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Relevant Character: Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln won the 1860 elections for presidency as the candidate of the Republican party. However, his victory along with other factor caused many Southern states to secede from the Union and form the Confederate States of America. Lincoln was the president of the Union throughout the entire Civil War. -
Relevant Character: Jefferson Davis
Davis was the elected president for the newly formed Confederate States of America in 1861. He believed that the South needed to earn its respect and keep its rights, including slavery. He managed the Confederacy over the course of the Civil War. -
Relevant Character: George B. McClellan
McClellan was Lincoln's replacement for Irvin McDowell as a general for the Union army and was asked to form the Army of the Potomac. He later became the general-in-chief of the Union forces. In the 1864 Union presidential elections, McClellan was the Democratic Party's presidential candidate. -
Relevant Character: Thomas J. Jackson
Thomas J. Jackson was a Confederate general nicknamed "Stonewall" for his bravery and strength on the battlefield. He was one of the best and most important commanders for the Confederate Army during the Civil War. -
Relevant Character: Ulysses S. Grant
A U.S general for the Union. He was a very successful general during the civil war; he became known for his style of "total war". Grant became the general-in-chief of the Union army in 1864 due to his success in Civil War battles. -
Relevant Character: Robert E. Lee
One of the most successful commanders for the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He was known for his ability to predict his opponent's moves and exploiting their mistakes. -
Confederate Attack on Fort Sumter
The newly-formed Confederacy launched an attack on the Union's Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. This attack marked the start of the Civil War. While no men were killed, the Confederacy won supplies and a good vantage point for later in the war. -
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The Civil War
Significant events during the Civil War -
The Formation of the United States Sanitary Commission
Lincoln ordered the creation of the United States Sanitary Commission in order to address the concerns people had about soldier's conditions. Soldiers often caught fevers and diseases while at camp, and many more were injured in battle. The United States Sanitary Commission helped prevent some of these losses. -
Confederacy signs treaties with Native Americans
The Confederacy sent commissioner Albert Pike to negotiate treaties with Native American tribes in the Indian Territory south of Kansas. They were aware that the Natives were unhappy with the way the Union had treated them, and were able to use that to get many different tribes to ally with the Confederacy. -
The Battle Of Bull Run
The Battle of Bull Run was the first major battle in the Civil War. It took place in Virginia. The Confederacy won the battle; The Union army lost nearly 3000 men while the Confederate army only lost 2000. The Confederate army was led by Thomas J. Jackson, nicknamed Stonewall, while the Union army was led by Irvin McDowell. The battle proved to the world that this war was not something that would be ended easily or quickly, and it boosted the Confederacy's confidence significantly. -
The Creation of the Army of the Potomac
After the Battle of Bull Run, Union president Lincoln replaced Irvin McDowell from command and replaced him with George B. McClellan. McLellan was given the job of forming the Army of the Potomac with the purpose of defending the Union capital (in Washington D.C.) from Confederate attacks and to be the main Union army in the East. -
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The Peninsular Campaign
A campaign run by Union army general McClellan during the spring and summer of 1862 to capture the capital of the Confederacy, Richmond. It was put to a stop by Confederate general Robert E. Lee. As a result of the failed campaign, Lincoln fired general McClellan and replaced him with John Pope. -
The Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh came around as Union general Ulysses S. Grant moved in an attempt to execute Winfield Scott's plan to stop the Confederacy's Southern trade to damage their economy. The battle took place in Tennessee, and while the Confederates were pushed back, both armies suffered major losses. The Confederate army lost over 10,000 men while the Union army lost over 13,000 men. -
The Confederacy's Conscription Act
The Confederacy put in their first Conscription Act in 1862; they had started the war with significantly less soldiers than the Union, and that fact was hurting the Confederacy despite their superior tactics. The conscriptions were met with resentment. The Confederacy later passed the Twenty Negro Law, which allowed planters with a significant amount of slaves to not participate in the conscription; it was believed that these planters were vital to the Confederacy through farm labor. -
The Homestead Act
The Homestead Act was a law passed by Congress in 1862. It promised ownership of land to any citizen who lived on and improved the land for at least five years. The Homestead Act encouraged farming in the Union, which the Congress believed was necessary due to the loss of the Southern states. -
