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Posts Tagged ‘1862’

Civil War Spotlight-Battle between the Monitor and Merrimack

Posted: March 9, 2018 in Civil War Spotlight
Tags: 1862, Civil War Spotlight, confederate, merrimack, monitor, the american civil war, the civil war, union

On March 9th, 1862 a naval battle takes place between the CSS Merrimack and the USS Monitor. This battle, which was part of a Confederate attempt to break the Union blockade of Southern ports, occurs in the harbor at Hampton Roads.

Fighting continues for nearly two hours until injuries force the commanders to pull back. There is relatively little damage to either vessel and the battle has no true victor.

This battle marked the first engagement between ironclad vessels in history and was the start of a new era of naval warfare.

(Credit: Library of Congress)

October 8, 1862

Posted: October 8, 2016 in On this Day in the Civil War
Tags: 1862, abraham lincoln, american civil war, american history, confederate, On this Day in the Civil War, the american civil war, the battle of perryville, the civil war, union

On this day in the Civil War, the largest battle in Kentucky is fought at Perryville. President Lincoln recognized the strategic importance of Kentucky and stated, “I think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game.”

The Federals engaged in the battle were 20,000, compared to Confederate troops totaling 16,000. Total casualties numbered 7,600 or 21% of all the soldiers involved in the battle. The battle ended in a tactical draw; however, the Confederates retreated, leaving the field to the Federal army. From this point forward, the Federal army controlled Kentucky for the duration of the war.

Confederate Private Sam Watkins fought for the South in almost every major battle in the Western Theater. His view of the ferocity of the Battle of Perryville was reflected by saying, “I was in every battle, skirmish and march that was made by the First Tennessee Regiment during that war, and I do not remember of a harder contest and more evenly fought battle than that of Perryville.”