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Battle of Fort Sumter
The bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina by the Confederate States Army, and the return gunfire and subsequent surrender by the United States Army that started the American Civil War. Fort Sumter -
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The Civil War Timespan
The civil war officially began on April 12, 1861 when Confederate forces bombarded the Union controlled Fort Sumter in Charleston Bay. The most often cited official date of the end of the civil war is April 9, 1865 when General Robert E Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at the McLean House in the village of Appomattox Court House. There were battles and skirmishes after this date, but this is generally considered the official end of the civil war. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg is considered the most important engagement of the American Civil War. The assault, known as “Pickett’s Charge,” managed to pierce the Union lines but eventually failed, at the cost of thousands of rebel casualties, and Lee was forced to withdraw his battered army toward Virginia on July 4. Battle of Gettysburg -
Battle of Vicksburg
May 19-22, 1863--Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s armies converged on Vicksburg, investing the city and entrapping a Confederate army under Lt. Gen. John Pemberton. -
Battle of Appomatox
The Confederates were cut off once again and nearly surrounded by Union troops near the small village of Appomattox Court House. Despite a final desperate attempt to escape, Lee’s army was trapped. General Lee surrendered his remaining troops to General Grant at the McLean House on the afternoon of April 9. -
Battle of Palmito Hill
Battle of Palmito Hill, is generally recognized as the final battle of the American Civil War. It was fought May 12 and 13, 1865, on the banks of the Rio Grande east of Brownsville, Texas. Though the Battle of Appomattox Court House is identified as the last major battle of the war, Palmito Ranch was the last engagement between organized forces of the Union Army and Confederate States Army involving casualties.
