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First Battle of Bull Run
Location: Manassas Junction (Just outside Washington D.C.)
People: Stonewall Jackson (Confederacy); spectators
Sig: Southern victory defeated the Union's chance at taking Richmond, VA and ending the war quickly. The Confederate victory made the south even more overconfident and many confederate troops disserted thining he war would be over shortly. The North, on the other hand, began to make greater preparations for war. -
Fort Henry and Fort Donelson
Location: Northern Tennessee
People: Grant
Sig: It tied Kentucky closer to the Union and created a gateway to Tennessee, Georgia, and "the heart of Dixi". -
Merrimack vs. Monitor
Location: The Chesapeake Bay
People: Merrimac (Conf. Ship); Monitor (U.S. Ship)
Sig: It was the first battle-testing of these now iron ships against wooden ones. -
Peninsula Campaign
Location: Near Washington to Richmond
People: General George B. McClellan; army of the patomac; Lee
Sig: If McClellan had succedded in taking Richmond and ending the war, the Union would be restored and slavery would not have been a factor. From this, Lincoln began to draft the Emancipation Proclamation. The Union strategy also turned to total war. -
Battle of Shiloh
Location: Just ofer the Tennessee border
People: Grant; Confederate forces
Sig: Confirmed that there would be no quick end to the war. -
Second Battle of Bull Run
Location: Manassas
People: Robert E. Lee; General John Pope
Sig: Lee grew bolder after he won this battle and continued into Maryland. -
Antietam
Location: Antietam Creek, Maryland
People: Lee; McClellan
Sig: Britain and France were going to enter an agreement that would favor the South but after seeing the North's display of power, cooled off. It also provided Lincoln a chance to launch his Emancipation Proclamation. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Location: Made in Washington--geared towards Southern Slave owners
People: Lincoln
Sig: It strengthened the moral cause of the Union and foreshadowed the end of slavery, however, it did not free slaves immediately. It also removed any chance of negotiation between the North and the South because it changed the nature of the war. It gave Af. Am.s hope for equal treatment, but also caused riots. -
Chancellorsville
Location: Chancellorsville, Virginia
People: "Stonewall" Jackson; Joe Hooker
Sig: Jackson was killed. -
Gettysburg
Location: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
People: Pickett; George G. Meade (Union)
Sig: This was the last and final chance for the Confederate to have any hope of winning the war. After this battle is lost (confederate) there is no hope of the winning. -
Vicksburg
Location: Vicksburg, Mississippi
People: David G. Farragut (Union); Grant (Union)
Sig: This cut the supplies to the western part of the Confederacy off. This was pretty much their lifeline. This also helped soothe the agitation in the Ohio River Valley and tipped the diplomatic scales towards the North. -
Chickamauga/Chattanooga
Location: Chattanooga, Tennessee
People: General Grant
Sig: Provided a way to get into Georgia to begin the campaign there. -
Cold Harbor
Location: Cold Harbor, Virginia
People: Grant
Sig: This was necessary although ruthless. The South wanted to find peace but unless there was emancipation, there would be no peace. This made the war drag on and the southern armies smaller and more desperate. -
Sherman's March
Location: Georgia, South Carolina
People: General William Tecumseh Sherman
Sig: Destroyed supplies for Confederate army and weakened the morale of the men. This caused many more desertions and shortened the war, saving lives. -
Appomattox Courthouse
Location: Richmond, Virginia
People: Lee; Grant
Sig: Lee surrendered. The Union wins the war. -
Lincoln's Assassination
Location: Ford's Theater in Washington
People: Lincoln; John Wilkes Booth
Sig: He died at the very hight of his career which helped erase all memories of shortcommings and made him nationally known. It also increased bitterness in the North against the South.