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The Battle of First Manassas, also known as the First Battle of Bull Run, was the American Civil War's first major battle. Just north of the city of Manassas and 30 miles west-southwest of Washington, D.C., the battle was fought on July 21, 1861 in Prince William County. -
1,754 Union soldiers died and 1,728 Confederate soldiers died in the Battle of Shiloh. It robbed the Confederacy of one of its most capable leaders, Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston. Former Confederate President Jefferson Davis later said Johnston's death was “the turning point of our fate.” -
Yet the Second Battle of Bull Run, otherwise known as the Second Battle of Manassas, was significant in its own right. An unambiguous Southern victory, it cemented General Robert E. Lee's reputation as a brilliant tactician and paved the way for his first invasion of the North. This battle was fought in Prince William County, Virginia. -
23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after twelve hours of savage combat on September 17, 1862. The Battle of Antietam ended the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's first invasion into the North and led Abraham Lincoln to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. -
The fighting that took place in the houses and streets of Fredericksburg was the first major instance of urban warfare in the Civil War. Bitter Union troops set about pillaging the towns. This was a major Confederate victory. It was fought in Fredericksburg, Virginia. -
The Battle of Stones River was a battle fought in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. Of the major battles of the war, Stones River had the highest percentage of casualties on both sides. The Union squeaked out a victory in a bloody conflict at Stones River, which boosted morale in the North and gave the Federals control of central Tennessee. -
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a huge victory for the Confederacy and General Robert E. Lee during the Civil War, though it is also famous for being the battle in which Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson was mortally wounded. It was fought in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. -
The battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the Civil War because Robert E. Lee's plan to invade the North and force an immediate end to the war failed. This battle was fought southwest of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. -
The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 18–20, 1863, between U.S. and Confederate forces in the American Civil War, marked the end of a Union offensive, the Chickamauga Campaign, in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia. With 16,170 Union and 18,454 Confederate casualties, the Battle of Chickamauga was the second costliest battle of the Civil War, ranking only behind Gettysburg, and was by far the deadliest battle fought in the West. -
The Battle of Chattanooga was a decisive engagement fought at Chattanooga on the Tennessee River in late November 1863, which contributed significantly to victory for the North. Chattanooga had strategic importance as a vital railroad junction for the Confederacy. Union forces drove Confederate troops away from Chattanooga, Tennessee, into Georgia, clearing the way for Union general William T. -
The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's and General George G. Meade's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the Civil War. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, around 5,000 men killed in total, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by Grant against Lee's army and, eventually, the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia. -
The battle is tactically inconclusive, but both sides declare victory—the Confederacy because they are able to hold their defenses and the Union because they inflict severe losses on Lee's army. With a total of about 30,000 casualties, Spotsylvania is the costliest battle of the Overland Campaign. The carnage continues as the contest between Grant and Lee moves southeast to the North Anna River. -
Despite the Confederate tactical success, the Battle of Cold Harbor was a strategic turning point in the Civil War, after which there was little chance for overall Confederate victory. The Union failed to penetrate Confederate defenses in a fierce fight. Despite the staggering losses at Cold Harbor, Grant managed to withdraw his troops and then deceive the Confederates for days as his army stealthily crossed the James River and marched towards Petersburg. -
Because of its location and commercial importance, Atlanta was used as a center for military operations and as a supply route by the Confederate army during the Civil War. In order to weaken the Confederate military organization, Union troops burned Atlanta to the ground before they moved on. The Union won this battle.