-
First Manassas (Bull Run)
This battle took place in Virginia and it was the first major battle in the American Civil War. Each side had about 18,000 troops for this battle in which the Confederate army won. -
Shiloh
Confederates under General Albert Johnston landed near Pittsburg on the Tennessee River. They attacked some Union soldiers and threatened to overwhelm Ulysses Grant's entire command. -
Second Manassas
The Union force was commanded by John Pope and the Confederates were commanded by Robert E. Lee. Lee sent two waves of men and attacked first. There were many deaths during this battle and in the end Lee's men made Pope withdraw from the battle giving the confederates established positions in the woods. -
Antietam
This battle was the first to be fought on Northern soil and in charge of the confederates was none other than Robert E. Lee and in charge of the Union soldiers was general, George McClellan. The union soldiers out numbered the Confederates which led to a Northern win. This was also important to honest Abe as well because this provided Lincoln the political cover he needed to issue his Emancipation Proclamation. -
Fredricksburg
This was the biggest battle (number wise) throughout the whole Civil War with a total of 200,000 combatants. The Union soldiers flanked Robert E. Lee's men on the left and the right but Lee's men were prepared and they turned the Union soldiers back and there were nearly 13,000 Union deaths. This really hurt the North and motivated the south big time. -
Chancellorsville
The North was led by General Joseph Hooker and of course the South was led by Lee. Lee split his army into two to attack the Northern army. The Union almost doubled the Confederate army but that didn't matter to the confederate army as they forced the north to retreat back to the Rappahannock River. This was the greatest victory for Robert E. Lee. The only bad part about this battle for the South is that Stonewall Jackson was very wounded by friendly fire. -
Vicksberg
For months Grant and his men were trying to wrest away the strategic Confederate river fortress of Vicksberg. They finally got the Confederates by surprising them. This helped Grant gain the trust of the people in the North. -
Gettysburg
This battle was considered the most important engagement of the entire Civil War. Lee marched his army to Northern Virginia where they clashed with George Meade and the Union Army. The Confederates attacked the North from the left and the right. Lee told 15,000 of his men to attack the troops on Cemetery Ridge aka. "Pickett's Charge" which ended up failing. Thousands of men died under Lee and he was forced to retreat. -
Petersberg
Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Potomac and Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia collide for the last time. Union troops attacks the Confederate army near a important railroad in Richmond Virginia. Surrounding the Confederates, Lee had to surrender and he and his men went home. -
Atlanta
The Union General in this fight was William Sherman and the Confederate General was John Hood. They were pretty even in terms of numbers. The Union ended up winning the battle and neutralized the important rail and supply hub. Sherman ended up burning most of the buildings to the ground -
Appomattox Court House
Robert E Lee surrendered 28,000 troops to Ulysses S. Grant which effectively ended the Civil War. Lee was going to try to escape so he could fight more but the Union forces cut off his final retreat which officially ended the war.
