document_title: Western Theater of the American Civil War

question_text: who commanded all union forces in the civil war

question_tokens: who commanded all union forces in the civil war

text: Western Theater of the American Civil War

text: Theater of operations[edit]

text: The Western Theater was an area defined by both geography and the sequence of campaigning. It originally represented the area east of the Mississippi River and west of the Appalachian Mountains. It excluded operations against the Gulf Coast and the Eastern Seaboard, but as the war progressed and William Tecumseh Sherman's Union armies moved southeast from Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1864 and 1865, the definition of the theater expanded to encompass their operations in Georgia and the Carolinas.

text:
The Virginia front was by far the more prestigious theater. ... Yet the war's outcome was decided not there but in the vast expanse that stretched west from the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi and beyond. Here, in the West, the truly decisive battles were fought.

Steven E. Woodworth, Jefferson Davis and His Generals[2]

tag: div

text: The West was by some measures the most important theater of the war. Capture of the Mississippi River has been one of the key tenets of Union General-in-Chief Winfield Scott's Anaconda Plan.[3] Military historian J. F. C. Fuller has described the Union invasion as an immense turning movement, a left wheel that started in Kentucky, headed south down the Mississippi River, and then east through Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas. With the exception of the Battle of Chickamauga and some daring raids by cavalry or guerrilla forces, the four years in the West marked a string of almost continuous defeats for the Confederates; or, at best, tactical draws that eventually turned out to be strategic reversals. Union generals consistently outclassed most of their Confederate opponents, with the exception of cavalry commander Nathan Bedford Forrest.[4] Lacking the proximity to the opposing capitals and population centers (and the accompanying concentration of newspapers) of the East, the astounding Confederate victories, and the fame of Eastern generals such as Robert E. Lee, George B. McClellan, and Stonewall Jackson, the Western theater received considerably less attention than the Eastern, both at the time and in subsequent historical accounts. The near-steady progress that Union forces made in defeating Confederate armies in the West and overtaking Confederate territory went nearly unnoticed.[5]

text: The campaign classification established by the United States National Park Service[6] is more fine-grained than the one used in this article. Some minor NPS campaigns have been omitted and some have been combined into larger categories. Only a few of the 117 battles the NPS classifies for this theater are described. Boxed text in the right margin show the NPS campaigns associated with each section.

text: Principal commanders of the Western Theater[edit]

text:
Lt. Gen.
Ulysses S. Grant, USA

Maj. Gen.
Henry W. Halleck, USA

Maj. Gen.
William T. Sherman, USA

Maj. Gen.
George H. Thomas, USA

Maj. Gen.
Don Carlos Buell, USA

Maj. Gen.
William Rosecrans, USA

Maj. Gen.
James B. McPherson, USA

Gen.
Albert Sidney Johnston, CSA

Gen.
P.G.T. Beauregard, CSA

Gen.
Joseph E. Johnston, CSA

Gen.
Braxton Bragg, CSA

Lt. Gen.
John Bell Hood, CSA

Lt. Gen.
Nathan Bedford Forrest, CSA

Maj. Gen.
Edmund Kirby Smith, CSA

text: Early operations (June 1861 – January 1862)[edit]

text: The focus early in the war was on two critical states: Missouri and Kentucky. The loss of either would have been a crippling blow to the Union cause. Primarily because of the successes of Captain Nathaniel Lyon and his victory at Boonville in June, Missouri was held in the Union. The state of Kentucky, with a pro-Confederate governor and a pro-Union legislature, had declared neutrality between the opposing sides. This neutrality was first violated on September 3, when Confederate Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk occupied Columbus, considered key to controlling the Lower Mississippi. Two days later Union Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, displaying the personal initiative that would characterize his later career, seized Paducah. Henceforth, neither adversary respected the proclaimed neutrality of the state; while the most of the state government remained loyal to the Union, the pro-Confederate elements of the legislature organized a separate government in Russellville that was admitted into the Confederate States. This sequence of events is considered a victory for the Union because Kentucky never formally sided with the Confederacy, and if the Union had been prevented from maneuvering within Kentucky, its later successful campaigns in Tennessee would have been more difficult.[7]

text: Western Theater Campaigns designated by the National Park Service

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Operations in
Eastern Kentucky

Barbourville
Camp Wildcat
Big Sandy Expedition
Rowlett's Station

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Offensive in
Eastern Kentucky

Middle Creek
Mill Springs

text: On the Confederate side, General Albert Sidney Johnston commanded all forces from Arkansas to the Cumberland Gap. He was faced with the problem of defending a broad front with numerically inferior forces, but he had an excellent system of lateral communications, permitting him to move troops rapidly where they were needed, and he had two able subordinates, Polk and Maj. Gen. William J. Hardee. Johnston also gained political support from secessionists in central and western counties of Kentucky via a new Confederate capital at Bowling Green, set up by the Russellville Convention. The alternative government was recognized by the Confederate government, which admitted Kentucky into the Confederacy in December 1861. Using the rail system resources of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, Polk was able to quickly fortify and equip the Confederate base at Columbus.[8]

text: The Union military command in the West, however, suffered from a lack of unified command, organized by November into three separate departments: the Department of Kansas, under Maj. Gen. David Hunter, the Department of the Missouri, under Maj. Gen. Henry Halleck, and the Department of the Ohio, under Brig. Gen. Don Carlos Buell (who had replaced Brig. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman). By January 1862, this disunity of command was apparent because no strategy for operations in the Western theater could be agreed upon. Buell, under political pressure to invade and hold pro-Union East Tennessee, moved slowly in the direction of Nashville, but achieved nothing more substantial toward his goal than minor victories at Middle Creek (January 10, 1862) under Col. James A. Garfield and Mill Springs (January 19) under Brig. Gen. George Henry Thomas. (Mill Springs was a significant victory in a strategic sense because it broke the end of the Confederate Western defensive line and opened the Cumberland Gap to East Tennessee, but it got Buell no closer to Nashville.) In Halleck's department, Grant demonstrated up the Tennessee River by attacking the Confederate camp at Belmont to divert attention from Buell's intended advance, which did not occur. On February 1, 1862, after repeated requests by Grant, Halleck authorized Grant to move against Fort Henry on the Tennessee.[9]

text: Tennessee, Cumberland, and Mississippi Rivers (February–June 1862)[edit]

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Federal Penetration up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers

Fort Henry
Fort Donelson
Shiloh
Corinth

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Joint Operations Against New Madrid, Island No. 10, and Memphis

New Madrid
Island No. 10
Plum Point Bend
Memphis I

text: Grant moved swiftly, starting his troops up the Tennessee River toward Fort Henry on river transports on February 2. His operations in the campaign were well coordinated with United States Navy Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote. The fort was poorly situated on a floodplain and virtually indefensible against gunboats, with many of its guns under water. Because of the previous neutrality of Kentucky, the Confederates could not build river defenses at a more strategic location inside the state, so they settled for a site just inside the border of Tennessee. Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman withdrew almost all of his garrison on February 5, moving them across country 11 miles (18 km) to the east to Fort Donelson. With a reduced crew manning the cannons, Tilghman fought an artillery duel with the Union squadron for nearly three hours before he determined that further resistance was useless. The Tennessee River was then open for future Union operations into the South.[10]

text: Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland River, was more defensible than Henry, and Navy assaults on the fort were ineffective. Grant's army marched cross-country in pursuit of Tilghman's men and attempted immediate assaults on the fort from the rear, but they were unsuccessful. On February 15, the Confederate forces under Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd attempted to escape and launched a surprise assault against the Union right flank (commanded by Brig. Gen. John A. McClernand), driving McClernand's division back but not creating the opening they needed to slip away. Grant recovered from this temporary reversal and assaulted the weakened Confederate right. Trapped in the fort and the town of Dover, Tennessee, Confederate Brig. Gen. Simon B. Buckner surrendered his command of 11,500 men and many needed guns and supplies to Grant's demand for "unconditional surrender". The combined victories at Henry and Donelson were the first significant Union victories in the war, and two major rivers became available for invasions into Tennessee.[11]

