Battle of Cedar Mountain - Civil War - Northern Virginia Campaign

Battle of Cedar Mountain - Civil War - Northern Virginia Campaign Battle of Cedar Mountain - Conflict Date: The Battle of Cedar Mountain was fought August 9, 1862, during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Armies Commanders Union Major General Nathaniel Banks8,030 men ​Confederates Major General Thomas Stonewall Jackson16,868 men Battle of Cedar Mountain - Background: In late June 1862, Major General John Pope was appointed to command the newly formed Army of Virginia. Consisting of three corps, this formation was tasked with driving into central Virginia and relieving pressure on Major General George B. McClellans beleaguered Army of the Potomac which was engaged with Confederate forces on the Peninsula. Deploying in an arc, Pope placed Major General Franz Sigels I Corps along the Blue Ridge Mountains at Sperryville, while Major General Nathaniel Banks II Corps occupied Little Washington. An advance force from Banks command, led by Brigadier General Samuel W. Crawford, was posted to the soth at Culpeper Court House. In the east, Major General Irvin McDowells III Corps held Falmouth. With the defeat of McClellan and the Union withdrawal to the James River after the Battle of Malvern Hill, Confederate General Robert E. Lee turned his attention to Pope. On July 13, he dispatched Major General Thomas Stonewall Jackson north with 14,000 men. This was followed by an additional 10,000 men led by Major General A.P. Hill two weeks later. Taking the initiative, Pope began driving south towards the key rail junction of Gordonsville on August 6. Assessing the Union movements, Jackson elected to advance with the goal of crushing Banks and then defeating Sigel and McDowell in turn. Pushing towards Culpeper on August 7, Jacksons cavalry swept aside their Union counterparts. Alerted to Jacksons actions, Pope ordered Sigel to reinforce Banks at Culpeper. Battle of Cedar Mountain - Opposing Positions: While waiting for Sigels arrival, Banks received orders to maintain a defensive position on the high ground above Cedar Run, approximately seven miles south of Culpeper. Favorable ground, Banks deployed his men with Brigadier General Christopher Augers division on the left. This was composed of Brigadier Generals Henry Prince and John W. Gearys brigades which were placed on the left and right respectively. While Gearys right flank was anchored on the Culpeper-Orange Turnpike, Brigadier General George S. Greenes under-strength brigade was held in reserve. Crawford formed to the north across the turnpike, while Brigadier General George H. Gordons brigade arrived to anchor the Union right. Pushing across the Rapidan River on the morning of August 9, Jackson advanced with three divisions led by Major General Richard Ewell, Brigadier General Charles S. Winder, and Hill. Around noon, Ewells lead brigade, led by Brigadier General Jubal Early, encountered the Union line. As the remainder of Ewells men arrived, they extended the Confederate line south towards Cedar Mountain. As Winders division came up, his brigades, led by Brigadier General William Taliaferro and Colonel Thomas Garnett, deployed on Earlys left. While Winders artillery rolled into position between the two brigades, Colonel Charles Ronalds Stonewall Brigade was held back as a reserve. The last to arrive, Hills men were also retained as a reserve behind the Confederate left (Map). Battle of Cedar Mountain - Banks on the Attack: As the Confederates deployed, an artillery duel ensued between Banks and Earlys guns. As the firing began taper around 5:00 PM, Winder was mortally wounded by a shell fragment and command of his division passed to Taliaferro. This proved problematic as he was ill-informed as to Jacksons plans for the impending battle and was still in the process forming his men. In addition, Garnetts brigade was separated from the main Confederate line and Ronalds troops had yet to come up in support. As Taliaferro struggled to take control, Banks began an assault on the Confederate lines. Badly beaten by Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley earlier in the year, he was eager to obtain retribution despite being outnumbered. Surging forward, Geary and Prince slammed into the Confederate right prompting Early to return from Cedar Mountain to take personal command of the situation. To the north, Crawford attacked Winders disorganized division. Striking Garnetts brigade in the front and flank, his men shattered the 1st Virginia before rolling up 42nd Virginia. Advancing into the Confederate rear, the increasingly disorganized Union forces were able to push back the lead elements of Ronalds brigade. Arriving on the scene, Jackson attempted to rally his former command by drawing his sword. Finding that it had rusted in the scabbard from lack of use, he instead waved both. Battle of Cedar Mountain - Jackson Strikes Back: Successful in his efforts, Jackson sent the Stonewall Brigade forward. Counterattacking, they were able to drive back Crawfords men. Pursuing the retreating Union soldiers, the Stonewall Brigade became overextended and was forced to retreat as Crawfords men regained some cohesion. Despite this, their efforts permitted Jackson to restore order to the entire Confederate line and bought time for Hills men to arrive. With his full force on hand, Jackson ordered his troops to advance. Pushing forward, Hills division was able to overwhelm Crawford and Gordon. While Augers division mounted a tenacious defense, they were forced to retreat following Crawfords withdrawal and an attack on their left by Brigadier General Isaac Trimbles brigade. Battle of Cedar Mountain - Aftermath: Though Banks attempted to use Greenes men to stabilize his line, the effort failed. In a last gasp attempt to rescue the situation, he directed part of his cavalry to charge the advancing Confederates. This attack was repulsed with heavy losses. With darkness falling, Jackson elected not to conduct a long pursuit of Banks retreating men. The fighting at Cedar Mountain saw Union forces sustain 314 killed, 1,445 wounded, and 594 missing, while Jackson lost 231 killed and 1,107 wounded. Believing that Pope would attack him in force, Jackson remained near Cedar Mountain for two days. Finally learning that the Union general had concentrated at Culpeper, he elected to withdraw back to Gordonsville. Concerned about Jacksons presence, Union general-in-chief Major General Henry Halleck directed Pope to assume a defensive posture in northern Virginia. As a result, Lee was able to take the initiative after containing McClellan. Coming north with the remainder of his army, he inflicted decisive defeat on Pope later that month at the Second Battle of Manassas. Selected Sources Civil War Trust: Battle of Cedar MountainFriends of Cedar Mountain CWSAC Battle Summaries: Battle of Cedar Mountain

