Research Guides & Indexes: Virginia in the American Civil War: Campaigns &amp; Battles

Campaigns & Battles

The Battle of Dranesville sketched by an officer who was present / Harper's Weekly, Jan. 11, 1862.

Due to Virginia's location along the border, Virginia was the most contested battleground of the American Civil War, with numerous campaigns, battles, and skirmishes occurring in the state.

The Library's collections contain letters and other personal papers of individuals involved with campaigns; battles, maps, and survey reports of battlefields from the Virginia W.P.A. Historical Inventory Project; and an extensive collection of books concerning campaigns and battles in Virginia.

For maps of Virginia campaigns and battles, see the Maps section.

Search Tips

Use the following suggested keywords to search the LVA Catalog:

United States History Civil War, 1861-1865 Campaigns
Virginia History Civil War, 1861-1865 Campaigns
[Location] History Civil War, 1861-1865

Many major campaigns and battles can be searched by name. Some examples include:

Chancellorsville, Battle of, Chancellorsville, Va., 1863
Cold Harbor, Battle of, Va. 1864
Shenandoah Valley Campaign, 1862

A full list of battles that occurred in Virginia and, later, West Virginia is below.

Featured Resources

Salmon, John S. The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2001.

United States War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington: Govt. Print. Off., 1880–1901.
Online: HathiTrust Digital Library