text: Johnston's forward defense was broken. As Grant had anticipated, Polk's position at Columbus was untenable, and he withdrew soon after Donelson fell. Grant had also cut the Memphis and Ohio Railroad that previously had allowed Confederate forces to move laterally in support of each other. General P.G.T. Beauregard had arrived from the East to report to Johnston in February, and he commanded all Confederate forces between the Mississippi and Tennessee Rivers, which effectively divided the unity of command so that Johnston controlled only a small force at Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Beauregard planned to concentrate his forces in the vicinity of Corinth, Mississippi, and prepare for an offensive. Johnston moved his force to concentrate with Beauregard's by late March.[12]

text: The preparations for the Union campaign did not proceed smoothly, and Halleck seemed more concerned with his standing in relation to General-in-Chief George B. McClellan than he did with understanding the Confederate Army was divided and could be defeated in detail. Further, he could not agree with his peer, Buell, now in Nashville, on a joint course of action. He sent Grant up the Tennessee River while Buell remained in Nashville. On March 11, President Lincoln appointed Halleck the commander of all forces from the Missouri River to Knoxville, Tennessee, thus achieving the needed unity of command, and Halleck ordered Buell to join Grant's forces at Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River.[13]

text: On April 6, the combined Confederate forces under Beauregard and Johnston surprised Grant's unprepared Army of West Tennessee with a massive dawn assault at Pittsburg Landing in the Battle of Shiloh. In the first day of the battle, the Confederate onslaught drove Grant back against the Tennessee but could not defeat him. Johnston was mortally wounded leading an infantry charge that day; he was considered by Jefferson Davis to be the most effective general in the Confederacy at that time. On the second day, April 7, Grant received reinforcements from Buell and launched a counterattack that drove back the Confederates. Grant failed to pursue the retreating enemy and received enormous criticism for this and for the great loss of life—more casualties (almost 24,000) than all previous American battles combined.[14]

text: Union control of the Mississippi River began to tighten. On April 7, while the Confederates were retreating from Shiloh, Union Maj. Gen. John Pope defeated Beauregard's isolated force at Island Number 10, opening the river almost as far south as Memphis. On May 18, Admiral David Farragut captured New Orleans, the South's most significant seaport. Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler occupied the city with a strong military government that caused considerable resentment among the civilian population.[15]

text: Although Beauregard had little concentrated strength available to oppose a southward movement by Halleck, the Union general showed insufficient drive to take advantage of the situation. He waited until he assembled a large army, combining the forces of Buell's Army of the Ohio, Grant's Army of West Tennessee, and Pope's Army of the Mississippi, to converge at Pittsburg Landing. He moved slowly in the direction of the critical rail junction at Corinth, taking four weeks to cover the twenty miles (32 km) from Shiloh, stopping nightly to entrench. By May 3, Halleck was within ten miles of the city but took another three weeks to advance eight miles closer to Corinth, by which time Halleck was ready to start a massive bombardment of the Confederate defenses. At this time, Beauregard decided not to make a costly defensive stand and withdrew without hostilities during the night of May 29.[16]

text: Grant did not command directly in the Corinth campaign. Halleck had reorganized his army, giving Grant the powerless position of second-in-command and shuffling divisions from the three armies into three "wings". When Halleck moved east to replace McClellan as general-in-chief, Grant resumed his field command, now named the District of West Tennessee. But before he left, Halleck dispersed his forces, sending Buell towards Chattanooga, Sherman to Memphis, one division to Arkansas, and Rosecrans to hold a covering position around Corinth. Part of Halleck's reason for this was that Lincoln desired to capture eastern Tennessee and protect the Unionists in the region.[17]

text: Kentucky, Tennessee, and northern Mississippi (June 1862 – January 1863)[edit]

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Confederate Heartland Offensive
(Kentucky Campaign)

Lebanon
1st Chattanooga
1st Murfreesboro
Cumberland Gap
Cincinnati
Richmond
Munfordville
Augusta
Perryville

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Iuka and Corinth Operations

Iuka
2nd Corinth
Hatchie's Bridge

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Stones River Campaign

Hartsville
Stones River

text: While Halleck accomplished little following Corinth, Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg succeeded Beauregard (on June 27, for health reasons) in command of his 56,000 troops of the Army of Tennessee, in Tupelo, Mississippi, due south of Corinth. But he determined that an advance directly north from Tupelo was not practical. He left Maj. Gens. Sterling Price and Earl Van Dorn to distract Grant and shifted 35,000 men by rail through Mobile, Alabama, to Chattanooga. Even though he did not leave Tupelo until July 21, he was able to reach Chattanooga before Buell could. Bragg's general plan was to invade Kentucky in a joint operation with Maj. Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith, cut Buell's lines of communications, defeat him, and then turn back to defeat Grant.[18]

text: Kirby Smith left Knoxville on August 14, forced the Union to evacuate Cumberland Gap, defeated a small Union force at the Battle of Richmond (Kentucky), and reached Lexington on August 30. Bragg departed Chattanooga just before Smith reached Lexington, while Buell moved north from Nashville to Bowling Green. But Bragg moved quickly and by September 14 had interposed his army on Buell's supply lines from Louisville. Bragg was reluctant to develop this situation because he was outnumbered by Buell; if he had been able to combine with Kirby Smith, he would have been numerically equal, but Smith's command was separate, and Smith believed that Bragg could capture Louisville without his assistance.[19]

text: Buell, under pressure from the government to take aggressive action, was almost relieved of duty (only the personal reluctance of George H. Thomas to assume command from his superior at the start of a campaign prevented it). As he approached Perryville, Kentucky, he began to concentrate his army in the face of Confederate forces there. Bragg was not initially present with his army, having decided to attend the inauguration ceremony of a Confederate governor of Kentucky in Frankfort. On October 8, fighting began at Perryville over possession of water sources, and as the fighting escalated, Bragg's Army of Mississippi achieved some tactical success in an assault against a single corps of Buell's Army of the Ohio. That evening Bragg realized that he was facing Buell's entire army and ordered a retreat to Harrodsburg, where he was joined by Kirby Smith's Army of Kentucky on October 10. Despite having a strong combined force, Bragg made no attempt to regain the initiative. Buell was equally passive. Bragg retreated through the Cumberland Gap and returned to Murfreesboro by way of Chattanooga.[20]

text: While Buell was facing Bragg's threat in Kentucky, Confederate operations in northern Mississippi were aimed at preventing Buell's reinforcement by Grant, who was preparing for his upcoming Vicksburg campaign. Halleck had departed for Washington, and Grant was left without interference as commander of the District of West Tennessee. On September 14, Maj. Gen. Sterling Price moved his Confederate Army of the West to Iuka, 20 miles (32 km) east of Corinth. He intended to link up with Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn's Army of West Tennessee and operate against Grant. But Grant sent forces under Maj. Gens. William S. Rosecrans and Edward Ord to attack Price's force at Iuka. Rosecrans won a minor victory at the Battle of Iuka (September 19), but poor coordination of forces and an acoustic shadow allowed Price to escape from the intended Union double envelopment.[21]

text: Price and Van Dorn decided to unite their forces and attack the concentration of Union troops at Corinth and then advance into West or Middle Tennessee. In the Second Battle of Corinth (October 3–4), they attacked the fortified Union troops but were repulsed with serious losses. Retreating to the northwest, they escaped pursuit by Rosecrans's exhausted army, but their objectives of threatening Middle Tennessee and supporting Bragg were foiled.[22]

text: On October 24, the Union government replaced Buell with Rosecrans, who renamed his force the Army of the Cumberland. After a period of resupplying and training his army in Nashville, Rosecrans moved against Bragg at Murfreesboro just after Christmas. In the Battle of Stones River, Bragg surprised Rosecrans with a powerful assault on December 31, pushing the Union forces back to a small perimeter against the Stones River. But on January 2, 1863, further attempts to assault Rosecrans were beaten back decisively and Bragg withdrew his army southeast to Tullahoma. In proportion to the size of the armies, the casualties at Stones River (about 12,000 on each side) made it the bloodiest battle of the war. At the end of the campaign, Bragg's threat against Kentucky had been defeated, and he effectively yielded control of Middle Tennessee.[23]

text: Vicksburg Campaigns (December 1862 – July 1863)[edit]

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Forrest's Expedition
into West Tennessee

Lexington
Jackson
Parker's Cross Roads

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Vicksburg Campaign

OPERATIONS AGAINST VICKSBURG
(December 1862 - January 1863):

