-
Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, an American author, and is said to be the most influential novel ever written. It was published Mar 20, 1852, and was very significant to the Civil War because it basically started it. The book described the horrors of slavery and included anti-slavery views, describing why it should be abolished, that some people didn’t agree with. This provoked an argument, separated the north and south even further, and eventually, caused the war.
-
The election of 1860 was a milestone in American history and the Civil War because it prompted more separation between the Northern and Southern states and more issues such as secession and different views on slavery. Abraham Lincoln won representing the Republican party with 180 electoral college votes against John Breckenridge representing the southern Democratic party, John Bell representing the Constitutional Union party, and Stephen Douglas representing the Democratic party.
-
Fort Sumter is a fortress that is located on an island in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. It was originally built in 1861 as a shield for Charles Harbor, but later it became where the first shots of the Civil War were shot and the place it officially began. The Battle of Fort Sumter was the battle that started the war and it took place on April 12-13, 1861. A canon was prematurely fired and that caused both the Confederates and the Union to start fighting.
-
The First Battle of Bull Run was a major battle early in the Civil War that occurred in Prince Williams County near Manassas, Virginia on July 21, 1861. There were about 35,000 troops of the Union forces from Washington DC who fought against Confederate troops, who counted to be nearly 20,000. Although the Union outnumbered them, the Confederates won and as the Union troops retreated, 3,000 died.
-
The Trent Affair turned out to almost cause another war between the United States and the United Kingdom. A US Navy Officer named Charles Wilkes caught and kept two Confederate representatives from a British Royal Mail steamer on the Union ship, the Trent, on November 9, 1861. Great Britain did not like this, they were very angry and argued against the United States. The envoys were let go and that ended the case.
-
The Battle of Fort Henry was a significant battle in the Civil War since it was the first that the Union won. Fort Henry was surrendered and the Union was able to gain access of the Tennessee river, forcing Confederate General Lloyd Tilghman to evacuate his troops and eventually surrender as well. The location was all over, including Stewart County and Henry County in Tennessee and Calloway County in Kentucky on February 6, 1862.
-
The Battle of Fort Donelson was another one of the first major victories for the Union and Union General Ulysses S. Grant. It followed shortly, a matter of only a few days, after the Battle of Fort Henry in the same area of Stewart County, Tennessee. The fight continued until February 16, 1862 and again came to the result of a Union victory when they successfully invaded the south through the Cumberland river, which later helped them in the war.
-
The Battle of the Ironclads is also named the Battle of Hampton Roads or the Battle of Monitor and Merrimack. The battle was fought on ships Merrimack, with the Confederates, and Monitor, with the Union. It, of course, took place in the water near Hampton Roads from March 8 to March 9, 1862, and didn’t end with any victory, they decided on a draw.
-
The Battle of Shiloh was one of the first battles in the Western Theater in the Civil War. It took place in Hardin County, in southwestern Tennessee and extended from April 6- April 7, 1862. The Confederates attempted to strike a surprise attack on the Union forces but even though they should have been at an advantage, General Ulysses Grant led the Union Army to victory.
-
The Capture of New Orleans began on April 25, 1862 and went on until May 1, 1862. Union General Benjamin Butler and his army of 5,000 soldiers took over the city of New Orleans. They fought, and won, against a Confederate fleet and sank eight boats in the process. This was a great victory for the Union, since New Orleans was important to the Confederates, and helped them later on in the war since they not only gained control of the city, but also the Mississippi River.
-
The battle of Antietam was the first battle of the Civil War to take place on Northern ground. It took place in Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland on September 17, 1862. The casualties totaled to be over 23,000 leaving 4,800 dead as the Union won the battle. More Americans were killed during this event than any other event in American Military history, as it was said to have been the bloodiest day of the war.
-
The Battle of Fredericksburg was another important battle in the Civil War. It lasted four days around Fredericksburg, Virginia, ending on December 15, 1862 with the Confederates winning. It was the biggest battle fought in the war since there were roughly 200,000 troops involved in the event.
-
The Emancipation Proclamation was a proclamation declared by the current president, Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, but was signed by him on September 22, 1862. It announced that “all persons held as slaves within any States, or designated part of the State, the people whereof shall be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” This did not mean that all slaves were freed across the country, but only in the 10 states that were still rebellious.
-
The Battle of Chancellorsville started on April 30, 1863 and lasted about a week in Spotsylvania County, Virginia near Chancellorsville. It was a big win on the Confederates side along with their General Robert E. Lee, even with the terrible death of General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, as well as almost 20,000 other injured or dead.
-
The Siege of Vicksburg was named after the city it took place in, Vicksburg, Mississippi. It lasted 47 days, starting on May 18, 1863 and ending on July 4, 1863. This concluded with the loss of the Confederates, which greatly helped the Union in the war, with their victory of Gettysburg close in the war as well. It was a major turning point as the Union gained full control of the Mississippi river.
-
The Battle of Gettysburg was a span of three days, and ended on July 3, 1863 and occurred in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was considered a turning point in the war because Robert E. Lee had planned to invade the North, but that plan failed and the two armies met in Gettysburg, actually helping the Union who won, led by George Meade. This resulted in 8,000 people being killed with a total of 46,000 casualties.
-
The Gettysburg Address was a speech that was spoken by Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863 at the dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Many people died in Gettysburg and Lincoln wanted to honor them, with the help of others, by doing his best to reach the goal of a nation that the American founders wanted. He encouraged and reminded people of the words on the Declaration of Independence, hoping it would bring them together and support his cause.
-
The Battle of Atlanta was a part of the Union’s summer Atlanta Campaign. It occurred on July 22, 1864 in Fulton and DeKalb Counties in Georgia southeast of Atlanta. William T. Sherman led the Union army and they burned the city to the ground. It was a huge loss for the Confederates since it was the location of military operations and held much of their supplies. Without this site, they became weak and the event put them at a great disadvantage.
-
The Appomattox Court House was located in Appomattox County, Virginia. On April 9, 1865, the final battle of the war was fought there. This battle was the cause for Confederate General Robert E. Lee to surrender to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, which was the end of the war.
-
President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination was just days after the surrender of Confederate General Lee which concluded the Civil war after four hard years. On April 14, 1865, Lincoln sat in the presidential box to enjoy the show at Ford’s Theatre in Washington DC. Actor John Wilkes Booth knew the theater so he was able to sneak into the box, shoot the president in the back of the head, and quickly escape through a back door.
