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Election of 1860
The Republicans felt that they had an advantage in this election, seeing as how the Democrats were dividing. To better their chances of victory, the Republicans turned away from the better known Senator William H. Seward to the strong debater from Illinois, Abraham Lincoln. Fearing a Republican victory, a group of former Whigs and moderate Democrats formed the Constitational Union Party. The election of Abraham lincoln was the final event that convinced the south to leave the Union. -
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The American Civil War
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Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis was born on June 3, 1808. He was an American statesman, but apart from that, he was also the leader of the Confederacy during the civil war. He was also the President of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865. -
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as the Union Army's military commander during the Civil War. Under his command, the Union Army defeated and ended the Confederate States of America. -
Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee was a major general for the Confederate army. In early 1861, Lee was invited to take control of the entire Union Army by President Lincoln. He refused that offer ,however, since his home state of Virginia was with the Confederate army. He also was responsible for many Confederate victories, including the Battle of Fredericksburg, Battle of Chancellorsville, Battle of the Wilderness, Battle of Cold Harbor, Seven Days Battles, and the Second Battle of Bull Run. -
Fort Sumter
It was a garrison that was held by Federal troops but claimed by a seceded state. This fort was located in the harbor of Charlston, South Carolina, but was cut off from vital supplies and reinforcements by southern control of the harbor. When lincoln attemted to send the fort provisions of food, the south reacted by opening fire on Federal ships, thus starting the war. -
Winfield Scott and the Anaconda Plan
The Anaconda Plan was the name of the strategy for subduing the seceding states in the South, thought of by General-in-chief Winfield Scott. It emphasized the blockade of the Southern ports, and called for an advance down the Mississippi River to cut the South in two. -
Battle of Bull Run
The Battle of Bull Run was fought outside of Manassas, Virginia. The battle was fought between the Union and the Confederate armies. The Union troops were under the command of General McDowell. The Confederate troops fought under the command of General Joseph Johnston and General PGT Beauregard. This battle was one of the first major land battles fought in the American Civil War. -
George McClellan
George McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served as the general-in-chief of the Union Army for a short time. He also played an important role in raising a well-trained army for the Union. -
Thomas Stonewall Jackson
Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson was born on January 21, 1824 and was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. He was probably the most well-known Confederate commander after General Robert E. Lee.His military career includes the Valley Campaign of 1862 and his service as a corps commander in the Army of Northern Virginia. His death was a severe setback for the Confederacy. -
Monitor and Merrimac
Also known as The Battle of Hampton Roads, this battle was the most noted and probably most important naval battle of the Civil War. The battle was a part of the effort of the Confederacy to break the Union blockade, which had cut off Virginia's largest cities from international trade, which ended up as a failure. The major significance of the battle is that it was the first meeting in combat of ironclad warships. -
Battle of Antietam
This battle was the first major battle in the Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000 deaths. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
This battle was fought in Virginia, between Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and Ambrose E. Burnside's Army of the Potomac. The Union Army's inferior attacks against the well protected Confederate army is remembered as one of the most one-sided battles of the American Civil War. Union casualties were more than double than that of the Confederate's. -
Emancipation Proclamation
This document is an executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War under his war powers. It proclaimed the freedom of 3.1 million of the nation's 4 million slaves, and immediately freed 50,000 of them. The rest however, were freed as Union forces advanced and captured Confederate territories. -
Battle of Vicksburg
The Siege of Vicksburg was the final major military action in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. Combined with the Union Amry's previous victory the day before, over Robert E. Lee's army, it was also considered the turning point of the war. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, and also the turning point of the war. Union General Meade's Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, thus ending Lee's invasion of the North. -
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech by President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the best-known speeches in United States history. It was given four and a half months after the Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy at the decisive Battle of Gettysburg, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery. -
Sherman’s March
Sherman's March to the Sea is the name commonly given to the Savannah Campaign conducted around Georgia by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army in the American Civil War. It inflicted significant damage, particularly to industry and infrastructure, and also to civilian property. -
Appomattox Court House
This battle was the final engagement of the Confederate States Army of Northern Virginia before it surrendered to the Union Army. Robert E. Lee tried to meet up with fellow Confederate troops in North Carolina, but was cut off by Union forces, thus finally forcing Lee's surrender. -
Lincoln’s Assassination
President Lincoln was shot in at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.. He died from the gunshot wound, but not until the following morning. his assasin was John Wilkes Booth, who killed him in an effort to rally together whatever Confederate troops remain and continue the fighting.