Sinking of USS Cairo
Chickasaw Bayou
Arkansas Post
Yazoo Pass
Steele's Bayou Expedition
Grierson's Raid
(Battle of Newton's Station)

GRANT'S OPERATIONS AGAINST VICKSBURG
(March 29 - July 4, 1863):

Grand Gulf
Snyder's Bluff
Port Gibson
Raymond
Jackson
Champion Hill
Big Black River Bridge
Milliken's Bend
Young's Point
Lake Providence
Richmond
Goodrich's Landing
Helena
Vicksburg
Jackson Expedition

text: Abraham Lincoln believed that the river fortress city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, was a key to winning the war. Vicksburg and Port Hudson were the last remaining strongholds that prevented full Union control of the Mississippi River. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a sharp bend in the river and called the "Gibraltar of the Mississippi", Vicksburg was nearly invulnerable to naval assault. Admiral David Farragut had found this directly in his failed operations of May 1862.[24]

text: The overall plan to capture Vicksburg was for Ulysses S. Grant to move south from Memphis and Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks to move north from Baton Rouge. Banks's advance was slow to develop and bogged down at Port Hudson, offering little assistance to Grant.[25]

text: First campaign[edit]

text: Grant's first campaign was a two-pronged movement. William T. Sherman sailed down the Mississippi River with 32,000 men while Grant was to move in parallel through Mississippi by railroad with 40,000. Grant advanced 80 miles (130 km), but his supply lines were cut by Confederate cavalry under Earl Van Dorn at Holly Springs, forcing him to fall back. Sherman reached the Yazoo River just north of the city of Vicksburg, but without support from Grant's half of the mission, he was repulsed in bloody assaults against Chickasaw Bayou in late December.[26]

text: Political considerations then intruded. Illinois politician and Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand obtained permission from Lincoln to recruit an army in southern Illinois and command it on a river-born expedition aimed at Vicksburg. He was able to get Sherman's corps assigned to him, but it departed Memphis before McClernand could arrive. When Sherman returned from the Yazoo, McClernand asserted control. He inexplicably detoured from his primary objective by capturing Arkansas Post on the Arkansas River, but before he could resume his main advance, Grant had reasserted control, and McClernand became a corps commander in Grant's army. For the rest of the winter, Grant attempted five separate projects to reach the city by moving through or reengineering, rivers, canals, and bayous to the north of Vicksburg. All five were unsuccessful; Grant explained afterward that he had expected these setbacks and was simply attempting to keep his army busy and motivated, but many historians believe he really hoped that some would succeed and that they were too ambitious.[27]

text: Second campaign[edit]

text: The second campaign, beginning in the spring of 1863, was successful and is considered Grant's greatest achievement of the war (and a classic campaign of military history). He knew that he could not attack through Mississippi from the northwest because of the vulnerability of his supply line; river-born approaches had failed repeatedly. So after movement became possible on dirt roads that were finally drying from the winter rains, Grant moved the bulk of his army down the western bank of the Mississippi. On April 16, U.S. Navy gunboats and troop transports managed at great risk to slip past the Vicksburg defensive guns and were able to ferry Grant's army across the river to land south of Vicksburg at Bruinsburg. Grant employed two strategic diversions to mask his intentions: a feint by Sherman north of Vicksburg and a daring cavalry raid through central Mississippi by Colonel Benjamin Grierson, known as Grierson's Raid. The former was inconclusive, but the latter was a success. Grierson was able to draw out significant Confederate forces, dispersing them around the state.[28]

text: Grant faced two Confederate armies in his campaign: the Vicksburg garrison, commanded by Maj. Gen. John C. Pemberton, and forces in Jackson, commanded by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, the overall theater commander. Rather than simply heading directly north to the city, Grant chose to cut the line of communications (and reinforcement) between the two Confederate armies. His army headed swiftly northeast toward Jackson. Meanwhile, Grant brought with him a limited supply line. The conventional history of the campaign indicates that he cut loose from all of his supplies, perplexing Pemberton, who attempted to interdict his nonexistent lines at Raymond on May 12. In reality, Grant relied on the local economy to provide him only foodstuffs for men and animals, but there was a constant stream of wagons carrying ammunition, coffee, hardtack, salt, and other supplies for his army.[29]

text: Sherman's corps captured Jackson on May 14. The entire army then turned west to confront Pemberton in front of Vicksburg. The decisive battle was at Champion Hill, the effective last stand for Pemberton before he withdrew into his entrenchments around the city. Grant's army assaulted the Confederate works twice at great cost at the start of the Siege of Vicksburg but then settled in for a lengthy siege.[30]

text: The soldiers and civilians in Vicksburg suffered greatly from Union bombardment and impending starvation. They clung to hope that General Johnston would arrive with reinforcements, but Johnston was both cut off and too cautious. On July 4, Pemberton surrendered his army and the city to Grant. In conjunction with the defeat of Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg the previous day, Vicksburg is widely considered one of the turning points of the war. By July 8, after Banks captured Port Hudson, the entire Mississippi River was in Union hands, and the Confederacy was split in two.[31]

text: Tullahoma, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga (June–December 1863)[edit]

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Middle Tennessee Operations

Dover
Thompson's Station
Vaught's Hill
Brentwood
1st Franklin

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Streight's Raid in Alabama and Georgia

Day's Gap

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Tullahoma Campaign

Hoover's Gap
Liberty Gap

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Morgan's Raid in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio

Tebbs Bend
Lebanon
Bardstown
Brandenburg
Corydon
Buffington Island
Old Washington
Salineville

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Chickamauga Campaign

2nd Chattanooga
Davis's Cross Roads
Chickamauga

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Knoxville Campaign

Cumberland Gap
Blountville
Blue Springs
Campbell's Station
Fort Sanders
Bean's Station

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Operations on the Memphis & Charleston Railroad

Collierville

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Chattanooga Campaign

REOPENING THE TENNESSEE RIVER:

Wheeler's Raid
Farmington
Brown's Ferry
Wauhatchie

CHATTANOOGA-RINGGOLD CAMPAIGN:

Lookout Mountain
Missionary Ridge
Ringgold Gap

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Operations about Dandridge

Mossy Creek
Dandridge
Fair Garden

text: After his victory at Stones River, Rosecrans occupied Murfreesboro for almost six months while Bragg rested in Tullahoma, establishing a long defensive line that was intended to block Union advances against the strategic city of Chattanooga in his rear. In April, Union cavalry under Col. Abel Streight moved against the railroad that supplied Bragg's army in Middle Tennessee, hoping it would cause them to withdraw to Georgia. Streight's brigade raided through Mississippi and Alabama, fighting against Nathan Bedford Forrest. Streight's Raid ended when his exhausted men surrendered near Rome, Georgia, on May 3. In June, Rosecrans finally advanced against Bragg in a brilliant, almost bloodless, campaign of maneuver, the Tullahoma Campaign, and drove Bragg from Middle Tennessee.[32]

text: During this period, Brig. Gen. John Hunt Morgan and his 2,460 Confederate cavalrymen rode west from Sparta in middle Tennessee on June 11, intending to divert the attention of Ambrose Burnside's Army of the Ohio, which was moving toward Knoxville, from Southern forces in the state. At the start of the Tullahoma Campaign, Morgan moved northward. For 46 days as they rode over 1,000 miles (1,600 km), Morgan's cavalrymen terrorized a region from Tennessee to northern Ohio, destroying bridges, railroads, and government stores before being captured; in November they made a daring escape from the Ohio Penitentiary, at Columbus, Ohio, and returned to the South.[33]

text: After delaying for several weeks in Tullahoma, Rosecrans planned to flush Bragg out of Chattanooga by crossing the Tennessee River, heading south, and interdicting the Confederate supply lines from Georgia. He began operations on August 18 and used a two-week bombardment of Chattanooga as a diversion. The Confederate high command reinforced Bragg with a division from Mississippi as well as a corps previously of the Army of Northern Virginia commanded by James Longstreet. Rosecrans pursued Bragg into the rugged mountains of northwestern Georgia, only to find that a trap had been set. Bragg started the Battle of Chickamauga (September 19–20, 1863) when he launched a three-division assault against Rosecrans's army. A command misunderstanding allowed a major gap to appear in the Union line as reinforcements arrived, and Longstreet was able to drive his corps into that gap and send the Union Army into retreat. If not for the defensive stand by a portion of the line led by the Union XIV Corps, commanded by Major General George H. Thomas ("The Rock of Chickamauga"), the Union Army would have been completely routed. Rosecrans, devastated by his defeat, withdrew his army to Chattanooga, where Bragg besieged it, occupying the high ground dominating the city.[34]

