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate infantry, Union Department of the Ohio
  • Losses: Confederate 32, Union 158[52]
11th
Lewinsville, Virginia
  • Forces: detachments of Confederate Army of the Potomac and Union Department of the Potomac
  • Losses: Confederate none, Union 18[53]
12th to 15th
Cheat Mountain, West Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate infantry, Union Department of the Ohio
  • Losses: Confederate 100, Union 71[54]
13th to 20th
Lexington, Missouri
  • Forces: Missouri State Guard, Union garrison of Lexington, Missouri
  • Losses: Missouri State Guard 100, Union 3,500[55]
17th
Liberty, Missouri
  • Forces: Missouri State Guard, Union 3rd Iowa Infantry
  • Losses: Missouri State Guard 70, Union 56[56]
19th
Barbourville, Kentucky
  • Forces: Confederate Department No. 2, Union Kentucky home guard
  • Losses: Confederate 5, Union 15[57]
21st
Fredericktown, Missouri
  • Forces: Missouri State Guard, Union Department of the West
  • Losses: Missouri State Guard 62, Union unknown[58]
25th
Springfield, Missouri
  • Forces: Missouri State Guard, Union Department of the West
  • Losses: Missouri State Guard 133, Union 85[59]
Alamosa, New Mexico Territory
  • Forces: Confederate cavalry, Union Department of New Mexico
  • Losses: Confederate none, Union ten[60]
26th
Hunter's Farm, Missouri
  • Forces: Confederate Missouri State Guard, Union Department of the West
  • Losses: Confederate 22, Union unknown[61]
27th
near Fort Craig, New Mexico Territory
  • Forces: Confederate and Union cavalry
  • Losses: Confederate ten, Union ten[62]
Pinos Altos, New Mexico Territory
  • Forces: Confederate Arizona Guards and civilians, Chiricahua, Minibreno, and allied Apaches
  • Losses: Confederate and civilians 12, Apaches 30[63]

October

3rd
Greenbrier River, West Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate infantry, Union Department of the Ohio
  • Losses: Confederate 52, Union 43[64]
9th
Santa Rosa Island, Florida
  • Forces: Confederate brigade, Union garrison of Fort Pickens
  • Losses: Confederate 87, Union 67[65]
12th
Head of the Passes, Louisiana
  • Forces: Confederate naval squadron, Union detachment of West Gulf Blockading Squadron
  • Losses: none (one Confederate and three Union ships damaged)[66]
17th to 21st
Fredericktown and Ironton, Missouri
  • Forces: Missouri State Guard, Union garrison
  • Losses: Missouri State Guard 62, Union unknown[67]
21st
Ball's Bluff, Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate Army of the Potomac, Union Army of the Potomac
  • Losses: Confederate 149, Union 1,000[68]
Camp Wildcat, Kentucky
Fredericktown, Missouri
  • Forces: Confederate Missouri State Guard, Union Department of the West
  • Losses: Confederate 62, Union unknown[70]
25th
Springfield, Missouri
  • Forces: Missouri State Guard, Union infantry
  • Losses: Missouri State Guard 133, Union 85[71]

November

3rd to 7th
Port Royal, South Carolina
  • Forces: Confederate Department of South Carolina, Union South Atlantic Blockading Squadron
  • Losses: Confederate 40, Union 31[72]
7th
Belmont, Missouri
  • Forces: Confederate Department No. 2, Union Department of the West
  • Losses: Confederate 641, Union 607[73]
8th to 9th
Ivy Mountain, Kentucky
  • Forces: Confederate Department No. 2, Union Army of the Ohio
  • Losses: Confederate 263, Union 30[74]
17th
Rowlett's Station Kentucky
  • Forces: Confederate Department No. 2, Union Department of the Ohio
  • Losses: Confederate 91, Union 40[75]
19th
Round Mountain, Oklahoma
  • Forces: Confederate and Union Indians
  • Losses: Confederate 10, Union unknown[76]
26th
Hunter's Mills, Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate Department of Northern Virginia, Union Army of the Potomac
  • Losses: unknown[77]

