Favorite Major Battle of the Civil War?

[everythingsxen]

http://www.collectorsnet.com/cwtimes/list.htm

Some of these are multiple choice so you will have to specify.

As I wrote this, it reminded me of the South Park where Cartman tries to win the recreation the Civil War. :evilgrin:

[terrya]

1. Gettysburg, because it inspired a moving tribute by Lincoln.

[Fenris]

2. Wilderness/Spotsylvania

[Aristus]

3. Gettysburg - The high tide mark of the Confederacy.

I'm Texas-born, raised by an all-Southern family, but my heart has always been with the Union. Defeating slavery and those who would preserve it, and keeping this great country as well. Gettysburg was the last gasp of Confederate secessionism.

[JohnKleeb]

6. the last horrah so to speak

:shrug: I havent voted yet
Fredricksburg is interesting I guess because I am interesting in urban warfare and bridges.

[jpgray]

15. An ironic choice of words--'hurrah' was an oft heard Union army cheer

Funny little language coincidences amuse me. :crazy:

[displacedvermoter]

4. I love standing on Little Roundtop

Gettysburg is only one of the many sites I've visited, but I guess it is the one I always look forward to going back to.

[MSchreader]

5. Other

Atlanta Campaign and March to the Sea.

Martin

[H2O Man]

7. Chicago

the democratic convention.

[northzax]

8. isn't it a little bit sick

to have a favourite battle?

[JohnKleeb]

9. I would say most interesting is how I am intepreting it

and ya it is a little sick.

[Spider Jerusalem]

10. Gettysburg...

the heroism of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and the 20th Maine Infantry holding the line against the advancing rebels; the doomed, Light Brigade-like gallantry of Pickett's charge up Cemetery Ridge...those are, for me at least, indelible images that raise Gettysburg above all other Civil War battles. And Gettysburg was to the American Civil War what El Alamein, Stalingrad and Midway together were to World War II; the decisive turning point, the watershed line where the flow of the war shifted and reversed direction, carrying the Union to victory and washing the Confederacy out to the sea of oblivion.

[GumboYaYa]

11. Come on, the answer has to be Shiloh.

Did you know that there were more men killed in the battle of Shiloh than were killed in The French Revolution and the American Revolution combined? The same can be said for many Civil War battles, but Shiloh was the first time the incredible carnage of the war became apparent.

[Devil Dog Dem]

12. The Battles of Chatanooga are the most under-rated.

Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, etc.
Once Chatanooga was lost Atlanta lay open for the taking and it was just a matter of time before the South was quartered and forced to surrender.

[Rowdyboy]

13. 1st Manassas

Known by the Yankees as Bull Run

[Blue-Jay]

14. Which battle had the most death/dismemberments?

That one is my favorite!

[Spider Jerusalem]

16. That would be Antietam (called Sharpsburg by the South).

Twenty-three thousand casualties in a single day.

[NoPasaran]

17. Petersburg

The biggest campaign, both in time and space.

I've been to all of the fields in this poll, walked most of them, some multiple times.

I am a longstanding member of the Civil War Preservation Trust. http://www.civilwar.org/

[Mrs. Venation]

18. How On Earth Can One Have A "Favorite" War Battle?

This is just too much for my mind to wrap around it. I have visited many Civil War battlefields; all of them have taken my heart and mind to the edge of despair. So many deaths; so many lives ruined; so many families torn apart. Each battle cost lives. How and anyone have a favorite?

[Faygo Kid]

21. I am with you. It's not the battle; it's the lesson to be learned.

This is a ridiculous post. Most Americans can't place the Civil War in the 19th Century, let alone evaluate this. I voted for Gettysburg, only because Lincoln redefined our nation in terms of the Declaration of Independence. We are losing that, now. Your post is right on, and this from a Civil War buff who would take on all comers in terms of knowledge of battles. Not my interest, though; like you, the human element, the political element, is where my interest lies. Thank you, kpharmer.

[Mrs. Venation]

22. You're Welcome

Please call me Kathy.

I wonder if people realize the extent of the destruction that occurred during the war between the states. I think that now we have a tendency to romanticize the war, and we don't think of the real harm and pain it caused.

My relatives on my dad's side of the family were abolitionists, and we have a family heritage of respecting all human beings. That said, I have to admit that a recent PBS program on the Reconstruction produced a visceral reaction in me when they talked about Sherman's burning of Atlanta and his destructive march to the sea. There was simply no reason for that to happen. It was a vindictive and senseless act of domination that hurt many people.

My "favorite" battle will be the one that puts a permanent end to war.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

19. New Mexico Campaign Was Interesting - Also Elkhorn Tavern

In fact a very vigorous campaign occurred in New Mexico. It's unusual to think of civil war battles taking place among cactii in the desert. But about 1,300 were killed in action involving many thousands of troops on either side, with battles at Valverde and Glorietta. Many thousands of the Confederates in fact were Hispanic. Most of the surnames of the participants on the Confederate side were of Spanish origin.

Another interesting battle was Elkhorn Tavern, otherwise known as Pea Ridge. It's probably the most vigorous battle taking place in Arkansas. What's especially interesting to me is the number of Native American indians who participated in the battle, on the side of the South. They were primarily Cherokees and numbered in the hundreds if not thousands. Many of them served under Cherokee Chief Stand Watie, who later became the only Brigadier General to serve on either side (although many Native Americans served in both Southern and Northern armies). General Stand Watie, in fact, was the last Southern General to surrender to the North, about 2 months after Appomatox.

[Dees]

20. The Battle of Wilson's Creek outside

of Springfield, Missouri. I put my guns down a long time ago but I still have an interest in the Civil War and its history.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

23. Antietam is SPOOKY

I've been there (as well as Gettysburg, Fredericksburg, Bull Run and some others), and let me tell you, Antietam freaks me out. You can really feel the ghosts as you listen to the wind blowing gently through the cornfield, and as you stroll along "Bloody Lane" it feels like ghosts are there with you. Freaky stuff.

[achtung_circus]

24. Other- Vicksburg or Missionary Ridge

Missionary Ridge because it demonstrates what human spirit can do in the face of apparently overwhelming defensive positions. It breaks the sad mould of the American Civil war- that technology outpaces tactics.

Vicksburg because of the pure audacity of Grant, to break free from his logistic train and march between 2 armies. His movements were pure, exploitative and perfect. The Fight for the city itself I do not include in my admiration.