text: Back in Vicksburg, Grant was resting his army and planning for a campaign that would capture Mobile and push east. But when news of the dire straits of Rosecrans's Army of the Cumberland reached Washington, Grant was ordered to rescue them. On October 17, he was given command of the Military Division of the Mississippi, controlling all of the armies in the Western Theater. He replaced Rosecrans with Thomas and traveled to Chattanooga, where he approved a plan to open a new supply line (the "Cracker Line"), allowing supplies and reinforcements to reach the city. Soon the troops were joined by 40,000 more, from the Army of the Tennessee under Sherman and from the Army of the Potomac under Joseph Hooker. While the Union army expanded, the Confederate army contracted; Bragg dispatched Longstreet's corps to Knoxville to hold off an advance by Burnside.[35]

text: The Battles for Chattanooga began in earnest on November 24, 1863, as Hooker took Lookout Mountain, which is one of two dominant peaks over the city. The next day, Grant planned a double envelopment of Bragg's position on the other mountain, Missionary Ridge. Sherman was to attack from the north, Hooker from the south, and Thomas was to hold the center. But Sherman's attack bogged down in confusion, and Grant ordered Thomas to launch a minor attack as a diversion to relieve pressure on Sherman. Thomas's troops, caught up in enthusiasm and anxious to redeem themselves after their humiliation at Chickamauga, continued their initial attack by charging up the imposing ridge, breaking the Confederate line and causing them to retreat. Chattanooga was saved; along with the failure of Longstreet's Knoxville Campaign against Burnside, politically sensitive eastern Tennessee was free of Confederate control. An avenue of invasion pointed directly to Atlanta and the heart of the Confederacy. Bragg, whose personal friendship with Confederate President Jefferson Davis saved his command following his defeats at Perryville and Stones River, was finally relieved of duty and replaced by General Joseph E. Johnston.[36]

text: Atlanta Campaign (May–September 1864)[edit]

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Operations in North Alabama

Athens

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Meridian and Yazoo River Expeditions

Meridian
Okolona

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Demonstration on Dalton

Dalton

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Forrest's Expedition into West Tennessee and Kentucky

Paducah
Fort Pillow

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Atlanta Campaign

Rocky Face Ridge
Resaca
Adairsville
New Hope Church
Pickett's Mill
Dallas
Kolb's Farm
Kennesaw Mountain
Marietta
Noonday Creek
Pace's Ferry
Peachtree Creek
Atlanta
Ezra Church
Brown's Mill
Utoy Creek
Second Dalton
Lovejoy's Station
Jonesborough

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Morgan's Raid into Kentucky

Mt. Sterling
Cynthiana

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Forrest's Defense of Mississippi

Yazoo City
Brice's Cross Roads
Tupelo
Second Memphis

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Operations in Mobile Bay

Mobile Bay
Fort Gaines
Fort Morgan

text: In March 1864, Grant was promoted to lieutenant general and went east to assume command of all the Union armies. Sherman succeeded him in command of the Military Division of the Mississippi. Grant devised a strategy for simultaneous advances across the Confederacy. It was intended to destroy or fix Robert E. Lee's army in Virginia with three major thrusts (under Meade, Butler, and Sigel) launched in the direction of Richmond and in the Shenandoah Valley; capture Mobile with an army under Nathaniel Banks; and destroy Johnston's army while driving toward Atlanta. Most of the initiatives failed: Butler became bogged down in the Bermuda Hundred Campaign; Sigel was quickly defeated in the valley; Banks became occupied in the ill-fated Red River Campaign; Meade and Grant experienced many setbacks and much bloodshed in the Overland Campaign before finally settling down to a siege of Petersburg. Sherman's Atlanta Campaign was more successful.[37]

text: At the start of the campaign, Sherman's Military Division of the Mississippi consisted of three armies: James B. McPherson's Army of the Tennessee (Sherman's old army under Grant), John M. Schofield's Army of the Ohio, and George H. Thomas's Army of the Cumberland. Opposing him was the Confederate Army of Tennessee, commanded by Joseph E. Johnston. Sherman outnumbered Johnston 98,000 to 50,000, but his ranks were depleted by many furloughed soldiers, and Johnston received 15,000 reinforcements from Alabama in April.[38]

text: The campaign opened with several battles in May and June 1864 as Sherman pressed Johnston southeast through mountainous terrain. Sherman avoided frontal assaults against most of Johnston's positions, instead maneuvering in flanking marches around the Confederate defenses. When Sherman flanked the defensive lines (almost exclusively around Johnston's left flank), Johnston would retreat to another prepared position. The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain (June 27) was a notable exception, in which Sherman attempted a frontal assault, against the advice of his subordinates, and suffered significant losses, losing 7,000 men versus 700 for Johnston. Both armies took advantage of the railroads as supply lines, with Johnston shortening his supply lines as he drew closer to Atlanta, and Sherman lengthening his own. However, Davis was becoming frustrated with Johnston, who he viewed was needlessly losing territory and was refusing to counterattack or even discuss his plans with Davis.[39]

text: Just before the Battle of Peachtree Creek (July 20) in the outskirts of Atlanta, Jefferson Davis lost patience with Johnston's strategy and, fearing that Johnston would give up Atlanta without a battle, replaced him with the more aggressive Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood. Over the next six weeks, Hood would repeatedly attempt to attack a portion of Sherman's force which seemed isolated from the main body; each attack failed, often with heavy casualties for the Confederate army. Sherman eventually cut Hood's supply lines from the south. Knowing that he was trapped, Hood evacuated Atlanta on the night of September 1, burning military supplies and installations, causing a great conflagration in the city.[40]

text: Coincident with Sherman's triumph in Atlanta, Admiral David Farragut won the decisive naval Battle of Mobile Bay on August 24. Steaming past the forts guarding the mouth of the bay, Farragut engaged and forced the surrender of the Confederate fleet defending the city, capturing Admiral Franklin Buchanan. The city itself, long a desired target of Grant's, would remain in Confederate hands until 1865, but the last seaport east of the Mississippi on the Gulf Coast was closed, further tightening the Union blockade. The capture of Atlanta and Mobile Bay together boosted Northern morale and made an enormous contribution to the re-election of Abraham Lincoln.[41]

text: Franklin-Nashville Campaign (September–December 1864)[edit]

text:
[show]

v
t
e

Franklin–Nashville
Campaign

Allatoona
Decatur
Johnsonville
Columbia
Spring Hill
Franklin
3rd Murfreesboro
Nashville
Anthony's Hill

text:
[show]

v
t
e

Burbridge's Raid into Southwest Virginia

1st Saltville

text:
[show]

v
t
e

Breckenridge's Advance into East Tennessee

Bull's Gap

text: While Sherman rested his army in preparation for offensive operations to the east, Hood embarked on a campaign to defeat Sherman by interfering with his lines of communications from Chattanooga. He drove west through Alabama and turned north toward Tennessee, hoping that Sherman would follow him and do battle. This was partially effective because his movements, and raids by Nathan Bedford Forrest, were causing considerable consternation to Sherman. However, the Union general did not fully engage. He sent Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas with portions of the Army of the Cumberland and most of the cavalry corps to Nashville to coordinate a defense against Hood, while taking the remainder of his army in the direction of Savannah, Georgia.[42]

text: Thomas's forces were divided: half were with him in Nashville and the other half with John M. Schofield, moving in pursuit from Atlanta, with other troops due to arrive from the Red River Campaign. Hood hoped to defeat Schofield before he could join forces with Thomas and before the reinforcements from Louisiana arrived. He had the chance at the Battle of Spring Hill in Tennessee (November 29, 1864), but the Union troops were able to slip through the trap, due to the Confederate failure to cut the Columbia-to-Franklin turnpike in the Union rear. At the Battle of Franklin the following day, Hood launched repeated massive frontal assaults against strong entrenchments and suffered severe casualties.[43] David J. Eicher wrote that Hood mortally wounded his army at Franklin but killed it at the Battle of Nashville (December 15–16).[44] At Nashville, facing the combined force of Schofield and Thomas, he dug in a few miles south of the city and waited, hoping that Thomas would wreck his army on the Confederate fortifications. After a two-week preparation period in winter weather, during which he received great pressure from Grant and the Union government to attack, Thomas unleashed an overwhelming assault that sent Hood and his survivors in retreat to Franklin and then to Mississippi, never to recover as a fighting force. By his own request, Hood was relieved of command of the Army of Tennessee and Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor was appointed temporary commander of the army.[45]

text: Sherman's March to the Sea (November–December 1864)[edit]

text:
[show]

v
t
e

Savannah Campaign
(Sherman's March to the Sea)

