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Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was an anti-slavery novel published in 1852. It helped lay the groundwork for the Civil - War as it fueled the abolitionist cause. Within the first year of it being published, 300,000 copies were sold in the US and 1 million copies in Great Britain. When Abraham Lincoln had met Harriet Beecher Stowe, the writer of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, he declared, “So this is the little lady who started this great war”. -
Fort Sumter
The battle of Fort Sumter took place on April 12 – 14, 1861. At Fort Sumter, the first shots of the Civil War were fired. On the Union side, the commander was Robert Anderson. On the Confederate side, the commander was P. G. T. Beauregard. The Union was massively outnumbered so they surrendered and by the end of the battle, there were no casualties on either side. -
First Battle of Bull Run
The First Battle of Bull Run took place on July 21, 1861. The First Battle of Bull Run, was a Confederate victory. On the Union side, the commander was Irvin McDowell. On the Confederate side, the commander was P. G. T. Beauregard. This battle was the first major battle of the Civil War and while it was a small battle relative to some of the others, it set the pace for the war. -
Peninsular Campaign
The Peninsular Campaign took place on March – July 1862. The Peninsular Campaign was a Confederate victory. On the Union side, the commander was George B. McClellan. On the Confederate side, there were a few generals but one of them was Robert E. Lee. In this battle, even though the Confederates lost more lives, the Union side retreated and lost. -
Battle Of Fort Donelson
The Battle Of Fort Donelson took place on February 13 – 16, 1862. The Battle Of Fort Donelson was a Union victory. On the Union side, the commander was Ulysses S. Grant. On the Confederate side, the commander was Simon B. Buckner. This battle forced the Confederates out of Kentucky and much of Tennessee. -
Battle of the Ironclads
The battle of the Ironclads place on March 8, 1862. The battle of the ironclads was a naval battle, there wasn’t a clear victor. The commanders were Franklin Buchanan and John Worden. This battle revolutionized naval battles as battles used to be fought with wooden ships. However, both of these ships were armored with iron. After this battle, almost all naval warfare used iron ships. -
Shiloh
The battle of Shiloh took place on April 6 – 7, 1862. The battle of Shiloh, was a major Union victory. On the Union side, the commander was Ulysses S. Grant. On the Confederate side, the commander was Albert Sidney Johnston. This Union victory allowed them to advance into Mississippi. -
Fredericksburg
The battle of Fredericksburg took place on April 6 – 7, 1862. The battle of Fredericksburg was a Confederate victory. There were about 18,500 casualties was surprising considering that there were many more troops involved in this battle. On the Union side, the commander was Ambrose E. Burnside. On the Confederate side, the commander was Robert E. Lee. -
Battle Of New Orleans
The Battle Of New Orleans took place on April 24 - 25th, 1862. The Battle Of New Orleans was a Union victory. On the Union side, the commander was B.F. Butler. On the Confederate side, the commander was Mansfield Lovell. This battle made the Confederates lose New Orleans for the rest of the war. -
Antietam
The battle of Antietam took place on September 16 – 18, 1862. The battle of Antietam was a Union victory. It was one of the bloodiest single day in not only the Civil War but in the history of the US; there were about 22,717 estimated casualties which wasn't as much as some other battles but it was a lot considering the number of troops involved. On the Union side, the commander was George B. McClellan. On the Confederate side, the commander was Robert E. Lee. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863. It declared that all slaves in the rebelling states were free. This did have a hole in it, it only applied to the rebelling states and not the border states that still had slavery. It also depended on the fact that the Union would win the war. -
Chancellorsville
The battle of Chancellorsville took place on April 30 – May 6, 1863. The battle of Chancellorsville was a Confederate victory. On the Union side, the commander was Ambrose E. Burnside. On the Confederate side, the commander was Robert E. Lee. This battle inspired the Confederates to launch a second invasion of The North. -
Vicksburg
The battle of Vicksburg took place on May 18 – July 4, 1863. The battle of Vicksburg was a massive Union victory. There were about 37,273 casualties, 32,363 were Confederates. On the Union side, the commander was Ulysses S. Grant. On the Confederate side, the commander was John C. Pemberton. This Union victory allowed them to control the Mississippi River and split the Confederacy in half. -
Gettysburg
The battle of Gettysburg took place on July 1 – 3, 1863. The battle of Gettysburg was a massive Union victory and is considered to be the turning point of the Civil War. On the Union side, the commander was George G. Meade. On the Confederate side, the commander was Robert E. Lee. The Union eventually won even though they suffered more casualties as they had more soldiers. -
The Battle Of Chattanooga
The Battle Of Chattanooga took place on November 23 – 25, 1863. The Battle Of Chattanooga was a Union victory. On the Union side, the commander was Ulysses S. Grant. On the Confederate side, the commander was Braxton Bragg. The Union side winning this battle made them able to invade the Deep South. -
The Battle of Spotsylvania
The Battle of Spotsylvania took place on May 8 – 21, 1864. The Battle of Spotsylvania was an inconclusive battle, there was no winner. On the Union side, the commander was Ulysses S. Grant. On the Confederate side, the commander was Robert E. Lee. Though this battle didn’t have a winner and neither side benefited much from it, the total casualty count was 30,000. -
Petersburg
The Battle of Spotsylvania took place on June 15 – 18, 1864. The Battle of Spotsylvania was a Confederate victory. On the Union side, the commander was Ulysses S. Grant. On the Confederate side, the commander was Robert E. Lee. Because the Union lost this battle, they lost the greatest chance to capture Petersburg without a siege. -
Sherman's March
Sherman’s March was a military campaign in Georgia from November 15 until December 21, 1864. It began when general Sherman had left the captured city of Atlanta. His forces destroyed not only military targets but civilian targets such as industry and infrastructure. This massively affected the Southern economy and was one of the factors that lead to their surrender. -
Appomattox
General Robert E. Lee surrendered with 28,000 soldiers in Appomattox on April 9, 1865. After he got cornered by the North when he got forced out of the capital, he surrendered, marking the end of the Civil War. -
Lincoln Assassination
On April 14, 1865, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. He and a couple of other people had planned to assassinate some of the most important officials of the US Government and revive the Confederate cause. However, the other two targets weren’t killed. John Wilkes Booth’s conspirators were eventually caught and hanged for their roles and he was killed.
