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Period: to
American Civil War
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Fort Sumter
April 12, 1861 - April 14, 1861. President Lincoln sends a ship to resupply the federal fort. Believing the ship had troops and weapons, the Confederacy fired on the fort. Due to the attack on the fort, Lincoln calls up 75,000 troops and some of the Border States, such as Virginia, secede. -
Hampton Roads
March 8, 1862 - March 9, 1862. This battle was the first duel between ironclad warships. It was also a part of a confederate attempt to break a Union blockade. After a long duel between the Merrimack and the Monitor, the Merrimack was too damaged and retreated which showed the end of the battle. This victory gave the South more false hope. However, it is recorded that the Monitor was victorious. -
Shiloh
April 6, 1862 - April 7, 1862. The second great engagement of the American Civil War, confederate generals launched a surprise attack on Ulysses S. Grant’s forces. Confederate General Johnston attacked before Ulysses could get reinforcements. Both sides claimed victory but it was a confederate failure. 10,000 men on each side were lost. -
First Bull Run
July 21, 1862. Lincoln pushed for an attack even though Brigadier General Irvin McDowell thought his troops were ill prepared. McDowell’s Union force stuck on July 21st, shelling the confederate troops and attacking their flanks. The South was victorious but couldn’t pursue the retreating Yankees. The North had expected a swift victory but that was false and the South’s victory gave them false hope. -
Antietam
September 16, 1862 - September 18, 1862. Generals Robert E. Lee and George McClellan faced off near Antietam Creek. This is the first battle on Northern soil during the Civil War. There were 22,000 casualties. The amount of casualties during this battle made it the bloodiest day in America. -
Fredericksburg
Dec11-15,1862. Ambrose Burnside ordered his left wing, lead by General Franklin, on Lee’s right. The rest, lead by Jackson, attacked Longstreet’s 1st Corps at Marye’s Heights. Franklin failed to move 50,000 troops while Jackson successfully led a counter attack. By darkness the Union lost 13,000 men to confederate artillery and attacks. As a result of the battle the Union was crushed.The soldiers had fought hard but fell victim to mismanagement by their generals and were defeated by the South. -
Chancellorsville
Apr 30-May 6, 1863. General Jackson led 30,000 men on Hooker’s weak right flank in Chancellorsville. Beginning in the late noon, 30,000 men led by Jackson tactically overwhelmed Hooker’s line of 80,000 men. Hooker was now defending against Lee’s attack as well. Lee punched a hole in the 27,000 men that Hooker had left behind to cover his retreat. Jackson was mortally wounded this battle and although the losses were heavier for Lee’s army, Hooker retreated. -
The Battle of Gettysburg
Jul1-3,1863. General Lee concentrated his army around Gettysburg on July 1st, driving Union defenders to Cemetery Hill. The next day Lee hit the flanks of the Union line at the Devils Den, Little Round Top, The Wheatfield, Peach Orchard, Culp’s Hill, and East Cemetery Hill. Although the efforts of the Southerners gaining ground and harsh fighting were proving successful, the Union began regaining ground at Culp’s Hill. Even with a massive artillery bombardment, the South was losing their ground. -
Vicksburg
May 18, 1863 - July 4, 1863. Ulysses S. Grant’s armies converged on Vicksburg, entrapping a confederate army. Vicksburg surrendered after prolonged siege operations. This became one of the most brilliant military campaigns of the war since the Confederacy was effectively split in half. The confederate soldiers had tried to escape the city but were stopped by Union soldiers and forced to return until they were starving and low on ammunition. -
Chickamauga
Sep18-20,1863. Bragg marched north fighting the Union and mounted infantry with their new Spencer repeating rifles. Fighting picked up the next morning.The South fought hard but never broke the Union line. Bragg continued from the left in the late morning while Rosecrans was told about a hole in his line and used himself to fix it, leaving General Thomas in charge. After holding Horseshoe Ridge and Snodgrass Hill until the last night of the battle, the North proved victorious over the South. -
The Wilderness
May 5, 1864 - May 7, 1864. Fought at the Wilderness, this battle was the opening battle against the confederate army of North Virginia. Fighting was fierce but inconclusive as both sides attempted to maneuver in the dense woods. Darkness halted the fighting. Many Generals were killed and the fight was a tactical draw. Grant, however, did not retreat as had the other Union generals before him. -
Spotsylvania
May 8-21, 1864. This two week battle was a series of combats along the Spotsylvania front. The Union attack against the Bloody Angle captured nearly a division of Lee’s army and almost cut it in half. The confederates filled the gap and fought for 20 more hours which made Spotsylvania the location for one of the most ferociously sustained battle of the Civil War. The Union army spent many nights looking for holes in the confederate line but only ended up losing more men to a surprise attack. -
Petersburg
June 15, 1864 - June 18, 1864. Marching from Cold Harbor, Meade’s army of the Potomac crossed the James River and transports and a 2,200ft long pontoon bridge at Windmill point. Meade’s troops pushed Petersburg’s defenders back. The confederate soon got reinforcements and the opportunity to capture Petersburg without a siege was lost. -
Sherman's March
Nov 15,1864. The importance of Sherman capturing Atlanta was the gain of the Railroad hub and the industrial center. After Atlanta Sherman split his force giving him 62,000 men and General Thomas 60,000 for a chase after General Lee’s fleeing army. The Union tore up villages, railroads, and supplies as they pushed the confederates to the sea through Georgia. About 30 miles apart, Sherman’s two forces were attacked by confederate forces at Griswoldville. -
Sherman's March
Dec 21,1864. The South attacked with 3,500 men but suffered casualties of 650 men and retreated. In Savannah the city was abandoned by its 10,000 confederates so the Union soldiers pressed on and burned their way through South Carolina to Charleston. In April 1865 the Confederacy surrendered and the war was over. Sherman’s total war tactic had brought victory to the Union by crushing the South. -
Lincoln's Assassination
April 14, 1865 10:15P.M. As the civil war was drawing to a close, Robert E Lee surrendered to Lieutenant General Ulysses S, Grant. The South had virtually lost. A well known actor named John Wilkes Booth planned and carried out the assassination as part of a larger conspiracy to revive the confederate cause. Lincoln became the first president to be assassinated after he was shot at the theatre.
