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FORT SUMTER
This was the site of the opening shots of the Civil War. President Lincoln annouced plans to re-supply the fort, so Confederate General P.G,T. Beauregard bombarded the fort. This artillery duel resulted in the surrender of the bastion of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. The Battle ended on April 13th. -
Period: to
Civil War
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FIRST BULL RUN
About 35,00 Union troops marched from Washington D.C. to encounter a Confederate force of about 20,00 along a small river known as Bull Run. At first the Confederates fighted defensively, but were eventually able to break the Union. The Confederate victory gave those in the south a surge of hope. -
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH
At the time, Shiloh was the bloodiest battle in history. It served as America's introduction to the civil war. The Confederates launched a surprise attack on the Union forces. The Confederates were unable to hold their positions, and the Union forces won. The battle ended on April 7th, 1862. -
SEVEN DAYS RETREAT
Lincoln and Edwin Stanton agreed on closing the recruitment offices in the north. Lee became commander of the Army of Northern Viginia and pursued the Army of the Potomac. Lincoln realized he wrong about closing the offices and re-opened them. It ended on July 1st, 1862. -
SECOND BULL RUN
Union force commanded by John Pope waited for George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac. But, Lee sent half of his army of Northern Virginia to hit the Federal supply base at Manassas. Led by Stonewell Jackson, the rebels seized supplies and burned the depot. On August 29th, the Pope's army clashed with Jackson's army, forcing the Pope to withdraw his army. -
ANTIETAM
Generals Robert E. Lee and George McClellan faced off, allowing McClellan to check the Confederate advance into the north. It gave Lincoln the percieved victory he desired to release the Emancipation Proclaimation. The battle was inconclusive, but it was the bloodiest day of the war. -
FREDERICKSBURG
Union General A.E. Burnside planned to cross the Rappahannock River and advance on the Southern capital at Richmond.Confederate General Robert E. Lee countered by taking a strong position on high ground behind Fredericksburg. It was a Confederate victory. -
CHANCELLORSVILLE
Confederate General Lee was facing an Union army nearly double his army's size. Lee cleveraly and daringly split his troops in two and surprised Union General Joseph Hooker. Hooker was forced to retreat. It was a Conferate vicotry and ended May 6th, 1863.
-Conferate victory
-Lee's brilliant and daring tactics -
GETTYSBERG
Lee marched his army of Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania. The advancing army clashed with the Union army of Potomac in the crossroads town of Gettysburg. Lee ordered an assult, known as the "Pickett's Charge," which eventually failed. The Union army won. It ended on July 3, 1863.
-The Union won
-Considered the turning point of the war -
VICKSBURG
While Lee was losing in the North, General Grant was besieging Vicksburg. The trapped Confederates enventually caved into Grant's command of surrender. This battle gave Union forces control of the Mississippi River, spliting the Confederacy in half. -
CHICKAMAUGA
Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee defeated a Union force commanded by General William Rosecrans. Rosecrans' troops had pushed Bragg's army out earlier. Because of this, Bragg launched a counter attack on the banks of Chickamauga Creek. Braggs failed to press his victory, when Union General Grant arrived to with rienforcements to reverse the results of Chickamauga. -
CHATTANOOGA
Union forces beat Confederate troops in Tennessee at the battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. These victories forced the Confederates back into Georgia and ended the siege of the major railroad junction of Chattanooga. It ended Nov. 25th, 1863. -
FALL OF ATLANTA
Sherman took control of the Union army during the Fall of Atlanta. Sherman went through Georgia, taking contol of Atlanta and burning it. Atlanta was a vital city and railroad junction. -
SURRENDER AT APPOMATTOX
Union forces stopped General Lee from reaching North Carolina with his army. General Lee surrendered to Grant by waving a white flag on top of a hill overlooking the Appomattox River in Virginia. General Grant accepted this surrender in the Appomattox Court House.
