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Period: to
The American Civil War
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The Election of 1860
In the antebellum period, the election of 1860 cast delegates from a separating Democratic party and an advantageous Republican party. When sectional differences were leading to a civil war, Abraham Lincoln, as a Republican, gained enough Northern support to win the election in March.This event determined the South's attempt to secede from the Union. The South's threat to depart eventually led to the first civil war battle at Fort Sumter in April 12, 1861. -
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis was a leader of the Confederacy and a statesman. He was elected as President of the Confederate States of America and took charge, but problems regarding stopping the more organized Union forces faced him as he couldn't find solutions. Davis assigned General Robert E. Lee as commander for the Confederate armies, which ended up as his most strategic decision. Too many of his shortcomings affected the Confederacy, so Lee ended up displacing him and move on to win Antietam in 1862. -
Fort Sumter
Because of Southern control of South Carolina's harbor, Fort Sumter, which was under the claim of federal troops, were cut off from needed supplies and reinforcements. Lincoln was already sending provisions to the fort but gave South Carolina the chioce to attack or stay neutral. The South ended up attacking Fort Sumter as the very beginning of the Civil War, later capturing it. As the very first battle, this conflict portrays Lincoln's unauthorized presidential power in 1861. -
Winfield Scott and the Anaconda Plan
As General-in-Chief, Winfield Scott proposed a three-part strategy for winning the Civil War, one of the strategies being the Anaconda Plan. This plan would blockade southern ports by the U.S. navy so to cut off supplies getting to the South. Compared to the coils of an anaconda suffocating its victim, the Anaconda Plan also devised to split the Confederacy in two by advancing the Mississippi, and train a strong army of 500,000. The Union would later be prepared in capturing Vicksburg in 1863. -
Thomas Stonewall Jackson
As the leader of Confederate forces, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson began being recognized during his First Battle of Bull Run. His ability to counterattack when the Union was close to victory earned him the nickname "Stonewall," and the battle resulted in the Union troops retreating. The Union's defeat showed the truth of the Civil War's prospective length. Jackson doesn't appear again, but is later replaced by Robert E. Lee for the Second Battle of Bull Run. -
Battle of Bull Run
Also known as the First Battle at Manassas, the Battle of Bull Run was fought at Virginia when 30,000 federal troops from Washington, D.C. attacked Confederate forces almost to victory. The Confederate forces, however, counterattacked under the leadership of General Thomas Jackson, sending the Union back to Washington. After such a defeat, federal armies experienced gradual defeats in campaigns. Forewarning that the Civil War would be a long, bloody one, this led to a Second Battle of Bull Run. -
George McClellan
As the new commander of the Union army in the East, General Geroge B. McClellan proposed a peninsula campaign, persisting for his troops to be trained and disciplined for numerous hours. McClellan's army was abruptly stopped by the Confederate army under Robert E. Lee when the Union attempted to invade Virginia. McClellan retreated back and was replaced, but his failures in this campaign would foreshadow future failures he makes, such as the loss and removal in the Battle of Antietam in 1862. -
Monitor and Merrimac
For North to win the war was directly related to its economic and naval ascendancy so to hinder South's sources of supply. The North's blockade strategy from the Anaconda Plan was put to a hold by the Confederate's ship Merrimac that had much possibility to crush the Union's wooden ship. Then, the Union countered Monitor, its own ironclad, to duel near Virginia. No one won, but an attack from the South was prevented, and the future of naval warfare would appear later with Confederate Raiders. -
Battle of Antietam
After General Robert E. Lee, the commander of the South's forces, took advantage of the change in Union generals to win the Second Battle of Bull Run, Lee marched his troops to Maryland. He hoped for Britain's recognition and support, but Lee had to first defeat General George B. McClellan's Union army. This soon became the bloodiest single day in the entire war. Lincoln removed McClellan as commander from his failure to destroy Lee's army, which led to the Battle of Fredericksburg in December. -
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant, the general in command for Union forces, campaigned for the North to gain control of the Mississippi River. By deliberately using gunboats and army maneuvers, Grant was able to capture 14,000 Confederates as prisoners, opening up the state of Mississippi for intrusion. Under Grant's control, the Union was able to stay firm. Grant will appear later in the Battle of Vicksburg, where he successfully captures the city and becomes commander of all Union forces. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