December

9th
Chusto-Talasah, Oklahoma
  • Forces: Confederate and Union Indians
  • Losses: Confederate 52, Union 412[78]
13th
Camp Allegheny, West Virginia
  • 'Forces: Confederate infantry, Union Department of the Ohio
  • Losses: Confederate 146, Union 137[79]
17th
Rowlett's Station, Kentucky
  • Forces: Confederate Department No. 2, Union Army of the Ohio
  • Losses: Confederate 91, Union 40[80]
20th
Dranesville, Virginia
  • Forces: Confederate cavalry from Army of the Potomac, Union detachment from Army of the Potomac
  • Losses: Confederate 230, Union 71[81]
26th
Chustenahlah, Oklahoma
  • Forces: Confederate and Union Indians
  • Losses: Confederate 40, Union 211[82]
28th
Mount Zion Church, Missouri
  • Forces: Missouri State Guard, Union Department of the West
  • Losses: Missouri State Guard 210, Union 72[83]
Sacramento, Kentucky
  • Forces: Confederate and Union cavalry
  • Losses: Confederate 5, Union 23[84]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Foote, pp. 48–55.
  2. ^ Foote, pp. 69, 78–81, 140–141.
  3. ^ Foote, pp. 86–88, 115–120.
  4. ^ Foote, pp. 90–95, 98.
  5. ^ Josephy, pp. 44–51.
  6. ^ Kennedy, p. 1-4.
  7. ^ Foote, p. 50.
  8. ^ Davis, p. 5.
  9. ^ Brooksher, p. 60.
  10. ^ Brookser, p. 63.
  11. ^ Kennedy, p. 5.
  12. ^ Kennedy, p. 5.
  13. ^ Davis, p. 33–34.
  14. ^ Newell, p. 99.
  15. ^ Kennedy, p. 6.
  16. ^ Newell, p. 138–140.
  17. ^ Wills, p. 34.
  18. ^ Davis, p. 71-72.
  19. ^ Brooksher, p. 90.
  20. ^ Brooksher, p. 100.
  21. ^ Wills, p 39.
  22. ^ Kennedy, p. 11.
  23. ^ Kennedy, p. 20.
  24. ^ Piston & Hatcher, p. 102-103.
  25. ^ Newell, p. 137.
  26. ^ Kennedy, p. 7-9.
  27. ^ Newell, p. 141.
  28. ^ Newell, p. 133.
  29. ^ Newell, p. 138-139.
  30. ^ Newell, p. 158.
  31. ^ Davis, p. 148.
  32. ^ Gottfried, p. 18.
  33. ^ Gottfried, p. 74.
  34. ^ Piston & Hatcher, p. 128-130.
  35. ^ Josephy, p. 45-46.
  36. ^ Frazier, p. 60.
  37. ^ Piston & Hatcher, p. 140-141.
  38. ^ Piston & Hatcher, p. 142-143.
  39. ^ Civil War Reference.
  40. ^ Blue and Gray Trail.
  41. ^ Civil War Reference.
  42. ^ Brooksher, p. 236.
  43. ^ Civil War Reference.
  44. ^ Civil War Reference.
  45. ^ Robertson, p. 43.
  46. ^ Kennedy, p. 9.
  47. ^ Kennedy, p. 59-60.
  48. ^ Civil War Reference.
  49. ^ Civil War Reference.
  50. ^ Kennedy, p. 23-24.
  51. ^ Robertson, p. 44.
  52. ^ Kennedy, p. 9.
  53. ^ Robertson, pp. 44–45.
  54. ^ Kennedy, p. 10.
  55. ^ Kennedy, p. 24.
  56. ^ Kennedy, p. 24.
  57. ^ Kennedy, p. 28.
  58. ^ Kennedy, p. 24-25.
  59. ^ Kennedy, p. 25.
  60. ^ Frazier, p. 106–107.
  61. ^ Civil War Reference.
  62. ^ Frazier, p. 107–108.
  63. ^ Frazier, pp. 108–109.
  64. ^ Kennedy, p. 10.
  65. ^ Kennedy, p. 27-28.
  66. ^ Naval Historical center.
  67. ^ Kennedy p. 24.
  68. ^ Gottfried, p. 104.
  69. ^ Kennedy, p. 29.
  70. ^ Civil War Reference.
  71. ^ Kennedy, p. 25.
  72. ^ Foote, p. 119.
  73. ^ Hughes, p. 184-185.
  74. ^ Kennedy, p. 29.
  75. ^ Civil War Reference.
  76. ^ Josephy, p. 331.
  77. ^ Civil War Reference.
  78. ^ Josephy, p. 332.
  79. ^ Kennedy, p. 10.
  80. ^ Kennedy, p. 29-30.
  81. ^ Kennedy, p. 18-19.
  82. ^ Kennedy, p. 34.
  83. ^ Kennedy, p. 27.
  84. ^ Hurst, p. 79.

Sources

External links

Years
1861
1862
1863
1864
1865
or return to the main page.