Battles Of The American Civil War

Nathaniel P. Banks was a Union general and Massachusetts politician who rose from factory work to national office. Before the Civil War, he served as Speaker of the House and Governor of Massachusetts. During the war, he commanded Union armies in the Shenandoah Valley and the Gulf Coast but was widely criticized for poor military leadership. After the war, he returned to Congress, where his political career ultimately proved more successful than his time as a general.

Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard was one of the most recognizable Confederate generals of the American Civil War. From firing the opening shots at Fort Sumter to commanding at First Manassas and Shiloh, Beauregard became a symbol of the early war and the confidence of the South. This episode looks at his rise, his battlefield successes, his clashes with other Confederate leaders, and how his legacy became far more complicated as the war dragged on.

William Tecumseh Sherman helped win the Civil War and permanently changed how wars are fought. We break down Sherman’s rise, his partnership with Grant, and the impact of his most famous campaign, the March to the Sea. Loved by some, hated by others, William Tecumseh Sherman remains one of the most debated figures in American history.

During the Battle of Gettysburg, a rocky hill called Little Round Top nearly decided the fate of the Civil War. On July 2, 1863, Confederate forces attacked the Union’s exposed left flank. Holding the line was the 20th Maine, led by Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. Outnumbered and out of ammunition, the regiment launched a desperate bayonet charge that saved the hill and possibly the battle. If Little Round Top falls, Gettysburg likely falls with it. This is the story of the hill that helped change American history.

Simon Bolivar Buckner was a Confederate general and one of the most unique figures of the Civil War. A West Point graduate from Kentucky, Buckner chose the Confederacy when the war began, even though his personal ties to Grant ran deep. In 1862, Buckner surrendered Fort Donelson to Grant after receiving the famous demand for unconditional surrender, a moment that helped launch Grant’s rise to national fame. After the war, Buckner rebuilt his life in the United States. He served as Governor of Kentucky, promoted reconciliation between North and South, and later ran for Vice President in 1896.