Themes of the Scarlet Letter essays

Themes of the Scarlet Letter essays Themes Pertaining to The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, illustrates upon many ideas referring to life and ways of living. He touches on values viewed by people of all types of social status. Morals, which should be engraved in ones mind, seemed to be forgotten. These actions that should have never been performed are topics revealed in The Scarlet Letter. The actions being accomplished include ideas such as sin, revenge, and betrayal. Hawthorne uses many techniques in developing the themes that shape this novel. The act of sin occurs many times throughout the novel. Hawthorne gradually develops the sin committed by Reverend Dimmesdale. In the beginning of the book the reader has no idea who the real father of Pearl is. Not until the end of the book did the surrounding townspeople know that Mr. Dimmesdale, a reverend, was the person held responsible. Hawthorne did a good job in prolonging the secret, which in essence helped form a great theme. Although Reverend Dimmesdales disobedience wasnt clarified until the end of the story, another action going against the church started off the novel. The sin of adultery was what Hester Prynne was guilty of committing. Hawthorne decided to ripen this concept in just the opposite way of Reverend Dimmesdales sin. Her sin ended up making her the main attraction of the marketplace. As the story progressed, everyone became more mild about her sin. So as one sin was declining, another one was progressing. Since sin was constantly being seen through out the entirety of the novel, its now easy to see why sin was a main theme. Revenge being another theme in the book, was thought and planned out by a leading character in The Scarlet Letter. Building such a character as Roger Chillingworth made it easy for Hawthorne to construct a topic like revenge. By interacting Chillingworth and Mr. Dimmesdale more often towards the middle of the...