At Fredericksburg, Virginia, the newly appointed General Ambrose Burnside, who replaced McClellan, attacked Robert E. Lee's army and suffered more men than the Confederates. Weaponry had improved so tremendous that the Confederate and Union generals realized such brash attacks were disastrous, especially for the North. Victory was not won on either side, and the battle only made the war deadlier. Robert E. Lee's setbacks and brutality would appear again in Gettysburg in July of 1863. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Although the Emancipation Proclamation would not take effect until the first day of 1863, Lincoln fully decided to free all slaves in the states then at war in 1862. Calling it a "military necessity," Lincoln needed the north's support before announcing his plan for emancipation of slaves. Unfortunately, Lincoln's proclamation only freed slaves in Confederate states outside Union control. In consequence, the U.S. became entrusted in the policy of abolition for the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865. -
Battle of Vicksburg
General Grant of the Union departs to siege Vicksburg, Mississippi since Union forces controlled New Orleans and much of the Mississippi River. To have complete, secure control of the river, Grant continuously assaulted the city until Confederates surrendered on July 4. In consequence, all of the river was controlled by federal warships and southern states, like Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas, were cut from the Confederacy. This would lead to Grant becoming commander of all Union forces in 1864. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Once again leading his army to battle his rivals, Robert E. Lee marches to Maryland and Pennsylvania to capture a city or eliminate the Union army. This ended up surprising the Union army, causing the bloodiest battle and most significant of the war, when Lee hoped to force the North for peace. The Confederate army was partly demolished, later retreating back to Virginia. Robert E. Lee would not climb his way up after such a battle, but leave Grant to shine in 1864 when he defeats Lee's army. -
Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee emerged as a crucial general in the Battle of Gettysburg, one of the major turning points of the Civil War. Because of his devastating loss here to the Union troops, Lee and his army were ultimately defeated, left to retreat to Virginia and never again revive. Although Lee contributed to some vital victories before his defeat at Gettysburg, Lee gave hope to the North that the South was gradually dwindling in power. Grant eventually defeats Lee and his army every battle afterwards. -
Gettysburg Address
A speech done by Abraham Lincoln, the Gettysburg Address is mostly dedicated to the Union soldiers who had defeated the Confederate army at Gettysburg. His speech would soon be known as one of the greatest in American history, in which he also mentions human equality derived from the Declaration. Hoping to restore assurance of the survival of America's democracy, Lincoln addresses that the government "shall not perish." Lincoln's efforts will later sustain the Union's spirits until his death. -
Sherman’s March
To keep the South under control, General William Tecumseh Sherman led 100,000 men from Chattanooga, Tennessee all the way to Columbia, South Carolina, marching through every town that he encountered while burning everything in their path. A campaign of deliberate destruction, Sherman's march portrayed his relentless tactics for war. This helped Grant's forceful tactics to calm the South. Sherman hoped to break the Confederacy's will to go against them, but it only aids Lincoln's election. -
Appomattox Court House
Fought between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, the Battle of Appomattox Court House determined the surrender of Lee at one of the last battles of the Civil War. As Lee attempted to retreat west to join with Confederate forces in North Carolina, the Union army advanced to interfere. Lee was unable to break the strong Union, so surrendering was his resort. This final campaign led to the Union's siege of Petersburg and Richmond in Virginia, giving them advantages to winning the Civil War. -
Assassination of Lincoln
After delivering his second inaugural speech, addressing his desire to defeat the South, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theater in Washington. Lincoln was only watching a performance, but the angered, southern actor John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln. This resulted in the Northern states to be furious at a crucial time for the South to gain Northern hearing. Reconstruction following after was tough to deal with for the dividing problems of the United States without a strong leader.
