There was one goal for army commanders: to obliterate the opponent. While this was their objective, it seldom happened. The enemy often escaped to fight again another day. The American Battlefield Trust has 10,000 battles and engagements fought between 1861 and 1865. Which ones were the most decisive Confederate victories is a hard list to determine. Here are five on my list.[1]
Brice’s Crossroads, Tennessee
Fought in June
1864, this battle pitted Maj. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest, with 3,500 men, against
8,122 Federal soldiers under Brig. Gen. Samuel D. Sturgis. The Federals were
moving from Memphis toward Northern Mississippi in an effort to keep Forrest
preoccupied and away from the major supply line stretching from Nashville into
North Georgia. Federal forces were able to slowly push back Confederate cavalry.
With Confederate reinforcements arriving, the Federals called for infantry
support. Confederate attacks forced the Federals into a tighter defensive line.
A Confederate attack across a bridge spanning the Tishomingo River failed but
caused panic in the Federal lines. Federal soldiers fled in disorder, and many
were captured by the pursuing Confederate cavalry. The Federals lost sixteen of
their eighteen artillery pieces, and 2,249 men, a loss of about 27%. Sturgis
finished the war “awaiting orders.” Brice’s Crossroads is considered one of Nathan
Bedford Forrest’s greatest victories.[2]
Olustee, Florida
The
often-overlooked February 1864 battle of Olustee, Florida, could have been
another Richmond, Kentucky, had Confederates cavalry been a little more active
in securing the fleeing Federal army. Once again, the two sides were almost evenly
matched. Federal general Thuman Seymour, with a force of 5,500 men, faced off
against general Joseph Finegan, with 5,000 men (all estimates). The Federals
had disembarked at Jacksonville and were moving toward Lake City. The
Confederates were waiting for them at Ocean Pond/Olustee, and the Federals
attacked in piecemeal fashion. Federal losses were 1,861, about 34%, including
six artillery pieces. The Civil War Book of Lists, due to the ratio of
troops involved, places Olustee as the second bloodiest battle of the war for
the Union. The Federals retreated back to Jacksonville. [3]
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| (Historical Marker Database.) |
Richmond, Kentucky
Fought at the same
time as Second Manassas, the August 1862 battle of Richmond, Kentucky, often gets
overshadowed. Confederate forces under Maj. Gen. E. Kirby Smith tangled with
Federal forces under Brig. Gen. William “Bull” Nelson. The forces were about even:
6,580 US v. 6,500 CS. Often described as a “running fight,” the Federals took
up at three defensive positions, the last being in and around the cemetery in
Richmond. In the end, the Federals lost an estimated 5,353, killed, wounded,
and captured, including Bull Nelson, who was wounded, but escaped. Smith wrote
that the Federals lost “some twenty pieces of artillery,” or, all that the Federals
brought to the field. “Indeed, everything indicates the almost entire
annihilation of this force of the enemy,” Smith wrote. Confederate forces were
able to capture the capital of Kentucky a few days later. Federal losses were
81% of those engaged.[4]
Plymouth, North Carolina
Combined
Confederate army and navy operations during the war were rare, and the April
1864 battle of Plymouth might be the pinnacle of Confederate success. The
Federal garrison at Plymouth was commanded by Brig. Gen. Henry W. Wessells,
with about 3,000 men, excluding the US Navy, which included four ships.
Confederate commander Brig. Gen. Robert F. Hoke commanded around 4,500 men,
excluding two Confederate naval vessels. At the end of the three-day siege, two
Federal vessels were sunk, while Wessells listed his losses in killed, wounded,
and captured at 2,843. A handful of members of the 2nd North
Carolina Volunteer Infantry (US) and Black recruits for various United States
colored Troop regiments escaped. Losses were around 97%, including some twenty cannons,
mostly heavy seacoast guns.
Munfordville, Kentucky
Located south of
Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Munfordville just might just vie with Plymouth as one
of the most complete victories of the war. Munfordville was garrisoned by a
Federal force just over 4,000 men under the command of Col. John T. Wilder. Braxton
Bragg, commanding 16,000 Confederate soldiers, launched his campaign to wrest control
of Kentucky from the Federals in September 1862. Initial Confederate attacks
were repulsed with losses. Bragg brought up the rest of his command, encircling
the Federal garrison. All 4,133 Federal soldiers were surrendered by Wilder. Federal
loss was 100%.[5]
So, how doe these
battles stack up? Federal losses at Gettysburg were 24%; Chickamauga 26%;
Chancellorsville, 17%; Sharpsburg, 14%; Perryville, 7%; Pea Ridge, 12%;
Murfreesboro, 31%; Cedar Mountain, 29%; Port Republic, 28%.[6]