The Losing Commanders: Eastern Theater Quiz

Answer: Ebenezer Pierce

On June 10, 1861, Brigadier General Ebenezer Pierce was placed in charge of the columns Major General Benjamin Butler sent out from Newport News, Virginia. Coming into contact with retreating Confederates under Colonels Daniel Hill and John Magruder, Pierce's troops attacked and were repulsed, taking about 80 casualties. The Confederates took fewer than 10 casualties.

Answer: George A. Porterfield

Though Major General George B. McClellan was in overall command of western Virginia, it was Colonel Thomas A. Morris who was in immediate command of Union troops at Philippi on June 3, 1861. One column of Union troops attacked the Confederate rear, while another frontally attacked the Confederates, under Colonel George A. Porterfield.

The Confederates were routed, taking about 25 casualties. Though a small action, this was considered the first "major" battle of the war in the Eastern Theater.

Answer: Irvin S. McDowell

On July 21, 1861, the major battle that people in both North and South had clamored for finally took place. The Union army, under Brigadier General Irvin S. McDowell attacked the left flank of the Confederate army, under Brigadier General Pierre S. Beauregard.

After a vicious fight, the Union army was repulsed by Confederate reinforcements under Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston. Counterattacks turned the Union retreat into a disorganized rout, with many troops not stopping until they entered Washington. Colonel William T.

Sherman was in charge of a Union brigade that attempted to hold back the Confederate tide. The Union army took about 3,000 casualties at this first major battle. The Confederates took about 2,000.

Answer: Charles P. Stone

In October 1861, Brigadier General Charles P. Stone took his Union division in a badly-coordinated assault on Leesburg, Virginia. On October 21st, a brigade under the command of Colonel Edward Baker assaulted Confederates under Brigadier General Nathan S. Evans.

In the day's action, Baker was killed and more than 700 Union troops were captured in a fiasco that led to over 1,000 Union casualties and the establishment of the Congressional Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War. The Confederates took only about 150 casualties in the fight.

Answer: Erastus Tyler

After defeating Major General John C. Fremont the day before at Cross Keys, Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson ordered his troops to attack two isolated brigades under Brigadier General Erastus Tyler at Port Republic. After outflanking and routing Tyler's troops, Jackson burned the bridges over the nearby North River, and both Union armies in the area soon retreated, ending the legendary Shenandoah Valley Campaign.

At the battle, the Confederates took about 800 casualties, while causing about 1,000 to the smaller Union force.

Answer: Robert E. Lee

In the first battle of the Seven Days on June 26, 1862, General Robert E. Lee's Confederate army attacked the Union V Corps under Brigadier General Fitz-John Porter. Porter's troops were lined up behind Beaver Dam Creek near Mechanicsville, Virginia. Thinking Major General Jackson's troops were about to attack Porter's right flank, Brigadier General A.P. Hill frontally attacked Porter's whole corps with only one division. Though the Union was forced to withdraw the next morning, the battle extracted a heavy toll on the Confederate army. Over 1,300 Confederates fell, compared to 400 for the Union army.

Answer: Fitz-John Porter

On June 27, 1862, the day after a defeat at Mechanicsville, General Robert E. Lee ordered his army to attack Brigadier General Fitz-John Porter's still-isolated V Corps at Gaines' Mill. Starting at noon, the Confederates loosed disjointed assaults that continually failed against Porter's fearsome triple line. Finally, as dusk was falling, the Confederates launched a coordinated attack that drove the Union army back, causing a retreat that convinced McClellan to retreat from his positions back to the James River.

The Union army took about 7,000 casualties, while causing nearly 9,000 to the Confederates.

Answer: Robert E. Lee

On July 1, 1862, the Seven Days, and the Peninsular Campaign came to crashing close. In an attempt to trap Major General George B. McClellan's army, General Robert E. Lee attacked a strong Union position at Malvern Hill. Lacking coordinated assaults like the final one at Gaines' Mill, the Confederates were cut to pieces, leaving over 5,000 casualties lining the slopes of the hill.

The Union took about 3,000 casualties during the day.

Answer: John Pope

After toying with Major General John Pope's Union army for a couple weeks, Major General Jackson dug in along an unfinished railroad a few miles west of the first battlefield at Bull Run. Pope's troops attacked all through August 29, 1862, taking heavy casualties, but causing the same to Jackson's corps. During the night, Major General James Longstreet's Confederate corps filed into line on Jackson's right flank.

After Pope continually attacked Jackson on the 30th, Longstreet launched a devestating attack on the flank of Pope's army, routing it. Pope took about 14,000 casualties; Lee took nearly 8,500.

Answer: Dixon S. Miles

On September 12, 1862, Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson and his corps surrounded Harpers Ferry. After a three day bombardment, the 12,000 man garrison under Colonel Dixon S. Miles was forced to surrender. The final salvo from one Confederate battery mortally wounded Miles, who became one of about 200 killed and wounded Union soldiers.

The Confederates took about 300 casualties during the battle.

