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Fort Sumter
By April 12 1861 the south was officially succeeded from the north. At this point only two federal forts still were in the southern territories, Fort Sumter and Fort Pickens. President Lincoln looked to resupply both forts by way of sea, but when the union ships approached the south open fired at 4:30 a.m on April 12th and this began the civil war. After the 34 hour battle Major Robert Anderson had to surrender to confederate forces. -
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads- Starting March the 9th 1862 the battle of Hampton Roads was the first navy duel of ironclad warships between north and south. The point of the battle was so the south could open the naval blockade that the north put on their ports. Although inconclusive the battle opened up the years of naval warfare to come. -
Shiloh
April 6th 1862 confederates launched a surprise attack on Ulysses S. Grants command in southwestern Tennessee. Although an initial success the Rebels soon lost position and had to retreat. Resulting in a union victory. Both sides suffered many losses, with over 23,000 total casualties. -
Peninsula Campaign
In January 1862 George Mcleallan is named in charge of the union army. Mcleallan wanted to take troops down the Chesepeake and into the mouth of the Rappahannock which would get his army most of the way to Richmond. To his demise General Johnston of the confederates had moved his troops. At early April 60,000 of Mclealans soldiers were facing 13,000 grays near Yorktown. Despite lincolns orders to attack Mcleallan hesitated and the rebels pulled out. On may 31 Johnston on the offensive made att -
First Bull Run
July 21, 1862; two months after the start of the war General Irvin McDowell started the confederates across Bull Run near Manassas West Virginia. Although it had seemed that the 10,000 Union soldiers had subdued the 4,500 Confederate soldiers, things are not always as they appear. The confederates had started to bring in reinforcements and by 4 o’clock in the afternoon both sides had about 18,000 men on the field. A strategic move through the union line forced the federals back into Washington. -
Second Bull Run
In July of 1862 General John Pope planned to advance towards the confederatae capital of Richmond. Knowing this James Longstreet watched them crossing the Rappahannock River. Two days later Stone Wall Jackson attacked them at manasas junction, the venue of the first battle of bull run.
August 28 Pope assembled his men for an attack the next morning. Thinking the enemy was retreating Pope pursued the enemy and had his men slaughtered. After many casualties the union army retreated to Washington -
Antietam
in September of 1872 General George Mcllealan pursues General Lee of the Confederate Army into Maryland. This would be the first battle of the war to take place on union soil, Although not able to completely annihilate the confederate forces with his numerical superiority (75,000:38,000) he was able to keep the south at bay. No winner was decided. To this day the battle at Antietam is the single day in American history, over 22,000 people fell that DAY! The battle only ran into the next day but -
Fredericksburg
A frustrated Lincoln was frustrated with General George B. Mclellan and his hesitance so he appointed Ambrose Burnside his job, although hesitant Burnside could not turn down the offer and in November of 1862 Burnside made advances towards the Richmond, the confederate capital. Hot on the tail of the northern Virginia army Burnside forced them back along the Rappahancok River. Burnside however was not able to cross and had to wait for pontoon bridges. In the time he waited this gave General Lee -
Chancelorsville
Arguably the greatest victory by General Lee in the entire war would be The Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia.( April 30 to May 6, 1863) While extremely out-numbered while being confronted by General Joseph Hooker of the Union Lee split his combatants between him and General Stonewall Jackson to two attacking flanks on the sides of the union forces. On May the 2nd Stonewall led 30,000 Confederate troops around the right flank of Hookers brigade and destroyed half of Hookers lines in just one -
Vicksburg
A series of battles from the spring of 1882 until July 1863 to capture Vicksburg and the Mississippi river. Attempts to take the city by land failed so the union navy stepped in.The north eventually captured Vicksburg. -
Gettysburg
July 1st 1863 dates the start of the BLOODIEST battle of the Civil War. The invading army of General Lee came north to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in search of supplies but were supprised when the union cavalry was waiting for them. The grays pushed the union defense back towards cemetery hill where the union stocked up with more troops. The next day the union had strong position from Culps Hill to Cemetery Ridge. The confederates attempted to attack on both sides which was fierce and pushed the U -
Chickamauga
By late summer of 1863 General William Rosecrans of the Union Army had force Confederate General Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee out of Chattanooga and into Georgia. General James Longstreet came with reinforcements to assist Braggs. Early in the morning of September 19 the two Army’s met along the Chickamauga Creek, The Confederates made first attack on the union that morning led by George Thomas. Although he made a good effort Thomas’s men were forced back to Chattanooga and fell to a conder -
Gettysburg Address
On November 19, 1863 Abraham Lincoln gave as famous a speech us a country knows, the Gettysburg Address. In less than 300 hundred heart felt words Lincoln reminded his country, at the battlefield keep in mind, why our country had to press onward in the war. Although receiving mixed reviews at first, this speech raised northern morale. -
Wilderness
Starting the mornng of May 5, 1864 the battle of the wilderness starting in bumbling fashion as many soldiers were made prisoner the first day. The next morning more intense fighting continued through the blinding smoke of the cannons. Even into the next day the battle was inconclusive as neither side would budge. Eventually the Northern Soldiers marched towards Spotsylvania and the battle of Spotsylvania courthouse occured. -
Spotsylvania
In February 1864 Ullyses S. Grant was put in charge of all union armies.His plan was to keep Lee's army of Virginia occupied while General Sherman hit Georgia. Having noticed the enemy crossing the Rapidan River on may 4th he moved his men into positon. Fighting started the 5th and ended the seventh in the wilderness near Spotsylvania. The Rebels ran towards the town to build trenches. The next twelve days were some of the bloodiest in the war. The union won. -
Mobile Bay
In August 1864, the union naval commander David Farragut successfully posted a blockade in Mobile Bay. August 5, 1864 Farragut set off into the bay and on August 23 came out large and in charge -
Sherman's March
General Shermans troops captured Atlanta, Georgia September 2nd 1864. Which was important because the southern war practically revolved around the industrial Atlanta. Sherman came up with the idea, “total war,” saying that the southern war effort was based around supplies given to them, and if he could destroy those supplies they would win. This basically sped up to then end of the war, beings that the Grays had nothing to fight with. -
Appotamax
The civil war ended April the ninth of 1865 when General Robert E. Lee surrended to the command of General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia. Before this Lee making one final attempt to retreat to North Carolina and meet up with reinforcements in North Carolina was intercepted by the union army the two sides signed a treat in the Appotomax Courthouse ending the war -
Lincoln's Assasination
April fourteenth 1865 at 10:15 John Wilkes booth committed the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Although he planned to assassinate Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward, Lincoln was his only victim. Andrew Johnson later became the president, one of the least popular in American history. On April 26 union troops found and killed John Wilkes Booth.
