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Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was a book written about slavery and the Civil War. The book set the groundwork for the war because the South was for slavery and the North was against it. This was an anti-slavery book with great effects on attitudes towards slavery. The book was written in 1850 and published in 1852. -
Lincoln Elected President
On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln was officially elected president of the United States. Despite being Republican, Lincoln was against slavery i the United States. The election was between Lincoln and John C. Breckinridge. The election was heavily in favor of Lincoln which led to him being elected the 16th president of the United States. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
At 4:30 AM on April 12, 1961, the confederates bombarded Fort Sumter which kicked off the war. The first shots of the war were fired at Fort Sumter. In December 1860, US Army Major Robert Anderson moved his men to Fort Sumter on an Island near the entrance of the Charleston Harbor. -
First Battle of Bull Run
The battle was fought on July 21, 1861, in Manassas Virginia, with the very poorly trained troops on both sides. The battle ended in favor of the confederates when the Union retreated. The Union was very slow and untrained allowing confederate reinforcements to arrive. -
Battle of Wilson's Creek
On August 10, 1861, the Battle of Wilson’s Creek took place near Springfield, Missouri. At the time, Missouri was a neutral state which meant they weren’t for or against slavery. But, the Governor did support slavery and decided to join forces with the Confederates. With the numbers in favor of the confederates, they won this battle in the name of Major General Sterling Brown. -
Battle of the Ironclads
This battle also referred to as the Battle of Hampton Roads was fought from March 8-9 1862. Part of the battle was an the Confederates trying to destroy a blockade the Union had made to prevent Virginia from internationally trading. However, the main battle was between the Ironclads named the U.S.S. Monitor and the C.S.S. Virginia. The main battle consisted of the two ships firing at each other but the bullets being deflected off the ships. -
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh lasted from April 6 -April 7 1862. As one of the major early battles of the war, the confederates sent a surprise attack at the Union Tennessee. Confederate Army General Albert Sidney Johnston was wounded badly during the battle. The next morning, the Union sent a counterattack out of the blue and switched the roles in the war. That counterattack led to a Union victory. -
Battle of Seven Pines
From May 31 - June 1, 1862, the Battle of Seven Pines took place in Henrico County, Virginia. Both sides won inconclusively, but there were more confederate casualties. Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston was heavily wounded during the battle which led to General Robert E. Lee joining the war. -
Second Battle of Bull Run
This battle was fought from August 29-30, 1862, at Prince William County, Virginia. This battle was much larger than the first battle with over 120,000 troops combined and around a 25,000 troop advantage for the Union. This battle was between Union Major General John Pope and Confederate General Robert E. Lee. -
Battle of Antietam
On September 17, 1862 a battle between the confederate army of Robert E Lee and the Union led by George B. McClellan started. This day was said to be the bloodiest day in American history with 22,717 soldiers found dead, wounded, or missing. The Union launched a strategic attack behind Antietam Creek. At dawn, Union Major General formed a powerful attack on Lee’s army trying to flank left. The result of this battle was very inconclusive but is said to be a victory for the Union. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
This battle was fought between December 11-15, 1862 in Fredericksburg, Virginia between the Union Army of the Potomac and the Confederate Army of North Virginia. This was known as one of the most one-sided battle with the Union having almost double the amount of dead troops as the Confederate did. This turned out to be a huge Confederate victory for General Robert E. Lee. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
The battle of Chancellorsville was fought from April 30 - May 6, 1863 in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. The confederates had an army less than half the size of the Union, but General Robert E. Lee had made a great decision. He split his troops up to take down the overpowering Union army and bring and claim a victory for the Confederates. -
Battle of Vicksburg
Union General Ulysses S. Grant led his Army of Tennessee across the Mississippi River and pressured Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton’s Confederate Army of Mississippi. This caused the confederates to go into the defensive lines surrounding the Fortress of Vicksburg, Mississippi. This all led to a Union victory. This battle lasted from May 18 - July 4, 1863. -
Battle of Gettysburg
This battle lasted from July 1-3, 1863 in the settlement of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This was the battle with the most casualties in the war and referred to as the turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Meade's Army of the Potomac canceled out attacks by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. -
Battle of Chickamauga
The Battle of Chickamauga was fought from September 18-20, 1863. This battle was at the Chickamauga Campaign in Georgia and Tennessee. Besides the Battle of Gettysburg, this battle had the most amount of Casualties in the war. The two generals for this battle were Major General William Rosecrans for the Union and General Braxton Bragg for the confederates. The confederates had the advantage in number of troops which led to them winning the battle of Chickamauga. -
Battle of Cold Harbor
The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought from May 31 - June 12, 1864 near Mechanicsville, Virginia. This was the last battle of the overland campaign for Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. There were over 10,000 Union casualties in this battle compared to just 5,000 for the confederates. This big differences led to a confederate victory despite having a little over half the troops that the Union had. -
Battle of Cedar Creek
The Battle of Cedar Creek took place on October 19, 1864 at Cedar Creek in Strasburg, Virginia. Union Major General Philip Sheridan had a surprise attack sent at him and his troops by Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early. This wasn’t one of the bigger battles, but the Union still had a lot more troops than the Confederates and made the Union victorious in this battle. -
Battle of Five Forks
This was one of the last battles of the war located just southwest of Petersburg, Virginia in Five Forks, Dinwiddie County. This was a battle between Union Major General Philip Sheridan and Confederate Major General George Pickett. The Union took thousands of confederate prisoners and took over Five Forks which was the key to control the South Side Railroad. Pickett’s commander General Robert E. Lee gave orders to protect Five Forks at all costs but that was too hard against Union forces. -
Appomattox Surrender
On the morning of April 9, 1865, in The Appomattox Court House in Appomattox, Virginia. This was the last engagement between Confederate General Robert E. Lee and Union General Ulysses S. Grant. After being heavily outnumbered, Lee surrendered to the Union. -
Lincoln Assasination
On April 14, 1865 in Ford Theater, Washington D.C. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln was the first U.S. president to be assassinated which lead to a bigger plan to bring back the Confederates. Booth eventually died after a 12-day manhunt.
