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Battle of Fort Sumter
BattleOn April 10, 1861, Gen. Beauregard, in command of the Confederate forces, demanded the surrender of the Union (Anderson). On April 12, Confederates opened fire on the fort, which was unable to reply effectively. At 2:30 pm, April 13, Major Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter, evacuating on the following day. The bombardment of Fort Sumter was the opening of the Civil War. The battle lasted from April 12 to 13 and the Confederates won. -
Battle of Hampton Roads
BattleOn March 8, 1862, the Confederate ironclad Virginia, comanded by Buchanan, went into Hampton Roads where it sank Cumberland. Later on March 9, the Union ironclad Monitor, under Worden, started the first engagement of ironclads in history. The two ships fought each other to a standstill, but Virginia retired. So the battle lasted from the 8 to 9 and the outcome was inconclusive. -
Battle of Shiloh
BattleConfederate forces led by General Johnston attacked Union General Grant's army at Pittsburg Landing. The Union forces were not prepared but they still managed to hold their own until the arrival of reinforcements at Pittsburg Landing. Further, the Confederates lost their leader when General Johnston was killed by a stray bullet. On the second day, April 7th, Grant launched a counterattack and the Confederates retreated to Corinth. The Union won and it lasted from April 6-7. -
Battle of Bull Run (1st)
BattleOn July 21, 1861 the First Battle of Bull Run occurred. It was the first real major conflict of the American Civil War. A Union army, consisting of 28,000 men, commanded by General McDowell, fought 33,000 Confederates under General Beauregard. The battle proved that this was not going to be a one sided war for either side, It left a sense of victory in the South, and in the North a feeling for revenge. -
Battle of Bull Run (2nd)
BattleThe Second Battle of Bull Run was fought on August 29th and 30th, 1862 near Bull Run. The Union started with 62,000 men and the Confederates started with 50,000. The Confederate commander was General Lee and the Union commander was General Pope. After failing to capture Richmond, the Union decided they would combine the armies of General McClellan and General Pope. Second Bull Run was not the exact victory that Lee was hoping for, but it was still an impressive achievement. -
Battle of Antietam
BattleOn September 16, General George B. McClellan confronted General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at Sharpsburg, Maryland. The battle was fought just south of Sharpsburg along the Antietam River. The battle was not a decisive one, but the north did win a strategic advantage. If either army had been able to destroy one or the other than it could have caused a major shift in the war and most likely a much sooner end of the war. The battle lasted from September 16 to 18. -
Battle of Fredricksburg
BattleOn November 14, Burnside, now in command of the Union Army, sent soldiers to occupy Falmouth near Fredericksburg. On December 15, Burnside recrossed the river, ending the campaign. Burnside started a new offensive in January 1863, which was quickly ruined in the winter mud. Union forces were defeated in a series of attacks against entrenched Confederate forces at Fredericksburg, Virginia. -
Emancipation Proclamation
EmancipationAs the nation reached its third year in the Civil War, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The document declared "that all persons held as slaves" in Confederate states "are, and henceforward shall be free." This applied only to the states that had seceded from the Union, leaving slavery untouched in the border states. Also, the freedom it promised mainly depended on the Union military. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
BattleA Union army under Joseph Hooker, planning to capture Richmond, Virginia, was defeated by Stonewall Jackson, who was commanding Robert E. Lee's Corps. This battle was considered to be Lee’s greatest victory. At the same time, the South lost one of its greatest minds with the death of "Stonewall" Jackson. On the night of May 5-6, Hooker recrossed to the north bank of the Rappahannock. The battle last from April 30 to May 6 with a Confederate victory. -
Siege of Vicksburg
SiegeIn May and June of 1863, Ulysses S. Grant’s armies converged on Vicksburg, investing the city and trapped a Confederate army under John Pemberton. On July 4, Vicksburg surrendered after many attacks. This was one of the most brilliant military campaigns of the war. -
Battle of Gettysburg
BattleIn July of 1863, General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, under George G. Meade, came together at Gettysburg and fought the Battle of Gettysburg. Although the Battle of Gettysburg did not end the war, it was the great battle of the war, marking the point when the ultimate victory of the North over the South became clear to both sides. The battle lasted from July 1-3, and the Union won. -
Siege of Atlanta
SiegeThe Union led by General William T. Sherman attacked Atlanta, Georgia, protected by Confederates under General John Bell Hood. the Union won the siege and occupied Atlanta the day after. This is an important even of the Civil War because the fall of Atlanta boosted Northern hope and pride. -
Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse
SurrenderOn April 9, 1865 after four years of Civil War, General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, in the town of Appomattox Court House , Virginia. General Lee arrived shortly after 1:00 p.m. followed a half hour later by General Grant. The meeting lasted about an hour and a half. The surrender ended the brutal American Civil War. -
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
LincolnOn April 15, 1865, John Wilkes Booth, shot President Abraham Lincoln during a play at Ford's Thearte in Washington, D.C. The attack came only five days after Confederate General Lee surrendered to Union General Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, ending the Civil War. President Lincoln was confirmed dead at 7:22 the next morning.News of the president's death traveled quickly, and by the end of the day flags businesses closed and people mourned the death of a honest, helpful man. -
Ratification of 13th Amendment
AmendmentThe Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in the United States. The Senate passed the amendment in April of 1864, and the House of Representatives passed it in February of 1865. There are two sections to the amendment. Section one: Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Section two: Congress shall have power to enforce this.
