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Period: to
Civil War
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Fort Sumter
April 12, 1861 to April 14, 1861
President Lincoln sends a ship to resupply the federal fort. Believing the ship had troops and weapons, the Confederacy fired on the fort. Due to the attack on the fort, Lincoln calls up 75,000 troops and some of the border states, such as Virginia, secede. -
First Battle of Bull Run
The Union forces struck the confederate forces across Bull Run while more troops crossed the river at Sudley Ford in an attempt to hit the confederate left flank. Over two hours, 10,000 Federals gradually pushed back 4,500 rebels across the Warrington Turnpike and up Henry House Hill. On the confederate side accusations flew between Johnston, Beauregard and President Jefferson Davis over who was to blame for the failure to pursue and crash the enemy after the battle for the Union Lincoln removed -
Hampton Roads
Though the battle itself was inconclusive, it began a new era in naval warfare. The union built a ship named the Virginia, and the Confederates built a ship called the Monitor. The Monitor could fire only once in seven or eight minutes but was faster and more maneuverable than her larger opponent, the Virginia. The Virginia was low on ammunition and at about 12:30 on March 9th the Virginia headed for its navy yard; the battle was over. Both ships went down eventually. -
Shiloh
April 6,1862 to April 7,1863
Confederate generals launch a surprise attack on Ulysses S. Grant forces in southwestern Tennessee, but weren’t able to hold position and were forced to retreat, resulting in a Union victory. Both sides were immobilized for the next three weeks because of heavy casualties about 10,000 men on each side. -
Antietam
September 17, 1862 to September 18, 1862
General Lee and General McClellan faced off near Antietam Creek in Sharpsburg. Though McClellan failed to utilize his numerical superiority to crush Lee’s army, but he was able to check the Confederate advance into the North. After a string of Union losses the win at Antietam gave Lincoln the political cover he needed to give his Emancipation Proclamation. The Confederate casualties were 10,318 solders to McClellan’s 12,401. -
Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was a crushing defeat for the Union, whose soldiers fought courageously and well but fell victim to mismanagement by their generals, including confused orders from Burnside to Franklin. President Lincoln wouldn't let his Union soldiers retreat no matter what. On the Confederate side, the victory at Fredericksburg restored Confederate morale after Lee's unsuccessful campaign into Maryland in the fall. At the head of a rejuvenated Army of Northern Virginia. -
Chancellorsville
April 30,1863 to May 6, 1863
General Robert Lee faced a Union army that was nearly twice the size of his own, he split his army in two and attacked General Hooker’s army and they had to retreat across the Rappahannock River. Lee won but Thomas “stonewall” Jackson was mortally wounded by friendly fire. Lee wining allowed him to further attack Gettysburg, the Union’s morale was crushed by the south. -
Siege of Vicksburg
Union General Ulysses S. Grant moved 40,000 troops to the rear of Vicksburg on May 18th, where Vicksburg's commander, General John C. Pemberton and his 30,000 troops were located. After 2 assaults in mid-May by Gereral Grant failed, he reverted to siege tactics while augmenting his forces. In early June the Confederate garrison was desperately short of ammunition and on the brink of starvation. Pemberton surrendered on July 4th. -
Gettysburg
General Lee invades the north into Gettysburg. So Meade immediately order the pursuit of Lee’s army. During the first day of battle of Gettysburg Confederate forces were able to drive Union forces back to Cemetery Hill. On the last day of battle Union forces were able to push Confederate forces back to Culp’s Hill, and then Lee ordered pickett's Charge which killed a third of his men.This led to the Condeferates morale being destroyed, and the tide of the war turned into the Union's favor. -
Chikamauga
Almost evenly matched with the Union having 60,000 soldiers, and the Confederates having 65,000 soldiers the two armies met in the woods lining the banks of the Chikamauga Creek. The Union soldiers sneaked in the middle of the Confederates and sent troops north to Chattanooga. In October General Grant came in with reinforcements and finished off the confederates for another victory for the north. -
Lincoln's Assassination
President Lincoln gets killed by John Wilkes Booth at 10:15 while seeing “Our American Cousin” at Fords Theater in Washington D.C. Then he got taken to a house just across the street to try to save him but when the surgeon general got there the surgeon general said that Lincoln would not survive the night. The whole Union lost a great leader and was heartbroken for a while. The Confederates did this to restart the war but it didn’t work. -
Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness began in earnest on the morning of May 5, when Confederate corps led by Richard Ewell clashed with the Union's 5th Corps near the Orange Turnpike. The battle lasted 2 long and brutal days. By the morning of May 7, the two armies were essentially where they had been at the start of the battle, 48 hours earlier. Grant refused to retreat. That night Federal Troops got up in the night and started marching south back home in retreat. The North had won another battle. -
Spotsylvania
Mostly all won by the Unioin soldiers and General Grant. In the North, alarmingly high casualty reports dashed the war-weary public's feverishly high hopes as it became clear that Union troops had failed to break the Confederate line. Grant's relentless advance continued: As the Union Army headed for Cold Harbor, another crossroads town located near the battlefield at Gaines' Mill, Lee was forced yet again to maneuver his army in between the enemy and the Confederate capital. -
Siege of Petersburg
Petersburg, an important rail center 23 miles south of Richmond, was a strategic point for the defense of the Confederate capital. In a series of battles that summer, Union losses were heavy, but, by the end of August, General Ulysses S. Grant had crossed the Petersburg–Weldon Railroad; he captured Fort Harrison on September 29. General Lee still had Richmond and Petersburg. On March 25, 1865 the Confederates were driven back at the Battle of Fort Stedman. General Lee surrendered on April 9th. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
Septemeber 2, 1864 to December 21, 1864
After the fall of Atlanta, General Sherman marched south to the sea fighting a total war causing the Confederates to surrender. Because everywhere General Sherman marched he destroyed everything in his path. This caused the Confederates to lose the war, and the Union to win the war.
