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Firing on Fort Sumter
April. Wilse Graham comes to the Creighton's house for dinner. Him and the rest of the family have an argument about slavery. Bill sides with the South, and John sides with the North. Later that night Shad comes home with news of Fort Sumter, and Wilse sides with the South again. -
Dinner at Shad's
February. Jethro goes over to Shad's to have dinner, and they discuss a number of topics. First they talk of Jenny's being to young for Shad to marry her. They then talk about he war and Shad tells Jethro not to call Abraham Lincoln "Old Abe". -
Battles of Fort Henry and Donelson.
February. After the battles of Bull Run, Ball's Bluff, and Wilson's Creek, the battles of Fort Henry and Donelson gave the people in southern Illinois hope. Tom and Eb eventually write back and tell their family of the fighting. They also mention that they threw away their blankets and winter coats on the way to Donelson, and some of the boys froze in the cold weather. -
Civil War Begins
The beginning of the bloodiest war in American history. There were around 620,000 American casualties. The main rift between North and South was whether slavery should be legal. -
First Battle of Bull Run
First official battle of the Civil War. 30,000 troops under General Irvin McDowell attacked a smaller force led by General P. G. T. Beauregard. The Yankees seemed to be winning at first, but lost in the end, and as they were fleeing they ran into civilians who had come to watch the battle. -
Driving to Town
March. Jethro drives to town to run errands for his family. In town he enters the General store where his family's loyalty becomes the main topic of discussion at the General store cracker barrel, and a man named Guy Wortman says that family are South sympathizers. Ross Milton treats Jethro to lunch at a restaurant, and, on the way home, David Burdow saves him from an attack at a bend in the road. -
The Threat
April. Late at night, some men come to the Creighton's house and leave a bundle of switches, a sign of punishment to come. Most of the community was furious that the sick Matt Creighton was treated this way. Volunteers come to guard the Creighton household against further attacks. -
Rebuilding the Barn
Late September. Many men come to the Creightons to help rebuild the barn. Dave Burdow sends a load of logs to Jethro's family. The men building the barn talk about the war, and they tell Jethro to be glad he doesn't have to worry about the war. Jethro is upset that they take him for too young to understand War talk. -
The Battle of Shilo
April. Tom is killed along with many others at Shilo. The battlefield was a small church near Pittsburg landing. Jethro and Jenny wonder about whether Bill was on the confederate side. -
Jenny's Letter
March. Matt Creighton has a stroke, and he recovers, but is no longer able to run the farm. Jethro and the rest of the Family have to take over. Jenny receives a love letter from Shad, and she keeps most of it to herself. Jethro is jealous and angry when his parents don't reprimand her. -
Second Battle of Bull Run
Autumn. Another disaster at Bull Run the or the Union. Confederate Generals Jackson and Lee went against McClellan and Pope, and the battle resulted in another defeat for the Union. Though the chilling news of the war came in daily, the farm work must go on. -
Battle of the Ironclads
The Virginia, a Confederate Ironclad, and the Monitor, a Union ironclad clashed off the coast of Virginia. The battle was tied, but raised spirits in both the North and the South. An ironclad is a ship that is coated in iron to protect it from enemy shells. -
Battle of Antietam
Lee split his army into four parts to confuse Grant. The plan failed, though, because a Union soldier found the battle plans. This battle was a key victory for the Union, that stopped Lee's plan of invading the North. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Abraham Lincoln declares all slaves in rebel held territory to be free. Lincoln said that "If my name ever goes into history it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it". The Proclamation showed that if the Union won, slavery would end. -
Eb's Return
March. Jethro is out plowing fields when he hears the call of a wild turkey. He takes the gun that he always carries into the fields, and looks into the forest. He finds Eb, starving, in the woods. Eb had exerted from the Union army, and came back to the woods near his home. Jethro writes a letter to the President asking him to address the problem of deserters mercifully. The President finds a solution, and Eb rejoins the army. -
The Battle of Gettysburg
The Union occupied a series of ridges near the town of Gettysburg. The Union forces were led by General George Meade. On the second day of the battle, Lee ordered Pickett's charge, a disastrous operation that left half the force that started it dead or wounded. After the battle of Gettysburg Britain decided not to send the two ironclads that it had been planning to give to the Confederates. -
The Election of 1864
In this election Abraham Lincoln ran for a second term against former civil war general George B. McCllellan. If Lincoln had lost, the war could very well have ended with an independent South. The capture of Atlanta and Mobile Bay greatly boosted Lincolns chances of winning. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
General William Tecumseh Sherman marched from Atlanta, Georgia to the Atlantic Ocean. This march was to break the South' s will to continue with the war. His strategy was one of total war, or war against not only the enemy's army, but also the enemy's people and countryside. -
Richmond Captured
Petersburg was the last stronghold before Richmond. When it was captured, the Confederate President soon heard of its fall, and him and his cabinet gathered important documents, ordered useful resources to be destroyed, and fled Richmond. On April 4th President Lincoln toured the fallen Confederate capital city, and a crowd of joyful African Americans followed him, some reaching out to touch him. -
Surrender at Appomattox
On April 9, 1865, at the Appomattox court house, General grant surrendered, and the end of the war came. Lee finally gave up only after the train carrying food to his starving troops was captured, and his army was completely surrounded. The terms of the surrender were, the soldiers could keep their small firearms, any soldier with a horse could keep it, and Grant would give Lee's army 25,000 rations.
