Belknap Summary

On the morning of May 22, 1865, a band of Union soldiers left their encampment at a place called Shultzer’s Hill. This informal detachment was not acting upon the orders of an officers or an informal foraging party in search of foodstuffs. They left camp with a mission they had given themselves. The night before had brought a heavy rain, but the veterans of many a long march were undaunted by the prospect of traipsing through mud. With rifle-muskets in hand, they walked the nearly two miles to their destination: a fine plantation with a large brick house and an impressive peach orchard.

Then by the 1890s the US had constructed a fleet of Steel ships with no sails and running just purely off of their steam engines. Not only did the ship have changes to it self but the guns on the ships were modified too. At first the Navy used heavy single caliber guns but, then noticed that the guns were to slow to use against fast moving ships. They then developed the the quick firing guns. “The weapons' breeches did not need to seal nearly as elaborately as on previous guns, hence they could be worked more rapidly”.

General Gage decided to conduct a frontal assault on the colonial positions because he under estimated the colonial position and their capabilities. If General Gage landed 1,100 Soldiers in the rear American position and established a base of fire, he could have utilized the other 1,100 soldiers to flank from Morton’s point. This tactic is commonly used today for most infantry units. Along with establishing a base of fire and a flanking maneuver, a report showed British Field Artillery used 12 pound balls for six pound guns. This failure drastically changed the artillery range and accuracy.

Charleston, S.C. Coming from an artillery background, Huse arranged his travel plans to pass through Charleston so that he might witness, firsthand, the effects that Gen. Beauregard’s cannonade had had on the fort. Having arrived in Charleston in the evening, Huse took lodging before traveling to Morris Island the following morning. Accompanied by two artillery captains, the new Army Major then traveled by row boat to Fort Sumter to observe the damage. After returning to the mainland, the men flopped on the sandy beach staring across the water at the fort.

Americans were outraged over the border dispute at the Nueces and the Rio Grande rivers, and Mexicans were irate with America’s annexation of Texas. President James K. Polk availed in the atmosphere of animosity, hurrying to place troops on conflicted land. On May 9, 1846, he found his cause for war. Mexican and American troops had engaged in combat on April 24, which led American blood spilt on contended soil. However, through all their fighting spirit, the Americans faithfully ignored their own mistreatment of the Mexicans.

The black soldiers belonged to the 6th U.S. Regiment Colored Heavy Artillery and a section of the 2nd Colored Light Artillery, under the overall command of Major Lionel F. Booth, who had been in the fort for only two weeks. Booth had been ordered to move his regiment from Memphis to Fort Pillow on March 28 to augment the cavalry, who had occupied the fort several weeks earlier. Many of the regiment were former slaves who understood the personal cost of a loss to the Confederates, at best an immediate return to slavery rather than being treated as a prisoner of

With westward expansion becoming more popular, and with people thinking it was their manifest destiny-or God given fate to go west, populations increased. But conflict arose with our southern neighbor Mexico. This conflict could’ve been prevented, or resolved, but instead it grew worse. This conflict is often called the “Mexican American War” but in Mexico it is called the “US Invasion”. On April 24th, 1836 63 American men and officers went just south of the Rio Grande when Mexico attacked.

The use of new maps and aerial work using remote sensing is to help to guide a way. To keep men safe, engineers dug tunnels from the back to the front. Not only do troops have to train and prepare for battle, the main guide to victory is the artillery barrage that would allow the opposing team (Germany) to come forward. The Canadian troops were led by Lt. - General Sir Julian Bying and Major General Arthur Currie where they overcame an impossible task. As an army they learned from their mistakes of previous battle.

The colonial army crossed the river by sending a scout

The incident of Lexington and Concord was a catalyst that started the movement of the colonies wanting independence. The battle of Bunker hill unified the colonies more towards independence from the king and began the beginning of the loyalists and the patriots. As the American colonist heard about these battles they faced major decision should they join the rebels or remain loyal to Britain? The day before the battle of Lexington and Concord the colonists had information and intelligence that the british army was heading for Lexington and Concord.

In the year 1821, Mexico had won independence from Spain. They allowed for Americans to settle in Texas, they were given the land that no Mexicans had yet to claim. The only catch was for Americans to become Mexican citizens, learn Spanish and convert to Catholicism. They never really became “Mexican”, they kept speaking English and were still the same Americans as before arriving in Texas.

When Mexicans saw this they took it as an act of war. Bear in mind, tensions before the United States and Mexico were high because of border disputes. United States wanted the border to be at Rio Grande River while Mexico wanted the border to be the Nueces River. General Zachary Taylor was the one to go to Texas and claim the Rio Grande River as the border. Mexico taking this as an act of aggression caused shots to be fired sending Mexican troops across the Rio Grande.

Three primary wars included the Battle of Palo Alto, the Battle of Monterey, and the Battle of Mexico City; these battles would only last for two years until the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed (February 2, 1848) . The battle of Palo Alto could be considered as the first major encounter of the war. This battle

soldiers in the disputed zone under the command of General Zachary Taylor, killing about a dozen. Taylor called in reinforcements, and with the help of superior rifles–were able to defeat the Mexicans at the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. Following those battles, Polk told the U.S. Congress that the “cup of patience has been exhausted, even before Mexico passed the boundary of the United States, invading our territory, and shed American blood upon American soil.” Two days later, on May 13, Congress declared war, despite opposition from some lawmakers. No official statement of war ever came from Mexico.

“The fighting in Bexar raged with a house-to-house assault unlike anything the Mexican army had before experienced” (Lee, n.d.). General Cos’ surrendered from the Alamo on December 9, 1835 with 200 of his men dead and many more wounded. The Mexican surrender and the siege of the Alamo brought immediate retaliation from Santa Anna. He quickly assembled a force of 8,000 men and pushed mercilessly towards Texas. He was determined to crush all opposition and teach the Texans a lesson (Lee,