John W. Geary

Geary, John W.

By Claire Wolnisty, Angelo State University

John Geary declared that Kansas Territory was in “a state of insurrection” when he became its Democratic governor on September 9, 1856. Clashes between proslavery and Free-Soil settlers threatened to tear Kansas apart. Guerrilla forces plundered homesteads, men raided towns, and neighbors slaughtered neighbors. Geary, who was appointed territorial governor by President Franklin Pierce, attempted to bridge Kansas’s proslavery and Free-State factions. He succeeded in pleasing neither.

Sherman's March to the Sea

Tue, 11/15/1864 to Wed, 12/21/1864

In conjunction with General Grant's Siege of Petersburg, Major General William Tecumseh Sherman's "March to the Sea," or the Savannah Campaign, signals the death knell of the Confederacy.

Atlanta Campaign

Sat, 05/07/1864 to Fri, 09/02/1864

Following the Union victory in the Chattanooga Campaign the previous fall, the Union uses the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee (the "Gateway to the South") as a jumping-off point for two major invasions of the South.

Battle of Missionary Ridge

Wed, 11/25/1863

On the day after the Battle of Lookout Mountain, Major General Ulysses S. Grant orders an attack against General Braxton Bragg's Confederate forces on Missionary Ridge, a high point outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Battle of Lookout Mountain

Tue, 11/24/1863

As one of Confederate General Braxton Bragg's two high positions in his siege of Union forces at Chattanooga, Tennessee, Lookout Mountain becomes the site of the second major battle in the Chattanooga Campaign.

Battle of Wauhatchie

Wed, 10/28/1863 to Thu, 10/29/1863

The Battle of Wauhatchie, a part of the Chattanooga Campaign, ensues as Major General Ulysses S. Grant creates a new supply line from Chattanooga to Brown's Ferry, Tennessee in order to circumvent Confederate General Braxton Bragg's siege of the city.

Chattanooga Campaign

Wed, 10/28/1863 to Fri, 11/27/1863

Following defeat at the Battle of Chickamauga, Union Major General William S. Rosecrans's Army of the Cumberland remains besieged at Chattanooga, Tennessee. Major General Ulysses S. Grant is placed in command of the Union forces in the West and quickly moves to shore up his position at Chattanooga.

Hickory Point, Kansas

The settlement at Hickory Point, Kansas emerged in March 1855 along the route of a military and trade road, and eventually became a site of "Bleeding Kansas" violence.

Battle of Gettysburg

Wed, 07/01/1863 to Fri, 07/03/1863

Following his victory at Chancellorsville, General Robert E. Lee leads the Army of Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania with goals of taking the heat off of war-torn northern Virginia and striking a blow against Northern morale by marching as far north as Philadelphia.

Battle of Chancellorsville

Thu, 04/30/1863 to Wed, 05/06/1863

Major General Joseph Hooker, who replaced Ambrose Burnside as commander of the Army of the Potomac after the Battle of Fredericksburg, leads Union forces back across the Rappahannock River, this time near Chancellorsville, Virginia.

Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854-1865