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Battle of Fort Sumter
Robert Anderson occupied the fort after South Carolina seceded in 1860. Lincoln resupplied the fort and the first confrontation between the Union and Confederacy had begun. Amazingly, no one died in gunfire here. The Union surrendered when they realized that they were outnumbered. -
Lincoln orders naval blockade (anaconda plan)
General Winfield Scott came up with the plan to cut off the Confederacy from supplies via a naval blockade to destroy their economy. This would also allow the Union to take control of the Mississippi River, a major body useful for soldiers. -
First Battle of Bull Run
35,000 Union troops marched from DC to strike Confederate troops at Bull Run, led by Irvin McDowell. The Union wanted to advance on Richmond, Virginia, the capitol of the Confederacy. The Confederacy won the battle under Thomas J. Jackson, forcing Union soldiers to retreat. -
Army of the Potomac is created
Lincoln ordered George B. McClellan to create the Army of the Potomac after the Union's loss at Bull Run. This army was created to defend the capitol and did just that for a while. But Lincoln got increasingly desperate to attack the Confederacy and not just defend against them. -
Battle of Fort Henry
Ulysses S. Grant and Andrew Foote attacked Fort Henry in Tennessee navally which blocked the Confederacy which allowed more rivers like the Tennessee River to go under Union control and blocked Confederate troops. This was the first Union victory in the entire war. -
Battle of Fort Donelson
Because of the success of the Battle of Fort Henry, Ulysses Grant felt that he could safely attack Fort Donelson- and he was right. The Confederacy agreed to a surrender after Union attempts to defeat rebels. The Union victory gave the Union more control and power over the Confederacy, making Union victory every more likely, -
Battle of Shiloh
Fought in Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, this was the bloodiest Civil War battle at the time. The Confederacy surrendered. General Beauregard was injured. While neither side directly gained anything, it set up the framework for the Union to control the Mississippi Valley. -
Second Battle of Bull Run
General Lee sent troops to the Manassas Junction which was a major terminal for the Union. With Union General John Pope in charge of fighting this, the Confederacy won. -
Battle of Antietam
After winning at Bull Run, General Lee felt more powerful and launched an invasion against the Union. The Confederacy and Union fought at Antietam Creek, and the Confederacy retreated. -
Battle of Perryville
Confederate general Braxton Bragg ordered an attack on Union troops searching for water at Peters Hill. He vastly underestimated the size of the Union army at the location. He was forced to withdraw and retreat. This drove Confederate troops out of Kentucky, helping the Union gain ground. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
General Ambrose Burnside advanced on Richmond and eventually Fredericksburg. General Lee positioned his troops slightly farther north, some along the Rappahannock River. Lee staged his troops defensively and ultimately won the battle. -
Battle of Stones River
General Rosecran led his troops to Murfreesboro Tennessee where Confederate troops were positioned. But the battle was fought largely at Stones River and in a forest. General Bragg had trouble coordinating, and Union guns blaster away Confederate soldiers, gaining the Union Tennessee. -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln issued an executive order that officially freed all slaves. Unsurprisingly, many slave owners did not comply. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
General Joseph Hooker and Robert E. Lee's troops clashed in the Wilderness. Lee heavily attacked Union troops in Chancellorsville. Even though the Union had double the number of troops, the Confederacy won in their biggest victory in the whole war. -
Siege of Vicksburg
General Grant and his army drove Confederate troops out of Vicksburg. This is significant because the Confederacy had now lost most, if not all control of the Mississippi River. -
Battle of Gettysburg
After victory at Chancellorsville, Lee executed a second invasion of the North, too gain ground and get Union troops away from Vicksburg.
Lee set up his troops in Gettysburg upon learning that a Union advancement was underway.
