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Confedercy Fires Upon Ft. Sumter
After the Southern secession South Carolina demanded that the Union give up all military presence in their state. Federal troops located in Ft. Sumter refused to surrender so the South fired the first shots of the Civil War on the Fort. -
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The Civil War
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First Battle of Bull Run
The First Battle of Bull Run is the first time in the Civil War that the Union and Confederate ground troops met in combat. The Confederacy was able to defeat the Union and send them back North in retreat. -
The Battle of Shiloh
Considered on of the bloodiest days in the war the Battle of Shiloh was fough on the banks of Tennessee River between General Grant of the Union and Confederate Generals Johnston and Beauregard. The Confederacy succeeding in pushing the Union back but in the evening the Union received reinforcements and was able to force the Confederates to retreat. -
Stonewall Jackson Stops Union Forces
In a campaign through the Shenandoah Valley Jackson stops the Western Union Army in their march towards Richmond and forces them to retreat back to the North to regroup. -
Harper's Ferry
General Stonewall Jackson was able to capture Harper's Ferry with very little cost to him and still was able to rush back to Sharpsburg. He lost very little men but was able to capture a major Union garisson along with 12,000 Union soldiers. He only lost 200 men. -
Battle of Antietam
The bloodiest day of the war over 100,000 soldiers met on the fields outside of Sharpsburg, Maryland. Over 20,000 soldiers died that day in which the Union won and secured England's and France's support for the duration of the war. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
Analysis of Lincoln's ActPresident Abraham Lincoln issued an Executive Order stating that all enslaved people in the 10 Confederate states were free. It did not apply to slaves in Northern states because Lincoln thought that if he freed border state slaves the states would cecede and join the Confederacy. -
The Battle of Chancellorsville
On April 27, Union General Hooker crossed the Rappahannock River to attack General Lee's forces. Lee split his army, attacking a surprised Union army in three places and almost completely defeating them. Hooker withdrew across the Rappahannock River, giving the South a victory, but it was the Confederates' most costly victory in terms of casualties. -
The Vicksburg Campaign
Union General Grant won several victories around Vicksburg, Mississippi, the fortified city considered essential to the Union's plans to regain control of the Mississippi River. On May 22, Grant began a siege of the city. After six weeks, Confederate General John Pemberton surrendered, giving up the city and 30,000 men. The capture of Port Hudson, Louisiana, shortly thereafter placed the entire Mississippi River in Union hands. The Confederacy was split in two. -
The Battle of Gettysburg
A chance encounter lead to the entire battle. The Union won even thought the Confederates had more troops and far more defensible locations. This battle was the turning point of the war and after this many people finally believed that the war would be won by the Union. -
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
Speech AudioRegarded as one of the greatest speeches in American history President Lincoln emphasized keeping the Union together and that all humans are created equal. -
Confederates March on Washington
The Confederate Army marched into Maryland and were able to get within 5 miles of Washington DC before being driven back into the South. It would be the closest that Confederate troops came to the Union Capital. -
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Sherman March's Through Georgia
General Sherman of the Union Army took his troops on a 300 mile long and 60 mile wide march through Georgia burning and destroying crops, factories, and railroads. This crippled a huge industrial center for the South in Atlanta. -
Lincoln Gets Re-elected
Union President Abraham Lincoln gets re-elected in a landslide and this proves to be a huge boost of moral to all Union troops. -
No Chance for Peach
Confederate President Jefferson Davis agreed to send delegates to a peace conference with President Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward, but insisted on Lincoln's recognition of the South's independence as a prerequisite. Lincoln refused, and the conference never occurred. -
Lee Surrenders
General Lee's troops were soon surrounded, and on April 7, Grant called upon Lee to surrender. On April 9, the two commanders met at Appomattox Courthouse, and agreed on the terms of surrender. Lee's men were sent home on parole -- soldiers with their horses, and officers with their side arms. All other equipment was surrendered. -
President Lincoln is Assassinated
On April 14, as President Lincoln was watching a performance of "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., he was shot by John Wilkes Booth, an actor from Maryland obsessed with avenging the Confederate defeat. Lincoln died the next morning. Booth escaped to Virginia. Eleven days later, cornered in a burning barn, Booth was fatally shot by a Union soldier. Nine other people were involved in the assassination; four were hanged, four imprisoned, and one acquitted.
