Western Theater Of The American Civil War Events

1861 Sep 19 Battle of Barbourville
Other Names: None Location: Knox County Campaign: Kentucky Confederate Offensive (1861) Date(s): September 19, 1861 Principal Commanders: Capt. Isaac J. Black [US]; Col. Joel ...
1861 Oct 21 Battle of Camp Wildcat - Confederates Chased from Cumberland Gap
The Battle of Camp Wildcat (also known as Wildcat Mountain and Camp Wild Cat) was one of the early engagements of the American Civil War. It occurred October 21, 1861, in northern Laurel ...
1861 Nov 7 Battle of Belmont
The Battle of Belmont was fought on November 7, 1861, in Mississippi County, Missouri. It was the first combat test in the American Civil War for Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, the future U...
1861 Nov 9 Battle of Ivy Mountain
Other Names: Ivy Creek, Ivy Narrows Location: Floyd County Campaign: Kentucky Confederate Offensive (1861) Date(s): November 8-9, 1861 Principal Commanders: Brig. Gen. William...
1861 Dec 17 Battle of Rowlett's Station
Other Names: Woodsonville, Green River Location: Hart County Campaign: Kentucky Confederate Offensive (1861) Date(s): December 17, 1861 Principal Commanders: Col. August Willi...
1862 Jan 10 Battle of Middle Creek
Other Names: None Location: Floyd County Campaign: Offensive in Eastern Kentucky (1862) Date(s): January 10, 1862 Principal Commanders: Col. James Garfield [US]; Brig. Gen. Hu...
1862 Jan 19 Confederate Defensive Line in Eastern Kentucky Further Weakened
The Battle of Mill Springs, also known as the Battle of Fishing Creek in Confederate terminology, and the Battle of Logan's Cross Roads in Union terminology, was fought in Wayne and Pulas...
1862 Feb 6 Battle of Fort Henry Opens Tennessee River to Union Control
The Battle of Fort Henry was fought on February 6, 1862, in western Tennessee, during the American Civil War. It was the first important victory for the Union and Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Gr...
1862 Feb 12
to 1862 Feb 13
 Battle of Fort Donelson - Initial Action
Other Names: None Location: Stewart County Campaign: Federal Penetration up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers (1862) Date(s): February 11-16, 1862 Principal Commanders: Brig...
1862 Feb 14 Battle of Fort Donelson - Reinforcements and Naval Assault
At 1:00 a.m. on February 14, Floyd held a council of war in his headquarters, the Dover Hotel, and there was general agreement that Fort Donelson was probably untenable. General Pillow wa...
1862 Feb 15 Battle of Fort Donelson - Confederate Escape Attempt
Despite their unexpected naval success, the Confederate generals were still gloomy about their chances in the fort and held another late-night council of war, deciding to retry their abor...
1862 Feb 16 Battle of Fort Donelson - Surrender
Nearly 1,000 soldiers on both sides had been killed, with about 3,000 wounded still on the field; some froze to death in the snowstorm, many Union soldiers having thrown away their blanke...
1862 Feb 28
to 1862 Apr 8
 Battle of Island Number 10 - First Time the Confederate Army Loses a Position on the Mississippi River
The Battle (also known as the Siege) of Island Number Ten was an engagement at the New Madrid or Kentucky Bend on the Mississippi River during the American Civil War, lasting from Februar...
1862 Apr 6
to 1862 Apr 7
 Battle of Shiloh
Other Names: Pittsburg Landing Location: Hardin County Campaign: Federal Penetration up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers (1862) Date(s): April 6-7, 1862 Principal Commander...
1862 Apr 29
to 1862 May 30
 First Battle of Corinth
The Siege of Corinth (also known as the First Battle of Corinth) was an American Civil War battle fought from April 29 to June 10, 1862, in Corinth, Mississippi. Background Followin...
1862 Jun 6 First Battle of Memphis
The First Battle of Memphis was a naval battle fought on the Mississippi River immediately above the city of Memphis on June 6, 1862, during the American Civil War. The engagement was wit...