The Second Battle of Bull Run
A second battle in Bull Run, Virginia. The Union also lost this battle due to being outmaneuvered by Robert E. Lee. As a result, the general who had replaced McClellan, John Pope, was replaced by McClellan again. Lincoln was struggling to find a general capable of leading troops to absolute victory. -
The Battle of Antietam
A battle between Robert E. Lee's men and McClellan's during Lee's attempt to push into the Union's Maryland. The battle was considered the single bloodiest day in the history of the Civil War. Despite the Union victory, Lincoln fired McClellan for a second time after the battle due to his inability to pursue the fleeing Confederate army. Ambrose E. Burnside replaced McClellan as command of the Union army. -
The Battle of Fredericksburg
A battle in Virginia that involved new Union general Burnside. The new general showed incompetence during the course of the battle which led to President Lincoln firing him. Many Union troops were lost over the course of the battle. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation was President Lincoln's order that slavery would be abolished in all states that were "in rebellion" (the Confederacy) but not in states still loyal to the Union. Lincoln was forced to do this due to political pressure from Radical Republicans. The proclamation kept the slave states still with the Union happy. The proclamation changed the manner of the war; it committed the Union to conquering the Confederacy. -
The Union's Conscription Act
A law passed by Congress that established a draft to bring able-bodied men into the Union army to make up for the losses suffered over 1862. However, it allowed the wealthy to escape service by paying a fee. There were riots all across America due to the draft, most notably in New York City, where the city council paid the exemption fee for all poor draftees who didn't want to go to war. -
The Battle of Chancellorsville
A devastating battle in Chancellorsville, Virginia. The Confederacy Army won thanks to Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, and it saw yet another Union general exit the war: Joseph Hooker. Hooker was replaced by George E. Mead. Despite the victory, the Confederacy suffered a massive loss as Stonewall Jackson was killed in the battle. -
The Formation of the U.S. Colored Troops
The U.S. Colored troops were the first people of color to participate in the war. At the beginning of the Civil War, people of color were only allowed to work as laborers to support war efforts. However, Congress later authorized the acceptance of people of color into the army, which led to the U.S. Colored Troops. Many soldiers who served in the Colored Troops were former slaves. Although the Colored Troops were a part of the Union army, they often faced discrimination from other soldiers. -
The Battle of Gettysburg
A series of battles in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania between new Union general George E. Meade and Confederate general Lee. While the Union army won and suffered 5,000 less in losses than their Confederate counterparts, Meade failed to pursue the retreating Confederates, which would have won the Union the war. This terrible move by Meade led to him being replaced by Ulysses S. Grant. -
The Gettysburg Address
A speech given by President Lincoln to the Union at the site of the Gettysburg battle. The speech galvanized the American people and was circulated throughout the media. It is one of the most famous speeches of American history. -
Sherman's Atlanta Campaign
William T. Sherman's campaign for the Union through the Confederate land. He led his men from Tennessee into Atlanta. On the way, Sherman won many significant battles which boosted the Union publics' confidence in Lincoln. It was in part thanks to these efforts that Lincoln won the election of 1864. -
The Battles of Cold Harbor
A series of battles between Grant and Lee. While over 60,000 Union troops were lost throughout the battles, Grant was able to earn better positioning. The battles demonstrated Grant's lack of hesitation to sacrifice soldiers in his strategy of total war. The Confederate army also lost 25,000 soldiers. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
William T. Sherman led part of the Union army across Georgia. Sherman ordered his men to destroy anything in their parts, and that was exactly what happened. This move later allowed Sherman and his men to push up North and take out many Confederate units. -
Lincoln's Ban on Slavery
After his re-election in 1864, Lincoln planned for the Confederacy's eventual surrender and pushed through a law that ended slavery throughout the U.S. on January 31st, 1865. -
The Union's Victory
Under increasing Union pressure, the Confederacy was on the verge of collapse. Robert E. Lee tried to retreat and regroup, but Grant was able to chase down Lee, unlike his predecessors. Lee then surrendered and negotiated peaceful terms that dissolved the Confederate army and won the Union the war. -
Lincoln's Death
Lincoln was murdered in a celebration at a play five days after Robert E. Lee's surrender by a southern sympathizer.