Answer: Robert E. Lee

On September 17, 1862, the Union Army of the Potomac under Major General George B. McClellan attacked General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Following day-long assaults traveling north to south along Lee's line, both armies occupied nearly the same position. Though no army won a tactical victory in the bloody battle (23,000 total casualties), Lee's army had a strategic disadvantage and had to retreat.

Answer: Ambrose E. Burnside

Major General Ambrose E. Burnside made frontal attacks against a strongly entrenched Confederate line. His army took over 13,000 casualties compared to a "measly" 4,500 for the Confederates.

Answer: Joseph Hooker

Major General Joseph Hooker led his army around the Confederate flank and came close to succeeding in his goal of attacking the rear of General Robert E. Lee's Confederates. However, after leaving one division at Fredericksburg and dispatching Stonewall Jackson on a daring flank attack, Lee completely cowed Hooker into retreating after a four day battle.

The Union took 14,000 casualties in the battle; the Confederates took 10,000, among them Stonewall Jackson.

Answer: Jubal S. Early

Major General John Sedgwick's Union VI Corps attacked Major General Jubal S. Early's division and rolled right through it on it's attempt to link up with Hooker's by-now stalemated army. About 2,000 troops on both sides were killed or wounded at this exchange.

Answer: Robert E. Lee

Lee's army found Meade's accidentally, supposedly while searching for shoes. After a first day in which the Confederates pushed the Union troops south of town, Lee attacked on the Union flanks on the second day. On the third day, Major General George Pickett and his division attacked the center of the Union line, but were cut to pieces.

This marked the apogee of the Confederate cause, and from here on the Confederacy's days were numbered. The Union took 23,000 casualties in the victory, meanwhile causing 28,000.

Answer: A. P. Hill

As Lietuenant General A.P. Hill's troops advanced, Union troops shot up two of Major General Henry Heth's brigades and captured a battery of artillery. The Union line held against Hill's assaults, and Lee's offensive was halted. After the battle, which cost 2,000 casualties, Hill lost standing in Lee's eyes.

Answer: Robert E. Lee

Union troops attacked a bridgehead at Rappahannock Station, capturing it and 1,600 Confederates from Jubal Early's division. There were about 2,500 casualties from both sides combined during the short fight.

Answer: Robert E. Lee

The Union V Corps attacked Lieutenant General Richard S. Ewell's Confederate corps on the morning of May 5. Lieutenant General A.P. Hill's corps attacked the Union VI Corps later that afternoon. On the morning of May 6, the Confederate right flank was saved from collapse by Lieutenant General James Longstreet's corps, but their counterattack was stalled by Longstreet's wounding.

The battle tactically was a draw, but Grant's refusal to retreat was a strategic Union victory.

Answer: Ulysses S. Grant

On May 8th, the two armies came into contact. After building defensive works, the Union II Corps attacked the center salient of Lee's line on May 12-13. Nearly an entire Confederate division was captured, but reinforcements plugged the gap during 20 hours of continuous fighting. Fighting continued sporadically until May 19, when a Confederate flank attack was repulsed. On the 21st, Grant disengaged and continued toward Richmond, a strategic defeat for the fact that he was prevented from reaching Richmond.

The Confederates took 12,000 casualties here while causing 18,000.

Answer: J.E.B. Stuart

Major General Philip Sheridan's cavalry caught up with Major General James Ewell Brown (Jeb) Stuart's outnumbered Confederate cavalry at Yellow Tavern. Sheridan won the battle, and Stuart was mortally wounded, denying the South their best cavalry commander in the east. Casualties were slight, 800 for both sides combined.

Answer: Ulysses S. Grant

After a sharp cavalry fight on May 31st, both sides' infantry dug in during the night. On June 3rd, the Union II, VI, and XVIII Corps all attacked the Confederate lines and were slaughtered, taking nearly 7,000 casualties in 20 minutes. Fighting continued occasionally until June 12th, when Grant pulled away once again.

The Union took 12,000 casualties during the two weeks, but the Confederates took only 2,500.

Answer: Ambrose E. Burnside

After the explosion, confused Union units piled into the Crater, but they could not get out. They were cut to pieces by counterattacks of Major General William Mahone's division, and the blame was placed upon Major General Ambrose Burnside. He was finally relieved of command and shipped home, nearly two years after his debacle at Fredericksburg. Both sides combined for 5,300 casualties at the Crater.

Answer: Jubal S. Early

After an attack that drove the Union troops back over the creek, Philip Sheridan arrived to rally his troops and lead them to victory over Early, ending his Valley Campaign. The Confederates took 3,000 casualties here, included talented general Stephen Ramseur, while the Union took nearly 6,000.

Answer: John Gordon

Though Lee had overall command, Major General John Gordon had immediate command of the assault. It started well, but a killing crossfire and counterattacks pushed the Confederates back. The Confederates took 3,000 casualties while causing "only" 1,000.

Answer: George E. Pickett

Major General Philip Sheridan's cavalry held down the Confederates while Major General Gouverneur K. Warren's V Corps attacked. Claiming that Warren had not moved fast enough, Sheridan relieved him of command. However, this had no effect on the outcome of the battle as the Confederates went reeling on their retreat that ended at Appomattox.