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Firing on Fort Sumter
The Confederates under General Beauregard opened fire with 50 cannons upon the fort in Charleston. This marked the official start of the Civil War. The Union fort -
First Battle of Bull Run
The Union army led by McDowell is defeated at Bull Run. Confederate General Jackson earns his nickname "Stonewall" for his great victory. The Union troops retreated back to Washington and Lincoln realizes the War will not be short. The Union lost just under 3,000 men and the Confederates lost almost 2,000 men. -
Second Battle of Bull Run
Generals Jackson and Longstreet lead the Confederate army to a victory against General Pope and his larger Union forces. Pope is relieved of his command, and his army must retreat once again. The Union lost 10,000 soldiers while the Confederate forces lost over 8,000. -
Battle of Antietam
General Lee is stopped at Antietam in Maryland by the Union forces and about 26,000 men die in the battle. This was one of the bloodiest battles of the War. The battle was very long and drawn out, but produced no clear victor. The Union Army lost over 12,000 men, and the Confederacy suffered over 10,000 casualties. -
Battle of Fredricksburg
General Burnside, the new general of the Union army, led several attacks against the trenched in position of the Confederates in Virginia. The Confederates held the higher position and easily repelled wave after wave of attacks. Over 12,500 of Burnside's soldiers were lost, and a bit over 5,000 Confederate soldiers died. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Abraham Lincoln made this executive order that proclaimed the freedom of the slaves in 10 of the states. It applied to 3 to 4 million slaves in the US. It immediately freed arounf 50,000 slaves. However, it was not passed as a law by Congress, and it did not compensate for the slave owners who lost much of their money following the loss of their slaves. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Confederacy defeated the Union in Virginia. General Lee had much fewer soldiers but used clever tactics to outflank the oppposition. General Hooker of the Union was forced to retreat, yet General Jackson of the Confederates was critically injured, and later died, by his own men is a confusing situation. The Union lost 17,000 men while the Confederates lost 13,000. -
Battle of Gettysburg
This battle was the turning point of the War, and it turned in the favor of the Union. General Meade of the Union had rushed after Lee to stop him from advancing farther than Pennsylvania into the north. Over the course of three days, heavy fighting occurred around the town and finished with a disastrous charge by the Confederates. Both armies suffered major losses, with the Union army casualties numbering around 23,000 and the Confederacy's around 28,000 men. -
Battle at Cold Harbor
The Confederates were attacked by Grant near Cold Harbor. The Confederates won and was their last clear victory of the War. Grant lost about 12,000 soldiers in the battle. The Confederacy lost about 4,500 soldiers during the battle. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
General Sherman of the Union executed a march along the East Coast while destroying anything in his path. They started around Atlanta and ended the march in the north. They wreaked havoc along the way, and its purpose was to completely weaken the infrastructure of the South's economy. It deadened the morale of the Southerners and helped the War come to a swift end. -
Surrender at Appomattox Court House
After being surrounded at Appomattox, General Lee surrenders to General Grant. The major fighting in the Civil War then came to an end. -
Assassination of President Lincoln
John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln while he attended a play at Ford Theater. Booth was later found and shot 11 days later.