Civil War

Fort Sumter Attacked

Mar 4, 1861

The Confederates under General Pierre Beauregard open fire with 50 cannons on Fort Sumter in South Carolina. This began the Civil War.

First Bull Run

Jul 21, 1861

The Union army under General Irvin McDowell suffers a defeat at Bull Run. Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson earns the name "Stonewall" as his brigades resist the Union attacks. President Lincoln realizes that the Civil War will be long.

Shiloh

Apr 7, 1862

The Confederates surprise an attack on General Ulysses unprepared troops on the Tennessee Rive. This results in 13,000 Union men wounded and killed and 10,000 Confederates.

Second Bull Run

Aug 30, 1862

There were 75,000 Federals under General John Pope and they were defeated by 55,000 Confederates under General Stonewall at the second battle of Bull Run.

Antietam

Sep 17, 1862

General Robert Lee and the Confederates armies are stopped in Maryland by McClellan and numerically superior Union forces. 26,000 men are dead, wounded, or missing.

Fredericksburg

Jan 1, 1863

President Lincoln issues the final Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves held by the Confederates and emphasizes the enlisting of of black soldiers in the Union army. The war to preserve the Union now becomes a struggle for the abolition of slavery.

Chancellorsville

May 4, 1863

The Union army under General Hooker is defeated by Lee's much smaller forces in Virginia as a result of Lee's brilliant and daring tactics. Confederate General Stonewall is mortally wounded by by his own soldiers and Hooker retreats. There are 17,000 killed, wounded and missing out of 130,000 from the Union. There are 13,000 killed, wounded and missing out of 60,000 from the Confederate.

Cold Harbor

Jun 15, 1864

A mistake by General Grant results in 7,000 Union Casualties in twenty minutes against fortified Rebels in Virginia. The Union forces miss an opportunity to capture Petersburg and to cut off the Confederates rail lines. A nine month siege begins with General Grants forces surrounding General Lee.

Lee Surrenders

Apr 10, 1865

General Lee surrenders his Confederate army to General Grant at the village of Appomattox Court House in Virginia. General Lee surrenders in the parlor in his house. Celebration breaks out in Washington, DC.

Lincoln shot

Dec 6, 1865

Lincoln was shot at Fords Theater. Lincoln never regain consciousness and was presented dead at 7:22 in the morning. The Thirteenth Amendment was passed by Congress on January 31, 1865.