Griswoldville
Buck Head Creek
Honey Hill
Waynesboro
Tulifinny
Fort McAllister
Altamaha Bridge

text: Sherman's Savannah Campaign is more popularly known as the March to the Sea. He and Grant believed that the Civil War would end only if the Confederacy's strategic, economic, and psychological capacity for warfare were decisively broken. Sherman therefore applied the principles of scorched earth, ordering his troops to burn crops, kill livestock, consume supplies, and destroy civilian infrastructure along their path. This policy is one of the key tenets of a strategy of total war.[46]

text: Sherman's army left Atlanta on November 15, 1864, and was conducted in two columns separated by about 60 miles (97 km), the right under Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard and the left under Maj. Gen. Henry Warner Slocum. Between these columns, the destruction was significant and spawned hatred for generations. Most of the resistance to Sherman's armies was from Georgia militia and home guards, although Joseph Wheeler's cavalry corps from the Army of Tennessee and some troops from the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida were also present but scattered. At Savannah on December 17, Sherman encountered about 10,000 defending troops under Maj. Gen. William J. Hardee. Following lengthy artillery bombardments, Hardee abandoned the city and Sherman entered on December 22, 1864. He telegraphed to President Lincoln, "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the City of Savannah ...."[47]

text: Carolinas Campaign and Johnston's surrender (February–April 1865)[edit]

text:
[show]

v
t
e

Carolinas Campaign

Rivers' Bridge
Aiken
Congaree Creek
Columbia
Wyse Fork
Monroe's Crossroads
Averasborough
Bentonville
Morrisville

text: After Sherman captured Savannah, he was ordered by Grant to embark his army on ships to reinforce the Union armies in Virginia, where Grant was bogged down in the Siege of Petersburg against Robert E. Lee. Sherman proposed an alternative strategy. He persuaded Grant that he should march north through the Carolinas instead, destroying everything of military value along the way, similar to his march to the sea through Georgia. He was particularly interested in targeting South Carolina, the first state to secede from the Union, for the effect it would have on Southern morale.[48]

text: Sherman's plan was to bypass the minor Confederate troop concentrations at Augusta, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina, and reach Goldsboro, North Carolina, by March 15, 1865, where he would unite with Union forces commanded by John M. Schofield and Alfred H. Terry. As with his Georgia operations, he marched his armies in multiple directions simultaneously, confusing the scattered Confederate defenders as to his first true objective, which was the state capital Columbia. He faced the smaller and battered Army of Tennessee, again under the command of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. On February 17, Columbia surrendered to Sherman. Fires began in the city, and most of the central city was destroyed. The burning of Columbia has engendered controversy ever since, with some claiming the fires were accidental, others a deliberate act of vengeance. On that same day, the Confederates evacuated Charleston. On February 18, Sherman's forces destroyed virtually anything of military value in Columbia. The last significant Confederate seaport, Wilmington, surrendered on February 22.[49]

text: When Confederate President Jefferson Davis and general-in-chief Robert E. Lee felt that Beauregard could not properly handle the Union threat, they appointed Johnston to command the Confederate forces in the Carolinas, including the remnants of the Army of Tennessee. Concentrating his forces, which he named the Army of the South, Johnston attacked at the Battle of Bentonville (March 19–21), where he unsuccessfully attempted to defeat one wing of Sherman's army (under Henry W. Slocum) before it could reach Goldsboro or reunite with the other wing under Oliver O. Howard. While the initial Confederate attack overwhelmed the first Union line, Slocum was able to rally enough men to resist Johnston until Howard arrived at the battlefield overnight. Johnston remained on the battlefield for two more days, hoping for another Confederate victory similar to the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, then retreated back to Raleigh, pursued by Sherman.[50]

text: On April 11, Johnston received word that General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House; this induced him to send a message to Sherman requesting terms for surrender. On April 18, three days after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Johnston signed an armistice with Sherman at Bennett Place, a farmhouse near Durham Station. Sherman got himself into political trouble by offering terms of surrender to Johnston that encompassed political issues as well as military, without authorization from Grant or the United States government. This created confusion on this issue, which lasted until April 26, when Johnston agreed to purely military terms, similar to the terms offered to Lee at Appomattox Court House, and formally surrendered his army and all Confederate forces in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida.[51]

text: Wilson's Raid, Mobile Campaign, and Forrest's surrender (March–May 1865)[edit]

text:
[show]

v
t
e

Wilson's Raid in Alabama and Georgia

Ebenezer Church
Selma
West Point
Columbus

text:
[show]

v
t
e

Mobile Campaign

Spanish Fort
Fort Blakely

text: Following the victory in Nashville, Maj. Gen. Thomas dispatched Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson to destroy the last remaining industrial infrastructure in the Confederate heartlands of Alabama and Georgia and Maj. Gen. Edward R. S. Canby to finally capture Mobile, which had remained in Confederate hands despite Admiral's Farragut's victory in Mobile Bay.

text: Wilson, commanding the cavalry corps of the Military Division of the Mississippi, launched a raid in late March into central Alabama with orders to destroy the remaining Confederate industry in the region, especially at Elyton (present-day Birmingham) and Selma. The only force remaining to resist Wilson was Nathan B. Forrest's cavalry force. Elyton fell to Union forces on March 29, before Forrest had time to concentrate his troops. A detachment led by Brig. General John T. Croxton destroyed the area's factories and on April 4 burned down the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Selma was captured on April 2 following a battle, which was Forrest's final battle and defeat. After destroying Selma's factories and railroads, Wilson continued eastward towards Georgia. He had to capture the bridge across the Chattahoochee River at Columbus, Georgia, with a battle, then he continued on to Macon; here on April 21, he received word from Sherman to "desist from further acts of war and devastation until you hear that hostilities are renewed".[52]

text: Canby, commanding the Military Division of West Mississippi, landed In mid-March near the entrance of Mobile Bay and advanced along the eastern shore to Spanish Fort, where the Union forces started a siege on March 27. On April 1, Union forces command by Frederick Steele arrived from an overland route from Pensacola and started besieging Fort Blakely. On April 8, Union forces opened an artillery bombardment on Spanish fort with ninety field pieces, followed by an infantry attack which overwhelmed the Confederate defenders. Canby then moved against Fort Blakely the next day, overrunning that fort as well. These battles forced the Confederate commander of Mobile, Maj. Gen. Dabney H. Maury, to evacuate the city.[53]

text: When he received word of Lee's and Johnston's surrenders, Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor, commander of the Confederate Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana, surrendered his forces to Canby on May 4, while Forrest formally surrendered his force on May 9. Wilson's cavalry officially took control of Tallahassee, Florida, on May 20, the last Confederate state capital east of the Mississippi to be captured, completing the Western Theater operations. A detachment of Wilson's cavalry captured Confederate President Jefferson Davis on May 10 near Irwinville, Georgia.[54]

text: Major land battles[edit]

text: The costliest land battles in the western theater, measured by casualties (killed, wounded, captured, and missing), were:[55]

text:
Battle
State
Date

Union

Confederacy

Total

Strength
Commander
Casualties

Siege of Vicksburg
Mississippi
000000001863-05-18-0000May 18–July 4, 1863
77,000
33,000
Ulysses S. Grant
John C. Pemberton
4,835
32,697
37,532[56]

Battle of Chickamauga
Georgia
000000001863-09-19-0000September 19–20, 1863
60,000
65,000
William S. Rosecrans
Braxton Bragg
16,170
18,454
34,624

Battle of Stones River
Tennessee
000000001862-12-31-0000December 31, 1862 – January 2, 1863
41,400
35,000
William S. Rosecrans
Braxton Bragg
12,906
11,739
24,645

