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The American Civil War
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Election of 1860
The United States presidential election of 1860 set the stage for The American Civil War. The nation had been divided throughout most of the 1850s on questions of states' rights and slavery in the territories. In 1860, this issue finally came to head, fracturing the formerly dominant Democratic Party into Southern and Northern factions and bringing Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party to power without the support of a single Southern state. Some states did declarations of secession. -
Fort Sumter
The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter. United States attempts to resupply and reinforce the garrison were repulsed on January 9, 1861 when the first shots of the war, fired by cadets from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina prevented the steamer Star of the West, a ship hired by the Union to transport troops and supplies to Fort Sumter, from completing the task. -
Jefferson Davis' Presidency(Confederate)
Jefferson Davis was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as the President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history, 1861 to 1865.His attempted strategic offensives when he felt that military success would shake Northern self-confidence and strengthen the peace party there.He approved the cabinet decision to bombard Fort Sumter, which started the Civil War. -
Winfield Scott and the Anaconda Plan
The first military strategy offered to President Abraham Lincoln for crushing the rebellion of Southern states was devised by Union General-in-Chief Winfield Scott.
The plan emphasized the blockade of the Southern ports, and called for an advance down the Mississippi River to cut the South in two. The passive features of Scott's plan were ridiculed as a proposal "to squeeze the South to military death. -
Battle of Bull Run
The Battle of Bull Run was the first major land battle of the American Civil War.It was fought near Manassas, Virginia.The Confederates launched a strong counterattack and as the Union troops began withdrawing under pressure,many panicked and it turned into a rout as they frantically ran in the direction of nearby Washington, D.C.Both sides were sobered by the violence and casualties of the battle, and they realized that the war would potentially be much longer and bloodier than expected. -
Monitor and Merrimac
The Battle of Monitor and Merrimack, was a naval battle of the American Civil War, famous for being the first fight between two ironclad warships, the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia. The principal confrontations took place on March 8 and March 9, 1862, off Sewell's Point,Virginia. After the battle, it was clear that ironclad ships were the future of naval warfare. Lessons from this naval encounter would be applied in the sea battles of World War I and World War II. -
George McClellan- Battle of Antietam
His performance at the bloody Battle of Antietam blunted Lee's invasion of Maryland,but allowed Lee to eke out a precarious tactical draw and avoid destruction, despite being outnumbered. Battle of Antietam was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil.It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000 casualties.After pursuing Confederate General Robert E. Lee into Maryland,Union Army Maj. Gen.George B. McClellan launched attacks. -
Thomas Stonewall Jackson- Battle of Fredericksburg (Dec. 11-15 ,1862)
Jackson is probably the most well-known Confederate commander after General Robert E. Lee.Before the armies camped for winter, Jackson's Second Corps held off a strong Union assault against the right flank of the Confederate line at the Battle of Fredericksburg, in what became a decisive Confederate victory.Union casualties more than twice as heavy as those suffered by the Confederates. It was a long battle. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation 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, with the rest freed as Union armies advanced.[1] On September 22, 1862, Lincoln announced that he would issue a formal emancipation of all slaves in any state of the Confederate States of America that did not return to Union control. -
Battle of Vicksburg- Ulysses S. Grant
The Union Army of the Tennessee under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant gained control of the river by capturing this stronghold and defeating Lt. Gen. John C.Pemberton's forces stationed there.The Confederate surrender following the siege at Vicksburg is sometimes considered the turning point of the war.Grant's successes in the West boosted his reputation.Under Grant's command, the Union Army ended the Confederate States of America. -
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the best-known speeches in United States history.It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, four and a half months after the Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy at the decisive Battle of Gettysburg. Lincoln invoked the principles of human equality. -
Sherman's March
Sherman's March to the Sea is the name commonly given to the Savannah Campaign conducted around Georgia during November-December 1864 by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army in the American Civil War. The campaign began with Sherman's troops leaving the captured city of Atlanta, Georgia on November 15 and ended with the capture of the port of Savannah on December 21.It inflicted significant damage, particularly to industry and infrastructure . -
Appomattox Court House
The Appomattox Courthouse is a courthouse in Appomattox, Virginia built in 1892. The signing of the surrender documents occurred in the parlor of the house owned by Wilmer McLean on the afternoon of April 9. It is a very important and unforgettable place in the Civil War. The agreement was done here. -
Lincoln's Assasination
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was carried out on Good Friday, April 14, 1865. President Lincoln died from the gunshot wound the following morning. Lincoln was shot at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. The American Civil War was drawing to a close, just six days after the large-scale surrender of Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee to Union General U. S. Grant. The assassination was planned and carried out by John Wilkes Booth.
