The Battle of Fort Stedman

"While the Battle of Fort Stedman, on the 25th of March 1865, is well known to Civil War historians, very little has been written about the details of the battle in comparison to other Civil War engagements. The purpose of this historical account is to shed light on the Battle of Fort Stedman, covering the reasons for the battle, the Confederate preparations, the Federal defenses, the Confederate attack, the Federal counterattack, and the impact of the engagement in the overall war. Although many felt the attack was a "forlorn hope," both Generals Robert E. Lee and John Gordon had great hopes of success. The attack was well planned and came close to success, but confusion, misorientation, and daylight, along with a stubborn Federal defense, doomed it to failure. This work analyzes the Confederate plan in-depth, finding it prescient of much modern day military strategy. The Confederate plan called for a breakthrough, expansion of the bre