Battle of Shiloh
Tennessee
000000001862-04-06-0000April 6–7, 1862
63,000
44,699
Ulysses S. Grant
Albert Sidney Johnston
13,047
10,699
23,746

Siege of Port Hudson
Louisiana
000000001863-05-22-0000May 22 – July 9, 1863
35,000
7,500
Nathaniel P. Banks
Franklin Gardner
10,000
7,500
17,500

Battle of Missionary Ridge
Tennessee
000000001863-11-25-0000November 25, 1863
56,359
44,010
Ulysses S. Grant
Braxton Bragg
5,824
6,667
12,491

Battle of Atlanta
Georgia
000000001864-07-22-0000July 22, 1864
34,863
40,438
William T. Sherman
John Bell Hood
3,641
8,499
12,140

Battle of Nashville
Tennessee
000000001864-12-15-0000December 15–16, 1864
55,000
30,000
George H. Thomas
John Bell Hood
3,061
6,000
9,061

Battle of Franklin
Tennessee
000000001864-11-30-0000November 30, 1864
27,000
27,000
John M. Schofield
John Bell Hood
2,326
6,252
8,578

Battle of Perryville
Kentucky
000000001862-10-08-0000October 8, 1862
22,000
16,000
Don Carlos Buell
Braxton Bragg
4,276
3,401
7,677

2nd Battle of Corinth
Mississippi
000000001862-10-03-0000October 3–4, 1862
23,000
22,000
William S. Rosecrans
Earl Van Dorn
2,520
4,233
6,753

Battle of Peachtree Creek
Georgia
000000001864-07-20-0000July 20, 1864
21,655
20,250
George H. Thomas
John Bell Hood
1,710
4,796
6,506

Battle of Champion Hill
Mississippi
000000001863-05-16-0000May 16, 1863
32,000
22,000
Ulysses S. Grant
John C. Pemberton
2,457
3,840
6,297

Battle of Richmond, Kentucky
Kentucky
000000001862-08-29-0000August 29–30, 1862
6,500
6,850
William "Bull" Nelson
Edmund K. Smith
5,353
451
5,804


document_title: Baseball field

question_text: when did they lower the pitcher's mound

question_tokens: when did they lower the pitcher 's mound

root

text: Baseball field

text: Specifications[edit]

text: This section appears to contradict itself on what "the infield" means. Please see the talk page for more information. (January 2017)

tag: table

text: The starting point for much of the action on the field is home plate, which is a five-sided slab of whitened rubber, 17 inches (43.2 cm) square with two of the corners removed so that one edge is 17 inches (43.2 cm) long, two adjacent sides are 8.5 inches (21.6 cm) and the remaining two sides are 12 inches (30.5 cm) and set at an angle to make a point. Adjacent to each of the two parallel 8.5-inch (21.6 cm) sides is a batter's box. The point of home plate where the two 12-inch (30.5 cm) sides meet at right angles is at one corner of a ninety-foot (27.5 m) square. The other three corners of the square, in counterclockwise order from home plate, are called first base, second base, and third base. Three canvas bags fifteen inches (38 cm) square mark the three bases. These three bags along with home plate form the four points at the corners of the infield.

tag: p

text: All the bases, including home plate, lie entirely within fair territory. Thus, any batted ball that touches those bases must necessarily be in fair territory. While the first and third base bags are placed so that they lie inside the 90-foot (27.5 m) square formed by the bases, the second base bag is placed so that its center (unlike first, third and home) coincides exactly with the "point" of the ninety-foot (27.5 m) infield square. Thus, although the "points" of the bases are 90 feet (27.5 m) apart, the physical distance between each successive pair of base markers is closer to 88 feet (26.8 m).[2]

text: The lines from home plate to first and third bases extend to the nearest fence, stand or other obstruction and are called the foul lines. The portion of the playing field between (and including) the foul lines is fair territory; the rest is "foul territory." The area in the vicinity of the square formed by the bases is called the infield; fair territory outside the infield is known as the outfield. Most baseball fields are enclosed with a fence that marks the outer edge of the outfield. The fence is usually set at a distance ranging from 300 to 420 feet (91 to 128 m) from home plate. Most professional and college baseball fields have a right and left foul pole. These poles are at the intersection of the foul lines and the respective ends of the outfield fence and, unless otherwise specified within the ground rules, lie in fair territory. Thus, a batted ball that passes over the outfield wall in flight and touches the foul pole is a fair ball and the batter is awarded a home run.

text: First base[edit]

text: First base is the first of four bases that must be touched by a player on the batting team in order to score a run. Unlike when an offensive player reaches second or third base, it is permissible for a batter-runner to overrun first base without being in jeopardy of being put out. After contact is made with the base, the batter-runner may slow down and return to first base at his leisure, so long as he makes no move or attempt to advance to second base. The runner cannot be tagged out if he is touching the base with any part of his body.

text: The first baseman is the defensive player responsible for the area near first base. A professional first baseman is often a slow runner and tall.[citation needed] A tall first baseman presents a large target to which other fielders can throw, and his height gives him a larger range in reaching and catching errant throws. Players who are left-handed are marginally preferable for first base because: first, it is easier for a left-handed fielder to catch a pick-off throw from the pitcher and tag the baserunner; and, second, it is easier for a left handed thrower to make the throw to second base to start a 3-6-3, 3-6-4, or a 3-6-1 double play.[citation needed] Also, a right-handed first baseman must, when setting himself up to receive a throw from an infielder, execute a half-pivot near the base; this is a move that a left-hander need not make (this advantage is very marginal, however). There are three infield positions that can only effectively be occupied by right-handed players: 2nd base, 3rd base, and shortstop. This is because of the time it takes to pivot and set to throw. It takes a left-handed thrower more time to make that pivot and in the fast-paced major league game, that time is critical. As a result, there are fewer positions a left-handed player can occupy, and if that player is not fast, the outfield may not be a good fit.

text: In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the first baseman is assigned the number '3'.

text: Second base[edit]

text: Second base is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. Second base is typically defended by the second baseman and the shortstop. Second base is also known as the keystone sack. A runner on second base is said to be in "scoring position", owing to the high likelihood of reaching home plate and scoring a run from second base on most base hits. Since second is the farthest base from home plate, it is the most common target of base stealing. The runner can not be tagged out if he is touching the base with any part of his body.

text: Ideally, the second baseman and shortstop possess quick hands and feet and the ability to release the ball rapidly and with accuracy. One will usually cover second base when the other attempts to field the ball. Both players must communicate well to be able to make a double play. Particular agility is required of the second baseman in double play situations, which usually forces the player to throw towards first while his momentum carries him in the opposite direction. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the second baseman is assigned the number 4, and the shortstop 6.

text: Third base[edit]

text: Third base is the third of four bases a base runner must touch in a counterclockwise succession in order to score a run. Many batted balls that result in the batter being put out (such as a sacrifice fly) may nevertheless allow a runner to reach home plate and score a run from third base, provided that the third and final out is not recorded before he can do so. A runner on third base is therefore particularly valuable to the batting team when fewer than two outs have been recorded. The runner cannot be tagged out if he is touching the base with any part of his body.

text: The third baseman is the defensive player whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base. A third baseman ideally possesses quick reaction to batted balls and a strong arm to make the long throw to first base. The distance from 3rd to 1st is about 127 feet. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the third baseman is assigned the number 5.

text: Home plate[edit]

text: Home plate, formally designated home base in the rules, is the final base that a player must touch to score. Unlike the other bases, home plate is a five-sided slab of whitened rubber that is set at ground level. The use of rubber was developed by Robert Keating, who pitched one game for the 1887 Baltimore Orioles. Previously—and more dangerously—the plate was made of stone, iron, or wood.[3]

text: The dimensions of home plate are 17 inches (43.2 cm) across the front, 8.5 inches (21.6 cm) down each side, with a triangular rear of two sides of 12 inches (30.5 cm). The rear edges are at 45 degrees to the sides, making a point at the back.[1] The plate is white and surrounded by a black strip 3/4 inches (1.9 cm) in width. The plate sits entirely in "fair" territory, with the two rear edges aligned with the right and left field foul lines. The length and angle requirements for home plate mandate that it is not a regular pentagon; it is a 17 inches by 8.5 inches (43.2 x 21.6 cm) rectangle with an isosceles triangle of base 17 inches (43.2 cm) and equal sides of 12 inches (30.5 cm) attached to the back.

