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Nat Turner was an enslaved man who led a group of enslaved people in a rebellion. They started at Nat Turner's master's house by killing the entire family. They then went through Southampton County in Virginia and killed at least fifty-five white people. The rebellion ultimately caused pro-slavery to stiffen and anti-abolitionist convictions up until the civil war. -
In today's Oklahoma, more than twenty-five enslaved people in Native American territory, mainly from the Joseph Vann plantation, revolted. They locked their masters up and headed toward Mexico. Enslaved people from the Creek Nation joined Cherokee enslaved people, bringing the group to more than thirty-five people. Officials eventually captured the group, and the Cherokee Nation passed a law commanding all free African Americans, except former Cherokee enslaved people, to leave the nation. -
Bleeding Kansas was a period of violent conflict in Kansas between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions over the issue of whether or not to allow slavery in the territory. After the Kansas-Nebraska Act reopened, the possibility of slavery extending into new parts became possible. Attacks from person to person occurred all over. Bleeding Kansas foreshadowed the violence in the civil war over the split sides and their stance on slavery. -
Abolitionist John Brown was angered when pro-slavery forces destroyed a newspaper office and other properties in Lawrence, Kansas. To retaliate, Brown, four of his sons, and several others lured five pro-slavery men out of their houses near a crossing on Pottawatomie Creek in Franklin, Kansas. The group then killed the five pro-slavery men by stabbing them and shooting them. This massacre would be part of Kansas's destruction that led up to the Civil War. -
John Brown and twenty-two other men launched a raid on Harpers Ferry, a town in today's West Virginia. They captured some prominent local citizens and seized the federal arsenal. The next day US Marines captured John Brown and killed some of his men. Brown was tried and charged with treason, murder, and slave insurrection and sentenced to death. The attack failed to trigger the widespread revolt Brown wanted, but it drove the North and South even further apart. -
In Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, the first civil war battle would occur. South Carolina previously switched to side with the Confederacy. During the battle, the Confederacy surrounded Fort Sumter. The Union tried to retrieve backup troops but ran out of supplies quickly and surrendered. There were zero casualties, but this marked the beginning of the civil war. -
The battle of Philippi, Virginia, is considered by some to be the first organized land battle of the Civil War. The Union was led by Commander George B. McClellan, and the Confederacy by Commander George A. Porterfield. It began with an attempt by the Union to protect railroads in West Virginia. The Union then learned that eighth-hundred newly recruited Confederate soldiers were in the town. The Union surprised the Confederate soldiers and won the battle. -
Many consider the battle of Big Bethel to be the first land battle of the civil war. Union territory in Fort Monroe was one of the last strong Union points in the area. General Benjamin Butler of the Union wanted to attack Confederate positions near Little and Big Bethel, around ten miles north of Fort Monroe. Confederate and Union forces met near the town of Big Bethel, Virginia. The amount of Confederate power in the area forced the Union to retreat, resulting in a win for the Confederacy. -
The first battle of Bull Run was the first full-scale battle of the Civil War. General Irwin McDowell of the Union was ordered to attack Confederate troops at Manassas to take hold of Richmond, Vermont, and weaken the Confederate army. But, after the arrival of Confederate reinforcements, the power was shifted. After a significant amount of intense battle, the war resulted in a Confederate victory. Both sides suffered many casualties, and a new reality set over the soldiers. -
The battle of Wilson's Creek took place ten miles southwest of Springfield, Missouri. The Union's army was more aggressive and was led by general, Nathaniel Lyon. General Sterling led the Confederate army, and they held an advantage in numbers. The Union was able to surprise the Confederate army but ultimately had to retreat by mid-afternoon. This resulted in a Confederate victory, and southwestern Missouri was secured for secessionists.