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Sierra and Julia's Civil War Timeline
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Fort Sumpter
Confederates bombarded the fort from artillery batteries surrounding the harbor. Although the Union garrison returned fire, they were outgunned and Major Anderson agreed to evacuate. There was no loss of life on either side. There was widespread support from both North and South for further military action. Lincoln's immediate call for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the rebellion resulted in an additional four states also declaring their secession and joining the Confederacy. Lasted 34 hours. -
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
Gen. Grant’s and Meade’s advance on Richmond by the left flank was stalled at Spotsylvania Court House on May 8. This 2 week battle was a series of combats on the Spotsylvania front. The Union attack against the Bloody Angle, May 12-13, captured a division of Lee’s army and came near to cutting the Confederate army in half. The Military outcome was Lee's army was about half of what it was, and both sides lost many generals. Political views are inconclusive to most becuase the fighting continued. -
Battle of The Bull Run
On July 21, 1861 the Battle of Bull Run occurred. A Union army, consisting of 28,000 men, commanded by General McDowell, fought 33,000 Confederates under General Beauregard. The Union army marched towards Richmond, but met the Confederate forces coming north from Manassas.With the battle lasting five hours, it was a sense of victory in the South. The military outcome was 2.000 Union troops and 2,900 Confederates were killed. The political outcome was the Lincoln had to send more troops. -
Battle of Hamptons Roads
This battle was a part of the effort of the Confederacy to break the Union blockade, which had cut off Virginia's largest cities, Norfolk and Richmond, from international trade.The battle received worldwide attention, and it had immediate effects on navies around the world, making France and Britain rebuild new ships. The duel ended indecisively, Virginia returning for repairs, and the Monortor doing the same. The ships did not fight again, and the blockade remained in place. -
Battle of Shiloh ; Batlle of Pittsburg Landing
A major battle in the Western Theater of the Civil War. A Union army under Gen. Grant had moved to the Tennessee River and was encamped at Pittsburg Landing on the west bank of the river. Confederate forces under Generals Johnston and P.G.T. Beauregard launched a surprise attack on Grant there. Reinforcements from Grant's own army arrived, and when the Union commanders launched a counterattack along the entire line, Confederates were forced to retreat. Gen. Johnston was killed during the 1st day -
Battle of Antietam
Union Gen. McClellan launched attacks against Lee's army, in defensive positions behind Antietam Creek. Gen. Burnside's corps entered the action, capturing a stone bridge over Antietam Creek and advancing against the Confederate right. Confederate Gen. Hill's division arrived and launched a surprise counterattack, driving back Burnside and ending the battle. It was tactically inconclusive, it had enough of a victory to give Pres. Lincoln the confidence to announce his Emancipation Proclamation. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
Burnside's plan was to cross the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg in November and go to Richmond before Lee's army could stop him. Delays prevented Burnside from receiving the necessary pontoon bridges in time and Lee moved his army to block the crossings. When the Union army was finally able to build its bridges and cross under fire, urban combat resulted in the city on December 11–12. On December 15, Burnside withdrew his army, ending another failed Union campaign. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
General Joseph Hooker was commander of the Union which numbered about 138,000 men. Lee with about 60,000, still held the line of defense at Fredericksburg. On May 1, General Hooker withdrew his troops to a position at Chancellorsville. The next day Lee sent Stonewall Jackson to attack, which cut the Northern army almost in two. Hooker retreated three days later. Military outcomes were that the Union army lost about half of their army. Pres. Lincoln chose to retain Hooker in command of the army. -
Battle of Gettysburg. Lasted July 1-3
During the morning of July 3, the Confederate infantry were driven from their last hold on Culp’s Hill. In the afternoon, after a massive artillery bombardment, Lee attacked the Union center on Cemetery Ridge, but the main event was a dramatic infantry assault by 12,500 Confederates, called Pickett's Charge.The military outcome was that Lee's men left a train of wounded stretched more than fourteen miles, leaving the Union soldiers with pride. Political Outcome is Lincolns Gettysburg Address. -
Battle of Chickamauga
The battle was fought between the Union Army of the Cumberland under Gen. Rosecrans and the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Gen. Bragg. Bragg's men strongly assaulted but could not break the Union line. The next day, Bragg resumed his assault.Although the Confederates launched costly and determined assaults, Thomas and his men held until twilight. Union forces then retired to Chattanooga while the Confederates occupied the surrounding heights -
Siege of Petersburg
The Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles in Petersburg, who was crucial to the supply of Confederate Gen. Lee's army and the Confederate capital of Richmond. Numerous raids were conducted and battles fought in attempts to cut off the railroad supply lines through Petersburg to Richmond, and these caused the lengthening of the trench lines, overloading dwindling Confederate resources. Lee finally abandoned both cities, leading to his retreat and surrender to the Appomattox Court House. -
Battle of the Wilderness
Grant attempted to move quickly through the Wilderness of Spotsylvania, but Lee launched two of his corps on parallel roads to intercept him. On the morning of May 5, the Union V Corps under Gen. Warren attacked the Confederate Second Corps, commanded by Gen. Ewell. On May 7, Grant disengaged and moved to the southeast, intending to leave the Wilderness to interpose his army between Lee and Richmond, leading to the bloody Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. Victory is inconclusive. -
Siege of Vicksburg
Union Gen. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mississippi River and drove the Confederate army of Lt. Gen. Pemberton into the defensive lines surrounding the fortress city of Vicksburg. With no reinforcement, supplies nearly gone, and after holding out for more than forty days, the confederates finally surrendered on July 4. The city of Vicksburg would not celebrate Independence Day for about eighty years as a result of the siege and surrender. -
Sherman's March To The Sea
Late in 1864, General William Sherman left Atlanta to head towards the Atlantic Ocean. He moved through Macon and Augusta and ended up in Savannah. There were few troops to stop him and his forces on the way and they left destruction in their wake. Union Victory. Approx. 3100 casualties of which 2,100 were Union soldiers.Sherman presented Lincoln with Savannah, Georgia in what he called a ‘Christmas gift’. He was able to strike in the heart of the Confederacy. -
Lincoln's Assassination
The assassination took place on Good Friday. Lincoln was the first American president to be assassinated. The assassination was planned and carried out by well-known actor John Booth as part of a larger conspiracy intended to rally the remaining Confederate troops to continue fighting.Lincoln was shot while watching the play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln. He died the next morning. Left the Union army and family devastated.