text: 50 to 100 feet (15 to 30 meters) behind home plate is the backstop, which is a wall/fence that will stop wild pitches, passed balls, and foul balls. In enclosed stadiums, the backstop is often composed of a lower part, which is like any other part of the wall, and an upper netting to protect spectators seated behind it; in recreational baseball fields, there is usually a tall chain-link fence, including an angled top section, composing the entire backstop.

text: Batter's box and catcher's box[edit]

text: The batter's box is the place where the batter stands when ready to receive a pitch from the pitcher. It is usually drawn in chalk on the dirt surrounding home plate, and the insides of the boxes are watered down before each game.

text: The chalk lines delineating the two Foul Lines are rarely extended through the batter's boxes. However, those lines exist conceptually for the purpose of judging a batted ball fair or foul. In addition, inside edges of the Batter's Boxes are often not laid-in with chalk. Similarly, though not marked, those lines continue to exist for the purpose of the rules pertaining to the batter's box and the batter's position relative thereto.

text: There are two batter's boxes, one on each side of home plate. The batter's boxes are 4 feet wide (1.2 m) and 6 feet long (1.8 m). The batter's boxes are centered lengthwise at the center of home plate with the inside line of each batter's box 6 inches (15.24 cm) from the near edge of home plate. A right-handed batter would stand in the batter's box on the left side of home plate from the perspective of the catcher and umpire. A left-handed batter would stand in the batter's box to their right. A batter may only occupy one batter's box at a time and may not legally leave the batter's box after the pitcher has come set or has started his windup. Should the batter wish to leave the batter's box once the pitcher has engaged the rubber, he must first ask the umpire for time-out. Time will not be granted if the pitcher has already started his pitching motion. For playing rules relating to the batter's box, see Rules 6.05 and 6.06 of the Official Baseball Rules.

text: Foul poles[edit]

text: Foul poles, if present, help umpires judge whether a fly ball hit above the fence line is foul (out of play) or fair (a home run). The poles are a vertical extension of the foul lines at the edge of the field of play. The outer edge of the foul lines and foul poles define foul territory. Both the lines and the poles are in fair territory, in contrast to football and basketball, where the lines marking the playing boundaries are out of bounds.

text: Before 1920,[citation needed] the foul lines extended indefinitely; a batter was awarded a home run only if a fly ball out of the field was fair where it landed, or "when last seen" by the umpire. Now, a batted ball that leaves the field in flight is judged fair or foul at the point it leaves the field. Thus, such a fly ball passing on the fair side of a foul pole, or hitting a foul pole, is a home run regardless of where the ball goes thereafter.

text: Foul poles are typically much higher than the top of the outfield fence or wall, and often have a narrow screen running along the fair side of the pole. This further aids the umpires' judgment, as a ball that bounces off this screen is a home run. It can still be a difficult call, especially in ballparks with no outfield stands behind the poles to provide perspective. Wrigley Field is notorious for arguments over long, curving flies down a foul line (most notably in left field) that sail higher than the foul pole.

text: At Major League Baseball fields, foul poles are usually yellow. Those at Citi Field are orange. At the Rogers Centre, there are no foul poles, but large nets suspended from the roof that serve the same purpose. At Petco Park, there is no foul pole in left field; the pole's function is served by a yellow metal strip along the corner of the Western Metal Supply Co. building.

text: Pitcher's mound[edit]

text: In roughly the middle of the square, equidistant between first and third base, and a few feet closer to home plate than to second base, is a low artificial hill called the pitcher's mound. This is where the pitcher stands when throwing the pitch. Atop the mound is a white rubber slab, called the pitcher's plate or pitcher's rubber. It measures 6 inches (15 cm) front-to-back and 2 feet (61 cm) across, the front of which is exactly 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m) from the rear point of home plate. This peculiar distance was set by the rule makers in 1893, not due to a clerical or surveying error as popular myth has it, but intentionally (further details in History section).

text: In Major League Baseball, a regulation mound is 18 feet (5.5 m) in diameter, with the center 59 feet (18 m) from the rear point of home plate, on the line between home plate and second base. The front edge of the pitcher's plate or rubber is 18 inches (46 cm) behind the center of the mound, making the front edge's midpoint 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m) from the rear point of home plate. Six inches (15.2 cm) in front of the pitcher's rubber the mound begins to slope downward. The top of the rubber is to be no higher than ten inches (25.4 cm) above home plate. From 1903 through 1968, this height limit was set at 15 inches (38.1 cm), but was often slightly higher, sometimes as high as 20 inches (51 cm), especially for teams that emphasized pitching, such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were reputed to have the highest mound in the majors.

text: A pitcher will push off the rubber with his foot in order to gain velocity toward home plate when pitching. In addition, a higher mound generally favors the pitcher. With the height advantage, the pitcher gains more leverage and can put more downward velocity on the ball, making it more difficult for the batter to strike the ball squarely with the bat. The lowering of the mound in 1969 was intended to "increase the batting" once again, as pitching had become increasingly dominant, reaching its peak the prior year; 1968 is known among baseball historians as "The Year of the Pitcher". This restrictive rule apparently did its job, contributing to the hitting surge of modern baseball.

text: A pitcher's mound is difficult for groundskeepers to maintain. Usually before every game it is watered down to keep the dust from spreading. On youth and amateur baseball fields, the mound may be much different from the rule book definition due to erosion and repair attempts. Even in the major leagues, each mound gains its own character, as pitchers are allowed to kick away pieces of dirt in their way, thereby sculpting the mound a bit to their preference.

text: The pitcher may keep a rosin bag on the rear of the mound to dry off his hands. Major League Baseball teams are also permitted cleat cleaners on the back of the mound. This may be a flat grate-style plate, or simply a hand tool such as a piece of wood used to remove mud and dirt from cleats. These items are allowed to remain on the backside of the mound at the discretion of the umpire, thus reducing the probability that they will affect a live play.[4]

text: Baseline[edit]

text: A baseline is the straight line between two adjacent bases. Baselines are not drawn on the field, although the foul lines serve to mark the baseline between home plate and first base, and between third base and home.

text: Running baseline[edit]

text: Generally, base runners are not required to follow the baseline. A base runner seeking to advance more than one base typically "rounds" the base, following a more circular path. However, a base runner's left-right motion is constrained when the defense tries to tag him. At the moment the defense begins the attempt, the baserunner's running baseline is established as a direct line from his current position to the base he is trying for. A runner straying more than three feet (0.9 m) away from this baseline to avoid a tag may be called out.

text: Running lane[edit]

text: Beginning halfway between home and first base, and ending at first base, there is a second chalk line to the right of the foul line. This second line and the part of the foul line it runs parallel to, form the running lane that defines the path in which a batter must run as he is advancing to first base. Rule 6.05(k) of the Official Baseball Rules states that, if a batter running to first base runs outside the running lane, and "in doing so" interferes with the fielder taking the throw at first, then the batter is automatically out. First base itself is not located in the running lane, but Rule 6.05 lets the runner leave the running lane "by means of a step, stride or slide in the immediate vicinity of first base" to step on first base.[5]

text: Grass line[edit]

text: The grass line, where the dirt of the infield ends and the grass of the outfield begins, has no special significance to the rules of the game, but it can influence the outcome of a game. Dirt running paths between the bases (and, at one time and still in some parks, between the pitcher and the catcher) have existed since the beginning of the game, although they were not mentioned in the rule books until around 1950, and their specifications are flexible. In addition to providing a running path, the grass lines act as a visual aid so that players, umpires and fans may better judge distance from the center of the diamond. Occasionally the ball may take a tricky bounce off the dirt area or the edge between the dirt and the grass. Multiple World Series championships (including 1924, 1960 and 1986) have been decided or heavily influenced by erratic hops of ground balls.

text: In artificial turf stadiums, infield dirt was originally only placed around the bases and around the pitcher's and batting areas, which are referred to as "sliding pits." In this configuration, the "grass line" is usually designated with a white arc. Among Major League Baseball fields, Rogers Centre was the last stadium to maintain this type of configuration and is reconfigured with a full dirt infield starting in the 2016 MLB season.[6]

text: In some college baseball parks with artificial turf fields, the entire field (along with possibly the pitcher's mound) is made up of turf, with parts of the field mainly containing dirt instead merely being clay-colored turf.