Battle of Hastings and Williams Conquest

Battle of Hastings and Williams Conquest The Battle of Hastings was part of the invasions of England that followed the death of King Edward the Confessor in 1066.  William of Normandys victory at Hastings occurred on October 14, 1066. Armies and Commanders Normans William of NormandyOdo of Bayeux7,000-8,000 men Anglo-Saxons Harold Godwinson7,000-8,000 men Background: With the death of King Edward the Confessor in early 1066, the throne of England fell into dispute with multiple individuals stepping forward as claimants. Shortly after Edwards death, the English nobles presented the crown to Harold Godwinson, a powerful local lord. Accepting, he was crowned as King Harold II. His ascension to the throne was immediately challenged by William of Normandy and Harold Hardrada of Norway who felt they had superior claims. Both began assembling armies and fleets with the goal of supplanting Harold. Gathering his men at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, William initially hoped to cross the Channel in mid-August. Due to foul weather, his departure was delayed and Hardrada arrived in England first. Landing in the north, he won an initial victory at Gate Fulford on September 20, 1066, but was defeated and killed by Harold at the Battle of Stamford Bridge five days later. While Harold and his army were recovering from the battle, William landed at Pevensey on September 28. Establishing a base near Hastings, his men constructed a wooden palisade and commenced raiding the countryside. To counter this, Harold raced south with his battered army, arriving on October 13. The Armies Form William and Harold were familiar with each other as they had fought together in France and some sources, such as the Bayeux Tapestry, suggest that the English lord had sworn an oath to support the Norman dukes claim to Edwards throne while in his service. Deploying his army, which was largely composed of infantry, Harold assumed a position along Senlac Hill astride the Hastings-London road. In this location, his flanks were protected by woods and streams with some marshy ground to their front right. With the army in line along the top of the ridge, the Saxons formed a shield wall and waited for the Normans to arrive. Moving north from Hastings, Williams army appeared on the battlefield on the morning of Saturday October 14. Arraying his army into three battles, composed of infantry, archers, and crossbowmen, William moved to attack the English. The center battle consisted of Normans under Williams direct control while the troops to his left were largely Bretons led by Alan Rufus.  The right battle was made up of French soldiers and was commanded by William FitzOsbern and Count Eustace of Boulogne. Williams initial plan called for his archers to weaken Harolds forces with arrows, then for infantry and cavalry assaults to break through the enemy line (Map). William Triumphant This plan began to fail from the outset as the archers were unable to inflict damage due to the Saxons high position on the ridge and the protection offered by the shield wall. They were further hampered by a shortage of arrows as the English lacked archers.  As a result, there were no arrows to gather and reuse. Ordering his infantry forward, William soon saw it pelted with spears and other projectiles which inflicted heavy casualties. Faltering, the infantry withdrew and the Norman cavalry moved in to attack. This too was beaten back with the horses having difficulty climbing the steep ridge. As his attack was failing, Williams left battle, composed primarily of Bretons, broke and fled back down the ridge. It was pursued by many of the English, who had left the safety of the shield wall to continue the killing. Seeing an advantage, William rallied his cavalry and cut down the counterattacking English. Though the English rallied on a small hillock, they were ultimately overwhelmed. As the day progressed, William continued his attacks, possibly feigning several retreats, as his men slowly wore down the English. Late in the day, some sources indicate that William altered his tactics and ordered his archers to shoot at a higher angle so that their arrows fell on those behind the shield wall. This proved lethal for Harolds forces and his men began to fall. Legend states that he was hit in the eye with an arrow and killed. With the English taking casualties, William ordered an assault which finally broke through the shield wall. If Harold was not struck by an arrow, he died during this attack. With their line broken and king dead, the many of the English fled with only Harolds personal bodyguard fighting on until the end. Battle of Hastings Aftermath In the Battle of Hastings it is believed that William lost approximately 2,000 men, while the English suffered around 4,000. Among the English dead was King Harold as well as his brothers Gyrth and Leofwine. Though the Normans were defeated in the Malfosse immediately after the Battle of Hastings, the English did not meet them again in a major battle. After pausing two weeks at Hastings to recover and wait for the English nobles to come and submit to him, William began marching north towards London. After enduring a dysentery outbreak, he was reinforced and closed on the capital. As he approached London, the English nobles came and submitted to William, crowning him king on Christmas Day 1066. Williams invasion marks the last time that Britain was conquered by an outside force and earned him the nickname the Conqueror.

Is Hamlet a Tragic Hero Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Is Hamlet a Tragic Hero - Essay Example According to Aristotle, there are six major elements required to make up a tragic hero – three character elements and three behavioral elements. To begin with, the hero must have a noble stature. He must also have excessive pride in some aspect of his being. Finally, he has to have a tragic flaw, usually something related to his source of pride. These three character traits combined lead the character to his or her downfall through a three-step process that comprises the behavioral aspect of Aristotle’s definition. This process begins with a mistake in judgment or action that will eventually cause the hero’s ruin. The second event is when the hero realizes where he made his mistake. The final event is the reversal of fortunes the hero experiences as a result of his mistake (â€Å"Aristotle†, 1998). With this definition in hand, it is easy to see how Shakespeare’s character Hamlet fits within this definition. Hamlet meets all three of the character requirements to be defined as a tragic hero. He is noble first because he is truly of noble blood being the only son of the reigning king and queen and second because he is dedicated to doing the right thing. Although everyone else has come out of mourning less than two months after King Hamlet’s death in honor of the new royal couple, Hamlet is accused of wearing black to seem more upset than the others, showing that he is still mourning the death of the old king which was only proper this early after he died. A lot of his inability to act throughout the play is based on this insistence that he act correctly rather than allowing himself to be fooled by the devil. Hamlet’s pride is in his intellectual abilities. However, his fatal flaw is in allowing himself to analyze a situation too much, which slows his actions considerably and provides his uncle with the knowledge that Hamlet suspects his actions. Hamlet also meets all of the behavioral requirements of Aristotle’s definition of

