Which Do You Considers the First Land Battle of the Civil War...

[5fish]

There are three battles in the American Civil War that declare themselves the first true battle of the war. These battles claim other first as well...

The first choice is the Battle of Big Bethel...

Battle of Big Bethel - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The second is the Battle of Philippi...

Battle of Philippi (1861) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The last is the Battle of Fairfax Court House...

Battle of Fairfax Court House (1861) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[5fish]

Here one of the first from the Fairfax battle...

snip...

In 1893, Charles Henry Tompkins received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Fairfax Court House. His was the first action of a Union Army officer in the American Civil War for which a Medal of Honor was awarded, although it was not awarded until 32 years later.[40] His citation reads: "Twice charged through the enemy's lines and, taking a carbine from an enlisted man, shot the enemy's captain."[45][46] No other account or source referenced on this page states that Tompkins himself shot Captain Marr.[47] A monument to Captain Marr was erected on June 1, 1904 near the front of the courthouse where it remains today. It reads: "This stone marks the scene of the opening conflict of the war of 1861–1865, when John Q. Marr, captain of the Warrenton Rifles, who was the first soldier killed in action, fell 800 feet south, 46 degrees West of the spot. June 1, 1861. Erected by the Marr Camp, C.V., June 1, 1904."

 

[5fish]

Here is one of the first from Philippi battle... Amputations...

snip...

Both were treated with battlefield amputations, believed to be the first such operations of the war. One was a Virginia Military Institute cadet, Fauntleroy Daingerfield. The other Confederate was James E. Hanger, an 18-year-old college student. After recovering and being released, Hanger returned home to Virginia. He made an artificial leg from barrel staves with a hinge at the knee. His design worked so well that the Virginia State Legislature commissioned him to manufacture the “Hanger Limb” for other wounded soldiers. After the war, Hanger patented his prosthetic device and founded what is now the Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc.[14] As of 2007, Hanger Orthopedic Group is the United States market leader in the manufacture of artificial limbs.

 

[5fish]

Ambrose...

The short-story writer and satirist Ambrose Bierce (1842–ca. 1914) was a Union recruit at the Battle of Philippi. Twenty years later, he wrote, in an autobiographical fragment he called On a Mountain:

We gave ourselves, this aristocracy of service, no end of military airs; some of us even going to the extreme of keeping our jackets buttoned and our hair combed. We had been in action, too; had shot off a Confederate leg at Philippi, "the first battle of the war," and had lost as many as a dozen men at Laurel Hill and Carrick's Ford, whither the enemy had fled in trying, Heaven knows why, to get away from us.

The quotation marks indicate the wryness with which Bierce and his fellow veterans, who were to undergo far more harrowing fights, must have regarded the designation of "first battle".

 

[rittmeister]

how about the battle of ft sumter

 

[5fish]

Here is one of the first from Big Bethel battle...

snip...

Lieutenant John Trout Greble refused to pull back until the last, continuing to work his remaining gun, for he did not have enough able men left to man them both. This effort cost him his life as the Confederate artillery concentrated on his position and he was struck in the back of the head by a cannonball while finally winding up his work.[79] When they received word of Greble's death, Lieutenant Colonel Warren, Captain Wilson and five of their men rushed back to recover Greble's body before they left the field. Greble was the first graduate of West Point and first U.S. Regular Army officer killed in the war.

 

[5fish]

how about the battle of ft sumter

I should rephrase it as the first land battles of the American Civil War.

 

[rittmeister]

I should rephrase it as the first land battles of the American Civil War.

there was naval gunfire at ft sumter?

as far as i know all guns used at the place belonged to the artillery branches of either the us army or the south carolina militia so i for one call it a landbattle

 

[diane]

The first major battle of the war was Bull Run, which resulted in a significant outcome but for a 'first blood' battle I think I'd go with Phillipi. The reason for that is because its significance was in tilting West Virginia into the Union, and into statehood.

 

[diane]

there was naval gunfire at ft sumter?

as far as i know all guns used at the place belonged to the artillery branches of either the us army or the south carolina militia so i for one call it a landbattle

The US revenue cutter Harriet Lane fired off some shots, making Ft Sumter the first naval battle of the war. Otherwise, it was what you say - an artillery battle.

 

[rittmeister]

The US revenue cutter Harriet Lane fired off some shots, making Ft Sumter the first naval battle of the war. Otherwise, it was what you say - an artillery battle.

didn't know about harriet lane, i only know harriet vane i looked her up and must ask: do you consider her part in the fire fight in any way to be relevant?

USRC Harriet Lane - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[diane]

didn't know about harriet lane, i only know harriet vane i looked her up and must ask: do you consider her part in the fire fight in any way to be relevant?

USRC Harriet Lane - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Yes. She was part of the supply group to aid Ft Sumter that Lincoln sent down. The night before the militia opened up on Anderson, the Harriet Lane encountered a flagless ship and fired on it. It raised US colors and retreated. I would assume the flagless ship, later identified as the Nashville, was sent to test intentions or perhaps to provoke. Either way, it set the tone for tensions to rise - which they certainly did next morning.

 

[5fish]

i for one call it a landbattle

Ft.Sumter was an artillery duel. I argue artillery duels should be considered a skirmish, an action, or an engagement but not a battle...

 

[5fish]

aid Ft Sumter

I like to point out Ft. Sumter was under siege do it should be called the Siege of Ft. Sumter... Is a siege a battle or something a kin to a battle...

 

[rittmeister]

Ft.Sumter was an artillery duel. I argue artillery duels should be considered a skirmish, an action, or an engagement but not a battle...

so why does the wiki you so often quote call it a battle - wie would (have) call(ed) it die Kanonade vor der Festung Sumter and be done with it. german wiki calls in Angriff auf Fort Sumter. i think that's bollocks as angriff (attack) requires some kind of infantry work (the rebs had no intention of doing that) so a modern way schould be Kanonade von Fort Sumter but most people got no clue what kanonade actually means (heavy artillery exchange).

but it's splitting words - the first whatever to me means both sides opening up in style - not some sort of trap where the ambushee just shoots back

Battle of Fort Sumter - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[diane]

The Harriet Lane's action did make it a naval battle, though! Mix n match, I guess. It was one shot over the bows. The ship shot at was later to become the CSS Nashville, a feared and highly successful Confederate raider second only to the Alabama. Later in the war the Harriet Lane became the CSS Harriet Lane and was commanded by the grandson of Joshua Barney - a notable hero of the early American navy and the war of 1812.

Artillery barrage or infantry assault, the battle of Ft Sumter was not a whole lot of a fight. Anderson, a Southerner, didn't have the will to lay into his countrymen nor the means (he'd certainly do his duty, of course) and, frankly, neither did Beauregard. He wouldn't fire the first shot himself! Soldiers gotta do what soldiers gotta do but they were sure the last people who wanted battle.

 

[Jim Klag]

Fort Sumter was the one and only first battle of the war. The Harriet Lane only fired on another ship, the Nashville, and took no part in the fight for the fort.

 

[diane]

Fort Sumter was the one and only first battle of the war. The Harriet Lane only fired on another ship, the Nashville, and took no part in the fight for the fort.

Yes, one shot over the bow of the Nashville, who declined further engagement. Fox's flotilla had approached but the cutter was more or less taking the temperature. To me, it seemed that everybody knew the war was going to start right there but nobody wanted to be blamed for actually lighting the fuse!