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Fort Sumter
When Lincoln took office in March, the confederacy demanded for the evacuation of Fort Sumter. When Lincoln refused, the south opend fire. The Union Major was forced to surrender after 34 hours. On April 14, the Federal trrops evacuated the fort. Even though it was a Confederacy victory, it inspired the Union Troops. -
Bull Run
General Irvin McDonwell led the Union troops to Bull Run. As the battle went on, there were so many casualities that both sides had to bring more troops in. Eventually the Confederacy broke the Union lines. However, the Confederacy was so unorganized that they could not press their advantages. The Union thought it would be a quick easy battle, but no one expected it to last this long. -
Hampton Roads
The Battle of Hampton Roads took place between Monitor and Merrimack. This battle was the southern effort to break up the Northern blockaid. This was the duel battle between ironclad warships. This was the start of naval war fare. The Confederacy was given false hope that they had weaked the Unions blockaid. Even though there was no exact winner of this battle, it gave both sides a positive morale boost. -
Shiloh
The battle of Shiloh, also known as the Pittsburgh Landing. The Confederacy launched attacks on Ulysses S. Grant's forces in southwestern Tennessee. The Confederacy was unable to hold their ground, and was pushed back resulting in a Union victory. In February, Grant took over Fort Henry, and Fort Donelson. The Confederacy knew how important these were and evacuated Kentucky. Both sides claimed victory, but it was a Confederacy failure. -
Antietam
The Battle of Antietam was the first battle that was faught on norhern soil. It will be known as the bloodiest battle of the civil war. There were over 22,000 casualities. The battle was faught near Antietam Creek in sharpsburgh. Even though so many people were killed and injured, this would result in a Union victory. After the battle, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamaion. -
Fredericksburgh
General Burnside led over 120,000 union troops to attack Fredericksburgh. The union has only managed to kill 5,000 Confederat soldiers, but lost 13,000 of their own men. This was a confederat win. Due to this impressive win, the south gained more moral. -
Chancellorville
This battle would be known as General Lee's greatest victory. He was facing a force nearly twice the size of him. He split his army in two, and attacted. This led to a Confedearcy victory. During the battle, Stonewall Jackson died, due to friendly fire. This victory inspired General Lee to invade the North. -
Gettysburg
Robert E. Lee, general for the Confederates, decided to go on the offensive and attack General George Meade's Union army. July 1st, the troops assemble their lines, without any real attacks. The next day, the two sides seemed even, both losing about 9,000 men. However, the last day the battle turned in favor of the Union and Lee retreated. After the battle, Lee tried to resign but his resignation was declined. This was the turning point of the war, turning it in favor of the Union. -
Vicksburg
The Union started their attempt to capture Vicksburg on May 18th. General Ulysses S. Grant closed off supplies to the city until General John C. Pemberton, for the confederates, finally surrendered. This gave the Union control of the Mississippi and, along with the battle of Gettysburg, marked the turning point of the war. -
Battle of Chickamauga
On September 19th, confederate troops led by General Braxton Braggs got additional troops and decided to go on the offensive. They attacked Union troops led by General William Rosecran. The confederate lines broke through Union lines, creating chaos. However, Union lines came together and safely retreated to Chattanooga on Sep. 20th. Confederates had 20,000 casualties while Union only had 16,000. Though the confederates won, people considered it a loss because the Union was able to retreat. -
Wilderness
On May 5th, Ulysses S. Grant tried to cross through the wilderness to attack Robert E. Lee's confederate army. However, Lee confronted the Union army hoping for a home field advantage. They fought for 2 days, neither side gaining any land. The Union troops lost more men but neither side had been clearly defeated. Grant decided to advance on, keeping his promise to Lincoln to never retreat from a fight. -
Spotsylvania
Some of the bloodiest and longest fighting started on May 8th. Ulysses S. Grant was trying to advance his army after 2 days of inconclusive fighting at the Wilderness, but was beat to Spotsylvania by Confederate troops. There were great losses on both sides, and it ended in the Union troops marching away from the fighting and advancing to Richmond. This battle had many anti-war people in the North losing hope at the huge number of casualties. -
Sherman's March
Sherman's march started after their all-important victory of Atlanta, Georgia on September 2nd, which was the center of Confederate industry. Sherman then led 2 armies south to Savannah, ruining every town they passed on their way. The object of this "total war" tactic was to cut off all the Confederacy's supplies, while also ruining its morale. Sherman was successful in doing so, crushing all Confederate hopes of winning the war. -
Petersburg
The battle of Petersburg was actually a series of military operations and attacks. Grant planned to capture both Richmond and Petersburg to completely take over the Confederacy's main railroad line and cut off supplies. The railroad was already damaged, however, leaving Confederate troops starving. This gave the Union an easy win, and was this win helped greatly to push the Confederacy to surrender. -
Lincoln's Assassination
Lincoln was assassinated by a man named John Wilkes Booth, a northerner with sympathies for the South. Booth's plan was to go into Lincoln's private box at a performance and kill Lincoln, V.P. Johnson, and Secretary of State Rathbone. He succeeded in shooting Lincoln and stabbing Rathbone, but Johnson got out unharmed. Booth and his accomplice fled to Virginia. On April 26 they were found. The entire nation mourned Lincoln’s death, and Anderson was one of the least liked presidents in history.
