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In 1851, author Harriet Beecher Stowe began writing a story about slavery. Her writing called “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” told a story about a kind slave named Tom who ended up being sold to a strict plantation owner named Simon Legree. Tom was eventually beaten to death by Simon because he wouldn’t tell him where two women who escaped were. Throughout the Civil War, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” had a huge impact on educating people about slavery and helping Lincoln to get elected. -
Abraham Lincoln served his first term as president on November 6, 1860. Only having 40 percent of the popular votes, Lincoln still managed to defeat all the 3 other candidates. Lincoln made a huge impact on the presidency as he was the first republican to win the election. Throughout his presidency, there would be many historical events. -
When Lincoln won the election in 1860, the southern states did not want him as president. They heavily disagreed with his morals and policies. Before Lincoln was officially in office, southern states began seceding or leaving the country. South Carolina was the first state to separate, and six more states followed it including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. These states were known as the Confederacy and ultimately starting the Civil War. -
On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln became the 16th president of the United States. Through Lincoln’s inauguration speech, he gestured peace and goodwill towards the south. He also said how he wants to enstate federal laws within the south. Lincoln had to take what he says into very close consideration and caution as the recently split south was a huge threat for war. -
The Battle of Fort Sumter was the spark of the Civil War. The battle began when Abraham Lincoln announced plans to resupply the fort. However, General P.G.T. Beauregard decided to bombard the fort as it was part of confederate land. It was the start of a lot of events in the future and lasted a total of 34 hours from April 12, 1861 to April 13. At the end of the battle, the Confederate gained victory as 87 soldiers surrendered, sparing a gruesome battle. -
On July 21, 1861, General McDowell ordered for the Union army to attack the Confederacy. Although both sides ran into major difficulties, the Union’s superior numbers began to push the Confederates back and it seemed like the Union was going to win the battle. However, Confederate reinforcements arrived from General Joseph Johnston. With new soldiers at hand, the Confederates were able to force the Union into full retreat and claim victory for the first major battle of the Civil War. -
On February 6, 1862, the Union launched an attack on lightly defensed Fort Henry in Tennessee in order to gain access of the rivers and supplies. After a hard fought naval battle, Confederate General Lloyd Tilghman had his troops evacuated to nearby Fort Donelson before surrendering to Union forces. The Union overwhelmed the Confederates as they conquered Fort Henry 10 days after capturing Fort Donelson. This ultimately opened two key rivers for the Union which was a huge advantage for the war. -
On March 8, 1862, a Confederate warship called The Merrimack was sent into battle against the Union’s wooden ships at Hampton Roads. The Merrimack was able to take down the USS Cumberland and the USS Minnesota. The next day, the Union was ready with their ironclad called the Monitor. The two warships fought for hours but couldn’t sink one another which forced each ship to leave the battle. Even without a result, this battle greatly impacted future naval wars. -
Fought on April 6-7, 1862, The Battle of Shiloh was one of the first battles in the Western Theater of the Civil War. General Ulysses S. Grant’s Union army settled down at Pittsburg Landing on the west bank of the Tennessee River. To the Union’s demise, General P. G. T. Beauregard’s Confederate Army launched a surprise attack on Grant’s army. However, even with the upper hand, the Confederate’s devastatingly lost as the Union was able to fight back with a victorious counter attack. -
Between June 25, 1862 and July 1, 1862, six major battles fought near the city of Richmond, Virginia. Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his army tried capturing the Union army under General George B. McClellan. The Union fell under siege and began retreating but the Confederates kept on attacking. General Lee gained victory and increased the confidence of the South but General McClellan managed to escape the battle. -
The Battle of Antietam was the final battle of the Civil War as it was fought on September 17, 1862 between the Union and the Confederacy. This battle was also the most devastating battle throughout the Civil War as there were over 23,000 casualties and 4,600 deaths. General Lee’s Confederate army was vastly outnumbered but still managed to fight off the Union. However, General McClellan eventually overwhelmed the Confederacy and forced them to retreat. -
The Battle of Fredericksburg occurred on December 11, 1862 when the Union began constructing a pontoon bridge. Even though the Confederates attacked them, the builders finished. The Union crossed the bridge and on December 13, they were ready to attack. General Burnside thought we could surprise the Confederates by attacking them head on. However, this backfired on the Union as the Confederates were ready for them. With too many losses on the battlefield, the Union were forced to retreat. -
On April 30, 1863, Union General Hooker had a plan to trap the Confederate army and force them to retreat. Contrary to his plan, the Confederate did not retreat and attacked the Union in Chancellorsville. General Lee split his army into two and started overwhelming the Union from different sides. After days of fighting, the Union Army was forced to retreat on May 7, 1863, leaving the Confederates victorious. -
On May 18, 1863, General Grant’s Union army decided to approach Vicksburg, Mississippi where the Confederate army were hiding. It was going to be very difficult for the Union to attack as they were behind walls. Grant tried to attack the city but the Confederate were not budging and he was losing his soldiers. However, Grant came up with a plan to wait the Confederate out until they ran out of food. This plan successfully worked as the Confederates were forced to surrender after 47 long days. -
On July 1, 1863, the largest battle of the Civil War as well as the largest battle was to be fought in North America. This battle took a span of three days as on the first day, the armies were still coming together. On the second day, the Union overall were leading in troops as they had an upper hand on a bigger army. However, on the third day, General Lee decided to charge at the heart of the Union which he lost and had to fall back as no one came out victorious. -
The Gettysburg Address was a famous speech that President Abraham Lincoln delivered during the Civil War on November 19, 1863. This was about five months after the Union defeated the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg. Lincoln's speech invoked the principles of the Declaration of Independence and fulfilled hope within the people. He connected the horrible deaths and sacrifices of the Civil War to a new start and a “birth to freedom”. -
The Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution was passed by Congress on January 31, 1865 and established on April 8. This amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude. The amendment was easily passed through the Congress as the Union won the Civil War. Although president Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation abolished slavery, Lincoln realized that it would have to be followed by a constitutional amendment. This would guarantee the abolishment of slavery forever. -
On April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee accepts defeat as he surrenders to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia. General Lee ultimately accepted his defeat as he did not want unnecessary destruction throughout the South. He saw that he could not break through the Union lines so he gave up all of his 28,000 remaining troops. This ultimately ended the great Civil War as the Union side came out to be victorious. -
On April 14, 1865, the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, was murdered at Ford’s Theatre, Washington D.C. Lincoln was shot in the head by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth a few days after the surrender at Appomattox Court House of General Robert E. Lee to the Union. Lincoln died the next morning after he was shot. Lincoln’s death took the country into despair and the 12 long day search for Booth was one of the largest manhunts in American history. -
On April 19, 1865, the Union began making their way through Virginia, pushing the Confederates back. Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his army retreated the Capital of Richmond, hoping to reunite with more Confederate troops in North Carolina. However, the Union cut off their retreat and were forced to stop at Appomattox, Virginia. The Confederates were surrounded and barely had any supplies or soldiers compared to the Union. General Lee was forced to surrender upon his circumstances.