Scholarly Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Scholarly Project - Essay Example Such writings made it possible for future generation to know the culture of Native Americans as well as their contribution to American life. Therefore, it can be observed that the Native Americans made some significant contribution. The following are some of the most significant contributions of Native Americans to American life and culture namely; they made a significant role in maintaining the land by ensuring that the ecology was in good condition. For example, Native Americans could not destroy the land or kill an animal that they did not use instead they preserved it for the sake of future generation. Secondly, Native Americans made a significant contribution in agriculture; they grew food like potatoes, pepper, sunflower tomatoes, corns, sunflowers, to mention just but a few. It has been reported that Native Americans made a significant contribution prior the coming of European settlers in America. For example, they shared their food and farming method with the European settler s who came to settle in the Northern parts of America. Research indicates that most of the groups such as scouts and played in the present America were invented by the Native American. Example of those games includes; American soccer, tag of war-games to mention just but a few (Nabokov, 197-390). In above connection, Native Americans made a profound contribution in terms of the present administration system in America. It was reported that the idea of having a federal government in the United State was borrowed from the Native Americans where administrative power were distributed to the central government and states. Moreover, the Native American made a great contribution in the field of medicine, they used to each plants that are reached in Vitamin to prevent certain diseases like scurvy, they passed this idea to the Europeans who later passed it to the present American natives. Moreover,

Gullfaks Oil field Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5750 words

Gullfaks Oil field - Research Paper Example Oil exploration in the location where Gullfaks main field occupies started after the discovery of Brent Field in 1971. Hence, revealing the prospects of occurrence of Middle Jurassic Brent group sentiments, which are significant and highly rich hydrocarbon reservoirs. The first licensing that saw inception of drilling was in 1978 whereby the first well (34/10-1) managed to go through Jurassic section and encountered approximately 160 m width of oil-filled Brent sandstones region. This comprised of a column, which extends to the basement of Brent Group. Other four wells that followed the initial well were 34/10-3, -4, -5 and -6 whose respective locations are in the western region. The main operator of this field is Statoil, which took over its full operations in 1981 turning it to be the third largest state’s field located in the Northern Sea whose capacity was twice that of Angola (Vassiliou, 2009). Since, then up to date the field stand in the Norwegian history as the first o il reserve developed and managed by one of the state’s corporations successfully. This is to the extent of Norway becoming the third net oil exporter in 2001 whereby its yield reached approximately 223,000 bpd in 2002. The location of main field lies at 34/10 block in the Northern Norwegian Sea, whereby after exploration the main operator (Statoil) spearheaded development of other three key concrete platforms, which are Gullfaks A, Gullfaks B, Gullfaks C respectively (Statoil, 2013). Licensing Authority Statoil acts as the main operator due to its big number of shares though there are other partners whose holdings are as per the table below. Table 1: Gullfaks Licensing authorities Partners Shares % Statoil 51 Petoro 30 OMV 19 Recently, Statoil in quest to advance and increase its yield in platform C has decided to offer a two-year contract to Aibel whose aim is to initiate varied modifications that will guarantee the field’s anticipated production (Stavanger, 2010). Mainly, Aibel will foresee connection of Pandora satellite to Platform C whereby this is one of the first projects the operator intends to undertake besides other varied tasks meant to advance the entire field facilities (Stavanger, 2010). In addition, Statoil in order to be effective and neutralize immense competition globally has recently decided to sell 19% of its holdings to OMV, whereby its operations were to commence in 1st January this year (Oil & Gas Eurasia, 2013). Oil and Gas processing facilities The field comprises of three distinct processing facilities commonly referred as platforms whereby A and C performs are independent of each other besides having three separation stages (Statoil, 2013). Mainly, these platforms include Gullfaks A, Gullfaks B, Gullfaks C whose operations started in 1986, 1988 and 1989 respectively (Statoil,

A Web Site Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A Web Site - Essay Example Once a user is logged in, he is presented an array of interests in the form of multiple pictures. Each picture contains a title word that relates to the interest that is depicted in pictorial form. Most photos contain deeply rich colors that are both appealing and relaxing to the eyes. Below this arrangement of pictures appears a bar that is indicator of the progress that a user makes while selecting the pictures to demonstrate one’s areas of interest. That background of the page is plain; a feature that ensures undivided attention of the user on the interests that are presented before him. Pinterest serves the purpose of keeping track of the interests that a user displays during his activities on the internet. User’s dashboard is divided into five columns which is an extremely clever arrangement as it allows presentation of maximum information on the display screen at any moment. However, the columns may not be scrolled up or down individually; a feature that may possibly add to convenience of use. On top of the page is a horizontal bar that provides the option to search for interests or people while using Pinterest. This bar is static / frozen and does not scroll when the user scrolls the page. The purpose is to make it readily available for use whenever the need arises. Since information in Pinterest is derived from multiple sources on the Web, no specific color scheme can be followed here. However, as the user moves around using his touchpad or mouse, three main options appear on each element of interest that is shown. These include ‘Pin It’, ‘Send’ or ‘favorite’. Since the purpose of website is to keep track of the interests of users, these options provide ease of use that is extraordinary. Overall, the site appears to be extremely dynamic; new interest related information is presented every time the page is refreshed. Additionally, Pinterest presents the source of information