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The Civil War
Chelli's American Civil War Timeline -
Election of 1860
Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln was elected in March. He claimed not to interfere with slavery, but at the same time. delared that no state possessed the right to break up the Union. -
Fort Sumpter
Fort Sumptor, located in South Carolina's Charelston harbor was critical to the North and because it was under Southern control, was cut off from supplies and reinforcements. President Lincoln neither defended it nor gave it up, and therefore sent spupplies and food to the small federal garrison. TGhis gave South Carolina the choice of permitting the fort to hold out, or opening fire. The attack on Fort Sumpter was known as the beginning of the war with two of attacking that led most of the nor -
Battle of Bull Run
Considered the first major battle of the Civil War, Union troops marched and attacked confederate tropps near Bill Run Creek at Manassas Junction, Virginia. The South's victory proved that the war would not be as short and sweet as the North believed. -
Stonewall Jackson
The Battle of Bull Run gave Stonewall his nickname as he adequately displayed his skills on the frontier and stood strong, like a “stone wall.” He was considered a Hero in the South, counterattacking inexperienced Union soldiers and sending them fearfully back to Washington. -
Robert E. Lee
Knowm for his tactical and strategic skills, the Confederate General Lee defeated the Union McClellan's forces in Bull Run, forcing them to retreat back to the Potomac. He was also victorious in the second battle of Bill Run, taking advatage of the change in Union generals. However, he was unsuccessful at the Battle of Antietam due to restoration of McClellan and was forced to retreat back to Virginia. -
Monitor vs. Merrimac
The Union ship "Monitor" went fourth in a five hour duel with the Confederate ironclad "Merrmac" near Hampton, Virginia. Northerners wanted to shut down Southerner's supply sources and maximize their own economic and naval advantages by blockading southern ports. The Merrimac, with it's ability to attack and sink a wooden Union ship with ease, put up a good challenge. This duel proved that the new ironclads both sides had obtained would be revolutionary to naval warfare. -
Battle of Antietam
Due to his victory at Bull Run, Lee confidently led his troops to Maryland with hopes of convincing Britian to recognize and support the Confederacy. McClellan, who had been replaced in the Second Battle of Bull Run by John Pope, was reinitiated. He had a tip off of Lee's battle plan due to a copy that had been dropped by a Confederate officer. The Union took Confederacy forces by surprise and forced them back to Virginia. The battle successfully kept foreign aid out of Confederate hands. -
Gettysburg Address
Supporting the concept of democracy, Lincoln's most famous speech that even alluded to the Emancipation Proclamation, reinforced that all men were created equal. He spoke of creating a "new freedom" or new nation, united under federal power. Another goal was to commemorate those who had lost their lives in the bloodiest battle of the war and to continue on, finishing what they started in the fight for the Union, making sure the souls had not been given in vain. -
Battle of Fredricksburg
In an attempt to advance, President Lincoln decided that he would replace McClellan once again with Ambrose Burnside in favor of more reckless attacking strategies. The results were high casualties and losses, & increased importance of weapons as well as the outcome of the war. The Union defeated the confed defeated the Confederacy once the strategies of "caution and inaction" was replaced with boldness and forefront and attack. -
Emancipation Proclamaion
President Lincoln issued the Emacipation Proclamation to free all slaves out of "military necessity." It was delayed in order to wait for further support until the first of the new year. However, slaves were not immediately freed because the Confederates were not under Union control. It introduced to the cause of war too, direct fighting over slavery. Freed slaves were even recruited into the Union army and slaves in search of freedom fleed to Union lines increasingly. -
Battle of Gettysburg
With over 50,000 casualties, the Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle, but also, the most crucial. Lee took offense, oping to destroy the Union army or capture significant Northern cities and force them to call for peace. Lee's plan however, backfired. His assaults with intentions of Southern avail instead destroyed a good part of his own army and forced him to retreat back to Virginia, never again to take offense. -
Battle of Vicksburg
Grant began to seize Vicksburg, Mississippi in hopes of gaining complete control of the Mississippi River. This was a signifcant turning point for the Union in their favor. Both the city and nearly 29,000 soldiers surrendered to Union bombardment. Texcas, Louisiana, and Arkansas were isolated from Confederacy contact. -
Sherman's March
General William Tecumseh Sherman, a advocate of the campaign of Total War set off from Chattanooga, Tennessee with 100,000 men. His plan was destruction. Starting in Georgia and extending North into South Carolina, he and his troops destroyed and burned everything they encountered. He successfully captured Atlanta and set fire to South Carolina's captialand the center of secession, Columbia. Sherman met his own set criteria of serverely hurting Confederate cause -
Ulysses S. Grant
Grant was made commander of all the Union armies due to his ability to lead the troops to victory. He wore down the already dwindling Southern supplies, captured Fort Hengery and Fort Donelson which opened up the Mississippi river for Union attack, and even held the army together while under attack at Shiloh by Confederates under Albert Johnson. Though he suffered greater losses at the vattkes if Wilderness, Spotsykvabia, and cold habor, he later succeeded by forcing Lee's army to take defense. -
Appotomax Courthouse
Lee attempted to escape Lincoln's negotiations of full restoration of the Union by fleeing to the mountains. However, he was cut off by Grant and frced to surrender. However, Lee was not completely humiliated. Grant allowed he and his troops to return to their homes with their horses. -
Lincoln's Assasination
John Wilkes Booth killed the president at a performance in Washington. Lincoln had encouraged that the North treat the South with "malice towards none" but the assasination of President Lincoln and the assault of Secretary of State William Seward did the opposite. It aroused Northern anger and contempt. It had negative effects in the long run on both sides, since they now had to deal with post-war Reconstruction without their leader.