1862 Jun 7
to 1862 Jun 8
 First Battle of Chattanooga
Description: In late Spring 1862, the Confederacy split its forces in Tennessee into several small commands in an attempt to complicate Federal operations. The Union had to redistribute i...
1862 Jul 13 First Battle of Murfreesboro
The First Battle of Murfreesboro was fought on July 13, 1862, in Rutherford County, Tennessee, as part of the American Civil War. On June 10, 1862, Union Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell, co...
1862 Aug 30 Battle of Richmond, KY
The Battle of Richmond, Kentucky — took place on and around what is now the grounds of the Blue Grass Army Depot, outside Richmond, Kentucky. In Maj. Gen. Kirby Smith's 1862 Confederat...
1862 Sep 14
to 1862 Sep 17
 Battle of Munfordville
Description: In the 1862 Confederate offensive into Kentucky, Gen. Braxton Bragg’s army left Chattanooga, Tennessee, in late August. Followed by Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell’s Union Army, B...
1862 Sep 19 Battle of Luka
The Battle of Iuka was an American Civil War battle fought on September 19, 1862, in Iuka, Mississippi. In the opening battle of the Iuka-Corinth Campaign, Union Maj. Gen. William S. Rose...
1862 Oct 3
to 1862 Oct 4
 Second Battle of Corinth
The Second Battle of Corinth (which, in the context of the American Civil War, is usually referred to as the Battle of Corinth, to differentiate it from the Siege of Corinth earlier the s...
1862 Oct 5 Battle of Hatchie's Bridge
The Battle of Hatchie's Bridge, also known as Davis's Bridge or Matamora, was fought on October 5, 1862, in Hardeman County and McNairy County, Tennessee, as the final engagement of the I...
1862 Oct 8 Battle of Perryville
Other Names: None Location: Boyle County Campaign: Confederate Heartland Offensive (1862) Date(s): October 8, 1862 Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell [US]; Gen. ...
1862 Dec 7 Battle of Hartsville
The Battle of Hartsville was fought on December 7, 1862, in northern Tennessee at the opening of the Stones River Campaign the American Civil War. The Stones River Campaign started in ...
1862 Dec 19 Battle of Jackson, TN
Description: The engagement at Jackson occurred during Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Expedition into West Tennessee, between December 11, 1862, and January 1, 1863. Forrest wished t...
1862 Dec 26
to 1862 Dec 29
 Battle of Chickasaw Bayou
The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, also called Walnut Hills,[2] fought December 26–29, 1862, was the opening engagement of the Vicksburg Campaign during the American Civil War. Confederate fo...
1862 Dec 31 Battle of Parker's Cross Roads
Description: As Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest’s expedition into West Tennessee neared its conclusion, Union Brig. Gen. Jeremiah C. Sullivan, with the brigades of Col. Cyrus L. Dunham ...
1862 Dec 31
to 1863 Jan 2
 Second Battle of Murfreesboro
Other Names: Murfreesboro Location: Rutherford County Campaign: Stones River Campaign (1862-63) Date(s): December 31, 1862-January 2, 1863 Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. Will...
1863 Jan 9
to 1863 Jan 11
 Battle of Fort Hindman - Army of the Mississippi Advance on Arkansas Post
The Battle of Arkansas Post, also known as the Battle of Fort Hindman, was a Civil War battle fought January 9–11, 1863, as Union troops under Major General John A. McClernand sought to s...
1863 Feb 3 Battle of Dover
Description: Under orders, in late January 1863, Confederate Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler, commanding two brigades of cavalry, had taken position on the Cumberland River at Palmyra to disrupt...
1863 Mar 5 Battle of Thompson's Station
Description: In a period of relative inactivity following the Battle of Stones River, a reinforced Union infantry brigade, under Col. John Coburn, left Franklin to reconnoiter south towar...
1863 Mar 20 Battle of Vaught's Hill
Description: During the inactivity following the Battle of Stones River, a Union brigade-sized reconnaissance force, under Col. Albert S. Hall, left Murfreesboro on March 18. Circling to ...