Battles in Virginia

Date	Battle Location/Name	State
May 18–21, 1861	Battle of Sewell's Point	Virginia
May 29 – June 1, 1861	Battle of Aquia Creek	Virginia
June 10, 1861	Battle of Big Bethel	Virginia
July 18, 1861	Battle of Blackburn's Ford	Virginia
July 21, 1861	First Battle of Bull Run or First Manassas	Virginia
October 21, 1861	Battle of Ball's Bluff or Leesburg	Virginia
December 20, 1861	Battle of Dranesville	Virginia
January 3, 1862	Battle of Cockpit Point	Virginia
March 8–9, 1862	Battle of Hampton Roads	Virginia
March 23, 1862	First Battle of Kernstown	Virginia
April 5 – May 4, 1862	Siege of Yorktown (1862) or Battle of Yorktown	Virginia
May 5, 1862	Battle of Williamsburg	Virginia
May 7, 1862	Battle of Eltham's Landing	Virginia
May 8, 1862	Battle of McDowell	Virginia
May 15, 1862	Battle of Drewry's Bluff	Virginia
May 23, 1862	Battle of Front Royal	Virginia
May 25, 1862	First Battle of Winchester	Virginia
May 27, 1862	Battle of Hanover Court House	Virginia
May 31 – June 1, 1862	Battle of Seven Pines	Virginia
June 8, 1862	Battle of Cross Keys	Virginia
June 9, 1862	Battle of Port Republic	Virginia
June 25, 1862	Battle of Oak Grove	Virginia
June 26, 1862	Battle of Beaver Dam Creek or Mechanicsville	Virginia
June 27, 1862	Battle of Gaines' Mill or Chickahominy River	Virginia
June 27–28, 1862	Battle of Garnett's & Golding's Farm	Virginia
June 29, 1862	Battle of Savage's Station	Virginia
June 30, 1862	Battle of Glendale	Virginia
June 30, 1862	Battle of White Oak Swamp	Virginia
July 1, 1862	Battle of Malvern Hill	Virginia
August 9, 1862	Battle of Cedar Mountain	Virginia
August 22–25, 1862	First Battle of Rappahannock Station	Virginia
August 25–27, 1862	Battle of Manassas Station Ops.	Virginia
August 28, 1862	Battle of Thoroughfare Gap	Virginia
August 28–30, 1862	Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas	Virginia
September 1, 1862	Battle of Chantilly or Ox Hill	Virginia
December 13, 1862	Battle of Fredericksburg	Virginia
March 17, 1863	Battle of Kelly's Ford	Virginia
April 11 – May 4, 1863	Battle of Suffolk (Hill's Point) or Battle of Fort Huger	Virginia
April 11 – May 4, 1863	Battle of Suffolk (Norfleet House); Siege of Suffolk	Virginia
April 30 – May 6, 1863	Battle of Chancellorsville	Virginia
May 3, 1863	Second Battle of Fredericksburg	Virginia
May 3–4, 1863	Battle of Salem Church	Virginia
June 9, 1863	Battle of Brandy Station	Virginia
June 13–15, 1863	Second Battle of Winchester	Virginia
June 17, 1863	Battle of Aldie	Virginia
June 17–19, 1863	Battle of Middleburg	Virginia
June 21, 1863	Battle of Upperville	Virginia
July 23, 1863	Battle of Manassas Gap	Virginia
October 13, 1863	First Battle of Auburn	Virginia
October 14, 1863	Battle of Bristoe Station	Virginia
October 14, 1863	Second Battle of Auburn	Virginia
October 19, 1863	Battle of Buckland Mills	Virginia
November 7, 1863	Second Battle of Rappahannock Station	Virginia
November 27 – December 2, 1863	Battle of Mine Run	Virginia
February 6–7, 1864	Battle of Morton's Ford	Virginia
March 2, 1864	Battle of Walkerton	Virginia
May 5–7, 1864	Battle of the Wilderness	Virginia
May 6–7, 1864	Battle of Port Walthall Junction	Virginia
May 8–21, 1864	Battle of Spotsylvania Court House	Virginia
May 9, 1864	Battle of Swift Creek	Virginia
May 9, 1864	Battle of Cloyd's Mountain	Virginia
May 10, 1864	Battle of Chester Station	Virginia
May 10, 1864	Battle of Cove Mountain	Virginia
May 11, 1864	Battle of Yellow Tavern	Virginia
May 12–16, 1864	Battle of Proctor's Creek	Virginia
May 15, 1864	Battle of New Market	Virginia
May 20, 1864	Battle of Ware Bottom Church	Virginia
May 23–26, 1864	Battle of North Anna	Virginia
May 24, 1864	Battle of Wilson's Wharf	Virginia
May 28, 1864	Battle of Haw's Shop	Virginia
May 28–30, 1864	Battle of Totopotomoy Creek	Virginia
May 30, 1864	Battle of Old Church	Virginia
May 31 – June 12, 1864	Battle of Cold Harbor	Virginia
June 5, 1864	Battle of Piedmont	Virginia
June 9, 1864	First Battle of Petersburg	Virginia
June 11–12, 1864	Battle of Trevilian Station	Virginia
June 15–18, 1864	Second Battle of Petersburg	Virginia
June 17–18, 1864	Battle of Lynchburg	Virginia
June 21–24, 1864	Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road	Virginia
June 24, 1864	Battle of Saint Mary's Church	Virginia
June 25, 1864	Battle of Staunton River Bridge	Virginia
June 28, 1864	Battle of Sappony Church	Virginia
June 29, 1864	First Battle of Ream's Station	Virginia
July 18–19, 1864	Battle of Cool Spring	Virginia
July 20, 1864	Battle of Rutherford's Farm	Virginia
July 24, 1864	Second Battle of Kernstown	Virginia
July 27–29, 1864	First Battle of Deep Bottom	Virginia
July 30, 1864	Battle of the Crater	Virginia
August 14–20, 1864	Second Battle of Deep Bottom	Virginia
August 16, 1864	Battle of Guard Hill	Virginia
August 18–21, 1864	Battle of Globe Tavern	Virginia
August 25, 1864	Second Battle of Ream's Station	Virginia
September 3–4, 1864	Battle of Berryville	Virginia
September 19, 1864	Battle of Opequon or (Third Battle of Winchester)	Virginia
September 21–22, 1864	Battle of Fisher's Hill	Virginia
September 29–30, 1864	Battle of Chaffin's Farm or (New Market Heights)	Virginia
September 30 – October 2, 1864	Battle of Peebles' Farm	Virginia
October 1–3, 1864	First Battle of Saltville	Virginia
October 7, 1864	Battle of Darbytown and New Market	Virginia
October 9, 1864	Battle of Tom's Brook	Virginia
October 13, 1864	Battle of Darbytown Road	Virginia
October 19, 1864	Battle of Cedar Creek	Virginia
October 27–28, 1864	Battle of Boydton Plank Road	Virginia
October 27–28, 1864	Battle of Fair Oaks & Darbytown Road	Virginia
December 17–18, 1864	Battle of Marion	Virginia
December 20–21, 1864	Second Battle of Saltville	Virginia
February 5–7, 1865	Battle of Hatcher's Run	Virginia
March 2, 1865	Battle of Waynesboro, Virginia	Virginia
March 25, 1865	Battle of Fort Stedman	Virginia
March 29, 1865	Battle of Lewis's Farm	Virginia
March 31, 1865	Battle of White Oak Road	Virginia
March 31, 1865	Battle of Dinwiddie Court House	Virginia
April 1, 1865	Battle of Five Forks	Virginia
April 2, 1865	Third Battle of Petersburg	Virginia
April 2, 1865	Battle of Sutherland's Station	Virginia
April 3, 1865	Battle of Namozine Church	Virginia
April 5, 1865	Battle of Amelia Springs	Virginia
April 6, 1865	Battle of Rice's Station	Virginia
April 6, 1865	Battle of Sayler's Creek (or Sailor's Creek)	Virginia
April 6–7, 1865	Battle of High Bridge	Virginia
April 7, 1865	Battle of Cumberland Church	Virginia
April 8, 1865	Battle of Appomattox Station	Virginia
April 9, 1865	Battle of Appomattox Court House	Virginia
November 6, 1863	Battle of Droop Mountain	West Virginia
August 7, 1864	Battle of Moorefield	West Virginia
August 21, 1864	Battle of Summit Point	West Virginia
August 25–29, 1864	Battle of Smithfield Crossing	West Virginia
June 3, 1861	Battle of Philippi (West Virginia)	West Virginia (Virginia at the time)
July 2, 1861	Battle of Hoke's Run	West Virginia (Virginia at the time)
July 11, 1861	Battle of Rich Mountain	West Virginia (Virginia at the time)
August 26, 1861	Battle of Kessler's Cross Lanes	West Virginia (Virginia at the time)
September 10, 1861	Battle of Carnifex Ferry	West Virginia (Virginia at the time)
September 12–15, 1861	Battle of Cheat Mountain	West Virginia (Virginia at the time)
October 3, 1861	Battle of Greenbrier River	West Virginia (Virginia at the time)
December 13, 1861	Battle of Camp Allegheny	West Virginia (Virginia at the time)
May 15–17, 1862	Battle of Princeton Court House	West Virginia (Virginia at the time)
September 12–15, 1862	Battle of Harpers Ferry	West Virginia (Virginia at the time)
September 19–20, 1862	Battle of Shepherdstown	West Virginia (Virginia at the time)