Confederate General Ewell confronted Union troops, and some retreated. The next day, Lee started an intense firefight with the Union, but they Union pushed back hard, giving them victory. -
First Battle of Fort Wagner
During intense attacks from the Union from Col. Ulric Dahlgren, general Brig. Gen William B. Taliaferro took shelter at Fort Wagner. Robert Gould Shaw also led a black-majority assault on the fort. Union troops got confused and started shooting each other, and the Confederacy ultimately held onto Fort Wagner. The Union attacked again a week later but still lost. -
Lawrence Massacre
William Quantrill attacked Lawrence, Kansas, because of Kansas, and this city especially, was a major battleground for the expansion of slavery. Confederate troops invaded in the middle of the night and just started burning, looting, and killing. The attacks lasted all day, with many residents seeking shelter. -
Battle of Chickamauga
General Bragg followed the Union army and positioned troops on the Chickamauga Creek in hopes to surprise-attack Rosecrans's troops. But the Union struck back stronger than expected. Eventually, after more Confederate troops came in, General Hood striked major blows to the Union, ensuring Confederate victory. -
Siege of Chattanooga
The Army of the Cumberland took over railroads in Chattanooga, Tennessee. General Grant sends troops to block General Bragg from attacking Knoxville. General Hooker then attacked Confederate troops with vastly more firepower, forcing them to flee. General William T. Sherman attacked Confederate troops, but they pushed back before Hooker made the final attack of the battle and forced the Confederacy to surrender. Union victory set the stage for an invasion of the South. -
Battle of Chattanooga
Union soldiers under General Thompson forced Confederate soldiers to flee from Orchard Knob to Missionary Ridge. Grant ordered an attack on the Confederacy, but got confused and attacked the wrong place. When his troops finally did arrive at the Ridge, Confederates defeated the Union then fled to Georgia. -
Battle of Fort Sanders
Confederate General James Longstreet unsuccessfully attempted to siege Knoxville Tennessee. He failed, then went to Fort Sanders to attack Burnside in his second attempt to capture Knoxville. But because of a ditch around the fort, the Confederacy lost. -
Battle of Okolona
After William Sherman destroyed Meridian Mississippi, Union and Confederate troops led by Colonel Jeffrey Forrest engaged in Okolona Mississippi. Forrest aggressively attacked Union troops. Forrest won the battle and could continue raiding Southern states. -
Battle of Mansfield
Confederate general Richard Taylor smashed Union general Nathaniel Banks after the Union invaded in the Red River Campaign. Banks had ambitions to invade more Southern places, but was stopped. -
Battle of Pleasant Hill
General Taylor attacked Union soldiers at Pleasant Hill, feeling confident because of the previous day's victory. But he underestimated the size of Banks's army. While the Union technically won, they still retreated, and banks abandoned plans to capture Shreveport. -
Battle of Fort Pillow
General Forrest surrounded Fort Pillow and killed Union Major Lionel Booth. Forrest wanted the Union to surrender, and a temporary ceasefire was agreed to until the Union got reinforcements from boats, and Forrest blocked this.
The Union did surrender, but Confederate troops killed 300 black Union troops afterwards. -
Battle of Brice's Crossroads
General Forrest sent troops to destroy the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad, and Union General Sherman sent troops out to stop that. Brigade General Samuel Sturgis sent troops to attack Forrest. While there were twice as many Union soldiers as Confederate soldiers, Forrest strategically arranged the troops and cavallry to push back Union troops, winning the battle. -
Battle of Monocacy
Confederate General Jubal Early marched his troops into Maryland. However, General Lew Wallace slowed his advance. While the Confederacy won, this battle is often called the "battle that saved Washington" because damage done to the Confederacy gave the Union enough time to set up defenses for DC. -
Battle of the Crater
While Grant surrounded Petersburg, Virginia with troops, he didn't quite feel ready enough to siege it. Henry Pleasants came up with the idea of digging tunnels and exploding them with gunpowder to attack the Confederacy, and Grant followed through. This left a big crater and lots of Union soldiers were killed, and Petersburg was still not captured. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
Over the course of a month, General Sherman led his troops from Atlanta Georgia to Savannah to convince Georgians to give up on supporting the Confederacy and secession. Sherman and his troops looted areas and destroyed crops as they marched. -
Battle of Fort Stedman
General Grant finally managed to surround Petersburg successfully. Grant's troops were starving and in trouble. Still, Confederate general John Gordon launched an attack against Fort Stedman because it was a Union supply hotspot. But Union General John Parke managed to fight back and capture thousands of Confederate troops. This was Lee's last offensive attack and the Confederacy was now in deep trouble. -
Battle of Five Forks
Union General Philip Sheridan found Confederate troops entrenched at Five Forks. Sheridan and V Corps got confused, but eventually an intense battle was on. Confederate General Pickett was unaware of what was going on, and the Confederates were weaker than ever once the battle was over. -
Battle of Appomattox Courthouse
Robert E Lee was surrounded by Union troops at Appomattox Courthouse and surrendered, ending the war and giving the Union victory.
