-
Fort Sumter ATTACKED!
Confederate troops under leadership of Gen. Pierre Beuregard take Fort Sumter. 50 cannons open fire upon Fort Sumter. In Charleston, South Carolina, the war is begun. -
Period: to
Civil War
-
Beginnings of a Plan
In April 1861 General Winfield Scott came up with the plan, which was basically to blockade the saltwater ports of the South and to stop all commerce on the Mississippi River so no cotton could be exported and no war supplies could be imported.The strategy was devised to weaken the south without invading it. It was nicknamed the Anaconda Plan because it would strangle the Confederacy the way the anaconda snake constricts its victim. -
Bull Run
The Union army under leadership suffers a defeat at Bull Run. Confederate Gen. Jackson earns nickname "stonewall". Union troops fall back to Washington -
Shiloh
Confederate surprise attack on Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's unprepared troops at Shiloh on the Tennessee River results in a bitter struggle with 13,000 Union killed and wounded and 10,000 Confederates, more men than in all previous American wars combined. The president is then pressured to relieve Grant but resists. -
Antietam, day of bloodshed
The single most bloodiest day in U.S. military history. General Lee is stopped at Antietam by the Union and there massive numbers. By nightfall 26,000 men are dead, wounded, or missing. Lee then withdraws to Virginia. -
Fredricksburg
The Union army suffers massive defeat at hands of the Rebels. Over the course of the fight, 12,653 Union men are lost after 14 frontal assaults. Confederates lose only 5,309. -
FREEDOM!
President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves held territories of the confederates. The war that once held to preserve the Union, now serves another purpose, a revolutionary struggle for the abolition of slavery. -
Chancellorsville
The Union army, again, suffers a defeat by a much smaller Rebel force. The Union's had no chance against the Rebels smart leader, General Robert E. Lee. General "Stonewall" Jackson is killed by friendly fire. Union losses are 17,000 killed, wounded and missing out of 130,000. The Confederates, 13, 000 out of 60,000. -
Gettysburg, The Turn of the Tide
The tides of war are turned as the powerful smart Rebels are destroyed by the massive armies of the Union. Afterwards, President Lincoln would give the Gettysburg Address to the dead soldiers families on one of the many graveyards. -
Vicksburg
Vicksburg is the last Rebel stronghold on the Mississippi River. They surrender to General Grant after a six week siege. This effectively split the Confederate army in two. -
Total War! Sherman's March
After capturing Atlanta, General William T. Sherman marches with 62,000 men to the sea. Sherman reaches Savannah in Georgia leaving behind a 300 mile long path of destruction 60 miles wide all the way from Atlanta. Sherman then telegraphs Lincoln, offering him Savannah as a Christmas present. -
Surrender, End of Civil Disobedience
General Lee surrenders in his home state of virginia at the Appomattox Court House. Grant allows Rebel soldiers to keep horses and mules. Lee surrenders in the parlor of his house.
