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First Shots at Fort Sumter
Jefferson Davis sent Confederate troops to Fort Sumter. The Confederate leaders commenced an attack, which started the Civil War. -
First Battle of Bull Run
Brigade General Irvin McDowell led Union troops against Confederates in the first major battle of the war. Confederates rallied behind Stonewall Jackson. The Confederates won the battle, proving that this war wouldn't be a short one. -
Monitor Vs Merrimack
Confederates built an iron ship that sank multiple wooden Union ships. The Union replicated the Confederates' design of the iron boat and the two faced off. Neither did much damage, but the superior industrial power of the North caused the South to break apart the iron boat and use the metal for different purposes. This one encounter forever changed naval warfare. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
Union General Ambrose Burnside set up a frontal assault on Confederate forces on high ground with Lee. The Union defeat was so humiliating that Lincoln remove Burnside from command. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln addressed this after the Battle of Antietam. Though it wasn't a clear Union or Confederate victory, Lincoln made Antietam a political victory for the Union when he claimed through this proclamation that all slaves in rebelling states were free. -
Battle at Vicksburg
Grant's forces converged on Vicksburg. Union forces laid siege to the town for days. Confederates were trapped and eventually surrendered. -
Ulysses S. Grant is the New Lieutenant General
For his earlier victories in the war, Ulysses S. Grant was appointed as the new Lieutenant General for the Union. This occurred at the request of Abraham Lincoln. Grant's leadership would help the Union turn the tide of the war. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union conducted a military campaign through Georgia from November and December of 1864. The campaign resulted in total Union victory through terrifying the Southern civilians and military. -
Andersonville Prison Camp
This prison camp held more prisoners t the time than any other Confederate military prisons. When the War concluded, the prison camp commandant, Captain Henry Wirz, was arrested and charged due to the horrible living conditions for the prisoners. -
Appomattox Surrender
Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Ulysses S. Grant. A small battle broke out between Lee and Union cavalry, lasting only a few hours. Negotiations ended in Grant allowing Lee's men keeping their pistols and horses. This was the end of the Civil War.