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1st Battle of Bull Run/ Manassas
30.00 inexperienced Union troops commanded by General Irvin McDowell attacked a smaller, equally inexperienced Confederate force led by General P.G.T, Beauregard.The fighting took place in northern Virginia, about 5 miles from the town of Manassas Junction near a small river called Bull Run. Hundreds of Washington, D.C., residents went to the battle site to picnic and watch. -
George B. McClellan named general of Army of Potomac
The outcome of Bull Run shocked Northerners. They began to understand that the war could be a long, difficult, and costly struggle. President Lincoln appointed a new general, George B.McClellan, to head and organize the Union army of the East---called the Army of Potomac---and to train the troops. -
Battle of Shiloh/Pittsburgh Landing
The battle lasted two days, with some of the most bitter, bloody fighting of the war. Even though Shiloh was a narrow victory for the Union forces, the losses were enormous. Together the two armies suffered more than 23,000 casualties---people killed or wounded. -
Battle of 2nd Bull Run/Manassas Junction
The fighting on the first day is sometimes known as the Battle of Groveton. On the morning after the battle, the Pope's army was greatly reduced. It had failed to prevent the unity of Lee's army. -
Battle of Antietam/Sharpsburg
About 6,00 soldiers were killed in this battle.17,000 more were badly wounded. It was an important victory for the Union because of the great losses, Lee chose to retreat to Virginia after the fighting. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
This battle featured the first major opposed river crossing in American military history. Union and Confederate troops fought in the streets of Fredericksburg, the Civil War’s first urban combat. With almost 200,000 combatants, no other Civil War battle featured a larger concentration of soldiers. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The confederates entered the town of much-needed supplies. General Lee hoped to avioid fighiting troops in a n unfamiliar area. However, the two sides encountered one another. The Union suffered the loss of 23,000. -
Surrender of Vicksburg
There was an estimate of 19,233 casualites. Grant's successes in the West helped his reputation, leading to his appointment as General-in-Chief of the Union armies. -
Gettysburg Address
Soldiers' National Cemetery was dedicated at Gettysburg. Lincoln honored the soldiers and the cause for which they had fought and died, as well as state his vision for the country.The Republican wrote, "His little speech is a perfect gem; dep in feeling, compact in thought and expression, and tasteful...in every word and comma." -
Assassination of Lincoln
Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth at Fords Theater. After a medical examination by Dr. Charles Leale, Lincoln's body is carried to a bedroom in the nearby Petersen House, he died the next morning.