1863 Mar 25 Battle of Brentwood
Description: Union Lt. Col. Edward Bloodgood held Brentwood, a station on the Nashville & Decatur Railroad, with 400 men on the morning of March 25, 1863, when Confederate Brig. Gen. Nath...
1863 Apr 10 First Battle of Franklin
Description: The 1863 engagement at Franklin was a reconnaissance in force by Confederate cavalry leader Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn coupled with an equally inept response by Union Maj. Gen. ...
1863 Apr 29 Battle of Grand Gulf
The Battle of Grand Gulf was fought on April 29, 1863, during the American Civil War. In the Vicksburg Campaign of Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Union naval forces under Rear Adm. David D. ...
1863 Apr 29
to 1863 May 1
 Battle of Snyder's Bluff
Description: To insure that troops were not withdrawn to Grand Gulf to assist Confederates there, a combined Union army-navy force feigned an attack on Snyder’s Bluff, Mississippi. After ...
1863 Apr 30 Battle of Day's Gap
Description: Union Col. Abel D. Streight led a provisional brigade on a raid to cut the Western & Atlantic Railroad that supplied Gen. Braxton Bragg’s Confederate army in Middle Tennessee...
1863 May 1 Battle of Port Gibson
Description: Maj. Gen. U.S. Grant launched his march on Vicksburg in the Spring of 1863, starting his army south, from Milliken’s Bend, on the west side of the Mississippi River. He inten...
1863 May 12 Battle of Raymond
The Battle of Raymond was fought on May 12, 1863, near Raymond, Mississippi, during the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. The bitter fight pitted elements of Union Army Maj. G...
1863 May 14 Battle of Jackson - Former Mississippi State Capital Destroyed
The Battle of Jackson, fought on May 14, 1863, in Jackson, Mississippi, was part of the Vicksburg Campaign in the American Civil War. Union commander Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and the Ar...
1863 May 16 Battle of Champion Hill
The Battle of Champion Hill, or Bakers Creek, fought May 16, 1863, was the pivotal battle in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. Union commander Major General Ulysses S. Gra...
1863 May 17 Battle of Big Black River Bridge - Confederate Forces Trapped in Vicksburg
Description: Reeling from their defeat at Champion Hill, the Confederates reached Big Black River Bridge, the night of May 16-17. Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton ordered Brig. Gen. John S. Bow...
1863 May 18
to 1863 Jul 4
 Confederate Forces Surrender at the Siege of Vicksburg
Description: In May and June of 1863, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s armies converged on Vicksburg, investing the city and entrapping a Confederate army under Lt. Gen. John Pemberton. On Ju...
1863 Jun 7 Battle of Milliken's Bend - Siege of Vicksburg Remains Unbroken
Description: On June 6, Col. Hermann Lieb with the African Brigade and two companies of the 10th Illinois Cavalry made a reconnaissance toward Richmond, Louisiana. About three miles from ...
1863 Jun 24
to 1863 Jun 26
 Battle of Hoover's Gap
Description: Following the Battle of Stones River, Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans, commanding the Army of the Cumberland, remained in the Murfreesboro area for five and one-half months. ...
1863 Jun 29
to 1863 Jun 30
 Battle of Goodrich's Landing - Confederates Drive Union Black Regiments off Plantations
Description: After Union forces began occupying the Louisiana river parishes, thousands of escaped slaves flocked to them. The Federals, therefore, leased some plantations and put the fre...
1863 Jul 4 Battle of Helena - Union Captures Eastern Arkansas
Description: Lt. Gen. Theophilus Holmes’s troops attacked Helena in an attempt to relieve pressure on Vicksburg. Although the Rebels had more troops and did initially capture some of the ...
1863 Jul 4 Battle of Tebbs Bend
The Battle of Tebbs' Bend (or Tebbs Bend or Green River) was fought on July 4, 1863, near the Green River in Taylor County, Kentucky during Morgan's Raid in the American Civil War. Despit...
1863 Jul 5 Battle of Lebanon
The Battle of Lebanon occurred July 5, 1863, in Lebanon, Kentucky, during Morgan's Raid in the American Civil War. Confederate troops under Brig. Gen. John Hunt Morgan fought for six hour...