text: Outfield[edit]

text: The outfield is made from thick grass or artificial turf. It is where the outfielders play. The positions to play in the outfield are right, center, and left field (named in relation to the batter's position; thus left field is beyond third base and right field is beyond first base). Outfields vary in size and shape depending on the overall size and shape of the playing field. The outfield stretches from the infield to the outfield wall and it contains the warning track. Outfields especially vary from Little League to Major League fields. Little League outfields vary more in size than Major League outfields. Typically one would see Little League outfields made of grass while most Major League outfields are made of an artificial turf. This goes for some High School and College outfields as well. With the outfield being mostly grass, rainouts are more likely to occur than on fields where the outfield is turf.

text: Warning track[edit]

text: The warning track is the strip of dirt at the edges of the baseball field (especially in front of the home run fence and along the left and right sides of a field). Because the warning track's color and feel differ from the grass field, a fielder can remain focused on a fly ball near the fence and measure his proximity to the fence while attempting to catch the ball safely.

text: A warning track's width is not specified in the rules. It is generally designed to give about three steps of warning to the highest-level players using the field. Typical widths run from about six feet for Little League fields to about 10–15 feet (3 - 4.5 m) for college- or professional-level play. A warning track this wide also lets groundskeepers avoid driving maintenance vehicles on the grass.

text: The track can be composed of finely ground rock particles such as cinders, which is why announcer Bob Wolff called it the "cinder path" rather than the "warning track".

text: The idea of a warning track originated in Yankee Stadium, where an actual running track was built for use in track and field events. When ballpark designers saw how the track helped fielders, it soon became a feature of every ballpark.

text: Single-minded fielders often crash into a wall trying to make a catch despite the warning track. For this reason, outfield walls are typically padded for extra safety. Wrigley Field's brick wall is covered only by ivy, which is not especially soft. However, there are pads on the walls of the tight left and right field corners in foul ground.

text: Warning-track power is a derogatory term for a batter who seems to have just enough power to hit the ball to the warning track for an out, but not enough to hit a home run. The term more generally refers to someone or something that is almost but not quite good enough for something.

text: Outfield wall[edit]

text: The outfield wall or outfield fence is the wall or fence that marks the outer boundary of the outfield. A ball passing over the wall is dead; if it passes over the wall in fair territory while in flight, it is a home run. The official rules do not specify the shape, height, or composition of the wall, or a specific mandatory distance from home plate (though Major League Baseball mandates a minimum distance of 250 feet (76 m) and recommends a minimum distance of 320 feet (98 m) at the foul poles and 400 feet (120 m) at center field). As a result, baseball fields can vary greatly along those lines. The wall has numbers affixed or painted on it that denote the distance in feet from that point on the wall to home plate. In most modern major league ballparks, the wall is made of some hard material (e.g., concrete) with padding on the field side to protect players who may collide with the wall at high speed while trying to make a play. Chain link fencing may also be incorporated into the wall in areas where the wall needs to be transparent, e.g., an outfield bullpen, a spectator area behind the wall, or to protect a scoreboard incorporated into the wall. Many ballparks feature a yellow line denoting the top of the wall to aid umpires in judging whether the ball passed over the wall or if the ball is fair or foul.

text: Bullpen[edit]

text: The bullpen (sometimes referred to as simply "the pen") is the area where pitchers warm up before entering a game. Depending on the ballpark, it may be situated in foul territory along the baselines or just beyond the outfield fence. Relief pitchers usually wait in the bullpen when they have yet to play in a game, rather than in the dugout with the rest of the team. The starting pitcher also makes his final pregame warmups in the bullpen. Managers can call coaches in the bullpen on an in-house telephone from the dugout to tell a certain pitcher to begin his warmup tosses. "Bullpen" is also used metonymically to describe a team's collection of relief pitchers.

text: On-deck circles[edit]

text: There are two on-deck circles in the field, one for each team, positioned in foul ground between home plate and the respective teams' benches. They are technically known as next-batter's boxes. The on-deck circle is where the next scheduled batter, or "on-deck" batter, warms up while waiting for the current batter to finish his turn. The on-deck circle is either an area composed of bare dirt; a plain circle painted onto artificial turf; or often, especially at the professional level, a mat made from artificial material, with the team or league logo painted onto it.

text: Coach's boxes[edit]

text: The coach's boxes, located behind first and third base, are where the first and third base coaches are supposed to stand, although coaches often stand outside the box. This is permissible as long as the coach does not interfere with play and the opposing team does not object (in which case the umpire shall ensure that all coaches on both teams must abide by the boundaries of the coach's boxes). The coach's boxes are marked with chalk or paint. In the early days of baseball, the term "coacher's box" was used, as "coach" was taken to be a verb. As the term "coach" evolved into a noun, the name of the box also changed.

text: History[edit]

text: This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (May 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: The basic layout of the diamond has been little changed since the original Knickerbocker Rules of the 1840s. The distance between bases was already established as 90 feet (27.5 m), which it remains to this day. Through trial and error, 90 feet (27.5 m) had been settled upon as the optimal distance. 100 feet (30.5 m) would have given too much advantage to the defense, and 80 feet too much to the offense.

text: The original Knickerbocker Rules did not specify the pitching distance explicitly. By the time major league baseball began in the 1870s, the pitcher was compelled to pitch from within a "box" whose front edge was 45 feet (13.7 m)from the "point" of home plate. Although he had to release the ball before crossing the line, as with bowlers in cricket, he also had to start his delivery from within the box; he could not run in from the field as bowlers do. Furthermore, the pitcher had to throw underhand. By the 1880s, pitchers had mastered the underhand delivery—in fact, in 1880, there were two perfect games within a week of each other.[7]

text: In an attempt to "increase the batting", the front edge of the pitcher's box was moved back 5 feet (1.5 m) in 1881, to 50 feet (15 m) from home plate. The size of the box was altered over the following few years. Pitchers were allowed to throw overhand starting in 1884, and that tilted the balance of power again. In 1887, the box was set at 4 feet (1.2 m) wide and 5.5 feet (1.7 m) deep, with the front edge still 50 feet (15 m) from the plate. However, the pitcher was compelled to deliver the ball with his back foot at the 55.5 foot (16.9 m) line of the box, thus somewhat restricting his ability to "power" the ball with his overhand delivery.[8]:96

text: In 1893, the box was replaced by the pitcher's plate, although "the box" is still used today as a slang term for the pitcher's location on the field. Exactly 5 feet (1.5 m) was added to the point the pitcher had to toe, again "to increase the batting" (and hopefully to increase attendance, as fan interest had flagged somewhat), resulting in the seemingly peculiar pitching distance of 60.5 feet (18.4 m).[8]:230

text: Many sources suggest that the pitching distance evolved from 45 to 50 to 60.5 feet. However, the first two were the "release point" and the third is the "pushoff point", so the 1893 increase was not quite as dramatic as is often implied; that is, the 1893 rule change added only 5 feet to the release point, not 10.5 feet (3.2 m).

text: Originally the pitcher threw from flat ground, but over time the raised mound was developed, somewhat returning the advantage to the pitchers. Before the mid-20th century, it was common for baseball fields to include a dirt pathway between the pitcher's mound and home plate. This feature is sometimes known as the "keyhole" due to the shape that it makes together with the mound. The keyhole was once as wide as the pitcher's box and resembled the "pitch" area used in the game of cricket. Sometimes this path extended through the batting area and all the way to the backstop. Once the rounded pitcher's mound was developed, the path became more ornamental than practical, and was gradually thinned before being largely abandoned by the 1950s. In recent years some ballparks, such as Comerica Park and Chase Field in the major leagues, have revived the feature for nostalgic reasons.

text: Maintenance[edit]

text: Honors and awards[edit]

text: The Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) presents various awards each year. Starting in 2001, its Sports Turf Manager of the Year Awards have been presented annually in the Triple-A, Double-A, Class A, and Short-Season/Rookie divisions of Minor League Baseball and are chosen from the 16 league winners.[9] STMA also presents the Baseball Field of the Year Award, which includes Schools and Parks, College/University and Professional categories.[10]